Changes

I feel differently now than I did then.

It’s because God is drawing me in another, different direction.

As usual, God has intervened with something I never would have thought of.

Which, I realize, wouldn’t take a lot – but still…

So I’m closing down this blog, Speaking Hope, and concentrating on my other blog Miscellaneous Ramblings.

I feel that that blog will be changing at some point, too.

But in the meantime, if you could check out Miscellaneous Ramblings and sign up for e-mail notification, I would probably be your friend for life (just kidding – sorta).

I’ll continue to post on Fridays over on Miscellaneous Ramblings, so stay tuned.  You just never know what God has in store.  It will be a surprise for us all…

Self Portrait

 

But This Time...

Well, it happened again.  It probably happens a lot, and I’m just not aware of it.  But this time…

A friend’s name just kept coming to me for over a month.  And every time I thought of her name, I also felt that I needed to go over to her house and pray for her.  I saw her over this period of time, but I never told her of the promptings.

You know how it is.  Life interferes with our good intentions.  Or maybe I was just lazy and didn’t get over there.  I’d like to believe the former, but I’m pretty sure it was the latter.

Between the holidays, a little traveling, bronchitis and extremely cold weather, I kept putting it on the back burner.  When things calm down, I told myself, I’ll get right on over there.

Finally, this past week, I called her and invited myself over.  I usually don’t do that, but, frankly, I was tired of this feeling that I needed to pray for her.  I just wanted get it over with. It was really in self-defense way more than any spiritual connection.

My strategy was to ask her how she was doing and how her family was doing, then tell her about this nudge I was getting, pray for her, and go on about my business.  In my mind, it was much more about me than it was about her.

So I asked my two polite questions so that I could get on to the praying part.  Forty-five minutes later, the praying began.  In between, she told me what had happened in her family’s life in just the last few days. 

Family problems are always the worst, aren’t they?  It’s a very hard thing when family lets us down.

It just so happens that I had gone through something similar decades ago.  She already knew some of it, but now she knows most of it.  She knows the parts that can help her the most now.  But not because I was oh, so wonderful to show up on her doorstep and listen to her, share with her and pray with her.

No, it wasn’t because of me at all.  It was because God loves her in a very profound way. 

And even though I believe it wasn’t because of me, the crazy thing is that I got a blessing out of it even if she didn’t.  Because I felt that God had used little old me in His great big plan.

Mercy!  His blessings come showering down upon us.  Even when we’re just looking out for ourselves. 

Especially when we’re just looking out for ourselves. 

Devil of a Time

I once had a t-shirt that said:

The next time the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.

I got more comments on that t-shirt than any I had ever worn. It definitely touched a nerve with a lot of folks.

Strangers would say, “Love your shirt,” “Good words,” or “Where did you get that t-shirt?”

I would watch people as they approached me on a sidewalk or in the mall, watch as they read the words, marvel at the light that came into their eyes and the smile that followed.

And I really don’t think it was the thought of revenge for most of them.  I think it was the realization that the things in the past don’t really matter as long as we have our Messiah, our Savior.

It was, after all, Jesus who said to those who were questioning His authority,

Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies.   John 8:44

You can’t get much clearer than that. 

We have suspicions, doubts, fears – The devil is a liar.

He brings up our past and tells us we can’t change – There is nothing truthful about him.

He knows our insecurities, our weaknesses and our fears – Everything he says is a lie.

He knows what bothers us most – He is a liar himself.

He uses our past to depress us, hold us down, hold us back – He is also the father of all lies.

On my t-shirt, in smaller print and just below the main sentence, it said: 

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.   Revelation 20:10

In our own lives, we’ve got to remember that Satan has somehow made evil things in our world appealing.  Sometimes it seems like there are more gray areas than black and white ones.

But at some point in the future, Satan will land in that lake of fire and brimstone, finally unable to do anymore damage.

In the meantime, we can be about God’s business of being the light of this world.  It sure does need it.  

 

A Message From Jesus for 2014

Happy New Year!

