Two second blessing

I was in a hurry.

My allergist is in a large building housing many doctors’ offices.

As I walked through the front door, I met others trying to go out.

We did the “keep your social distancing” dance and I began walking towards my doctor’s office.

The hall is large and lined with chairs to hold the overflow for the offices.

An older lady in a baige coat sat behind her mask, just outside an office waiting room.

Our eyes met and I smiled.

I expected her eyes to crinkle in a return smile, but instead they looked sadder than when I first smiled.

All of this took mere seconds and I was past her by the time her eyes imprinted upon my heart.

“God, is there something I should do?”

Look again.

I glanced over my shoulder.

Her eyes were still on me, a look so forlorn, my heart hurt.

I turned around and walked over to her.

My voice was barely there and I signed while asking, “Are you okay?”

She couldn’t understand me and leaned forward.

Her eyes looking into mine with question.

I tried again and signed slower.

She understood me the second time and smiled.

“Oh, yes! I’m just tired, very tired.”

She nodded vigorously and then slumped her body in an attempt to communicate what she was saying.

Most people think I’m deaf, so they work at trying to explain with body language, which I always think is very sweet.

I had leaned towards her when first trying to speak.

Rather than speaking I nodded and gently patted her arm.

“Have a good day,” she smiled at me.

I tried to say, “You too,” while signing.

She couldn’t understand me, but she began to speak again, her eyes leaving my face and looking at my outfit.

“I really like your dress…”

Her eyes jumped back to my face as if she just realized I might not know what she was saying, so she smiled and nodded and waved.

I nodded and waved too.

Then, I turned and headed to where I needed to be.

But my heart felt the warmth of the two seconds of blessing God had given me through a stranger.

When I was finished at the Allergist she was gone.

There were other people in the hall, but none really caught my eye nor I theirs.

Jase had ridden along with me, but when I reached the car he requested I return to the building with him for a quick use of the facilities before our hour drive home.

As we walked out the same hall a Little boy I’d noticed earlier, sat up and waved.

He wasn’t waving at me, but at Jase.

Jase smiled behind his mask and waved back.

God had a purpose for these two second blessings.

What I can look at as a hindrance, is actually His working in and through my life.

God knows I need this reminder, because I forget that even my physical limitations are used by Him for good.

Those two chance meetings in the hall were excellent moments of blessing from the Lord and I’m so thankful.

I pray both of them were blessed by God as well.

1 Corinthians 10:26 KJV — For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for the reminder I needed yesterday. Thank You for all those You placed in my path yesterday. Thank You for the gracious heart of others who reach out trying to bridge the gap of communication, like the man who pumped our gas while trying to sign “Thank you” and my shot nurse who brought pen and paper to my appointment. Lord, thank You for so many people You touch my heart through. Please help me to pass on the blessings, to be an encouragement and a light. Lord, please let others see You when they look at me. Let my life be a reflection. Thank You for Your love, Your blessings, and Your faithfulness. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

Yard sale stories

Yesterday was an adventure.

It was one of the fastest mornings I’ve had in a while.

People showed up over an hour early.

Loads of chit-chat happened.

I had people show me pictures on their phone of their “prize” items.

I met more neighbors than I have since we moved here.

One of whom, kindly posted our Yard Sale on a local events app I’d never heard of.

We had moments of embarrassment.

Near the beginning, when I was feeling stressed, I tried to give change to a lady, who still owed me money.

She was very sweet about it, and I took money off her bill since she could have taken advantage of my error and didn’t.

I thanked her for her honesty.

One gentleman seemed to be rather rough with things, caught me looking at him.

He apologized.

When he came over to make a purchase I realized why he seemed to be rough.

His hands shook a as he handed me the money.

I felt bad.

There were a few moments of connection.

A retired couple were purchasing some toys.

The lady explained how they had four children, 13 grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Then she began to tell us about her granddaughter who was scheduled for an early c-section due to problems with the baby.

My heart just hurt as I listened to the details.

Sis was sitting next to me listening as well.

When she finished, no words came, I just felt blank with the pain this woman was obviously feeling.

