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

June 30, 2021

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

I have four older sisters and we have always been very close; even though there are some age differences. I'm the youngest at 55 (will be 56 tomorrow on July 1^st), then my sisters are ages 61, 65, 68, and 70. We get together once a year for some quality sister time, and have done so for the past several years. The older we get, the more important we know that this time truly is.

Some years we have gone on short little trips together; other years we go to our family home-place, where we grew up in Missouri, and stay. We generally don't really have a lot of plans, but just visit a lot and will do things as we think of them.

This year we decided that we wanted to find an old cemetery where our great-great grandfather is buried, as well as some of his family and a few other extended relatives. There used to be a small community named Enon, Arkansas where some of the family lived. From what I can find they had a post office there from around 1901 until 1955. But nowadays it's consolidated with other bigger communities and there's nothing there to really designate the old community. When the lake was built, in the late 1950's, it may have destroyed part of that small community.

We knew the road to take to get to where that community used to be, and even tried using a GPS to take us to the cemetery, but could never find it. We later found out from other family members that the lake separated the cemetery from where the community was located and there is no outlet on that road to get to it. You now have to go all the way around several miles to another town, then take some backroads to reach the cemetery. Apparently, those dirt roads to get to it have not been maintained and are like a pig trail (is that a Missouri/Arkansas saying?!) and very rough and rutted. I was told that you could not get there in a car, but need a truck. Needless to say, we never found the cemetery and wouldn't have been able to get to it, even if we had.

Sometimes in life we encounter obstacles and roadblocks that throw us off track or look impossible to get through. We may try and try to find our way to where we think we need to go, only to hit one obstacle after another. It feels as if our destination is within reach, but we keep getting offtrack or finding ourselves frustrated.

I have had several dreams that are all along the same theme. I will be driving or riding in a car and have a destination where I need to go. But then I run into an area where a lake or river has completely covered the road and I have to stop. I can see the road on the other side, but there is no way to get across.

I have only had one dream where I was able to find a way across. In that dream, I had arrived and found that the road was flooded and it was getting dark. But then I looked and saw that there was a wide covered footbridge that crossed catty-cornered from one side to the other. There were others who need to get across, too, but they were afraid because the water underneath the bridge was high, it was pouring rain and was getting dark. I told them, "Come on! Just follow me and stay in the middle of the bridge, away from the edges. We can make it across to the other side!" I took off running (I'm not a runner!), and was confident that we could get across. I don't know how to swim and have a tendency to be fearful of deep water; but I didn't look at the raging deep water underneath that footbridge, and kept my eyes on the other side. Even though the bridge was covered on top, the pouring rain was blowing through and getting us wet, but that didn't bother me. I stayed focused on my goal of safely getting to the other side. I ran with confidence!

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Verse 2 tells us to fix or keep our eyes on Jesus!

Proverbs 24:16 says, "The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked."

We will trip and fall. We may get on the wrong path from time to time, which will cause us to stumble and wander around aimlessly. We will become weary and tired; sometimes feeling as if life is too difficult and there are too many burdens and hardships to get through. We may become frustrated and it seem as if we encounter difficulties, no matter how hard we try or how much we pray and read the Bible. We may be hurt by others, offended, or ensnared by sin. There may be times when we feel like we hit roadblocks at every turn.

But we must keep getting up again! We throw off everything that hinders. We get rid of the sin that so easily entangles us. We run with perseverance the race that has been marked out for each one of us! And we do all of these things by fixing our eyes on Jesus; not quitting or becoming distracted by life situations.

If we get on the wrong road, we stop and ask Jesus to get us back where we need to be. It doesn't make us a failure, if we mess up or go the wrong way for a period of time. What does make us a failure is when we fail to acknowledge that we need God's help and ask Him for it; insisting to stubbornly go our own way, without listening to and obeying our Father. But when we confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive and cleanse us. When we ask for help, He will guide and direct us and get us to where we need to be.

