Blessings

 

     Sitting on my patio, I hear the incessant chatter of this year's gathering of hummingbirds. The increase in number of late as they migrate through is but proof that summer is drawing to a close. Fall's arrival will soon be announced with the gorgeous yellows, reds and oranges of the season as the leaves change colors and pumpkins appear on the scene. It seems like only yesterday that colors of spring and every flower imaginable were the landscape before me. Before you know it, turkeys will be baking and Christmas presents will be wrapped, and then we will start all over again with a new year.  My question for you is, "Where did the time go and have I made the most of each day, each season, this year? How has God blessed me and have I been a blessing to others?"
     The furious feeding frenzy of the hummingbirds around my head reminds me how difficult a task it has become for us to take even a moment for reflection on the questions placed before you. Why? The answer lies not with the fleeting personality we attribute to time but with the choices we make in the spending of it. If you have ever observed hummingbirds for long, you notice that often their constant, humming motion is filled more with fighting each other than actually feeding on the sweet nectar provided in the feeders.The little fellows miss the blessing of provision altogether.
    Without a doubt, our ability to read this in itself is confirmation that we have been graciously blessed by God in this past year, but, in our own feeding frenzy on things of this world, we've neglected to acknowledge the fullness of God's tailor-made blessings, overflowing in our lives each day. There is always time to squeeze in just about anything we choose.  When was the last time you chose God for that next entry on your already overburdened calendar for a time of reflection, fellowship, and praise for God's goodness and love.
     Proverbs 11:25 states,"The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped." How awesome is that! A gift in return for the gift of blessing others! This brings us to our other question? Have I put my selfish desires on hold and ministered, prayed for, found some way to be a blessing to others? With our blinders of self-focus removed, it will take but a quick glance around us to see people in need. That blessing could be anything from a smile or a listening ear to the meeting of physical needs. Hopefully you are now smiling as you think of ways you have been used by God in recent days. Allow me to encourage you to continue and give thanks for the promised blessings you will receive in return.
     This has been written with the hope that you will be encouraged to live each day to its full potential.  Be watchful and eager to be a blessing to others as well as continually thankful for God's blessings bestowed on you. The blur with which your days have been passing can become sharp and clear with the purpose. Life will take on a new significance, and your relationship with God will become sweeter as the days go by. Refuse to live in fast forward and choose to rest daily in the presence of God. To God Be the Glory! 
    
      
    
    
    

     

    

God's Perfect Timing

     A conversation I overheard when passing two men today caused me pause.  My first thought was of my dad who is with the Lord, and the second was of me, us.  Their discussion was about baling hay, something I knew about by default since my dad raised cattle.  One had asked the other if he had finished with his hay.  The response was this,"That little bit of rain we had left a sheen on the hay, and I am afraid the it might mold." To explain, if there is any moisture left in the grass that has been cut over, and if it is baled to early, and if the remaining moisture causes molding, the cows will not eat the hay.  All was for naught. The farmer must patiently wait for the conditions to be right and the hay completely dry. 
   There have been too many incidences to count when I have figuratively "baled the hay" in my life before it was time, God's time.  And since the time was not right and my "hay" molded, there was with anger and distrust towards God, not to mention depression due to failures. There was no understanding why some of the things I thought would bring glory to God continued to be side railed, postponed.
     God, however, used each of my rushing missteps to draw me closer to Him.  Those failures became hard but well learned lessons about God's plan for my life. The insistent "whys" and the idea that I was not worthy of God's blessing ceased to ring in my head.  The only thing that changed...the sheen was off the hay and it was time, God's time for my spiritual maturing.  God began a work in me that I had given up on ever happening because decades had passed since I became a Christian.  He walked by my side and guided me to an understanding of His love and a complete trust in that love.  Trust no matter what comes. Trust despite miscarriages, autism, chronic disease, abuse. 
     Some of the prayers that had been answered with a "no" have become a resounding "yes."  There is true joy where only a facade had been present.  There is hope.  I can assure you that hopelessness followed me around like the cloud over Ziggy's head in the cartoon. We are talking extremely hopeless, simply surviving.
     All of this is there for you...love, faith, trust, hope, joy.  Just get off the tractor. In His time, when the hay is truly ready for baling, God will step into the driver's seat and begin His work in you, the work that will draw you closer to him and into a relationship like none you've ever known. Step away from the tractor! Be ready when it cranks up. Oh, happy day!  To God Be the Glory!

       

