And She Said, "Well..."

I heard my Momma use that word so many times during my growing up years. When she used it, it meant that something had happened that had taken the wind out of her sails and she was rallying her spirit. And she managed to be a pretty upbeat lady who has now gone on to her eternal reward.
But she left me marked for life. Here's how:

1. To see my face is to see hers, so to speak. People often commented on how much like twins we looked. I could never see the resemblance until one day I happened to glance in the mirror after just having a new hair highlight put in. Folks, I did a doubletake. There was my Momma looking back at me. That's when I first realized that I looked just like her! Wow!


2. When things happen that have taken the wind out of my sails, and I have gotten over being dumbfounded, you will often hear me say, "Well..." Yep, I say it just the same way that my Momma did, and it means pretty much the same thing with me as it did with her. It means that I did not see a particular,  nasty, shocking situation coming, but that I will make the best of it and keep stepping while I wait to see what turns up next. It means that, though I am daggered, I will keep my faith in the God of heaven because I can say to the world, "Look where He brought me from. The God that I serve does not do things by half-measure. He brought me to it, and I trust Him to bring me through it." And I, Alma L. Carr-Jones will step on.

So, if you see me waving my hand as I sing in worship, just know that I am saying, "Well...look where He brought me from. I have my faith and trust in Him, and I have the hope of glory. I know that one day there will be no more trouble, trials, and tribulations. All of that will be gone, and I will shout, 'Hallelujah, glory to God' in my new home." And further, know that I am stepping on.

But I can tell you this, my rose-tinted glasses

Have had to be replaced several times in my life

But I kept purchasing, by faith, another rose-tinted pair

Because I wanted to instill hope in the young folk

Who are just starting to climb life's stair.

So

When you get hit in the solar plexus of your soul, don't despair

Just keep filling the heavenly region with heartfelt prayer.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Gratefully Stepping On Carr-Jones

 

It's in the Mail

Chopping My Row is proving to be more of a blessing each day. I received a phone call telling me that the book was well liked and that a check for it was in the mail. I had forgotten that there was someone who owed me for a book. I watched my mail, and the check did, indeed, come in the mail.

By Faith

I put the book out there in good faith, and the Lord is giving the increase on several forums. What a mighty God we serve! And you know, folks. Sometimes, we forget that fact. Take, for instance, the problems that we sometimes encounter in life. If we are not careful, we will get so bogged down in the problematic mess that we forget to hand it to the Lord in prayer. When we do remember to hand Him our problems and leave them there, we can take assurance in the fact that it's in the mail. Whatever His solution to our problem(s) is, it is on its way to us.

Thus

Our enemy (ies) will not see me fret overmuch. They will be trying to figure out how we can take whatever we are hit with in stride and keep stepping for God. And you know what folks, when we step resolutely on, we gain the admiration of some of our enemies and later may gain a brother or sister in Christ. The process of showing faith in times of dire stress works that way.

So

When you see your enemy look at you in a puzzled manner, you know that they are wondering how you are taking the hits that are sent your way. But, we know, don't we? Yep, we have learned to take our problems to Him and leave them there and know after the prayer session that the solution is already in the mail.

Tried by the Fire

"When you have been tried by the fire..."

I never knew what those words meant really until years after I experienced a house fire. I am still learning lessons predicated upon that fire of so long ago. Here is the burning of my house in a poetic setting. Travel with me down the ladder of emotions and back up again as we meet laughter, pain, joy, sorrow, and hope while weaving our way through the verses of this poem.

