You Haven't Changed a Bit!

Has anybody ever said that to you?  I have had several occasions in recent months to see friends I haven't seen for quite some time, many years in some cases.  And nearly all of them said the same thing......."you haven't changed a bit!"

That made me laugh........mainly because I own a mirror, and I know it isn't true! I have pictures to prove it!  Maybe I should share some of those pictures.  On second thought, maybe not!  I have been fat, and I have been thin, and I have been everything in between.  I have had long hair, and I have had short hair, and every length in between.  And I have had a variety of shades of hair color.  I was even a redhead for a time.  Not a pretty picture!  I once was painfully shy, and now.....not so much!  I was young, and now I am not.

So, to say I haven't changed a bit is not entirely accurate.  Well, I'm still short.  That much hasn't changed!  So when I hear people say I haven't changed a bit, I just have to giggle.

But......there's a level at which I hear "you haven't changed a bit!" and I cringe.  I hope that isn't true!  Not to have changed at all in 5 or 10 or 20 years????  How horrible!

To go for long periods of time and not change at all is to remain stagnant.  Picture a stagnant puddle of water or a stagnant pond.  Yuck!  Not a very appealing picture, is it?

Now to be clear, I'm pretty sure that when people have seen me for the first time in many years and they have said I haven't changed, they have been referring to physical appearance or perhaps to personality.  I do, after all, still laugh and smile a lot.  A lot!  I do still want to bring joy and happiness to those around me.  But.......

Think with me for just a minute on a deeper, spiritual level.  To never change.  To never mature in my thinking.  To never go deeper in my faith.  How sad that would be.

So, if people look beyond the crinkles around my eyes, or if they fail to notice the extra pounds, that's a good thing and I'm pretty happy about that.  Those changes, after all, are only on the surface.

But, oh how I hope I have changed on the inside.  How I hope I'm constantly changing.  That day by day, I'm maturing in my faith.  That day by day, I am becoming all that God desires me to be.  That day by day, I'm becoming more like Jesus!

"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  (2 Peter 3:18 HCSB)

A Day at the Beach

I'm back home in the mountains after a wonderful trip to Florida......good times, family fun, memories made!  One favorite memory that I'm reflecting back on this morning is a day at the beach.

It was a perfect beach day.  Warm, but not too hot.  A gentle breeze was blowing.  I sat in my comfy beach chair taking in the sights and sounds.  A beautiful blue sky with not a cloud in sight.  Pristine white sand.  The blue-green water of the Gulf of Mexico.  It was an absolutely spectacular day!  As I enjoyed all the sights and sounds of the beach, I could not help but pause to give thanks to God for the beauty of the world He created!

The beach is also a great place for people-watching!  And people-watch I did!!  I saw all shapes and sizes.  Tall and short.  Thin and round.  Young and old.  Varieties of hair colors and skin colors.  And I found myself completely in awe of the creativity of our God!  We all are basically the same.....arms, legs, head, torso.  But beyond that, the variety is infinite.  What an amazing God!!

"It was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb.  I will praise You, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made."  (Psalm 139:13-14 HCSB)

Happy Birthday!

Today is a special day!  Today I am celebrating! On this day, 37 years ago, I became a mother.  At 6:17 pm, just 47 minutes after I walked through the doors at Baptist Hospital in Columbia, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy!  Incidentally, three years later it happened again.  Same hospital.  Another beautiful baby boy.  And once again, doorway to delivery, 47 minutes!!! 

I'm not celebrating because delivery was short.  And pretty easy.  Although those of you who have been down that road will realize that 47 minutes.....not with one birth, but two.....is pretty unusual and worthy of celebration!

But if you know me well, or if you have been reading this blog for any period of time, then you will realize how special  it is.  How deserving of celebration.  Now, don't get me wrong.  All births are deserving of celebration.  But......

Back when this first-born child of ours was only a dream in our hearts, our dreams were shattered when we were told by doctors that we could never have children. 

So today, I celebrate!!  I celebrate that God knows more than any doctor knows!  I celebrate that beautiful baby boy who grew up to be a handsome young man.  On days like this, I travel down memory lane.  Remembering the cute little toddler.  And the sometimes rebellious teenager.  Remembering the pride I felt when he joined the Air Force and went off to serve his country.  Remembering how hard it was during those years when he was far from home.  Nearly bursting with joy over the man he has become as I watch him be the parent.

