The town is shut up tight.
It’s beautiful
with all the snow. Things look so
peaceful and calm. Quiet, I love how
quiet it is.
With a sweeping
glance from left then right of my view, I can see my neighbor Mike a few houses
down. He is shoveling his truck out from the snow and ice. Maybe he’s getting ready to go to work. Sad to see Bob’s house empty; can’t believe
it’s already been 2 years he’s been gone.
Guess the Morgan’s won’t be back for a few days, at least until after
the snow slows down.
Hmm … that’s
unusual. Mike just waved without stopping to chat. He didn’t even ask if we needed a ride
somewhere. Hope everything is OK.
I Wonder
Do any of us really know what the
other is going through right now, at this very moment in their life? I wonder about that, especially when I stop
to look at the crowd around me.
Have you ever
sat in a department store or any place for that matter, and just observed? What exactly is going on all around you? What are people doing … where are they going
… is everything all right in their world?
If we thought about it I suppose it would be depressing. Maybe that’s why people don’t get involved
much anymore. I wonder.
What Tweaks Your Bud?
You know, what things really bother you?
Later in the day I had a chance to
talk to my sister. So much has happened
in her world that it’s not always easy to find God’s favor. We were talking about the holidays and
Christmas cards. I love getting cards
and hanging them up in my home. People
aren’t sending them like they used to in the past. “Everything” is going up they say. Cards aren’t on the priority list these days.
Sis shared with
me the last Christmas they were together.
Her husband was in the hospital undergoing treatment for cancer and
other related things as a result from the medications.
While he was
there he asked my sister to get the cards finished so they could mail them out
that week. Not having a moment to spare
with work and taking care of him, she decided to bring them to the hospital so
they could do them together.
One of the
things that tweaked her bud was the fact that he never put a stamp on
straight. That really annoyed her,
especially when he did it with their wedding invitations one year earlier. Now he was doing it again, only this time it
was worse. Stamps weren’t just crooked,
but all over the envelope … in the middle, top, upside down … they looked
awful.
This time she
didn’t hold her peace like she did with the wedding announcements. When she finally expressed her feelings about
the crooked stamps his reply was, “I
don’t care about the stamps. I’m trying to stay alive!” Quickened by the Holy Spirit she quietly
replied, “You’re right.” and never
again mentioned the way he applied a stamp to anything. It didn’t matter anymore.
Time went by and …
Our conversation was lengthy as we
discussed work, gift shopping, family, her friends and especially
holidays. As I conveyed my own feelings
and gave words of encouragement, she didn’t realize that her words were giving
me strength the whole time.
Moving back to
the cards, she paused and her voice grew softer as she mentioned the receiving
of one in the mail that day. “I miss those crooked stamps.”
A simple card
with postage made her remember that it’s the little things that make the
biggest memories.
Crossing Over
GG (left) and Mocha
Our hearts were heavy
that night. Neither my husband nor I got
much sleep as we were tearfully watching a little four pound rescue cat slowly
slipping away. His tiny kidneys had
failed, but love was keeping him here. He
wasn’t diagnosed correctly until a few weeks ago, due to the fact that it’s
hard to detect this in a young cat.
We had prayed
for God’s mercy and were waiting to see what would happen. Another cat but much older, was undergoing
the same medical treatment and was responding.
The two of them were “juiced-up” and fed together several times a
day.
They were
enjoying all the attention and getting special food to boot! Neither ate very much, because the smell of
food to a cat with kidney failure makes them nauseous so they actually
starve. They both tried so hard to eat
something, but sores on the tongue make it difficult to swallow. It’s often a symptom of kidney disease in animals.
After treatments
I would try to hold each cat, but for G it was too painful. We ended up taking away the bed and used
boxes with lots of warm fleece blankets to keep them warm. Heating pads were
not an option because of the medication. In their weakened state they often
couldn’t use the potty and wet right though the linens several times a day.
G
was sitting right by me with his head facing the back of the
box. He tried to turn around, but had no
strength. I knew why. He had begun crossing over.
As I talked with
my sister she had no idea that I was in tears, but still hopeful that little G
would be alright.
Morning came and my husband gave him
his medication and IV under the skin treatment.
GG (that’s what we called him) didn’t move.
