Let my measure be large
Not of cake or pie
Or gold or silver
Or stocks or bonds
Or oil futures
But of
That which I give away
Of love and mercy
Kindness and peace
Forgiveness and acceptance
Then I will be like
My Father in heaven
And what could be better
Than that
© 2011 Julie Clark
“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Jesus
It’s snowing this morning.
Need to get my boots on and inspect and experience this.
Have my emotions changed?
It’s beautiful looking out the window.
Will I feel trapped? Afraid?
Those are old feelings from deep winters in another land.
Where getting around was on foot or sharing the icy roads with aggressive drivers who might have bought their licenses instead of passing any kind of driving test.
Those feelings could be from the winters where the wood ran out or the city gas ran low.
Or from the winter the young SUV driver driving too fast slid into my old, trusty RAV4.
It could be from even farther back in China when the central heat came on after it had snowed, and was turned off before winter was quite finished. Or from waiting for buses on icy cold nights only to find when the bus came it was so packed that we couldn’t get on and had to wait for another.
There was that one winter here in Seattle where we left town just as the storm was moving in. It chased us all the way down to southern Oregon where we were over taken by a blanket of whiteness. We were able pull off the freeway and find a motel for the night. Next morning we drove slowly to the pass, chained up and got over the mountain.
Then there was that other time driving up to the mountains for a ski weekend. On an icy patch on the pass the car in front of us had stopped in the left lane on a blind curve! We slid nicely into their open passenger door, crumpling it like a paper fan. On the way down, two days later our van slipped down the road and did a nice 180 degree turn. That convinced Bill that we really did need to put those chains on after all.
Silly feelings, really.
The kids always loved the snow. Adventure and play options increased tenfold.
I only crashed the car once, only slipped and fell once a year.
Nobody died, no broken bones, just a few bruises is all.
Surely, not enough to cause this deep dread inside.
Funny, how emotions attach themselves to memories.
The feelings at the time come up again when the present reminds us of the past.
Truth is not always a component to this.
It’s time to open up those inner windows and let the light and peace of Christ rule and reign.
I love his words. They go something like this: “Don’t be afraid. You can have peace. Yes, you will have troubles and trials in this world, but I have overcome this world. Stick with me.”
Time to brave the winter and make some new memories.
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