Do you ever have one of those mornings where you have an abundance of energy, but no clear focus? That is definitely me this morning. 🙂 I feel like a newly hatched fly, landing here and there, but not staying very long in any one place. Yet I have an odd sense of excitement.
It always amuses me as to how complex we human beings have been created. Some days we are energetic; others we can barely put two words together. Happy/sad, emotional/stoic, compassionate/hard….the list goes on and on. I am so very thankful that my amazing God holds all of these parts of us together.
So as I buzz about this morning, I will be thankful for the flurry of energy and thankful for this wonderful gift called life. Praying your morning is buzzing along well.
It happened seemingly all at once. The sky darkened, the wind pushed the tree limbs horizontal, cold rain slashed the windows, howls screeched around our almost 100 year old house. Quick fear, followed by a quick prayer. The verse that brings so much peace came to mind….Be still and know that I am God.
These days of 2020 have produced so much panic and change, that even a benign cold front can make me freak out for a moment. But God. But God. That is what keeps me going, keeps me stable, keeps me at peace. He never changes or panics or leaves. He is God. I just have to be still.
Moments later, the sun is out, the rain has stopped. All is well.
When I feel stuck, confused, hurt, sad, unmotivated….I like to come up with a plan. An action plan. It makes me feel a modicum of control in sometimes uncontrollable situations. It gives me a purpose and a drive to get moving.
What do I do when there is no action plan to be had or found? I have felt that way lately in various situations. Sometimes the problems seem too big or too complicated.
I have been thinking about the verse in Micah 6:8:
“He has showed you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
And what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39:
“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ “
Love God. Love the people I come in contact with. Be just. Be merciful. Walk humbly with God.
These sound like really good action plans to me. Or action prayers, because I am weak. But He is strong.
Yellow and red are two very different colors. They also have two very different meanings when driving. Yellow means to slow down, take caution, proceed when safe. Red means to come to a complete and full stop.
Too many times in my life, I have come to a yellow light, a temporary roadblock, and I let it completely stop me. Something in my life that should only briefly curtail me, derails me.
Yellow is not red. Proceed when the way is clear.
As my morning inspiration, I include a video of little Timmy from Donegal Donkey Sanctuary in Ireland, which I have shared before.. He was born with two severely deformed back legs, but now, due to wonderful care and vet expertise, good hoof orthotics, and lots of God’s grace, he is four years old and doing wonderfully. Timmy didn’t let the yellows in his life derail him. He is full out green.❤
Yellow is not red. Love, Lisa
P.S. If you feel so inclined, http://www.donegaldonkeysanc.com is a wonderful place of healing and rest for neglected and abandoned donkeys. We “adopted” Timmy this year, and I know they would appreciate any help you could give them during this challenging Covid season..
Site of Drumcliffe Monastery, established by St. Colmcille (Columba) . Ben Bulben in background, County Sligo, Ireland
Alone with none but thee, my God,
I journey on my way;
What need I fear, when Thou art near,
O King of night and day?
More safe am I within Thy hand,
Than if a host did ’round me stand
This is a hymn attributed to St. Colmcille, a Christian missionary, monk, saint from the sixth century in Ireland. He produced beautifully illuminated scripture manuscripts, established many monasteries in Ireland, and showed the love of Christ to others through his lifelong service.
After some years however, an event occurred which changed the entire direction of his life. The Battle of the Book, a fight resulting from a legal battle over an illuminated manuscript he was accused of copying from another, took place in the valley near the Drumcliffe Monastery. Many died, and Colmcille felt horrible. The weight of sin, the effects of greed and human pride, weighed heavily upon him. He left Ireland and eventually sailed to establish a very influential monastery, Iona, off the coast of Scotland. He used this heartache and remorse to let God use him in a new and mighty way for the rest of his life. Mistakes didn’t mean the end for him. After repentance and prayer, God redirected him and continued to use him.
History has a way of calming me. Somehow, by reading the lives of others who have gone before me, the struggles and challenges they faced, the faith they showed through difficult times, lets me know that nothing is new under the sun. Hard times come, hard times go, but Jesus Christ remains constant and faithful to be with us through all of these times.
Call upon the Name of the Lord. He is the only answer for what you face, what I face. He will answer.