How’s it going so far?  Mine is starting off on kind of a bummer.  I’ve had what we locally call the Sand Mountain Creeping Crud.  This malady attacks every single person around here at least once a year.

I’m feeling better, so maybe it will just go away in a couple more days.  The wonderful cough will stay for a while, because, as we all know on Sand Mountain, the cough is the last thing to go.

Today I know that things are getting better and that I have the ability to function on a higher level.  Instead of just staring at the TV and thinking I’ll never get better, I’m taking interest in what I’m watching, which is why I turned the TV off.  Progress!

It’s easy for almost anyone to relate to feeling so sick that you know you’ve got to get better just to die.  It’s a low spot to be in.  Nothing seems to be right, but the energy is just not there to change anything.

I’ve been studying John the Baptist, and I read about him being imprisoned by Herod.  The king had sort of a love/hate relationship going on with John.  He respected him and knew he was a righteous man, but John had told Herod that it was wrong for him to have his brother’s wife.  So Herod had him thrown in jail for speaking against him.

This was a low point in John’s life.  He was probably imprisoned under ground with either nothing to do or mind-numbing busy work for hours a day.  For an active, intelligent man, this had to be very hard.  Mostly likely, depression followed.

We can see his mental state when he sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the One they were looking for, or should they look for another. 

Think of it:  John had preached to thousands of repentance and the Savior Who was coming.  He baptized thousands in the Jordan River, pointing them always to their Messiah.  He baptized Jesus Himself and saw a dove, representing the Holy Spirit, descend from Heaven to Jesus.  And he heard God’s voice saying that this was His Son, in whom He was well pleased.

But in that dank, dark prison, John had a time of doubting – doubting himself and doubting God.  Was it possible that John had somehow misread all those signs of the Savior’s coming?  Were the passions that he felt to baptize and preach really coming from God? 

So he sent two of his disciples to ask straight out --  Are you or are you not our Messiah?

It’s interesting that Jesus didn’t get mad about it.  He just suggested that the disciples tell John “…what you have seen and heard; how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the Gospel is preached to the poor. And blessed are all who won’t be offended in me.”  Luke 7:23 (CEV)

Jesus gives John something no one else could – assurance that Jesus is
Who He says He is.

I can’t think of a better message for us as we start a new year. 

Merry Groundhogs!

Merry Christmas!

Who’s ready for Spring?

Winter hasn’t even gotten a good start, and we’re already wishing for warmer weather.

We talk about it all winter long, all through the cold, the rain, and the occasional ice storm or snow.  Winter in the South can be quite miserable.

We’re looking for some encouragement during the long dreary days of winter, and one such boost comes on February 2, Groundhog Day.

The folklore says that if it is cloudy when a groundhog steps out of its burrow on this particular day, Spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, while winter weather continues for six more weeks.

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where Phil, the “official” Groundhog of the day, makes his annual appearance. 

No matter that he is more wrong than he is right.  We need a little hope that Spring will come once again, that trees will grow new branches and new leaves, that flowers will pop out of the ground like magic, and birds will sing their lovely songs.

Spring means a reawakening of nature, a transformation of roots thought dead, a restoration of our weary souls, worn down by the drab days of winter. 

So why am I talking about Spring on Christmas Day?

Because, like Spring, Christmas represents a new beginning for Christians, the greatest new beginning since the creation of the world.  Without Christ, there would be no Christians.  And not just that, there would also be no hope, little love for anything but ourselves, no sympathy, no empathy, a drab and dreary world far beyond our imaginings. 

I know we just had Thanksgiving and thought about things we were thankful for, but I think it’s appropriate to intentionally be thankful again today, thinking of the small baby that was Christ Jesus and all that He became and is for us in our lives.

Christ fits perfectly within us, whether we’re celebrating Christmas, Groundhog Day or the 4^th of July. 

And today, of all days, we really should invite Him in and see Spring through His eyes.

Merry Christmas from David and I!

Taste and See!

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Psalm 34:8

 

 "Oh, taste…" Well, I don't need anyone to tell me twice.  I'm right in there, tasting away. 

