There is next to nothing in this life that can be accomplished without work. I am trying to lose ten pounds, which requires work. I have to exercise if I want to see results. I have to sweat and strain and push myself, if I have any hope of reaching this goal.
I want to be better about buying and grocery shopping so as not to waste food and money, that also requires work. I have to make a menu, and plan, and then I have to take four children to the grocery store and try not to break the wine bottles and jelly jars as we careen through the aisles.
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Are you aware of God’s presence? It’s easy to miss sometimes. Especially when we’re focused on other things like our trials, our goals, or our exhaustion.
As are so many others in this recession, my family has been fighting a long and very emotional battle with unemployment. With God’s prompting, I wrote a book about it. And now I’m tired. So. Very. Tired.
It’s common practice for me to fuel my spiritual tank with daily time devoted to God. This precious time is valuable. It’s time for me to soak up God’s presence, worship Him, pray, read the word, and listen quietly for His guidance.
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One of my favorite “remember when” stories is when my daughter was 3 years old. It was our first Christmas in a new house and she was beginning to grasp the idea of Santa leaving presents on Christmas.
I walked into her room early on Christmas morning to find her sitting in bed crying. “Santa didn’t come,” she said. I didn’t understand until she looked around her room and said, “He didn’t leave presents.” We hadn’t explained where she would find the gifts, so in her mind, if she didn’t see them, there weren’t any. We showed her the gifts by the Christmas tree, and she realized Santa had come, just like mom and dad promised.
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My kids don’t know who Santa Claus is.
They watched all the children running to get in the “sit-on-Santa’s-lap” line at the Christmas tree lighting. They saw him at Walmart. To them, he’s a large funny looking older man with a white beard and red coat. They don’t get it.
My husband, thinking it might be wise to do a little explaining, tells the “legend of Santa Claus” — that kind old man who brings toys to boys and girls. He leaves out the bit about the elves and the reindeer. Still, their interest in the man in the red suit lasts only a few seconds.
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Some of my most prized possessions are letters written to me by my husband back when we were dating. When we first met, we lived an hour apart. Then later, I went off to college, three hours away. In the days before cell phones and text messages, letters were the best way to keep in touch. I looked forward to receiving those letters and read those words, written with love, to me.
Written words make more of a lasting impression; they grab our attention. And on days when we begin to question if anyone cares, we can pull out those letters and be reminded that we are special and we are loved.
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I blew it as a mom on Thanksgiving morning. All my daughter wanted was for me to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade with her. But I had other things to get done, and the parade was not on my agenda. With a huffy and unpleasant attitude, I joined her in front of the TV. Her bouncy excitement immediately turned to silence while she sat by herself on the couch. I realized how I had squashed her enthusiasm, and all I wanted to do was shout “Do over!”
Remember do overs? As a kid, my friends and I would yell “do over!”
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Are you a Godly friend? What are Godly friendships?
I grew up having many “friends”, but I’ve grown to realize that they are not necessarily GODLY friends. There are 3 people that I call my “best friends”, and even though they aren’t all Christians, I can say that they are my truest friends. We’ve been friends since we were in junior high and still talk to this very day. Gradually, as I went to university and started working, I became shy and it was hard to make new friends. I didn’t have people around me that I could call upon for help.
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I stepped out of the clothing store with my bags and into the bright sunshine of the day. My hand shading my eyes, I scanned the parking lot for the car, because as usual I had forgotten where it was parked. The longer I stood there the more uncomfortable I was becoming. I knew that my husband was sitting out there somewhere among the hundreds of vehicles watching me and probably getting a pretty good chuckle out of it! How many times have I done this? I am directionally challenged and even need to be pointed in the right direction when I step out of a store in a mall!
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