I looked out the front room window and instead of the normal songbirds flitting in for birdseed there were at least four squirrels diligently searching for and collecting seed under the birdfeeders. The squirrels, usually one or two, scamper from tree to tree near the road and run from the slightest movement. Today was different. They were on task. They examined what looked like every blade of grass in a wide area of the yard. They would stop, process their treasure, then hunt again. They were oblivious to everything in their surroundings. One guy climbed the thin metal hook the birdfeeder hung on and wrapped his back feet on the post and swung out to the feeder which he clung to with his front feet giving the appearance of a trapeze artist in mid air. All this for one or two seeds. I thought of the the Word of God. Do I search,examine, and go after God's Word, the way they are the seed this morning? Then I spied a tiny, brown, ordinary bird in my lantern-made-birdfeeder. It was just as intent in it's own world surrounded by seed. It was probably missed at first because it blended so well with it's surroundings. He, too, was on task. As I pondered the correlation between their processing their morning seed to the Word of God, the regulars showed up. The pretty ones flew in for their usual seed or two and then flew off. Then another seed and off again. Wow, what do I look like to God? Do I diligently and actively seek every possible morsel I can without being distracted or do I find a quiet corner alone surrounded by the Truth of God's Word and take my time getting every possible tidbit available? The biggest question is am I like the beautiful songbirds who fly in for just enough and then off again. If I were a bird it would be enough to look good and be busy but I am not a bird. I sat down and opened my devotional and read these words, "(Your)words were found, and I did eat them; and (your) word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by (your) name, O Lord God of hosts." Jeremiah 15:16
My children, some which are adults, recently accused me of not cooking when their dad is out-of-town. My response, of course, was to prove them wrong. I cooked a meal, of some kind, every night he was gone on his most recent absence until the last night. It was mentally exhausting to think of and execute even a simple meal every evening. Over the years, I have taken my own kind of vacation. When Paul is gone I do have to handle all the home stuff but when the washing machine isn't shocking me, the dog is not sick on the porch, or I am attempting to kill a giant snake (harmless black snake to some) I lead a life of leisure. So, meal and bedtimes are according to feeling. Does momma feel like cooking? Sure, you can watch that late movie...I mean, who needs to get up in the morning? I am admitting that our meals may be a little more relaxed when Dad is gone. There is probably research if not at least witnesses (some in my home) that people can survive on cereal for a week several times a year and not show any great deficiencies. Since most of my kids could make their own sandwich by the age of 3 (more than a little scary) no one has gone hungry or been neglected. I was thinking...Paul travels as part of God's calling on his life and cares for us in that way but God says, "I am with you always..." Matthew 28:20 I have the security of knowing that He is with me in the easy times and the hard. He is with me when the washer messes up and the dog is missing. He is with us whether dinner is Crawfish Casserole or Raisin Bran. He is with Paul, wherever he may be, whether he has phone service and hot water or not. So, this week as we serve God apart, the kids will eat, Mom will probably not be very scheduled, and Dad, Sara, and Jed will serve in the mountains and we will all experience God moments.
Tomorrow Paul and I will be married twenty-nine years. We have had sixteen children and have the priviledge of raising 13. Three are in heaven because of miscarriage but as the other thirteen, forever in our hearts. We have had the good fortune to live and serve the Lord in Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana, and now Alabama. The reason I say good fortune is the incredible people and experiences we have had the priviledge to know and experience. We have walked alongside so many godly people and they (you) have rubbed off on us, strengthening our marriage, showing us great parenting, and showing us how to really laugh and have a good time in the family of God. We have also cried and mourned with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I was enjoying the view from my front window and the work Paul did on our yard this morning and thought, this just might be the prettiest place ever. I immediately had one of those "I've said that before" moments. Yes, I have had those moments before. I have felt God's presence and His satisfaction in each of the places He has allowed us to serve and love. It is safe to say that Paul and I have had a full twenty-nine years and it appears it was just a warm-up for the years ahead. We were talking recently about all the people we knew that has really stepped out for God when they were in their early fifties. So perhaps, twenty-nine years was just the warm-up for the years ahead. If you are game, Paul, so am I! Love you!
