WHEN ONE FALLS DOWN

By: Donna Selma Lind

"For if either of them falls, the other one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up." Ecclesiastes 4:10

Last week my husband fell down and broke his wrist and  fractured his ribs.

Sometimes we don't realize how much we rely on one another or take for granted the other person until they no longer can do what they did or until they are gone.

What an unfortunate way to learn to appreciate the ones we love.

When my Husband and I married we took vows that said "And the two shall become one."

 We really have become one. We do complete one another. And isn't that God's plan?

We have established a routine in our life where I take care of certain things in our household and my Husband takes care of other things. We work together as a team, I help him and he helps me, it has become an automatic system where we each have a part to do and we do it. We have each others backs, we rely on one another, we count on each other. So, when one of us falls down, the other lifts up his companion and helps him up.

 Last spring I "fell down"with Pneumonia and was sick for about four months, Stanley was right by my side to help me with chores and whatever I needed help with. When he fell down last week I came alongside of him and am helping with his chores and everyday life stuff that he needs me for. 

 

Maybe it's because we are getting older and things aren't as easy to do as they once were but I really noticed this week how much we rely on each other and how much of a team we really are, and how much I really love and appreciate my other half.

We are a little different in case you haven't noticed. And we really are sappy in love. I bet Stanley tells me he loves me a hundred times a day, well maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. He says "I love you", he sings me love songs, he picks me wildflowers, saves me the curly crunchy potato chips and the last bite of chocolate, well maybe not the last bite of chocolate, but the point is, he loves me and tries to show me and make me feel special and know his love for me and I try to do the same. One of the things he has always said to me since the beginning is "Honey, I'd be lost without you." He says this to me everyday over and over. And I really get that, especially this last week. I feel like God has opened my eyes to see our love and what a blessing my Husband is to me. Truth is; I'd be lost without him.

The little things that usually annoy me don't seem to bother me so much this week. The things on my "To Do" list can wait, I just want to spend time with my best friend. I don't want to take him or our time together for granted anymore. I know God has given me this man as a gift to treasure and I do; I just want to do it more now.  Time seems to be zipping by so quickly, life and loved ones can be gone in the blink of an eye.

I want to love more and live more with my husband, companion, my best friend. I want to be the one to lift him up if he falls and be his helpmate as he is mine.

 I didn't think it was possible to love him more, but somehow this last week God has enlarged my heart. 

Take the time to love. Tell the ones close to your heart that you love them and don't take them for granted. If they fall be there to lift them up, help and encourage them. Speak sweetly, love softly, forgive, be patient, be kind, cherish them and know they are a treasure and a Gift from God!

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live a hundred minus one day, so I would never have to live a day without you." Winnie the Pooh

"LOVE NEVER FAILS" 1 Corinthians 13:8

"TAKE HEART"

By: Donna Selma Lind

 

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But TAKE HEART! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

I sat out on the back porch early in the morning and watched a Mama Wren fly back and forth from the pasture to the Purple leaf Sand Cherry tree. She hopped from branch to branch and then she poked her head into the tiny hole of the Bird House. A symphony of baby birdies chimed "cheep,cheep,cheep"and then a hush came over the little house as Mama deposited breakfast into her babies wide open beaks.

I sat mesmerized as I watched this magical performance take place just a few feet from me. A worm, a grasshopper, a beetle, she flitted back and forth bringing breakfast for her babies for almost half an hour. Mama Wren, always singing cheerfully in-between feeding her children.  

You would never know that there was a storm the night before that she and her family had survived. 

High winds tossed her little house around.

Part of the roof was ripped off and the branches that enveloped the little house were broken, but Mama Wren carried on.

 She never gave up, she never quit, she kept on keeping on. 

Through the storm and after the storm she never stopped singing! 

What an inspiration she is to me! What an example of not allowing circumstances to rob us of our song!

The Wren is such a tiny little bird and yet she has one of the biggest  loudest and most beautiful songs! 

