Fall into Perspective

 

I love this time of year when the leaves change colors and brilliance dazzles the countryside with grandeur! It truly is God’s Canvas come alive!

That is……..

If you have the right perspective! My teenage son and I were driving home this week and we live in the country and take the ridge ling to and fro our home in the Hollow. It was early morning and the views were just magnificent! I just let the colors soak in and praised the God who splashed them up there. Really pictures do an injustice but I have attempted to include some.

As I pointed out over and over again to my son, he was not so enamored! Now it could be a boy thing that he just didn’t get as mushy over leaves as his mother or it was his perspective. He said he didn’t like them because that just meant it was going to be a mess. Then he pointed to the ground in someone’s yard that was already blanketed in what I called beauty, what my son called mess!

If you looked down I could see a bit of his point. BUT if you looked up……….. it was some of the most brilliant blend of colors I have ever seen! So it is in our lives! If we find ourselves in a mess we just need to look up, look up to the Heaven and remember where our help comes from! Taking our eyes off our mess and looking up in the eyes of Jesus makes everything beautiful!

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

                                               

Invisible Rainbows

 

      One of the most amazing sights are rainbows! The are scientifically complex yet spiritually simple.  They are the zodiac of a stormy sky!  Their brilliance immeasurable.  They have an aurora of mystery surrounding them that still baffles people today.   For those who are not Christians….it is just a gathering of colors displayed for their observance. 

    But to the children of God….they have much meaning. It is a sign, a message if you will, from God!  It tells us that God remembers us, He loves us and he is watching over us! Isn’t that magnificent!  Yes indeed it also means that God will never again flood the earth but it means so much more!

      This year has been a very difficult year….It seems as though it has been one storm after another.  The dark clouds of uncertainty lingered over my head along with storms of suffering and trials of great magnitude.  How I longed to see the “Rainbows” in the darkest of days.

      This is what I learned……that the rainbows are always there….it’s just takes the stormy dark clouds to display them!  The harder the storm the brighter the rainbow after it passes!  So it is in our journey.  The harder the suffering and trials…the more beautiful the “rainbows” of refinement.  

      God’s promises are true whether or not a rainbow shows up!  It’s just occasionally we need a reminder that God is wise, right, and good in all He does.  And that He loves us and all His promises are true!

      Rainbows are God’s hugs to us!  The next time it storms in your life….wrap yourself up in His Rainbow!

Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. 

Genesis 9:16

 

Eating Humble Pie

 

      I consider myself fairly generous.  I tend to think of myself as the person that would give you the shirt off her back.  I love hospitality!  Encouragement is my gifting coupled with hospitality.  Having people over for dinner, a cup of tea, or dessert, is time well spent. 

      Occasionally God needs to grow us in these areas, but it is painful when He does!  I had a recent lesson and thought I would share it with you.  It was humorous…..but I got the point!  I found out I am not as generous as I thought I was!

     We had some major plumbing problems and so we called the plumber out.  He came and checked things out…..and sure enough it was gonna be a big mess (excuse the pun).  He situated things for the night and planned to return and work on it the next day. 

       The next day I left early with my youngest son to go to our home school co-op and returned at about 1:00 pm.  I was famished upon arrival, having not eating at all that day.  I rushed in and began some fried bologna sandwiches.  Zech unloaded the car and went up to his room.

      Eventually I made it outside to check on the plumber.  He began to tell me in the most hickified accent you ever did hear!  He was covered in ……you know…but he was smiling real big!  He was a nice friendly guy.  sure enough I had several problems and he went on to tell me in great detail the issues….

      And he told me that he had lost traction while hooking up his trailer with his backhoe and it had gone all the way down to the road in front of my house (just missing my electric pole by inches!).  A tree stopped it from going into the road.  He apologized about the nic in the tree.  He showed me the damage to his equipment but was real happy that it was stopped by the tree.  He followed me into the house yakking…..

      I had told him he could help himself to get something to drink while I was gone.  So he proceeded to do so.  My mouth hit the floor as he wiped his hands on his pants, opened the freezer door and got ice out of the ice bucket….talking the whole time….popped open the tea lid and poured himself a drink. (Sorry but even with having only boys…that is just too nasty!!!)

      Remember before I went out I had made the two sandwiches.  While I sat down to write his check he asked, “You ain’t gonna eat both these sandwiches are ya?” My son was still upstairs.  And I was extremely hungry by now….

      I gulped down (way down!) my pride and replied….. “Ummm, well, umm, Have you and your partner had lunch?

      “Nope, we been workin’ real hard for ya.  Cut ya a deal on the labor i did.”  He smiled real proud like.   “Probably about a couple sandwiches worth and some more ice tea!”  the man said.

       I gulped…..”Here let me help you get those sandwiches and tea out to your truck!”  And so there went my lunch!

       Humble pie in the face!  Never before have I been so “ungenerous hearted” but I was famished…..But God needed to show me my selfish heart!

       I was a very humbled lady fixing my second fried bologna sandwich!  God sometimes has very humorous ways to get our attention!  If you had been there you would have been on the floor laughing at the whole ordeal!

    I thought the sewer was bad until I looked at my greedy heart!             

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others

will himself be refreshed. 

Proverbs 11:25