BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD...HUMBLE SERVANT

MEDITATION MONDAY


I've spent alot of time meditating today...so much so that I almost did not even write this post. I haven't been exactly sure what it is, but you would have thought that I have had PMS today. It has been quite a while since menopause became a part of my life. So, why have I felt this way? Why have I felt angry, frustrated, questioning...?
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Here's what I know...

1. Life is full of lots of cycles of balance and imbalance... mine has been extremely busy and crazy this last year... my job has required over and above for sometime now and that on top of a very busy ministry, a daughter who is in pain 24/7, a husband who has badly re-injured his back, 20-40 power surges a day in our house (working on the problem)... stress is cumulative and it has put me off balance.
2. I took on this ladies' class and study because I felt called to do it, yet Steve was really not sure if that's what I needed to do. He tried to protect me and give me a way out. I think the topic will be much harder for me than I thought... I'll share more about that in a few minutes.
3. My name is Patti Sikes and I know how to vent when the pressure builds up to high stress levels... it usually results in "stinkin' thinkin'" and it did today. I had to leave the house, drive myself to a nearby lake and sit for a very long time letting the tears flow and watch : water drift and swirl... the geese twirl and glide... a lady casually walk her dog and stop about every 15 yards... the two young men with tackle boxes on the picnic table trying to put on just the right bait on their hook, talking, laughing, throwing out their lines, hoping they'd get a catch... and they did.

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Oh, this afternoon was filled with the normal busy-ness. Crystal and I went shopping (grocery and other)... there was laundry to do and supper to cook...I gave myself permission not to mow today - yay! Yet, the girls and I took some time to sit together in the den and watch that horrible car chase in Dallas. Unbelieveable! Police chased a suspect for about an hour and a half before he ran a red light and was broadsided by a pickup truck. Reporters said that he was a suspected "drug handler", It was apparent that in no way did he want to be caught by the police. It seemed that he planned for nothing or no one to get in his way.

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What makes us all so different? Oh, many things! We've talked a lot about that on previous posts. What I thought about this afternoon, though, was these two young men at the lake vs. the young man fleeing from police vs. me and my "stinkin' thinkin' attitude!"

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In Matthew 5, Jesus sat on the mountain and spoke His "Sermon on the Mount". He began with,

• "Blessed are the poor in spirit (humble), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

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Another time, great multitudes followed Him to the beach, so He got in a boat and sat down in it out on the water. From there He shared with the multitudes the parable of the Sower as recorded in Matthew 13. He said that the apostles' could understand these parables because they had been granted the blessing of being able to understand "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." Hmmm! Does that mean because they had humbled themselves to Him?!!!??? It's what I'm meditating on right now:

• At different times in my life I have been one of these four different soils: HARD, SHALLOW, OVERGROWN, GOOD...
• The fleeing suspect in the Dallas chase today? HARD? SHALLOW?
• The two young men fishing at the lake? not sure, but possibly GOOD
• Me? OVERGROWN!
• In our discussion in Bible class tomorrow we will take a look at The Parable of the Sower. In our workbook, The Virtuous Woman: Shattering the Superwoman Myth, Vicki Courtney says, "I must do everyhing I can to keep my heart fertile and receptive to God's truth. The key? An active prayer life and staying in God's Word daily will fertilize every type of soil to produce growth... Hearts represented by the good soil did not get there by accident but by the sovereign act of the Holy Spirit acting through persons' labor." In the book of the same title, she says,

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"I can think of several things we can do to improve our soil and make it more receptive to the seed of virtue.

1. We need to be where the seed falls. Keep placing yourself under the teaching and preaching of the Word of God.
2. When a truth of God sets a flame in your heart, record it in a journal or in the margin of your Bible.
3. Don't go it alone! Find a more mature believer and make yourself accountable."

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Thank you! I'm doing better! My name is Patti Sikes and I am spending some time humbling myself...spending time in the WORD and prayer. Poor Steve! I owe my entire family an apology!

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BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD: HUMBLE SERVANT!!