We have to eat, right?  If you have gained a few (or a lot) of pounds by eating too much, then you've got a whole nuther set of problems.

I had gastric-bypass surgery in 2004 and lost 90 pounds.  I can't eat the same things I used to eat.  I can't tolerate much sugar, so I'm constantly checking the labels to see how many sugar grams there are.  It's absolutely astounding how much sugar can be in one granola bar!  I don't know, maybe I was addicted to sugar before my surgery.  I couldn't eat very much of anything for months afterward, certainly not sugary stuff, so that forced abstinence may have broken the sugar addiction.  I'm just speculating here.

One thing that's kind of funny about it is that I don't crave sugar.  I don't miss it at all.  If something sugary looks good to me, I'm just hungry and a little food that I can tolerate will take care of that.  

When I eat, I have to pick and choose what I can eat.  If I don't choose wisely, I can end up very physically sick.  It's so bad, I'd have to feel better to die!  Sometimes pain is the best motivator we've got.

So I look over my options of what will work.  I try to eat slowly and chew every bite very well.  I have to remember that if things don't go down right, they will rebel at some point in my body. 

Because I have only so much space to fill, I reach for the stuff I like best first.  I'll see how things are going and then add something else if I feel I can handle it.  All this took years of practice and hit-or-miss methods of getting what my body needs to function.

So, yeah, I know something about tasting.  But how do you "taste" the Lord?  Our need for Him is even more basic than our need for food.  And yet we look all around Him for things to satisfy us in any way we can.

When we want to know what something tastes like, we take a small bite or spoonful to get a sample of the whole.  We can usually tell by the sample how good or bad the whole will be.

What if we "sampled" God's goodness by giving Him a chance to show us how good He is?  What if we took a sample of His goodness and meditated on it and thought about it.  I'm not particularly thinking of scripture here.  I'm talking about asking the Lord to give you a sample of His goodness and then watch what He does.  And then from His holy "sample," we will know how good the Whole really is.

 



John the Baptist

I have always admired John the Baptist for the way he handled Jesus’ arrival.  I know, I know – John had the Holy Spirit to guide him and all of that.  But still, given human nature, it could have been a real problem.

Think about people you work with now or have worked with in the past.  How many times has someone in your classification, someone doing the same things you do, get a promotion to supervisor and become a completely different person? 

And I don’t mean that in a nice way.  I mean they become bossy and arrogant, ordering people around just because they can.  Of course, resentment runs high so the workplace becomes tense, people become stressed, and the work doesn’t get done as smoothly and as timely as it should.

All because somebody gets, what we call in the South, the big head.

It’s just another form of greed.

Look at all those celebrities that have money out the wazoo and yet they constantly want their names known, their accomplishments known.  When their popularity goes down, they show up on game shows and reality TV. 

Because they still want that spotlight and the power that goes with it.  People fawn all over celebrities, which is something I guess I don’t understand.  From what I can tell, some of these people are popular just being themselves on a TV show. 

I think they should be paying us to watch them, not them getting paid extravagant amounts to be watched.

John the Baptist had disciples, he had followers, he baptized countless people.  The Bible says all the country of Judea and everyone who lived in Jerusalem came to him to be baptized. 

He was the center of attention and probably could have asked for just about anything from his followers and he would have gotten it.  They admired him, they looked up to him, they believed in him and his message.

Pretty heady stuff.

But when Jesus came, John stepped back.

He still had disciples because the Bible tells us that John sent some of them to ask Jesus if He was the One they had been waiting for.  He probably still had some folks that followed him around and listened to him.  But it couldn’t have been on the same scale as before Jesus came.

And yet he still preached, he still pointed people to Christ, just as he had done his whole ministry.

So I have admired John the Baptist for the way he stepped away from center stage.

Recently, I realized that this was not the first time someone in John’s family had done that very thing.

I had read many times the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, going to visit her cousin Elizabeth.  Elizabeth was old and barren when God decided she should be the mother of John the Baptist.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, baby John jumped in his mother’s womb.

Here was Elizabeth, old, barren for years and now pregnant, talking to her young cousin whom she had not seen for at least 5 or 6 months.  Don’t you think the first words out of her mouth would have been about her own baby?

