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Coloring Book

Posted by eph21920 on March 12, 2018 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Joy, Life, Trust

Quite a while ago, my sister and I bought a couple of coloring books and some colored pencils. We thought it would be a good activity for my mom and anyone else in the house since we heard it is supposed to be relaxing. I looked at the pictures to decide which one I wanted to begin and quickly became overwhelmed. Sounds funny, maybe, but the pages are full of lines, circles, curves, and other shapes with what could be a picture hidden in there somewhere. I finally just decided to start at the beginning, being the orderly person that I am. I got out the pink pencil and just started coloring what looked like flowers. As I continued, I was able to see more of the picture and could plan out a little more how I wanted to proceed. After a couple of days working on it from time to time, the book got put away. Yesterday I decided to sit down and take some “me time”, and got the book out. I worked on my picture for a bit and completed it today. The finished product displayed the bird on a branch with many leaves surrounded by flowers. As I was finishing the picture, it dawned on me how it was similar to my life. Most of the time, I can’t see the big picture. Things can feel chaotic and I get easily overwhelmed. But when that happens, if I can just begin by doing something, eventually it will come together. Hopefully if I choose the right colors, it will end up being something beautiful. Going a step further, it is like faith and my relationship with God. I feel like I can see even less of the big picture. There are so many twists and turns and events that don’t even seem to make sense. But if I can just choose wisely -faithfully- and take care of each part as it comes up, God has promised that each piece will fit in perfectly and it will be beautiful in the end.

I Found God today completing a beautiful picture and contemplating on the beauty that came from seeming chaos.

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Beautiful Bird Song

Posted by eph21920 on March 11, 2018 in Creation, Family, Joy, Music

Today was more mild than yesterday so my mom and I went out for our walk. The sun was warm and they air was crisp. We noticed a little greenery popping up here and there. Birds were chirping in the trees. We came to one very large evergreen and just as we reached it, the birds started singing. It seemed like the tree was packed full of songbirds. And they were not just chirping, they were singing almost as if in a choir. It was very loud and musical- even including some trills. Both my mom and I said “Wow!” at the same time. When we left the vicinity of the tree, they went back to their occasional chirping. I figured they were singing a beautiful song for my mom.

I Found God today in beautiful music from birds.

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The Lonely Widow

Posted by eph21920 on March 10, 2018 in Connected, Life, Opportunity, Stranger, Struggles

My mom and I planned on going for a walk today, but we missed our window of opportunity in the morning. The wind picked up and the clouds came over. By the afternoon, we were itching to get out, so we bundled up and headed down the sidewalk. After a bit, we spotted a person walking our direction. When the woman reached us, she stopped to say hello in a heavy German accent. She said that she lived on the next street over. She said her husband had passed away a few months ago and that she has daughters, but they’re busy, but she was happy to get out and breathe some fresh air. My mom recognized the German accent and told her about her German parents. She asked what part of Germany she was from. The woman proceeded to tell us her story. She lived in East Germany after WWII when the Russians were in control. The Russians treated the Germans horribly and at the age of 19, the woman fled into West Germany. She never saw her family again and has no idea what happened to them. Once in West Germany, she tried her best to support herself. She met her husband there, who was an American military man. He spoke German as his parents were German. He was working as an interpreter and was interviewing people to pass along information as to what was happening in the area. When he left, the two stayed in touch. Eventually, the young man encouraged the young woman to come to the United States. She was having a difficult time making a living as West Germany was now inundated with people. Times were tough. The man’s parents’ put up the money for the woman to make the trip, which she eventually did. She made sure we knew that she paid them back the $600. She was able to find work, save some money, and yes, marry that man. I cannot imagine the courage and perseverance it took for her to leave her family under such duress and make her way in the world. As we parted ways, the woman told us her name and where she lived. She invited us to come by any time. Clearly this woman was lonely and needed someone to talk to. By following the promptings within, my mom and I went out for our walk at just the time to meet up with her, find a connection, and take the time to listen to her story.

I Found God today in His timing to be able to give an ear to a lonely widow.

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Appreciating Vision

Posted by eph21920 on March 9, 2018 in Doctor, Grateful, Healing

When I was young, my eyesight was terrible. So bad, that I couldn’t even make out the largest letter on the eye chart. I dealt with glasses for years, then moved to contacts. As a young adult, I used to go camping and to lakes during most of the summer. Having contacts made it difficult to do the things I wanted to and to be able to see at the same time. A friend of mine had surgery on her eyes to correct her vision. She did very well and enjoyed her new-found freedom. It didn’t take long before I had the surgery myself. I can still vividly remember opening my eye the day following the first surgery. I could see individual blades of grass and needles on the pine trees. I still say it was the best money I ever spent on myself. That was about 25 years ago. Since then, I have made sure to take good care of my eyes and have had no problems, except for needing reading glasses as I age. I moved out of the area 20 years ago and when I returned, I realized the eye doctor who did the surgery was still practicing. So I vowed to return to him. Perhaps my mom’s cataract surgery gave me the push I needed. When I called to inquire, I was surprised that they still had my name in their records. Today was the day of the appointment. The doctor was happy to see the results of the surgery 25 years later and I was happy to tell him how much I enjoy the amazing eyesight he gave to me. The vision has barely changed and I got a clean bill of health. It was great to see this doctor after all these years and again appreciate the gift of my vision.

