"Car wash... talking about the car wash, yeah"

The road salt and winter grime were thick on my car after weeks of driving on snowy roads, so when a break in the weather arrived, I pulled up in front of the automatic drive-thru car wash, ready to be rid of it. I slid my credit card through the payment kiosk and slowly drove forward on cue once the garage door pulled up. Once I was far enough in to trigger the red stoplight, I heeded the instruction to put my car in park, sat back and waited for the water spray to start …and waited …and waited. Nothing happened – no movement in the mechanical parts, no water spray …nothing. Minutes passed… enough to indicate that something was wrong. With reluctance I called the “emergency” number posted on the wall in front of me, as there was no other choice available – the door had closed behind me, and I was trapped inside the facility.

When a voice came on the line, I explained my predicament. The woman on the other end asked me what color the stoplight was – perhaps I hadn’t pulled in far enough? I told her it was red, and that I had put the car in park as I was told. Apparently, she was sitting in an office building nearby, as she looked out her window and said, “Oh, yes… I see you there.”

And then suddenly, without either of us doing anything else, the water started to spray, the hose rack inched slowly over my car, and I was in business. Everything worked perfectly from that point on, and a couple of minutes later I was on my way with my vehicle beautifully clean.

So was that all it was – a random happening like many we experience in various ways as we go through our days? Just something to laugh about with my kids later that evening? Or was it something more?

So many of today’s problems are simply the result of people feeling invisible in their struggles. Difficulties are bad enough, but dealing with them unseen increases the stress and anxiety levels contained within. There’s no one to consult with, to question… to help. With no other options left, we are forced to take what may seem like drastic action. In my case it was to make an “emergency” call to the number posted on the wall. It didn’t really feel like an emergency… and perhaps your situation doesn’t either… but I didn’t know how to resolve my predicament on my own. I can’t tell you how reassuring it was to hear the office manager that day say, “Oh yes, I see you there.”

Her words didn’t change anything in the physical realm. I don’t know what finally made the mechanical parts start to move, but I don’t think the voice on the other end of the phone had anything to do with it. But they did change something in me. It was so good to be “seen” when I was literally invisible to anyone passing by, enclosed in the car wash as I was. I knew that one way or another, help was on the way.

Truly so many of our heartaches and struggles are likewise invisible to others we come into contact with each day. Nobody else may know that we’re stuck and in need of help, maybe even on the verge of desperation. Who to turn to in that situation? As a last resort we may make an emergency phone call to God. Does He know that we’re struggling here? Does He care?

I don’t always get a physical voice in reply, but one way or another a message is always delivered, be it a sudden peace in my soul, an idea I hadn’t previously considered, or the sudden appearance of another human (possibly with angel wings sprouting from his back?) to help me out of the situation. However it’s expressed, the message is, “Oh yes – I see you there!”… and suddenly I relax, knowing that help is on the way. And most of the time, the problem is resolved as quickly as that day in the car wash. Other times I may have to wait a little longer, but I do so in the knowledge that eventually I’ll be doused in God’s Living Water  and emerge from the difficulty sparkling clean.

“He will all on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”

(Psalm 91:15 NIV)

(photo credit: Unsplash/ZulfahmiKhani) 

Purposely Smiling

"Wake Up With Purpose."

It's the title of Sister Jean Schmidt's book about her life as a nun and teacher, centering on her time as chaplain to the Loyola basketball team and their trip to the Final Four in 2018. She writes in the book that she has spent her life encouraging young people to follow their dreams.

What a life goal that is for anybody to pursue - to simply encourage others who are running alongside us to Glory awaiting us at the end of the race. Even those (maybe especially those!) who don't believe in Heaven as their ultimate goal need the day by day encouragement that we can perhaps supply.

Funny then, that the motivational picture message for today in the front of my journal was that of a smile painted on a rock. Years ago God inspired a story I wrote in which the word "smile" was an acronym for "Simply Make It a Little Easier." Somehow it all fit together perfectly as an instruction for the day: Wake up with the purpose of making life a little easier for somebody today by encouraging them along their way.

