Have you ever had the sense that you should take your life in a certain, a different, direction? If so, was it a direction in which you weren't ready to go? What happens when we find ourselves in such predicaments?
From my experience, when one asks for guidance, the answer sometimes comes in such a form making that person realize they can do nothing but what their soul wants.
For instance: One may say, "God, I hate my job. Please help me to enjoy it more or give me something new." Soon after that, this person may be laid off, forcing them to seek new employment.
They may become angry and scared, but if they think about it, they'll realize that they asked for this opportunity. Can it be scary? You bet ya. Is it worthwhile? You bet
ya.
How does one go about getting over the fear to make that leap? Total and complete trust that they will be caught, is the only way to avoid this kind of fear.
That reminds me of something that helped me to see that we will be caught:
About 7 years ago, when my daughter was 4, she and I were at the community pool one hot summer afternoon. I watched this scene unfold; as I watched it, I realized how it parallels our relationship to God.
A father was standing in the shallow end of the pool coaxing his 4 year old daughter, who was standing on the edge, to jump in.
"No daddy, I'm scared."
"But Honey, I'll catch you. I promise."
"I'm still scared. What if you miss."
"I won't miss Honey. I'll catch you."
"But daddy, it's really scary."
"I know it's really scary but please trust me."
And with that the little girl jumped. She landed right into his outstretched arms.
"See, I told you I'd catch you."
The little girl laughed and hugged her daddy. She truly had fun in jumping and wanted to do it again.
Tears came to my eyes as I realized that the father was like God and the little girl us, so frightened and not very trusting. All along God knows that if we jump, we'll find that it really isn't all that scary. He will catch us, every time.
In fact, the joy that we can get from jumping wipes out all memory of the fear we once had. We'll be saying, "Why was I so scared? That was so easy and it was fun!" And then we'll find that with every jump we make, the next becomes easier, to the point where we jump without even thinking.
That, my friend, is complete trust. It starts with just a single jump.
Wishing you all, happy jumping!
Love, Patti Leap of Faith: All material written by Jeff or Patti in the above section is Copyright 2001, Mullen Corporation. You may use the material for non-commercial purposes if this notice is intact.
One evening I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of the "Don't want to be bothered" times.
"I hope he doesn't ask me for money," I thought. He didn't. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop and he didn't look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very nice car," he said. He was ragged but had an air of dignity around him. I said, "Thanks," and continued wiping off my car.
He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside said, 'ask him if he needs any help.' I was sure that he would say yes, but I held true to the inner voice.
"Do you need any help?" I asked. He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke three words that shook me.
"Don't we all?" he said.
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.
You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all. They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see.
Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that. Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise to minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves.
Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, then said, "Go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help."
"Don't We All?"
About a week before Christmas the family bought a new nativity scene. When they unpacked it they found
two figures of the Baby Jesus. "Someone must have packed this wrong," the mother said, counting out the figures. "We have one Joseph, one Mary, three wise men, three shepherds, two lambs, a donkey, a cow, an angel and two babies. Oh, dear! I suppose some set down at the store is missing a Baby Jesus because we have
two."
"You two run back down to the store and tell the manager that we have an extra Jesus. Tell him to put a sign on the remaining boxes saying that if a set is missing a Baby Jesus, call 7126. "Put on your warm coats, it's freezing cold out there."
The manager of the store copied down mother's message and the next time they were in the store they saw the cardboard sign that read,
"If you're missing Baby Jesus, call 7126."
All week long they waited for someone to call. Surely, they thought, someone was missing that important figurine. Each time the phone rang mother would say, "I'll bet that's about Jesus," but it never was. Father tried to explain there are thousands of these scattered over the country and the figurine could be missing from a set in Florida or Texas or California. Those packing mistakes happen all the time. He suggested just put the extra Jesus back in the box and forget about it. "Put Baby Jesus back in the box! What a terrible thing to do said the children." "Surely someone will call," mother said. "We'll just keep the two of them together in the
manger until someone calls."
When no call had come by 5:00 on Christmas Eve, mother insisted that father "just run down to the store" to see if there were any sets left. "You can see them right through the window, over on the counter," she said. "If they are all gone, I'll know someone is bound to call tonight." "Run down to the store?" father thundered. "It's 15 below zero out there!"
"Oh, Daddy, we'll go with you," Tommy and Mary began to put on their coats. Father gave a long sigh and headed for the front closet. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered.
Tommy and Mary ran ahead as father reluctantly walked out in the cold. Mary got to the store first and pressed her nose up to the store window. "They're all gone, Daddy," she shouted. "Every set must be sold."
"Hooray," Tommy said "The mystery will now be solved tonight!" Father heard the news still a half block away and immediately turned on his heel and headed back home. When they got back into the house they noticed that mother was gone and so was the extra Baby Jesus figurine. "Someone must have called and she went out to deliver the figurine," my father reasoned, pulling off his boots. "You kids get ready for bed while I wrap mother's present."