Renewed Faith in My Fellowman

 

April 16, 1987, is not a date

 That I’ll soon forget

For the happenings of this day

 Left me quite upset

I was running late so I didn’t

 Take time to put on my rings

I left them on my dresser with

 My other jewelry things

Our house was about 7 miles from the

School where I taught Special Education

And as I drove, I enjoyed the breezy sun-filled day

 With a sense of quiet elation

I enjoyed the new spring green of the grass

 That would soon need mowing

I enjoyed the tenacious little daffodils

 That had just started growing

I chatted with my Son about

 What time I would pick him up

I reminded my daughter to finish her

 Apple juice from her new sippy cup

After I dropped my kids off at

 Their respective schools

I hastened to my job because being

 Late was against the rules

I made it to school, went to the office,

 Said, “Hello” and signed in

Didn’t have a clue that within two hours,

 I’d be back in that office again

I spoke to my colleagues as I walked

 Past each of their doors

Then I went out to the portable building

 To begin my daily chores

Of teaching reading, math, spelling

Language, science and social studies

And was glad to see my two new teacher’s aides who

 Had turned out to be my hard-working buddies

We had all settled in for the morning and had

 Our children working as hard as could be

When the secretary interrupted our second class

 By intercom and said that she needed to see me

I said I would come as soon as the next bell rang

 And I had let my children go to P.E.

She told me to come right then and to let one of the aides

 Keep my kids and to bring the other one with me

“Wonder what’s up?” I said aloud as my two aides

 And I looked at each other with puzzled eyes

“It’s probably that shipment of workbooks I ordered and

She wants them out of the office as fast as instant pie.”

Well, we sped down to the office because interrupting

 Class for a workbook shipment is simply not done

When we rounded the corner of the office door, the secretary said,

 “Just got a call and your house is on fire hon.”

My aide started to have hysterics and

 I began to try to calm her

When the secretary said, “Not your house, but (pointing at me)

 Yours, while touching me on my shoulder

I stammered, “M-my house is burning down?

 Nah, somebody has made a mistake”

My boss told me to go home and my aide

 And another one, along with me to take

A leveled headed aide drove and when we were 5 miles from my house,

 We could see a thick black column of billowing smoke

We all watched that column but I

 Was the only one who spoke

“If that’s my house burning, there won’t be

 Anything left when we get to it, you know.”

The level-headed aide said, “It’s not your house because that

Fire is too close, and we still have five miles to go

“Maybe you’re right; some farmer is probably burning

 Off his field and it got out of control.”

Said the other aide, while I onto that

 Slim hope tried to keep hold

You know, in the rural areas, you travel

 Through so many twists and turns

But no matter how many twists and turns we made, we kept coming

Back toward that column of smoke where we could see stuff burn

Was it only my house that we

 Found blazing that April day?

Nope! When we got there, my Mom’s had already burned

 Completely and mine was well on its way

I stood there and watched my son’s room, my

Daughter’s room and our bedroom go up in flames

When I think about it, I still think

 It was an awful shame

That there was no way to get a pumper there

Fast enough to pump water from the ditch

But you know how things work; they

 Seldom go off without a hitch

By the time the pumper came, four

Miles from the nearest town

My little house with all of its contents

 Had burned to the ground

I thought about my kids' pictures that

 I had had taken through the years

I thought about my new teaching wardrobe and the new

 Riding lawn mower and I couldn’t see for the tears

I remember wondering why the

 Grass didn’t stop growing

I remember wondering why the wind

Just kept right on blowing

So much for my ideas about treating people right and

Doing the right thing, all of that had just come up empty

Then I thought about how though the fire had taken

 Her house and ours, GOD left my Mom with me

Then I remembered that we had changed insurance companies and the old coverage

Ran out and the beginning new coverage on the following week would fall

What week did my house burn, the week when there

 Was not a single smidgeon of coverage at all

That meant that everything that I had worked and scraped for for

Thirteen years was lost and no way to replace any of it

People kept saying, “These things can be replaced.” And I thought,

 “The next person that says that to me is gonna see me have a fit

Sure enough, the level-headed aide said “it,” and I screamed

At her, “You just tell me how!”

“You’re going home to your house intact;

 What cha’ got to say about that now?!”

