Falling

I was reading a story from a magazine called Lifeline when a little story jumped out at me.  It was the story of a woman working in a child care center.  She came into the office to find a little girl with a skinned knee getting some first aid and TLC.  She asked her, "Did you fall down?"  The girl replied with tears in her eyes - "Yes I did."  The woman asked again, "Did you get up again?"  The girl responded with a hesitant smile, "Yes, I did!"  The woman then assured her, "Getting up again is the most important part of falling!"  The girl smiled left the office smiling proudly. 

A simple story, yet so profound!  Did I fall?  Did I get up again? That's the most important part!

Proverbs 25:26 reminds me that "A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring."  And  Jude 24 reminds me that God is able to keep me from falling.  Unfortunately, I don't always rely on Him and may suddenly find myself on the ground, figuratively speaking.  What then?  Do I give up and lie there, wallowing in the mud and letting myself be trampled underfoot?  Or do I get up again and again seek God's guidance and strength? 

Did I fall?  Did I get up again?  That's the most important part of falling!

Father, I am so grateful that you are able to keep me from falling!  May I remember to trust you and look to you for guidance as I travel this path called life.  And if I fall, may I not lie there wallowing in the mud, but quickly get up again in Your strength and power.  Thank you, Father!

Very Good!

I was reading a story in Guideposts this morning and something jumped out at me.  The person was talking about the creation story as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis and pointed out that as He created, God repeatedly looked at His creation and "saw that it was good".

Do I do this? As I move through my day, completing my tasks, do I stop to look at the completed task and see that it is good? Or do I just keep focused on what is yet to be done, not even stopping to acknowledge what has been accomplished? This is so easy for me to do!  And I wonder why sometimes I can work hard all day and feel like I haven't accomplished anything!

Another possibility - do I find fault with everything I do because there are yet things that will make it better? If God had done that, you would have seen him saying something like this after he created light - "That's not worth much until there are plants and animals to support." Can I follow God's example and appreciate the completion of each step in a complex task?

Bottom line, am I willing to appreciate a job well done?  For some reason, it seems so much easier to appreciate the efforts of others than my own!  It seems to me that following God's example here could be good for me in a lot of ways!

Looking Back

This morning, I was reading from Luke when this passage stood out to me -

Jesus said to another man, "Follow me!" But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the people who are dead bury their own dead. You must go and tell about the kingdom of God." Another man said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to my family." Jesus said, "Anyone who begins to plow a field but keeps looking back is of no use in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:59-62 NCV)

That last sentence just jumped out at me.  "Anyone who begins to plow a field but keeps looking back is of no use in the kingdom of God."  Of course if you're plowing a field and not watching where you're going, you're likely to create all sorts of a mess.  How foolish!  And yet, I realize I've often done the same thing.  Instead of having my mind fully focused on the task ahead of me, I've been thinking about other things.   

Sometimes this happens because the task ahead of me is something I'm afraid of and I keep thinking about things I'd rather do.  Sometimes it's simply selfishness rearing it's ugly head telling me that the task ahead isn't much fun and it would be so much more fun to do . . . .whatever. Sometimes it's because something traumatic has occurred and I can't seem to put it out of my mind, and sometimes it's about looking to see who is watching.

No matter the reason, for me prayer is the answer.  In the first case, my prayer is that God's perfect love cast out my fear.  The second and fourth call for a prayer that selfishness and self-seeking to be removed and a right spirit put within - that I be willing and eager for God's will to be done.  The third calls for a reminder that God does all things well and I can trust him with my life and the lives of those I care about.  No matter what it is that is blocking my way from accomplishing my tasks, God is the answer.

Thank you, Father, for being my answer today!  I praise you for being a God of miracles - not just out there or just for others, but in my own heart! May I be so filled with your love and with a desire to see your will done, that I keep my mind firmly set on you and the tasks you have set before me for this day!  Thank you, Father!

A Little Sleep

This post will be rather long, but I figure I haven't posted for several days, so I'll make up for it today. :)  For the last several days, I've been living a rather unusual experience with regard to sleep.  I usually try to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, believing that to be the best thing to do for my health.  Lots of studies seem to confirm that amount of sleep as being important for health.  But starting Sunday night, my sleep experience has been quite different.  

Sunday afternoon I came across an opportunity that I wanted to take advantage of - but it required completion of a large project by Monday night. Could I do it? Past experience told me I'd be able to do it, but would need to work hard and probably wouldn't finish until some time Monday evening.  I somewhat half-heartedly checked in with God about it and didn't get a strong negative indication, so decided to go forward.  Frankly I'm not sure if I was really open to hearing God's voice on this matter or not, but the fact I was unusually energized for this project suggests it was indeed in His will.  While I usually try to be in bed by 9 or 10 pm, I found myself wide awake and working on this project until past 2 am.  When I realized what time it was I tried to go to bed, but sleep did not come easily.  I thought of something else related to the project that I figured I would forget if I didn't do something about it right away, so I got up and took care of that. I felt like I could keep going all night, but had reached a point where I needed input from others before I could finish.  I headed back to bed and finally drifted off to sleep sometime between 3 and 4 am - more like the time I ordinarily might be thinking of getting up.  

