Go Against the Flow

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 250:  Today, I am grateful for reminders to go against the flow. 

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, - he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind."  -C. S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis always has witty things to say. The crowd is not always right. In fact, the crowd often gets in wrong. Strength of body, mind, and soul are required to go against the flow. 

When you feel unsure, pause and pray. Seek guidance. Read His word. When the correct direction becomes clear, bravely swim against the flow. 

"So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you." -Proverbs 9:8

Today, I am grateful for reminders to go against the flow. 

Invitation into my Head

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 249:  Today, I am grateful I can choose who I invite into my head. 

"Someone said to me recently that "in the morning when I wake, I ask God to get into my head before I do." That's some of the best advice I've heard lately." 

Good advice, indeed. My head seems to easily invite things that do not make the day better. I forget that I have the power to choose who I invite into my head. The enemy of our souls is ready and willing to fill our minds with worry, doubt, fear, frustration, and anger. Those are not even close to fruits of the spirit. 

What ordinary things can we do to start the day with that invitation? Prayer before we roll out of bed. The music we listen to on the way to work matters, too. I am so grateful for WCIC, our local radio station that shares the Good News every hour of the day. The right song at the right time is a game changer. 

How about a verse of the day? A dive into His word always makes me hunger for more. We can only truly think one thought at a time. Seek truth. Seek light. We can be careful whom we invite into our heads. 

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." -Philippians 4:8

Today, I am grateful I can choose who I invite into my head. 

Opossum: A Change of Heart

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 248:  Today, I am grateful for a change of heart. 

I owe the opossum community. I did not do mice/rats and opossums. I remember our friend, Robin, took us to  Wildlife Prairie Park where she volunteered. Oreo, the skunk, was adorable. CeCe the opossum, I could barely bring myself to pet the sweet girl. 

For all the CeCe's of the world, I regret my attitude and misjudgment. I am so sorry. I know God had a perfect design in creating all creatures great and small, but I just did not see it in you. I do not have "God Goggles." 

It happened one night. Daisy Mae insisted on going outside. She persisted so I let her out. It was the middle of the night. She bolted out, I turned on the light, and there it was. A junior sized opossum. Not an adult and not a baby. There was a hiss and then it played dead. I prayed. I feared it biting Daisy Mae. My brain was racing. I would not get her to come into the house. She nosed it, and eventually lost interest. 

I was so grateful she was not hurt, but my mind raced with the alternative endings to the story. I researched opossums immediately and went to bed with a change of heart. They are misunderstood. 

This morning I found this: https://littlethings.com/pets/possum-facts and had AI help summarize the information. I recommend a visit for all of the cute pictures. Yes, I said cute. I have had a total change of heart. When I learned about all they do to help nature and us, I am now a fan. 

The Bright Side of Opossums

1. Non-Aggressive & Peaceful -Opossums rarely pose a threat—even when threatened, they don’t bite. Instead, they employ their famous "playing dead" defense to avoid conflict.  LittleThings.com; Wikipedia

2. Highly Unlikely to Carry Rabies

Their naturally low body temperature makes it difficult for rabies to thrive in them, making them one of the least likely wild mammals to carry it. 

LittleThings.com; Wikipedia

3. Nature’s Pest Controllers: Ticks: A single opossum can remove—or eat—thousands of ticks per week through diligent grooming. -LittleThings.com; Southern Living; Wikipedia

(Note: Some recent studies question how many ticks show up in wild stomach contents, but their grooming habits remain impressive.) -Wikipedia; Reddit

Garden Pests: They also feast on slugs, beetles, cockroaches, and other nuisances—without harming your plants.  LittleThings.com

4. Efficient Natural Clean-Up Crew: Opossums will eat carrion, including roadkill—even bones—helping keep ecosystems clean.  LittleThings.com; Southern Living

5. Evolutionary Endurance:  As “living fossils,” they’ve survived over 65–70 million years with remarkably little change—a testament to their resilience. LittleThings.com; Live Science

6. Immune to Snake Venom: Many opossums carry a protein called Lethal Toxin Neutralizing Factor in their blood, granting them resistance to venom from snakes like rattlesnakes. LittleThings.com; Live Science

7. Smart and Resourceful: Opossums outperform some domestic animals in tasks like food location and memory—clever foragers.  LittleThings.com

8. Unique in North America:  They’re the only native marsupial on the continent, fascinating for their pouch-based young and clutch of evolutionary traits. LittleThings.com; Live Science

There are times when we do not understand things. There are times we misjudge. I need to pray, "Lord, help me see what you see, feel what you feel, and love like you love."

"And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart." -Ezekiel 36:26

Today, I am grateful for a change of heart. 

The Pattern Pieces

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 247:  Today, I am grateful for what God does with the pieces. 

I saw this quote and it captured my attention:

"I'm not going to talk about what broke me. I'm going to tell  you what God did with the pieces." 

