Something Said In Haste

I had left our house a short time before the phone call came. My husband took it. The person on the other end asked an insensitive question. My husband was upset-to the point of being physically ill.When he told me about it sometime later, I could hear the pain in his voice.

He hung up the phone. Fifteen minutes later, he called her back and told her how hurt he was by her remark. She said the usual “I’m sorry.” But that didn’t seem to ease the pain.

I, too, have been put off by this woman’s insensitiveness-many times. She is a relative of some very dear friends of ours. These friends are preparing to relocate out of state. The purpose of the phone call was to invite us to a small party to see them one last time before they move. I probably will be going with or without our son. And, most probably, my husband will not attend because of this insensitive question that has been asked.

As God’s children, we are to watch our tongues. Contrary to what we have been taught, words do hurt and we can’t take them back.

James 1:26 “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (NIV)
James 3:5-7, “Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest fire is set from a small spark. The tongue also is a fire a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is set itself on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed by man., but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (NIV)

I am angry about this. Angry that the thought was so insensibly worded. Irritated that this woman caused hurt to my husband. This hurts me because it hurts him. I am not planning on sharing this with our friends because I don’t want to continue the cycle of hurting others because of our being hurt.

I will have to ask the Lord what to do about the issues involved in all of this.

God-With Us Always

After having three unusual days of not following my daily plans, I have relearned something. God was with me when I had to listen to the doctor's office give me my lab results. I got a couple of answers. That's what I had been seeking and praying for. God was with me when my husband decided to not keep an appointment to have surgically-implanted hardware removed from his ankle.

Yesterday, I went to a funeral of a lady from church. I knew her husband and son better than I knew her. I was going to support them. I turned in off the street, drove up the hill and saw the black hearse sitting under the car port roof. (It is an extension of the roof that allows cars to pull in and drop off their passengers.) When I saw this vehicle sitting there, something came over me- a sadness. I was reminded of John Donne's words.

No man is an island, entire of itself every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the mainif a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls it tolls for thee.

John Donne (1622)

Devotions on Emergent Occasion (written 1623-1624)

God was with me when I had a headache most of yesterday after noon. He was with me when I tried to save some pictures e-mailed to me. I had the wrong kind of disk. Our son had bought the wrong kind. He had the right kind, but I didn't know of any of this. Jesus was with me when I couldn't get to sleep until 4:00 this morning. I found out at breakfast the headache is a side effect of one of those new pills and the sleeplessness is one for the second new medication.

God was with me when I realized I hadn't paid one of our monthly bills due a few days ago. Husband didn't react on that one (He had over something earlier.) The lady at that office wasn't too upset about it. She said she would have called us if they had gotten a cut-off message.

I am reminded almost daily of God telling us he will be with us "always, even until the end of the age. "I also remember Him saying, "I will never leave you nor foresake you."

I have never have been as conscious of this as I am now

Poor Visibility

Fog surrounded the street as I prepared to leave for church. The sun shone through it displaying a beautiful but eerie picture. As I approached the stoplight I realized the mist had parted as I moved through it.

As I turned onto another street, the fog had lifted. I could see for a couple of blocks, up to my where I would turn again. After this second turn, the mist briefly enveloped my car.

I realized this scene I was living, had a Spiritual parallel. As humans we all live through times when we didn’t know the outcome. We have to trust God to resolve it.

In life we experience serious events over which we have no control. These circumstances can beat us down. But they don’t have to. God can clear a path through the situation. We need to apply the scriptures to our lives.

We need to ‘Trust the Lord (y)our God with all (y)our heart(s) and lean not to (y)our own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all . . . and He will direct (y)our paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)