Wednesday May 11 2016  DO NOT LOSE YOURSELF

God gives us the gift of life.  What we do with it is our gift back to Him. 

A few moments ago Dave was perusing a newspaper add insert.  It was for a store that sells items that a Home Depot store would sell.  He made the comment, “Life is sort of like this ad paper.  If you don’t need it, then it is unnecessary.”  He went on to remind me of a sermon we both heard at our church about 40 years ago.  The pastor said, “First we buy the motorcycle, the motor home, and then the boat.  And then we spend all our time taking care of them and have no time to use them.”  If we don’t use them, then they too are unnecessary.

Life gets like that.  We accumulate, we store, we clean, and we forget why we ever bought it in the first place.  We eventually become so embroiled with all the “things” that we have no more room for anything else.  So it is the same with what we do.  We do all it takes to keep a household running; shopping, cooking, children’s needs, parent’s needs, friend’s needs, church needs, and we eventually forget how to take care of ourselves.  Just like the “stuff” that gets placed on the shelf and forgotten, we place ourselves on the shelf and forget who we are and who we were meant to be. 

Yes, there are life tasks that must be done, but does that mean we must lose our self in the melee?  I read a quote today from a book titled, “THE GIFT OF A YEAR” by Mira Kirshenbaum.  Here is the quote:

“YOU KNOW YOU CAN WORK SO HARD YOU FORGET TO HAVE A LIFE, AND WHO YOU REALLY ARE, KIND OF GETS LOST IN THE SHUFFLE.”

Sort of like becoming overwhelmed by all that we buy from the ad papers.  We then have so much accumulation we cannot dig ourselves out from underneath it.  That is when we disappear.  We no longer have time to do anything that we might enjoy doing, or accomplishing a goal which we wanted to do for a long time.  We are too busy doing for others or taking care of what we don’t use. 

Maybe it is time to take a look at our own dreams before our life passes us by.  Yes, we do need to do for others, share with others, and at times even take care of others.  But I believe that God also expects us to take care of ourselves.  Spiritually we are to be tuned to God and love Him with all of our hearts, then we are to love ourselves so that we can love others.  If we do not tend to our own spiritual and physical needs we will be in no condition to care for the needs of others.

In the “shuffle of life” we also need to stay tuned to ourselves.  We must set time aside when our needs and goals can be tended and accomplished.  Do not allow yourself to run on empty or you will eventually deplete the resource of self.  Slow down.  Purge the unnecessary and unneeded.  Give yourself a break when you need it.  Fill up on God’s love, then reach out and pass on to others, what God has given to you. 

 

DO NOT GET LOST

By Kathleen Martens

May 11, 2016

 

We need to take time

To be who we are.

Running on empty

Will not get us far.

 

Remember to live

Life every day.

Days run into months,

And the years don’t stay.

 

Do not get lost

In what you acquire,

It soon becomes

A sticky quagmire.

 

To do unto others

Is a good thing,

The returns you receive

Is the joy it brings.

 

Remember God intends

You to do as you should.

He has a plan,

And His plan is good.

 

So set aside time

To remember to live,

To do something you enjoy,

Then, to others you can give.

 

Find something you love

And give it your best.

You will realize it gives

Renewed life and zest!

 

God, thank You for opening my eyes to that which I love to do.

Thank You Lord for all the poems You have placed in my heart so I can give them back to You.

Thank You Lord for helping me see how much I need to release in my life that is so unnecessary.

Thank You Father for every moment I have to live and breathe and worship You.

Thank You God for directing my goals.

Thank You for sharp knives.

Thank You for salmon.  It tastes so good.

Thank You for seeds.

Thank You for clouds.

 

Philippians 4:4-9

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!