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 5, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Not gonna lie -- as I write this, I'm absolutely exhausted! This week has felt extremely long, so far, and it's only Tuesday. We've all felt like this, from time to time, haven't we?!

I was in ER with my mother-in-law for five hours on Sunday night. I got home at 5:00 AM, slept for about an hour and a half, then had to get up to go get my nephew's kids on the school bus. I actually didn't feel too bad, considering I'd barely gotten any sleep. But then went to bed at 10:00 yesterday morning and napped for three hours. I woke up, then started reading the Bible as I was riding my exercise bike. I had only been doing that for a few minutes when Jon's mom called saying that she needed to go back to ER.

We ended up being in ER for 6-1/2 hours, most of that time being spent sitting in the waiting room. Jon went to pick up dinner when I called to say we were leaving the hospital. It was 9:15 PM when I got home. I arrived home before Jon, so took a quick shower before eating.

I slept well last night, but today I feel absolutely exhausted and have no energy; yet still have had responsibilities to take care of, anyway. They don't stop, just because I'm tired. I bet most of you have experienced that same thing, haven't you? Responsibilities don't go away, just because we may want them to.

In fact, I've found that my patience has been very short today, which resulted in my being rude. I called my mother-in-law's primary doctor, asking him to do something that ER had said his office needed to do. Only their response was that they couldn't, so I would need to take her back to ER to get it taken care of. Everything within me screamed, "NO!" I told them that wasn't an option and asked for a different solution, and the lady's answer was, "ER." I was so frustrated that I ended up hanging up on her.

I later felt bad for my reaction, so called back to apologize. I had to leave a message on the worker's extension. I, also, suggested a possible solution, hoping to avoid another trip to ER, but haven't yet heard back whether or not that is a possibility.

When I go to my nephew's home in the mornings, I generally clean their kitchen for them and will fold laundry, if any needs done. I don't mind doing it, and it helps him and his wife out, with both of them working fulltime. This morning I saw that there were things to do, so was going to do so while waiting until time to get the kids on the bus. But their 6-year old daughter want her Aunt Retta to sit beside her and watch TV with her. There was part of me that thought about saying no, so I could get the work done.

I thought, "No! Spending time with my little niece and sharing those moments with her are much more important." I don't want to miss out on those little moments that may seem insignificant and unimportant. I want to live in the moment. I don't want to miss out on time spent with those little ones; especially when they ask me to do so.

As I was sitting beside her, she reached over and grabbed hold of my hand and sat there holding it. I didn't realize, until that moment, that that was exactly what I needed. After the stress and exhaustion of the past couple days, I needed that time with her and her holding my hand. Had I chose to say no to her wanting me to come sit with her, thinking the laundry and cleaning was more necessary, I would have missed out.

God knew exactly what I needed and placed it in her heart to ask me to come sit with her. I don't believe it was just coincidence.

How many times do we miss out on those little God-ordained moments, because we fail to listen to that little voice nudging us? We think the cleaning or laundry or taking care of other things that need done are more necessary, so we fail to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. We feel overwhelmed or stressed or feel as if God isn't interested or doesn't care when He's been trying to get our attention, yet we fail to stop and listen. We fail to enjoy those special moments that He knows we need, because they seem insignificant or unimportant.

I'm sure we've all heard a version of the story about a man sitting on the rooftop during a flood, asking God to come save him. A boat comes by and he is offered a ride, but he says, "No, God is going to come rescue me." A helicopter flies over and drops down a rope ladder for the man to climb up to safety, but he refuses, waiting on God to come save him. A rowboat floats by and a man yells, offering him a ride, but for the third time, the man says, "No, I've prayed and God is going to save me." The man drowns and goes to heaven. He tells God, "I had faith that you were going to save me, yet you didn't. You let me drown." God tells him, "I sent you two boats and a helicopter! What more did you want?"

Many times we pray for something or God sees that we are in need of something, that we may not even recognize, yet when He answers we fail to see it as Him. Then we complain or feel sorry for ourself, wondering when He's going to respond. We feel alone or stressed or overwhelmed, and God sends us someone who can hold our hand, but we are too busy to sit and be quiet and enjoy the moment.

Galatians 6:2 says, "Share each other's burdens [some versions say to bear one another's burdens], and in this way obey the law of Christ."

That may not always look like we are expecting, but if we'll only take a few moment to stop fretting, we'll see how God is showing up on our behalf.

Jon going to pick up dinner for us last night was an answer. Him texting while I was in ER with his mom or listening to me talk when I get home is an answer. My sisters messaging me to check on me and Jon's mom is an answer. My 6 year old niece sitting and holding my hand was an answer. Jon's aunt praying with me over the phone this morning was an answer. None of these things seem huge or significant, but all added together, I see that it is God showing up for me over and over again. He will do the same thing for you, too!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Like a lot of grown-ups, we have a lot of responsibilities. I start most days by driving to work at about sunrise, and from the drive on, I have stress. The city put in a stop light at the first real intersection I cross. At first, that just added to my stress every time it was red. But a lot of mornings, I stop at the red light, and quit looking at the light, and see the sunrise. Many mornings, it is good. But some mornings, it is absolutely spectacular. And I'm reminded that God created this one.

When things come along that normally stress you out, take a moment to check out the background. There might be something amazing in it.

ON THE MENEWE:

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Cut bacon strips in half.

Bundle green beans together - 5 to 6 green beans per bundle. Tightly wrap each bundle of green beans with one half strip of bacon and place folded side down in 9x3 glass baking dish.

Once all green beans bundles are complete, set aside and prepare the glaze.

Begin melting a stick of butter in small non-stick pan. Once melted, add brown sugar; blend together until glaze has a syrup consistency (don't overheat).

Pour glaze over green bean bundles. Bake at 35- for 35-45 minutes or until bacon looks thoroughly cooked.

Note: You can half this recipe if you needed. Also, I have turned the oven to broil at the end, if bacon looks like it needs a little browned. The recipe calls for thick cut bacon; I personally prefer the thin sliced for this recipe -- so do whichever you prefer.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Back in 2017, I used to pick my then 4-year old nephew up from HeadStart and stay with him until his parents got home from work. Owen was quite a talker! I recently ran across a memory from that time.

Owen sat down in front of me and talked non-stop for at least 15-20 minutes. He talked about everything from playing Minecraft, to the reason his dad turned 30 was because he's had so many birthdays, to gardening, to your heart just keeps growing bigger and bigger as you grow, to what Sun Chips taste like..... When he was little, he was a big talker and could jump from one subject to another, without seemingly taking a breath, and never running out of things to say. I sure do miss those days!! He is now 12 years old and in middle school.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Don't keep looking back.

You're not going that way. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org