Filthy Rags....or Deer Legs

I used to struggle with the story of Cain and Abel and the fact that Cain's offering wasn't good enough.  I always thought that Cain gave the best he had just as Abel did, but what I didn't see was that Cain had already been told what offering was acceptable and what was not.  It would be like a teacher asking the class to write an essay on their summer vacation and one child turns in a page full of math problems with the excuse that they are better at math than writing.  I know that simplifies the whole thing, but it's basically the same.  The authority asks for something, explains the rules, and expects for everyone to comply.

And how often do we do this in our daily lives?  How often do we decide the rules don't really apply to us, so we change them.  The speed limit says 70 mph, so we set our cruise control on 72.  What's up with that?  What difference is that extra 2 mph going to make in the long run?  It's going to get us somewhere, what,  30 seconds sooner, so that's going to change our lives?  Why do we always want to push the limits?

Mothers watch as their toddlers get closer to something they were told not to touch.  The toddler looks back to see if mom is watching as their hand is hovering over the forbidden object.  And then, just as expected, mom sternly says, "NO", and the child touches it anyway.

I watched, the other day, as one of our sweet little granddaughters started to go up our stairs in the house.  She was going very slowly, looking around for mom or dad because she knew she wasn't supposed to go up the stairs alone.  Her mom sees her, tells her "no" and as mom starts toward her to stop her I could see the grin come across her face.  The closer mom got, the faster she went. Not only was she doing what she wasn't supposed to do, she was giggling about it!

I can imagine Cain doing the same thing as he was gathering his offering, going about it with enthusiasm, thinking to himself what a good job he was doing, maybe even giggling a little bit.  He just couldn't wait to show God his offering....his goodness....his righteousness.  He couldn't see God's heart because he was blinded by his own righteousness.

I was doing one of my favorite things in the world to do the other day, which is sitting on my screened porch reading, pondering, and contemplating life.  I had left the screen door to the outside open because my huge polar bear dog, Cleopatra, likes to come in, flop down, let out a huge sigh,  spread herself across half the floor and sleep.  I saw her coming around the porch and it seemed she had a little perk in her step.  She jumped up on the deck, pranced through the screen door wagging her fan of a tail and stood there looking at me with those happy brown eyes.  She was so pleased with herself because she had brought me a gift. She had trotted up to my seat with her prize. I could see the confusion on her face as I screamed, jumped up off my chaise and chased her out of my screened room, with her tail tucked and  a deer leg jangling out of her mouth.

Although she had brought me what she considered her best, it really wasn't what I have in mind when I'm opening a gift.  And isn't that what our righteousness is to God?  He said it was "as filthy rags."  That doesn't mean like a dirty wash cloth.  No, this literally means menstrual cloth, or a cloth that has been wrapped around a runny, pustulous sore.  That's what our righteousness is compared to God's righteousness.  It is filthy, nasty and vile.  Even when we do our best and pat ourselves on the back for our righteous and noble act, it is still smelly and sickening in the nose of God, but a miraculous thing happens when we "do all things through Christ".  We please our Father.

Let's seek God's righteousness in anything we do, not our own because it's as a filthy rag....or a deer leg.



Isaiah 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;

Two Grannies and a Selfie Stick

Because my cousin likes to stop at such things as the World's Largest Ball of Yarn or The World's Largest Skillet, we had to leave early for our trip from Tennessee to Panama City Beach, Florida.  And by early, I mean, to put it in her words, "We leave at Minus Zero Dark Thirty." 

So, as I get out of bed and stumble through the room with my eyes closed trying to get properly dressed for our excursion, I realize I have ten minutes until "departure time." 

We begin loading up our essentials for the week, like ten outfits, seven pairs of shoes, a jacket for those freezing Florida nights and a jar of marmalade.  Since I'm short and she just reaches my shoulder height, we look like two Hobbits on an impending adventure with enough food to last until winter.

Our whole trip has revolved around taking a Selfie Stick with us to record our every movement. I know nothing about Selfie Sticks or how to use them, I didn't even have one and had to borrow it from my granddaughter, but we just knew that we couldn't survive the trip without one.  Hence, the
picture of  a selfie stick made by mistake because I couldn't figure how the goofy looking thing worked.

Once we had loaded the vehicle until there wasn't room for one more roll of toilet paper and we had Poppy buckled into the backseat, we were off.  A couple of hours down the road and we were ready for breakfast.  After slamming down eggs, toast, grits and pancakes, getting Poppy strapped back in, we were on the road....again.

We decided around lunch time we would just get something quick for the road and since you can't chuck a rock in the south without hitting a Krystal restaurant, we decided this would be the lunch cuisine.  We saw many signs for Krystals, tried our best to locate this connoisseur of bite size burgers, but nine hours later, not only had we not located one, we hadn't eaten either, but, hey, we did learn how to use a Selfie Stick during that time.

