Tag: life

Writing a Beautiful Picture

Most of the things I write of are tied in some way to personal experiences I have had in my own life.  I usually try to help my readers form visual stories in their minds and follow that story with some moral lesson I have learned.  Today will be different.

Today I am the reader and I have formed a visual story in my own mind like no story my readers could ever contrive from my simple words.  I ask you to read along with me and share this beautiful vision with me.

“Where is the road to the home of light?  Do you know where darkness lives, so you can lead it back to its border?  Are you familiar with the paths to its home?…

“Have you entered the place where the snow is stored?  Or have you seen the storehouses of hail, which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of warfare and battle?

“What road leads to the place where light is dispersed?  Where is the source of the east wind that spreads across the earth?  Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain or clears the way for lightning, to bring rain on an uninhabited land, on a desert with no human life, to satisfy the parched wasteland and cause the grass to sprout?

“Does the rain have a father?  Who fathered the drops of dew?  Whose womb did the ice come from?  Who gave birth to the frost of heaven when water becomes as hard as stone, and the surface of the watery depths is frozen?…

“Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding?  Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the dust hardens like cast metal and the clods of dirt stick together?…”

I don’t know if you are able to see the amazing things I see when I read these words.  I don’t know how to even describe the images I visualize as I ponder in complete awe the words God is speaking in this writing.  For now I will simply end by quoting Job’s response to God’s words because I couldn’t say it any better than he did. “Then Job answered the Lord:  ‘I am so insignificant.  How can I answer You?  I place my hand over my mouth.  I have spoken once, and I will not reply twice, but now I can add nothing.'”

Guthrie, George H. “Job 38-40.” Reading God’s Story: A Chronological Daily Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Pub., 2011. N. pag. Print.

At the End of the Day…

During my lunch break today, I ran some errands. The first stop was to the post office closest to my office. I only have an hour for lunch, so I assure you I cringed inwardly at the long line and the fact that only one person was working the counter.

During my lunch break today, I ran some errands. The first stop was to the post office closest to my office. I only have an hour for lunch, so I assure you I cringed inwardly at the long line and the fact that only one person was working the counter. “I am in a hurry and this post office should know better than to have only one person working when so many people will be running their errands during their lunches. Good grief! And it’s Christmas package mailing season on top of that,” I thought to myself. I watched silently not revealing my thoughts as the line slowly crept forward and did my best to hold a smile on my face even though I didn’t feel that smile in my heart during those moments. It didn’t take me long to realize the young woman at the counter was being trained by the man standing beside her.

In the fifteen minutes I was in that line, I heard four people make a string of very loud comments about how slow the line was and how inadequate the service was. There was not one person in that room smiling…or even not frowning…other than the young woman at the counter and myself.

When it was finally my turn in the line I bought my stamps, paid my postage and told her to keep smiling. “You are doing a great job. Ignore anything that says otherwise from the other customers today. I mean it. You’re doing a great job and while in training, too. Don’t let them get you down.” Her smile grew just a little as her trainer smiled at me and told me he had said the same things to her this morning.

Did I get all my errands run during my lunch today? No, but does it really matter? The errands missed will get done after work tonight or during lunch tomorrow. I wanted them done today, but at the end of the day will this really matter enough to give it another frustrated thought? No.

Did any of the other customers in that post office today change their circumstances by scowling or saying what they thought about the service? No, they continued to stand in that line until they made it to the counter and took care of their business.  When they were done, they left with their frowns showing clearly on their faces and their negativity showing clearly on their hearts. I’m sure many if not all vented afterwards about their visit to the post office to everyone they spoke to that afternoon, but what does venting about it accomplish? It spreads the negativity in the heart of the complainer to the mind of the listener. Sadly, that negativity will spread not just to the minds of the listeners but also to the hearts of some listeners.

Wouldn’t this world be a better place if instead of venting about minutes lost, we chose to spread grace and mercy from heart to heart this holiday season? At the end of the day…at the end of all days…it’s the condition of the heart that matters. Does the condition of your heart encourage or discourage other people who cross your path each day?