Tag: life

Why The Ruts?

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As I was recently driving on one of our city’s main thoroughfares, I was perplexed as to why there would be such large ruts along the grassy shoulder which abutted a neighborhood.  I also observed large muddy tire tracks and realized someone had swerved onto the easement.

Was it drunkenness, distraction or merely not paying attention? Then I saw the small, lifeless body and surmised the cause for this event. There was one of God’s creations lying in the street; a squirrel.

I was saddened to see the lifeless creature, but I also understood someone had earnestly veered to avoid this result. How often have we swerved to miss hitting an animal or other obstacle in our path? How often have we had to take a detour to avoid peril to our vehicles or lives?

Sometimes those obstacles result in another being injured, but often these obstacles are for our own protection. In the case of this tiny squirrel, the effort didn’t bring the result the driver was hoping, but they attempted to keep it safe.

How often has God endeavored to keep us safe, but we bully ahead to “move” the obstacle, go around it or to perhaps just drive over it, because we think we know better than God what is best for us?

As I have shared in previous blogs, King David is one of my favorite men of the bible. Did he have obstacles to become king? He certainly did. Even though he started out as a young shepherd boy, he took a path which not only displeased God, but brought him sorrow along the way, because David thought “his way” was best.  Ultimately God’s plan was fulfilled when he became King.

As we read of Paul’s ministry and his journey to preach the gospel, it was not without obstacles and hardships along the way. As I listened to today’s sermon, the pastor spoke of obstacles we may endure when we choose God’s way over Satan’s way. God doesn’t promise a Christian’s life to be free of obstacles, but He does promise us He will remove them or allow us to navigate them.

Lisa Appelo states, “ we can trust that God is using the obstacle to orchestrate his perfect timing…to refine our character and purify our motives…to display his glory.” I’m reminded of this each time I read one of my favorite verses: Jer. 29:11 “for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord…”

Yes, God does know His plans for us, but we have to be strong enough to allow Him to proceed with His plans, no matter how many obstacles are on our paths. Sometimes these obstacles are people or situations which can’t be removed, so we must understand how to cope with them.

We all have them, so do we drive around the obstacle, drive over it or merely stop and say “okay God, now what do you want me to do?”  Psalms 37:7 NIV-“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…”

We’re all a Piece of Kintsugi

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I was driving home from church today reflecting on the message, the worship service, my past week and the one ahead. I was scheduling my afternoon “in my mind” on the must-do’s, want -to-do’s and  those matters which could merely “wait a little longer.”

As I sat down to have a quick lunch before I began that list of tasks, I turned on one of my favorite British series on PBS (Broadcasting television network), Call The Midwife. If you are a fan of this series, then you already know it covers every aspect of human frailty and life.

I’ve never missed an episode of this program and during the course of several years of watching this series I’ve shed a few tears, but today the “tear well” was flowing. As my quiet little rescue dog watched in wonder as to what was occurring, my sobs were at times louder than the volume of the television. Suddenly my schedule changed from the planned tasks to gratefulness and reflection.

The writers of the episode today appear to have worked extended and laborious hours in bringing a gift to their viewers of a story line which covered almost every human emotion. We felt the fear of the naïve young fourteen year-old mother whom had been shunned by her mother and was fearful of the outcome of giving birth to a child whom she could not keep as her own.

We witnessed a bride-to-me blessed with a child before it was planned, having become a mother as a young teen years prior to her engagement.  Now with an imminent wedding, her young daughter learned she would not be an only child, but a new baby was added to the family. As the new baby would call the new father “Daddy”, the bride’s young daughter wanted also to be his daughter.

 We saw the disappointment and heartache of a young man with disabilities lovingly and carefully creating a beautiful hand-crafted gift for the bride and groom-to-be, only to be bullied and injured causing the gift to be shattered. However, the pottery became a piece of Kintsugi, the Japanese art that repairs broken pottery with gold.

There was the postulate whom had lost connections with her biological family because she had chosen to give her life to the church and God. There were more tears when days before the postulate was to become a nun, her biological sister arrived to be with her, a gift from their father as he couldn’t be there to see his daughter take her vows as a nun.

Wow! I felt as though I had been racing a marathon with the emotions of this single episode in less than sixty minutes. In typical Call The Midwife style compassionate words were spoken toward the end of the story, even though there had been countless poignant sentiments throughout the viewing.

As one of the midwives prepared the newborn to be presented to his adoptive parents, a social worker stood at her side reminding her this was a difficult time, but also “sometimes the only way we survive the pain is to remember the lives we call our own, the joy of them, the hope of them-a simple possession of hours, days and years which are no one else’s.”

 One of the other midwives reminded them that in giving this new baby to another mother, “sometimes we are made whole simply because another heart has started beating. We are torn, but we are mended.”

With each event which was portrayed in this episode today, I could say, God this is just like what you do in our lives-not a television program, but reality. God makes all things beautiful, no matter what occurs. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJ, “He has made everything beautiful in its time…”

Too Many Changes!

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What? Ninety-two degrees in February! Confusing and perplexing, this is one of the many world changes I have no interest in accepting.  Yet, we must, for we can’t change it! Even though Texas is warmer than many other states in our country, summer temperatures in winter are still most unusual. We can accept it with a smile or complain, but we all know complaining doesn’t change those things which we can’t alter.

Life is a series of changes, but how often I reflect on those changes which we all anticipate, such as maturing and aging-we know this is inevitable. We understand our children will develop into teens and young adults, choosing and beginning their own lives. We know it is predictable, yet most of us are saddened by the occurrence. Why? We too experienced that foreseeable aspect of life. Cycles of our lives are much easier to accept than these unexpected and misunderstood patterns.

I think about the many changes in everyday life in the last few decades. I recall going to a “washateria”, now a laundromat, but in the 1950’s, it was a washateria with wringer style washing machines. Then we loaded the wet laundry in baskets and returned back home to hang it on the line. Oh the fragrance of sun-dried clothes! But what a convenience to toss clothes in the automatics washing machine with a dryer alongside it!

How many of us love the change of electric dishwashers? I recall as a toddler standing at the counter in our basement home, drying the dishes my mother had washed by hand. I was well into my twenties before I encountered the convenience of a dishwasher. I have often said, I would give up my dishwasher before I gave up my electric garage door opener.  I might have to rethink that statement when I had a sink full of dirty dishes and pans. So many changes, so many conveniences.

The list of changes is lengthy; some I would have preferred remained as they were. Cell phones are convenient at times, but how rewarding it was to hear a phone ring and pick it up to hear a kind voice on the other end desiring to “talk” to me, not merely text me or send me an e-mail.

How do we handle those unplanned and/or unforeseen changes? The loss of a job, unexpected moves to a new town or state or greater is the loss of a spouse or child, which can leave us devastated. We cry, we grieve, we pray and trust, but we must move forward.  Some may desire to remain mired in grief and sorrow. However, this deprives individuals of the new adventures awaiting them.

Many are astounded that I travel alone as much as I do. I travel alone, or not at all. There is much to see in this incredible world God created to not experience the beauty. I’ve also met people along the way which are now added to my mind’s memory book. Oh change! We can go with it or contest it, but it doesn’t prevent it from happening.  Isaiah 43:19 NIV, “see I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?…”