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As I was driving to work yesterday, it was raining. I hit a patch of oil/water on an incline and my car began to spin out of control. When I left the roadway, my car was going rear wheels first. Tracks from both sets of tires could be traced from the roadway to where the van came to rest, listing to the left side.
My first thought going into the spin was of my family. My first thought when the van stopped was...THANK GOD! I tried to open my driver's door and was unable to. Looking down amongst the brush and fallen leaves was a guard rail composed of railroad tracks and some concrete. Looking past that was a STEEP drop off of about 100 feet, with large trees dotting the hillside. Had the van gone not more than 15 feet either in front or in back of where it was, the railing ran into the ground and I would have gone over the side, rolling over sideways and then bouncing from tree to tree. I could have been seriously injured or even killed. After checking the tires and condition of the car (which were 'miraculously' ok) I went to the road to walk somewhere to call for help. I cannot count the number of people who stopped to see if I was ok and/or needed to call someone. One man let me use his cell phone. I called my FIL first as he had a vehicle which could possibly pull me out. He wasn't there so I left a message. I called my husband, who called a roadside assistance we have through our phone company (of all things ... I'm still trying to figure that one out but I am SO GRATEFUL it is there), which saved me a $65 tow bill. I had wanted to call work (to let them know I'd be late), but couldn't remember the number for several minutes. A county sheriff came by, saying that someone had called 911. He said that he had already responded to several "car leaving the road due to weather" calls. I told him there was a wrecker on the way. He said he would not leave me there standing in the rain, and I accepted his offer of a ride. His front seat was full of equipment, so I had to ride in the back. He promised to let me out. :p He dropped me at a nearby store, which happened to be a farm market. He walked in and let them know what had happened. (I figure the store clerks would have been a little taken aback to have someone walk into their store who had just gotten out of the BACK of a sheriff's vehicle.) The store let me use the phone to call home, and I found out the wrecker had been dispatched. In fact, by the time my husband called them, they already KNEW (my) vehicle had run off the road! So I got a soda for the walk back up the hill (about 1/2 mile). The VAST majority of the store's goods were for animals, and as I set the drink on the counter to pull out my money, I said, "I was about to ask you if you had any "people drinks" here." The clerk GAVE me the soda! About 1/3 of the way there, I saw the wrecker go past. I waved my hands, hoping to get his attention. His brake lights went on, and I figured he had seen me, so I stopped running. But he was only waiting for someone in front of him to turn left. So I ran as much as I could, and then slowed to a walk, wheezing and praying that he would still be there when I got back to the van. Well he was, and despite the van originally tilting a little more when he started to winch me up (with me in the van), I got out, signed the ticket and, heart pounding, went on to work. I was a bit sore, and had a couple of scratches, but that was from some thorny vines that I had to push out of the way to try and get myself out by (putting cardboard around the tires). And did my dear husband ever get a HUGE HUG from me when I got home! I feel as if God has given me a "second chance" ... AGAIN ... and pray that I will use it well, for His purposes! ALL the glory goes to God for this one! In Jesus' name, AMEN!
DEAR GOD: I want to thank YOU for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking YOU right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking YOU right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking YOU right now. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears; I am thanking YOU right now. I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am thanking YOU right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am thanking YOU right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am thanking YOU right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking YOU right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed; I am thanking YOU right now. I am thanking YOU because I am alive. I am thanking YOU because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking YOU because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking YOU because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I am thanking YOU because, FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me! Unknown Author
This has been a rough day. Our landlord told us he is selling the house in which we live, so we are faced with the possibility of having to move the week before Christmas. We have also expressed some dissatisfaction with the way the boys' school is handling their special needs and the school seems to be pushing back. Our sons have been attending this school for several months now, and last Thursday the principal informed us that after Friday, they would not be allowed to attend without each having a physical examination on record. Financially, that would not even be possible until THIS Thursday, as it is payday. But we don't have insurance for the family (my work charges $36 every two weeks for me...if I wanted to insure the family it would be $452 EVERY TWO WEEKS!). So someone at the school contacted the county Board of Education, who visited today and stated that if we did not get the children back to school TOMORROW, they would charge us with "educational neglect". They apparently do not feel concerned that the school themselves had refused our children entrance. Well, we contacted our former physician in Texas, who had a physical for the younger boy on record, and will fax it to the school. They don't have a record of a physical for our oldest son. We will have to pay cash at the doctor's office next week (there is an appointment on Monday) in the range of $75 ... which is almost a week's worth of food for our family of five. The boys have not been sitting idle yesterday and today. I dare say they have learned more in these two days at home than they would have in the entire week at public school, in part simply because we can give them the individualized attention at home that they cannot (or are not willing to) give at the town's school. I'm going to go pray and turn the problem over to God. Only HE can fix this one.
LOVE -- THE BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS
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THE LESSON OF THE BUTTERFLY
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
I asked for Strength.........
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom.........
And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity......... And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage.........
And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love.........
And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors.........
And God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted ........ I received everything I needed!
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On
the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to
make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in
me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
Philippians 4:6-9
*A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.
"Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass." They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember that
"Sisters" also means your girlfriends, your daughters, and other women - Relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do."
'What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup. Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!
But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.
After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:
THIS SAYS IT ALL:
Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't call when they say they will.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT......... Girlfriends are there, no matter how much time and how many
miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing
her can reach.
When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by
yourself, your girlfriends will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and
waiting with open arms at the valley's end.
Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come
in and carry you out.
Girlfriends, daughters, daughter-in-laws, sisters, sisters-in-law,
Mother, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, bless our life!
The world wouldn't be the same without them, and neither would I.
When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the
incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
would need each other.
Every day, we need each other still.
Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them, as my "mean" Mom told me: I loved you nough . . to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to make you go pay for the bubble gum you had taken and tell the clerk, "I stole this yesterday and want to pay for it."
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must earn that their parents aren't perfect.
I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart. But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it.
Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too. And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.
Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.
I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms!
LORD, IF YOU'LL JUST EXCUSE ME Lord, I'll gladly write
A charity check for fifty dollars --
If You'll just excuse me from loving that woman!! I'll entertain the minister
And sing in the choir --
I'll even teach a Bible class
If You'll just excuse me from loving that woman!! Lord, I'm perfectly willing
To visit the sick,
Write letters to shut-ins
Read to the blind --
If You'll just excuse me from loving that woman!! It won't work, will it, Lord?
(I think I knew that from the beginning!)
With all my benevolent offers
Your own Word keeps tripping me up! "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to
love one another." So, Lord, one of us must change,
As I see it, You've got all the ingredients
for a miracle. Dear Child --
My love flowing through you
Will change you both.
Just offer yourself as My channel. Is that all, Lord?? No. Then bake her an apple pie. Oh, dear Lord!
I'm out of apples! Don't fret, my child --
A cherry pie will do just as well. Just love her.
------ "Lord, You Love to Say Yes!" by Ruth Harms Calkin ---------
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