Amazing: No Serious Injuries

Last night my husband and I went out to eat. On the way back home, we passed a portion of our farm that is about a mile from our house. We noticed a couple of pick up trucks there so we stopped to see who was on our property. On closer observation we realized it was our son and some friends attempting to fix a flat tire on our truck. We pulled into the driveway to see if we could help. Just a few minutes after we arrived, our son and his friend had loosened the lug nuts and he was taking the tire off the truck. The jack must have tilted in the soft soil because the truck came crashing down and trapped our son’s hands between the tire and the fender/tire well. (I am not really knowledgeable about car/truck body parts, so I’m not sure what this is actually called.) He was obviously in pain and although he was keeping outwardly calm, it was clear he was near panic. I’m not sure how, but the six of us who were there were able to lift the truck just enough to lessen the pressure so that he could get his hands out. He wrapped his bloody hand in his dirty white tee shirt and I drove him to the emergency room.

(My husband and the teenagers there, with the help of one his friends whose family owns a tire store and have professional grade jacks, were able to get the spare on the truck.)

Meanwhile, at the emergency room: I drove up to the emergency room door and let my son out with instructions for him to tell them what had happened, and that I was parking the car and would be right there. I parked the car and walked in just in time to see him collapsing onto the floor, with the nurse telling him not to do that because the floor was dirty. She took one side and I the other and held him up until someone else arrived with a wheel chair. Several x-rays later, it was determined that no bones were broken and the injuries were not serious. The injuries were cleaned and bandaged, and he was able to come home.

When we went outside in the daylight today, we could see that the fender/tire well was bent pretty badly. I am AMAZED and THANKFUL that our son was not seriously injured. How did the truck fall so hard that it bent the metal but did not break his bones? There is not a logical explanation that I can understand.

There are lots of things that I don’t understand, but may have a logical explanation. Then there are things that defy the logic of even the most intelligent. God is beyond my comprehension. He is all loving, all knowing, all powerful, ever present, majestic, full of glory, and the list goes on. His unconditional, sacrificial love for us is beyond my comprehension. He is the most AMAZING God, and for His Love I am  completely THANKFUL.

So, my son having only minor injuries is a wonderful thing. It is one of the ways that God has shown His grace, mercy, and love toward us. Just one of so many!

Crazy, Annoying Cat

Just to make this clear: I have never really liked cats. In fact, I am quite frankly afraid of their claws. But, the strange thing is that cats seem to like me, seriously like me. We have a kitten, approximately 5 months old, who loves me. She sleeps right next to me in the bed, and every morning (sometimes at 1:30 and other times just before the alarm goes off at 4:50) she wakes me up by walking across my face several times, then putting her nose to my nose and touching my face with her paws. Totally annoying! (And when I tell my husband how annoying it is, he says “She never does that to me.” Really? Seriously! He is the one who actually likes cats.) So, today being Saturday, when I don’t have to get up and go to work, I wanted to sleep a little later. I tried to ignore her. Then, she stands on my chest with her nose in my face and jumps up and down, literally shaking me like a parent would shake a child. How she did that, I do not know. But, I was up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.

All this to say, there must be some sort of lesson to be learned or truth to be understood. Maybe it is to love those who do not love us. Maybe it is that perseverance pays off. Maybe it is that we learn patience through the annoyances of life.

Matthew 5:43-44 (HCSB)
43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Truth is, it is much easier to feel affection toward an annoying cat than to people who are mean or hateful to you or your family.

Ephesians 6:17-19 (HCSB)
18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

I don’t know from where a cat gets perseverance, but scripture tells us that our perseverance comes from the Spirit of God dwelling in us. Through prayer, He strengthens our ability to persevere.

Colossians 3:12-13 (HCSB)
12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.

When we have a complaint against someone, we are to be patient and forgive. God set us an example in this. Our sin is much more grievous to Him than anything another human (or cat) can do to us, yet He loved us enough to die for us. He took our sinfulness away. He cleansed us from the guilt of our sin. His love is unfailing.

The cat shows me unfailing love, no matter how many times I put her down on the floor, she continues to jump back up and put her nose in my face again. We need to love others with that some tenacity.

For all you cat lovers who didn’t hear anything after “I don’t really like cats”, I have grown to be quite fond of this annoying little rascal. When no one is listening, you MIGHT hear me calling her sweet names and telling her how much I love her. Right now, she is sitting in my lap as I type. :-)

Complaining

Complaining

The last few weeks I have spent quite a bit of time with someone who complains about a few things. Maybe a slight understatement. But, I have heard myself complaining about her complaining. Is there some irony there? What is it about people that makes complaining such an easy thing to do? We all know it is extremely annoying to those around us. It makes us look small, childish, petty, and a whole laundry list of unflattering adjectives. So, why do we do it so often? And, since we all do it, why does someone else’s complaining bother us so much? We try to teach our children not to complain. Who hasn’t said something similar to this when a child complains about what is on his plate? “If you are going to complain about it, you just won’t have anything to eat.” Or am I the only mean parent? Those of us who seek to follow Jesus and the teachings of the Bible know that complaining is condemned. We know, quite plainly, that complaining is sin.

