HEAD(hed), (n.) 1. the top part of the human body or the front part of an animal where the eyes, nose, east and mouth are. "Your brain is in your head." DIBS(dibz), (n.) 2. a thick, sweet syrup made in countries of the East, especially the Middle East, from grape juice or dates. [Arabic "debs"]--World Book Dictionary, 1976.
Sometimes the news comes quick. Sometimes the news comes slow. No matter how or when it comes, grief travels in the wake of the news. Grief is heavy, weighty, a burden, especially when it involves someone deeply loved. Grief is not meant to be carried alone. It’s too heavy and may last a while—and that’s ok. That’s what family and friends are for, to share the load. Jesus stood outside the tomb of his friend and wept but He did not weep alone. It was a deep, human moment. “ Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted ” (Matt 5:4). If anyone knows how we feel in grief, it’s Him. But His grief did not linger long, as at the mention of his name, Lazarus came forth. We are not meant to dwell in grief, but should leave room enough for it. Let it run its course. Like the song says, “ Every Storm Runs Out Of Rain .” Another song says, “ The storm We will dance as it breaks The storm It will give as it takes And all of our pain is washed away Don't cry or be afraid Some things...
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Be Ready
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What do you do when nothing goes as planned? The overly simplest answer is: "be ready for anything." The best way to do this is to tell yourself this, first thing in the morning: "be ready for anything." The practice sounds trite but once you make a habit of it, one finds one is ready for whatever comes your way. It's a simple reminder that anything can happen, and it usually does.
My plan for Monday was to get up and go about the day, as usual. Instead, first thing Monday morning I got my coffee and began to prepare myself for the day, including getting my thoughts aligned, per above. Then came the news: something is wrong with the downstairs toilet. Boy was there ever something wrong.
Now, I had every opportunity to blow my stack through the day but I kept returning to "be ready for anything." Just the day before, on Sunday, I had just taught a lesson in from the Old Testament book of Job--you remember the guy--he lost everything then broke out with sores all over his body while being "comforted" by three of the worse "friends" a guy could have. The heart of the lesson was this: there's more to the picture, so step back and get a "view from above." See, there was more to Job's situation than anyone knew (at the time). So I went through the day reminding myself that:
Freaking out accomplishes nothing
Someone, somewhere was having a much worse situation that a clogged toilet, so why complain?
There's much more to the situation if I "step back" away from it and view it as an outsider and
I could not control the situation but I could control my response.
With these in mind, I also kept reviewing points from the lesson I taught just one day previous:
Life is not formulaic, predictable;
Many (all) of life's problems have an explanation, whether we like that explanation or not;
Weigh and measure the words of friends without getting derailed by their in-sensitivities or errors (see video, below);
Trust God is working behind the scenes and our suffering has purpose.
So how did it all work out? Well, besides getting things flowing the way they should, I learned . . .
. . . some things work and others don't (aka,"creative failure methodology")
. . . some projects take a little longer. Be patient.
. . . some things come with "satisfaction guaranteed" refunds, so I'll be getting some dollars back (always read your labels for "this product will work or" statements)
. . . to do things I've never done before, like how to run one of those big ol' 75' 1/2" augers from Home Depot.
I learned that when one is flexible, one is not broken.
“Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?” EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.3.6 b –8
Legend has it that the astronomer Ptolemy (1st century A.D.) suggested that falling stars were caused by the gods moving in the heavens, thus knocking stars out of their places. Somehow people reasoned that that if the gods were moving, they must be getting close to earth so they would lift their "prayers" or "wishes" (literally, "desires") whenever they saw the stars falling in hopes the gods would notice and grant a favorable answer. But how does one wish on falling star? Once you see it, it's gone before the wish or prayer can be made! The answer is simple: meteor shower. That's how to get your wish. Mrs. Ann Hodges had a wish fall right into her lap. Sort of. In 1954 Mrs. Hodges was sleeping on the couch when a 8 1/2 pound meteorite fell through her house and into her living room where it bounced off the radio and struck her left hip leaving her with a bruise. Not sure what she was wishing, but that's not how to do it. Epictetus hel...
