It Only Takes a Spark...

Greetings in the name of our Lord! He is the One Who sustains us, loves us, protects us, guides us, and when we call upon His name, HE IS IN CONTROL! If you feel your situation is out of control, then stop right now and invite Him to take over! AMEN!

This past weekend I had a chance to visit with a beautiful, elderly lady who has been a spiritual mentor to me for most of my life.  She is an amazing woman of God and a true depiction of what the Bible says in Titus 2:3-5 “Older women are to teach what is right and good,  so that they may encourage young women to tenderly love their husbands and their children,  to be sensible, pure, makers of a home [where God is honored], and good-natured…”

During our conversation she said something powerful: “Yenise, I have never gotten into trouble for keeping my mouth shut. But I have suffered many consequences for those times I didn’t!” 

Wouldn’t you know that the Bible agrees?

James 3: 5-6 “A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!  It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.”

I certainly wouldn’t want to bring destruction because of something I said, nor would I want to turn harmony into chaos, or much less, go up in smoke because of my speech. So I loudly “amened” my mentor’s wise words over and over and nodded my head heartily in agreement, and then last night I OPENED MY BIG MOUTH!!!

I will spare everyone the details of the vulgarity that I spewed at my husband in front of my kids and their lovely spouses. Even the dogs stopped for a moment, cocked their ears, and looked at me funny. But I can assure you that what I said right from the pit of hell. Ugh!

What is wrong with me? I wished I could have taken it back. But at least I had the good sense to apologize immediately, and Jorge quickly forgave me. 

Moving forward, I am asking the good Lord to remind me that I will never have any regrets if I KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Your Word gives good advice. If we follow Your wisdom we will avoid setting off forest fires with our words. Help us; it’s never worth it! In Jesus’ name, AMEN.  

Not Even The Powers of Hell~

Romans 8:38 "Nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love."

Recently, my father-in-law, Chini (pronounced CHEE-NEE), picked up my precious four-year-old nephew from pre-school.  The teacher explained to Chini that she had given my little nephew a note to give to his mother.  Apparently, the little guy and she had a minor disagreement, and it was important for the parents to know.

However, when Chini and he arrived home later that morning, my father-in-law saw him take the note, waddle it up, and throw it away in the garbage.  I thought it was so funny but of course, the note was retrieved and it was very patiently and kindly explained to Mr. Danny that actions have consequences.  This is innocence at its finest.  All one has to do to avoid consequences is throw away the evidence.

If only it were that simple.  But why do you suppose Danny threw it out in the first place?  The same reason Rayray hid a speeding ticket from me once.

In her case, she was so overwrought with agony that she did something foolish.  (This was eight years ago, so I am allowed to share.)  She had been staying the night at a friend’s house, and they were on their way back from who knows where, and she was pulled over and given the citation.  By the time they got back to her friend’s house, Rayray was near hysteria, and her friend’s mom, in an effort to calm Miss Rayray down, offered to pay the ticket.  Case closed!

Except that a few days later I started receiving a bunch of advertisement for ticket lawyers and traffic clinics, and my spidey sense started tingling.  I flat out asked her about it and she confessed THE WHOLE UGLY TRUTH.

I called the other mom and kept my composure as I politely explained that it was a big NO-NO to rescue other people’s children without authorization.  I also sent her a check to cover the cost of the ticket.

However, you know what upset me more than anything else? It was not that Rayray got the ticket.  It was not that she made a poor choice in allowing the other mom to help her out.  It was in thinking I would be so catastrophically upset that she had no other choice but to freak out.  Jesus, have mercy! I have been such a calm and easy going mother.  I asked her when in the history of our mother/daughter relationship had I ever lost my cool, threatened to kill her, or otherwise gotten so royally upset that it caused her to be afraid?  The response was a quiet little "never."

That’s right, people, never.  And yet, my little Rayray, just like my little nephew, tried to hide the evidence for fear of what those in charge might do.  What a difference it would have made if Rayray had come to me, crawled into my lap, and talked it over while I stroked her curly hair.  So much additional drama could have been avoided.