I love that! Looking at the day ahead I pondered the possibilities for encouragement that might exist. I was having breakfast with friends... was the meeting more, perhaps, than just the chance to eat and enjoy each other's company? Maybe one of them needed a word to cheer them on... or the waitress could use a generous tip? Was my plan to stop at the yarn store just to say hi to my needlework friends... or was there something more I could do beyond that door? Was there a small business I could support somehow as I traveled through my day and town?  I found that in looking for ways to put a smile on others' faces I had less reason of my own to frown!

We've each been given another day; let's use it well. 

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..."

(Ecclesiastes 9:10 KJV)

(picture credit: Unsplash/Collin Sheffield) 

Let the Games Begin!

 

Are you ready? The 2026 Winter Olympics start in 2 days!

Are you a casual observer, content to tune in to a few evenings of the ice skating competition and watch a bobsled run or a ski jump or two? Or are you fully invested, as am I… planning to make this sporting event the main focus of the month ahead? If you’re the former, I hope you then just enjoy what events you occasionally catch. But if you’re as excited as I am, in what ways do you plan to enjoy these days?

Me? I knit. And every Olympics in recent history I’ve planned a personal Olympic challenge… I’ve picked a sweater pattern to start and complete in that two week time span. It doubles the fun of spending hours in front of the TV, letting dirty laundry, dishes, and dust accumulate around me as my body sits idly on the couch but my hands are working furiously on the goal at hand. Purpose and passion combined are good companions – and they don’t bother me with small talk as I’m counting stitches or rewinding a skating routine I want to see again.

Of course, I’m retired… which gives me extra time to devote to this nonsense. But even so, I block out the two weeks on the calendar, scheduling appointments and lunch dates with friends on either side of this semi-sacred stretch of days.

The fact that the Olympics are in Italy this year magnifies their attraction to me. I’m Italian, and have actually been to Milan, the center of this year’s Olympic experience. I can’t wait to see it again on TV. I plan to eat Italian food all month, double down on my efforts to learn the language, and will even listen to Italian love songs on the car radio should I be forced to leave my home for some reason, as a quiet nod to Valentine’s Day, which hits smack-dab in the middle of the activity and would likely otherwise go unnoticed in the midst of all this fun.

Because that’s what it is: it’s just fun… an easy way to celebrate the days and life that God’s given us.

I’ve been ready for weeks – sweater pattern selected, yarn purchased… I’m ready to go. Let the Games begin!!!

“Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes – God takes pleasure in your pleasure!... Each day is God’s gift. Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it! And heartily!...”

(Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 MSG)

Safety "Tips"

 

I woke up slowly this morning, and as I looked past the edge of the mattress, I could just see the tips of my cats’ tails held high and waving as they walked back and forth in front of the bed, eager for the treats they knew would be dispensed shortly. I had to laugh because the sight reminded me of shark fins circling at the ocean's surface, likewise warning of hungry critters waiting below.

Just then my daughter-in-law called and we chatted about the day she was facing at the senior living facility where she works… state inspectors sure to arrive that morning… the  two vans of wheelchair-bound seniors she was taking out to lunch… and her van driver who was new and inexperienced. Everything she said warned of trouble ahead.

So what do you do when you are about to step into shark-infested water? You don’t go unprepared, that’s for sure! Those who dive with sharks do so in strong metal cages that protect them from attack by the hungry predators they will share the water with.

You my never attempt such a feat (I know I won’t!), but you do have to descend into a day where an enemy lurks, seeking to kill, steal and destroy. No matter how confident we are in our own abilities, none of us can match the craftiness and wickedness that waits for us out in the world. Our only hope is to put on the full armor of God every morning before we let so much as a toe touch the water. Let God equip you with exactly what He knows you need to face your day. When your enemy sees you as shark bait, taking the necessary precautions with God is the only way to come through the day unscathed.

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

(Ephesians 6:11 NIV)

(photo credit: Unsplash/GeraldSchombs) 

A Daily Drink

It’s wintertime again, and the temperatures have plummeted of late, freezing water sources for the birds and other animals, making it so much harder for them to get a drink or a quick bath. Thus, when they find an unfrozen spot, they return to it regularly.

