Good Sermon today by Rev. Tim Smith, Sparta First Church of the Nazarene. His focus on this pre-Thanksgiving Sunday was on gratitude. It's rather difficult to be thankful and complain at the same time. One sort of wipes out the other, you know? When others look at you, listen to you...do they see you as a grateful person, or a grumbler? What do you want to be remembered as?
Well, obviously, the sermon hit me between the eyes. I like to hand out compliments, look for ways to encourage others. But behind the scenes, in my "private" world at home, I do more than my share of grumbling...I might even be a grouch. Wow...I don't want that to be the person people think of when they think of me. I don't want them running away from me, avoiding me. That means I have to change.
Change...at age 60...does not come easy, or even naturally. I have to make obvious choices to shut my mouth, to turn off the negative thoughts by replacing them with gratitude. I must think on what is right...goood...lovely, and no longer dwell on the things that irk me or disappoint me. I want to be an easy person to live with. I want to learn to laugh more, smile more, reach out more. I've been huddled up in my private world too long, and this past weekend gave me a good dose of what it feels like to be alone and lonely.
The question is...can Carol change at 60? By now I should be a woman of wisdom and have all my ducks in a row and know how to shrug off the disappointments of life. I should know how to focus on the positives in my life. Life is too short to be a complainer, a grumbler. With the grace of God and the nudge of His Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ living within me I CAN change. And I must. I've been given my marching orders in the sermon this morning. What a practical sermon, full of truth, and very convicting...probably to most of us who heard it. Thank you, Father God, for yet another chance to change. Please help me, starting NOW!!
Showing posts with label irritation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label irritation. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Mickey and the Pearl
I read a devotional last week about life's irritations. They seem to aggravate us, but we should get used to them and accept them as part of living...for everyone has them, and they occur frequently.
The devotional talked about a piece of sand piercing through an oyster shell, causing irritation to the oyster. The oyster calls upon all of its resources to come and surround that sand with healing balm, and soon a pearl is formed. That's how we should look upon our irritations...make pearls out of them.
The other night hubby was irritated because he had forgotten something at the office. He remembered it at supper time, and just didn't want to make a trip back out in the cold snow and ice. However, about an hour later he knew he needed to go get the equipment.
When he pulled up to the office in his vehicle, there was a little three pound miniature poodle huddled up by the door, literally freezing to death. When Mickey, the poodle, saw someone coming, he hobbled down the steps on three legs (one was rendered useless in the cold). He could hardly walk because he was shivering so badly. Hubby picked him up and put him inside his coat to warm him up.
After retrieving his equipment, he took Mickey back home to his owners, several blocks away. When they answered their door bell they were shocked to see Mickey peeking out from hubby's coat. They had put him out and had forgotten about him, and the dog can't bark. They were very relieved to see Mickey, but not as relieved as Mickey was to be rescued from the cold and sure death.
Hubby said that it was the hand of God that made it necessary for him to make that trip back out to the office. If he had not gone, we would have found a dead dog on the office porch the next morning. The irritation became a pearl that saved Mickey.
We just never know how our irritations in life might be benefiting somebody else. With that in mind, perhaps we should take a different view on how we look at and handle those things that tend to aggravate us. God may very well have a purpose in them!
The devotional talked about a piece of sand piercing through an oyster shell, causing irritation to the oyster. The oyster calls upon all of its resources to come and surround that sand with healing balm, and soon a pearl is formed. That's how we should look upon our irritations...make pearls out of them.
The other night hubby was irritated because he had forgotten something at the office. He remembered it at supper time, and just didn't want to make a trip back out in the cold snow and ice. However, about an hour later he knew he needed to go get the equipment.
When he pulled up to the office in his vehicle, there was a little three pound miniature poodle huddled up by the door, literally freezing to death. When Mickey, the poodle, saw someone coming, he hobbled down the steps on three legs (one was rendered useless in the cold). He could hardly walk because he was shivering so badly. Hubby picked him up and put him inside his coat to warm him up.
After retrieving his equipment, he took Mickey back home to his owners, several blocks away. When they answered their door bell they were shocked to see Mickey peeking out from hubby's coat. They had put him out and had forgotten about him, and the dog can't bark. They were very relieved to see Mickey, but not as relieved as Mickey was to be rescued from the cold and sure death.
Hubby said that it was the hand of God that made it necessary for him to make that trip back out to the office. If he had not gone, we would have found a dead dog on the office porch the next morning. The irritation became a pearl that saved Mickey.
We just never know how our irritations in life might be benefiting somebody else. With that in mind, perhaps we should take a different view on how we look at and handle those things that tend to aggravate us. God may very well have a purpose in them!
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