Elizabeth uttered 5 sentences to Mary.  The 4^th was about her baby leaping for joy.

Like mother, like son.  Elizabeth recognized that Mary’s news was much greater than her own and she stepped back.

John recognized the Lamb of God and he stepped back.

It’s important to recognize that sometimes we just need to get out of the way so the Holy Spirit can do His work.

The next time you’re feeling frustrated, stop and look around.  Your answer could be just a step away.

Housework and Hair

I absolutely loathe housework.

I don’t know why I hate it so much.  It’s like a huge feeling of dread comes over me and I physically can’t make myself do it. 

One of the things I prided myself on when I was younger was a very strong sense of self-discipline.  I could do anything, no matter how loathsome, and see it through to its end.  Now I just give up and I don’t care at the time that I’ve not done what I was supposed to do. 

Later I tell myself how lazy I am and what’s the matter with me and all that kind of thing.  But at the time, I rationalize to the point that I don’t do whatever I’m supposed to be doing.

Another thing I prided myself on was my hair.  It was thick and was a beautiful color of grey mixed with dark brown.  I guess I needed to be knocked down a peg or two because my hair is so thin now and I can’t do anything with it.  I fret over it a great deal.

Maybe God wanted to show me that I should depend on Him and not on my own efforts.  Maybe housework and hair are important in the world’s eyes, but God’s eyes are different.

I’ve been trying to let it go and do better at the same time.  It’s kind of a thin line.  I need to have self-discipline to some degree or nothing will get done because basically I’m an extraordinarily lazy person.  But where does my own self-discipline end and letting God work through me start?

And the same with my hair.  Where does my effort at styling and feeling good about it stop and God’s intervention begin?

It’s a thin line and one I overstepped for many years, now that I look back at it.

When I think, “I must take the trash out,” “I must unload the dishwasher,” and then I think of all the reasons not to, I need to realize what I’m doing and how I’m thinking, ask God for His holy perseverance, and then do what  He empowers me to do.

Housework and hair don’t seem very important when there are so many very serious problems in the world.  But God is a personal type, and He sent Jesus to save us individually.  The indwelling Holy Spirit is also sent to each one of us.  So housework and hair are important to God because if I’m fretting over these things, I’m not looking to God for my strength and I’m not partaking of His peace.

I’ve got to do better…

Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father.

                                                          1 John 2:16 (CEV)

Hurry!

I am reading the book of Mark, and one thing I have noticed right away is his sense of urgency.

“At once” and “immediately” appear repeatedly throughout the book, but especially in the first chapter.  In other chapters, Mark tells of Jesus warning His disciples to be ready for His return.   

The people of Jesus’ time thought the end of the world was just around the corner.  They believed that one day they would literally look up and see their Christ in the clouds, coming to get them.  There was much to be done and not a whole lot of time to do it.

We don’t have that urgency, do we?  Obviously, the second coming did not occur 2,000 years ago.  And just as obviously, it hasn’t occurred anytime since.

We know how to hurry, though.  Hurry to work, hurry to shop, hurry to church, hurry, hurry, hurry!  And sometimes, at the end of the day, it seems like nothing has really been done.  We’re kind of on automatic.  Especially this time of year with all the details of getting Thanksgiving and Christmas locked into our calendars.

The Second Coming feels far, far away.

So why even have a sense of urgency?  Why hurry to do God’s will? 

Because Jesus said so. 

 “Be on your guard, constantly alert,” Jesus warns us.  “Watch and pray,” He says to us now.

Because if we believe that the Word of God is a living thing, that the Word of God is Christ Himself, then it naturally follows that we believe that our Savior is speaking to us now.

Will we stop our hurrying around long enough to even realize the need to watch and pray?

I hope so.  It seems to me that almost any problem appears to be less of a problem when we turn our eyes to Jesus and keep them there.  For there we will find comfort, wisdom, and fulfillment. 

Wouldn’t it be great to look up and see Him coming for us?  The way the world is going, I’m thinking He’s at least packing his bags and getting ready. 

