Be Quiet

I rolled my eyes and closed the book, letting it drop from my hands. God was once again reminding me of something I needed to be doing....that I was not.

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Is it just me or does time seem to move more quickly with each passing year? Perhaps, more tasks are asked of me to complete at work...perhaps, I'm not using my time wisely.....I don't know. What I do know is there never seems to be enough time to accomplish all the things I want to do in my day.

Someone once told me, among other things, to be quiet. The quiet she was referring to had nothing to do with me speaking to her....she was talking about being quiet in God's presence...listening to what He has to say to me. I used to do that all the time...even before she said those words. It was a regular part of my prayer time. Now, it seems that WAY too often I come to God, say what's on my mind, and go on about my day, praying that He will bless it....without taking much time to listen to what He might want to say to me.

The book I picked up (with the hope that God would speak to me somehow)....was one that I decided to open up to a few random pages. (It was late, after all, and I, of course, was in a hurry....not much time, you know!) The last page I looked at...the one that I rolled my eyes at...spoke of, not only praying, but listening to God. I rolled my eyes, not because of the message, but because I have been so slow to "get" the message. God has brought the words that were said to me about being quiet to my remembrance several times in the last couple of months. and yet I am slow to "get it". I mean, I understand that I need to listen to God....I even realize that because of my busy schedule that there will rarely just BE time to listen to Him; I have to MAKE the time to do that. The thing I've been slow to "get" is just putting that into practice. I, too often, wait until the end of my day (when I'm worn out and exhausted) to try to hear what God is saying to me, but by then....well, I'm too tired to do much listening.

God is happy to listen to all that we say to Him. He WANTS us to go to Him with our concerns, our needs, and our requests....but along with that, sometimes we just need to remember to be quiet and listen.

At least I know I do.

Are You Available?

I sat in my car at the intersection waiting for the light to change. I looked to my left and saw an elderly woman standing on the corner. A few seconds later, I looked over and saw a teen-ager, iPod or MP3 player in ear, standing beside the lady. They talked for a moment and then the light changed. The lady and the girl walked side by side slowly....the elderly lady held onto the girl's arm as they made their way across the street. "Funny," I thought. "I didn't think they were together." At least they hadn't arrived at the corner at the same time. I was curious to know if they knew each other or if walking across the street together was something that occurred because they happened to be there at the same time. So I watched to see if they continued to walk together after reaching the other side of the street. When they stepped up on the curb, they said a few words and then they parted company. It appeared that they hadn't known each other at all.

That kind of thing makes me smile. Someone who was available to help another. The teen-ager didn't know she would be asked to help the lady across the street. She was just minding her own business and listening to her music....but she was available when asked to help...available to be a blessing to someone else when called upon.

It's so easy to get caught up in our own world. Life seems to go by entirely too fast sometimes. We have meetings and practices, Bible studies and dinners with friends, theatre and family time....so little time to add something else to our schedules.

But....

when someone needs an arm to steady them....when someone needs help or just needs someone to listen to them....are we available?...or do we try to tiptoe away so we can get on with whatever we're busy doing?

I admit there are times that I've tiptoed quietly (as well as quickly!) away from certain situations because I was eager to get on with my day...but I'm trying to do better.

When you see someone who needs a door held for them at the mall....maybe walk by a person who requires assistance reaching an item on the top shelf.... know that someone could use a listening ear for a few minutes....

....when you see that somebody needs the help and assistance you can provide, do you take the time to stop and help them?

There are people we come into contact with each day that could benefit from a few minutes or even just a few seconds of our time.

....Are you available?

Thank You

I saw it in her eyes...the look that said, "Here we go again." The look that seemed to be waiting for the condemnation that she must have heard before from others. She had done something years before....something that wasn't the best choice....something that many hadn't let her forget. Sadly, some people in her life had chosen judgment and condemnation over support, love, and restoration. So many times it's easy to point out another's shortcomings and not see our own....or to see our own shortcomings and dismiss them while holding others accountable for what they have done wrong. I had a chance to talk to her....I told her that something she had done had been a blessing to me. I didn't wait for a response. I didn't need one. I only wanted her to know that she had been, and was continuing to be, a blessing in the lives of others. But as I walked away, she stepped over to me, touched my arm, looked me in the eyes and sincerely said, "Thank you for that."

