I am constantly impressed with our kids in the youth group. Each time I'm around them, I find more and more good things to be proud of them for. One thing happened at Bible study the other night that just had my heart overflowing with pride.
Four of our middle schoolers were in the kitchen at "the house" making grape Kool-Aid. Britton, who just so happened to be the only boy in the bunch, was the one who was making the drink. Of course, as all women do, the other three girls were giving him specific instructions on how to make it just right. Keep in mind, I was sitting at the dining room table outside of the kitchen listening to all of this going on. As I heard them bickering back and forth, I couldn't help but laugh at the girls "bossing" him around and couldn't wait to see how this all played out. Once the Kool-Aid had been made, all of the girls tried it, and almost in unison all said, "This is so nasty!" Britton spoke up and said, "Well, it's better than nothing!" Bless his heart, he had tried so hard and couldn't please those girls! They kept going on and on about how bad it tasted and how they should have just let them fix it the right way. As quickly as they were dishing it out, he dished it right back and said, "You should just be thankful you have something to drink. There are people out there who are probably really thirsty." As soon as he said that, I called him into the dining room and gave him the biggest hug possible. What he said had brought me to tears. Something else to keep in mind is these kids all get along great. They were just giving each other a hard time and no one's feelings were hurt in the process! I would have stopped it if it had gotten that far.
For the longest time that night I kept replaying Britton's words in my head..."Just be thankful you have something...". As a society, people want the things that are better than what they have. Some people aren't satisfied until they get their specific wants. Now don't get me wrong. It's not a bad thing to want something. But it is a bad thing when that is the only thing a person focuses on. Some people aren't content with the things they have. As Christians, being content is one thing that we need to strive for. Philippians 4:11 says, "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." We need to take a step back sometimes and realize that God will take care of all of our needs. He may not take care of the wants, but we can be content in knowing that we have a loving God who wants what is best for us and will provide it in His time. I speak from experience when I say it is definitely hard to wait and be patient. But I have also come to realize that if I do what God wants me to do and obey Him, everything else will fall into place.
Our kids amaze me so much. What a blessing it is to get to see them grow and mature in the Lord. It is also an amazing thing when they say just the right things that put everything else into perspective.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Putting Things Into Perspective
Life is funny sometimes. And God always has a way of bringing us down to earth and making us see things the way He wants us to see them. Several things have happened to me recently that made me put my life into perspective. I wanted to share these things with you in hopes that maybe you will stop and take the time to put things into perspective.
This past Friday, Steven and I were preparing for our Valentine's Mystery dinner for our youth group. We had so much to do and not a whole lot of time to do it all in. On our way to the church, we made a stop at the dollar store to pick up some Valentine supplies. When we walked inside, we saw Mrs. Donna, a fabulous lady that we go to church with. She had two of her grandchildren with her and they were each holding on tightly to a balloon. I squatted down to say hello to Ava, who is probably around 3 years old. As soon as I said hello, she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug her little body could give. At that moment, nothing else mattered. I was no longer in a hurry to buy our supplies and leave. I was no longer worried if we were going to have enough time to decorate. I was just so wrapped up in the fact that this precious little girl wanted to hug me and tell me all about the balloon she had and about the little ceramic puppy dog that was in her hand. For the rest of the day, I thought about our two minute conversation and about the smile on her face. God took that opportunity to show me the love of a child and to just breathe for one second. What an incredible way to bring me back down.
The following Saturday, I went to a ladies day in Chattanooga with our preacher's wife, Mrs. Beverly, and her daughter, Grace. I love going to ladies days because I always leave feeling so great! I was blessed just to be going with these two special ladies in my life, but I was definitely blessed to hear such a wonderful speaker. The speaker for the day was originally from Pakistan. She went into detail about her country and told us that 97% of the people in Pakistan all believe in the Muslim faith. That means that only 3% are Christians. She showed pictures of their church building and when I looked a little closer, I saw a man standing in the background of the picture. This man was holding a gun. Each time that congregation met to worship, guards were put at all entrances and on the roof so they could protect the people inside. It made me incredibly thankful to live in a country where we are free to worship. We are able to attend church, Bible studies, ladies days and any other form of worship whenever we choose and without fear that something will happen to us. It is so sad to know that people have to worry about being harmed while they are worshiping God. It is also sad to think that this happens so often, every single day all around the world. Talk about putting things into perspective!
