Daily Flare

The Pippi Longstocking Angel

God never ceases to amaze me with who He uses to get a message across to you when you absolutely need it the most.  Some of you who know me, also know of the social anxiety I have and being able to go out in public. 

Well, for those who don’t, I am terrified of going to places where there are a lot of people, and just cannot talk to people in general, unless I know you.  I get panic attacks, but as a therapeutic action, my therapist wants me to try and wander out a couple times per week and go into stores even for just 10-20 minutes so I can learn to over come my fears.

Today was one of those days.  Those of you who also know me, know that I am a writer and am trying to get published.  Anxiety is a very powerful thing and can play many tricks with your mind and you always worry if you are good enough, do people like you.  This is something that I have been praying about and dealing with for a while now.  (Thank you all for your prayers, I can surely feel them.)

Along with this anxiety comes doubt of my writing and if I will ever get published.  I know I have the talent, and I have been told this by many people who I respect, some of them published authors.  Yet, I still am overwhelmed with doubts and fears and wonder if I should just give up.

Today I went to Barnes & Noble to get a couple of things and just happened to be standing in line when this gentlemen cut in front of me.  I wasn’t upset, I knew that he didn’t see me, and he looked back at me and asked if he had cut.  I told him not to worry about it and go ahead of me.

Then as we were standing there waiting a little old lady walked up behind him and informed me that she was with him.  I smiled and said that was fine.  The only way I can describe this lady was an older version of Pippi Longstocking.  Her clothes were filled with colors and didn’t match, her hair was frizzy, and she was carrying a pink umbrella and also had on a dark purple eye liner.  All I could think about as I was talking to her was Pippi Longstocking.

 

She asked me what I had to buy, and I shared with her the items, and she asked if I was a writer, I told her I was and she smiled. 

The man who she was with was leaving and she noticed and scurried ahead and I followed behind to go to the cashier.   The one thing that impacted me the most was before she left, she stopped and turned around to look at me. 

She looked at me and said, “I know you will be published, the time is coming.”  I just about dropped everything I had in my hands.

Of all the people I run into when I am out, which is not very often, and most people don’t even care about you enough to say hello.  This little old lady who was a Pippi Longstocking look-a-like was my messanger angel whom God used to encourage me and to let me know not to stop and to use the gift he has given me.

The moral of this long winded post.  When you are out, don’t be so caught up in what you are doing to stop and talk to the people you are in line with, or passing someone in the shopping aisles.  You never know what you are missing and the words of wisdom you may get.  God can use anyone to speak to you.

The Heart of the matter

The older I get and the more I watch people and see how different each person is the more I see how Jesus approached people and talked to them when He was here on this Earth.

When presenting the truth of Jesus to people not everyone accepts it with an open heart, mainly because the church has left a bad taste in their mouth or someone else has already tried to shove something down their throat that they couldn’t swallow.

I have learned that before we can try and speak truth to someone we must first learn their heart and find out where their pain is coming from and what we need to do to adjust how we minister to them.

Because we are not Jesus and do not know the hearts of everyone and what they are going through it will take some time and investigation on our part and some patience.  Before we can share what we know is Truth with a person who is broken, they must first see and feel the heart of the one that the Truth is coming from.   As they see the heart of Christ in us, then their hearts will be more open to accept and listen to what we have to tell them. 

Some people are already open and will listen to anything because they are so hungry for Truth, but there are others who are cold, brittle and bitter and will take some work and prayer to get to.  We cannot push these people, because they are already looking for excuses not to listen.

The woman at the well is a perfect example of this one – on – one encounter which Jesus showed us in John 4:8-42 show how Jesus a Jew took time to talk and sit with a Samaritan Woman (Which was forbidden at that time).  Jesus took a lot of time to associate with people which other people didn’t want anything to do with, because of this love and sincere heart that He showed them they were willing to accept what he had to say.

Another example is Luke 19:1-10 when Jesus stayed with Zacchaeus and ate with him.  All of the people outside shouted and complained that Jesus was sitting with a sinner.  But to Zacchaeus this was a life changing moment for him because Jesus took the time to talk with a man who everyone else hated and despised. 

Take time to get to know the people around you, use the gift of the Spirit and know their hearts so you can touch them spiritually in a way they will never forget.  Don’t just talk to the popular well liked people, show love and kindness to the ones everyone else shuns.  In doing this you will be made fun of, but you will also be showing the true heart of Christ and more people will be willing to listen to what you have to say.

Love and actions are more powerful then words.  Sometimes we have to act before we can speak.

There is never just one way to show the Truth to people, sometimes we have to show them our actions before we can speak the words.  Because of sin and the doubt and hardness it causes getting someone to accept Christ can be a tough task but with guidance and wisdom of Christ we will know what to do for each individual we encounter.

 

Jesus did this on the Cross, it made everything he preached and said to the people more real and helped them realize that He was not just words but meant what he was was preaching.

Simple beauty

All of the kids were in bed, and my wife also decided to call it a day around 12:00 A.M. this morning.  I am always the nocturnal mouse that creeps around the house through out the night checking on everyone and doing things I can’t do during the day because of the confusion of taking care of the kids.

The snow was falling at a steady rate around 1:00 A.M. so I decided to go out and clean the walk and put some salt down so their wouldn’t be so much when I woke up.  It was a surreal experience, just the snow, chilled air and the quiet peacefulness of the night.  In those moments of performing a simple task that people do all the time as they rush to complete their day, I stopped and breathed in deeply as I looked up at the sky and breathed out. 

I just stood there for 10 minutes taking it all in, the silence, the feel of the cold air as it refreshed and invigorated me.  My senses were tuned to things that I would have missed in the chaos of the day.  The snow forming on the pine wreath I have hanging from my lamp post, and the red Christmas bulbs glittering in the light.

I stood in awe at the beauty and perfection of it all, and how I miss so much and that I needed to do this more often.

 

My mind was clear and ears open to hear what I needed to hear and I was at peace and I knew that I was not in control but something greater, someone who loves us enough to share His beautiful art in the form of a simple snow flake and how awesome it is that He can speak to us through what others call normal.

 

What have you noticed today that you usually miss because of the loudness of life?