See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

Grandkids fill my home with laughter and shouts and rowdy fun this week! My normally empty nest is infused with watermelon juice dripping down bare bellies, skinned knees, and lots more laundry than my average days accumulate.

As I picked the little guys up from school Friday, I was overcome with a deep sense of love. They hopped in the car bubbling over with details about their day. Within minutes a hidden agenda surfaced as one of them proclaimed he had a friend going to the park at 4:00.

I’m normally a way-too-structured-to be-spontaneously-fun kind of grandmom, but today my love poured out in accommodation, so off to the park we went. Before we even got into the parking lot, the guys realized that the Splash Pad was already open this mid-May afternoon, much to their surprise.

“Can we play in the water?”

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t have any towels with me,” my structured personality piped up. “We’ll come back another day.”

They were satisfied, so we parked and tumbled out of the car to run and climb and play on the “dry” playground while eagerly awaiting the arrival of the friend.

It was a gorgeous spring day. I sat enjoying the sunshine and gleeful kids running around. And as I sat there I began to think of how very much God loves me. How much more He loves me than I can ever dream of loving my grandkids. I was overcome with the beauty of the afternoon.

When the friend had not arrived by precisely 4:05, my eldest grandchild came to me with a proposition – could we run the half mile down the road and grab towels and come aback and get wet? Once again that deep awareness of how much I loved these little guys kicked in to override my plan, and I said, “Of course!”

We made the quick trek and returned to play until the park shut the water off for the day. It was great fun! I was reminded by those simple pleasures how many times God goes out of His way to show His love for me. I thought of how often His answers to my prayers are “Yes! Of course! I love you!” I was overcome with the awareness that He gives good things to His children just because we are His.

I know not all days are sunshine and rainbows. You may be experiencing a low time in life right now. But never forget how much God loves you. Never forget to look for those little “Yesses” and small blessings that He gives even in our dark days.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

An old song form generations past sings out proudly: “V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N in the summer sun!” Sounds like exactly what most all of us would love to be doing – vacationing somewhere in the sun. Whether you’re a beach person or mountain person wouldn’t you just love to take a little getaway right now? I sure would.

Why is it when we get busy and stressed and overwhelmed with life, we just want to escape? Perhaps we feel like we can run away from the problems and hope they will all solve themselves. Or maybe we’re searching for something to fill that emptiness deep inside us. If we aren’t careful we waste the days of our lives by wishing them away in half-hearted living, doing the mundane and longing for the thrill of the getaway to somewhere exotic.

As I’ve read more Christian writers from decades past, I hear in their messages a challenge to make the mundane moments holy, to live every moment with purpose and passion, to seek God wholeheartedly amid the everyday. I struggle with this, but I have found a few things that help. Maybe they will help you too.

1. Spend 20 minutes a day, alone, doing nothing but listening. Sounds impossible, right? The first day I tried this I knew my attention span was so short that there was no way I could do 20 minutes, so I set my timer for 5 minutes, and you know what? Even that was a struggle. To just sit quietly outside, no phone, no agenda, willing myself not to mull over my issues or To Do list, but to just listen to God’s world and, more importantly, for Him to speak into my heart. From that day I’m developing the habit of listening. And it’s a good thing. My blood pressure is bound to drop, because of the calm that comes to me. God is faithful during these times and stirs my heart with whispers of encouragement and hope.
2. Fill the emptiness of your soul with scripture. Reading, listening to, writing, or memorizing bits and longer passages of God’s Word brings His peace to my heart. Isaiah 55:11 tells us that God’s Word “will not return to [Him] empty, but will accomplish what [He] desires and achieve the purpose for which [He] sent it.” Holy scripture has a power we cannot comprehend because it is God’s very words breathed out onto paper. We can rest in the fact that anytime we take in scripture it is doing something active in our lives to fill in the empty, broken places and accomplish God’s plans in us.
3. Have conversations with God. Many of us feel uncomfortable with the “thees” and “thous” of old-timey prayers. Or we feel we don’t know how to pray. So we end up just worrying and not even attempting to pray. I am still learning to pray continually. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) It’s a discipline of the mind to do it because we so easily jump out of prayer back into the what-ifs and worries of life. But 1 Peter 3:12 tells us “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.” So how do we maintain a spirit of prayer throughout our day? K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple Silly! Just talk. Talk like you are talking to your girlfriends. If you feel silly, tell Him so. Nothing is too big or too small. “Hey God, I was just thinking…”
4. Live each moment with purpose. There are no spare moments in life. The ones we don’t use well are lost forever. How many moments have we wasted dwelling on something that never even happened? Wasted moments. How many thoughts do we waste on jealously, bitterness, or anger? Wasted moments. How many moments do we let slip by with our thoughts elsewhere, on a future or past issue, not truly living that moment in time? Wasted moments. I have made it a goal to live in the moment. If my grandson is prattling on about a video game I care nothing about, I try to look intently into his eyes and truly listen. I might not really understand, but he comes away from the moment feeling heard and cared for and loved. I purposefully set my mind to listen to others, to engage, to try to understand. And I set my heart to savor, celebrate, and get every last drop of life out of any moment, even the sad ones. Because to fully live life, we must fully embrace even the sadness, shock, grief or fear.
5. Make joy where you are. Laugh. Sing. Dance. Play pranks on people. Drink in the sweet aromas around you. Buy the fresh flowers. See the sunset. Get up for the sunrise.

