Running into Traffic and Becoming Road Kill

On the way to take Son#1  to school today, we had come to a 4 way stop and in the middle of the road was a baby squirrel who was frantically trying to decide what to do. He was so frightened he couldn't move. I stopped(and backed up school traffic-I am sure there were some explicatives in the cars behind me)and got out. Tried to shoe it to the curb and he jumped up on my pants and clung for dear life. I walked him over to the grassy yard let him go and ran back to the car before someone pulled out a pistol! (this is the south you know!)Got back in the car, drove on. Son#1 looked back and told me it was out in the road again..RATS! We rode on to school and I was determined to go back and get him to safety. After dropping Son#1 off I went back to the same spot and there he was still in the road being paralyzed with fear!  Before I could get to him, a bunch of teenagers in a souped up car ran over him flipping him over, but not killing him. They were hooping and hollering(they will be the sociopaths of tomorrow I am sure! That is a whole other blog post)as they drove off. I walked out into the street and he was dragging his injured leg in circles still frantic. I gently picked him up and he was chattering away, frightened and hurt. I laid him by a tree.By the time I got to the tree, he was dying. Probably internal injuries. I was sad for him. I just looked at him and said, " I tried to help you get out of harm's way and you went right back to the place that was harmful to you. I am sorry you didn't accept my help the first time". 

I got back in the car, very sad for him. Then it hit me.....is that the way God feels about us? We ask for help. He sends relief. We don't listen or accept it. We go back out to the danger. We get run over by whatever comes our way. We die physically OR emotionally.

IF that little squirrel had stayed on the grass, he would have been safe. He ran back to the same place of danger. Now he is dead.

 

There is a great proverb that says this: "He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly". (Proverbs 5:23) 

When I got to my office this morning I read this:  "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it". (Hebrews 12:11) 

Lord, help me to trust your guidance and the help that you send. You are my heavenly Father and today, I will trust in you! 

Legacies

This past year, I have taken an interest in my family's past. I have been working on finding out information on the Chilson side of my family and have met some great ancestors along the way! A few have been published, particularly, a fourth great grandfather named Rev. Amos Chesebrough. It is amazing what he has written on some important spiritual issues regarding being a disciple. I am reading some of his books and gleaning from his experience about what I need to be as a minister of the gospel! Because of the beauty of books, I have the privilege of reading his thoughts and learning from my past.

One such relative that he wrote about was William Chesebrough, who was one of the co-founders of Stonington, CT. When William came to America in the early 1600's, he took some bold steps of faith but what stood out to me was this description of him at his death: " And further, it needs only to be added that he was a man of decided Christian principle, and that wherever he planted himself, he was an earnest supporter of following Christ, worship and meeting together as Christians."

 As I have gotten older, I have been wondering what kind of legacy I will leave behind. So, 400 years from now, what will my ancestors be reading about me? It made me proud that a relative long ago, who took a HUGE step of faith would be remembered the way he was.

My hope is that my legacy will be one of service and dedication to my Lord. My prayer is that others will SEE my RELATIONSHIP with Christ and not just DUTY to Christ.

What about you? What will your legacy be 400 years from now?

The Bible has some thoughts on this too! 

Psalm 78:4 ESV

"We will not hide them from their children, but TELL to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done". 

Psalm 78:5-6 ESV 

"He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children".

When Is God Going To Bring Me a Husband?

Before you panic...this is NOT ME!!

Recently, I had a conversation with someone about MARRIAGE.....she is young and wanting to get married so badly. I could feel her pain and angst over Jesus "making" her wait in her eyes.I tried to encourage her by tellng her that I was single for a long time(20 years to be exact)before I found Mr. Right For Me!  She literally gasped and said these words, "God would NEVER make me wait that long, would He?"  Over the years, I have had that response from several single women who were in their late 20's/early 30's and just rolled my eyes. I could have been offended but decided to be mature and not say anything but this time, I said something.

I looked at her and said, "Well that depends. Do you just want to be married OR do you want to marry the one that is best for you? If you want to just be married, you can manipulate that yourself! If you want to wait for God's best, then you have to be content and trust that the Lord you follow has your best interest in mind". She just looked at me with a look of confusion. I went on to explain to her that it is very easy to get married! It takes patience to wait for the right one!

After being married for almost 11 years now, there are quite a few reasons that I am glad I let Jesus lead the way and not myself.  Here are just FIVE of them!

1. I HAD the opportunity to get  married before and could have manipulated  my way into marriage. But, it just didn't feel right and there were red flags all over the place. Often, as women, we ignore those "red flags" and go through with it just to be married. In my experience, the people who I know did that, confessed later that they had these gut feelings that it wasn't right  and they ignored them. And they were paying the price.

2. I had so much freedom to serve the Lord. As a Christian, I was able to fully give to Him, my time, my financial resources and my full, undying love. I had fun serving the Lord and being single. It took me to places around the world that I would have never gotten to go.  Though I LOVE my husband and kids, I don't have that freedom anymore to take off to some foreign place or even give 100% here and am constantly torn between ministering to my family and to the people who come my way.

3. The man that I ended up marrying at 40(yes you heard me!)turned out to be just right for me! He is kind, he respects me, he honors me, he believes in me.
                                         I am a better person because of him.

4. Parenting our children together...I don't know if any of the men I knew before could have handled what we have gone through together with our sons medical and emotional issues. My hubby is "just the right man to parent these boys".
5. Most importantly, I met and married my best friend! He and I are "in sync" and though we have had our troubles of adjusting(this is his first marriage as well), we have the maturity now to stick it out and when we fall down..we get right back up...together OR help the other one up. No running away...in fact, in our vows, we made a promise before everyone to never let divorce be an option. We would always work it out. And so far....we are! And we will.

So, single ladies, the next time you think about whining(and I did do my share of it as a younger woman), ask yourself that question....do you just want to be married or do you want to marry the one that is best for you?   Sure it is lonely, sure you have a God-given desire to be married, sure you feel left out sometimes...but your Heavenly Father loves you more than anything. He DESIRES all of you...not just a part. And most of all, He wants the BEST FOR YOU!
So, in all seriousness, take it to the Lord and ask Him to continue to guide you and to help you be content in your current situation. I gaurantee that HE will lead you down the right path and no matter how long you think it might take, it will always be the right timing. TRUST HIM! He can be counted on......

"He who deals wisely and heeds [God's] word and counsel shall find good, and whoever leans on, trusts in, and is confident in the Lord--happy, blessed, and fortunate is he". Proverbs 16:20