THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

March 3, 2021

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

A few mornings ago, I woke up thinking about my daddy, and the Holy Spirit brought some thoughts to mind that I would like to share with you.

Several years ago, when I was single, Daddy and I took a few trips together to go visit my sisters. We would usually take my car, and although Daddy would drive some, I did most of the driving. One thing that came to mind was the fact that Daddy never, ever told me how to drive and had complete trust in my abilities.

When we went to visit my sister, who lived near Austin, TX at that time, we had to drive through Dallas. When we got close to the city, he wouldn't say, "Pull over and I'll drive," but he'd say, "You'll do just fine. I'll help watch for signs so you can know which lane to be in, and help watch for cars when you need to switch lanes." Perhaps, it was because he didn't want to do the driving through Dallas himself!

He was completely confident in my driving abilities, to the point that he would doze off and not worry about me getting lost or on the wrong road. This was back before GPS and cell phones. I think Daddy's perspective was that if we got lost or on the wrong road, we could turn around and go back and find where we needed to be... or find an alternate route to get back to the right road. He never raised his voice or yelled at me. He seemed totally at ease, as if he had full confidence and trust in me.

One time, June (my stepmother) went with us to Oklahoma to visit my sister. I loved June; but she wasn't as laidback as Daddy was when it came to my driving. She would sit in the back, in the middle of the seat, and watch the speedometer.... and the gas gauge.... and the speed limit signs.... and other cars. She truly was a backseat driver! She didn't particularly like being away from home overnight, and I think she got a little stressed when she went far from home. This particular time, we had left their house after I had got off from work in the evening and it was dark by the time we got close to Tulsa. I had used a couple different routes to get to my sister's house, but the one that I had used most and was more familiar with was blocked off to road construction. That made June nervous! She kept saying, "You need to pull over and find a pay phone and call Janie for directions. You're going to get lost!" Daddy sat there, not in the least bit concerned. Very calmly he said, "Leave her alone! She'll be fine and get us there." I finally did pull over and find a pay phone because.... well, June just wouldn't let it go, which made me start doubting myself. I was on the right road and close to the exit I needed to take, so all was well.

Daddy and I had some of our best conversations when it was just the two of us. He wasn't a big talker and tended to be on the quieter side most times. When nobody else was there and it was just us in the car, we would talk about a lot of different subjects.... his growing up years, my life and what was going on, church, family, people we knew in the community.... just whatever came to mind. But we also had a lot of times when it was just silent. Even during those times, and even when Daddy was dozing and not paying attention, I knew that all I had to do was say his name and he'd be alert and help with directions, answer questions, or talk to keep me awake.

After becoming an adult, Daddy would never tell me what to do. Even when I wanted him to help me make decisions, he wouldn't do it. That was frustrating at times, because I would want his advice and he wouldn't give it.

I took him with me to buy a car one time, because I wanted his opinion. When I asked what he thought, he'd say things like, "It's your money and you know how much you can afford. I'm not going to tell you what to do." I would ask, "But do you think it's a good car and should I buy it?" "Well sis, you know as much as I do about the car. It's up to you." I wanted him to say yes or no, and he wouldn't do it.

The car turned out to be a lemon! But I could never go back to him and blame him for my decision. My next car, I went by myself and did all the wheeling and dealing. Afterwards, I went by to show it off to Daddy. His response was, "You went all by yourself and did this?!" My thought was, "Well, it didn't do any good to take you along last time, because you wouldn't tell me what to do and help anyway?" I told him yes, and he said, "Looks like you did a good job!"

Here's the thing, when I was a kid growing up, Daddy and Mama made decisions for me, taught me, and showed me by example how to live life well. Mama passed away when I was 15. I think Daddy felt like once I was an adult and on my own that he could pray for me and encourage me, but I had to learn how to be independent and make decisions for myself. I couldn't rely on him to do it for me.

One of the best things Daddy did to build my confidence and embrace that independence was to show me that he had complete trust in me. He didn't expect perfection, but his expectations were that if I messed up or made a mistake, then I pick myself back up, learn from it, and go on. He loved me enough to want me to become a strong, godly woman who was able to think for herself and make wise decisions.

Psalms 32:8 says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will give counsel -- My eye is on you."

Have you ever had to make a big decision in life or unsure of what you needed to do and think, "I wish God would just speak out loud and tell me! I wish He'd write me a letter and put it in black and white so I'd know what to do." It is frustrating at times when you pray and ask God for help or instructions, and it feels as if He isn't answering.

Perhaps God is saying, "I've instructed you and taught you. It's time for you to put your faith into action and take some steps on your own. If you mess up or fail, I'm not going to be mad at you. Just get back up, learn from it, and go on. I've not left you, but I trust you!"