She never said a word, but bowed her head and

 Then asked me if I had called my spouse

I told her that somebody had gone home and

 Phoned his job from their house

When my husband got there, he just sat on the side

 Of the hill and just sobbed and sobbed

He said that he couldn’t feel any worse

 If we had just been robbed

The only thing that I kept saying aloud was that

 I didn’t even own a broom straw

And I kept wondering, in my mind, when that awful

 Knot in my throat was going to start to thaw

And that level-headed aide to which

 I threw a screaming fit

She only supplied my son with an entire wardrobe (shoes and all)

 And even threw in a broom and dust pan kit

Furthermore, my kids’ respective schools replaced

 Their new bikes that we had just bought

And we were supplied with housewares, small appliances, clothes

 And money from the school where I taught

From the churches that we were affiliated with, we

 Received furniture, linen, money and more

From the whole community to our family,

 There was a tremendous outpour

So we made it through it all, as victims

 Of catastrophes, with time and effort, do

But the fire that happened on April 16, 1987,

 Did my faith in my fellowman renew

And regarding total replacement fire insurance,

 Allow me to tell you one thing more

Learned a lesson?  You betcha!  Nowadays,

 This family is fire insurance poor!

********

Years have passed since that fateful day

That life tugged off my rose-tinted glasses

And the fray shook some of my faith away.

I remember that youthful anger came to my aid

About what had happened to me

Until I realized that my anger was directed to

A Being I could not even see.

And better yet, I realized that He had carried me

Such a ways from where I started that  for a

Moment, I forgot that by His grace I was

Allowed to be the success that I had become

In fact, had been chosen for a particular duty

Way before I was gifted to my Mom.

Now, I travel this world and work at

Spreading hope and encouragement through

Whatever work I am given to do.

I have learned to cheer others on who are running their race well

And to pick still others up who by life have been felled

And yes, every now and then I am brandished back through

The finishing fire again to get more impurities out

But now, I stay prayerful and know that the God of Heaven

Has my life plan and is working all things out.

So, when you see me smiling through my pain

And you see me unfold my umbrella in the rain

Just know that I have full assurance that my Father

Is, but working on my impurities again.

...And I shall come through as pure gold!

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

The Flashlight

 

Introduction

You know that my daughter has been having a little vacation from the group home with us this week, right? Uhm, hmm, well, remember yesterday I mentioned that she was dogging my footsteps. I could not turn around for her being right there. I had to make sure and not whirl to do something quickly because if I did, I might bump into her or step on her toe or foot. I think I told you yesterday that she fair wore me out, but what I did not tell you was why. It hit me after I finished my blog and thinking back over our conversation. I still did not put it together until I was talking to my husband later. I told him about her little head trying to nod and her stalwartly fighting sleep and drinking water. I told him that she had said to me, "Momma, I'm keeping you good company ain't I? Get this, folks. That is when he said to me, "That's because I told her to take good care of you." I said, "No wonder she did not want to go to sleep even though her head was bobbing and weaving. You can't say things like that to her because she thinks it means to do just what she was doing."  She thought that she was actually being a big girl and taking care of her Momma. Bless her little heart! It doesn't get much sweeter than that, y'all.

Flashlight

I said that today's blog would use a flashlight in reference to Christian life, and I will still do that, but I am going to use a different application for the same flashlight. I had planned to talk a bit about knowing what you have in your hand in reference to the flashlight and its capability to shine on a wide area for a bigger view or to pinpoint a particular area with intense light. Again, I was going to use the Bible in the application as far as using what you have been equipped with (just knowing about what you have to work with).

But

I decided to use it from an angle with reference to how we sometimes look at situations that we perceive as problems. Now, about the flashlight, I did not know that it had the mechanism on it where you could have a wide circle of light, an intensely bright narrowed stream of light or a flashing strobe light, as for emergencies. Handy tool and it is a little one, too. (could use that application, too, but maybe another time.)

I told you that my daughter dogging my steps was a bother, and I knew that it was going to be a long week. I wondered if she had suffered some ill effects in the group home that had made her be clingy.  I was looking at the small picture of her being a bother under my feet so much. BUT, when my husband explained that he had specifically told her to take care of Momma, that shed more light on the subject. And then guess what? Yes, exactly! The situation was exactly the same but what WAS different about it was that I was looking at the bigger picture and what had seemed to be a problem was actually a sweet blessing of care. Let me explain.