Mama Ina Mae loved to sew. I remember looking at pattern pieces, clueless as to how they would ever work into the design of the finished project, yet they did. Every time. 

In fact, leaving out the tiny little pieces of a pattern could mean the project turns out as something that isn't comfortable to wear or professional looking. The pattern pieces all come together. 

This was my verse of the day:

"Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you." -2 Timothy 1:13-14

The pattern of wholesome teaching is to be learned and shaped by our faith and love for Jesus. The Holy Spirit is like having Mama beside you when you are looking blankly at the pieces, trying to put a dress pattern together. Guiding, urging, whispering encouragement at every turn when the pieces are mixed up and puzzling. 

When hard things happen, it is easy to focus on the broken pieces that make no sense. Instead, we can step back for a new perspective and watch what a faithful God can do with the pieces. 

Today, I am grateful for what God does with the pieces. 

Proof

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 246:  Today, I am grateful for proof.

"Perhaps the butterfly is proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness yet become something beautiful." -TobyMac, Speak Life

Our yard is full of butterflies. We have some plants that attract them. They are glorious to watch as they flit effortlessly between blooms drinking in the sweetness of the gorgeous early fall days. 

Forgotten are the days of crawling on the ground as a worm. Gone are those who pluck them from the gardens. Gone are the days of endless hunger. Gone is the darkness of the cocoon that must have felt like the end. 

New life arrived with a lightness and wings. New life came with the ability to flit, fly, and taste the sweet nectar of flowers in all of their glory. What a way to wake up from a long sleep!

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" -2 Corinthians 5:17

Nature provides us so many glimpses into the nature, heart, and creativity of our God. Deep, depressing seasons of darkness are never the end for those who seek His face. 

Today, I am grateful for proof.

Jennifer

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 245:  Today, I am grateful for Jennifer. 

She is the sister my brother chose for me. I could not be more grateful. She has a generous and grateful heart. She loves my brother with every heartbeat and always seeks to do the right thing. She is fiercely loyal and fun to be with, no matter what we are doing.  She loves Randy, our boys, and their girls. She is the epitome of family. Hanson, Voight, Bess, and Lindgren. She is the glue. 

She embraces all that it means to love the land and small town life. She is one of those people who shows up when everyone else walks out. She loves sand, sunshine, the soil, and shoes. She does not love snakes!

In under two weeks, she will be the Mother of the Bride for a second time, adding another son to the family tree. Steven and Cody are blessed to have a mother-in-love and not a mother-in-law. 

There is always room at her table. She welcomes a knock at the door. She watches over us all. She has no idea how much she is treasured. 

"Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family." -Proverbs 7:4

Wisdom comes from God and Jennifer did, too. She is a gift. 

Today, I am grateful for Jennifer. 

God is not in Time."

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 244:  Today, I am grateful our God is not in Time.

I cannot tell you when this truth became evident to me. I grew up recognizing the scripture that "his days are not our days." He does not really work on a 24-hour clock. He is without that boundary and limitation. 

The brilliant C.S. Lewis wrote Mere Christianity. It is for the deep thinkers and for those who want to think deeply in smaller doses. He does an amazing job of explaining how God is not bound by our earthly limitations. 

"Almost certainly God is not in Time. His life doesn’t consist of moments following one another. If a million people are praying to Him at ten-thirty tonight, He hasn’t got to listen to them all in that one little snippet which we call “ten-thirty.” Ten-thirty, and every other moment from the beginning to the end of the world, is always the Present for Him. If you like to put it that way, He has infinity in which to listen to the split second of prayer put up by a pilot as his plane crashes in flames.

That’s difficult, I know. Can I try to give something, not the same, but a bit like it? Suppose I’m writing a novel. I write “Mary laid down her book; next moment came a knock at the door.” For Mary, who’s got to live in the imaginary time of the story, there’s no interval between putting down the book and hearing the knock. But I, her creator, between writing the first part of that sentence and the second, may have gone out for an hour’s walk and spent the whole hour thinking about Mary. I know that’s not a perfect example, but it may just give a glimpse of what I mean. The point I want to drive home is that God has infinite attention, infinite leisure to spare for each one of us. He doesn’t have to take us in the line. You’re as much alone with Him as if you were the only thing He’d ever created.

When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you’d been the only man in the
world." -C.S. Lewis

God has infinite attention for you and for me. He, in Jesus, took on the challenge of being earthbound for about 33 years. I cannot even fathom it.  

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:17 

Perhaps it gives some insight to this passage. It takes place in the garden with Mary Magdalene. She was overwhelmed and her instant response would have been to reach out and embrace her beloved "Rabboni." He stopped her. Not in rebuke, but because he needed to finish something. He would return and appear to many. How? He is not in Time. 

Today, I am grateful our God is not in Time.