SO I WOKE UP at 12:30 am! Why was I awake so early? I hadn’t been asleep for very long! I thought about my day; remembered those I spoke to about their days being numbered. My heart ached for the path they were on! I began to seek God’s face and just as He promised, I found Him. I lifted my two friends up, who are on the threshold of heaven; I lifted up my children and grandsons to be encouraged to stay on the path of faithfulness. I thanked the Lord for Jim and then wondered again, just why am I awake so early?
IT SEEMS the older I get the less sleep I require. But then, as you get older it becomes more apparent that you need less of a lot of things. However, the one thing that I need more of is quiet time with my Lord. I need Him more in the quiet hours of the night to find peace and relaxation; I need Him more in the morning sun where I can feel His warmth surround me; I need Him more in the moonlight that gives me ample light in the dark. But most of all I need Him more, to just see my way clear, when the shadows obstruct my view.
WHEN I was much younger I just wanted to be, but today I want purpose and no regrets. Everything I do, I want it to matter. When I hear of someone suffering and they feel that God is far away, I think He is sending me to them. What can I do that others couldn’t? I have no idea but something in me says; you need to be there. Perhaps it is more for me than it is the one who I see.
SOMETIMES I am overwhelmed with urgency. Not anxiety, or depression but the feeling that time is short and if I am going to do something or share something I had better get busy and do it. I am always surprised that God will continue to use me no matter how old I get. “My dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
IT IS EASY to stop, watch, listen and appreciate a child during one of their temper tantrums, or silly little antics. We laugh and applaud because it makes us remember when our children were young and playful, even though we didn’t always take the time to appreciate their childish ways. Stopping to smile, touch or talk with an elderly person isn’t always as easy; is it? You know that their story can be full of sorrow, remorse, or even a little bitterness. Something in me says, stop, anyway!
“IF YOU try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” Matthew 16:25 My regret is when I fail to stop and listen. My regret is when I rush about being busy that I don’t notice. My regret is in not taking the time. The Lord says; “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26
WHEN I first began teaching a ladies Sunday School class, they were mostly elderly women. When Jim and I retired we moved 70 plus miles away from our church family of over 30 years. However, We returned the following few years to participate in memorial services for some of these dear souls. I was playing the piano for Janice’s service, and when the service was over I walked over to the family and something caught my eye towards the back. I saw Dorothy in her pretty pink blouse and our eyes met momentarily. Someone grabbed my arm and I turned my head. When I looked back she was gone. The next service we attended was Dorothy’s. I still have that picture in my mind when our eyes locked, and I have always felt regret that I didn’t asked to be excused or motioned to her to wait.
“DON’T COPY the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 I know that even though I didn’t get to talk with Dorothy, she was prepared to enter the gates of heaven. These women, gave me purpose and I knew that God had placed me among them, to lead them gently to the place where He was waiting. By Jane Ann Crenshaw 3/12/12
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment