We had a miracle take place in our home the other day– We got a letter in the mail from the tax department. I know what you’re thinking. “Since when do miracles come disguised in NYS Tax Department official envelopes?” It said we had made some mistakes in our calculations, and so the amount of our refund would be different than we had calculated . Even though it was in our favor, my husband (aka “tax man”) was offended that he could have made a mistake…so he went to investigate.
Our tax documents were in a filing cabinet, newly moved to the basement, in a little nook near the furnace. We don’t usually have a reason to go there, but praise God he did that day! While looking over the documents he smelled gas…and after closer examination found a gas leak in the main (don’t ask me where or what the gas is even for, let’s say he’s “tax man” AND “knows all the things about the house that his wife has no clue about man”). We called National Grid, they came over and found not one, but 2 gas leaks! A disaster had been avoided.
Unfortunately, National Grid can’t do much about another kind of leak that can cause a great deal of damage…Heart leaks. The Bible says, “guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23) Whatever is in our hearts leaks out. Everything. Be it good things or bad things…they bubble up like a spring and inevitably leak out. Sometimes in slow, steady leaks, and sometimes like a geyser.
Are you on the verge of a disaster? Does your heart need some fine tuning? Now is a good time to ask God to point out anything in your heart that doesn’t belong, and seek His help in replacing it with what does.
Archive for April, 2010
It was time for a dog.
We had our eyes set on “Chips.” He had been in the shelter for about a month, and had not yet been adopted. He growled at people, barked when they walked by his kennel, and scared kids. It was no wonder people didn’t even give him a second glance, especially without knowing his story.
Chips had lived with a family for 3 years. They lived in Florida. When his humans divorced, custody was given to the husband, who had to move in with his mother. But the mother said, “no way, no dogs.” So after a life of playing with tennis balls, catching frisbees, going for walks and sleeping in warm beds, Chips was surrendered to a shelter. When we heard his story, it made sense that he was not happy being locked up with a hard floor to sleep on and nowhere to expend his abundant energy. People had let him down. He was probably confused…and angry. To us, his story explained a lot.
When we saw Chips we saw past his behavior at the shelter. We saw a dog that needed a new hope. He was more than eager to come home with us, and in the 3 days that he has been with us he is already a far cry from what he was at the shelter. He plays with our kids. He snuggles up next to us. He’s barked only twice. And we’ve given him a new name for his new life with us.
Like Chips, all of us have a story. Many stories, in fact. We have stories that might explain some of the habits we have, or things we like to do. We have stories that might explain why we live where we live, work where we work and worship where we worship. We also have a story of where we have been, but we, too, have a Loving Father who sees past our faults and longs to adopt us, bring us into His family, and give us a new hope. Eagerly go with Him! Your new story can start now!
“…And the Lord will give you a new name….for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his own.” -Isaiah 62:2,4