Through the Window, I See

 

I did not write this. I saw this on social media a few years ago and today, I was reminded of it. In my five decades on Earth, these past couple of years have been the absolute worst as far as human character. People are very quick to judge and people are very easily "offended". Surely, the end is near because I don't see how we can go on much longer.

Here is the story...

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood.

The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the washing outside.

"That laundry is not very clean; she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, remaining silent.

Every time her neighbor hung her washing out to dry, the young woman made the same comments.

A month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, "Look, she’s finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?"

The husband replied, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life… What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look.

So don’t be too quick to judge others, especially if your perspective of life is clouded by anger, jealousy, negativity or unfulfilled desires.

Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are. 

Gleaning Like Ruth

 

This week I have been pondering the story of Ruth. Mostly I have been praying for my daughter and believing Ruth 2:12 for her and asking that Our Father in Heaven would reward her for turning to him and being forced into a new life, a new beginning that she did not plan on.

But I have also been digging into the idea of gleaning in the field. For several years, I have felt in my spirit that God was going to bless me with a wide open space. Sometimes in the various psalms, I have read it as a broad place. When I have felt entrapped and closed into a dark pit, I remember this wide open place and long for it.

This week, I envisioned it again as a field, a big open field I have been brought to so that I can glean all day long until the evening just like Ruth. What am I gleaning? God's word. I am pouring into the Bible and writing notes and seeking the Lord. Charles Spurgeon phrased it this way: To glean in this field is to read the word, to pray, to meditate. He even says that we should be careful not to drop what we have just gleaned and strive to RETAIN as much as we strive to OBTAIN. I think this is where my notes will help me. I can go back and read them again, these lovely lessons and stories and words from My Heavenly Father.

And then what? What will I choose to do with all of what I have gleaned? Where do I go from here? What plans are there for me or my family? I don't want to just gather for nothing. I want to do something with all of this which I am gleaning.

Today I was reminded that God gives grace to the humble. It takes humility to go and glean in the field. It requires stooping down like Ruth and working diligently to seek God's word. I have seen some folks in these past couple of months who have chosen to walk in great spiritual pride and the result is that they, in their superior attitude, choose to condemn and judge instead of love. I do not want to do this. I want to stoop down and work hard to seek my Lord. I want to give up on any idea that I am special and just let Him be glorified. I am fine to do the work. My struggle has always been to think like Solomon and wonder if it's all a great exercise in futility. Vanity of vanities!

But today I must remember that just like Ruth worked hard, stooping in that wide open field, I can do so also. I can glean from the promises of God in that wide open space and then I can go and feast upon them so that I gain strength and with that strength, I can go back out in the morning and glean again.

May I stay hungry. May I stay diligent. May I glorify my Father in Heaven by humbly seeking Him every single day of the rest of my life.

Experience Required

 

It doesn't matter where you live on this planet or how you were raised or how much money you have. Troubles are everywhere and no human can escape them. I have never been a fan of comparing our troubles. When my husband was very sick and going through chemo, I will never forget finding out that one of my friends was dealing with her husband's job loss and she had hidden this from me. I asked her why she didn't tell me and she said, "I felt embarrassed because what you are going through is so much worse".

This made me so very sad. I grabbed her and hugged her and said, "Chica, no need to compare because what your family is enduring is so stressful and hard and I'm here for you just like you've been here for me." She and I agreed in that moment that we would pray for each other. We didn't know how things would be resolved, but ultimately, my husband got better and her husband got an even higher level position. 

Over the years, I have seen troubles that are even worse than stage four cancer. I have suffered through some circumstances that have nearly killed me.  I am currently in a whirlwind of troubles that have me physically almost unable to get out of bed. Yet, God gives me the strength I need in the moment I need it to get up and to do what I must do. He is a faithful God who truly never leaves us or forsakes us. He is true to His word and He keeps all His promises.

It does not always feel that way. Sometimes it feels like Our Father in Heaven is cruel and unloving. It feels like He has left the building and we are on our own being fed to the wolves. Our eyes just can't see what His can see. We might not like this truth, but the way we grow and learn is through the piles of troubles and experiences that are not necessarily pleasant.

And one of the hardest truths is that we can't truly learn from other people's experiences. We have to learn from our own. Oh, we can be blessed by the wisdom of others when they share their lessons learned from experience. We can take notes and apply some of their lessons to our own lives, especially if we are experiencing something similar to what they endured. I have personally shared many great tips and advice to young caregivers of cancer patients over the years and they certainly appreciate my wisdom, but they still have to get through the wretched illness on their own and learn their own lessons along the way.

Today I am in deep distress because of several experiences I am being forced to endure at once. It is really tough, but I am choosing to remember that at the end of all of this, I will have learned a really great lesson and it will be worth the pain. Just when you think you have learned all the lessons you have to learn, you are reminded that until you take your final breath, you have much to learn. How exhausting! But also, thank you Lord for always being with us through the tough times even if we cannot feel Your presence.

Off I go to learn. Pray for me to stay strong.

Hope

 

Broken. Her heart was crushed to powder and I can't do anything about it. I have seen her endure things no one should ever have to endure. So, when she moved during a pandemic and was able to make lots of friends and even begin dating someone she ultimately fell in love with, I was so impressed by her.

My daughter suffered a horrible tragedy when she was a teenager. It took a long time for her to rise, but she did. Her scars are big, but God's love is bigger. He never left her and He never forsook her. He always keeps His promises.

When she was falling in love, I could see it in her. It was hard for her to trust, but she gave in to love and let this man penetrate her heart and soul. She even told him about the trauma that happened in high school and he told her how sorry he was that she had to experience that. And he promised her to be her man forever.

He asked her dad and me for her hand. Her dad gave his blessing as long as he would promise to love God more than anyone else followed by our daughter. He promised. We all believed him.

What we did not know was that a month ago, he did something he should never have done. It caused a whirlwind of damage for my daughter and for her circle of friends. They all turned against Morgan because they don't know what really happened. Morgan chose forgiveness and love. We kept planning a wedding.

Then, three weeks before their day, he caved. He could no longer handle the pressure of what his family was doing. I am being very careful because I won't expose them for what they really are, but I will say that his dad should have given him counsel to get real help. Instead, he advised him to cover up what he did and never tell anyone. He harmed my daughter and no one knows the truth. All of the participants in this ambush are getting away with it and delighting in the damage they caused.

Her heart is so broken and to make it all worse, a couple of months ago, she discovered an enlarged lymph node on her neck and it has not decreased in size with antibiotics. So, on July 8 she gets to head to a cancer center to do more tests to determine if it's malignant.

Blindsided and dumped only three weeks til her wedding to the man she loves and a cancer scare. All of this on a 24-year-old who has already experienced a trauma so severe it nearly killed her. I am more than just angry. I want to expose them all and I want them all to hurt, but as a Christian, I am told to forgive. Therefore, I will walk in forgiveness. That family should be paying me at least part of the costs of the wedding they sabotaged. They should be writing me a check for $40,000 and telling Morgan they are sorry for what they did. They know what they did, but they are lying. I know what they did too and unbeknownst to them, I have evidence. I also am armed with the truth about their son.

We never saw justice for what happened to her as a teenager. People with deep pockets and important connections made sure that didn't happen. We likely will see no justice for this one either. It is completely unfair and our daughter and entire family has been assaulted.

Hope. I don't see any hope, but on June 25, Morgan adopted a sweet puppy and named her Hope. We all love her already. May HOPE bring healing.