Broken

Well, here I am on week four and I'm enjoying my time spent with you!  I will admit however, I am changing my format a little to make it a little more "friendly!"  I hope you'll comment and let me know what you think!

With all the unusual weather patterns going on, it makes you wonder what will be next.  We were wonderfully warm, especially for the early Spring season.  Now we're getting ready to approach April and we are quite chilly and windy.  Around us we have seen tornadoes, hail storms and other violent weather activity.  Earthquakes are one phenomenon I have never encountered....unless you consider the motor home in which we travel.

We moved from one town to another in our motor home recently.  Such movement on the road with bumps, turns and traffic cause it to deal with, in essence, a “mini-earthquake.” Often when I first open the bathroom cupboards, something falls out that’s been shifted from front to back or side to side.  I checked each one today to spare either Charles or I, a surprise attack bottle or container when we opened the door later without thinking. 

I was fixing Charles’ lunch today and he wanted to help so he pulled the milk out of the fridge and opened the cupboard door above me and a glass spilled out of the cupboard striking the sink, counter top and finally the floor and promptly splintered all over the place!  To make matters worse, it wasn’t just any glass, it was a special one, a gift.  There was nothing left to do but clean it up.

Sometimes our lives feel like that; all broken and sad.  Clean up for life issues can be a problem, however.    It is here I find comfort in knowing God is the best "caregiver" and "handy man" ever!  He's amazing at repairing broken hearts, lives and situations any human cannot!

I wonder, in reflection, what is most upsetting about breaking a glass, especially a special one? Are there times when we feel like we are the pieces, or our lives are representative of the glass splinters flying all over the place? Do situations like this make us question God’s perfect will in our life? Do we sometimes feel so “shattered” emotionally by circumstances we can’t even focus on God?


 

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.   Micah 5:4

 

Getting Lost Along the Way

My husband and I were driving through what looked like the middle of nowhere in a mid-western state and noticed my GPS system showed many roads on either side of the road we were traveling that were not only not visible, but not accessible from where we were!  It was just dusk and I could see we were approaching an overpass and at first thought it was another dry river bed.  While it wasn’t an interstate we passed over, it was a viable road for the locals.

            The GPS fascinates me because when a proper address is put in, it can usually take us precisely where we want to go.  There are times however, getting there, seems awkward and long with occasional suggested turns that aren’t even there.  It seems the GPS even gets “lost” along the way when road construction has taken place and it can’t identify the new road it finds us on.  I believe in our human experiences we all face times when we feel lost, without an option.  It can be a scary time unless we have a foundation from which to pull strength.  Do you see God as your strength when things go awry?

Giving Our Best

             Not long ago my husband and I drove into the yard where we were told we would volunteer.  There was no activity, no movement, not even birds seemed to welcome us.  Cautiously we walked up to the building nearest us and knocked on the door.  The door opened and we were greeted by a weary looking woman.  “I’m sick,” she said.  “I have a bronchitis issue and need to see a doctor.”              

         “What would you like us to do?” we asked. 

         “Go talk to Matt,” she said. “He’s in the building next door.”

             

          Walking outside we saw a man walking and asked, “Are you Matt?”  ….  “The lady from that building sent us to see you,” we told him.  “What would you like us to do?  We are here to help out.”   

         “Well, there is this project…...”                After getting the specifics, we went to the shed to get the tools needed for the job.  We quickly discovered there were no tools available for use.  Ultimately we found it necessary to buy our own tools for the job so we could accomplish the task before us.  

     

          Happily our task was accomplished to everyone's satisfaction and it's wonderful being able to do something good for someone else.  It makes me wonder, though, about how equipped we are when we go out to do his work.  We need to be ready to give physically, emotionally and especially spiritually to those in need.  When we are prepared we can do the job before us.  God wants us to give him our best and then let him do the rest! 

  

I Am Rich

Today my husband and I went to a lunch with a dozen or more other couples for a friend who just turned 81.  He’s well dressed and always wears a friendly smile.  He loves to play pool and is an exceptional player, outplaying many who oppose him with his steady hand and precision at figuring angles the cue ball must go to hit the ball in question and go to the proper pocket.  During dinner everyone chats and shares stories and some “old age” jokes and even issues although, the conversation does not turn whiny or self pitying.  Happy birthday is sung by the group and yet again when the waiter and waitresses come around.  Finally pairs of couples begin to leave and finally there are only four couples who sit and chat.  The conversation roams from children and grandchildren to likes and dislikes, funny stories growing up and memories of another lifetime.  George made a comment that sticks out in my mind.  “I am rich,” he said, “In family and friends.   Why do people believe they have to have accumulated so much money and things to be happy?  It’s prudent to have enough to be comfortable, but after that what good does it do you if you don’t have family or friends?”