Skip to main content

Words

 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

OK, advanced warning. Overthinking is likely. I got back to my trailer last night after an evacuation “vacation” to my house up north. It wasn’t really a vacation. I had no water, no plumbing, and no gas – but I had electricity and got water from my neighbor’s house. I made due. I coped very well. If I’d stayed at the trailer, I would have had no water and no electric for at least a good chunk of the time. I’m not complaining. I’m setting up and recording for posterity, so to speak. I’m back, and God has blessed me with remarkably little damage. I’ve seen places with metal awnings torn off. I’ve seen where the water reached at its high mark. Work is already  underway to recover.

First, the people who faced Helene and Milton need prayers, not just now, but for months to come. Some lost everything. Some lost only what was important. Some may not realize what they’ve lost until they get over being numb.

But I know myself, and I know other people. It’s so easy to whine, complain, kvetch, or be impatient. It’s easy to lose patience with overworked folks who are trying to help but can’t do everything fast enough. It’s easy to lose patience with people who are in shock or trying to grieve losses they may not even realize they’ve lost. They just feel lost.

To be honest, I have been greatly blessed, and I want to bless others – but when there’s pain, fear, anger, grief (or any other strong emotion,) the universe shrinks down to the size and shape of that emotion, even if we don’t realize it. So, the request made to God in today’s verse – it’s one we can pray for each other and for ourselves as we deal with folks who may be struggling.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more