Let it go

Let it go.

But what if it does something I don't want it to do?

You can't control what it does anyway.  Let it go.

But I've held onto it for so long!

Then it's time.  Let it go.

It's going to be so hard!

I know.  I'll be there.  Let it go.

But I'm afraid!

I'll be holding you and I'll never let go of you; you can lean on Me.  Let it go.

But if I let it go, it'll be like saying I don't care - and I DO care!

I know. The best care you can give right now is to yourself.  Let it go.

But if I let it go, it'll be like I am saying that what happened is okay, that I'm okay with it - and I'm not!

I know how you feel in your heart.  Really.  Let it go. 

But I CAN'T!!

I CAN.  Trust Me.  Let it go.

From THIS SITE

... and I in mine

The world is turning into this ginormous village where we see nearly simultaneously what's happening on the opposite side of the globe - where fewer and fewer places are unseen, unreported.  There is so much suffering in so many places by so many people groups - it's hard to know where to start when the collection plate passes, or when the folks come around canvassing for this or that cause.  

Many people think that unless they do something spectacular or give a lot of money to alleviate hunger or thirst in a third world country, or go on a missions trip to a different continent, that they are not doing what they can.  This kind of thinking is fostered in our global village.  But sometimes in trying not to miss the forest for the trees, we miss the trees for the forest.

I'm not saying that those causes - whatever they are and however noble they are - aren't worthy.  Far from it.  But I am saying that we needn't allow others to make us feel guilty if we DON'T go, if we DON'T give to this or that foreign charity across the ocean.

A friend of mine is raising money for a cause that is near and dear to her - being a cancer survivor and seeing how people spend a lot of money to be near their loved ones through such a tough time, well, she's doing what she can.  Here's her blog post on that.  That's not in a foreign country to her - it's close to home. 

There are dozens of people in my own city who don't have a home.  There are even more - including children - RIGHT HERE - who go to bed hungry.  Who wonder where the next meal is going to come from ... and when.  Who are starting over from scratch, having lost everything to alcohol, to abuse, to debt, to unemployment.  And in this city there are organizations that help such people.  The Food Bank.  "The Upper Room" Soup Kitchen.  The Salvation Army.  Open Door Ministries.  Anderson House.  Talbot House.  Lacey House.  Grandmother's  House.  And that's just within a five-mile radius.  All we need to do is open our eyes and look at our own back yard and there are so many people who need to know someone cares. And speaking of the back yard - what about the person across the fence? next door? down the street?  

I remember singing this little song in Sunday School and the words are just as profound now as they ever were.  It's based on Matthew 5:24: "Let your light so shine among men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  Here are some of the lyrics:

Found this photo HERE

Jesus bids us shine, with a pure, clear light
Like a little candle burning in the night.
In this world of darkness, so we must shine:
You in your small corner .... and I in mine. 

Jesus bids us shine. Shine - for all around
Many kinds of darkness in this world are found: 
Sin, and want, and sorrow - so we must shine:
You in your small corner ... and I in mine.

And this is the essence of it.  We don't have to make a big splash, or turn everything into a big production.  We just need to find our niche - that place where we can make a difference - and go ahead and do it.  Whether it's seen by the pastor, the prime minister or the pope for that matter - matters not.  Even one candle can dispel the darkness.  Even if it's been dark for a VERY long time. 

Even if we've never dared let our light shine before.  It might flicker - but at least it will light the way for someone who needs it.

Glenda -a tribute

When Glenda was born by C-section in December of 1957, the doctors took one look at her, and knew she would not survive. When her parents were both able to meet with them, they said, "Your child has spina bifida. She has water on the brain, or hydrocephalus. Her head is growing at a phenomenal rate. If it doesn't stop growing, she will die. And if it does stop, she won't live more than a few days. Don't pick out a name. Pick out a casket."

Undaunted, they went to their church family and asked for prayer. The baby's head stopped growing within 24 hours. She did not die. She lived.

She astounded doctors for over 41 years before a rampant bladder infection shut down her kidneys and she died in July of 1999.

Our Angel Unawares.

She accepted Jesus Christ into her heart at a very young age. Her love for Him was evident in her quick smile, her indomitable spirit, and her many acts of kindness to those "less fortunate" than herself.

She was a loyal friend, and a great ally. In her lifetime, she accomplished more for the Kingdom of heaven than many hope to accomplish. She read to shut-ins, sang in church services, talked to people about Jesus, and started a Bible Study in the special care unit of a local sanitarium, to where she moved when she was 18.

Until that time she lived with her parents.

You see her in the photo (upper left) leaning on the left arm of her chair, as if not quite able to hold herself upright. Glenda endured several surgeries in her lifetime. One of the surgeries was to enable her to sit up. The "bifida" in her back was above the waist, so she was not able to sit until she was in her early teens. The surgeons inserted steel rods into her back. One of the rods broke after the surgery (puncturing a lung), and the other one bent. They replaced the broken one with a stronger alloy in a second surgery, but left the bent one as it was. This is why she seemed 'lopsided'.

Whenever I felt depressed, I phoned or visited Glenda. She had the uncanny knack of making people feel good about themselves. She had the gift (so rare) of never taking anything for granted, of living in gratitude.

And when she occasionally got depressed herself, all she had to do was remember the slogan we worked on together: T-O-P. Trust, Obey, Praise. It always worked.

When her time was short, the hospital called. With her family all around her, and her heart rate decreasing by the minute, one of the siblings said, "Let's sing." They sang her into the presence of Jesus, and the moment she arrived, they were singing, "Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me, and in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be."

Her favorite hymn was "Lead Me to Calvary." It epitomized her "first love".

King of my life, I crown Thee now;
Thine shall the glory be.
Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow,
lead me to Calvary.
Lest I forget Gethsemane,
lest I forget Thine agony,
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
lead me to Calvary.

A close friend of the family sang it for us at her funeral.

She wore white to meet her Bridegroom.