Let’s not seek escape from life. Let’s live it. We have a limited number of days on this earth. Why waste them waiting for a vacation?!

The Lord bless you and all your little tribe.

Bless your babies and your grown ones, whether gone or by your side.

May your Mama’s heart take courage knowing Jesus is nearby,

And may your memories be filled with joys of days gone by.

~~~~~

May God bless your perfect angels and your little rascals too.

And when one goes astray, may He hold and comfort you.

May your rest in knowing He has a plan, and it’s a good one too.

So never give in to those fiery darts sent to frighten and worry you.

~~~~~

God bless you with holy insight not to judge yourself too hard,

And rightly see perceived failures, so your heart will not be scarred.

Humbly realize that your successes are not your doing either,

But God Himself, in giving grace, has given you a breather.

~~~~~

O little mother, young or old, trust God and God alone,

To get you through those challenging times, you can’t do it on your own.

Receive His blessings with open hands and know He’s watching over

All the good times and the bad, and let His peace and joy take over.

Ask a group of 4-year-olds what they want to be when they grow up and you’ll most likely hear things like: a fireman, teacher, doctor, veterinarian, or a giraffe! Even at that early age little people have a picture of what they think their life will look like. Granted, these dreams change over the years.

At 10 they want to be a Youtuber, professional baseball player, ballerina or such. By the time they’re a college freshman they either have a definitive answer or no clue as to what they want to do and be. Four short years later, as they walk across that stage at graduation the blank canvas of life is wide open, yet the beginning of adulting seems a bit overwhelming – the wonder if they can be all they long to be. The plans of life seem at the same time exciting and daunting.

We’ve all had dreams. Some came to be. Some didn’t. The ones that come to be usually bring a sense of accomplishment and reward, they are positive experiences. No trouble there. The tough things to handle are those dreams that didn’t work out the way we had always planned that they would.

In scripture, Joseph had dreams that worked out. They were given to him by God, so of course they did. But his older brothers’ dreams didn’t. They dreamed of being in charge because they were older and higher in the pecking order. Some little rugrat brother was not going to rule over them, and they would certainly never bow down to him. But our plans don’t always pan out. And theirs didn’t. They one day found themselves bowing down to that little brother all grown up and in charge, because their life depended on his help, his authority, his position above them.

Have you found yourself in an I-never-dreamed-it-would-end-up-like-this-life? Perhaps it was youthful dreams of a Cinderella romance that didn’t pan out. Maybe it was a career that went off track and left you floundering. Possibly it was unexpected health or financial issues. It could have even been a derailing of your dreams caused by your own bad choices.

I want to encourage you today, that whatever path you find yourself treading, the Lord will bring about His purposes in your life. In Proverbs 19:21 God’s Word tells us, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

We need to lean on Him, to trust Him. But what we often do is try to manipulate and figure it all out with our own fallible wisdom. Or we “phone a friend” and get their answer (human & fallible) to our situation. The book of Proverbs tells us what we should do.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 16:3-4 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The Lord works out everything to its proper end…”

The book of Psalms reminds us where to look for guidance when our life goals seem squashed and our hearts are saddened because things just aren’t working out.

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Psalm 119:130 “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

So, if today things seem like you’re at a dead end or you really wish you were in a different place, turn to the Father. Go to His Word. Seek Him in prayer. Pour out your heart’s deepest desires and trust Him to be the one to accomplish all that and so much more in your life. Then lay down your plans and look forward to the fertile pasture He will bring you to. You may not get to be the giraffe you had dreamed of being as a 4-year-old, but I guarantee, God is good, He does good, and He has good plans for your life. Sit back and enjoy the adventure. And don’t say “No” if He says he’s taking you to a new place.

