Month: July 2020

A Landscape of Hope!

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

But I say, love your enemies!Pray for those who persecute you! Matthew 5:44 NLT  

This morning Deandra who writes Imago Dei on WordPress got me thinking about the issue of complaining. (I have done more than my fair share) and how it affects our lives and my initial comment on her blog led me to an entire post. So thank you Deandra and here is my story of hope for complainers like me. The link to her post is here…

https://deandrahurst.com/2020/07/09/a-thankless-job-part-2/

Back when I worked as an apprentice landscaper I had a boss named Al who specialized in making me crazy. When I struggled making a straight line on the edge of a flower bed   he’d say, “That looks like a dog’s breakfast!” Or he’d take a look at the bush I had just trimmed, snatch the tool from my hand and re-trim it then give the tool back and ask; “What are you Polish?”

One night when I was bringing my complaint session about Al home to my wife, God began to convict my heart that I needed to be praying instead of griping. Even though I wasn’t a bit excited about the idea I knew it was the right thing to do. So I began with short prayers like, “Bless Al and his family.”  Now it would be great to say that immediately things got better; but the reality was that at first I just didn’t get so mad about his remarks. Also my own attitude started changing and I began to try harder to improve my work.

The best day happened some months later when just Al and I were working together on a job out in the country. At noon Al glanced at his watch and said “Go ahead and take lunch. I’m just going to keep working.” So I sat down on a big rock and opened my lunch pail and saw an entire loaf of my wife’s home made zucchini bread. “Hey Al, don’t you have anything to eat?” I asked. “Don’t worry I‘ll get something later.”  “Hey, at least take five minutes and try some of my wife’s home made zucchini bread.” I insisted. It didn’t take much to convince him to sit down and try a sample. “Wow! That’s amazing!” he mumbled between bites as I shared my extra bottle of water with him to wash it down. My life wasn’t perfect after that lunch, but breaking bread with Al gave me hope. I had hope because I saw that God cares about changing tough circumstances and difficult people. I knew it- because he changed me. Now that’s a landscape of hope!

Amazing Hope

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

First the shockingly bad news – This extended lock down has turned into something of a lock out. Churches, Long Term Care facilities and even many homes are locked out of their normal activities all over the world. But the Good news is more shocking than the bad! Jesus specializes in showing up even when we lock the doors!

Loving Like Jesus

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. e second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”    Romans 12:15

I learned something about weeping and rejoicing after fourteen hours of flying time to Delhi India. I found an airport that looked just like New York (Only better). It was clean, bright and beautiful. But we were on a missions trip and not on a vacation. So though the staff at our hotel was polite and helpful, the room was something you find only in the world of India. Though we had crossed nine time zones it was still hard to sleep but washing with cold water from a bucket in the tub woke us right up in the morning! We quickly dressed and left for the airport to catch our flight to a smaller city. That is where to the amusement of my pastor and the taxi driver I began to experience the whole new world of Delhi traffic with each honk of the horn and lurch to the left or right avoiding pedestrians, bicycles and various animals.

Having a loved one move into a nursing home especially during this Covid-19 crisis, is like watching them travel farther away than even India. Every nation has its own language, laws and culture and just as you would carefully study a travel guide about them before going overseas so also it is important to prepare for the world of a nursing home your loved one is moving to. Their new home will mean losing a measure of the control which they once had. They lose privacy, the ability to travel, familiar surroundings and maybe most difficult of all; the right to say no to many things. Don’t turn a deaf ear to their fretting; instead be ready to rejoice when they rejoice and weep when they weep. You might not know all the answers for them but coming along on their journey is the best way to help them put down roots, make friends and accept for weeping or rejoicing that new world. Sharing their emotions and struggles can help to unlock the door to hope then just do your best to live out what the Apostle Paul added in the next verse:

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Romans 12:16 Now that is loving just like Jesus would have us to do!