The ride down was beautiful, we saw some gorgeous scenery and decided to do our grocery shopping in the World's Smallest Walmart.

After arriving, getting Poppy to the room, and getting unpacked,  my cousin made us dinner and it was delicious!




Day One was quite exhausting, fun, full of random laughter and constant hunger, but in the words of my Daddy on one of our trips, "This was a good day."         And so it was.

What a Day That Will Be

Coming home is such an emotional and joyful time. Kids love coming home after school, dads can't wait to get home after a long day's work, and moms enjoy being there to welcome her little family home to sit around the dinner table and talk of all the experiences of the day.

It's also wonderful when there have been days, weeks and even years of separation from our friends and families that are a part of our church. We reminisce about the fun we've had in the past, we talk about what's going on in our lives now, and we talk of what our plans are until the next time we meet. It's such a sweet time. I just love to hear the words....comng home.

When I sat with my mom in her last days here on this soil and she was in that place between here and heaven, I would lean over close to her face and sing into her ear, " What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon his face"

.....and even though she couldn't talk or even open her eyes, I would see her lips start to move as I sang to her and knew that she was singing with me once again.

After my mom's passing, I kept putting off going through some of her things, but finally decided it was time to take care of what needed to be done. While looking through a box of keepsakes, pictures and little odds and ends that she had accumulated while in the nursing home, I came across her Bible. I opened it up and decided to page through it and read the verses that she had underlined.

I flipped it open and it fell to II Timothy chapter four. I glanced down the page to where she had underlined some scriptures and it was verses seven and eight. I was in a very raw and emotional state to begin with, but when I read the verses, I began to weep because not only was God using His Word to speak to me, but so was my mom.

The verses said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

We all have so many loved ones that are waiting in anticipation for us to come home. They have seen the other side. They have experienced the walk with Jesus. They know the joys that await us. And they are standing ready for our homecoming. What a day that will be!

MAMA'S HANDS

                               

　
Her mama's hands were tender as she caressed the fuzzy head,
As she bathed, comforted and tucked the baby into bed.
She would smother those cheeks in kisses and leave little lipstick brands.
The infant loved the gentle touch of her mama's loving hands.

As the fuzzy head turned to copper curls,
And life became full of little girl giggles and twirls.
Toddling through the house and down the hall,
She holds tight to mama's hands determined not to fall.

Later on, the house is full of friends and of all the messes
that young girls make with makeup and princess dresses.
The girls made noises, they laughed, they played pretend
and mama's hands were always opened to every little friend.

The teenage years were full of sleepovers, cheering and boys,
but mama never complained of the activity and noise.
Instead, she smiled, laughed and understood
and made things easier as only mama's hands could.

As mama got older, her steps a little slower, her mind not as clear
she needed the daughter that she held dear.
She needed the help to do chores, make decisions and such
because mama's hands were not able to do as much.

While the daughter watched as her mama became small and frail
she would not leave her, she would not fail.
As her mama reached for her with her aging hands,
and held on with a strength the daughter could not comprehend.

The daughter began to softly sing to her the hymns of long ago
to ease the fear and restlessness her mama began to show.
She watched her mama's hands begin to slowly ease
as she listened to those songs of old, giving her sweet peace.

Her daughter had traded places with her mama that day.
and decided that beside her mama's bed was where she would stay.
She would caress her mama's graying head,
she would bathe her, comfort her and tuck her into bed.

On that last day of time here on earth, she kissed her mama's face.
She said goodbye and asked the Father for His loving grace,
She will know her mama is in the place called Gloryland,
and always remember the touch of her mama's hands.



Blessings in the Cubbard

Sitting here looking out my window at the drab scenery, I wonder what I can be thankful for today.  It's cold, it's dreary, it's foggy, and did I mention, it's cold?  As I close my eyes to block out the drabness, I remember seeing a video of a little girl sitting at the dinner table, wearing oversized glasses for such a little face and her eyes squinted shut in deep concentration as she begins pouring out a list of things to be thankful for.  She mentions everyone from parents, to cousins, to animals, on down to the forks and spoons on the table.  Oh, to be as one of these, to have that child like innocence and thankfulness for everything, including forks.


So, I ponder on things in my cubbards.  My cabinets hold, not only dishes, but memories.  I have a bowl and rolling pin that belonged to my grandmother.  She was just a little whisp of a woman, married to my Papa, a gentle giant of a man.  Papa preached and Grandma shouted.  What a heritage they left me.  Papa never learned to drive nor had a car, but he preached all over eastern Tennessee. He would walk into all the little communities and preach his heart out, sometimes getting rides to his destinations and sometimes not, but it never slowed him down.  Grandma was ever faithful to cook, sew, make soap, can foods and clean the house that was the resting place for the man of God. What an example of servitude they were to me.



