Humility Before Honor

It's good to be humble, Keeps you from taking credit for other people's work. It also keeps you from taking credit for your own talents and accomplishments, because if you have a brain in your head you know that God gave you the ability, the time and the will to accomplish what you do get done. Can't take credit for his work.

Being humble means you don't have to wait for that big fall that the Bible promises to all who "exalt" themselves. Being humble opens doors that other people cannot close. Doors opened by God's own hand. Being humble means that you are genuinely surprised when honor comes your way. It makes life more fun. More meaningful. More fulfilling. It also makes our relationships ten times less complicated than when we are playing the "significance" game.

When we're truly humble, we don't expect a reward for merely doing what we are supposed to be doing. I am usually simply hoping that I'm not cutting off my nose to spite my face. That there is a tiny bit of incremental forward motion to my life. Case in point: this morning I watered my knockout roses two minutes each. I set my phone's stopwatch. Gary said two minutes. I'm doing two minutes. I was watering away, gently nourishing one of the beautiful new bushes when I realized that the way that I was standing was causing the heavy hose to mangle one of the other little bushes! Cutting off nose to spite face. We all do it some.

The aging process itself is like one giant, fail-proof humbling machine. It's the most highly effective instrument I know of to keep me on my knees. Well, that and the love of a parent for a child. I've got both going on,and in spades. There I am, motoring down the highway, a cool song on the radio. I'm singing and believing, just for the moment, that I've got it going on. Then I catch a glimpse of an old woman in the rearview mirror. It's me. I roll my windows up and sail silently home. Maybe say a prayer or two for my husband to be able to stomach what I look like now. Humbling. Keeps us close to the Lord and fully in touch with what is most important in life. Our relationship with Him is all that matters in the big picture. I've actually thanked Him for the aging process. I need a constant reminder that everything the rest of the world trusts in is continually fading away. It's going fast, too.

When I'm walking in some momentary light of obedience and feel myself getting ever closer to Jesus, the light of His love is so beautiful, His peace so overwhelming and His joy so matchless, I remember why He goes to great lengths to remind me, through loving discipline at times, that His way is the very best way. I'm thankful.

Puppy Dogs and Regrets

I have glutted Facebook with photos of my new puppy. Thrown a few videos in, too. He is reaping the rewards of two particular phenomena: 1) my husband found him via friends at work less than a week after we had our nearly thirteen-year-old dog Charlie put to sleep (we loved Charlie so much and needed his tender, loving furry companionship to such an extent that all that we flowed in his direction is now cascading over Baxter who has, regrettably, answered to Charlie more than once daily) and 2) I am attempting to avoid every regret I had at Charlie's passing.

I did not walk Charlie enough. Baxter (who is also a long-haired dachshund) has such short legs that neighborhood walks are a few weeks away, but, heaven help us, the leash with matching collar have been purchased and the resolve is firmly in place. When Baxter breathes his last, he will have been walked countless miles. I put off grooming Charlie to the extent that he hated it and had to be carted off to the groomer for mat removal behind the ears and on the legs. Sometimes I had them give him a short haircut so that we just wouldn't have to fool with it. (This is a regret that I probably don't feel too much pain for, as Charlie HATED baths and brushings with a religious fervor.) Baxter will learn to enjoy the brush because it will be a constant. I feel that I took my "Pudding" for granted. He was always there. I was home a lot during his lifetime and he was always at my feet. I loved having him there and was comforted by him but, since he did not like laps, I didn't pet him as much as he would have enjoyed. I took it for granted that his loyal little spirit would never fly away. It did. Baxter is lifted into my lap all throughout the day. I am conscious of the fact that life is busy and complicated and, while my dog will always be in the house like Charlie was, plan is to make the time to stop and love on him every single day.

We took Charlie on every car trip that we could. This is because we loved him, he traveled well, and I was just more at peace when I had him with me and therefore knew that he was okay! Plan is to continue this inclusion with Baxter. Awesome memories ahead. Someone send me links to doggie motorcycle compartments, please. When I was making my Charlie photo album this past week, I had 59 photos. Now, I know that there are many more, but I am as organized as a hamster on crack. I'll round them up. However, I want to take more of Baxter. I want every moment memorialized. When he passes away, I want a tidy pile of years well-lived. I want him to know how much he means to me.

