Turning Difficulty into Opportunity

When I’m out and about, I can always count on lots of content for my daily blogs. I’ll admit that when we were placed into this season of “stay at home”, I wondered if I would get enough subject matter, but, oh not so! It seems every day brings a fresh word and fresh inspiration. I’m so thankful.

But, on this day, I hang out with my furry bestie, 80-pound Australian Shepherd, Buddy. My kids live in a trendy area of town called Frisco Square. Right now, other than the occasional dog-walker, it’s very quiet there. The theater and library and other historical places are closed. Restaurants are open – but only drive-thru or drive-up for your order. Apparently, Fruitealicious, where my granddaughter works (basically specialty teas, fruit and frozen drinks), remains open as an “essential”. My favorite is the fresh peach and strawberry frozen drink. Yum (and she adds extra peach chunks to mine – she knows my loves)!

Buddy and I take a nice stroll through the historical district. Everything is closed but we enjoy the “history” we find there. Buddy falls in love with the bronzed statute of John Milton Turner’s seeing-eye dog. Mr. Turner was born in Frisco. He lost his sight as a teenager yet became very successful in business and was appointed by six Governors to serve more than three decades on the Texas Commission for the Blind. This photo is of John with one of his eight seeing-eye dogs. He outlived them all. I love this quote on the memorial: “Blindness is an inconvenience, not a handicap.”

Wonder if we’re “blind” in this inconvenient time we’re experiencing right now. I learned something from this excursion around Frisco. No matter our situation-in-life (i.e., isolated to our homes, without work, having to be home-schooled, detachment from our friends and family, unable to go to church, etc.), we can turn difficulties into opportunities. That’s the quote of Albert Einstein “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

We can find the good in every circumstance, AND, like John Turner we can make something out of our inconveniences. This time is not forever but what we make of this time can possibly be a miracle break-through with the idea we received. It can be a closer connection to our family than ever before. It can be a first-time EVER of connecting – REALLY CONNECTING – with God.

Yes, I know it is challenging in so many ways to be cooped up. But, taking a walk to get closer to God in creation can sure be an eye-opener. When we spend time with God, everybody else knows it. We become calmer, we're easier to get along with, and we don't lose control of our emotions as quickly. Our patience increases, and our heart soon understands what God likes, and the more time we spend with God, the more like Him we become. He’s the ULTIMATE Creator – being like Him means we have creative abilities inside us. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons He has allowed this crisis – for us to tap into His genius.

I'm on my way to spend that time with Him, right now. God knows....that's the secret to my inward peace and comfort, and I sure do want everybody to know by what they see in me, that I've been hanging out with Him AND my pal, Buddy -- regularly.

More Than a Coincidence

A couple of days ago I posted about “remembering”. In the final paragraph of that post, I spoke about Christ’s words at the Last Supper from Luke 22:19: “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE of me."

COINCIDENCE: a remarkable concurrence of circumstances without apparent causal connection; providence, happenstance.

Here’s why the word COINCIDENCE is my word for today. After I had my “remembering” blog ready to post the next morning, Mom, who is busy going through family pictures to sort out which one of us she wants certain photos to go to, pulled out this photo for me. Imagine my joy and delight. Those are my two when Ryan was three and Staci was six months old. As precious as that photo is – take a look at the words on the pulpit behind them “Do this in remembrance of me.” What an absolute confirmation of how Holy Spirit is so faithful to give me my blog for the next day! I don't believe it was a mere COINCIDENCE but it was a providential circumstance.

Albert Einstein once said “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Actually, most of us are like children playing hide and seek, wanting to be found, yet hoping we won’t be. Once we understand the way life really works — the flow of God's energy that directs every moment — then we begin to see the amazing potential in that moment.lives.

When a coincidence happens, we shouldn't ignore it. We should ask ourselves, "What is the message here? What is the significance of this?" On Thursday, Mom’s home health nurse, Karla, came over to check on her. Here’s the “coincidence”. Karla was one of the precious gals in my Life Group here in Tulsa. Of all the nurses in Tulsa, Karla became Mom’s nurse -- which has been a blessing for both of them. Mom and Karen helped Karla get out of her comfort zone, and Karla has provided such tender loving care to Mom that we couldn’t have been more pleased to have her than if we had “special ordered” her. Karla has had some physical issues and needed a an electric bed that would raise her head. Mom is selling her electronic bed in her estate sale and sold it to Karla at a bare minimum -- blessing-for-Karla price.