We need to be ready, too.  We need to feel that urgency that keeps us going, the motivation that comes from the forewarning we have received.  We need to spread the Gospel as much as we can and keep at it until the Second Coming or until we return to our Creator.

A word to the wise is sufficient…

But of that day or that hour not a [single] person knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.                    Mark 13:32-33 (AMP)



Oh How He Loves You and Me

Many years ago, I was on the team of a fabulously spiritual weekend retreat at a church camp out in the boonies.  There were approximately 30 women participants, and 5 of us on the team were assigned to shepherd the participants around. 

One participant did not want to be there.  She had a pretty hefty scowl and used it all the time. 

Whatever was going on, she didn’t want to be a part of it.  No matter how much we smiled at her and encouraged her, she refused to take part in anything.  No singing, no clapping, definitely no happy face.  She would literally twist around in her chair so that her back was to the front of the room. 

Early on, we decided that we were going to love her to death.  We made a vow that nothing she asked for would be beyond our reach.

The room was too hot?  We opened a window.

The room was too cold?  We closed a window.

She had to go to the bathroom in the middle of a presentation not ten minutes after a bathroom break?  No problem.

Before going to bed that first night, she complained that her back was hurting because of the folding chair she had to sit in.  She wanted to go home.

We asked her to stay just one night and the next day before making the final decision to leave.  She reluctantly agreed.  We knew there were many blessings to be had if she would just hang on a little longer.

After the participants were all snug in their beds, we borrowed a team member’s pickup truck, went to another part of the camp and liberated a recliner from one of the rooms.  We wrestled that thing into the pickup and then wrestled it out of the pickup and into place at the table where the unhappy lady was sitting.

She begrudgingly thanked us the next morning and reclined the rest of the day.  But the thing that got to her the most was when she went to her room during a break that day.  One of the team members had put a heating pad on her bed and turned it on.  When she laid down and realized what had been done, she burst into tears and finally felt the Holy Spirit give her a hug through an ordinary heating pad.  She knew she wasn’t lovable and yet she had been loved by the body of Christ.

I have never seen a woman’s face change so dramatically.  I almost didn’t recognize her.  Without the scowl, she looked completely different.  No, not just different; she looked radiant.    

If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation.

The old things have gone; everything is made new!   

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

 

All I Need

God’s love really is all I need.  Everything else springs from that.

~ God’s love teaches me to be a better wife.

             The heart of her husband trusts in her,

    and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good, and not harm,

    all the days of her life.

 Proverbs 31:11-12

~ God’s love teaches me to be a better mother.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  Always remember these commands I give you today.  Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.                                          Deuteronomy 6:5-7

~ God’s love teaches me to be a better neighbor.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.                                 Romans 13:10

~ God’s love teaches me to be a better driver.

You have commanded your precepts

    to be kept diligently.

Oh that my ways may be steadfast

    in keeping your statutes! 

Psalm 119:4-5

~ God’s love teaches me to be a better grandmother.

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.             2 Timothy 1:5

 

~ God’s love teaches me to be a better customer or client.

Do to others what you would want them to do to you.

                                        Luke 6:31

~ God’s loves teaches me to be a better patient.

            Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.                    Romans 6:12

~ God’s love teaches me to be a better friend.

            The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.
                                Proverbs 27:9

~ God’s love teaches me to be a better church member.

I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a helper in the church in Cenchrea.  I ask you to accept her in the Lord in the way God’s people should. Help her with anything she needs, because she has helped me and many other people also.

                                Roman’s 16:1-2

Yep, I think that’s right – God’s love is really all I need.  Everything else springs from that…

 

Peacemaker

A lot of times, articles start with the definition of the subject.  So here’s the best definition of “peacemaker” that I have found:

“Show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.”  This is part of a bigger definition.  It wasn’t in a lexicon or dictionary.  I discovered it in the Bible.

“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”   Matthew 5:9 (MSG)

I knew this verse long before I attended a 20-hour seminar on mediation.  But it took me awhile to realize the significance of it.

