Monday, July 6, 2020

WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS





Open the door when opportunity knocks.

Opportunities diversify. A few opportunities do you well. Some mess you up. It helps to be discerning when it comes to unproven opportunities. Sometimes, though, the door swings wide open.

You have been praying, seeking and trusting God for it, but you’re cautious. You don’t always know when the opportunity is right. You wait. Then boom! You know this one is absolutely right.

How blessed it is when opportunity knocks and you know God is in it. That happens every so often. You don’t always have time to think about it. You have to act, and you have to act right now.

I made a lower offer on a house and the owners wouldn’t budge. I made an offer on a second house and then withdrew it. The house was in a flood zone. And a third house. It was misrepresented. I had never owned a home, had always wished to, had never had the stability. And the dream died. It wasn't working for me.

I stopped making offers. Three years later, now retired from teaching, I am praying while I take my daily walk when I sense God telling me “It’s time” to re-enter the house market. Days later I tell my mother. The next Sunday, guess what?

A church friend tells my mother that she plans to put her house on the market in a couple of months. My mother calls me about the house. She bubbles with excitement. I am curious but cautious.I check out the neighborhood. Modest and quiet. Maybe?

Mother calls the lady. That very same day, a couple hours later, we go to see the house.  My agent, my mother, and I take a walk-through. The house looks like we were expected. It is in pristine condition. The design, what I’m looking for. The owner, gracious.

We tour the house. The house is perfect for my needs. It even has an extra bedroom--an office for my writing. Yes, yes, yes! The three of us step outside. My agent asks what I think. “I love it,” I say. The house is perfect for my needs. Not too big and not too small.

 I'm getting hopeful.

My agent says, “Look up, Norma.” An enormous rainbow arcs the sky above us

As I write this I am in the office of that house.


Saturday, July 4, 2020

I am the Flag, by Ruth Apperson Rous


 

I am the Flag

by Ruth Apperson Rous

 

I am the flag of the United States of America.

I was born on June 14, 1777, in Philadelphia.

There the Continental Congress adopted my stars and stripes as the national flag.

My thirteen stripes alternating red and white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.

Today fifty stars signal from my union, one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known.

My colors symbolize the patriotic ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.

My red stripes proclaim the fearless courage and integrity of American men and boys and the self-sacrifice and devotion of American mothers and daughters.

My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.

My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.

I represent these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.

I embody American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.

I typify that indomitable spirit of determination brought to my land by Christopher Columbus and by all my forefathers - the Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at James town and Plymouth.

I am as old as my nation.

I am a living symbol of my nation's law: the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

I voice Abraham Lincoln's philosophy: "A government of the people, by the people,for the people."

I stand guard over my nation's schools, the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.

I am displayed in every schoolroom throughout my nation; every schoolyard has a flag pole for my display.

Daily thousands upon thousands of boys and girls pledge their allegiance to me and my country.

I have my own law Public Law 829, "The Flag Code" - which definitely states my correct use and display for all occasions and situations.

I have my special day, Flag Day. June 14 is set aside to honor my birth.

Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow.

I am your title deed of freedom, which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.

If you fail to keep this sacred trust inviolate, if I am nullified and destroyed, you and your children will become slaves to dictators and despots.

Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom.

As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are - no more, no less.

Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth.

Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I was created in freedom. I made my first appearance in a battle for human liberty.

God grant that I may spend eternity in my "land of the free and the home of the brave" and that I shall ever be known as "Old Glory," the flag of the United States of America.

Friday, July 3, 2020

God Repurposes Our Experiences

 

God Doesn't Waste Anything

 

God does not waste the hard things that have happened to you. Pasts are repurposed. He heals you and then reveals how you can use your experiences to help someone struggling in a similar area.

That’s the way it works, and it is a good thing. The end of a tragedy is often the beginning of a new phase. You may discover a new purpose and a cause to advance after a loss or heartbreak.

Comfort comes in knowing you can be an encouragement to someone else, though the hard times you experienced were not easy. Others benefit from your insights, grace, and acceptance.

Think of all the organizations formed by those who saw a need and knew they were a good fit: Their personal experiences stream-lined with opportunities to minister to others and meet people’s needs.

Those in a crisis mode look for people who understand and empathize. They have a great need to talk and talk, to get it out, and to let the emotion run its course. Their need splashes on others.

What people need is not so much the advice as it is the listening and understanding. Overcomers listen well to hurting individuals. They relate as they offer hope where none existed on the outset.

Care and concern repurpose the bad for the good.  Thank you for caring.


*Photo by Nathan Dumlao, Unsplash