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

August 21, 2024

LIFE IN THE FOLD

I'm sure we've all had those moments when we wish we had made better choices... reacted differently to a situation... said something other than what we did.... shown more compassion... had a better attitude...

Throughout my life there have been times when, after the fact, I've thought, "I wish I had said....."; but it's too late. Sometimes I react, then later wish I'd responded differently. After thinking about a situation, I have often had a better understanding of why someone acted or said what they did; but it's too late to go back and change my initial reaction.

I wish I was full of patience, full of compassion, and wise. I wish I always stopped to think before speaking or reacting. I wish my heart overflowed with compassion and kindness - at all times. I'm a work in progress; but sometimes think, "Loretta, at 59 years old, you should be further along in that progress then you are!!"

Something happened last week to make me realize just how much work is still left to do inside me. I've thought about it often, since that time.

I get my nephew's two 1st graders on the school bus in the mornings. Last Wednesday was their first day of school. Their parents left for work, everything was calm and fine - until time to go out to wait for the bus. First of all, their mama had asked me to please take their picture for the first day of school; but they weren't really wanting me to do that. I finally got a couple pictures before we went outside; and my plan was to take a couple more once we were outdoors.

The little boy started getting emotional when we were inside the house, and once we went outside, he had a meltdown! I mean, like a full-blown, crying, couldn't be consoled type of meltdown. He saw a wasp (he had gotten stung a few days ago), and that got him even more upset. I told him that the wasp was gone and had flown away to the backyard. His sister was trying to console him and telling him that the wasp was gone and wouldn't hurt him. I was trying to get them to let me take another picture during all this. I started getting frustrated and asked why he was crying. He said he didn't know, but he just couldn't stop. My response was, "You need to stop crying before the bus comes! You don't want to get onto the bus your first day of school and the other kids see you crying!" Immediately his sister basically repeated what I did. Not my best moment!!

He did stop crying and was better by the time the bus came. He ran out to get onto the bus and seemed to be okay.

It wasn't until the bus pulled away and I was leaving that I realized what had triggered his emotions. He and his sister started preschool when they were age 3 - and were in the same classroom together both years they attended preschool. Last year in kindergarten, they were both put in the same classroom. This year, they are in different classrooms and will be separated for the first time. Ever since they were adopted as babies, they've been together every single day. It dawned on me that he was having anxiety about the first day of school and being separated from his sister! I'm sure that he probably really didn't understand why he was crying, when he told me that, and couldn't put into words why he was feeling emotional and anxious. He may not have fully understood it himself; but just knew that he was feeling anxious and emotional.

Having me tell him to stop crying before the bus came... that he don't want the kids on the bus to see him crying.... asking him why he was crying - that I didn't understand.... none of that helped the situation! It didn't make him feel better or calm his anxiety or make him feel more at peace. It just agitated him more than he already was.

I should have shown him compassion and given him a hug and responded much differently than I did. I wish I had recognized his anxiety and listened better, instead of trying to get that picture taken and tell him that he needed to stop crying. I had an agenda, and failed to see his needs and listen to what he was trying to express to me.

James 1:19 tells us that we "must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry."

Proverbs 18:13 says, "Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish."

Other versions say to answer before listening is folly and shame.

Have you ever had someone talking to you, and you are trying to think of an answer to give them, without really hearing what they're saying? Our minds may comprehend the words that are coming out of their mouth, but we're really not listening or paying attention. Shame on us (me), for doing that!

In Psalms 5, David writes: "Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray."

David is saying, "O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, for I pray to no one but you!"

Further down he writes, "Listen to my voice in the morning, O Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly."

Aren't you so very thankful that when we talk/pray to God that He listens and hears what we say? He listens to the cries of our heart. Even when we may have difficulty expressing how we are feeling... perhaps not truly understanding it ourself and having a hard time putting it into words... God understands and knows. God listens before He responds. He listens with the intent of understanding and knowing what we are trying to express to Him. Even if we have no words and just come to God with tears or groaning - He hears our heart and understands the turmoil and emotions and heartache and fear and everything buried deep inside us when we have no words to explain it to Him.

