Southern secrets

“In the South we keep secrets and secrets make us sick.” ~ Lisa Harper

Courtesy of Bigstockphoto

This was one statement among thousands of statements I heard last Sunday at a women’s conference entitled “Momentum”.  Many of the things said, sang, and preached were good words, healing words, inspiring words, and encouraging words.  But that particular statement resonated with me.  Lisa specifically mentioned the South, but I don’t think it’s an exclusive Southern thing.

I’m thinking about the secrets I have that I’ve never told, or I’ve told very few.  I’m thinking about the secrets my family has.  Some of them have made me sick.  Physically, no, but mentally, yes.

Am I willing to bare all my secrets to you?  No, not hardly.  However, I do need to be willing to bare all my secrets to the Lord, because He knows them anyway and He’s the only one able to heal them, if I allow.

“But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” ~ Jeremiah 17:10 (NLT)

 

Snow days

I wish EVERYONE could experience a snow day. It’s kinda like God wiping your schedule clear for the day and says, “Rest in Me.”

I said this back in December of 2013, when I was still a teacher.  I loved snow days for that very reason, it cleared your schedule and you could just rest.

Today we received at least 4 inches of snow in our town, which is the equivalent to about 8 inches in a town up north.  I went in to work late and my wonderful husband drove me.  I couldn’t believe that the grass was covered and the ground actually looked white.  (For this to be a phenomenon you haven’t experienced many ‘Southern’ snows). The flakes came down fast and furious.   The few snow plows that the county has were actually shoveling piles of snow off the road!

This was not my normal for a snow day.  I was used to sleeping in, cooking a late breakfast, and staying in my pajamas for the day.  Or, maybe, getting dressed to go ‘play’ in it with the kids. In other words, I was used to resting.

Today I did not have the luxury of resting, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel rested.  Actually,  I still felt the peacefulness that comes with a snow day. People, for the most part, drove slower, were more cautious and didn’t hurry.  When I looked at the pure white blanket that had covered my yard, I felt a hush come over me.  It just felt quiet outside and inside.

God wants us to experience snow days.  He interrupts our busy schedules with all of our ‘important’ list of things to do and shows us what really is important…Him.  He doesn’t have bring a winter storm to do it, but He can.

We don’t have have to stop everything in our lives to rest either, but we can.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. – Psalm 91:1

Don’t wait for a snow day to find your rest.  Experience that peace every day.

Funerals, feet and forgiveness

Why can’t we all treat each other like we treat the dearly departed at funerals?

That thought recently came to me as I left a friend’s mother’s memorial service. I did not know the deceased, but I know her daughter, and I know they have had a stormy history. The memorial mentioned nothing of that, of course, and was a very beautiful service. Many relatives spoke and shared their memories.  I actually enjoyed hearing the funny stories about her and by the end of the service, felt like I had an idea of what she was like.

I’ve also been to funerals where I do know the dearly departed was not-so-dear, but that’s never mentioned either.  People exaggerate at funerals.  They take the best qualities and celebrate them.  The worst ones, I guess, are forgiven or forgotten.

At my new job, it is part of my duties to do the obituaries.  I don’t have to write them, the funeral home does that, but I do have to input them, edit them, price them, etc.  By now, I’ve read several.  Do you know that not one of them has had a mean or negative word to say?

I have always told my husband that I want the truth told at my passing.  I mean, if people are coming, I’m going to assume that some of them knew me, lived with me or worked with me, so why lie?

Tell it like it is…or was…

Stacey was extremely emotional, often crying at the drop of a hat, definitely cried during movies and sometimes at commercials, often embarrassing her children with this trait.

She put her foot in her mouth so much that she had to buy new shoes at least once a month because the old ones were soggy.

Stacey laughed too loudly and too often, this being proven by her reporting job, where she had to record interviews.  EVERY ONE of them she is recorded laughing in, often when it was not appropriate.

She was insecure, even though she tried not to be, her entire life, to the point it was annoying to others.

Stacey was at times hateful, vindictive, and unforgiving.  The cat sometimes didn’t even like being around her…and Stacey was the one who fed it!

I could go on, but you get the point.  I realize that as much as I request these things be said at my parting, they will not.  Funerals are not really about the dead.  They are about the living.  The ones left behind, mourning a loss, who know that they do not have a chance to go back, so they are  looking at the BEST in each other and forgiving the rest.

Maybe it is a lesson we could use for those living around us.  Look for the best in each other and  forgive the rest.

What would you like said at your funeral?

But I didn’t even know I was sick!

“I don’t even feel sick!”  I said those words a little over a year ago when diagnosed with Stage 0 breast cancer and I repeated them again last week when I visited an ENT doctor on referral.

He explained I had a deviated septum, severe sinus problems and had trouble sleeping because I couldn’t breathe properly through my nose.  WHAT?!?!  Well, when I thought about it, yes, I did have trouble sleeping, and yes, I’ve been told I snore at night, but that was my “normal”.

I went to the ENT on a unrelated issue, which was fine, but I left with 2 medications and an over-the-counter remedy to take as well, and with the feeling, “I didn’t even know I was sick!”

How many times in our lives is something lurking beneath the shadows, making us sick, and it came on so slow, or we’ve dealt with it so long, that it’s become our “normal”?  Spiritually, I think the enemy likes to use this method, because if we don’t realize we’re sick, then we won’t try to get a remedy.

Maybe we need to go to the Great Physician and get a check up.  He may prescribe some things to help you:

Love:

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) – Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT

Forgiveness:

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15 NLT

Thankfulness:

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.I Thessalonians 5:18 NLT