It is our hope that some of the experiences we share with our children help them to grow up well-adjusted and unspoiled. For instance, our oldest children have seen a black and white TV and actually watched cartoons and old westerns on it. They also understand that a car is not required to go in reverse. They learned how to carefully park in crowded parking lots and in a driveway so reverse is not needed. Thankfully, that lesson only lasted one weekend and before we got it to the shop somehow corrected itself. Our most recent "experience" began to unfold Thursday morning when Paul asked, "Is there something wrong with the warm water?" I was not aware of anything and since he was "accustomed" to cold showers thanks to a recent trip to Belize he finished, dressed, and went to work. I was a little behind pulling the morning together and got in a little later than usual. It was cold. I had doctor's appointment so with no choice I had my turn. Whoa! Sara came in from her softball game that night and we reluctantly told her the news. No hot water. Same news for Rae. Their co-workers, clients, and parents don't know how blessed they are the sacrifice they made for them. The first words I heard were, "Cold showers should be FORBIDDEN." One down. We heard the next shower start. No timer needed this time. The next morning we were all informed, "There is no way to take a cold shower quietly!" The interesting thing to me, frustrating to Rae, was that she was shocked awake and couldn't go to sleep until midnight. I was thinking do we need a good "shocking awake" on occasion? Something that makes us extra alert. Perhaps, our health, job, children, spouse, or events that cause us to sit up and take notice is our "shocking awake". God is working and speaking around us all the time and He might be using a special time of alertness for a special purpose or revealing to us. Fortunately, our shower dilemna was remedied for under $1.50. Our lessons, priceless.
One of the benefits of packing away winter clothes and bringing out the spring and summer attire is makeovers. I think I got it from my grandma. She snipped, cut, and hemmed the old and enjoyed a piece of clothing or bedding a whole new way. Pants or sweats that have grown too short over the winter can become bermudas or athletic shorts and long-sleeve T's that will be outgrown before the fall can be muscle shirts for the summer. There has been lace added to jean jacket collars and removed when little brother came along. I love taking the old, the present, and making it new. It might just be a sickness. Samantha grabbed a pair of her beloved pants while going through clothes today afraid she was losing them because her ankles now showed. I asked, "Would you like them made into shorts?" "Like the ones that come to your knee?" she asked enthusiastically. "Yes, if that is how you would like them." "Oh, yes, yes!" This was enough to get some attention. While I showed John his "new" jean jacket, Jamin came running up the stairs. I had some overalls that he had just outgrown and I was thinking they would make adorable (a mom word) shorts. However, a recent memory of, "I look stupid! I am so embarrassed! This is so embarrassing!" flashed through my mind. That was just over a pair of sweat pants. As he came running up the stairs I decided to give it a try. "Jamin, would you like me to make these khaki overalls into..." He finished for me. "A JEAN JACKET!" "Mom, please make them into a jean jacket, please, please, please." "Son, I can't make them into a jean jacket." He begged, "Please, please, oh, please, Mom. Make them into a jean jacket for me." No matter how much he begged size 3 khaki overalls cannot become a jean jacket. I can't transform overalls into a jacket but I have witnessed transformation. My old self was like those overalls. Looked good on the outside but in need of a change. I needed a heart change. God sent Jesus to die on the cross and raise from the dead so I could have that heart change. When I asked Him to be my Savior I was transformed as drastically as khaki overalls to a jean jacket. "...it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me;" Galations 2:20
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
I mean, really! It's winter. It dumbfounds me to see people, especially kids, without coats, in sandals, and sometimes shorts. Where are the parents? What would happen if there was car trouble? I took the kids to the store this morning and I saw them. Sure enough, snowflakes. It was light but unmistakeable. As the kids tumbled out of the van there was not a coat to be seen. To my credit (or discredit) no one was wearing short-sleeves(which means Jed wasn't with us),two of us had zip-up sweatshirts with hoods (only one wore the hood), and only one was in sock feet and he could ride in the cart. We could have loaded up and traveled the thirteen miles home and gotten the missing coats, scarves, shoes, etc. or I could use the opportunity to teach my youngest five the Southern principle, "If you hurry quick enough you can make it from most parking lots to stores, churches, movie theatres, malls, etc. without proper winter attire". I do pride myself on making sure the kids have a well-rounded education. None of us were majorly harmed and of course they got the "we really should have worn our coats" speech. So, the next time I see bare legs or arms running into the store and the tempertures haven't been above freezing in days or weeks, I will try not to be quick to judge. Perhaps, they, too, are learning a much needed lesson. Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." I fully expect to hear someday during an interview after a polar plunge, "It all started that Saturday morning Mom took us to Wal-Mart."