So

You might be thinking that you understand that perfectly well but what has the scenario mentioned in the paragraph immediately above have to do with you. Simple, folks. Don't you see that it is our perception of our problems that can change our state of mind from one of sad resignment to one of hopeful joy? You remember the scripture Romans 8:28, right? That scripture tells us that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. (KJV) You see, if we love Him, we will trust Him. If we trust Him, then we will know in our hearts that He is working things out for our good. And knowing that ought to stir up that hopeful J.O.Y. in us.

Let me explain further. I heard at a Bible school a cute little ditty that they had made up. The kids sang about J.O.Y. and that J.O.Y. meant Jesus, Others and You. How does that apply in any given situation? Easy, we ought to view everything through the eyes of faith and know that the all things mentioned means things that happen to us because it says for our good. If you really think about it, you will realize how many times in your life that you have had trouble that turned out to be a blessing for you because it strengthened your faith by your having to walk by faith and not being able to figure out just how you were going to get out of said predicament. AND that same predicament helped to strengthen someone else's faith or plant a seed of faith in somebody because they saw your hope and trust in God throughout the predicament. Don't you see? Your problem blessed you and somebody else, too. Maybe several somebodies else.

I Have Determined

This serving God is not just about you. It is about J.O.Y. (Jesus, Others, and You) Since I have learned to change my view about things as they happen in my life, I realize how much better I feel about situations and problems that crop up. Here is what I have determined:

• That when something unpleasant happens in my life, I am going to ask myself, "Okay, now what am I supposed to learn from this? How can this help my Christian walk?"


• Conversely, when something good happens in my life, and I am encouraged by it, to try to find a way to spread that encouragement to my fellowmen.


• To be more than just content, to take it a step further and show the world the joy, content and hope that I have in Him


• to show that I have the hope of glory and that one day, oh-h-h one day, I'll get to join in with other saints, old and new, who have crossed over to the other side to sing majestic praise to the God of Zion!


• That, hopefully, by showing contented determination, I can take somebody with me.

And with that, folks, I will step on down this row that I have been assigned to chop. Y'all have a blessed evening and night.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

And those, my friend, are a few lessons learned all from a flashlight that showed us that sometimes, yep, you just have to change your focus.

The Sewing Machine

It's Been a While

Sorry about posting so late tonight, but I am posting from sheer determination. Today I felt like I had a two-year-old in the house again. Let me tell you why. I went to the group home to pick up my special daughter on last night, and today she literally dogged my footsteps. It reminded me of when my children were little and it was nothing to have them dog my footsteps. But, my daughter had not done so in many a year. Never-the-less, I took the time and painstakingly answered her every query and just had general conversation with her. Bless her little heart, when her head was nodding in an attempt to go to sleep, she was still doggedly trying to stay awake and talk to me. She has just had her bath and taken her night meds and I, at last, have time to do my blog.

Sewing Machine

As most of you know, I am always doing something, whether writing, crocheting, etc. You also might remember that a few blogs back I decided to make some curtains for my bedroom. They turned out well. Well, I guess I got the stitch itch because one day I was sitting in my kitchen and decided that I would make some curtains for the kitchen. Let me tell you what I discovered. I discovered that I had not had to change the bobbin in my machine in so long that I had forgotten how to thread the machine for doing so. This was something so rudimentary to sewing that I thought I would never forget how to do it. Well, I did. I have had two sewing machines in my adult life, and I used my first one quite a bit. But, as you may or may not know, it burned up back in 1987 in my house fire.

And

Okay, so no problem. I will just get my instruction book out for this machine and see what it says about threading the machine for winding the bobbin. Ha, ha, ha! It should prove so easy to do! Could not find the instruction book so I was trying to do it from memory. I mean, how hard can it be, right? But, no, what did my brain try to do. It tried to remember the way to thread and wind the bobbin from the old machine. Well, it would not work, So, I, by trial and painstaking error, finally got it to thread and wind some but the thread kept breaking.

