P R A Y E R

There is an old story preachers tell about a man trapped on the top of his house during a flood or hurricane or tsunami (insert your own natural disaster). The water is swiftly rising. As this man sits on his roof, fearful of being swept away by the current, he cries out to God, “God please deliver me.”

A few moments later, a farmer friend arrives with his boat. “Hey, friend, want a ride to safety?” he asks. “No,” replies the man on top of his house. “God is going to deliver me.”

An hour later, the water is up to the gutters. A voluntary rescue person comes by on his yellow raft. “Hey, let’s get you off of there—and on to safety,” he yells. But the man on top of his house refuses to go. “God is going to deliver me.”

Another hour passes and now the water is halfway up the roof. Roof Man is now on top of his chimney, nervously looking down at certain death and destruction. Fortunately, a Red Cross volunteer swings by in a canoe and offers to ride Roof Man to safety. But Roof Man refuses. “No, God is going to deliver me.”

A couple of hours pass by and the water sweeps over the top of Roof Man’s house. He is carried away by the current and drowns. When he gets to Heaven, he meets Jesus and says, “I thought you were going to deliver me.”

Jesus looks down at Roof Man and says, “I sent a boat, an inflatable raft, and a canoe—but you refused each one.”

  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

These days people need help. They are worried and stressed out. We face trials daily. But how do we respond? To note just a few everyday trials; finances, loss of home, bankruptcy, rebellious teen, co-workers, marital problems, unemployment or a sick child. No matter what issue we face, they have to be resolved. Through reading Facebook comments and talking with friends, when it comes to troubles I’ve noticed a few patterns:

1.       Keep it to yourself so people don’t know your business. Don’t ask for prayer at all. Shut out family and friends because you don’t want to tell everyone your problems, you think they don’t care or you don’t want to worry them.

2.       Ask for prayers and information that will help but get aggravated when people ask questions. Avoid people who have suggestions that may lead to answers. Respond to the prayer warriors as if they are taking up too much of your time. Or just don’t respond to them at all.

3.       Ask for prayers and information that will help and feel overjoyed that people respond with kindness. Express gratitude when people use their time to contact you with information or suggestions. Stay contacted to your prayer warriors. Keep them updated so they can be specific with their prayers. Let them know their concern is cherished.

Not everyone wants to tell the world their problems and I understand that. Some issues are very personal and should be kept private. If this is the case, please seek a family member, friend or clergy that you can speak with. You will amazed at how much better you will feel knowing you have a prayer warrior and someone you can talk to who can help and understands.

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;..”

James 1:7

Don’t ask for prayer and then ignore your prayer warriors. Don’t carry a burden alone when people will pray for you. Don’t say you’ll pray unless you are going to do it. Prayer is powerful.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Love and prayers to all,

Skeeter

THE DUST JACKET

Just a day or so ago I received a comment from a friend that I think of often. His comment reminded me of words that I wrote on my FB “NOTES” tab a while back. My original thoughts were inspired by a lady, Ms. Vallie James, which my friend and I both had the pleasure to meet on a missionary trip. I’m ashamed to admit that my first impression of her was negative. What I mistook for bossiness was actually enthusiasm. Arrogance was an over flowing cup of appreciation. Our group strolled into the International Seamen’s House and before introductions were officially made we were sorting hangers for donated clothes. “Give me a minute to catch my breath”, I thought.

Soon I realized how incredibly wrong I was. Never have I met a person so enthusiastic about her salvation. An attribute I coveted. We also learned that Ms. Vallie was an incredible painter. She sold her art and donated the proceeds to her earthly love, the Seamen’s House. One of her paintings hangs over my bed. I am reminded of her love and service every day.

Our group learned so many things from Ms. Vallie that week and over the years that we returned to the Seamen’s House to give of our time. Of course during those trips we were touched, blessed and received so much more than we gave.

When you deal with chronic pain daily you have time to read (if that’s something you enjoy – which I do). Recently I finished a book with over 800 pages and the cover was beautiful. Currently I am reading a mystery novel. The dust jacket is sleek and shiny black. The title is of gold letters that seem to pop right off the cover. It’s written by a well-known author and I have read almost all of his books. But honestly, I’m a bit disappointed in this book. This tells me that just because most of his books are good, everyone can have a bad day or in this case a bad novel?  It also goes to prove that just because the outside of an item, or the facade of a person, appears radiant and beautiful, the inside can be a total mess. Why do we so often buy a book based on the appearance of the stylish picture perfect dust-jacket? Only later to get home and realize the book’s content does not touch or inspire us.

Have you ever met a person whose “dust-jacket” appeared faded and tattered but later you discovered their content refreshed your body and encouraged your soul? That’s exactly what happened with Ms. Vallie. Soon I looked right through her outer appearance and saw nothing but humility and love.

