Day 154, June 6

Before I had my hip replacement surgery, I met with the surgeon for a consultation.  He looked at my X-rays, then looked at me.  The conversation went something like this.

Doctor:  "Your hip is bad."

Me:  "I know."

Doctor:  "Your hip is bad."

Me:  "I know."

Doctor:  "Your hip is really bad."

Me:  "I know."  Somehow I felt like I should apologize.  "I'm sorry."

It started me wondering what my meeting with the Lord will be when I leave this life and pass on to the next.  Will it go something like this?

Lord:  "Jane, your spirit has been poor."

Me:  "I know."

Lord:  Jane, you haven't obeyed my commandments."

Me:  "I know."

Lord:  "Jane, you knew what you were supposed to do."

Me:  "I know."

I have the tools to do better.  Now I need to choose to use them.

This I know for sure:  I have a new hip;  I can also have a new spirit.  If I choose.

Day 153, June 5

How do the red giants remain standing with such shallow roots? They grow together in clumps, intertwining their roots with others as far away as two hundred feet. Each one is an individual beauty, yet connected with the others for survival. Even the tallest trees are held up by the smallest ones. By holding hands underground, they hold each other up in the storms of life.

In previous blogs, I've written about friends standing together, arms linked, against the storms of life.  Never have I been more aware of this than in this last year.  I've watched friends watch over each other, upholding each other, and, sometimes, in my case as I recovered from hip replacement surgery, holding each other up.

Some of us aren't particularly talented, yet we reach out in any way we can.  Some of us have little extra strength in reserve, yet we give what we can.  And some of us just give because a friend is in need..  Some dear friends in our church have endured much in the past 18 months.  Friends gathered around them, circling them much as pioneers drew their wagons in a protective circle.  I marvel at the generosity I've wittnessed, the total unselfishness of those who gave with no desire for recognition, only a desire to help.

Like the redwoods with their shallow roots, we connect, each little bit of help strengthening and enriching another. 

This I know for sure:   the redwoods survive because they rely on each other; friends do the same.

Day 152, June 4

"Do what you say you're going to do--what you say to others, and what you say to yourself."

I found this quote in a book on business connections.  The counsel applies to any relationship, whether it be in the family, in the workplace, in the church.  Most of us have encountered individuals who promise that they will do something, only to later find that they have failed to carry through.

It's disappointing, though not particularly surprising.  Unfortunately, at times, I have been one of those individuals.  I say I will do something, then don't do it.  Sometimes, I have to admit, I never intended to do the thing which I promised.  I just wanted to get out of an uncomfortable situation.  I'm not proud of that and am consciously trying to do better.  In this, as in many things, I remain a work in progress.

My shortcomings notwithstanding, I can't help observe what happens when someone doesn't carry through on a promise.  Usually, the results are not particularly serious, but sometimes, they do carry heavy consequences and others pay the price for one person's failure to keep his word.

This I know for sure:   keeping the promises we make, whether to others or to ourselves, is a mark of our character.

Day 159, June 11

We've all heard of the BIble Belt, that swath of land that stretches across the South, where there are more churches and Christians than in any other area of the United States.  Were you also aware of the Suicide Belt?  I just recently heard of it.  It stretches across western states, including Utah.

The irony is that Utah is rated as one of the happiest states in America.  It also has one of the highest suicide rates.  How can these seemingly contradictory states exist?

One theory I've read is that when one is depressed in a place where everyone around him or her is happy, it emphasizes

Day 151, June 3

"I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God." -- Max Lucado

I wish I could say that I share Lucado's faith.  The fact is, I don't see problems in such a positive light.  I tend to rant and rail, whine and complain. 

Finding the positive in problems is a trait that we would all do well to possess.  For we will all face problems, large and small, in this life.  Some of those problems will test us in ways we never wished to be tested.  Sometimes we will fail those tests.  Other times, we will triumph.

Observing others as they face challenges both humbles and awes me.  And I wonder how I would handle myself in similar circumstances. 

This I know for sure:  finding ways to see God in whatever cirucmstances we face will move us closer to Him.

Day 150, June 2

We can trust God to answer our prayers in a way that will do the most eternal good, even when His answers are impossible to understand in the now. -- Linda Evans Shepherd

Do you have difficulty sometimes understanding God's plans?  I do.  When hard things happen, I wonder, "Why did this have to happen?  What was thou thinking, Heavenly Father?"

I'm ashamed to admit that, that I doubt the Father's plans, for me, for others.  Right now, we have dear, dear friends undergoing hard things.  They remain optimistic and certain of the Lord's love for them.  I have always admired this family, but never more so than now, when I witness their suffering.

When I want to rail at the seeming injustice of these good people suffering so, a still, small voice reminds me that the Lord loves them, that He has not forgotten them.

This I know for sure:  the Lord's plans are perfect; it is my own understanding that is imperfect.

Day 149, June 1

I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all, but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess. -- Martin Luther

The older I grow, the more I understand how very unimportant material things are.  Don't misunderstand--I like pretty things, pretty clothes, beautiful purses, nice furniture.  But I realize that they give fleeting pleasure.  More, they bring no true happiness or joy.  Those are found in family, in friends, in faith.  They are found in creating, in serving, in loving.

I could have saved myself much angst decades ago when I worried over our family's finances if I had put material things in their proper place:  at the bottom of the rung.

This I know for sure:  material things have their place, but they will never make the Top 10.