Y'all, what kept running through my brain was,  "I don't want to have to deal with readjusting the tension." That is a mess, let me tell you. At any rate, I got it threaded. Then I had to find a piece of scrap material similar to the one that I was sewing on to see if it would sew on that. I got that machine finally to start sewing, and I was very thankful.

Now I know why I had so many bobbins filled with white thread. I had had such a hard time the last time that I wound a bobbin on this machine that I went out and bought several bobbins and filled them all with white thread.

Lesson Learned

Well, I have determined that I need to thread and wind bobbins with all of the basic colors. And I also determined within myself to go online and order a sewing machine book for my model of machine and read it again and to never let myself get rusty on something as simple as threading a bobbin.  Whew!

Application to Life

Just as I said on yesterday, "If you don't use it you will lose it."  Did you go back over those books of the Bible yet? Just like the general knowledge found in my sewing machine manual would have helped me, the general knowledge found in the Bible can help us. Do you read yours daily? You know, we really must take time to read the instruction manual (Bible) that has God's plan in it as our roadmap to glory. At the end of time, we will be judged by the words that are in the book. Don't you think that we ought to know for ourselves what it says? Just saying. Y'all be blessed.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

 

Gotten Rusty

For the next three days I am going to make a point about three things and tie them in with the Christian life:
1. An Iron Skillet
2. A Sewing Machine
3. A Flashlight

Iron Skillet

Every now and then, my husband gets it in his head that he wants to cook something up, in my kitchen. Now, you cooks on the blog today,  know how territorial we can be about our kitchens, right?  We have a certain place for each thing, and we use certain utensils for only preparing certain foods, etc. And we can tell if someone has been in our kitchen and done anything, right? Y'all know how we do it. Anyway, on this particular day he decided to fry something or another, I forget what, but when he finished, he put my iron skillet in the sink full of water

WELL!

Uhm, hmm, you know that I was not a happy camper, right? I remember thinking, "Now who in their right mind would put an iron skillet in the sink and leave it until the real cook got home, which happened to be several long hours later, in fact into the night. You know how we do when we have been gone for a while, we come in and take inventory of our family and after seeing that they are none the worse for the wear, we then turn our attention to our home, me to my kitchen in particular.

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT if you thought that I had a small fit!  "DIDN'T WANT TO BUY THE IRON SKILLET ANYWAY AND NOW HAS GONE AND PUT IT INTO A SINK FULL OF WATER! NOT TODAY!!!" And  I was getting wound up really good, until I thought like a Christian and remembered Whose I was! The skillet could be saved with some scrubbing and re-seasoning. I explained why I was upset to my husband who looked at me like, "You should be proud of me, I cooked myself something to eat." (You know that I wanted to point out that I had prepared food aplenty for Him before I left, don't you? And no, I did not even bother mentioning it.) He never understood the rationale behind my almost tirade, not really. But, he never put my iron skillet in the sink again.

The Point I Want to Make with Reference to Living a Christian Life

• If you have acquired a certain skill set with reference to the Bible or living a Chrisitan life, that skill set will do just like my iron skillet did, rust if you do not take care of it. If you used to know the books of the Bible by heart, you might not remember the order in which they fall as readily as you used to. You have gotten rusty on them. The same thing goes with delivering the plan of salvation to someone.


• So, take care of the skill set(s) that you have because we do not want to be caught unprepared when He returns like the five foolish virgins were caught.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Tomorrow we will talk about A Sewing Machine with a comparison being made to a Christian life.

Be Careful

 

 

Be Careful About What

Hmm-m-m. I wonder if I have ever actually “…entertained an angel unawares.” (Heb. 13:2, KJV) That is really a thought that goes deep into our brain cells and dwells there a bit. I mean, the way we interact with someone or treat someone is being reported straight to the Lord?! Whew! That gives me great pause for thinking.

