911

It's raining tonight.
I make note of this because had it rained earlier
I wouldn't have been there.

Mom and Dad have been out of town and,
being that the irrigation water has been shut off for a while
and that it has still been warm here
and that Dad threw some seed in some bare spots on their yard,
I went to their house this afternoon to water with the watering can.

I would have been gone and missed it all but just as I was ready to get in my car
I remembered that I forgot to check to make sure there was no mail....

I checked.  None.
I turned to leave
and as I was walking away
I heard a voice-
shaking, not quite loud enough to understand.
I turn.
 "are you talking to me?"

And then I see the face.
A young teenager.  (I found out later he was 16)
Carrying a dog who was shaking as bad as the crying boy.

"Please help me.  
My mom hasn't taken her medication and then she goes crazy.
I am scared"

I don't know what to do.
"Please, don't leave me!"

I don't know what I say but he follows me and when I ask what I should do
he tells me to call the police.  911.

I've never done that before but, then, I've never been in this situation.
I am scared too and by this time the mother has come outside.  Coming towards us.
She's angry.  I am not really sure where the anger is directed right then.
Me or him.

I take refuge with the boy in my parents garage
while on the phone with the 911 operator waiting for someone to come...
The mother stands outside.

There, of course, is more to the story.
I did talk with the police.
I did have to stay until they released me to go.
The mother did want to press charges against me for taking him in the garage!

I don't know what happened as I was told I could go before they were done.
I don't know what the real story was behind the scene.
And I don't know if I did the best thing although the police told me I did the right thing.

And on the way home I cried (actually I cried talking to the police!)
And I can't get this family off of my mind. (There is a divorce going on...)
And I wonder what is going on with the mother and son tonight.
And I wonder if he is safe.

And I now know that this is going on all over my little part of the world
and today it became reality to me.
And I cry for what we as a people have become.

And I only know of ONE hope.

If it had rained earlier I wouldn't have been there...

5 Days - 4 Nights

For the first time in 3 years we are going to all be together.
The whole family.
Together.

It has the potential to be a glorious time.
And there is opportunity for, well, a not so glorious time.

Fourteen personalities - 9 guys, and 5 girls.
Four marriages.  6 kids.
Many different ages.
14 different opinions.
1 house.

And I am beyond excited!!!!

Being that we live in 4 different states -
 two clear across the country from the other two -
we don't get this chance often enough.
And we always love to get together.

But, we are people, and in spite of our love for each other
we must still make a conscience decision
to unconditionally love each other in confined spaces.
To look over each other's faults.
To speak kindly of each other and to each other.
To put others needs and desires ahead of our own.
To respect each others space and opinions.
To not be easily offended or hurt.

To remember that just because we are family it does not give us the
freedom to operate in the flesh
but rather the greater responsibility to live by the Spirit.

I have not really worried about us,
knowing we are blessed
to have a family that longs to be together,
but I would be naive to think that there is not a risk here.

We are living in a time when families are easily
torn apart by things said
or actions taken.
And it is, by nature, our tendency to look out for ourselves
before others.

And so I write this;
Knowing how excited we all are to spend this time together.
Wanting it to be with the same expectation that we wait for the next time.
Desiring that we miss each other when all is said and done.

And knowing that each one makes this imperfectly, perfect family.

Behind their backs

She's pretty
and has a sense of humor to die for.

She's smart and has a successful career.

She's a sharp dresser and knows how to put together "a look".

She has a family that loves her
and thinks she is the best.

But her perception of herself is different.
She struggles with, what I now know, years of verbal abuse.  Bullying.

I've known her for years.

Well...maybe I shouldn't use the word KNOWN
because when I really listened to her recently
I came to the realization that a huge part of her life
I hadn't known.
A part that shaped and molded her into who she is.

I don't know what caused her to tell her story that day.
We weren't alone so she wasn't talking directly to me.
She wasn't trying to get my approval or sympathy.
She was just telling her story.
Unexpectedly even to herself, I think.

There were a few questions here and there
but, honestly, we mostly just listened
to a woman explain
why she is who she is today.