I love Psalms 56:8 that says, "You (God) keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book."

I love the picture this paints. This morning when my 6-year old nephew was crying, God was collected his tears in His bottle and was recording each one in His book. God can look back and see, "Oh! These were his tears on his first day of 1st grade when he was feeling anxious about being in a classroom without his sister."

To be honest, God collected a lot of tears my kindergarten year of school!! From August to May, every single day of that school year, I cried. God still has those tears and knows what was going on and how I was feeling for each and every one of those.

When I mourned for my mama - God collected those tears in His bottle and recorded them. When my daddy passed away, God has those tears collected and recorded. When I've felt sorry for myself, or sad, or got my feelings hurt, or was just feeling emotional...... all of those tears were collected and recorded.

Psalms 34:18 says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed."

I believe that is why He collects our tears and records them. He is near and close to us during those times and sees our hurts and heartaches. He cares - much more than we can even comprehend. He collects and records them, because they are important to Him.... we are important to Him!

There is an old hymn that says no one ever cared for me like Jesus. If we could comprehend and truly understand the depth of love and caring that He has for us, it would make a world of difference in our lives. We would face each day, regardless of what it may bring, knowing that we are loved and cherished by our Heavenly Father. We don't earn it or deserve it - He just loves us.

In turn, we are to love and have compassion towards others.

Let's be better at listening to others, better at responding, better at showing compassion, better at loving! Let's be better at receiving and accepting the love of God and receiving the compassion and forgiveness and kindness that He lavishes upon us. Let's love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and spirit!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I tend to be very slow to anger. In fact, I'm often so slow, everyone has gone before I'm ready to express any anger for anything. Some people see that as a bad thing, but it is biblical. There are many verses that say so. Proverbs 14:29, for example, says "The one who is slow to anger has great understanding, but the one who has a quick temper exalts folly." Many of the others say to be slow to anger, but add that anger is bad. So, I found one verse that doesn't add the second part. Mostly because I generally have the 'slow to anger' part down, but I still get angry over some things. One step at a time...

ON THE MENEWE:

Coffee Creamer Homemade Ice Cream

You can use any flavor of coffee creamer you desire, depending on what flavor of ice cream you want.

Add all ingredients together, except for the whole milk.

**Do a taste test to see if the amount of sugar is to your liking. The original recipe called for 1-1/4 cups, but I found that to be way too sweet for us; so only use 3/4 cup.

Pour mixture into your ice cream canister, then add whole milk to the fill line.

Freeze according to freezer instructions.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Around the time I graduated high school, one of my aunts had cancer and needed someone to stay with her during the day when my uncle was working. My sister would drop me off on her way to work in the mornings, then pick me up on her way home that evening. The days that I was there, I'd cook supper for my uncle. My aunt had stomach cancer, so was on an all liquid diet.

One time she asked me to fix chili for Jay's supper. So I made it the way my mama always made it. She always cooked pinto beans, then added in the browned ground beef and spices. That's the only way I had ever cooked chili. That afternoon my aunt came into the kitchen and giggled when she saw how I had made the chili. She always used the brick chili, which I had never heard of or made before. She told me that I made it like my mama and that Jay (who was mama's older brother) would absolutely love it.

Another time, she told me to take a chicken out of the freezer so I could make fried chicken for Jay's supper that evening. I had only ever cut up a whole chicken by myself one time, which was in a home-ec class at school; and I had only fried chicken by myself one time. I had been cooking supper for my dad and sisters since I was 15, after Mama passed away; but frying chicken wasn't something I ever made and left that up to one of my older sisters to do. But I didn't want to tell my aunt no, so cut up that chicken and fried it. My uncle asked my sister and I to stay and eat supper with him that evening. I had made mashed potatoes and gravy to go with it. I remember Jay just bragged and bragged on how good that fried chicken was! I'm not sure if it really was, or if he was just trying to make me feel good.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Never limit your prayers because you think you're sinful or undeserving.

You're not praying because of who you are -- you're praying because of who He is. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org