Change the Ending

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 118: Today, I am grateful we can change the ending. 

Mistakes and failure are not final; each day comes with new opportunities to choose differently and to choose well. There are times we make unintended mistakes. I am grateful it does not end there. Every morning dawns a new day. Even a rough morning can improve by noon if we choose differently. 

Choice is the gift that God gave to man. It is our superpower and our curse at times. One of my favorite scriptures comes out of a Bible study long ago:

"He said, “Who told you that you were naked? -Genesis 3:11a

How long was the pause before God's second question? 

Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” -Genesis 3:11b

Adam and Eve could not press an undo button. Their disobedience had consequences. Still, God did not abandon them. They lost the garden, but they would live to have more good days... even great days. He would labor on the land. She would suffer pain in childbirth and then hold the wonder of a newborn in her arms. I think only God could come up with punishment that was also our reward. 

To work the land and see it bear a harvest that feeds your family creates a sense of wealth and success that only comes when you do the work with your own hands. Gardening is something many enjoy. Others appreciate knowing how their food is grown, so they garden. 

To be gifted with children to love and care for is a miracle every time. We fail as parents on many days, but children are forgiving. "I'm sorry." goes a long way on both sides of the relationship, just as it does in marriage. 

Real life does not have the undo button we have become accustomed to on our computers. It requires confession, humility, and making the effort to try and again. By God's grace and mercy, we can change the ending. 

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." -CS Lewis 

Today, I am grateful we can change the ending. 

Search & Rescue

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 117: Today, I am grateful for search and rescue. 

It has been a stormy spring. I am reminded that in every kind of weather, our first responders and military show up. Search and rescue teams put themselves at risk to save others. They arrive with a sense of calm and purpose. They don't ask, "How did you get yourself into this mess?" They comfort and guide the rescue. 

Honestly, a bad decision is sometimes obvious. Other times, misfortune steps into an ordinary day. It is not about the "how," it is about the "now" when help arrives. 

Some of the people Jesus encountered had lived difficult lives. Circumstance, illness, loss, and fear brought them to the place where they were ready to reach out for help and rescue. It is often in crisis or pain when God finally gets our attention. When things are going well, humans do not always recognize the need for a Savior. Pride goes before a fall. In the trials, we find ourselves seeking help. 

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” -Luke 19:10

He came to rescue us, but we can refuse to acknowledge Him. 

Today, I am grateful for search and rescue. 

The Time Given To Us...

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 115: Today, I am grateful for the time given to us.

JRR Tolkien was no stranger to loss. Neither was his close friend. CS Lewis. Their relationship was more of an "iron sharpens iron" when discussions turned to God. 

Both loved storytelling and digging deep into the wonder of knowing God and coming into a relationship with him. Tolkien came to faith early in life. Lewis wrestled with the decision. Tolkien walked with him as a friend. Tolkien was a devout Catholic; Lewis returned to the Anglican (Episcopalian) church he left as a teen. They were lifelong friends with many shared experiences. They were quite a pair. They had a passion to know God better and deeper. 

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." -JRR Tolkien, from Gandalf to Frodo, "Fellowship of the Ring"

None of us knows the number of our days. We must choose carefully how to spend each one of them. It was a reality the friends had experienced way too early in life. It helped them ask some of the big questions about what really matters in life. They worshiped under different roofs, but they were brothers in Christ. Oh to have been a fly on the wall when they were pondering the aspects of the Holy Trinity. 

CS Lewis dedicated "The Screwtape Letters" to Tolkien. It is a reminder that the enemy is alive and well, calculating our demise. I am confident Tolkien laughed aloud at times, and perhaps he saw glimpses of conversations shared in the writings. Iron sharpens iron. 

Tolkein was at the graveside when Lewis was buried. How his heart must have ached at the loss of his dear friend. He knew that the separation was temporary. He knew he would have to decide what to do with the remaining time on his clock. He was grateful for the times shared and the deeper walk with the Lord each knew because of the other. 

They did friendship well. 

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." -Romans 12:15

Today, I am grateful for the time given to us.

Mixed Blessings

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 115: Today, I am grateful for the mixed blessings. 

Spring is a season that is full of many kinds of weather. The days can change quickly, and at times it takes us by surprise. This quote from Frances Hodgson Burnett's "Secret Garden" capture is well. 