Then the phone rang. Father yelled "answer the phone and
tell 'em we found a home for Jesus." But it was mother calling with instructions for us to come to 205 Chestnut Street immediately, and bring three blankets, a box of cookies and some milk.
"Now what has she gotten us into?" my father groaned as we bundled up again. "205 Chestnut. Why that's across town. Wrap that milk up good in the blankets or it will turn to ice before we get there. Why can't we all just get on with Christmas? It's probably 20 below out there now. The wind is picking up. Of all the crazy things to do on a night like this."
When they got to the house at 205 Chestnut Street it was the darkest one on the block. Only one tiny light burned in the living room and, the moment we set foot on the porch steps, my mother opened the door and shouted, "They're here, Oh thank God you got here, Ray! You kids take those blankets into the living room and wrap up the little ones on the couch. I'll take the milk and cookies."
"Would you mind telling me what is going on, Ethel?" my father asked. "We have just walked through below zero weather with the wind in our faces all the way." "Never mind all that now," my mother interrupted. "There is no heat in this house and this young mother is so upset she doesn't know what to do. Her husband walked out on her and those poor little children will have a very bleak Christmas, so don't you complain. I told her you could fix that oil furnace in a jiffy.
My mother strode off to the kitchen to warm the milk while my brother and I wrapped up the five little children who were huddled together on the couch. The children's mother explained to my father that her husband had run off, taking bedding, clothing, and almost every piece of furniture, but she had been doing all right until the furnace broke down.
"I been doing washing and ironing for people and cleaning the five and dime," she said. "I saw your number every day there, on those boxes on the counter. "When the furnace went out, that number kept going through my mind, 7162 7162, that is what it said on the box." If a person is missing Jesus, they should call 7162 7162. That's how I knew you were good Christian people, willing to help folks. I figured that maybe you would help me, too. So stopped at the grocery store tonight and I called your miss's. I'm not missing Jesus, mister, because I sure love the Lord. But I am missing heat. I have no
money to fix that furnace.
"Okay, Okay!" said father. "You've come to the right place. Now
let's see. You've got a little oil burner over there in the dining room. Shouldn't be too hard to fix. Probably just a clogged flue. I'll look it over, see what it needs."
Mother came into the living room carrying a plate of cookies and warm milk. As she set the cups down on the coffee table, I noticed the figure of Baby Jesus lying in the center of the table. It was the only sign of Christmas in the house. The children stared wide-eyed with wonder at the plate of cookies my mother set before them.
Father finally got the oil burner working but said, "You need more oil. I'll make a few calls tonight and get some oil. Yes, sir, you came to the right
place," Father grinned.
On the way home Father did not complain about the cold weather and had barely set foot inside the door when he was on the phone.
"Ed, hey, how are ya, Ed? Yes, Merry Christmas to you, too. Say Ed, we have kind of an unusual situation here I know you've got that pickup truck. Do you still have some oil in that barrel on your truck? You do?"
By this time the rest of the family were pulling clothes out of their closets and toys off of their shelves. It was long after their bedtime when they were wrapping gifts. The pickup came. On it were chairs, three lamps, blankets and gifts. Even though it was 30 below, father let them ride along in the back of the truck.
No one ever did call about the missing figure in the nativity set, but as I grow older I realize that it wasn't a packing mistake at all. Jesus saves, that's what
HE DOES.
God explained by an 8 year
old. It was written by an 8-year-old of Chula Vista, CA, for his third-grade homework assignment. The assignment was to explain God.
One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.
God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.
God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your Mom and Dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.
Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.
Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and people finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said "O.K." His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.
You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.
If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.
But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases. And that's why I believe in God.
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-three students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt. Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.
This class would not pray during the commencements, not by choice but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting the act. The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one
asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.
The speeches were nice, but they were routine, until the final speech, which received a standing ovation. A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then he delivered his speech an astounding sneeze. The rest of the students rose immediately to their feet, and in unison they said, "GOD BLESS YOU."
The audience exploded into applause. The graduating class found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
One day a while back, a man, his heart heavy with grief, was walking in the woods. As he thought about his life this day, he knew many things were not right. He thought about those who had lied about him back when he had a job. His thoughts turned to those who had stolen his things and cheated him.
He remembered family that had passed on. His mind turned to the illness he had that no one could cure. His very soul was filled with anger, resentment and frustration.
Standing there this day, searching for answers he could not find, knowing all else had failed him, he knelt at the base of an old oak tree to seek the one he knew would always be there. And with tears in his eyes, he prayed:
"Lord, You have done wonderful things for me in this life. You have told me to do many things for you, and I happily obeyed. Today, you have told me to forgive. I am sad, Lord, because I cannot. I don't know how. It is not fair Lord. I didn't deserve these wrongs that were done against me and I shouldn't have to forgive. As perfect as your way is Lord, this one thing I cannot do, for I don't know how to forgive. My anger is so deep Lord, I fear I may not hear you, but I pray that you teach me to do this one thing I cannot do -
teach me to forgive."