We often hear about men, in particular, who hate to stop and ask for directions. I've heard stories about men who would rather drive around for hours trying to get to the right location, than to stop and ask for help. GPS has taken care of some of those issues nowadays. But throughout the years, it has been hard for many to admit that they can't find your way someplace and need to ask someone, who lives there and knows the area, for help.

A few years ago, my sister, Janie, and her son, Devin, and I took a trip together. Our destination was Florida, but we took a few extra days on the way there to vacation. We had gone through Tennessee and the corner of West Virginia. We had GPS, but ended up in this small old mining town. It was the strangest town we have ever been in! Once we got there, it was like we could not find our way out. We ended up on a dead-end street. We stopped and asked a man who was walking how to get back to the main highway, and he had just moved there and had no idea. We drove round and round and tried different ways out, and it would always circle us around and we'd end back up in the same place. It was funny, but a little eerie, too, after a bit. We finally found a sign that pointed to a little mining museum. Janie went in and there were a couple women and a man inside, who lived in that town. Their question was, "How in the world did you ever end up here?!" They were able to give my sister directions to get us out of the town and back onto a main highway.

Sometimes we may feel as if we are in a rut and going around in circles. We may be trying to get out, wanting to change or to become closer to Jesus or to grow spiritually, but it seems as if we keep ending back up in the same place over and over again. We may talk to a pastor, family member, or friend but they can't give us the answer that we are seeking. It can only come from the One who created our individual journeys! When we ask God for help, He can get us out of that place and onto the right road, so that we can continue on and be successful in our walk with Him.

My sisters and I searched for that old cemetery and we were probably in the right general location. But we would never have reached it, no matter how long we drove down those dirt roads and how diligently we looked. Why? Because we weren't in the right location to get onto the right road to get us there. A lake separated us from where we needed to be. We had no idea! We didn't know that we had to go several miles to get around to a road that would take us to the other side of the lake, so that we could find what we were looking for. We, also, didn't know that the road would be so rough, had we found the right one, that we wouldn't have been able to get down it in a car. I had to ask on social media, then have family respond to tell me the right information.

Let's not become weary in doing well! Let's not give up, feeling like we'll fail, no matter how hard we try. Don't quit looking to Jesus, and allowing Him to direct our steps. When we can't find our way, ask the Father for help and guidance; then listen to what He has to say. We can trust Him!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Some roadblocks are our own. We might get off the main highway and wander off into a dead-end town. Some roadblocks are natural. The dead-end town may be inside a huge box canyon.

But many roadblocks are manmade. The lake was manmade, and blocked Loretta and her sisters from their goal. The manmade blocks might be deliberate, or like the lake. The dam that made the lake wasn't put there so that in 2021, some sisters couldn't find a cemetery. It was made to create a nature reserve, fishing, and a beautiful retreat.

And even if the roadblock was created deliberately with ill intent, it is still our duty to carry on. Jesus will help pick us up, or help us to pick ourselves up, but we have to choose it, and choose to move on.

It's important to remember that someone else's sin against us does not justify a sin ourselves. They might block us, but we choose how we react.

ON THE MENEWE:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Place all ingredients in a crockpot and cook until everything is melted and heated through.

Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Summertime brings back many wonderful childhood memories. My sisters and I sitting with Mama out beneath the big shade tree in the front yard snapping green beans from our garden. My older sisters going to the local burger joint to pick up burgers and shakes for the family, as a special treat; then us all sitting outside and eating supper together. Mama and Daddy taking the mattress off their bed on a hot summer night and sleeping out in the front yard on back of Daddy's flatbed truck. Aunts, uncles and cousins coming to visit and we kids chasing and catching lightning bugs, or playing games outside while our parents talked. Daddy making homemade ice cream with the old hand-crank ice cream maker. Running around barefoot, only wearing shoes when we went to church or some other place. The sound of box fans. Opened windows and listening to the night sounds as I fell asleep; or lying on the bed reading on a hot summer day, in front of the open window. Mama hanging laundry out on the clothes line to dry. So many special memories of family moments and a fun childhood in the country!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Life is like a piano.

White keys are happy moments and black keys are sad moments.

But remember both keys are played together to give music. - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org