Worldview

How do I view my world?  I'm very short-sighted.  I base my opinions on the little universe around me.  I see things from a perspective of personal experience.  My personal experience and how I process it is unique to me.  Just as yours is unique to you.  I have two siblings who were raised in the same household by the same parents.  And though we experienced many of the same things, our experiences are unique to each of us based on birth order, how we processed it and our individual perspectives.  

Experience makes us who we are.  Experiences whether good or bad, don't define us.  How we process them and what we do with them does.  For example, if you had a challenging childhood, you can choose to take that experience and learn from it.  Or you can harbor anger and resentment and become just like the person who inflicted the abuse.  

Forgiveness is key.  I guess today, I'm making sure that I'm in sync with what I believe. "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven." Eph. 4:31-32  Just a quick note about forgiveness, neither you or I can even begin to repay what we have been forgiven for through Christ's shed blood.  If we are so greatly forgiven, it stands to reason that we are able to forgive more.  

Let me be clear.  Does this mean I don't struggle with anger or bitterness?  That would be a resounding "No!"  I struggle everyday with these emotions and many others.  I have to keep them in check.  It would be easy to sit up with these emotions, to nurse them and make them my friends but doing so would hinder my effectiveness in the kingdom of God.  It would say to an unbelieving world that God's grace is not sufficient.  His forgiveness is conditional.  And this abundant life is not so real.   Jesus came to seek and save that what was lost.  He came to bind up the broken-hearted.  I love Psalms 34:18, "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit."    

Today my prayer is that I will chase after God.  That I will believe what He says I am through the blood of His son. And that I will seek after all He has in store for me.  Though the enemy tries to lure me in by inviting me to continually visit my past, I pray that I will be clear and  on purpose.  

"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;" Heb. 12:15.  

I remember Pop...

It's January 2, 2009. Today would have been my Pop's 88th birthday. My life is blessed to have him as my grandfather. It's hard to believe that we lost him just shy of 8 years ago.

He didn't always have an easy life. His mother sent him and his two older brothers to a boys' home when he was three. She was dying of tuberculosis. He and his oldest brother were fostered out to two different families in Western KY. He didn't meet his other brother again until he was 23 years old. He had a 4th grade education, but understood hard work. He married my grandmother. He served in WWII. He raised five children and 8 grandchildren. We all loved to go to see him.

I think of him so often. How he thought the best of people. Given his upbringing, he could have been bitter. He could have lost all trust in the human race. He chose to value his God and his family. He taught his sons and daughters that...and we, his granddaughters and grandsons learned as well.

I often wonder how my sweet dad must have felt in the days, weeks, months and years that followed Pop's death. I know dad thought of him often and did what he knew Pop would want him to do...take care of Grandma (his mom.) How he must have missed Pop. I find myself struggling with my loss of him just over a year now. I miss him terribly.

How thankful I am for my Pop. Today on his birthday, I remember. I remember the countless times he sang a hymn as he piddled around his house. I remember the times he smiled and called me his little doll. I remember his warmth and smile. I remember how he loved his family. I remember how he loved my grandma, his Anna Faye. I remember him praying in church and around the dinner table. I count myself blessed. My life is richer and forever marked by this precious man who was orphaned at 3 years old. I'd say he pressed on despite his circumstances and became the example of a godly dad and granddad for all of us.