Life's Little Frustrations

This may strike fear in our hearts, I say.

It's less than two months until Christmas Day!

Between now and then we'd better be hopping

In order to finish our Christmas shopping!

Forgiveness

Proverbs 10:12b, "Love covers over all wrongs."

From time to time I try to journal, believing that journaling is a good tool for growing spiritually. However, my commitment in that direction never seems to last longer than a week or two. I have several journals that I have started but never finished.

Pastor Matt sent us an email this week saying it had been quite helpful to him during the years to write down each day what he said to God and what God said to him. So I hitched up my determination and pulled out a partially finished journal, intending to try Mat's suggestion. My eyes, however, fell on the last entry I had written, and I was astonished to see my anger flowing all over the page.

One of the qualities I cherish in a person the most is dependability. You know how literally and completely children believe adults will keep any promises they make, and I guess I've never really outgrown that expectation myself. But a person had made me a promise one afternoon and had broken it before nightfall, very blatantly choosing to do something other than what he/she had promised me. I was hurt, disappointed, frustrated, and angry. But as I read what I had written some weeks earlier, I realized that I had totally forgotten the incident. I did not run it over and over in my mind like a video to keep stoking my anger. In fact, I had long since forgiven this person even though he/she had no idea how angry I had been and had not asked for forgiveness.

The person concerned was someone I love and admire and respect and enjoy very much, and someone who loves me and has shown it in many tangible ways. I had put my anger behind and focused on all the wonderful attributes of this person and the pleasures of our relationship. I gave this person the gift of my forgiveness, but I was also reminded once again that the peace which comes from forgiving someone else is one of the best gifts we can ever give ourselves.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You have forgiven me of all my sins, and they are many. Thank You for the privilege and relief and joy of being able to forgive others as You have forgiven me. Never let me carry a grudge against anyone. Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

As winter comes on we adjust to this increasing sight,

We will have less and less day and also more and more night.

When daylight savings is over, it gets dark so soon

Night time has already come when it should be afternoon.

Provision

God has promised never to leave us and never to forsake us.

I tripped over an obstacle in my kitchen this past Monday, hit my head on a corner of the wall, and split my forehead open from my eye lid to my hair line. As I was recounting the details of the event, I could see how God had hand carried me through every aspect of this experience.

I was not alone. My son-in-law was painting in the kitchen, so he was there to call 911. Head wounds bleed profusely, and mine was no exception. The paramedics arrived at my house almost immediately and skillfully went to work to staunch the bleeding. My son was called and arrived from his office in time to follow the ambulance to the hospital and walk with me into the emergency room. His presence was a comfort, and he could give all the necessary information. The nurses and the ER doctor, a Dr. Christian whom I had never met before, were especially nice. My daughters and a granddaughter quickly gathered to lend support.

One of my daughters had become friends with a wonderful plastic surgeon, Dr. Ben Light, and he agreed to stitch me up. What an amazing job he did putting Humpty Dumpty back together again! God so graciously provided everything I needed.

I thought about the words from the song "Through It All" that tell us if we didn't have any problems, we wouldn't know God could solve them. Why do "bad" things happen to us? So we will learn to depend on God because we have no other choice, and so He can then reveal to us how trustworthy and faithful He is and how much He loves us.

My accident story reminds me that God wants to walk us through every event in our lives. Hopefully we will not wait until tough times come to trust Him and experience His love and faithfulness day by day.

Father, may I depend upon You not only day by day but moment by moment. Thank You that Your love and faithfulness and provision are always available and operative, whether we recognize it or not. Make me mindful and thankful for these things in good times as well as difficult ones. Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

I wrote "Life's Little Frustrations" just yesterday,

And now, I declare, it's flown away.

Typing it up--I don't mind it,

If only I could just find it!