I don't know how many years this bullying consumed
(or maybe she would say at times it still feels as though it goes on)
but in those precious years of a child's life when it matters the most
what people think
she was, in her mind, told all to clearly what they thought.
And it wasn't nice.  It wasn't loving.  It wasn't right.
Maybe, we think, she shouldn't have let it bother her - what they thought.
But it did.  It does.

Called names, ridiculed, (and maybe the worst) ignored.
At school and at church.
In the church youth group where you would expect to be loved unconditionally - or at least accepted.
At first she hoped for some reprieve when relatives
were part of the group.
She quickly quit hoping.
Their silence was as bad as the words that were spoken.

Even as she told her story I could feel the pain.
She teared up now and then
but it was as though, finally,
she could speak of it - even to herself.

She excused the kids now
by saying "they were just kids"
but in her telling of it
I came to the realization
that she can be in that moment once again simply
by a word spoken to her now that she interprets to mean something it wasn't meant to mean.
It all becomes so personal.
The gut retching pain of it all.

She mentioned how she is examining how this small portion of her life
has impacted the majority of her life.
Decisions.  Actions.  Choices.  Self-worth.
Things she does and feels even today, so many years later.

I've since cried for her -
for that young person that so badly wanted acceptance
only to be openly put down - beaten down - with words and actions.
To be judged by the outward appearance
and motives that others knew nothing about.
I weep for that person even as I write this.

And I weep for me.  For repentance.
For the times I have listened to others being put down by someone.
For the times I have been silent and in that way contributed.
For the things I have thought in judgement of others.
And for the things I have said to someone and for the things I have said  behind their backs.

Oh, forgive me Lord
 for the things I have said of people
"behind their backs."

I hope her sharing with us helped to heal.
I hope self acceptance becomes a victory in her life.
I hope she can forgive.

I have been asking the Lord to make me more like Him.
I believe He is bringing me to the realization that first I must see for myself who I am.

I know He will forgive.

EASE DROPPING

I wasn't trying to ease drop. 
And I don't necessarily think they were trying to keep it private.

I came around the corner and she was telling her husband good-bye
   as he was going to be gone for at least a week on a job related trip.

I heard the typical "I love you"
      (I knew and they knew they felt this way about each other but oh so good to say and hear!)
and then the reminder to " Drive Safely"
   
He started to walk away and as he turns she speaks her heart
and this is what causes me to pause;
     

"remember who you are"


The words made me draw a quick breath.
Such a powerful word for him and I suspect it has been spoken many a time in their marriage.


"remember who you are"

• Don't give into peer pressure to do or say things you know you shouldn't say or do.
• 
  
• Don't join in an activity that you know isn't the best choice.
• 
  
• Don't give into the enticement of making more money by compromising your integrity.
• 
  
• Don't put things or prosperity above people.
• 
  
• Don't say things that make you look better at the expense of others.
• 
  
• Don't think you have to be right.  That you have to have the last word.  That you have to win.
• 
  
• Don't be impatient, unkind, or callous to those you work with, meet, or cross paths with.
• Don't be unforgiving or hold a grudge.  Don't be touchy or easily agitated.
• Don't be bitter or grouchy or vain.

"remember who you are"


A man of God.

A sinner saved by grace.

A man greatly loved by his family.

A man blessed by God.

A child of the King.

A man that someday wants to hear "well done, good and faithful servant."

 I am sure that through the years my uncle has found new discoveries of who he is and who he wants to be and, even more importantly,

God revealing to him who He want him to be.

I am also sure that he would say that there have been times he has forgotten.  Times he has been
less than who he knows he is in Christ.  Times of needed repentance.

But it got me to thinking

If I would remember who I am - who God has created me to be

would I be more careful with how I fill my time?
would I take more care to tame my tongue?
to offer my help?
to give more to others?
to praise God more and complain less?
to see the good in others rather than find their faults?
to believe more and fear less?

Someday I am going to ask my aunt what she means when she says it
 but right now

I am asking God what He meant
when He said it to me this morning
through a simple good-bye at the door...

Remember who you are, Sheri.