Showing posts with label Tired. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tired. Show all posts

September 18, 2021

Too Tired to Climb the Mountain



Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay 

With the installation of our new HVAC system, reorganizing and purging closets to accommodate less storage, fall yard cleanup, and many other projects, I’ve been too tired and distracted to concentrate on my devotions in the mornings. Guilt piled on more pressure. 

I looked at my hectic life differently after reading this post on Facebook 

 

THIS HIT ME HARD.

Have you ever noticed how in the scriptures men are always going up into the mountains to commune with the Lord?

Yet in the scriptures we hardly ever hear of women going to the mountains. But we know why — right? Because the women were too busy keeping life going. They couldn’t abandon babies, meals, homes, fires, gardens, and a thousand responsibilities to make the climb into the mountains!

I was talking to a friend the other day, saying that as modern woman, I feel like I’m never “free” enough from my responsibilities, never in a quiet enough space I want with God.

Her response floored me, “That is why God comes to women. Men have to climb the mountain to meet God, but God comes to women wherever they are.”

I have been pondering on her words for weeks and have searched my scriptures to see that what she said is true. God does indeed come to women where they are, when they are doing their ordinary, everyday work. He meets them at the wells where they draw water for their families, in their homes, in their kitchens, in their gardens. He comes to them as they sit beside sickbeds, as they give birth, care for the elderly, and perform necessary mourning and burial rites. Even at the empty tomb, Mary was the first to witness Christ’s resurrection. She was there because she was doing the womanly chore of properly preparing Christ’s body for burial. In these seemingly mundane and ordinary tasks, these women of the scriptures found themselves face to face with divinity.

So if — like me — you ever start to bemoan the fact that you don’t have as much time to spend in the mountains with God as you would like. Remember, God comes to women. He knows where we are and the burdens we carry. He sees us, and if we open our eyes and our hearts we will see Him, even in the most ordinary places and in the most ordinary things.

He lives. And he’s using a time such as this to speak to women around the world.

-Heather F

 

Dear Lord, let me remember you hear my prayer, even when my hands and mind are busy with other things. Amen.

April 17, 2017

I Can’t Believe I Did That!



Oh, but I did. Granted, I had been up most of the night with a sick puppy and I was tired, but it never happened with ailing kids. Hurrying was as much to blame, except I had rushed many times before without it happening. 

It was Palm Sunday, and I wanted to be at church a little early, but by the time I finished blow-drying my hair, all my extra time evaporated. I grabbed my coat and purse and bolted out the door to the truck.

Cars filled both parking lots, the roadway, and even the ditch banks. After several anxious minutes, I found space in the back forty, literally an open field. I parked along the edge and ran for the church.

I settled into a pew seconds before the service started. It was then I realized something didn’t feel right. My feet were too comfortable. I looked down. Yes,I  wore my house shoes instead of my dress flats.

At least they weren’t fluffy slippers. They were Sketchers, tennis shoe style scuffs, except I wouldn’t wear them to town with my jeans let alone to church with my dress slacks. I wanted to run home, change and come back, but reason vetoed the idea. It wasn’t worth missing any part of the service. God didn’t care what kind of shoes I wore, only that I came.

I tried to concentrate on the service, but my mind wouldn’t let go of the fact I had worn what I considered my slippers to church. How could I have done such a thing? Was it the onslaught of dementia? Had I crossed over the line and become senile? 

I glanced at the woman in the opposite pew. Low and behold, she had on the exact same shoes. I smiled. As the old saying goes, misery loves company, but I suspect that woman wore her Sketchers intentionally. 

Regardless, I relaxed and thanked God for being so compassionate to a silly old woman and concentrated on our pastor’s sermon. 

“Jesus took Barabbas’s place on the cross.” He repeated that sentence. “Barabbas went free. Think about that. We are Barabbas, and we are set free.”

At that moment, I didn’t think about dementia, old age, or shoes. I am a Child of God, so loved he chose to die for me in order that I could share in his Resurrection.  

Amen. Hallelujah.