"Worst Day of My Life"

Imagine having to be the bearer of bad news to a little child.
Imagine if you were that child.

Today, bad news was borne and received - bad news that is good news too; but the goodness doesn't cancel out the deep, lasting pain of the hurt. And so the women who bore the bad news say, "This is the worst day of my life."

Then they turn around and look at me through teary eyes, and they ask, "So - you still want to do this?" And I look back with a hurting heart and say, "yes," but inside I'm wondering how I can. . . .

How must the Father feel as He looks down at all us little children in our pain, knowing the good He's going to make out of it but knowing also that the pain is still real? Does His heart ache? Do His eyes water as His Son's did at Lazarus' funeral? Does He long, as these women did, to wrap His arms around each of us? Are we broken enough to let Him in?

Yay for Feedback!

Today is a very special day - a first - a day I've been eagerly awaiting for some time. What happened? 

My art history essay came back full of notes. 

That's right - the teacher critiqued my paper!

This has never, ever happened before, and it feels like I waited forever while teachers glanced briefly over my papers for good grammar and decent points and arbitrarily passed out A's. This world of rigorous college I've entered is a world full of so much potential for learning, and I'm super excited! 

A heartfelt "thank you" to the teacher who took the time to really read my paper and give constructive criticism so future papers can be better.

World Day of Bullying Prevention

"There is a social hierarchy in all schools we all know the rules to even though they go largely unspoken. It is a stupid, broken system, but one that persists none the less. The only time anyone dares to say the rules out loud is when some well-meaning friend intervenes to either caution someone on their choice for a date request by saying, “dude, she’s outta your league” or to remind someone that to be seen talking to someone beneath his own current level is to be committing social suicide. Without ever being formally told how these circles work, everyone just automatically knows. ...When someone successfully jumps social circles it is worthy of observation, and I have had the chance to watch one person do it very well. 

"I knew this kid for three years, but I didn’t know how special he was until I encountered him in the cafeteria near the beginning of his senior year. That is when I realized that he made it his mission to make sure no one ever sat at a table and ate alone. It didn’t matter who it was, what their social status was, or how weird the rest of the student body perceived the loner to be, this young man sat down and talked to the student through the lunch period. Of course, he had a normal group that he ate with most of the time, but he left to branch out several times each week. Sometimes he joined the “cool” group. Sometimes he joined the athletes, sometimes the musicians, sometimes the academics, sometimes the drama kids…it was a revolving door." ~ Mary Kramer

To read the rest of this inspiring article, visit the Blue Shirt Day Facebook page.

Heartbroken Excitement

That's how I feel. Yesterday was my first day volunteering for an organization that helps foster children, which is something I've wanted to get involved with for a very long time, so I'm so thankful for the opportunity! This organization is making a positive difference in the lives of many children of all ages, right here in my little corner of the world; and now I get to witness it first-hand, which is why I'm super-excited.

And yet . . . the first thing I had to do was sit at a desk and read page after page of information that filled me with deep, heartbroken sadness. I've read stuff like that before, but only in a book or newspaper, and those were written by strangers far away. This was here. Now. 

What can I do to help? I know how to be a friend, to love children, to give them attention and guidance. If a child's biggest problems were failure to thrive or neglect, I think by the grace of God I could help them with my current skill set. But what about the other, more difficult issues? What can I do? 

Then I stop and remember - I'm only a freshman - four more years of training stretch out into the horizon. And God will equip the called, and He loves these children and has a purpose for everything He allows. And He loves me, as I sit here unable, heartbroken, and so very excited. 

Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,  
and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.

Speak out in order to judge with righteousness  
and to defend the needy and the poor.

Proverbs 31:8-9

Garlic, My Friend

I love garlic! Every time I start to catch a cold, garlic is there for me to ward it off. Here's what I take: 

2 cloves of raw garlic (very small bites)
an apple
and a tall glass of water

It's hot, it's spicy, and some say it stinks; but hey - it does the job. Here's an article I just found that offers some alternative ways to take raw garlic. Praise to the Great Physician who provides us with such amazing foods!

Which Pleasures?

Moses chose "to suffer affliction with the people of God [rather] than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin" (Hebrews 11:25). So  . . . it's true: there is pleasure in sin. We know this, and yet we don't; because who would sin if there were no pleasure in it?

Some say that when you get saved, God changes your want-to, taking away your old desires and giving you new ones instead. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any Biblical support for this magical exchange, and my experience confirms that the old want-tos are still there. Of course, new ones have come - God does give us new desires.

But the old ones are still there, which is why He says in Colossians 3:5, "So kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members [those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is employed in sin]: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God)."

The problem with the pleasures of sin is that they are fleeting - temporary, passing, only for a little while. And the other problem is that they are always accompanied by pain. The pleasures of sin are counterfeit pleasures given to us by the evil one, who only comes to steal, and kill, and destroy. Therefore, the pleasures he gives are laced with pain and hide a bitter slavery.

Real pleasure comes from God. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17).

The pleasures the Father gives last forever. "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).

And pleasures from Him are pure pleasure - no pain. "The blessing of Jehovah - it maketh rich, and He addeth no grief with it" (Proverbs 10:22).

New Mercies

Do you ever wish you could do other things while driving?
Maybe read a book?
Dance?
Sleep?
Make eye contact in conversations?
Write a paper?

Or maybe, just maybe, you wish you could take pictures.

There should be a way to do this.
(If you already know how, please share! Lol.)

Driving to work in the morning, I encounter so many beautiful scenes.
Clouds in the valleys, between the trees
Mist rising from placid lakes
Clouds enveloping the road, so I have to drive straight through them
Hazy, painterly sunrises, where subtle pinks and blues sleepily stretch out on the horizon's edge

My eyes glimpse so much beauty, with no time to stop and capture it.

And then I think, maybe that's the point.

 

These are God's mercies, sent fresh every morning, intended to be wake-up kisses to kick off my day with Him. They are not random pieces of nature meant for me to say "Wow" and then post on Facebook so others can say "Wow." Instead, they are specially crafted gifts from our Creator. Our Father gave us this!

 

So today, appreciate the beauty God sent and thank Him, camera in hand or not.