"Is the spring coming? ... What is it like?" 

"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine..." 

 The passage is a wonderful capture of the wonder and the beauty of it all. Is the sun shining on the rain or is the rain falling on the sunshine? I think the simple answer is "yes" to both. 

Soon the baby birds will hatch and learn to fly. The lilacs and peonies are coming soon. The bunnies are everywhere. I do love spring. Without the rain there would be no flowers. The sunshine warms the soil so the seeds come to life and take root. Both are necessary. 

"He makes all things beautiful in His time."

Today, I am grateful for the mixed blessings. 

Simple Memories

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 114: Today, I am grateful for simple memories that make me smile. 

This is the kind of phone I grew up with. I remember getting a push button phone but these old, solid rotary phones were still around the house. They didn't fail. They worked long after the push button versions didn't. 

This is the phone that could ring on a party line so you knew if you should answer or let it ring on for the neighbors on your party line (the Corbin's and the Krueger's). 

This is the phone that might confuse youth today. It seems so obvious to those who know how it works. I wonder if these still work with today's technology? 

After yesterday's post, my first thought was how slow this technology would seem with today's modern devices. Of course, at that time we only used area codes for long distance calls. 4-2504 was Grandpa and Grandma. 4-2002 what Uncle Larry and Aunt Judy. 4-2607 was Aunt Mary and Uncle Mel. That was all we needed. So, it really didn't take long. 

Phone technology has changed so much over the past 30 years. Now, we carry it with us. I am not always sure that is a good thing. We are living out what only Star Trek dreamed of in the 1960's. 

What is easy is not always good. Technology, like many things, has its good and its bad features. We are the ones who choose if we use them or they use us.  

"“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many." -Matthew 7:13

What are the simple memories that make you smile today? Where can you choose simple today? 

Today, I am grateful for simple memories that make me smile. 

Unhurried

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 113: Today, I am grateful for unhurried moments. 

This poem is beautiful: 

I WILL NOT HURRY
I will not hurry through this day!
Lord, I will listen by the way,
To humming bees and singing birds,
To speaking trees and friendly words;
And for the moments in between
Seek glimpses of Thy great Unseen.
I will not hurry through this day;
I will take time to think and pray;
I will look up into the sky,
Where fleecy clouds and swallows fly;
And somewhere in the day, maybe
I will catch whispers, Lord, from Thee! 

-Ralph Spaulding Cushman 1879-1960

The unhurried moments are where we find some of the best things in the day. The cool scent of the morning before the day heats up, the scent of fresh coffee, the sun peeking at daybreak before it fully rises to light and warm the day are just a few of the moments I do not want to hurry.

Hurrying too often distracts us from what is important. 

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

Today, I am grateful for unhurried moments. 

My Little Brother

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 112: Today, I am grateful for my little brother. 

My world changed on this day. It is the anniversary of  my baby brother's arrival. I was six years older and it was so fun to have a real baby of my own. Well, he wasn't exactly mine, but I bossed him around like a mom. We've often said it is a wonder he even likes me, let alone loves me. 

My side of the story is that it took all three of us... Mom, Dad, and me... to keep him alive. April was sometimes his keeper, and sometimes his partner in crime. We grew up running barefoot with plenty of sunshine. 

My first gray hairs likely came from him. I adore him! It is probably good that I was gone before his teen years. He walked at 7 months and climbed grain silos... alone... when he was two. 

He taught me to drive a stick shift when he was twelve and I was 17 after Dad tried and failed. Dad was mad. I was in tears. Matt said, "Let's go, Babe." It was not his usual name for me... but at that moment he was the big brother. 15 minutes later, I was on my way to perfecting the skill. 

I love his quick wit, common sense, and wisdom. I love that we laugh together and are touched by many of the same things. Who knew that he would grow up to be one of my best friends, too? I am grateful for the wife he chose and that she said yes. Laughing together is one of life's greatest pleasures. The time together is never long enough. Be it as two couples... or even better with all of our children (by birth and by blessing-in-love) ... it is always good to be together. 

He is a wonderful husband, dad, brother, uncle, and he loves the land just like Grandpa, Dad, and Uncle Mel. He is my brother, and I celebrate the gift of another year added to his count. 

“‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ -Numbers 6:24-26

Today, I am grateful for my little brother.