This application
was extremely difficult with no skin to really grasp to insert the needle. His skin was so thin that sometimes the needle
shot through to the other side with the liquid squirting out all over the
table. It was as if there was this tiny
creature in plastic wrap covering a handful of bones that were somehow
connected.
Nestled in a
fluffy, green fleece blanket, within a few hours G’s journey was completed.
Impartation of Favor through Grace
My sister didn’t know what happened
until the next day. She asked me why I
didn’t say anything. I explained to her
how God’s grace sustained me so that I could be able to minister to her at that
moment.
In turn, she
ministered to me, helped me to laugh and I felt blessed that God allowed me to
be a part of His plan (even in the difficult things). Those crazy crooked stamps stuck with me the
rest of the week.
In my devotional
time I came across this passage from 1 Peter 5:10 in the Amplified Bible.
“And after you have suffered a little while,
the God of all grace (Who imparts all blessing
and favor), Who has called you to His (own) eternal glory in Christ Jesus,
will Himself complete and make you
what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.”
Those words from
the Lord gave me life, renewed hope and strengthened me so I could be a
blessing to someone else in order to establish His plan in my life. It didn’t stop what I was experiencing, but
God’s grace was sufficient (enough) to do what it needed to at that time.
but My Grace ...
“But
He (Jesus) said to me (Paul), My grace (My
favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is
enough for you (sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the
trouble manfully); for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and
completed) and show themselves most effective in (your) weakness.
Therefore,
I will all the more gladly in my weakness and infirmities, that the strength
and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and
dwell) upon me! (2 Corinthians 12:9 Amplified Bible)
Caring for “hospice” animals is
difficult, but my sister was also in pain emotionally dealing with patients on
a daily basis that are coping with what her husband endured for a season.
Seriously, how
does one stay strong day after day working in the same hospital, with the same
doctors, going in the same rooms that her husband was in for their last
Christmas together? It’s by God’s gift of grace applied when and where we need
it that sustains us through it all.
The clients
didn’t know what my sister was experiencing in her heart, they had no idea she
was a new widow. To them, she was
“staff.” It would take the impartation
of God’s favor on both our situations to keep our faith from wavering.
Who Really Knows?
Yesterday my husband shared with me
about a female intern that was, how do I put this? Well, she was bald. The first thing that came
to my mind was, “Is she sick or in
treatment?” Why else would a young
woman not have her head covered in this cold weather? He didn’t know, but said he wasn’t about to
ask.
I wondered about
her world and if she was just being fashionable, making a statement or maybe
she really was ill. Were the “stamps in
her life” in her reality crooked, and did it matter? We never know, do we? No, but thankfully Jesus does. He is fully
aware of every situation, every moment of every day and ready to dispense grace
on His children.
Words of Beauty that Bring Life
Over the weekend I had a lot to
think about in my own “crooked stamp” world.
Through all the testing, trials and sorrow the rainbow of blessing still
hung over my dwelling.
With each gift of a new day I asked the Lord, “Who do You want me to encourage during this
holiday season?”
Is there someone
who needs to hear wonderful words of life to help them get through difficult circumstances
they may be facing at this particular time of the year?
Not everyone is
having a holly jolly Christmas season, for various reasons whether they are
believers or not. My neighbors had no
idea of what was going on behind our doors last week, and I only knew what they
had shared with us.
The same goes
for everyone you meet throughout your day, whether it is at work, in the store,
the doctor’s or at the post office. “Crooked
stamps” are going out all around us, but do we notice. Even more, do we care?
The heart-to-heart I had with my
sister last week didn’t stop there. It
continued all week through conversations I had with others.
Word seeds of hope and joy were scattered far
beyond my own place, and planted all over the world by word of mouth, messaging
or the Internet.
Someone is in
need of a grace hug today; it may
even be a family member. Will you be the one to give it with beautiful and
wonderful words of hope that bring life?
Be more
understanding, show compassion, be slow to judge and ready to help.
With the snow,
work, home and care giving of animals I haven’t gotten my Christmas cards
mailed, but I plan on it. Grace hugs or
seed words of encouragement may be in those cards, and you know what? I may
even have some go out with crooked stamps!
Wonderful Words of Life [Live]
Until next time, thank God for His imparting favor
through grace!
What's New this week: Encouragement for Life: Words of Hope and Inspiration
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favor in your life also. Click on the
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Scripture reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provide by Gateway Bible