The pain in her eyes was deep.

God didn’t give me anything to say.

Instead, He spoke through our oldest.

“We will be praying for her and the baby!”

I seconded that and the woman walked away.

There were other people God put in our path.

A gentleman who was recovering from hip surgery and his wife came.

They bought a library table.

Our son helped them load it.

As they drove off we noticed a tote with a bungee cord holding down the lid, sitting in the road.

They’d taken it out of the truck to put in the table and forgot to put it back.

I had our son move it next to the house.

I prayed for them to realize what had occurred.

And He answered.

They returned in the late afternoon.

There was another couple who wanted to purchase Sis’s hide-a-bed couch.

They asked questions, looked it over, opened it up.

They decided to “think about it” but wanted my number.

Later, I noticed two missed calls from the same number.

It was them and they wanted the couch, but…

“We don’t have any way to get it to our house and we don’t have the space ready for it yet. Can you deliver it?”

I assured them we could.

They came back later to pay for it and I heard her telling Sis:

“I was just saying this morning to my husband, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we found a hide-a-bed?’.”

She smiled and finished with, “Well, be careful what you pray for.”

I had to smile.

It’s true, we should be careful what we pray for.

Careful because God deserves our attention, our thoughtful requests, our love and devotion.

Not careful because He might give us something we actually don’t want.

Matthew 7:11 NKJV — “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

God is trustworthy.

Let us be careful to ask for things which are truly valuable.

James 1:5 NKJV — If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your Word. Please continue to help us be a blessing while we move things on to new owners. Lord, You alone know what each one needs. Please speak to us about trusting You and not forging ahead in our own wisdom. Please shine Your truth upon our hearts and minds. Thank You for another beautiful day. Thank You for Your love. We praise Your holy name, Jesus. Amen.

November 24

Today’s prayer:

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways.
Psalms 119:2‭-‬3 NKJV

Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You so much for these verses. Lord, thank You for Your Word and Your incredible plans for each one of us. Lord, I want to be this person. I want to keep Your testimonies. I want to seek You with a whole heart. Lord, I want to be one who does no iniquity. Lord Jesus, You know that on my own I can do nothing. Yet, Lord, dispute my failings I know through You it can be so. Lord Jesus, I surrender myself before You. Lord, I give You all my desires and schedule and expectations. Lord Jesus, I surrender my wants, my dreams, and my family. All belongs to You and I gladly give it back. Thank You. Please let Your will be done. Please draw people to Yourself. Lord, please protect the innocent and heal the hurting, the sick. Let Your people, who are called by Your name humble themselves and pray. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

October 18

Today’s prayer:

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
Romans 15:5 NKJV

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You. These words are encouraging. Please let it be so. Let Your church be of one mind. Let the church be unified and pure before You. Lord Jesus, reveal Yourself to each of us, that we might see and know You personally, that our lives might be purified by Your Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, hold us in Your hands and teach us from Your Word. Let Your light so shine among us that we repent from everything which is contrary to Your Spirit. Lord, make us like Yourself. Lord Jesus, make me into Your image. Please continue to teach me humility, honor, and truth. My life is Yours, do with me as You will. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your love. Amen.

What can I say…

Well…I can say that God is so good.

Despite migraines for three days, God has provided medication which has caused me to be able to do all that is required of me.

I was so blessed to have Bell and her friend cover the booth for four hours so I could go to the doctor and get some rest at the hotel.

My heart was thrilled at the opportunities to chat with people and see some dear friends.

I’ve enjoyed getting to see our Bell more than normal since she lives here and we have moved.

It’s been a blessed couple of days.

So why am I awake at 3 am?

What’s robing me of the rest I need so desperately?

I’m sad.

Change is difficult.

Although I’m positive God has moved us and I’ve experienced the blessings of it all, coming back has been more difficult than I expected.

But it’s good.

If God had not put such love in my heart for so many people here, I wouldn’t feel this way.

It is God’s love which binds my heart to so many others.

And I don’t have to stop loving them just because I no longer live nearby.

Instead I’m praising God for the years I did have.