I Found God today appreciating the doctor and medical technology that has given me tremendous vision.

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Day and Night

Posted by eph21920 on March 8, 2018 in Family, Humor, Life

My dad has been delving deeper into his genealogy and finding very interesting stories. His great-grandfather’s mother’s maiden name was Day. The man’s fiancée’s mother’s name was Night. Living in the area were 6 Days and 7 Nights. As told in the genealogy book written in 1894,”…by the marriage the Day and Night were made one.” We all thought that was a great story.

I Found God today in an interesting story of my long ago relatives.

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More Pleasant and Peaceful

Posted by eph21920 on March 7, 2018 in Doctor, Family

Today my mom had cataract surgery on her second eye. It was quite a different experience from last time. When we arrived, the waiting room was only about 1/3 full compared to the crowded space a few weeks ago. Everything went at a more calm pace and the nurses and staff were not so frazzled. We were home in half the time and were able to rest and have lunch before we had to head back for the post-op appointment. Even though my mom was still tired the rest of the afternoon, she wasn’t exhausted. The whole day consisted of a more pleasant and peaceful atmosphere. It was a very welcomed change.

I Found God today in a peaceful atmosphere.

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Pinching Patience

Posted by eph21920 on March 6, 2018 in Family, Humor, Life, Love, Patience

Today my mom, dad, and I read the scripture for the day. It was about needing to forgive others the way God forgives us. The prayer and challenge was to practice forgiveness throughout the day. My mom said that she already forgave my dad. He answered that it was for something he didn’t even know he did. Evidently during the night, my mom felt him pinching her. So she pinched him back. He had no idea what was happening. She told him that he was pinching her. He apologized and she forgave him. Sometimes they seem to have such nighttime antics, I don’t even know how they get any sleep. But they are so patient with one another and it is always humorous to hear about.

I Found God today in my parent’s loving patience.

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Faith Journeys

Posted by eph21920 on March 5, 2018 in Connected, Faith, Friends, Life

Today I met up with a person I met at a church event. We talked about a lot of things, but one topic in particular was our faith journeys. She said that she heard many scriptures as a youth, but for some reason in her later years, those same words penetrated her heart. I know the same thing has happened to me on several occasions. Perhaps we (people) are more receptive at certain times. Maybe we are not open to God at other times. Perhaps God just makes His way into our hearts in specific moments in our lives. In any case, it is interesting. And sharing the stories of how God has changed our lives reaffirms the faith we have and the amazing love that God gives. I think it is but another stone on the path that we take.

I Found God today sharing faith stories with a new friend.

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Virtual Reality

Posted by eph21920 on March 4, 2018 in Answer, Faith, Life

Today’s reflection at church was given by the deacon. He said that his son gave him a set of the virtual reality goggles and showed him how to use them. The deacon described his experience. First, he watched some of the Olympics and was amazed at the clarity and 360 degree view. Then, he tried some skiing of his own. He felt like he was truly there and could almost feel the snow and wind in his face as he enjoyed flying down the hill. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice. It was his son telling him to be careful. He didn’t even realize he was off-balance and about to fall. Luckily, the kitchen counter was right in front of him to grab and hold on to. As he took off the goggles, it took him a few minutes to get acclimated to his real surroundings. The deacon compared his experience to that of our life with God. As we live our lives in this world, it can seem unreal. The things of this world can captivate us and we can get caught up in materialism, gluttony, drugs, or even violence, and think that is the way life is. We can get off kilter without even realizing it as we head down that slippery slope. Hopefully there will be someone there to remind us to be careful. We can reach out for God and hang on to Him as he grounds us in truth and love. I thought it was a great analogy.

I Found God today in a meaningful analogy of virtual reality.

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Speaking of Micah

Posted by eph21920 on March 3, 2018 in Bible, Faith, Forgiveness

Yesterday, I wrote about a police officer who was tragically killed in the line of duty. His name was Micah. When I opened up the scripture readings for today, the first one was from Micah. He was one of the prophets from the Old Testament. In the scripture, he spoke of the incredible forgiveness that God offers to us, “. . . removes guilt and pardons sins . . . does not persist in anger . . .will again have compassion on us . . .” This is the forgiveness that Micah’s wife was talking about  – the kind that prompted her to forgive. I thought it was an amazingly timed scripture and gave me reason to contemplate.

I Found God today in His well-timed scripture.

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