A Wal Mart Adventure

     Having postponed a much needed trip to Walmart, I set off begrudgingly today with more dread than usual.  School was about to resume. This was "Meet the Teacher Day," and parents and children would be coming in droves to gather their list of supplies. After finally finding a parking place and with much fear and trepidation, I took a deep breath and marched inside. It was soon obvious to me that this trip would be quite different from the usual blur of blah.
     Please allow me to share some of my encounters there in order of occurrence!  My first chat was on the vitamin/products for weight control aisle with a total stranger.  After having a quite animated and in depth discussion about hot flashes, doctors (including Dr. Oz), and weight gain after forty, we bid each other good-bye having made that "woman" bond.
     There were discussions with friends who had kids in tow, and grocery baskets full of Kleenex, folders, markers, hand sanitizer, etc. There were some happy children, and there were those who followed along with a tell-tale scowl, dreading the end of summer. There was the usual shortage of supplies precipitating frustration that accompanies the need to shop at other stores to gather all the "loot" before the big first day. I was reminiscent of those days, feeling old since my children are both grown.  Nostalgic but also glad to be on this side of all that.  I had done my time!
     I couldn't help but chuckle as I passed by a rubber snake that some mischievous child had positioned in a most life-like way at the end of one of the aisles. No doubt that scared some harried shopper to death. I rolled past one desperate mom of six children, one screaming at the top of his lungs for her attention, cart filled to the brim, on her way to check out, yet to face the total due for all her gatherings. A silent prayer was whispered for her at that moment.
     My next destination was the grocery area.  There was hope for that section to be a bit less animated.  There was still adventure to come, however. When I sense that some shopper is about to give up the search for something they can't find or they simply look lost, I feel duty-bound to help them.  I know our store like the back of my hand.  Sad, isn't it!  Today presented that opportunity for me when I spotted two ladies with that "lost" look on their faces, and I waded in to offer help.  There was only one problem: They did not speak English, and I had no idea what they were looking for. They kept repeating "oh' ba co." Right! No idea! We all smiled and parted ways.
     A few minutes later, our paths crossed again. They had located the elusive item! They approached me, all smiles, with a bottle of Tabasco in hand. How could I not have known that?!? A conversation ensued in which I learned through broken phrases of English that they hailed from Belgium and were a part of a symphony band touring the country.  We discussed what they played, where they had been, and where they were going. This also explained why I had seen so many unfamiliar people in our Walmart carrying cameras.  Random but fun.
     Time now to go face my own tally of merchandise at the check-out.  Two young Mormon men walked out of sliding doors in front of me. They, too, were a long way from home.  Directly outside were two large tour buses and many of people from Belgium. I good-bye waved to my Tabasco friends. Who knew that a quick dash into Walmart would turn into an adventure? Wonder how many people that rubber snake scared? Probably should have taken it back where it belonged, but then it might have been part of someone else's adventure!

        

Angel Unaware

     Recently my son, Ben, had a grand mal seizure in a very public place. Due to many years of responding to his seizures, I knew exactly what to do though it is never an easy task.  I have yet to emerge from a seizure, large or small, left unscathed, and my husband was not with me that day. That meant the situation would be more difficult because Eddy executes more than one role during the horrible happening of it all. While helping position Ben, he serves as my rock of reassurance. Ben's seizures last anywhere from five to twenty minutes. In the moment, all I could do was pray over him, and attempt to prevent any injury. 
     One by one people began to gather around asking if they could call 911 or assist us in any way. I assured them that everything was under control. (Who was I kidding?) As the seizure began to subside and Ben drifted off into the sleep that always follows, the crowd began to disperse. All that could be done now was wait until he awakened, transport him to the car and travel home, away from the spectacle of it all.
     However, though the crowd had dwindled, I did not find myself alone.  A nurse had appeared at my side during the seizure, and she did not leave until Ben was once again alert and functioning. Despite my urging, she insisted upon staying. My resistance gave way. She exuded a calmness that spilled welcomingly over my masked anxiety. While wiping Ben's head with a cool rag, she shared that as a nurse she primarily worked with special needs children and was fully aware of what was taking place and what needed to be done. God is good all the time!
     It was obvious in the unfolding of events that God had sent her there not just for Ben, but perhaps even more so for me.  Really, what are the chances?  With God, there are no chances, just absolutes...absolute love, absolute peace, absolute help in times of trouble, absolute presence.  Absolute presence for me became visible as a nurse who remained with both me and Ben until the crisis had past. She choose to become involved, to abandon what she was doing, to listen to God's request, to be an angel for us that day. To her I will be forever grateful as I will be to God.  To God Be The Glory!
      
  

It Ain't Easy Being Green

When I took this picture, staged as it was, there was an idea in my mind of what the church could look like on a Sunday morning when services were over and we stepped back into our lives just outside the doors. With hearts renewed and minds refreshed,  we would scatter into the world shining brightly and sharing the love of Jesus. Instead, we typically go out to eat, take a nap, watch some TV, crawl into bed and then it's Monday.  Not a bad thing.  God intended Sunday to be a day of rest. The "Monday" part is where things go a little awry.

By Monday morning (yuk!), the sermon topic is growing a bit fuzzy, we've overslept, and we barely have time to get to work much less spend a few minutes of quiet, soul-fueling time alone with God.  The drudgery and pressures of work have descended upon us, and the weekend seems our only salvation. The message of salvation we were dispersed to share on Sunday that comes only through Jesus is not the salvation we have in mind. 

As the week progresses, our Sunday shine gets rubbed off somewhat as we face our hectic lives, still too overbooked for time alone with our Maker, and we just begin to blend in with the rest of the world and hang on the best we can.(Examine the picture below closely!) Surely there will be time to shine for Jesus next week.  This week is just too crazy to even look for opportunities, much less ask God to bring any our way! Is it Friday yet?

     

This is such a sadly familiar scene, when instead God intended us to be a beacon of light for Him in this world.  Not to mention the sad reality of how this unnecessarily affects us personally. God did not sacrifice His only son so that we could quietly blend in. That sacrifice is what enables us to stand out in the crowd, to radiate the joy and peace we have in Jesus. That relationship building time spent alone in His presence, reading His promises in the Bible, talking with Him through prayer--these mark the path to the manner of contrast God planned for our lives to exhibit.  The question left for us is this, "Are we content to simply exist as we drag ourselves through life as we now know it? Or will we make the choice of a life lived for Jesus, grasping hold of every promise given to us in the Bible, basking in His presence, love, and peace?"

I can assure you, people will notice the transformation as God's love in you illuminates your area of influence. People will be drawn to you. They will want what you have--Jesus! Then comes your opportunity to share. As Kermit the Frog says, "It ain't easy being green!" But know you are never alone as you embark on this new journey. What blessings God has in store for you, what grace exists for every moment.  To God Be the Glory!