Day: September 26, 2012

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Chasing Moles!

dana2day

The last lazy days of summer have been filled with extreme heat along with the much anticipated wedding of Katherine’s son, Kade.  He is 27, holds two degrees and has travelled around the country and abroad, living on an allowance that has allowed him to sow his youthful oats.  In the process, he met an equally intelligent yuppy girl, who also holds some useless degree in Russian literature, or something like that.  They dropped in to see Mom & Dad six months ago to drop the bomb of an October wedding.  They, of course, have allowed Katherine to be the wedding planner.  The future Mrs. Weston is an orphan, and is clueless about the endless details of planning a proper wedding on The Hill.  Thus, future mother-in law, Katherine, as any true southern woman can, came to the rescue.  The last six months have been filled with endless phone calls, meetings with caterers, florists, printers, and on and on.

With the wedding only days away, I called Katherine today to inquire about details concerning one of her listings.  She answered the phone breathless and I could hear strange buzzing noises in the background.  After a few minutes, I asked what in the world was going on.  She answered my question with another question “Do you know anything about catching moles?”  “Moles?”  I answered, trying to grasp what she was talking about.  “Yes, dear, those little creatures that live underground and make havoc of your yard!”  The reception for the upcoming wedding was being held at her estate and it seems she was on the hunt for a pesky mole ruining the tranquility of her hydrangea filled yard!  I imagined this sweet, sturdy displaced Midwest woman in hunting garb, brandishing a twelve gauge shotgun and chasing down a small animal hiding just below the ground surface.  Scenes from Caddy Shack suddenly came to mind and I laughed.  “So you are on a hunting expedition, Katherine?”  She laughed, “Yes and I plan to end the destructive life of that little varmit before he destroys the yard!”  Her matter of fact attitude was evidence of both her Midwest upbringing and her years of living among southern women.   The innocent, yet nasty little mole eventually met his maker that day and all was well in the wedding planning world!

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I can run, but I can’t hide!

dana2day

Today as I drove to work lost in my thoughts, only half listening to the Christian music station playing in the background, some of the words interrupted my thoughts, “You are not alone….”.  I immediately thought of the scripture I had read on Saturday as I prepared my lesson for my Bible Study class I teach on Sunday morning.  “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know! I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.  I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.” Psalm 139:1-12.  I am blown away by these verses!  Aren’t you?  Just think about this revelation for a moment.  The God of the universe, the creator of EVERYTHING, the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God is attentive to you…to me!  There is no place we can go, that He is not there with us!  Even into that pit you take yourself, where you think you are destined to live out your life…NOPE!….He’s there.  When I’m walking through life, and everything seems chaotic, NOPE!…He’s there!  When I’m laying in my bed at night, darkness surrounding me, only the sound of my husband’s breathing can be heard and I replay the day, trying to figure out how to make ends meet….NOPE!  He’s there too!  When I am alone and disappointed over something or someone….NOPE!  He’s right there too!  Recently I listened as someone prayed in church service asking God to reveal His presence….I was thinking, “Silly man, He’s already here!”  The truth is this….we don’t acknowledge the truth that He is ALWAYS with us!  We ignore His presence, run from His presence, look somewhere else for His presence, but according to these verses, His presence is already with us!   We want fireworks, rushing wind or a pillar of smoke…not just His presence.  He will not slap us in the back of the head and say “I’m right here stupid!”  He waits for us to acknowledge He is there….I truly believe that.  It’s in those moments that we stop, breathe in the truth that He is right there with us, that we “feel” His blanket-like presence wrap around us.  I love that He is not chasing us around like a little kid trying to get their parent’s attention, but He’s there, always there.  He knows us better than we know ourselves.  He’s looking ahead, checking out our path that He has prepared for us, He knows the words that are about to come from our mouths – even when they may not be pleasing to Him or glorify Him – He still knows.  The idea that He would still place His hand upon our heads in blessing is just too big to comprehend!  That is unconditional love, people!  He knows my thoughts.  That is just frightening!   I know what goes on inside my head, no one would want to be there!  But He knows…  He is there to lift my head when I am weary, He is there to comfort me when I am heartbroken, He is there to hold me when I am afraid, He is there to push me forward when I need encouragement to go on, there is absolutely no place I can hide from or be lost from Him.  We just have to acknowledge He is there to benefit from being in His presence… So, today, sitting there looking at this computer screen, reading my silly blog (which I appreciate, by the way!), close your eyes for a moment, and just breathe.  Acknowledge that He is with you!  Allow His presence to fill you and wrap around you like a warm blanket.  I promise, you will feel it and you will be overwhelmed by Him.