The Christian bookstore was going out of Business and I stopped by. "Do you have any of those fish... Signs?" I asked. "Yes, they're on sale." I studied the display. Gold ones. Silver ones. Some with a cross inside. Should I buy one? I'm not ashamed of the symbol. I'm ashamed of my driving at times. I make foolish mistakes and I don't want To give Jesus a bad name. But I took the risk. I purchased the fish and affixed it to my Vehicle. Perhaps the simple design will give me Opportunities to share Jesus. Perhaps it will improve my driving. But first, I must remember that it's |
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When a loved one is suffering,
Particularly a child, we say, "If only I could bear it for him. If only I could endure his pain." But we can't. Only One was able to do that, and on This bad turned Good Friday I'm Eternally grateful. The line was slow at the post office.
I waited behind a mom and her Daughter. I guessed they were from India. I was correct. I guessed the young miss was eight. I was wrong. "I'm five," she said. (The same age my Rachel was when her Father died.) I bent over a bit so I could look into her Face. "Wow! You're tall for your age." "That's what my daddy tells me." She was cradling a fluffy gray bunny in Her arms. "My girls loved stuffed animals." I told her. "I have a ton more at home." she said. Her mom nodded in agreement. "I have a rabbit this tall." And she stretched one arm up and the other Down. "I have a big frog and Minnie Mouse, but This one is my favorite. I take it everywhere." And she scrunched the beloved bunny against her Face. "Do you have a brother or sister?" "I have a big sister who is twelve." "I have two daughters, too, but they're all Grown up now." The little lady was articulate. Her big brown eyes were expressive and Her sweet smile endeared her to me. "You remind me of my girls when they were Your age. I miss them." She grinned, not able to see into my heart. I imagine that five year old girls must be Pretty much the same around the world. Standing in line I had a charming time Conversing with one of them. My friend was blinded as a preemie by
The oxygen that saved her life, and yet she Has journeyed to faraway places. "What is your motivation for traveling," I asked her, "since you can't see Anything?" "I delight in the sights when I have a good Describer," Peggie told me. "When a person explains every detail, I Experience the view with her. But not everyone is willing to take the time." I thought of those who are spiritually blind, Who can't imagine what Jesus is like. If I take the time to describe Him in the Most accurate hopeful terms, If they experience Him through the Way I live, Perhaps they will want to know Him too, And their eyes will be opened. The young woman's cancer is no longer
Treatable and hospice has begun. She's torn between trusting God and Trying to understand what He has in Mind. "But I must cling to Him," she told me. "I have no other options." I can think of some. She could choose to despair or Rail at God, or decide He must not Even exist. How could a good God put her and her Family though this? But as I've prayed for my battle scarred Friend I know she's right. Turning her back on the One who has Sustained her in the furnace and Who will carry her home is not An option. My neighbor and I had finished shopping and
Were putting our groceries in the Trunk of my car. "Could you take the lid off this Ointment," she asked. She had just purchased it. I twisted the cap with all my might. It wouldn't budge. At just that moment a lady walked by and Saw my scrunched up face. "Do you need help?" she asked. I handed her the tiny tube to see What she could do. Success! It opened! I couldn't believe it. "God sent you at just the right time," I Told the woman, and we laughed. "I'm not even from this area," she answered. She was from Georgia. And as we got acquainted I learned that Her cancer had returned. The kind stranger and I embraced. And as we stood in the Walmart parking Lot and prayed I was convinced that She was my divine appointment for the Day and that I was hers. Why the parade before the beatings?
Why the palms before the nails? Why the praise before the jeers? He was fulfilling prophecy. He was accepting the acclaim that was Due His name, hosannas so necessary that the Stones would have cried out if the Crowd hadn't. He was being lifted up in Preparation for being lifted up. My many varied pastimes aren't
Bad things at all. In fact, they are mostly good things. But if I'm not careful they may Crowd out the better things and Prevent me from attaining the best.
I believe David must have been a
Morning person. He listened for God's words in the morning. He prayed in the morning. He sang of God's strength in the morning. When my dog was still alive I was an Early morning person too. I was up at dawn walking him. Seeing the sunrise was exhilarating. (Walking in a downpour, not so much.) But now that Buddy's gone I can't drag Myself outside that early, not even for a Pink sky. But I'm glad I can listen to God, Pray to Him and Sing to Him even while I'm still in Bed. Psalm 143:8 Psalm 5:3 Psalm 59:16 |
Dorothy Kalb Hsu Seitzinger
Writing poetry has helped me process and express my sorrows and joys, my concerns and blessings. "Life is hard, but God is good!" Archives
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