In the midst of a trial she continues to sing.

 She knows how to "TAKE HEART!" She remains undaunted and  steadfast as she re-builds her nest.

She maintains peace as she endures the hardships of her life.

Her hope and faith remains in her Creator. She knows He cares for her, she knows she is Victorious and no matter the trial or tribulation, she will sing a song of "Good Cheer!"  

I want to be more like Mama Wren! 

When the storms of life swirl around me, when the trials and tribulations knock on my door, I am going to keep on keeping on.

 I am going to "TAKE HEART" knowing my LORD told me that stuff is going to happen in this world, but in the middle of it all I will have HIS PEACE! And I will "TAKE HEART" knowing He has overcome the world! 

And because I belong to Jesus and He belongs to me that makes me an "Overcomer!" Hallelujah!

Whatever trial comes your way, KEEP SINGING!

No matter what the storm looks like,"TAKE HEART!"

Be JUBILANT in Jesus name!

"Shout to the LORD, all the earth; be jubilant, shout for joy and sing!"

Psalm 98:4

 

"THE CROSS"

BY: Donna Selma Lind

"THE CROSS"

Clunk-Clunk. Boom-Boom. Clunk-Clunk. Boom-Boom. Clunk- Clunk.
I hunted around the house trying to locate the source of the loud banging noise. Aha,there it is... it's coming from the Washing Machine.
I pressed the stop button waited for it to unlock and flipped open the lid. I figured my husband had left a tool or a bolt or something in a pocket. Plunging my hand down in the warm water I fished around in the clothes to see if  could find something loose. Nothing. I couldn't find anything that was clanging around. Maybe it was off balanced, I shifted and re-distributed the weight of the clothes and started the cycle up again. 

It was quiet for a few minutes and then it started up again..
Clunk-Clunk.Boom-Boom. Clunk-Clunk. Boom-Boom.
What on earth is causing this? I stopped the machine and once again stuck my hand in the water and moved the clothes from side to side trying to find the culprit. All of a sudden I felt something, a lump of some kind inside a sock at the bottom of the wash tub. I pulled the object from the wadded up sock and there it was.. a Cross. 
A beautiful ceramic Cross about 5x3 inches. Completely whole, nothing missing, nothing broken.(Shalom) 
When we had gone to visit my Mom a few days before, she had given me this little Cross. I had wrapped it up inside a couple of socks and forgot all about it until now! We traveled about six hundred miles back home and the Cross was in our Duffel bag until I literally tossed it in the washing machine! 

How that Cross didn't break getting tossed back and forth in the wash is beyond me. It stayed completely intact without a scratch on it! 

I may have washed the Cross that day, but it was the blood of Jesus Christ who died on the Cross that washed my sins away! 

 "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin." Psalm 51:2

"Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

The ceramic Cross that Mom gave me is a beautiful artists interpretation of the Cross, but it is not realistic and looks nothing like the Cross on Calvary where Jesus shed his blood for you and me.

The Cross where Jesus was crucified was a crude and rugged wooden Cross. When the roman soldiers nailed him to that Cross and jabbed a crown of thorns on his head, he bled. Jesus bled and his blood covered that old rugged Cross.
His blood covered the Cross and covered our sins. Mine and yours. He took our place on the Cross. He was the perfect lamb whose blood washed our sins away.  And though he died on the Cross, He Lives! Hallelujah! He has overcome the grave!

Jesus forgives us, washes away our filthy rags of sin and covers us with a robe of righteousness. He gives us a new heart and a new life. 
That's how much He loves you and me! 

This Holy week let us reflect on the Cross and what it truly means. 

What did Christ remove and wash away from your life?

What do you need to surrender and lay at the foot of the Cross?

 Praise Jesus the Living God and Thank him for the Cross!! 

Soak in His presence with this song by Chris Tomlin- 

"At the Cross (Love Ran Red)"

He has Risen, He has Risen indeed!