Well, I made it through the allergic reaction and a weekend of swollen eyes and sneezing due to outdoor allergies. I'm sitting here in an airconditioned office wishing I was sitting on my patio with my bird on my shoulder and my dogs sticking their heads through the gate to say hello. It's well worth the sneezing and swollen eyes!
I adore my animals. My little bird, Spunky Bogart, is the sweetest little thing. To me, anyway. He's a devil to everyone else, but he LOVES me! He preens my hair and my eyebrows, he gives me kisses and he wants a bite of whatever I have to eat. Last night the silly bird ate stuffed eggs!! I called him a cannibal.
My cat, Tiger Jesus, almost 10 years old. She was a little orphan who showed up in my front yard and I brought her inside. Her meow sounds like a quack. She's an odd bird. It took years for her to trust me. Now she and I have a wonderful cat/human relationship. She loves to sit on my shoulder when I'm on the internet and she always comes and sits beside me or on my shoulder when I'm sitting in the den. At night she snuggles up on my right side. She wouldn't DARE get in the bed next to Jimmy!
Oh, and then there's the dogs. Pugsley is 12. He snorts and sniffs and sounds like he's dying all the time. He's a cute little old man. My heart hurts when I think that a pug's life expectancy is only 10 years. I don't have that much time left with the little thing. And the basset just loves everybody. He is so meek he flips over on his back the minute anybody says a word to him. The Great Pyr is a big old baby.
I wish people were as kind and loving as animals are. I feel like I'm a square peg trying to fit into a round hole most of the time. This town is my hometown, but I have no close friends. I'm not comfortable at church, especially after the unfriendly woman experience on Easter. Jimmy is happy and thrilled with his Sunday School class, but when I used to go to it I just felt weird. I'm not sure who all is in there now, and I really should try it again, but when Sunday rolls around, I stay home.
I'm going to say something that some people might totally disagree with, but I'm saying it anyway. Throughout the years, no matter what church we were members of at the time, when hard times came, it wasn't church people who called or gave support. A couple, but on the whole it was the friends we had contact with outside of church who came, called, etc. And we've been through the mill throughout these years. Jimmy was sick a lot in his 20's with different things, the boys were seriously sick several times (Seth had to have a kidney removed) and Rachel has been through more in her life than anybody typically does in their entire lifetime.
I guess I'm saying this to say that I'm not depending on people, I'm not depending on a church, I'm depending on Jesus, because He has never, ever failed me or let me down in any circumstance. He's always there. Always. Whether I'm sitting inside a church building or sitting at home or shopping at Walgreen's, as Seth and I do quite often on Sunday morning. He's with me. I really wish I could find a church to worship with that was casual and relaxed. All I know is there isn't one around here. I do have one friend at church and we do lunch occasionally. She is the only person that I feel like I can be myself around.
Oh me. I got off track big time, didn't I? Oh well, it was weighing on my mind. I just keep in mind a scripture that God put into my mind and heart back when I was studying The Purpose Driven Life several years ago. I asked Him what was my purpose in life. And this is what He immediately put in my head.
What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 NIV
That about says it all.
And to reinforce the fact, when I got to work that morning I opened a package from a Christian book club and there was a 5x7 card with a pretty scene on it with the very same verse on it! Coincidence? I don't think so!
I adore my animals. My little bird, Spunky Bogart, is the sweetest little thing. To me, anyway. He's a devil to everyone else, but he LOVES me! He preens my hair and my eyebrows, he gives me kisses and he wants a bite of whatever I have to eat. Last night the silly bird ate stuffed eggs!! I called him a cannibal.
My cat, Tiger Jesus, almost 10 years old. She was a little orphan who showed up in my front yard and I brought her inside. Her meow sounds like a quack. She's an odd bird. It took years for her to trust me. Now she and I have a wonderful cat/human relationship. She loves to sit on my shoulder when I'm on the internet and she always comes and sits beside me or on my shoulder when I'm sitting in the den. At night she snuggles up on my right side. She wouldn't DARE get in the bed next to Jimmy!
Oh, and then there's the dogs. Pugsley is 12. He snorts and sniffs and sounds like he's dying all the time. He's a cute little old man. My heart hurts when I think that a pug's life expectancy is only 10 years. I don't have that much time left with the little thing. And the basset just loves everybody. He is so meek he flips over on his back the minute anybody says a word to him. The Great Pyr is a big old baby.
I wish people were as kind and loving as animals are. I feel like I'm a square peg trying to fit into a round hole most of the time. This town is my hometown, but I have no close friends. I'm not comfortable at church, especially after the unfriendly woman experience on Easter. Jimmy is happy and thrilled with his Sunday School class, but when I used to go to it I just felt weird. I'm not sure who all is in there now, and I really should try it again, but when Sunday rolls around, I stay home.
I'm going to say something that some people might totally disagree with, but I'm saying it anyway. Throughout the years, no matter what church we were members of at the time, when hard times came, it wasn't church people who called or gave support. A couple, but on the whole it was the friends we had contact with outside of church who came, called, etc. And we've been through the mill throughout these years. Jimmy was sick a lot in his 20's with different things, the boys were seriously sick several times (Seth had to have a kidney removed) and Rachel has been through more in her life than anybody typically does in their entire lifetime.
I guess I'm saying this to say that I'm not depending on people, I'm not depending on a church, I'm depending on Jesus, because He has never, ever failed me or let me down in any circumstance. He's always there. Always. Whether I'm sitting inside a church building or sitting at home or shopping at Walgreen's, as Seth and I do quite often on Sunday morning. He's with me. I really wish I could find a church to worship with that was casual and relaxed. All I know is there isn't one around here. I do have one friend at church and we do lunch occasionally. She is the only person that I feel like I can be myself around.
Oh me. I got off track big time, didn't I? Oh well, it was weighing on my mind. I just keep in mind a scripture that God put into my mind and heart back when I was studying The Purpose Driven Life several years ago. I asked Him what was my purpose in life. And this is what He immediately put in my head.
What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 NIV
That about says it all.
And to reinforce the fact, when I got to work that morning I opened a package from a Christian book club and there was a 5x7 card with a pretty scene on it with the very same verse on it! Coincidence? I don't think so!
We have been struggling to find a place of worship for years. We finally found one that is as you seem to be searching and hopefully will become our home for the first time in a long time. It is hard to focus on God when people get in the way, sometimes. Love you. Don't give up.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Charnita. It'll come, I'm sure of it!
ReplyDelete