As he knelt there in the quiet shade of that old oak tree, he felt
something fall onto his shoulder. He opened his eyes. Out of the corner of one eye, he saw something red on his shirt.
He could not turn to see what it was because where the oak tree had been was a large square piece of wood in the ground. He raised his head and saw two feet held to the wood with a large spike through them.
He raised his head more, and tears came to his eyes as he saw Jesus hanging on a cross. He saw spikes in His hands, a gash in His side, a torn and battered body, deep thorns sunk into His head. Finally he saw the suffering and pain on His precious face. As their eyes met, the man's tears turned to sobbing, and Jesus began to speak.
"Have you ever told a lie," he asked?
The man answered, "Yes, Lord."
"Have you ever been given to much change and kept it?"
The man answered, "Yes, Lord." And the man sobbed more and more.
"Have you ever taken something from work that wasn't
yours?" Jesus asked.
And the man answered, "Yes, Lord."
"Have you ever sworn, using my Father's name in vain?"
The man, crying now, answered, "Yes, Lord."
As Jesus asked many more times, "Have you ever?" The man's crying became uncontrollable, for he could only answer "Yes Lord."
Then Jesus turned His head from one side to the other, and the man felt
something fall on his other shoulder. He looked and saw that it was the blood of Jesus. When he looked back up, his eyes met those of Jesus, and there was a look of love the man had never seen or known before.
Jesus said, "I didn't deserve this either, but I forgive you."
It may be hard to see how you're going to get through something, but when you look back in life, you realize how true this statement is.
If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it.
Lord I love You and I need You, come into my heart, today. For without You I can do nothing.
I'll never forget the day we finished my mother's wheelchair ramp. My mother had a history of congestive heart failure, diabetic neuropathy, and was becoming weaker every day. For means of transportation, it had now become necessary for her to begin using a wheelchair.
When the ramp that we built was finally finished, being the adventurous fool that I was, I had to make certain that it would indeed "work". So, I took my mother's wheelchair and tried to wheel myself up the ramp.
You know, of course, I never ended up making it the whole way up. I got a forth of the way up and started flying backwards, proceeded to do a backwards wheelie, and ended up landing on my side; wheelchair and all. The next thing I knew, I was on my way to the emergency room with whiplash. That's the funny part of my mother's ramp.
The sad part is, she never even got to use it. She went into congestive heart failure that night and died a few days later. I attended her funeral with my neck brace on, the end result of all my shenanigans. That was back in '96.
Through the years, I always hated that ramp and often have been tempted to tear it down. But, someone always talked me out of it. "No, you don't really want to do that. Leave it there. It will increase your property value." So, much as I hated it, I have always left it there.
Now, as things turned out, it seems as if there may be a possibility that I just might be the one who will end up using that ramp! Seems as if I just might have helped build it for myself.
Sometimes, life seems to deal us a cruel twist of fate. I can either look at that ramp and whine, and cry, and say, "Why me, Lord? Or, I can smile a little and think, "Hey, at least I know you can’t go up it by yourself, in a wheel chair!
"A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
Proverbs 17:22
About the Author:
Dot McGinnis is a poet and a published author from Pennsylvania with a Scripture Major who has served as assistant editor for the Christian newspaper Majesty. She suffers from a neurological disorder, scoliosis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and had a compression fracture in her back; which resulted in a bone spur that left a nerve root pressed against her spinal cord. This might impair her ability to walk in the future. However, Dot is placing her faith and trust in God that this will never happen. She is retired yet continues serving the Lord via the Heavenly Inspirations Ministries.
A fifth grade teacher in a Christian school asked her class to look at TV
commercials and see if they could use them in some way to communicate ideas about
God. Here are some of the results:
God is like Bayer Aspirin -- He works miracles.
God is like a Ford -- He's got a better idea.
God is like Coke -- He's the real thing.
God is like Hallmark Cards -- He cares enough to send His very
best.
God is like Tide -- He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
God is like General Electric -- He brings good things to life.
God is like Sears -- He has everything.
God is like Alka-Seltzer -- Try Him, you'll like Him.
God is like Scotch Tape -- You can't see him, but you know He's
there.
God is like Delta -- He's ready when you are.
God is like Allstate -- You're in good hands with Him.
God is like VO-5 Hair Spray -- He holds through all kinds of weather.
God is like Dial Soap -- Aren't you glad you have
Him? Don't you wish everybody did?
Here are more that other people added:
God is like Alltel -- He has the power to simplify!
God is like fine wine -- He gets better with time!
God is like Maxwell House -- He's good to the last drop!
God is like a Snickers bar -- He always satisfying!
God is like Shower to Shower -- a prayer a day keeps the demons
away!
God is like American Express -- Don't leave home without
him!
