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Being Prepared Really Does Matter

Yesterday Franklin and I found ourselves in a long line at Wal-Mart with hundreds of our closest friends.  We had a list of supplies, anticipating a particularly unusual eastern New Mexico blizzard.  We needed a few basics:  dog food, a creosote log to clean our chimney, candles, a small space heater, a snow shovel, and lots and lots of silicone.  With left-overs to spare from our Christmas celebrations, we opted not to join our friends in the grocery aisles.

We spent the remainder of the morning and early afternoon crossing off things we’d put on our blizzard to-do list Christmas evening.  We filled the gas tanks of both our cars, moved the power tools around in the garage to make room for one of our vehicles, wrapped our faucets, moved firewood up to the backdoor patio, and applied 9 tubes (yes 9 tubes) of clear silicone to our drafty windows.

We’ve made it through the first half of Goliath (the name of this winter storm) and I feel particularly blessed.  We (and our home) seem to be weathering it well.  Our windows are noticeably less drafty and our heater, while certainly taxed, is keeping us warm.  I’m grateful for a gas hot-water heater and stovetop should our electricity be interrupted and firewood for the week.

I’m certainly not a “prepper” (one who is prepared for a 6 month interruption of life as we know it) but Franklin thinks I over-analyze a bit.  Granted, I might have done a thing or two yesterday that could be considered “over-kill” but in my mind a modicum of Preparedness Really Does Matter.

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As my thoughts have certainly still been on the storm this morning (how could they not as the wind continues to howl) an older praise song I really love has planted itself deep in my Spirit and I’m left thinking about preparing in a very different way.

These are the days of Elijah, declaring The Word of The Lord.  And these are the days of your servant, Moses, righteousness being restored.  These are the days of great trials, of famine and darkness and sword.  Still we are the voice in the desert crying, prepare ye the way of The Lord.

The words of verses 1 and 2 are pretty convicting this morning.  Do I prepare for the 2nd coming of The Lord in my home and with my family in the same way I was focused and single-minded in preparing for this storm?

And these are the days of Ezekiel, the dry bones becoming as flesh.  And these are the days of Your servant, David, rebuilding the temple of praise.  And these are the days of the harvest, the fields are all white in the world.  And we are the laborers, in your vineyard, declaring The Word of The Lord.

The 3rd and 4th verses give me even more to think about… Do I think about others in my life, praying for them, considering how to meet their needs, checking in on them with regard to discipleship in the same way I have thought about others and reached out to meet needs with regards to this storm?

Enjoy some pasole today as you consider preparedness in your life J (Always the teacher… doling out homework even during the Christmas break!)

You Really Do Matter

Wendy and I met the first month I moved to Brownwood.  I had just transferred to Howard Payne University and was newly employed at The Busy Bee.

Picture any small town Texas greasy-spoon.  I learned a lot about life (from the “old farts” who leave a quarter as a tip after 4 hours of coffee refills and fried pickles to short order cooks who sabotage uppity 20 year old university student-waitresses who are too big for their denim aprons and country music hits of the early 90s) at The Busy Bee… and Wendy was my guide.

We moved on to the newly opened Hastings Books and Music together and spent countless evenings playing spades, watching movies, laughing, and crying as we celebrated and grieved with one another at HPU and in the years that followed.  She was my confidant and was certainly a source of strength for me.

I learned this morning that Wendy, 42, died unexpected yesterday evening.  She’s survived by her parents, her husband James, the adult children she welcomed into her heart when they married almost 3 years ago, and several grandchildren.

I’m not surprised in the least, as I read memories that others have posted, that there are dozens of others who, like me, considered her a “best friend”.

I hope she knew how much she meant to me.  I hope she was aware of how many lives, cumulatively, were enriched by her short life and the love and attention she gave to so many in her many circles throughout the years.

My thoughts have certainly wandered in a couple directions today…

First, I’ve been thinking about my daughter.

She’s 13 and it’s hard to watch her wrestle with her significance in life.  How do I help her treasure and meditate on the things The Lord says about her and the promises He has in store for her?

I remember 13 being tough.  Add to what I remember the messages today’s teens are expected to process with wisdom few of us have until much later in life.

Not only do I question how to help her realize her unlimited potential but I question how to help her realize that each one of her interactions with another person will leave a mark.  Not just another person but another’s influence certainly leaves an impression.  How do I help her process which interactions and influences are edifying and worthy of meditation and which are lies that are meant to steal joy from her life?

And I’ve certainly thought of the short life we live, in general.

I wonder if you know how important YOU really are?  From friends and acquaintances past and present… YOU really do matter.

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I do, too and I’m left wondering if I’ll be remembered for my love and encouragement, like Wendy, or my less kind and generous words and deeds.

What an opportunity we have, every day, to be a blessing.  I pray the cumulative impact of our lives brings light and laughter into our many circles… like Wendy’s did.