I’m thankful for how He has used these people in my life and I pray I’ve been a blessing in return.

My life belongs to Jesus.

I can rejoice in all He is doing and has done.

In each place He has brought me, I’ve been so blessed by wonderful lovely people.

I cherish these dear friends God has given.

What can I say…

God is so good!

People

Thousands.

Or more

of differences in every person I know.

And it continues as I meet new people.

Not a single solitary person is the same as another.

I’ve been blessed in knowing several sets of twins.

Girl twins,

boy twins,

girl and boy twins,

fraternal twins,

identical twins,

they all have one thing in common.

They are different.

It’s not a child and his or her copy.

They are each unique and special and as diverse as any single born I’ve encountered.

And the reason is simple.

God only creates one.

Every person is a unique and incredible creation made by God.

Every person has been crafted as an individual.

Each and every human who has ever been created is one-of-a-kind.

There are no copies.

And it staggers me.

Frankly my brain isn’t able to truly grasp the size of God nor His infinite abilities.

When I think about the numbers of people who have lived and who do live and the ones who will live!

Then to realize He never makes a double, they are all works of art.

Wow.

And He loves every single one.

He sees every single detail.

He understands every thought,

every action,

every relationship,

everything.

Yup.

My brain can’t truly grasp it.

But where my brain fails my heart sees.

I can praise God for His

awesome complex

out-of-my-ability-to-truly-comprehend

creatively incredible love.

Just because I’m unable to grasp it all makes me love Him even more.

There will never be a time when I will come to the end of God and His incredible works.

And every single person declares this simply by being a one-of-a-kind creation.

People we love

These are just a tiny slice of the many many many people who are dear to our hearts.

Our family has been so blessed to be a part of the lives of so many others.

Whether it’s friends from over seas or the girls on the team or the people at church or the friends and family we are privileged to have…

Each one is a gift from God.

Each person is priceless.

I’m amazed at how God has woven our lives in a fabric with others.

The beautiful picture of friendships and life shared together is vastly more spectacular than anything man made.

The longer I live the more important people are in my life.

Yes, I like beautiful things.

But their value pales in contrast with beautiful relationships.

Yet, as anyone can tell you relationships are difficult.

They take time, effort, love, compassion, and much more.

The rewards are beyond the value of gold or jewels.

“Dear Papa,

Thank You for all the relationships in our lives. Thank You for the amazing people You have blessed us with. Please help us to be people who put the proper priority on relationships. Help us to understand appropriate boundaries so we have healthy lasting relationships. Teach us through Your Word just how valuable people are so we never forget what the true treasures in life are. Thank You.”

Wild flowers

It just isn’t the same.

As often as I have tried,
never have I succeeded,
in capturing the true beauty
of a wildflower on film.

I know others are able.

I just haven’t had the experience or possibly the time to truly record the essence of one small delicate wild beauty.

However I often find the same thing in people.

Too often a photograph or even a few lines fails to capture the beauty within.

There are many people in my life who are just not fully characterized in a line or two.

They’re depth of personality,
the meaning of their everyday responses,
the influence upon myself and others around them,
the blessings of just knowing them.

None of these is able to be recorded by any words I can use to describe them.

I was singing along with a song and stopped to think about the words.

“I want to live,  like there’s no tomorrow, love like I’m on borrowed time. It’s good to be alive!”

When was the last time I told anyone near me of their value?

Do I really love and live in such a way as to show those who are of such amazing value in my life that they are?

People are like wildflowers, deep beauty but you can never be certain of how long you will enjoy the benefits of being near them.

“As for man, his days are like  grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.” Ps. 103:15

David goes on to say that just as the wind blows over a wildflower and it is gone the same can be of man.

He speaks of the only thing which remains constant and enduring: God and His righteousness.

So, I thank the Lord for the long list of people who are so valuable.

Thank Him for blessing me with each one.

And as walk through my days this month I will be praying for opportunities to let those around me know how valuable they really are.

Because I can be certain of only a few things.

I want one of those to be: the people I value know how much they really mean to me.