I think about whether I took time for or was kind to:

• the person that I met on the bus who stared a hole through me, and because of the uncomfortableness of the stare, would not make eye contact with them


• the person who asked for a dime on the streets


• the person who told me they were hungry


• the person of a different ethnicity who dared let her finger touch mine when she gave me my change


• people that I meet on a daily basis and whether I left them feeling lighter or not


• people who I might need to ask for forgiveness, but never have


• whether I leave a person feeling Jesus in me after our meeting or not.

All of those are things that I think about when I think of “…angels unawares.” And like you, I would like to think that I came out looking good in the telling. Oh, I know that it is easy to be kind and sweet in certain situations. When we are communicating with our loved ones, meeting someone’s new baby or toddler for the first time, etc., all of those are times when kindness and love just ooze from our very pores, right? Uhm, hmm, but let’s be mindful of the other times as well.

Why

1. We are the light of the world.


2. One of those people you looked upon with disdain just might be a person that the Lord has allowed the protective hedges to be taken down from and they might be reeling from several blows from the adversary. You might be one of the jic’s (Chopping My Row, p. 30) that the Lord has put in place for that person or it could be a test to see just how much you do love the Lord.


3. And in the judgment, when the books are opened, we will be most glad that we did respond with kindness!

Just a little something to think about in this world of ours as we make our way home.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

I Can't Take Any More

You know those days that we all have when we want to say to life in general, "Enough, now! I can't take any more!", well, I was having one of those a few days ago, and the telephone rang. It was one of those days when I was a bit overwhelmed, and I was marshaling my own thoughts so that I could do what needed to be done in my world. We all have days like that or have had them. As I was marshaling my thoughts, I took a trip down memory lane.

And I remembered a few years back, just when I was at a low point of my attempting to paint my own storm green, and someone came to me near tears. Their question was to ask if it, meaning life, or trouble with children ever got any better. My first thought was to tell them to continue to pray, and everything would work out. But when I looked at that person's face, and I knew that they needed more than that. They needed me to listen, give words of encouragement, pray with them and for them and counsel their errant daughter. You see something that Maya Angelou said resonated with a practice that I have used all of my life. She said, "Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud," and to that, I add my take on it, "Even though you are going through storms of your own."

Folks, I had to focus on this person's problem. I realized, as a Christian, that I serve the Lord and that He has given me an insight into situations and into children and a certain affinity with them so that I can usually reach them when their parents can't. I realized that my being a Christian was not all about me. I realized that in the Lord's army, sometimes my problems had to take a backseat to those of my fellowman. And you know what else I have learned over the years, I have learned that when I put the Lord's work first, oftentimes, my problem is worked out before I realize it!

So

When you feel like you have enough on your own plate and cannot be bothered to help someone else, be careful. The gifts that you have for helping people were not given to you just for your family and yourself, but for your fellowman, as well. Then too, remember that the Bible says, "Have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2, KJV)

To be continued tomorrow-

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

The Monsoon Season

I was talking to a woman in the store today, and she mentioned the fact that when she lived in a certain part of Venezuela, there was a monsoon season and it rained about the same time every day during the season. They knew the time of the rain each day, so they planned their activities around it. Be that as it may, wouldn't it be nice as Christians if we knew when our monsoons would be upon us?

Yes, it would be nice, but if we knew that we would not be walking by faith as much as we do now. If we knew the time and the duration of our stormy season, we would plan for such. But, since we don't know, we have to trust in the God of creation to help us to make it through our storms.

Like Domesticated Cattle or Sheep

They tell me that when a sheep gets lost or a cow gets stuck in something and cannot get out that the cow bellows and the sheep baas. We ought to be like the cows that bellow or the domesticated sheep that baa for food. When we have a storm or a problem we ought to go to our God instead of despairing.  We need to remember that He is the Ultimate Shepherd.

