Giving Help Is Easy, Accepting It is The Hard Part

A close friend of mine had major surgery recently.  She's doing well now, a week and a half  later.  I had the priveledge of assisting her during the days that followed her surgery; cooking, cleaning a little, lifting what she couldn't.  It brought to mind the birth of my last child. Probably because she and another friend did the same things for me.

 I developed toxemia in the last trimester of my pregnancy and was put to bed.  At the time, I was the mother of two wonderful little girls, ages ten and eight.   I was also the secretary, office manager, and gofer for our business, as well as volunteer children's director for our church.

Some of the office work I could do from bed, but my husband had to pick up a lot slack there.  My friends drove me to doctors appointments, had wheel chair races with me in Wal Mart, cooked for me, cleaned for me, set up the babies room, and even refinished furniture.  I love those ladies!

You may be thinking, "That sounds wonderful!  Wish someone would do that for me!"  But truthfully, it was hard to allow someone to do those things for me.  It was a very humbling experience.  I am always eager to help someone else, but accepting help is a different story.  

I John 4:11 says, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." (KJV)  Galatians 5:13 says, "... by love, serve one another." (KJV)  Therefore, if we love one another, we will serve one another, and we will allow ourselves to be served when we are in need.  We should not deny our  brothers and sisters the blessings of helping us.  We are, after all, one body in Christ, and a body is made up of many parts working together.

 I am thankful that I could serve in this manner. And I am blessed to have a friend who allowed me to receive these blessings.

The Impossible Used to Seem Possible

        I have two of the most wonderful grandsons in the world. Each has his own personality, his own style of talking, his own walk, and his own quirky little things that I love.  But they both have my hair!  The older more so than the younger. I gave it to their mother, who in turn gave it to them.  I don't think they want it any more than I do!

       Their mother sent me a picture of their first haircut of the school year by a professional hairstylist.  She said that when the lady asked Hunter (the six year old) what kind of "cut" he wanted, he said, "Straight!"

       I thought about his answer this morning over my last cup of coffee, and I wondered, "When did we begin to believe  that the impossible was not possible?  Was it one particular circumstance or many happenstances in our lives that caused us to doubt that anything is possible?" 

      When we were children, we were sure that someone could fix any problem; Mom, Dad, our grandparents.  I have glued noses on wooden pull toys, performed surgery on dolls, bandaged booboos, and altered clothes, but I cannot "cut" hair and make it straight.

      I think, for me, the answer is, "many happenstances."  I cannot think of one defining moment when doubt crept in.  I can , however, think of many situations in my life when I realized that there were things I could not accomplish, or at least, not without making sacrifices I was not willing to make.  It was during those times that God showed me that there were things in this world better left undone; things that were not in His divine plan for my life. 

      It was not in His divine plan for Hunter to have straight hair.  Though, if I could "cut" it for him, I would.

     

Good Friends

I just spent the last 24 hours with two of my best friends. These ladies know almost everything there is to know about me. That could be a scary thing for some; to have people around who know almost everything about them.  But because of who these people are, I feel very secure in that knowledge.  Not because they are successful, or because they are upstanding citizens of their communities, or because they are good people.   I have this security because of their spiritual maturity.  I can tell them my inmost feelings and insecurities and know that they will not judge me.  They might tell me to get over myself, or that I need to examine the situation a little further, or that I am not applying biblical principals; but they will not judge me.  I can be away from these ladies for weeks at a time, sometimes even months, but when we get together, it is as if no time has passed.

It is my hope that all of you have friends such as these. I cannot imagine going through life without them. In Deuteronomy 13:6, God speaks of a friend as "one who is as your own soul."  These are my friends. Those who are as my own soul.  Through thick and thin.  When my life makes sense and when it doesn't.

In Exodus 33:11 the Lord talked with Moses, "...face to face, as a man speaks to a friend."  There are times during my prayers when I know without a doubt that I am "face to face" with God.  And yet, there are times when I know that I have "hidden" myself from Him. I know that I have refused to share the most intimate details of my life with the very best friend that I have.  The one who breathed my soul into this lifeless shell of a body.  Why is it so hard to tell God of my shortcomings and so easy to share with my other friends?  As I reflected on this I thought that perhaps it was because, being a parent,  I understand how much my shortcomings must hurt Him.  Not that I fail, but that I do not come to Him; that I do not always trust Him to forgive and understand.  Perhaps because, sometimes in my pain and frustration, I forget that He is a loving God.  I forget the fact that, when I cannot stand alone He holds me up, and when I cannot go on,  He carries me. God is not "as my soul," He "is my soul."

I pray that you not only have friends such as these, but that God is number one in your life. I pray that you come face to face with God on a regular basis. That you allow Him to carry you and hold you up when you cannot go on alone.

