Slippage

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Margaret

When my sister, brother, and I were teens, Mom used to say, “If I start slipping mentally, I want you to let me know.”

After that open-ended invitation, every time she’d forget something, I’d say, “There you go, Mom. You’re starting to slip.”

Thankfully with Mom it remained just a joke, since she never did slip mentally in her 92 years. She was on top of everything, always, and did much better at remembering stuff than I did at half her age.

I never invited my own teens to let me know if I started to slip, because ignorance has been known to be bliss. But once in a while I get a vague feeling I’m on the way. Like on Thanksgiving Day.

After we’d all assembled at the table but before the meal began, Louisa casually mentioned it was a good thing she’d gone back to the stove for hot gravy, because two of the electric burners had been left on (guess who). And if that wasn’t enough, I’d tossed two potholders on top of them.

Though Louisa got points for not wanting to embarrass her mother (discreetly setting the potholders aside), I jumped from my chair to see if it was true. Yup, burn-marks indicated we had narrowly avoided a Thanksgiving flame-up.

I laughed it off by saying it was a fitting coincidence that I’d just purchased a fire extinguisher the week before. Of course it was in the basement, still sealed in its box, with directions still unread.

Sometimes when we need something in a hurry, we can’t readily access it, whether it’s recalling someone’s name, remembering an appointment, or being prepared in an emergency.

One more instance when accessing information is important is in our claiming God’s promises. This is especially important when we find ourselves in a crisis. For multiple reasons, it’s easy to slip-up here, maybe because we don’t understand what God offers at a time like that. Or we might not remember his promises when we need them. Maybe don’t know how to apply them. Or, saddest of all, we might never have learned of them in the first place.

Fortunately, Scripture is always available to us. We can get into it any time we feel like it. We don’t even need potholders to handle it, though studying God’s promises will definitely warm us. And leaving that kind of “burner” on is always a good idea.

“Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

Praising and Praying with Mary

I’m praising the Lord that my symptoms aren’t bad yet
Pray that I will “…number my days aright, that I may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Good Givers

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Margaret

Generous people are a pleasure to know, and I know (and love) two sisters who are models of generosity. Priscilla and Nathalie were members of Moody Church long before I was, and as soon as they signed on, they began working in the Sunday school.

Both loved children and served faithfully in the two-year-old department for decades. That’s where our paths crossed 40 years ago as Nathalie (left) and Priscilla cheerfully received each of our toddlers when they left the nursery to attend “real” Sunday school. Whether our little ones walked into the class wearing smiles or frowns, these ladies always received them with love.

Our children learned their first Scripture verses from Nathalie and Priscilla, along with how to share, how to wait their turn, and how to sit still for flannel-graph Bible stories. When Nate and I returned to pick them up after the adult service each week, these two women always had something positive to say about the morning.

Priscilla and Nathalie have always been generous, with their time, energy, ideas, and good cheer. But that’s not all. They’ve lived lives of monetary generosity, too.

Over the years they’ve loved going out for daily brisk walks, regardless of the weather. After they moved to a suburb near ours, I’d often see them “hoofing it” around town as I buzzed about in my mini-van. It puzzled me that sometimes they’d be walking along the edge of our residential roads rather than on the sidewalks, so one day I asked.

Nathalie said, “Over the years we’ve found pennies or other coins on our walks. In recent years we figured there were even more coins near the curbs, and once we even found a fifty dollar bill!”

As I complimented them on their clever idea, Priscilla said, “Every November we put whatever we’ve found during that year into the Thanksgiving offering at church.”

And that’s where the generosity comes in. They could easily have kept what they found over the years, rationalizing that it “didn’t amount to much.” But Nathalie, a whiz with numbers, has kept track of what they’ve found, and pennies have morphed into dollars….

$1738.81 of them, to be exact.

In 2013 these energetic sisters finally had to call a halt to their neighborhood hiking. But my guess is that God has received their offerings, from pennies to bills, and transformed them into giant blessings in the lives of many. That’s because it was into his hands that they placed their findings.

And one day, when they get to glory, he’ll probably give them all the details.

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:34)

Praising and Praying with Mary

I praise God for my wonderful family!
Please pray I’ll have eyes that recognize God’s blessings in each day.

* Photos by Olin Mills

Rush to Judgment

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Margaret

This week we experienced the fun of a completed deck in our back yard. Michigan Lake and Land did an expert job, cutting no corners and satisfying my every whim. They cooperated with all my ideas, everything from building a weather-proof room beneath the deck to designing two super-sturdy baby gates that “disappear” into deck fencing when they’re locked in place.

I’ve kept my eye open for reasonable deck furniture, nothing cushy, just tables and chairs that will rain-wash well. Two second-hand tables got face-lifts with fresh paint, and I couldn’t wait to set it all up.

Once the white paint had dried (in the basement), I turned each painted piece a bit each day for a full week, making sure every edge was dry so not one drop of paint would end up on the deck.

Then this weekend, it was time to assemble it all. After carrying each piece to the deck, I was appalled to see drops of paint on every other step and scattered at random on the boards. Squatting to see if it was, indeed, wet paint, I was crushed when the drops smeared beneath my finger.

How could that have happened after I tried to be so careful? And how was I going to get the paint off the boards without ruining the stain?

Then God answered my questions. A big bird flew overhead, letting go of a liquid deposit that landed right next to me, a white splotch that splattered just enough to toss random drops here and there. The paint spots, it turned out, weren’t paint at all, just white bird-do, an easy-off with a wet rag.

My rush to judgment was typical me, sizing up a situation without all the facts. It isn’t serious when dealing with a deck, but in the case of a person, it can be disaster. Most scenarios aren’t what they first seem, and if we refrain from drawing quick conclusions about someone, new (and usually helpful) information always surfaces.

The Lord perfectly modeled how not to judge prematurely by not doing it with us. Instead of rushing to judgment (even though he actually has all the facts), he waits patiently till we figure it out on our own.

Jesus mentions in Scripture that he prays for us, and surely some of those prayers are that we’ll come under conviction as needed. He doesn’t bring down the hatchet too early but hopes instead we’ll voluntarily change whatever needs changing. Eating humble pie might be part of it, and though that never tastes good, it can nourish us well.

I certainly jumped to the wrong conclusion about my blemished deck, but I do think it’s accurate to say that bird won’t repent or change his behavior. No matter. It was an easy fix with a wet rag…. followed by a thorough hand washing.

“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” (John 7:24)