Life teaches us so much and there are so many lessons to learn if only we will open our minds to comprehend. This sweet little lady from Georgia helped to change my initial opinion of people. Now I look with my heart rather than my eyes.

No matter if my hair shows gray, my weight is not ideal or my clothes are not the latest fashion, I am so thankful that HE looks beyond my “dust-jacket” and knows that I love Him. My prayers for my FB friends and myself is that we read a "book" today whose dust-jacket looks less than desirable. Perhaps we will be touched, inspired or encouraged by its content.

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

I Samuel 16:7

Love and prayers to all,

Skeeter

The Path

When I pulled into the drive I put the Yukon in park and sat looking at the leaves, thinking how beautiful our drive is in the fall.

Thanks to rural Alabama we have to cross the street to retrieve our mail. I stood there beside the box scanning through the pile of bills and junk mail and just as I was about to close the lid I noticed a trail that headed into the wooded area located behind our box.

I’ve noticed the trail before but this day the colors were not just shades of green so the opening didn’t blend into the forest. This day there was one path with many colors, almost inviting me to enter. I wondered where it led. What was hidden behind the trees? So I did what any inquisitive person would do; I Googled it. Google Maps is extremely cool!!

As expected, the map showed the main road, my drive and our property that lay hidden down our gravel drive with the canopy of branches and leaves, courtesy of our Creator. Across from our drive were the specs representing the two mailboxes, ours and one abandoned box.  Beside the boxes, more obvious than I expected, was the trail leading into the forest to what looked like two small ponds. Small areas around the ponds were cleared of trees and shrubs. The bird’s eye view the map offered looked beautiful.

I had slowed down that day long enough to see the path. When you have chronic pain disorders you have no choice but to slow down. Slowing down means you notice things that you most likely wouldn’t see under other circumstances. You appreciate things that are typically taken for granted.

For some reason I couldn’t get the path out of my thoughts. I recalled throughout my life the numerous paths that I had taken. The proverbial forks-in-the-road. Some paths have led me to lovely places in my life. On the other hand, even though the entry way looked inviting, some turns led me down pathways that were rocky and scary. Ultimately, once down the path I realized the last fork in the road I had made a wrong turn.

Amazingly what I found at the end of the path were forgiveness, love, understanding, and grace. A wrong turn doesn’t mean your journey is over. It means you need to assess your location and decide what path you need to take that will lead you to your final destination. You stay your course. Even if you come upon rocky terrain, you press forward to the prize.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your paths straight. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Love and prayers to all,
Skeeter

I N C ON V E N I E N C E S

I’m sure you’ve heard someone say that God will not put more on a person than they can bear. Well, I’ve also heard an added line, “Wow! He must really trust me.”

First of all, God will not put more on a person than they can bear...........ALONE!

Secondly, from a close perspective, I know that trials are wrapped in many blessings.  I promise you, blessings are there, if only we can see them through the tears we shed while splashing around in our pity pool. Trust me, I’ve had a few pity-parties myself.

The early years of my illnesses (fibromyalgia, anxiety and back & neck pain) my cries were few. Add a few years and another illness or two and I had cries hard enough to smear my mascara. Then of late, add a few more illnesses, days in bed because I’m too sore to move and nights awake with a heating pad and meds for the extreme pain, now I have a full blown pity party with invitations sent and RSVP’s from Tippy and Mom.

No matter if people are faced with trials that are short lived or with a load that is carried for an extended period of time, people react in a very similar way, with questions.

We want answers right away. We say prayers and believe that God should immediately run to our aid. We are so eager for answers we believe we shouldn’t have to wait on God.

We are a society that believes in instant gratification. No thought to consequences. We do not like to be inconvenienced. We have dinner out on a Saturday night and get aggravated if we have to wait. We complain if we get delayed in traffic, have to wait at the doctor’s office or pharmacy or if we choose the slow lane at the grocery store. We get irritated if we have to wait in line at the bank or annoyed that the line is slow at our favorite coffee house. On the other hand, people have waited all night outside the electronics store to buy the latest video games, we pay to wait in lines at amusement parks or we may stand for two hours at a concert. But we can’t wait on God. Our priorities are as clear as swamp water.

Who are we to think we shouldn't have to suffer a few inconveniences? ...........“Inconveniences,” you might think. Compared to Christ’s suffering on the cross any load we bear is a minor inconvenience.

A burden is a blessing, a lesson to be learned, a light that is illuminated as brightly as we allow. Imagine God gives you a precious stone that shines as brightly as a star on the darkest of nights. He simply asks you to hold the stone. You notice that the stone is getting heavier and heavier over time. You can see that the light begins to fade as the stone grows heavy. You don’t want the beautiful light to fade. You grow restless trying to carry the load. You’re ashamed and you become fearful. What do you do?

Simple.......You go to Jesus. He said, “Come to me, ALL who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”   Matthew 11:28

Leave your cares, burdens, every sin....... at the cross.

Love and prayers to all,

Skeeter