Of course, it’s always better if people can get along.  No fighting or “nah-nahing” back and forth.  Unfortunately, conflict has been with us since Adam and Eve were thrown out of Eden. 

Since peace is such a prized commodity, you’d think the world would be filled with peacemakers.  Sadly, it is not.

There are more people than ever in conflict every day, sometimes every moment of every day.  What’s the deal?  Where is all this anger and righteous indignation coming from?

I can tell you where it’s not coming from.  Our Heavenly Father is always good, cannot be anything but good.  So it’s not coming from him.

That’s something to think about right there.  Even though we often see the line blur between right and wrong, God doesn’t see it that way.  To Him, it’s either good or bad.

Peacemakers are good.  Peace destroyers are bad.

You have probably seen enough shows along the lines of Judge Judy to know how this works.  Let’s say that Gracie files suit against Misty over money that Gracie says Misty owes her. 

They both agree to mediation to see if they can settle their case instead of going before the judge.

Gracie says that Misty agreed to help pay the rent if Gracie let her stay there for a few months.

Misty says that Gracie knew that she would not have the money to help pay the rent since she was still unemployed after months of looking for a job.

There’s all manner of anger going on here.  Each is righteously indignant at where they find themselves. 

Somebody is lying.  Maybe both are lying.  The truth is in there somewhere, too.  It gets right confusing.

Both women are afraid.  They fear being labeled weak or unreasonable.  There is fear of the unknown.  Fear that the outcome will be contrary to their position.

One way to peace is for one side to cave completely and abandon their position.

Another way is for each side to give a little until an agreement can be reached that everyone can live with.

The “give a little” part is the hard part.  No one wants to appear weak or throw away a chance to get even with the other party.

In my mind, the one who agrees to change her position first is the bravest person in the room.

It’s an act of faith, really.  Faith that she will not appear weak.  Faith that, even though the other side may not agree, she is trying to find a resolution.

Jesus called people to be at peace with one another. Because He proclaimed this reference to those who make peace, we know it is important to us as Christians.

And it’s important to see that Jesus’ definition of peacemaking requires forgiveness. 

Oh, how we yearn for revenge!  Our culture tells us that there is always someone somewhere who is to blame for our misfortunes.  We have been wronged and revenge will solve the whole thing.

But how can we forgive if we’re constantly seeking retribution?

I love this quote of Gandhi:  "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind."

Consider what would happen in our court scenario if forgiveness was part of the picture.  Gracie could have forgiven Misty and never brought the suit in the first place.  Misty could have forgiven Gracie for dragging her to court.

That’s not to say that Gracie should continue to let Misty stay.  Forgiveness never involves becoming a door mat. 

No, what forgiveness involves is a heart that is able to forgive and go on, not constantly reviewing the wrong done to it.

Forgiveness involves Christ our Savior each and every time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Say What?

I think we gravely underestimate God using us to impact others.

Just think about it:  You have a serious thing on your mind, a problem to solve or maybe a problem that doesn’t have a solution at all and you’re trying to come up with one anyway. 

Let’s say that, in this frame of mind, you go to Wal-Mart, the great gathering place of the masses.  While you are shopping sort of on auto-pilot, your mind is also thinking about “the problem,” which has now grown to the point that it has quotation marks around it. 

As you are looking at the birthday cards trying to find something cheerful to send while you yourself are in turmoil, you overhear two women walking by.  As one of them is talking to the other, she says something that absolutely zeros in on what’s on your mind.  And it’s a comfort to you or it’s a revelation to you or it’s something that is absolutely profound and speaks to you in such a personal way that you are awestruck.

That woman, who wasn’t speaking to you at all, was sent for you to hear what she said.  Don’t try to convince me that all this was sheer coincidence.  What God does is called coincidence a lot.  Now I am hearing more and more people calling it a God-thing.  I like that.  It gets God into the conversation.

How else would that woman in Wal-Mart been able to say to somebody else what was perfect for you?  And the woman may not have even wanted to go to Wal-Mart that day, but she went anyway, not really knowing why she went on that particular day, at that particular time.  Think of all the things that had to line up for her to speak what God wanted you to hear at just the right moment. 

