Last evening I had opportunity to have dinner and sit outside enjoying the evening and wonderful word. I had opportunity to meet someone new and got to share thoughts. As I sat there listening, sharing, laughing and yes even crying at one moment I once again thanked my Father in Heaven for my life. The lady I had chance to meet has been dealt a very ugly hand in life's card game , as we talked I looked at her, not her physical appearance, but i looked at her heart and I saw such a beautiful person, I saw love, I saw kindness, I saw strength, I saw grace....But on the outside I saw pain, I saw insecurity, I saw loneliness, and I saw defeat. In all that life had dealt her she had given up, the beauty inside was totally overshadowed by the weather. The storms in her life had all but erased her inner being! This happens so many times in life, we almost have the game won and boom, someone pulls an ace out of their sleeve, throws it on the table and once again we "lose" I see so many times, people who have been defeated so often that it becomes expected, I see so many times that people have tried, and tried and tried and with each try there is less zeal, there is less zest and finally they just accept defeat as a way of life. It saddened me to see such a beautiful spirit sitting there not representing the inside, but allowing the outside to be her way of life. I have been faced with the storms of life, we all have been battered by the wind, soaked by the rain, have slipped on the slick ground, have fallen down and wondered if we could get back up. We all have gone in to battle with our swords drawn only to have it knocked from our hands leaving us standing vulnerable and scared! It is the way in which we take cover from the storm that makes the difference, it is the way we pick ourselves up that shows how strong we are, it is the umbrella we choose to keep us dry, it is the attitude that we choose that brings us through.
This morning as I sit here in reflection of the different roads I have traveled, at the sink holes that I had to take detour around to keep from disappearing, at all of the times that that "ace" trumped me...I thank God for giving me his love, for placing people in my life who have seen "me" who have been prompted to share with me the lives they have been dealt and how they have overcome. Today as I sit here I wonder how many times people have seen the storms of life swallowing me and have not taken time to listen to the promptings and followed through with a smile or a kind word, a hand of acknowledgement that they know how it feels. When I left this lady last night, I can only pray that she felt better, that she felt the love of our father in heaven for allowing us to chat, I pray that as she wakes this morning that she sees her day in a new light, that she looks into the mirror and sees the "inside" that she recognizes her strengths and that she pulls that umbrella out and decides to walk in the rain without getting wet!
My prayer for each of us is that we recognize the beautiful, wonderful, God given blessings that are presented to us each day, that instead of telling God how big our storms are that we tell our storms how big our God is, I ask God to give each and every one of us super X ray glasses today so that we might see the inside of a person in need, that we might recognize the beauty within and be there to help slough off the grime on the outside. I pray that this will be the day that instead of seeing a need and saying oh poor such in such, that we can go to that person and through the love in our hearts make a mark! God give us the courage and the strength to take upon ourselves the ability to see need and to execute. God gives us love in our hearts to share, may you be blessed today with the "give away" may God place someone in your path that is in need of "you" May you open your eyes, follow his footsteps and share his gift of "self"! Share your heart and leave a mark:) Blessings this day for a wonderful, beautiful eye opening, heart warming experience:) Love to each of you in Christ, amen!
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