One thing I know for sure is that God is all about forgiveness and restoration....He will forgive anything. All we have to do is ask Him. And there are second, third, fourth....as-many-as-you-need chances with Him if you're really seeking to live your life for Him and are sincerely asking for His forgiveness. We all mess up. We all blow it. We all wish, at times, that we had done things differently. But God picks us up, brushes us off, and sends us on our way again. He knew we could never be perfect.

We never know how a word of appreciation or encouragement will touch another. I know that the right words at the right time have been of great encouragement to me at various moments throughout my life. You, too?

If you have the opportunity this week, encourage someone whose path crosses yours.

Your words may be just what their heart is longing to hear at that very moment.

"So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing." 1 Th. 5:11

Show and Tell

We had Show and Tell in my classroom. Most students brought toys...a couple of students brought books. I smiled inside when I saw the books....I love books. One book was just a nice story that made the student happy. The other was a book of questions and answers....it had answers in it to LOTS of questions....all kinds of 'em! One student raised a hand to ask the little girl something....and though I can't recall the exact words to the question, I do remember, clearly, the answer. "Is it special to you?" The little girl replied, "Yes, because it has all the answers." Her words made me smile and I thought, "Wouldn't we all like to get our hands on a book that has ALL the answers?!" I even got up to write down the girl's reply because it made me laugh inside. It was only a little while later that I realized I already have that book.....the one with all the answers. In fact, I actually have quite a few copies of that book. It's called the Bible....and I have some in my car and in my house...one or two go with me when I go on vacation. The Bible is, indeed, filled with answers. I have only to look for them. "What do I do when someone hurts me?" "How will I have the strength to get through this trial?" "What will happen to me when I die?" "Does anybody care?" The list could go on and on. The answers are all there...right in that book that's so special....the Bible.



And as I think of my own Bible, in my mind I hear the question......

"Is it special to you?"

.........And my heart replies, "Yes, because it has all the answers."

A Bad Day....Not.

I was bummed. Walking out early of a place I had intended to be for a while longer wasn't easy....but it was the right thing to do. I had hoped for a delay....prayed for a thunderstorm to keep my plane from flying so I could stay. There were people I wanted to spend time with....an event I wanted to attend. But it was not meant to be. The sun was shining as I stepped into the terminal...and my flight was on time. Funny it should be on time when so many times before it was running late. I boarded my plane with heavy heart...still praying for something that would cause the plane to pull back into the gate. We sat on the runway for an hour and 15 minutes. Sigh. Then we flew away. I stared out the window thinking of all I would miss. Then I saw it...off in the distance...the thunderstorm that a few of us had been praying for. Tears stung my eyes and fell down my cheeks...but I smiled at the same time.....the lightning looked so awesome and stars were shining brightly in other parts of the sky. It was beautiful to see. But I couldn't help wondering why the storm didn't appear when and where we had prayed it would....at the place that would have delayed my trip and changed my plans back to what they originally had been.

Hours later, as I was driving home from the airport, a song started to play on my CD player. It was a song about a bad day. I thought back over my day...yeah, I had cried....I had been bummed....I had been sad to leave my friends two days earlier than I had planned....had been unhappy about not being able to attend the event I had planned to go to.....but I had also spent time with some wonderful friends....had seen an awesome musical....had laughed much and had shared life with others....I had been immensely blessed that day. And so when the song about the bad day started to play, I smiled to myself and told God that I couldn't call it a bad day because there were too many wonderful things that had happened to call it that.

I don't always understand why things work out the way they do. I would have rather had that particular weekend work out a whole lot differently than it did....but I know the way it worked out was for the best. I knew it on Friday before I left and I felt it again on Monday when I returned early from my weekend.

I guess the thing I'm reminded of is...I don't have to have all the answers. In this life, I won't always know why things work out the way they do. But I trust God. I know He loves me. I know He's watching out for me. And I know that He will direct the path I'm to walk when I acknowledge Him in my life and listen to what He would have me do.