So

I don't know when my monsoon will come nor how long it will last. But I do know who made the monsoon and who controls the wind and waves, etc. In short, I know the Lord, and I know that He cares for me. So, I have no need to worry and no need to fear. I just have to remember that though I am a frail mortal, I have a Father, Who can do all things. There is nothing too hard for Him. And then, folks, I step on.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Under Your Banner

I owe my life, my all to You, Lord, and I proudly walk, work and chop my row under Your banner! I tell it everywhere I go. Y'all, enjoy your day in worship.

Sometimes You Just Have to Wait

Things don't always happen as quickly as we think they ought to or the way we think they ought to. Sometimes we just have to wait for the Lord to do what needs to be done. And remember that faith worketh patience, and patience perseverance. (Romans 5:4 and James 1:3-4)

What we have to remember is that we are always a work in progress. That means that God deals with us as with sons and daughters for He chastens those that He loves. (Hebrews 12, KJV) For when my tribulations and trials are over, if I maintain my trust in Him, I shall come forth as pure gold.

So

During your trial by fire, keep your head up and maintain your faith in God. When it is all over you will be left with the peaceable fruit of righteousness, and you will be "Fit for the Master's Use."

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones

Trust Issues

There are times in our lives when it is hard to trust the Lord. We develop trust issues with Him because of the way that some things unfold in our lives. I know, because I have been there and done that. Let me remind you that it is precisely at these times that you must lean on your trust in Him the hardest. Yep, I mean, trust Him when it makes you look stupid to the eyes of the world to do so.

How do I do this? Easy, I look back at the past that is recorded in the Bible and back through the eyes of my parents and view their walk with Him and with some of my church members back at their past. When I do, I see a strength, a resolve, and trust that is ramrod strong. Then, too, I look back at my little past with Him, and I begin to rethink my decision to trust Him. I tell myself that I already know how the game is going to end, I just don't know all of the plays and that is okay because He wrote the playbook way before I was born. Did y'all hear me?

No Matter What

I will repeat that for you. I said that no matter what the outcomes finally is, it will be okay for me. How do I know? Easy, as one of my favorite scriptures has said, Romans 8:28, that all things work together for good for those that love the Lord. That is enough for me.

Take the time and read this poem, if you will. I want you to get past the fact that you don't like poetry. Why. because my response to your saying that you just don't like poetry would be, "Not even poetry that helps you with a problem and eases your mind through a struggle?" If it is going to help you, read it and absorb it. The writer was inspired to write it for folk just like you. Yeah, you!

Now that we have gotten past that, read the poem below:

The footsteps of faith from the past have charted

My course from which I have grown

And have me looking toward the future...

All from the past that I have known.

 

Remember the blessings that Abraham got from being faithful when it seemed for the impossible to be done? Yes, dear ones, it pays to keep your faith in God, uh hmm, to keep on trusting Him!

And Guess What Else?

One day, the world will be looking at you and thinking, Well he/she doesn't look so stupid now, do they?" And you will be sounding like me, and you will be the one saying, "Won't He do it?!!"

 

 

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

Spent the biggest portion of the day at the doctor's office with the husband. He is not happy about now having to give up his beef. He says that is asking more than he can do. He has been like a bear with a sore head these past few weeks. Whew! And having to give up beef, oh my.

But, you what? He is already making plans for what to do with the beef that he bought early this morning.  And you know, we have to have an attitude pretty much the same about life. We have to remember Who is in charge of our lives, make adjustments and step on. Some days are easier than others, but we must keep putting one foot in front of the other. And when it seems that the storm is just too much for us, we have to trust in God and keep moving. Yes, sometimes we will be moving with tears in our eyes, but we keep moving just the same. When folk:

• talk about us


• laugh at our calamities


• set traps for us


• lie on us


• misunderstand us,


• and when life generally abuses us, etc.


• we must keep going.

I don't overstress long about anything. I have learned to remind myself Whose child I am and that He ever cares for me. You, fellowman have to do the same thing. And I always remember that this world is not our home. We are pilgrims passing through. So, if we have to cry sometime, that's alright because we have a Father Who will fix it all by and by. Y'all be blessed and grateful for what God has already done for you. Until tomorrow, if the Lord wills.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Grateful Carr-Jones