Today, I'm celebrating Brian.  But I'm celebrating so much more.  I'm celebrating a faithful and loving Heavenly Father.  And I'm celebrating answered prayer.

"For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him."           (1 Samuel 1:27 KJV)

Why Me?

Have you ever uttered those words?  Ever heard someone else say them?  Probably so.  And more than likely, the context was negative.  As in, why is this _______ (fill in the blank with whatever horrible thing you can think of!!) happening to me?  Or as in, what did I do to deserve this?

But have you ever asked that question in a postive sense?  As in, what did I ever do to deserve this good thing?  As in, why am I so blessed?

I've been wondering that this morning.  I have just received news of yet another friend who is dealing with bad health news.  We have a number of friends who are dealing with health crises of one sort or another right now.  And friends of friends who are facing some tough stuff.  Relatives and relatives of friends who are facing difficulties.....health issues, job problems, financial stress.  There's a lot of really bad stuff out there happening to people we care about a lot.

And in the middle of it all, Al and I are asking ourselves this morning.....why are we so blessed?  What have we ever done to deserve all the goodness God has heaped on us?    Why is this stuff happening to other people and not to us?

Please don't misunderstand me.  I am beyond grateful that we personally are not having to deal with some of the really hard stuff that many people are dealing with!  I am well aware that we are blessed beyond measure.  And not just in material ways.  There are many people who have much more in measurable, material things than we do.  And many, many more who have less.  So, while I am grateful for the financial resources and the "stuff" that we have, I'm not just talking about that.

I'm also talking about the blessings of good health, for example.  Sure, we're beginning to show our age.  There are some of those age-related things like creaky knees and achy bones and stuff like that.  But we are blessed to be pretty healthy.  And I am so very thankful.

We have the blessing of a wonderful relationship with each other.  After nearly 40 years of marriage, we not only still love each other, we still like each other!!  And we enjoy spending time together!

I don't understand it.  But I know that I am blessed beyond what I can even comprehend.  Not because I deserve it.  In spite of the fact that I don't!  In spite of myself!

Why me?  And why are other dear, Godly people not as blessed?  Why do many ungodly prosper?  And many Godly people suffer?  I don't know.  I have no answers for those questions.  But this I do know.  I know that God is in control.  I know that He has a plan and a purpose.  I know that His way is perfect.  I know that He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him.....not that things will always be good, but that things will work out for the good...and that good is that we be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29.......don't ever stop at verse 28; you must read on to verse 29!!).

Above all....."I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth."  (Job 19:25 NASB).

And until then.....no matter what.....in good times and in bad......"since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:1-2  NASB)

The Morning After

It's a beautiful morning on our mountain.  A light breeze is blowing.  The sun is shining.

Last night, however, was a completely different story.  As we settled in our comfy chairs to watch Jeopardy, we noticed a weather warning scrolling across the TV screen.  Tornado watch.  Severe thunderstorm warning.  We noticed that the wind was starting to howl.  Then the furniture on the porch started "relocating".  And then all that intensified, so we decided to head for the basement.

Molly was actually the first down the stairs!  She hates storms!

From that "down under" perspective, the sound of the furniture moving around on the porch was really creepy!  The wind howled.  Torrents of rain fell.  The folded-up folding chairs were unfolded by the wind.  The unfolded folding chairs were folded up!  A table was turned upside down.  Rainwater came under the basement garage door, which has never happened in all the years we have lived here.  All that lasted for about an hour.

This morning, things are back to "normal".  The furniture has been returned to its proper place.  Except for all the twigs and branches on the ground, you would never know a storm had passed through.  I can't see any damage, except for a broken wind chime on the carport.  And for that, I am most thankful.

Last night was one of those occasions which make me so very thankful for parents and teachers who encouraged me to memorize Scripture when I was a little girl.  I'm thankful I can call those verses to mind.  Verses like Psalm 56:3:  "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

As I was drifting off to sleep last night, the verses of an old gospel hymn came to mind as well.......

" 'Til the storm passes over,

'til the thunder sounds no more,

'Til the clouds roll forever from the skies.

Hold me fast, let me stand,

In the hollow of Your hand.

Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by."

(-Mosie Lister)