He didn't say it would be easy....but He did say He would be with me through it all.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Prov. 3:5,6

"...For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Heb. 13:5

Lessons

Several months ago, when I knew that I was about to begin a really busy time in my life, I decided to take a day for myself and drive up the coast and stop somewhere at a beach to write. I drove north and saw beautiful views of the ocean...went on fun, winding roads by the mountains....saw a pelican soaring over the water....watched people sliding down a hill filled with sand--and a dog bounding down it as well...ears flapping as he ran! (I’m pretty sure he was smiling!!) ...and I chose the place I was going to stop and write on the way back. I kept driving a while longer and then I stopped and looked at the mountains, got a close up view of pumpkins growing, looked at fruit in an orchard, and watched birds flying. I always love how they fly together--knowing just when to turn and dip so they change direction all at the same time. I decided that I wanted to go to a church in the valley--not my home church, but a church I like and go to fairly often...to do that, though, I had to take a different way home....I wouldn't be able to go back down the coast. I knew the road I was going to take would have beautiful views...I've been on that road before...but as I turned onto the ramp for the road I would have to take home, I was a little bummed....that meant I wouldn't get to see the ocean again that day and I love the ocean....and I wouldn't be able to stop and write where I had planned to stop. I wasn't bummed for long, though, because I saw the rich, deep green of trees that from a distance looked like the green fields of the midwest where I grew up. The mountains were beautiful. I saw a jeep filled with wiggly, squiggly dogs and I love dogs so that made me smile. I saw a sign that said "Honey Farm". (I didn't know there was such a thing as a honey farm! That made me smile, too!) All the things I had seen on my trip reminded me about how beautiful God's creation is. And the road I had to take that I didn't expect to go on and that hadn’t been in my plan....that reminded me that sometimes God takes us on roads that are unexpected and that sometimes He even takes us ways we aren't initially thrilled to go and hadn’t planned on, but if we are open to it, there can be beauty and blessing there.

I finally arrived at church and as we were in our prayer circle, an usher brought someone to join us. The woman was blind. She sat by me during the service and for the first part of the service I just kept thinking about the contrast....most of my day had been about all the beauty I had seen....and she wasn't able to see any of that. It made me sad. The pastor very briefly spoke about healing and the woman leaned over and said something to me. I responded and then she said something I couldn't quite understand. We didn't speak anymore then because the pastor was talking, but after the service I asked about what she'd said. She told me she had gone to that church for a certain number of years and had been blind for x number of years....and that sometimes it wasn't God's will to heal. I agreed with her. (While I whole-heartedly believe that God can and does heal today, I agree that sometimes it's not His will to heal.)

Anyway, I walked out of the church thinking about what a mature Christian she was and how accepting she was of God allowing blindness in her life. I wondered if I would be as accepting of that or of something equally as difficult. I went to the store and I thought of her as I walked around. I was looking for cookies and I felt a twinge of disappointment that the store didn't have the kind of cookies I wanted....then I remembered that just a few hours earlier I had been a little bummed that I didn't get to take the road home that I wanted to...and I thought, "How in the world would I handle blindness?" I walked around the store feeling kind of bad about myself and thinking about what a lightweight Christian I am. And then God came through. He reminded me that I just need to trust Him. He hasn't called me to blindness at this time in my life....so I don't need strength for that right now. I just need to trust that He will be there to comfort me and give me strength for the things that I go through...when I need it. (Phil. 4:13) I thought about His faithfulness in taking me through difficult situations I've already gone through in my life....and He's always been there. He's always walked with me through everything....and I just need to trust that He will continue to walk with me through all I go through for the rest of my life. I had peace after that....and I was grateful for all the ways God had touched my heart during the day.

A Blank Page

I thought off and on this evening about what to write here tonight. I couldn't decide. A few times I looked through my journals....hoping a story or something would jump out at me so that I could post it here. As I was looking, I came upon a blank page. Odd that it should be there among all my other journal entries. And it made me think about my day ahead...a blank page....yet to be written on.

We will all write upon the "page" of our day....we will write it as we interact with family and friends...with how we behave at work....with the way we choose or choose not to give of ourselves to others. We will write it with how we live out our entire day....from the time we get up in the morning until the time we go to bed at night.

Our words and actions matter so much. With our words, we can wound deeply or we can uplift and encourage. We can tear down or we can build up. We have the ability to make someone's day brighter with how we choose to interact with the people that God places in our path. There are so many people who could use a kind word.....so many who ache for someone to show some care and concern for them. There are so many different ways we can fill the "page" that is before us.


Yes, tomorrow is a blank page.


....What will be written on yours?