Thank you my friends, for listening.

America's "High"

      "I am overfull, and I feel so good!"  That is what I thought as I took the last bite of Cracker Jacks.  Then it dawned on me what my weight problem had been all along, or at least partially.  I get "high" on feeling full.  I had eaten enough; even more than enough according to my calorie intake for the day.  However, I was not "full."  I didn't have that "aah, I'm miserable" feeling.  Anyone out there know what I mean?   I realized that when I get to a certain point of fullness, my body must feel so good that it releases endorphines;  which make me happy, or at least make me seem happy.  As a result, I am constantly searching for my "high."  I am addicted to food!

      Knowledge is power.  Now that I have this knowledge, I should be able to battle the need for this feeling.

     It dawned on me later that Americans are like that.  We are so used to that "high."  Most of us have a lot more than we need to survive, but we still long for more.  We are such a spoiled people.  We want what we want and we want it now!  God has blessed this nation so much, and yet we demand more.  We have lived on that euphoric feeling for so long that we cannot imagine giving it up.  When will we battle this feeling,;this addiction?  It is my opinion that soon we will not have a choice, in Texas, at least.  Already it is hard to get "same day" delivery on things.  Prices will soon skyrocket.  Cotton and all that is made from it will be scarce.  Fresh vegetables will have to be shipped in.  Beef prices will soar because ranchers had to sell so many of their cattle.  It is time to stop overfilling.  Quit spending government money so that we will be given the same amount next year.  Quit building fancy offices and overhiring.  Quit cowtowing to lobbyists.  In other words, quit paying $200.00 for hammers!

     Maybe  we should overfill on "The Fruit"  instead of the fruit. We could stand a little love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness,  and faithfulness in this world today. (Gal. 5:22)  And Fruit is healthy!

Front Porch Sittin'

We were discussing cell phone use today in Sunday School.  Ninety eight percent of our class is over 50 years of age. Some do not even text, much less Facebook, and have no desire to do either.  We were discussing how we thought that cell phones had taken the place of visiting in person and how we had lost that "personal touch."

As I reflected on this for a while it came to me that the younger generation does not even remember "front porch sittin'."   Women used to quilt together. (Not in my time. haha)  They used to have play dates for their children and sit over a glass of tea or a cup of coffee while the children played.  Today, most women under the age of fifty have a full time jobs.  For a time, between the eras of quiltings and women having careers; there was very little visitation.  Cell phones, therefore, have replaced the "front porch."  Because of them, people are able to keep in touch in a way they never could before.  We really can't even argue that they cannot see each other. With programs such as Skype, even that is possible.  My daughter  "Skypes" a friend of hers in Africa all the time.  My son had a "Skype" date with his girlfriend, who is doing an internship in California. 

What we have to remember is that just because something is different, that doesn't mean it is bad. It is just different. In this case, it is progress.  Granted we could use a lot more cell phone etiquette. There should be some hard and fast rules about when and how to use this wonderful little device, but that is another blog!

Personally,  I love both texting and Facebook.  I have gotten in touch with old friends whom I would never have had contact with had it not have been for Facebook.  And I can text my son and tell him to call me when he doesn't answer his phone.  Texting can be done when the conversation needs to stay private, or when an actual conversation is not possible. So come on 50+er's, get in the groove!  I can make up words like 50+er's, because I'm a "texter!"

Red Sky @ Morning

Coming home from Colorado City last night I looked, as I always do, at the sunset.  It was a beautiful red-orange sun descending in a sea of red sky.  It was awesome!  My mothers "saying" came to mind.
My mother had so many sayings; one for every occassion. Many of them she "took" from the Bible. Mostly "took" out of context to suite her needs. "Spare the rod and spoil the child," she took to mean "Spare the rod, but use the switch."  "Honor your father and mother," needs no explanation and was used often.
 But there were some sayings whose origins were never found. Such as: "If there's a ring around the moon it will rain within three days."
 One of my favorites was, "Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in morning, sailor take warning," which she said meant that if the sky was red at night the wind would not blow and storms would come, but if the sky was red in the morning a sailor knew to stay off the seas because it would be windy or there would be storms. When asked where this saying came from she said, "From the Bible." 
A few weeks ago I  researched that scripture, because I figured it was just one of those she pulled out of the air.  I was wrong. It can be found in Matthew 16:1-4.  And from my interpretation, the saying is correct. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees and He tells them, (NKJ Version) ..."Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times."
Even though He was talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees, He could say the same things to us today.  We know so much and yet so little. 
What I do know is, without a doubt, we have some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world right here in West Texas!  Thank you Lord for being such an awesome artist and sharing such beauty with us!

Sue's Thoughts: First Blog

Sue's Thoughts: First Blog