Another event that made me put things into perspective happened tonight. I stayed home from work today because I have been sick for the past few days. I had to miss our weekly Bible study with out youth group tonight and was already feeling pretty bummed out because of that. My sweet sweet husband called me after Bible study and told me he was going to pick up some supper and some Kleenex and would soon be on his way home. About 15 minutes after the first call, he called again and the first words were, "I need you to come get me." My first thought was, "His old car broke down again." Then he told me that he was okay, but he had just had a wreck. A man was coming off of the interstate and cut out in front of Steven. Steven t-boned him. I immediately jumped off the couch, changed out of my pajamas and raced out the door. I no longer cared that I was sick and feeling bad. My main concern was getting to my husband and making sure he was alright. The whole way there I prayed that no one was hurt and was so thankful when I found out everyone involved was alright. I was also very thankful that our preacher, Tom, came to stay with us while the police took care of things.
I am so thankful that God reminds me daily of the blessings in my life. I know I don't always thank Him like I should. And even though I tend to get wrapped up on the things that keep our life so busy, sometimes it's nice to be reminded, in God's own special way, just exactly what we need to put into perspective.
This past Friday, Steven and I were preparing for our Valentine's Mystery dinner for our youth group. We had so much to do and not a whole lot of time to do it all in. On our way to the church, we made a stop at the dollar store to pick up some Valentine supplies. When we walked inside, we saw Mrs. Donna, a fabulous lady that we go to church with. She had two of her grandchildren with her and they were each holding on tightly to a balloon. I squatted down to say hello to Ava, who is probably around 3 years old. As soon as I said hello, she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug her little body could give. At that moment, nothing else mattered. I was no longer in a hurry to buy our supplies and leave. I was no longer worried if we were going to have enough time to decorate. I was just so wrapped up in the fact that this precious little girl wanted to hug me and tell me all about the balloon she had and about the little ceramic puppy dog that was in her hand. For the rest of the day, I thought about our two minute conversation and about the smile on her face. God took that opportunity to show me the love of a child and to just breathe for one second. What an incredible way to bring me back down.
The following Saturday, I went to a ladies day in Chattanooga with our preacher's wife, Mrs. Beverly, and her daughter, Grace. I love going to ladies days because I always leave feeling so great! I was blessed just to be going with these two special ladies in my life, but I was definitely blessed to hear such a wonderful speaker. The speaker for the day was originally from Pakistan. She went into detail about her country and told us that 97% of the people in Pakistan all believe in the Muslim faith. That means that only 3% are Christians. She showed pictures of their church building and when I looked a little closer, I saw a man standing in the background of the picture. This man was holding a gun. Each time that congregation met to worship, guards were put at all entrances and on the roof so they could protect the people inside. It made me incredibly thankful to live in a country where we are free to worship. We are able to attend church, Bible studies, ladies days and any other form of worship whenever we choose and without fear that something will happen to us. It is so sad to know that people have to worry about being harmed while they are worshiping God. It is also sad to think that this happens so often, every single day all around the world. Talk about putting things into perspective!
Another event that made me put things into perspective happened tonight. I stayed home from work today because I have been sick for the past few days. I had to miss our weekly Bible study with out youth group tonight and was already feeling pretty bummed out because of that. My sweet sweet husband called me after Bible study and told me he was going to pick up some supper and some Kleenex and would soon be on his way home. About 15 minutes after the first call, he called again and the first words were, "I need you to come get me." My first thought was, "His old car broke down again." Then he told me that he was okay, but he had just had a wreck. A man was coming off of the interstate and cut out in front of Steven. Steven t-boned him. I immediately jumped off the couch, changed out of my pajamas and raced out the door. I no longer cared that I was sick and feeling bad. My main concern was getting to my husband and making sure he was alright. The whole way there I prayed that no one was hurt and was so thankful when I found out everyone involved was alright. I was also very thankful that our preacher, Tom, came to stay with us while the police took care of things.
I am so thankful that God reminds me daily of the blessings in my life. I know I don't always thank Him like I should. And even though I tend to get wrapped up on the things that keep our life so busy, sometimes it's nice to be reminded, in God's own special way, just exactly what we need to put into perspective.
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