Complaining is ingratitude to God for what He has done for us and what He has provided for us.

Exodus 17:2 (HCSB)
So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”
“Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing the Lord?”

See what Moses said? There is no sense complaining to another human. We are testing the Lord when we complain. So what if the okra is too salty. So what if a teenager showers for too long. So what if the TV show isn’t what we want to watch. So what if the breeze is a little cool. God provides for us. We have no reason to complain.

Complaining makes God angry with us. And yes, our loving God can be angry with us. Unlike our anger, His is never unjustified or unhealthy. When He is angry with us, we deserve His anger.

Numbers 11:1-3 (HCSB)11 Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, His anger burned, and fire from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down.

Our complaining indicates that we think we have all the answers and are always right. We are not.  We have all seen a child complain about a certain rule or instruction, disobey it and bear the consequences. There are consequences to our complaining. If we are not happy with our present situation, the next one may not be nearly as pleasant. That is what God told the complaining nation of Israel.

Numbers 14:26-28 (HCSB)

26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about Me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against Me. 28 Tell them: As surely as I live,” this is the Lord’s declaration, “I will do to you exactly as I heard you say.

This one is pretty simple. Jesus said for us to stop complaining. Can’t really get any plainer than that.

John 6:43 (HCSB)
43 Jesus answered them, “Stop complaining among yourselves.

And this one…

1 Peter 4:8-10 (HCSB)
8 Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God.

It does not matter at all what other people choose to do, how they choose to react to their situations, God plainly tells me (and you) to love in a way that covers our annoyance with their sins (complaining) and be hospitable without complaining. God gives us gifts that we are to use to serve Him. We are to manage those gifts with the grace He provides us, without complaining.

I need to be content with what I have, the situation I am in, the people around me. I need to be grateful that God allows me to serve Him. And yes, even to serve the people who complain about things.  I just love to see the humor in some of the lessons God teaches us. What better way to learn not to complain than to listen to complaining? God is such a good teacher! Isn’t it fun learning God’s ways?

Self Criticism or Self Examination

Self Criticism

While I really don’t know, I think that I am probably not the only person who struggles with this issue. If you do not, that is wonderful. If you do, I pray my thoughts here will help you in some way.

Sometimes I am extremely self critical. That doesn’t mean I lack confidence. I am just constantly self evaluating. Then I have these humorous conversations with myself. “I am SO STUPID!” Then I answer myself “You’re not as stupid as you think, or you wouldn’t be smart enough to know how stupid you are.” My conversations with myself don’t always make sense, but they amuse me.

What I do understand is that comparing oneself to oneself is vastly different than comparing oneself to others.  I have always told my children (sons, daughters, speech therapy children) that they are not comparing themselves to someone else. What matters is that they doing better today than yesterday. Are they doing their very best? Are they putting effort into what they do? Even as adults, we need to be constantly improving and doing a better job than the day before. We need to put forth our best effort.

I also understand that, even more important than comparing our present performance to our past performance, is comparing our actions and attitudes to the standards God has set.

So, how do our occupational performance and our spiritual lives interact and balance?  While our jobs may set certain restrictions on how we verbally express our beliefs as Christians, the depth of our character and the Spirit living in us should not change with where we are or what we are doing.  The more paradoxical thing for me is that the genuineness of who we are in Christ is most important in the places and situations where our verbal witness is limited, yet, those very situations are often the most difficult in which to live a life worthy of Him. These are the situations where I see my own inadequacies so much more clearly. I hardly ever come home from church beating myself up over my sinfulness. But, I do so quite regularly condemn myself for one thing or another when I come home from work. No wisdom here: just the facts.

I also don’t really understand the spiritual implications of self evaluation. I think there are a few things to be considered when examining ourselves.

1. There is a difference between  
1. a sinful self pride that makes us so centered on ourselves that we fail to focus on God,  
1. Proverbs 11:2 (HCSB)  When pride comes, disgrace follows,
   but with humility comes wisdom.
2. a desire to live in such a way that gives glory to God by doing our best in everything we do.
1. Colossians 3:22 (HCSB) Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.
2. There is a difference between
1. recognizing our own sinfulness
1. 1 John 1:9 HCSB If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2. Romans 12:2-4 (HCSB)2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function,
2. questioning God’s wisdom in creating us the way He has created us.
1. Psalm 139:14 (HCSB) 14 I will praise You
   because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.
   Your works are wonderful,
   and I know this very well.
3. There is a difference in
1. trying to earn God’s favor
1. Ephesians 2:8-9 (HCSB) 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
2. striving to please Him because of the wonderful gift He has given us.
1. 1 Peter 4:9-11 (HCSB)9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

For me it is an ongoing struggle to be aware of my sinfulness and confess that to God in repentance, to be aware of inadequacies but also rest in the knowledge that God created me according to His perfect purpose,  to strive to improve as an act of worship and not as a way to earn the favor or man, to walk in God’s righteousness and not my own. Will I ever find this perfect balance. I doubt it. Should I keep striving toward that? Of course. We all should.