And so it is that the silver lining for a cold and dreary time of year is that the bluebirds have returned to the heated water dish that sits on my deck railing. They gather in numbers, perched on its rim, their blue and orange coloring filling my heart with delight every time I look out the window and spot them there.

“Happiness” has been associated with bluebirds for eons; they are seen as symbols of joy, hope and good fortune. The sight of them certainly brings up such feelings in me.

Yet so many people I know are not feeling happy as we enter this new year, burdened by grief or problems that weigh their souls down and steal their hope. How can they get a positive outlook back?

It’s not by accident that the Lord instructed us in Matthew 6 to look to the birds and their lack of worry. He provides for them, giving them what they need. And so He does for us – His living water is ever available – we just need to drink deeply and fill our spiritual tanks.

It’s not just a one day thing. Daily I tend to the water dish on my railing, dumping out the old water soiled by droppings and leaves, and filling it anew with fresh water. If I let the dish go dry, the birds look elsewhere for their morning drink. Likewise, if I don’t want my happiness to fly, I need to similarly keep my spiritual water levels high.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

(Matthew 6: 26 NIV)

 

Flowers for Thanksgiving

I struggled yesterday with “blue” Monday-like feelings on what should have been a happy Friday afternoon.

It’s a rare occurrence in my life. I have been gifted with a generous dose of “the oil of gladness”, and generally it’s in overflow mode. But every once in a while, gloom settles in like a thick November fog. I feel drippy and sad instead of joyful. And because it’s such a rare occurrence for me, I struggle more than most on a bad day.

Most shake the mood off with a shrug of the shoulders. “It happens”, they say. And I get that. But it rarely happens to me. So it’s important to have coping methods in place so that the feelings don’t overtake me, and so that one bad day doesn’t turn into a string of the same. I need a refresher course on how to “shake it off”.

First, I remember Whose I am, that I am not alone, but deeply loved by an ever-present God. I make sure I take care of my physical needs, to eat something good for me, foods that feed my body and soul, not my mood. I remind myself to exercise to release the right hormones and serotonin into my system… and to get enough sleep.

More than anything else, however, I need to remember gratitude, and to rehearse my blessings, the gifts of the day. The Jesus Calling devotional instructs me to look for and pluck the flowers God has placed along the pathways of my life… to gather them in a beautiful bouquet of thanksgiving to present to Him at the end of the day.

For years I’ve felt the need to have a floral centerpiece on my Thanksgiving table. I’m especially fond of the ones that have a candle in the middle of the arrangement. I thought I was just bringing a touch of beauty to the place settings. Now I know that God had a purpose behind the practice, a reminder to let each flower represent a grateful thought, and to put together as many as I could as an offering of thanks. I found that the mental practice relit the joy in my life, much as the physical act of striking a match put a flame to the wick on that wax stick… and that my gloomy thoughts simply melted away.

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV) 

A Morning Match

There it was, my morning in a nutshell: a red coffee mug with a spoon placed in it for stirring, set on an orange pumpkin-decorated napkin, and a Folgers coffee pod plopped down nearby. Noting that the red and orange colors on the mug, napkin, and even the coffee pod all matched, I picked them up and headed to the Keurig machine to get my morning wake-me-up to brewing, a smile on my face. When all your colors “match” of a morning, you know you’re in for a wonderful day!

Actually, it’s not the color matching at the start that makes a day terrific, nor even the morning magic inside that cup. Rather, it’s Who I drink it with; I’m starting the day having coffee and a morning conference with God.

He clears my head of sleep-distracted thoughts, and we chat for a few minutes before He lays out the plans for the day. I drink deeply of the deliciousness of the discussion with Him, listening closely, and asking questions. Then I simply rise and live out His plan.

As I sip the brew, I smile at the memory of so many Folgers Coffee commercials I’ve seen in days gone by. Truly “the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup”… when you’re drinking it with God!

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

(Proverbs 19:21 NIV)