TAKING A BREAK

Dear friends, my "tomorrow" will start with a 21-day fast from social media, but before I disappear, I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year! May 2022 bring you peace, joy, good health, and many blessings.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTMAS

 

This song has been playing in my mind since I got up this morning to a very different kind of Christmas. The words have gripped my heart in a way they never have before. How unfathomable the thought that Jesus, King of kings, and Lord of Lords, not only took on human form, but came to earth as a helpless baby born in a manger because there was no room for Him anywhere else. 

Christmas Day my West Virginia family and I have a tradition of getting together for a special feast, followed by fellowship and the giving of gifts around the tree. Then we have a second celebration the day after when our New Jersey family arrives. This year, however, following a series of domino like events--including several cases of Covid--there was no one left to celebrate with and so we had to put it off. 

Though I love my family, and miss being with them, I know we will get together on another day. Instead of feeling sad, I welcome this chance to spend Christmas with Jesus, worshipping Him, and offering Him my gifts of thanksgiving. As I do so, many thoughts cross my mind, such as the brevity of life, and how our best laid out plans can come to nothing when unexpected circumstances arise. None of us is promised another day--nor even another moment, for that matter. 

Don't put off telling someone you love them. And, most of all, don't put off receiving the gift of salvation Jesus is offering you. Tomorrow may be too late.

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For the wages of sin is death, but the gift 

of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our 

Lord. (Romans 6:23)

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We are all born with a sin nature that separates us from God. All through the ages, with few exceptions, people have rejected Him, preferring to rule themselves and do things their own way, and yet He never stopped loving us despite it all. He longs for us to become part of His family forever, and has done everything He can to make this possible.

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For God so loved the world, that he gave 

his only Son, that whoever believes in him 

should not perish but have eternal life. 

(John 3:16)

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God loves us so much that He gave the very best and most valuable thing He had to give--His only Son, Jesus, who came to earth in human form to atone for our sins and shame. By His death on the cross we have been cleansed, forgiven, and offered the gift of eternal life. All you have to do is reach out and receive this free gift by faith. It is not something you can earn. God won't force you to accept it. The choice is yours.

EXPECTATIONS

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--EXPECTATIONS

Five minutes to free write about it

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I was not planning on participating in this week's challenge, but the word prompt provides such a perfect segue to the testimony I was about to share, here goes. 

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My expectations rarely play out the way I expect them to. Sometimes things turn out better, sometimes worse. This testimony is about a blessing I almost missed out on because my expectations were all wrong. But God... 

I had a very old, bulky, tube TV with the big back, from days long before flat screens came on the market. Mostly I used it to watch DVDs, VCR tapes, and my Wii Fit, all of which were hooked up to it. When it finally died, I thought I would need to replace it with something similar because I didn't realize that newer model TVs also have ports you can plug jacks into. So I posted a want ad on Freecycle asking for an old model TV that had these ports, and included a picture of what mine looked like.

The first response was from someone who was out of town, but would be back in a week, so we made arrangements for me to stop by when they returned. Meanwhile, I got another response from a lady who wrote, "I have exactly this. We just upgraded." So, what to do? Wait for the first person to get back, or get this one? I decided to go with the new offer if I could find someone to help me with the lifting. And so started a series of e-mails between us that I will only just give the gist of:

Me (with the expectation that this was another big, bulky, heavy TV): I'll come as soon as I can find someone to come with me and do the lifting.

Lady: It's not that heavy.

Me: I can't find anyone, so I'm going to pass. P.S. I'm 82 years old, and just about everything feels too heavy.

[At this point, most people would have let it go at that, but this lady was persistent.]

Lady: I can help get it to you. Where do you live?

Me: That's really kind of you, but I'm still going to pass, and research other options that aren't so big and bulky.

Lady (thinking I was afraid to have her bring it to me): I understand you not being comfortable having a stranger in your house, but I'll hold on to it for a week in case you change your mind.

Me: Oh my goodness, I was not worried about you coming to my apartment. I was telling you the truth about having changed my mind about getting another big, bulky TV.

Lady (sending me a picture): I guess I'm not giving up. This TV is not bulky. When I saw your ad, I had just been telling my son that I'd like this to go to someone who can use it. Not someone that just wants a 4th TV.

Wow! Who would have thought. Did God plan the timing of this whole scenario or what?

And now my five minutes are up, but I need to add a P.S.

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P.S. God is so amazing. I'm always in awe at the way he orchestrates things down to the most minute details.

When I picked up the TV, the lady and her husband loaded it into my car for me. It is beautiful beyond my wildest expectations. Nothing like what I had before. The screen is 31.5" wide (about three times bigger than the old one), and it's only 8" deep, so pretty close to a flat screen. And when I got home and got out of my car wandering how I would get it up to my second floor apartment, a guy just happened to step out onto his patio for a smoke. I asked him if he would be willing to carry it up for me, and he was most happy to oblige.

And now for the final detail, which could only have been masterminded by someone who knew the beginning from the end. 

When I went shopping for Christmas cards this year, I picked out several for people who have been special blessings in my life, and somehow, one of the nicest ones was wound up getting left over after I finished addressing everyone on my list. I couldn't understand how that could have happened, but now I do, and can just imagine God smiling a big smile and giving me a huge wink.