Have you ever been there and felt that way?  Have you ever avoided talking to God, perhaps, for fear that He would be angry or upset with you?  Nothing could be further from the truth.  God is not mad at any of us.  Maybe a little frustrated because He has so much good to offer that we constantly bypass on, but mad? Disappointed? Angry? Nope.  On the contrary.  God is madly in love with us and eager to give us the guidance, forgiveness, peace, joy, and protection we all need.  If there is something holding us back in our relationship with Him, it’s not on His end.  He’s all in all the time waiting for us to give Him a shout out.  Always keep the verse above close to your heart.  Nothing you have ever done or will do, not even the powers of hell, can stop God from loving you. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that nothing can stop Your love for us. Help us to get this into our souls.  We never want to run from You when we need You so much.  This verse assures us that running to You is always the right response.  You will love us through it all.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

The Domino Effect~

TGIF Blessings:)

 

Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare."

 

I want you all to know that I have thought about that poor dentist (see yesterday's DEVO) over the years--13 years to be exact. Sometimes I wonder how everything would have turned out if I would have acted like a civilised human being. Worse, I sometimes think about the domino effect.

 

There's a commercial I really like because it has a gentleman opening a door for someone who had just helped someone cross the street, who had himself just allowed someone to cut in line at the market etc...And the message is that because someone did something nice for us, we turn around and do the same. It's a great message, but I wonder if the opposite is true.

 

What if I ruined the dentist's day and then he was grumpy the rest of the afternoon and was less than kind himself to a patient who then goes home with a sore mouth and a foul mood and snaps back at their spouse who turns around and puts the dog out and the dog, feeling vulnerable and rejected, bites a neighbor?

 

However, I can also testify that when we stop the rudeness dead in its tracks--when we practice self-control--we can change the course of the domino effect.

 

One day I went to pick up Rachel at school. In the immediate moments after the bell rang, a few of the moms and I were talking in the classroom while she and her buddies were playing. Back then guitar string bracelets were all the rage, and it was common to see all the little girls wearing as many as 20 at a time. Rachel's little friend gave her one, and thinking it was elastic, Rayray pulled it and of course, it was stretched beyond repair. The mother of the little girl went ballistic.

 

She went right up to Rayray, pointed a finger in her precious shocked face, and yelled ATROCITIES at her. "Look what you did!" "You should be ashamed!" "You are a vandal!" "You did it on purpose because you are jealous!" "You are the worst friend ever!"

 

I was literally one foot away, and for one brief moment, as I felt the heat rising on the back of my neck, time stood still and three things crossed my mind. (1) I am going to jail for murder, (2) I am going to wind up my arm and unleash a right hook and bust the teeth out of her mouth. ( I know a great dentist.), and (3) This is all going to go down in front of a bunch of witnesses, including my son who had by then come into the room.

 

And then I heard a whisper. God Himself bent over and gently said to my soul that my reaction would have consequences--good or bad. A question came to me: "Do you have room in your heart for forgiveness?"

 

Well, dang! Clearly God was watching me, and I never want to let Him down. So I stepped in between that mother and Rayray, and with the kindness that only Jesus can give when we purpose to do the right thing, I very quietly apologized for the incident. I assured her that Rachel hadn't meant to do it. I pulled out my wallet and offered to pay her one full American dollar bill plus tax for the one that was damaged because that was the cost plus $20 more for good measure. I encouraged Rayray to say she was sorry. I gathered my kids, went to the car, and sat there in stunned silence.

 

I finally drove home. My hands were shaking the whole time, and I was kind of sick to my stomach the rest of the afternoon. But that night I received a phone call from that mom. She was weeping and apologizing profusely. She explained that she had had a terrible day (she is an oncology nurse); she never meant to take it out on a small innocent child, much less in such a public way in front every one including her own kids. Would I ever forgive her? Would Rachel? We made our peace and were really good friends after that. Even traveled together a few times.

 

And from that moment until now I try to think of how we can all change the course of the domino effect.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord,

Sometimes we forfeit blessings because we choose to let our anger--no matter how justified--to take over. May we all always hear Your voice, which is forever encouraging us to do the right thing with Jesus' help. AMEN~