Treating Others

    I felt quite sad for my 18 year old daughter this afternoon.  As president of her high school Key Club, she had asked her members to meet her at the nursing home, to play bingo with the seniors. Bingo is a very big thing with the elderly.  They would love to play it all the time if they could.
    Sadly, none of her members showed up.  She waited one hour.  It broke my heart. I was wondering if the members of this service club really joined to help others, or to add points to their resume for scholarships.  It also made me sad, as the elderly seem to be forgotten in our society.  They love to play bingo. They would play it all day long if they could. Yet, teens could not give up one hour of their time to make another generation happy.
    In Matthew 7:12, we read how we are to treat others in the way we are to be treated, which is a law of Moses. I wonder how these teens would like to be treated as they get older; would they want to be treated as they had treated these seniors today?  Let us not forget that God wants all of us to be treated with dignity. We are born in His image, all having His Spirit within us. Before we decide we don't have time to care for another, we need to ask ourselves if God would say He didn't have time for the elderly. No, he wouldn't say this, nor should we.  All of us will become older one day; I wonder if we will be left alone, with others being to busy to visit or play bingo with us, or if they will remember the Golden Rule, stated in Matthew, to treat others as we would want to be treated.
     The forgotten generation, those in nursing homes.  Perhaps you can find an hour to run a bingo game, work on a jigsaw puzzle, or read to the elderly, who have lost their sight and can no longer read for themselves.  Think about it.  Maybe it is a way you will want to spend the Lenten season, extending your time beyond this season.  After all, the elderly are there 365 days a year, not just at the holiday season.

Laughing at the Smallest of Things

I got an e-mail today, which got me laughing. It wasn’t just a smile, it was out loud laughter.  We tend to take life seriously so often, forgetting the lighter things of life. What was so funny about this e-mail was that it wasn’t a joke, but truly a realistic scene. As I responded to this e-mail, it reminded me of a time in my life.  This brought more laughter. So often, we look at the serious issues in life.  We forget how important laughter is.   I showed my husband the e-mail I had received earlier In the day, and he, too, broke out into laughter.  He had come into our living room a bit stressed from the day, but he couldn’t help but laugh, out loud, when he saw the e-mail.

I responded to this e-mail with a story of my own, which brought more laughter.  How often do we forget to laugh, only looking at the serious things in life!  I love to laugh: it is a great way to think about what is happening in the moment.  I don’t intentionally plan a piece of humor, it just happens.  It must be a gift from God, to enjoy the lighter part of life. 

Others have asked me how I can laugh when my own health isn’t the best. I say it is a blessing from God.  I love to laugh and I love to share a personal experience with others, which cannot help but bring laughter, My life is one of the unexpected.  This has been true since junior high. It is great to greet what happens with a sense of humor.  I remember sharing with someone I had hardly knew no more than a day, “You won’t believe what happened to me once..., “ she burst into laughter, saying she would believe anything I  was about to say. It is a great approach to life; instead of saying ‘oh no…,’  you say, ‘oh, well…”

No, life isn’t always full of laughter.  But, those little things in life can bring us a smile instead of a frown.  We can only picture Christ, imagining His smile, rather than a frown, as we work through our tiny hurdles in life!

Jacob and the Lentils

In Genesis 25:34, we read how Jacob gave his brother Esau bread and lentil stew.  In return, Esau gave up his rights of being the first born, passing the rights on to his twin.  After reading this passage to a church group, I left that day, deciding I would make lentil stew for dinner. Take into mind I had never made it before. But, it sounded delicious for a cold, winter day. For some reason, I had dried lentils in my pantry, buying them recently, on a whim. I managed to pull out some brown rice from the same pantry, moving on to the frig to see what vegetables I had. I found celery, carrots, parsley, red onion and garlic.
I put on my pot of water, adding kosher salt, rosemary, oregano, dill seed and some Italian seasoning. As it began to boil, I added my lentils.  Living at an altitude of 7,000 feet, I knew it would take at least 45 minutes for the dried beans to cook. Fifteen minutes later, I added the brown rice and my veggies from the frig, diced up just so.
Soon, wonderful aromas emerged from the kitchen. Because flour tortillas are a staple in our home, they were placed on the table, beside each bowl of the scrumptious stew. The dinner blessing was said, and soon the meal was devoured. I was told by the family I could serve it again anytime (Sometimes I'm not given such a positive message!).
Now that it is the Lenten season, I realize this is the perfect Friday meal. What a history lentils have, going back to the beginning of man. God provided for those living near the start of creation and He provides for us now. He nourishes us not only with food from the soil, but with His love, His care and His Spirit. May we continue to count our daily blessings for all He has given us.

A Similarity

In a discussion I was having through a recent on-line class, there was mention of the disaster on September 11, 2001. We all continue to mourn the loss of thousands, yet the feelings are different for the families and friends whom knew someone that passed away. To witness such atrocities that day changed lives forever. Families were broken apart, friendships were severed, and tears remain to be shed. Being thousands of miles from the scene, many of us understand it was a heinous act. But we really can't understand the daily fear of the people who live where the tragedies occurred. We never cease to pray for those affected, offering our sympathy. What suffering there has been, anger being taken out upon the innocent. The impact of the devastating actions on that particular Tuesday have never left our minds. We will never forget those who died.
While having thoughts of this enormous loss in my mind, I suddenly had an image of the Crucifixion. I noticed the similarities between these two events. Anger resulted in the death of the innocent. There was tremendous suffering, changing the lives of many. And, though we were not there to witness the death of Jesus, we do know there was great sadness that day. We were not present at the Crucifixion, but its occurrence continues to leave a tremendous impact upon everyone. It has never left our minds what happened on that particular Friday. We persist in praying to Jesus for His suffering, telling Him we will never forget the day He died.
One of the last words of Jesus was, “Father, into Thy hands I commend my Spirit (Luke 23:46).”
May those left behind after the catastrophe on September 11 feel comforted, knowing their joyous spirits now reside with God. May you feel their light, resting within the light of God, being part of all our days. In the darkness, there is always this flame of light, giving us the warmth of His comfort and love, as His Spirit dwells within us.