Why the hurting, Lord?

All around us people hurt, some are just skin deep.
Others sear and scar intensely causing us to weep.
Sometimes words will cause us hurt, sometimes just a look.
Oh the many ways of hurting-you could write a book!
Moms and Dads they hurt their children or it's switched around.
Friends hurt friends, spouse hurts spouse, sad as it may sound.
Preachers often hurt their members or, again, it's switched.
Hurts can even pass to others if they don't get fixed.
One's own hurt, though hard to deal with, can be put to rest.
But to watch another hurting is a harder test!
If you've felt the pain they're feeling you can empathize.
This, in turn, can ease your hurting though your heart still cries.
But the hardest pain to suffer is when standing by,
having nothing you can offer you can only cry.
Oh the ache! The dreadful hurting!
How you long to heal. How you long to take away
the hurt and pain they feel!
Lord, I ask you, why the hurting? This one thing I know,
Heaven will be pain free living, how I long to go! I Cor 13:12
     Linking up with Imperfect Prose....and her lovely blog!

On Life and Reality

I am coming to a realization that I'm not quite sure how to convey, but one that has the potential of changing a person's life. Nice and vague, hu? :) I guess it's this: I spend a lot of my life wishing for things I don't have, hoping for things that may never happen, longing for changes that my Father might never have meant for my life. I get upset with my children if they're not content with all their many toys and whine about that wonderful thing "if they would only" have. I tell them to straighten up if they're wishing for different circumstances when I know that what they have is really good for them. I know my Father is not mere human like me, but if so I expect he would be quite frustrated with me sometimes! There's so MUCH He's given me, why then am I still wishing? After my trip I was feeling like I was in a very dark place. Everything felt heavy and dark and hard. I wanted to tell God I just can't do what You're asking of me right now! It's too dark, how can I "walk"? And He seemed to tell me so plainly, "There's plenty of light, Child. I've supplied plenty of small gifts and bright spots of light on your path. Your only problem is this: you've put your hands over your eyes!! Remove your hands, look around. It's not really dark!" What a patient Father! If it would be me I'd say how many different ways do I have to tell you this?? But He just patiently keeps showing me the way...

Real Life

Well, its back to real life after a week end packed with 2 days of traveling and 1 day soaking up family time. I never dreamed it would be so hard to come back! Feels like I've lost all my "ground" and am back to floundering in dark waters. I don't like this reality. Don't want it. Would do anything to change it! Yes, I know all the "right" things in my head.... God knows what He's doing, there's much worse realities, it's all what I decide to make of it, etc etc I'm feeling like a rebellious child! Lillian is sitting here fussing about the foot she hurt last night and I'd like to just join the tears and crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head. So, this is real life at the moment. Not exactly pretty, but there it is. No more trips to AR for me I guess :) No, I know it's my heart not any trip or circumstance. Guess I need a visit with the Surgeon........

the One who understands it all

It's unusual for me to not do my regular, twice a week blogging. There's been some unusual things going on in my world, I guess. A new kind of pain that I've never known before, a new kind of heart ache that I've never experienced, a new peek at the bigness of God and the smallness of my view. On top of that, I'm suddenly packing up me and my 3 girls for a flying trip to AR! I'm a big mixture of scared (I'll have to do things that aren't comfortable for me alone), and excited (I am looking forward to seeing everybody)! So, I'm gathering clothes and necessaries and stuffing them in suitcases and trying to corral emotions and feelings and throw them at the feet of the Father who understands hearts. The One who understands pain and heart ache and love and helplessness. The One who is able to take it all and write a beautiful story full of intricate and exciting details that I've never even thought of! And ... who knows how lost I'll feel without my closest friend on earth for 3 days and 4 whole nights!!

To Be A Parent

To be a parent is an incredible thing. Like one person described it, it's like pieces of your heart walking around outside of your body! There's amazing challenges as a parent. With the new little bundle of humanity comes late/sleepless nights and being at the beck and call of this little commander in chief 24/7. Then the little will surfaces and your days are spent trying to keep a step ahead of the mischief and the "I can do it myself" attitude. Before you know it the relationship changes to a miniature grown up who needs to be listened to and understood, not just told what to do. Attitudes replace mischief and cuteness and you begin to wonder why the sleepless nights were so bad! That's about as far as I've come on this parenting journey. If there's one thing I wish I could go back and tell myself it's "enjoy each stage". I know, that sounds so cliche and what everyone says, but I seriously want to learn how to truly do that. It's so much easier to look back and say "why didn't I?" then to do it now!!

A universal language

Everbody is different, we all know that. Still, there are certain things that are universal. We all enjoy a delicious meal. I think everyone feels happier after a good laugh. A night's sleep makes us all feel better. And, I believe understanding from another person is something we all crave. It helps, on this journey called life, to know "right" things- God's commands, good manners, proper etiquette... Those things make life easier, smoother. Still, sometimes no matter how many "right" things you know, or how much they help, face it: life just sucks!! It's those times when a bit of understanding is like the missing ingredient in a bitter cake. There's nothing that can raise a hung head, square slumped shoulders, lift a burdened heart like understanding! Of course a good cry thrown in never hurts either :) I was on the recieving end recently and it was a reminder to me to do the same for others. It doesn't take lots of wise words, just a caring heart that takes a bit of time to speak understanding.