It had been an unusually busy Sunday afternoon and my time got away from me. I had a meeting at church at 5:45 for a project some of us were working on. I had updated my notes for this meeting but had not printed them. It was time to leave but I had to print my notes. I turned to my computer and clicked print. I heard the printer start up so I ran (walked quickly) for my shoes. The printer was still printing. Ok, purse, folder, phone, keys. What was that? Beep! Beep! Beep! Printer problems. No paper. Ok. I can handle that. I looked at the time. I was really trying to be on time today.

Finally, the pages were printed. I opened the basement door to call to my husband to tell him I was leaving. He called back that he had turned my car around and it was ready to go. How nice. It had been parked in an unusual place that day because of what was going on in the basement. As I pulled out of the driveway, I checked the time. I really don’t like being late.

I hurriedly zipped around the curves on the main road and was making up for lost time when I realized I had not prayed for this meeting before I left home. As I said, “Dear Heavenly Father” I noticed the speed limit sign. Then I glanced at my speed. I can not pray and speed at the same time. God convicted me of that a long time ago. Why did God give me such a lead foot? I began to slow my pace. It took a while but I got my speed back to the speed limit and pressed cruise control. Ah! Now I can pray. “Please forgive me once again for speeding. Thank you for your loving, merciful forgiveness.”

I was almost to the church by now. As I stepped out of my car and grabbed my notes, I thanked God for a safe drive to the church. I have frequently been told that the angels jump off when you go over the speed limit. I cannot find a biblical reference for that but a pastor told me that so it has to be true. As I hurried into the church, I asked God to remind me to pray before I left home the next time.

James 4:17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:9]

Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

They were a table of professionals clearly childless and in the prime of their working lives, out for a late lunch. I have no idea what common thread brought them all there or under what circumstances they were having that late lunch on a Monday afternoon. They did not make me privy to such table talk but I could not help but listens as they loudly declared the expense of Uber versus Lyft, hangovers from the evening before, sounds of gunshots in the night, “good” parts of the city verses “bad” parts. I cringed a little when they said that. I love this city, all of it and I was personally hurt by their statement. 

They prattled on about old homes, abandoned schools and 7 degrees of Charles Barkley. 

 “People here all know someone who’ve met Charles Barkley” 

They are not in that lot and to be quite frank neither am I. I’ve lived in Birmingham my whole life and I’ve never met Charles Barkley one time, but maybe I know someone who has and I am just unaware of it. They took inventory of landmarks they’d been to and some they needed to get to, there was talk of kayaking and hiking, yet none seemed to be rooted here in this red dirt and the “Old as Moses” barbecue place seemed to be a stop, or a check off on a list things to eat while in Birmingham, not a place they’d been eating at since they were children. They talked at a high volume as if they were the only folks in the place. 

They took a selfie with the waitress. I felt sure, none could boast what my mother-in-law once did to me. We had come for a birthday lunch and she tapped on the lid of the signature sauce saying “My mama used to carry these in her glove box.” When I quizzed her why and when she declared “She really liked that sauce, it had’t’ve been around 1957 or ‘58.” The world here was a bit different back then I thought at the time.

I imagine my husband’s grandmother who’ve I have only seen in faded sepia toned photographs, loving that sauce like her one day would be granddaughter-in-law. I was thinking about that when my pondering was interrupted by my youngest. 

He too was correct. 

I had just taken a drink of my co-cola (that’s how legit southerners will say coca-cola if left unchecked by their environment or company). When he stated the obvious, I nearly spit it out across the table.

My youngest asked for clarification which he quickly offered to give. I stopped him. He is not as genteel with his wording of sensitive matters at hand. I explained and as I listened to the young, professional, loud-talkers and immediately a verse, one that speaks of life and death and how it can be found in the tongue.

Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

There are words spoken that can bring life and encouragement and there are words that do the very opposite, bring death or in my case make the hearer cringe. As the young professional, touristy people left the restaurant and we settled into our meal I found myself grateful not that they were leaving, but that they had been there to demonstrate to me that if my tongue is to be loose may it be loosened with words of life and not ones of decay and ruin. May I always speak of light and life especially when I do not think anyone else is listening.