The point is, we don’t have to go digging for the answers. COINCIDENCES may arrive as a sudden insight or an amazing God-moment -- that you look up toward heaven and say "Thanks God! I know you did that!" I choose to believe that God is behind COINCIDENCES.. A Biblical definition of coincidence is “what occurs together by God’s providential arrangement of circumstances.” The point is – we need to stay “in the moment” of each day, so that we can readily recognize God’s hand at work in our lives that gives us the HOW, WHEN, WHERE and WHY we met that person or we went that direction, or we received that phone call, or we were delayed in traffic only to arrive at our destination in God’s perfect timing so that we would see that person that was crying and you were there to comfort them.

There are no accidents or COINCIDENCES with God. And He has a perfect timing for everything He does.

"Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” Isaiah 46:9–10

Ever Felt Like You Were Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall…. OR a Glass Window?

While up at our Hyde Park clubhouse on Wednesday, I kept hearing a bird banging into the windows, over and over again. On Thursday, one of my friends sent this text to me: “Drama at the clubhouse today -- a female bird keeps flying into the window from the maple tree -- male just moving from fence to branches watching her -- she must feel the mating dance is a fate worse than death. I'm sure she sees her reflection. It would be laughable except that she will likely succeed in breaking her neck.” LOL!

I was up at the clubhouse again yesterday and I captured this looney bird in action with this photo. She is definitely a "head banger"! Maybe that's where "bird brain" came from. LOL! Of course, this would be my inspiration for today’s blog. We’ve all been there. We’ve tried to accomplish something and so many interferences kept us from it. We’ve tried to teach our child a skill and it seemed hopeless. We’ve tried to lose weight only to gain more than we lost.

As I type this post, I'm up at the clubhouse and that crazee bird continues to bang into the windows, but she will not break through that barrier no matter how hard she tries. I’m watching her and she’ll bang into it, and then fall to the ground, but she recovers and goes at it again.

Albert Einstein is credited with this quote, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I would highly suggest this bird AND those of us who keep riding a "dead horse" fall into that category. It's time to dismount and get a fresh new horse and a fresh new idea....that comes from "in all our ways, acknowledging our ALL-KNOWING Father God.

We will continue to bang our heads against a brick wall or a glass window as long as we are deceived into thinking “It’s my way or the highway”, I can make this happen, I am invincible and when all along, God has the open door and window for us to step through. He wants us to “let go and let Him” be our source of wisdom, knowledge and strength.

Proverbs 3:5,6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In ALL YOUR WAYS, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths”. My interpretation “And He will keep you from banging your head against the brick walls and the glass windows. God knows the way in, through, over and under to the answers we need.

It's Time to Make a Change

A blender is a necessity at my house. I make a lot of thick protein-packed smoothies and lots of thick milk shakes for my grandkids when they come to town. The blender gets a good work-out. I've gone through several because I always bought the lower-priced version -- thinking it would do, but after a few weeks or months, the machine just can't take the work-out it was not intended for, and, like the others, it sees its last days. Last week, I was making one of those yummy thick shakes for my granddaughter, and once again, the blender broke. This time I got the message loud and clear -- "CHANGE". Pay a little more and get one that will last. It took several trips around the same mountain of purchase cheap-o -- cheap-o breaks -- and REPEAT, before I got it. BUT, this time, I decided to bite the bullet and pay triple the cost of the ones I'd purchased before. To my wonder and amazement, when I made my protein smoothie this morning, my turbo charged, 700 watt, stainless-steel blade, wonder machine made the smoothie without labor and in 1/4 time it usually did before. I scolded myself for waiting so long to make the CHANGE.

I thought about Albert Einstein's famous quote "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." It’s easy to cozy up to the comfort of traditional ways of doing things. It’s easy to find excuses about why things can’t be different. But the thing is, if we keep doing things the way we’ve always done things, we’ll keep getting the same things we’ve always gotten -- things like unhealthy relationships, passionless work, extra pounds, financial struggle, low self-esteem, a cheap-o blender!! What is it that we need to "bite the bullet" about today? How can life be different for us -- so different that we wake-up with a smile on our face, we feel light-hearted, and we get new determination to make a CHANGE!

If we want things to change—if we want different results in our life in any area—it's time to make a decision to CHANGE. It's time to stop the frustrations, the time wasters, the energy consumers and GET THAT NEW BLENDER, or the new job, or the new car, or the new perspective. It's time to make a CHANGE!