There may be times when God has shown us what we need to do, but it's not really what we want to do. So we argue with Him or keep questioning, "It that really You?! How do I know this is what I'm supposed to do? Confirm it one more time... then one more time... okay, I think I've got it... but just one more time...." We don't like God's answer, so we want Him to change His mind. Or we justify it by thinking, "Maybe I'm not hearing God right and this is just me."

Perhaps we want God to spell it out for us and give us step by step instructions so if we run into trouble or things don't go quite right, we have someone to blame.

We often hear about our need to have full faith and confidence in God. Ant that is true! We do need to do that!

But have you ever thought about the fact that God has confidence and trust in you? He's your Father and knows you and what you are capable of accomplishing. If He did everything for us, then we wouldn't have a need for faith. We would become weak and incapable of being strong men and women of God.

When Peter walked on the water, Jesus didn't come to the boat and lift him out, then hold his hand. Think about it! Jesus said, "Come,"; but Peter had to exercise his faith to jump over the side of the boat and take those steps on top of the water. When he started sinking it was when he took his eyes off of Jesus. Had he stayed focused, he would have made it all the way to where Jesus was standing.

Our Father wants to see us succeed in this life. He wants our faith to grow and see us accomplish His plan. But that means that we have to grow up in our faith and be willing to use it. He is loving enough to show us when we mess up or are heading down the wrong path. He's not going to beat us up or scold us, if we are trying to do what we feel is best and make a mistake. But He will use those times as learning and teaching experiences. He never stops teaching us and never takes his eyes off us.

One time Daddy and I were going to visit a sister and he had just bought an old car that was a stick shift, that he wanted to try out. Growing up, we only ever had automatic cars, so I had never driven a manual transmission. We got to a straight stretch of road and all of a sudden Daddy pulled over to the side and said, "You can drive now." I told him that I didn't know how to drive a stick shift. He said, "You'll be okay. I'll tell you what to do." So I took off driving. When we got to the town, we had to go through a couple stop lights and stop signs to get to my sister's house. When we got close to town I asked if he wanted me to pull over so he could drive the rest of the way. "No. You can do it." And I did! I'm sure it wasn't pretty or smooth and was pretty jerky everything I had to shift, stop and take off. But Daddy had confidence that I would be able to get us there safely, with him being there beside me helping.

Our Heavenly Father has confidence in us! He doesn't always just take over when we become nervous or lack self-confidence or are fearful. He doesn't take over the driving and let us always be the passenger. He doesn't leave us and is right there beside us to help, but He doesn't just take over and do it for us. Instead our Father cheers us on and says, "You can do it! You're doing just fine! Keep it up. Oops.... you stalled there for a minute.... that's okay. Just get going again and you'll do great."

Lastly, there are times when God may be silent. That doesn't mean that He's left our side. Unlike Daddy, He's not asleep or dozing off! We need to learn to be comfortable with the quietness. Don't panic! "God, are You still there?! Where are you?! I can't hear or feel You, right now!" We can be confident in knowing that God never leaves or forsakes us. Never !

Exodus 14:14 says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Psalms 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God."

There are other verses that tell us to be still. Not inactive, but quiet. It is during those times of being still and quiet that we can feel the presence of the Lord and know that He's right there with us. But it's difficult to do if you're frantic or busy or questioning or fearful or busy trying to figure out what to do next. It comes in being still.

Let's get to know our Heavenly Father more and more each day, study His Word, and fully trust Him! But let's, also, be confident in knowing that He has taught us well and has full trust and confidence in us. We can do those things He has called us to do and follow the path that He has placed us upon; and we can do it well! One day we can hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

There are often times when it becomes harder to hear clearly from God. When you find yourself in one of those times, one of the best things to do is to make sure to read His word to us. I can't really recommend a specific amount of time or where to read. If you start reading, God will probably guide you to the right place.

But one of the most important things is to actually read it. It doesn't help to skim the words. Actually read what it means. I admit, there are entire chapters that don't make a lot of sense to me. So, skip to somewhere else, unless you have a particular reason to stay with it.

Also, keep with it. You might need to spend a few days, or maybe a few weeks of reading each day. In time, you will be able to feel drawn to certain passages, and to feel God's word better.

ON THE MENEWE:

Chocolate Pie

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a pie crust and bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Plain vanilla ice cream has always been my favorite. I like other flavors, too, but that has to be my #1 pick. When I was a little girl, I would tell Mama that I wanted a "white ice cream cone".

When one of my great-nieces was a little girl, she one time told her parents that she was eating ice cream and putting it in her heart so that Jesus could have some, too.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

There isn't enough room in your mind for both worry and faith.

You must choose which one will live there. - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org