Fortunately, my work allows me to set my own schedule, so I figured to sleep in the next morning, but was awakened between 6 and 6:30 feeling wide awake.   I got up and went back to work on my project after getting the input I needed, and was able to complete it by 11 am - at least 10 hours before I expected to do so!  Now what?  I knew that under ordinary circumstances, if I miss sleep, it doesn't really hit me until the 2nd day - thus I could expect to feel quite tired on Tuesday. But I had activities planned for Tuesday that I didn't want to miss, so, I decided to try to nap a bit so I would be more likely to be able to participate on Tuesday. But, when I lay down, I just wasn't sleepy, so I got up and went back to work.  That night I went to bed knowing I REALLY needed to sleep!

But I only slept a few hours Monday night before being awakened again feeling wide awake and ready to take on the day.  By 9 am I was starting to feel drowsy, though, so I decided to skip my morning planned activity so I could take a nap and hopefully be awake for the more important evening activity - but again I couldn't sleep!  This is not like me.  I have often found that if I miss sleep at night, a nap during the day will refresh me!  Since I couldn't sleep, I busied myself with things, hoping I'd be okay through the rest of the day.  But sure enough - just like I expected, I began to feel very tired as the afternoon wore on.  As I had been prepared to do, I went to lie down - hoping to sleep so I'd be fresh for the evening's planned activity. But once again, sleep would not come and I got up again and went to work.  By evening, I was feeling tired enough that I decided not to attend the evening activity so I could get my sleep. I made arrangements to miss the activity, but once again, as soon as that decision had been made and regrets had been sent, I was wide awake and just went back to work.

Yesterday was more of the same.  I scheduled my day so I would be working at home and could nap if/when needed. But I didn't need to nap and worked until late last night.  This morning I am again wide awake and feeling foolish.  This week I cancelled several planned activities outside of the house so I could catch up on my sleep - and, though I felt occasional tiredness, I never was tired enough to nap, despite the lack of sleep Sunday night!  

This whole thing has just felt weird.  I had tried to be responsible about making up for my lost sleep, but it just didn't work as it had in the past.  Periodically I'd been seeking guidance about it all, but wasn't getting much of a response.  This morning as I was praying about it, the thought came that I could do a search through the bible for what it had to say about sleep - so I did.  I didn't find what I expected.

Certainly there were some verses that promised sleep - like this one from Proverbs 13:24 - "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet."  But they mostly seemed focused on not being afraid.

More verses actually warned against sleep - like this one in Provers 20:13 - "Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will shalt be satisfied with bread."  And then there were the verses in Song of Solomon (chapter 5 verses 2-6) that talked about lying down to sleep, being awakened by the beloved's knock, taking too long to get dressed and open the door so the beloved was gone and she couldn't find him. And there were the stories in the gospels that talked about how Jesus warned the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane that they should spend their time praying, but how they slept instead. (Matt 26:37-45; Mark 14:33-41; Luke 22:39-46).  I Thessalonians even seems to argue against sleep - "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." (I Thess 5:5-6).

Reading these passages through, I start to get a picture.  I've been worrying about getting caught up on my sleep instead of being open to God's still small voice when I can't sleep.  I think of the story of Samuel - how he was awakened from sleep because God had things to say to him. (I Sam chapter 3)  Instead of waiting too long to open the door like happened in the story in Song of Solomon, I want to be more like Samuel.  Today, I choose to say, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening."

Father, I worry about so many things!  Thank you for reminding me that I can trust you. Whether it's sleep or things that seem more important - no matter what it is, I can trust you!  Just as I trust you for my daily bread, I can trust you for my daily sleep!  Father, may your will be done in my life!  If your will is for me to sleep, I will sleep.  If your will is for me to be awake, you will waken me.  May I be open to your guidance in this matter - and in all things.  When I am awakened, may I remember to say, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening" instead of worrying about my need for sleep!  Thank you, Father.

Food

This morning I return to one of the stories I read yesterday - the story of the woman at the well found in John chapter 4.  I am particularly drawn again to verses 31-34 - "Meanwhile, the disciples urged Him saying, Rabbi, eat something.  But He assured them, I have food (nourishment) to eat of which you know nothing and have no idea.  So the disciples said to one another, Has someone brought Him something to eat?  Jesus said to them, My food (nourishment) is to do the will (pleasure) of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His work." (Amplified Bible)

One of the first things that jumped out at me is that I've so often heard religious people talking about the need to finish God's work (meaning share their particular religious beliefs with the world).  But Jesus says that He was here to completely finish God's work.  Do we think He didn't do that?  

Does this mean there is nothing left for us to do?  As I ask these questions, I hear that still small voice saying, "Jesus finished the work God intended for Him to do. Can you say the same?" Good question! Do I focus my energy on doing God's will and finishing the work he has set for ME to do?  This is what Jesus said nourished him and left him without a need for food in that moment.  

This sounds like an excellent diet plan to me! When I think of what nourishes me, do I think of doing my heavenly father's will and finishing the work he has set for me, or do I think of physical food?  Certainly Jesus ate physical food, but he clearly understood that was not the only place he could receive nourishment. Can I say the same?  Certainly I've had times where I have been so focused on my tasks that I do not feel hunger.  Is this what he meant?

Father, I am so grateful for another day and for the daily bread you give me - physical and spiritual.  This morning I'm seeking an increased understanding of the relationship between nourishment and doing your will and how that all relates to physical food. I ask that you guide my thoughts and actions that they may indeed be in alignment with your will and that I may experience that nourishment that comes from something other than food.