I have the china cabinet that sat in my mother in law's kitchen from the time I started dating her handsome son at the age of fifteen until she passed away.  It sits in my dining room, holding some of the dishes that belonged to her.  My mother in law took me in when I was a young girl alone.  She treated me as one of her own, she taught me how to cook and how to clean.  She helped me get through weeks of colic with my newborn little boy.  And she loved me.  What an example of generosity she was to me.

Also in my cubbards are little bowls and plates made of plastic with bright colors and cartoon figures on them.  They were some of the first dishes my boys used their little dimpled hands on to pick cheerios out of, and now they're being used by my beautiful grandchildren. My stepmother gave me some of these dishes when I was a young bride and now they are being used two generations later.  What a beautiful example of the continuation of life.

So,as I plan and make preparations for my family to gather on Thanksgiving day, I'll be thankful that God has blessed us with four children and their families.  I'll be thankful that they are all healthy and that they all bring joy to our lives.  As I begin to prepare the feast for the day, I'll thank God for the provisions he has given us...our home that is above anything that a poor, little country girl could ever have dreamed for....the finances to live comfortably, to never go hungry, and to enjoy.

Yes, I have plenty to be thankful for on this dreary day, even down to the last fork.

 

Psalms 31:19 - [Oh] how great [is] thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; [which] thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

Ephesians 5:20 - Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Going Back Home

Going back to your childhood home is wrought with emotions.  On my last trip to Tennessee to see my mom and stepdad I decided to take the route we used to take when I was a little girl.  When I was travelling down that road, I began to reminisce about the times I rode, as a young girl, with my youthful mom driving.  I thought about her dark hair that was always fixed to perfection, her lipsticked, dimpled smile showing strong white teeth, and her sky blue eyes behind those dark lashes. My mom was beautiful.   I thought about the conversations, the landscapes we saw routinely, and the music we listened to.  And I thought about how that mom knew exactly which roads to take to get us back home to Tennessee.

Things have changed since then.  Now I drive alone, my mom is not able to even get out of bed.  Mom's dark hair has turned silver and white and it's always a little mussed from laying in bed.  Mom's dimples have turned to wrinkles and her smile isn't as frequent. Mom wouldn't be able to find her way down those roads now because her mind isn't as sharp, but her eyes are still sky blue, their still the same, and my mom is still beautiful. 

While on my visit, my nephew and I spent the day together and decided to go to all the places that used to be familiar.  We went to old homeplaces, old schools, and old playgrounds.  Needless to say, things have changed, yet in so many ways, they are still the same. Each place we passed, we talked about what we used to do there, events that took place, and friends we knew.  I talked about the things my sister and I would do and places we would go and how each adventure was surrounded by laughter.  Not just laughter, but hilarious.... can't catch your breath.... screaming laughter. My sister and I could just say one word that would set off fits of hilarity.

Some of the places were changed, renovated.  Some of the places were there no longer.  The events, the adventures....just memories now, and my sister, well, she's no longer there either.

As I went back to my hotel room that evening, I had the tv on a movie that was about two sisters that were so close and loved each other dearly.  Circumstances caused them to be separated for many years, but their love never wavered.  In the end, when their hair was whiter, their bodies not as young,  the younger sister came back home.  They spotted each across a large field.  They ran screaming toward each other, their arms reaching for that hug that was to come.

While I sat there with tears streaming down my face, I was thinking.  This is it!  This is how it will be when I see my sister again.  She'll be waiting, feet dancing in anticipation, arms ready for the first touch, and then it will happen....I'll see her across the vastness, we'll run to each other, grab each other...then we'll burst into fits of hilarious.... can't catch your breath.... screaming laughter.

Going home can be exciting, or, as in my case where most of the people I loved have already passed on, going home can be difficult.  But I like to think what it's going to be like when I go to my final home and see all my family and see my friends that feel like family. 



Revelation 21:1-4  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Happy Birthday Kaybee!!

It's unbelievable how time can fly by but at the same time seem endless.  It seems like last week that my middle son was born, yet it also seems a hundred years ago. 

I just want to say to him how proud I am that he calls me Mom and how proud I am of the man he has become.

 He's gone from my sweet faced baby boy to the athletic, lovin' life young man.....

 from riding little boy toys to big boy toys...

     from being silly with his brother to being silly with best friends....

 from loving his brothers to loving his family....












going from our little graduate to the final graduation.....

from adding a wife to giving us grandchildren......

he's been a joy to my life.

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALEB!!