And until you heard it, you were not aware that you were even listening to anything that was going on around you.

God loves you so much.  But the sad part is that when this happens, God is not given the credit.  If we are aware at all that it was something outside of ourselves that triggered the voice of God, we are just floored that such a thing could happen. 

We are floored but we do not give God the credit.  We say, “That was incredible!  Just think, that woman was right there when I needed to hear that.”  Close, but no cigar.  We’ve got to put God into it.  He’s already there.  We have to deliberately watch for him.
A few years ago, my husband bought an SUV, a white Nissan X-terra.  I really don’t know much about cars and their models and all of that.  I might know that you drive a red car, but I probably can’t even remember that much. 
I had never seen an X-terra before David bought his. What a big thing it is!  I have to climb up on the running board to get into it.  We had never had such a big, or maybe the word is tall, vehicle.  I thought it quite unique.

Until I started seeing white Nissan X-terra’s all over town.  There’s a bazillion of them! 

It wasn’t that I had never seen one before, it was I had never noticed them before. 

Thankfully, my husband had stripes put on the sides to match the stripes on our camper, otherwise I would have probably had a wreck trying to see the driver of every white X-Terra around.

When we start paying attention, we will see more and more ways that God is right in front of us every second of the day.  We just have to become more aware.

Pray more, study more, want it more!  And then want it more, and study more, and pray more.

It’s priceless, you know.

And the bonus is that while you are looking for God around you, He will become more and more evident in the lives of those around you.  And you will become more aware of God using you.

And there is nothing better than that.

If a stranger can say just the right thing at just the right time for you, isn’t it just as likely that you have done the same for a stranger? 

There are no strangers in God’s eyes, only His children who need a little (or sometimes a lot) of help along the way.

 

Plop, plop, Fizz, fizz...

Every once in a while, I hear someone say, with great pride, “I don’t take any medicine at all!”

That’s a wonderful thing and I’m happy for you.  Unfortunately, however, it somehow implies that it’s a major character flaw if someone else does.

I’m just a little tired of some people that are in health care positions or work in the pharmacy field treating me as though I’m exhibiting drug-seeking behavior.

Of course I’m exhibiting drug-seeking behavior!  I’ve got to have all this stuff to function.

But if I want to cut back, what do I give up?

Sleep?  No.

Lower blood pressure?  No.

Less anxiety?  No.

Less pain from neuropathy?  No.

Less depression?  No.

I don’t want to sound defensive here, but I’d like to point out that I did not prescribe these things for me.  Several doctors over the years have added this and that until I have a whole page of medications that I take.

If you know me in person, did you know that I take all of these things?  Did you guess that I have high blood pressure or that I need help getting to sleep?  Had it occurred to you that I was depressed or anxious?  Have you realized that I am in pain most of the time from neuropathy and other things?

I’m betting you didn’t unless I had already told you.

See, it’s possible – very possible – to function well when taking medication.  Once you get all the doses just right, everything rolls right along.

I doubt I would be alive today without taking blood pressure medication for 30 years. 

If I had survived that, though, sleeplessness for the past 25 years would have surely taken its toll. 

I know for sure and for certain that I would not have climbed out of the dark pit of anxiety and depression without help. 

And without medication for my neuropathy, I might be in a wheelchair.

Okay.  I didn’t tell you all of this to get sympathy.  It’s hard for me to relate this so publically.  But I feel it needs to be said by someone.

As a Christian, how do I explain having all these maladies?  Can’t God just make them go away?  Why hasn’t He answered my prayers for healing?

Here’s my answer:  I don’t know.  And I’m not going to try to figure it out.  God is God and He can do whatever He wants to do.

One thing He’s done, though, is equip certain people to do all the things necessary to develop a drug that I can benefit from. 

No, I don’t see taking medications as a character flaw.  I see it as God putting it in my path to help me get on down the road.

You know, like the Yellow Brick Road, Abbey Road, the Hollywood Walk of Fame?  Just sayin’, mind you…