Yes, I do realize I'm talking about dogs here. All four of us loved Charlie. We all four grieved his last month of life. I made the remark to my youngest son that I felt I had taken Charlie for granted. "We all do that all of the time," he said quickly. I assumed he meant that we take everything for granted. All of life's pleasure and joys and the people (and animals) we love. It feels like they will never leave. They most assuredly can and often do.

I am one of those complicated and laden-down  people who live in a constant cycle of regret management. When I was holding Charlie at the vet's office on the day we had him put down, I was finger combing his fur. I had shampooed him the night before and he looked raggedy because I hadn't gotten him rinsed as thoroughly as I would normally  have. He was just so uncomfortable and it was awkward to bathe him. I wanted his last few moments of life to be presentable, but they weren't. Not totally. I said to Gary "Well, I'm regret managing again. I guess I should give it up because if I had no regrets that would make me (like) Jesus. He is the only perfect one." It's true.

We can, however, live a little more consciously thankful and loving. Yes I want to savor Baxter in ways that I overlooked Charlie in the chaos of child-rearing. I want to because dogs are gift from God, given to us to cherish and enjoy. But I also want to appreciate the Lord and all that he brings to my life every single day. I want to treat my husband better. I want to reach out to others and give up the notion that there is always tomorrow. There might not be. I thought Charlie, because we gave him the best preventive vet care we could, would be eighteen before he passed. I even wondered, because he seemed so strong for most of his life, if he would be one of those Guiness Book dogs that live to be over twenty. He wasn't. I was given about 6 weeks notice of his passing. It was terrible.

There's a Christian song that says "I'm gonna live like there's no tomorrow/Love, like I'm on borrowed time." Because we are. We all are.

Humility: The Crown of Life

Life is interesting, isn't it? As soon as you think you've got one thing nailed down, the peg on the opposite corner of your tent goes flying! Keeps us humble, which is a pretty good thing, in my estimation. It makes me want to belly-laugh when I think of how my fading earthly frame gets all puffed up with pride at the LEAST accomplishment, of how I look down on others when they struggle with one of the few things I'm on top of (at the moment). God must shake his head a lot when I am doing these things!

There are lots of moral issues in the news these days. I have Bible-based opinions on many of them. However, I do not have PUBLIC opinions on several of them. I just don't. That's not fear, that's me being a private person with, well, PRIVACY RIGHTS. My take on morality is the following: if someone is in error, and they are a sincere follower of Jesus Christ and they either A) ask my opinion or B) are somehow under my spiritual authority (think my children only or maybe ants on the sidewalk at this point), I will tell them, but in a loving and very respectful manner, making it clear to them that I love them exactly as they are and that I respect their feelings. The Bible tells me that without love, all of my spiritual gifts are a gonging in the wind. No fruit! Furthermore, I am not going to convince anyone of anything. That's the Holy Spirit's job.

I also believe that some issues should not be discussed with people who do not know me and know my heart. I sincerely desire (though frequently fail) to love other people wholly and fully and to treat them with kindness and respect. All of the yammering in this blog post is leading to what I truly believe is the one thing that all Christians should be about: leading others to a saving, redeeming, life-transforming, healing relationship with Jesus Christ. Once they have taken that step, we should lead those who the Holy Spirit guides to us, to discipleship. This means that we help them get into the Word of God, explain things that they ask us about, pray with them, encourage them, and do whatever else the Lord leads us to help them grow. All of the moral issues that cause such an horrendous uproar in this society that is spiraling downward at warp speed will be addressed in each person who has given themselves to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will address those things as each believer seeks Him earnestly.  He will use us in their lives, but we must tread with caution, checking His spirit for confirmation along the way. I believe we get the cart before the horse every day. We expect unbelievers to embrace God's truth. Without the Holy Spirit, they just cannot grasp it, let alone feel the conviction of it. It's Greek to them! We MUST love them unconditionally. 

There are times when you will see me step up to the plate and throw myself wholeheartedly into a moral cause. Any issue involving the protection of the defenseless (the unborn, the elderly, children, widows) and any issue involving the government's usurpation of basic freedoms would be a cause worth shouting about, in my estimation! When the government suppresses a people's right to free speech, control over their own finances, the right to bear arms and a whole host of freedoms that are currently under attack, I may just speak out on social media. I don't mind offending in those cases. I hope, however, that my statements are not attack-oriented or hateful, because in that case, I've lost sight of my purpose on Earth, which is to bring glory to my savior Jesus Christ.