Discovering what love is one day at a time
I woke up this morning with a song by Sister Sledge going through my heart…I think I added my own words and said all my brothers and sisters and me…instead of the original lyrics that say, I got all my sisters with me… You know the song that starts out with…(We are family…I got all my sisters with me…we are family…get up everybody and sing.)
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So the bird from my last post is still hitting my window…and my dog that gets excited about the light reflecting on the wall, and loves to hunt birds…is bored with this robin. I also have had conversations with my neighbors on each side of me, and they have experienced the repeated window banging by the aforementioned bird. My sons even have discussed the possibility of shooting it with the BB gun to put it out of its misery. I have a large wreath on the other side of my house, on top of which a nest was built. I removed the nest and set it on the picnic table yesterday to see if possibly the bird would recognize it and give up. (NOPE, NOT A CHANCE.) Today, the bird hits the window by my dining room table about 4-5 times in a row, and then repeats that pattern three feet over on my patio door. After about thirty minutes it starts the process all over again. The intensity of the actual force of hitting of the window has dimmed, but the intensity of the fly-ins has increased in number, and in the spacing of time. I have been thinking back to times in my life, where I have been on the same/same merry-go-round. There were people in my life that spoke truth to me. I can compare this to our arm waving, dog interfering, shirt hanging actions to deter the bird…. Yet, until I was ready to see, or desired real change, I remained on my merry-go-round. (SAME/SAME) No one could force me or make me choose. We all have patterns in our lives that remain under the surface; they are not seen by others around us, but they are harmful to us. There also are patterns that are seen by others, and are harmful as well. No matter the visibility to us or others, when we take our lives into our own hands and not rest in the life that God has provided us, we suffer. This however, is not an example of partaking in the sufferings of Christ; it is a way that leads to the wrong-suffering of our souls. He who despises the word will be destroyed. But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded… The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death… Proverbs 13:13-14 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12 My boys, as awesome as I believe them to be, are unlike Christ in their long-suffering in their choice to nail the bird with the BB gun. Christ allows us to choose, and doesn’t force His will on us. We might feel like putting the bird out of its misery is the thing to do, however I do not think we can completely compare an animal with a human being; but it does give us a picture from which to draw a comparison. Christ never forces us to choose Him. He allows us to choose the way we will go. That doesn’t mean that He doesn’t love us the same. It doesn’t mean that He will not put obstacles in our path to help us to see, or to get our attention. It also doesn’t mean that He will not step back and allow us to experience the consequences of our actions either. Christ suffers long and is kind. But He also allows us to harden our hearts against Him and chase after that which is king in our hearts. Whether we choose Christ or not, we are choosing our reward. I am thankful for the rain we have had today; it has almost washed most of the mess the bird has left off of my deck, chairs and railings. No matter where you are in your walk…with Him or without Him…He is able to wash away all our sin, and equip us to respond to the messes that surround us. The work He did on the cross is complete. Death has been defeated.
If you are like the bird, in any way what-so-ever you can choose to surrender to what the Lord is pointing out to you in your heart today. If it is the first surrender of your life unto Him you can choose to wait no more, repent and receive His gift of Salvation. If it is patterns of sin that He has revealed to you; you can choose to rejoice in the grace He has abundantly supplied, repent and make the change to abide in His grace. Every morning for the last week I have heard the sound of a robin hitting my window. This robin is determined. It doesn’t hit it just once or twice but numerous times throughout the day. I lost count after I reached one hundred, the first day. This isn’t your fly by kind of hitting. This robin perches itself on the eave of my house, the railing of the deck, and the back of the deck chair right before it propels itself into my window. There is nesting material strung in a tree, like it was set down for just a moment. This robin is coming this way for a purpose, but it just doesn’t have the right directions. I have tried to deter this robin, by sending my dog outside, opening the window, and just standing their waving my arms. However the determined robin in not phased, just delayed. My husband even tried to deter it by opening the window and putting an old shirt over the window, but the bird just found another window to propel himself into. Have you ever thought about the fact that the first voice that Adam heard in the garden besides the sound of his own was the voice of God? God spoke and described the world around Adam. His Word described His standards and design. His Word interpreted for Adam how life was to be lived. He spoke with kindness and love, peace and hope, life and liberty. His Word provided boundaries and freedom. His Word allowed choice. Adam and Eve shared their lives with God in the garden.
God spoke to Adam and Eve. He revealed Himself to them, He defined His will, and He gave them identity through human language. God spoke to them in a way that they could understand. HOW AMAZING IS THIS! The Creator of the whole universe, from the beginning has spoken to His people clearly, consistently and comprehensively. From the beginning, God was not distant or unreachable. God does not hide Himself from us. Until the serpent in the garden spoke, the only interpretation of life was that of which God had spoken to Adam and Eve. (God’s Divine perspective). The garden was a place of peace and harmony based on God' standard and design...When the serpent spoke it was the first time that the authority of God was challenged. It was that moment in time where a different interpretation of life was spoken...Life has never been the same... This just gives me all the more encouragement to know His Word, His interpretation of life (even more)...so that I may sanctify the Lord God in my heart… Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made and He said to the woman, Has indeed God said, ’You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God has said ,’You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman,” You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day that you it of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of the fruit and ate. She also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Genesis3:1-11 The serpent introduced questioning God’s authority and contradicted God through the phrasing of His divine command… Eve actually distorted the divine command through her added interpretation. When we choose to go our own way, when we interpret life from our own perspective, when we walk in a way opposite of the freedom God has provided for us, we are the ones that have chosen to make ourselves distant, hidden, and unreachable. Yet the truth is. God’s arm is not shortened. We are not unreachable. No matter where we have gone, no matter what we have done. He loves us with an everlasting love. His goodness and mercy follow after us all the days of our lives. Yet we get to choose how to respond to that love or not. Our response if we choose to agree with Him looks like a heart softened to repentance. Simply stated…we agree with the fact that we are wrong and He is right. We are truly sorry deep within for our actions and are beginning to understand how terrible our sin is. We choose to turn our lives in the direction opposite of the way we were going. We surrender to God and His interpretation. We receive His finished work on the cross, and we are made new. We chase after God with everything within us. We purposefully live our lives surrendered to God and His Word to the best of our ability and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not agreeing with Him, not responding to His love…means we just keep living life…same same. We then are hardening our hearts and rejecting God, His Word and His Salvation, the finished work on the cross…We continue to hide from His voice, and His gentle leadings of His Holy Spirit. We continue to distance ourselves, from the One with an everlasting love. Today, when you hear His voice, that gentle, loving leading of His Spirit, how will you respond? Will you agree? Or will you harden your heart? Patterns, habits, thoughts/attitudes/opinions are the fuel to the decisions we make. Some of those can be healthy…and some not so much.
Until we face the reality or the real truth about the choices that we make, we can continue to hurt ourselves and others around us. We are all imperfect, and we all fall short of the glory of God. We make mistakes, we hurt others, and we reject the voice of the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is simply put…sin. We all sin, every single one of us does; every day. (More than you ever would think.) We miss the mark… and when we do our flesh wants to hide from the face of God. Why do you think Adam and Eve hid from Him in the garden, and fashioned coverings for their parts? |
AuthorI have been married to my wonderful husband for 29 years. We have two young men ages 25 and 20.. This blog is somewhat of a journal and attempt for me to remind myself of my purpose and invite others to join me in keeping an eternal perspective as we move through each day. Archives
May 2023
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