Month: September 2023

If you read my prior post about the puppy, you know that I did not want to have a dog.  It was a decision thrust upon me and I had to figure out what to do about it.  Do I continue to fight against it?  Do I stay mad for the rest of my life?  Do I pretend it doesn’t exist?  None of those things helped me in any way.  So, I did the only thing that I could do, and that was to change my mind. 

Things like this happen in life.  We find ourselves in situations that we don’t want to be in, and we must decide how we are going to deal with them.  Each situation is unique, so there is no ‘one-right-answer’.  We must judge each situation, weigh our options, and decide which option is the best solution.  And after we have made our decision, we must start working toward that goal.  The solution may not come easily.  We may need to be patient and conscientiously pursue the desired outcome.  This process is simple but may take time.  We may succeed or fall flat on our face.  But if we fall, we must not quit!  We must get up and try again until we achieve the success we want. 

Case in point, the puppy…

As you can see, the puppy is very cute.  That has been her saving grace on multiple occasions!  She is 10 months old now.  She is a work in progress like any other youth.  Her training is ongoing and her obedience is hitting more than it’s missing.  She is smart and affectionate, but she also has a stubborn streak.  All of that (except the stubborn streak) has helped me accept this situation.  I might even go so far as to say I enjoy the puppy most of the time! 

I imagine that a lot people might think that I’m a terrible person for not wanting a dog.  But as explained in my previous post, I just did not want to have that responsibility at this time.  I like dogs, but I would have rather not taken on the work involved in having one at this stage of my life.  Being retired, I had a million ideas of things that I wanted to do, and having a dog was not one of them.  But since I had to accept this situation, I have relied on prayer to get me through it. 

This is what I’ve learned and am learning…

1. God is able and willing to answer our prayers.
2. God cares about everything in our lives, even the small stuff.
3. God knows more than I do.
4. God knows better than I do.
5. God never leaves us nor forsakes us.

Those all are things I remind myself when I’m praying about the puppy situation.  I prayed for God to soften my heart toward her.  I prayed for His help to not resent the situation being forced on me (although I might still need to revisit that one from time to time).  I continue to pray for God’s guidance to train the puppy so she will be a positive asset to our family.  And I pray for His help with my lack of patience. 

The whole puppy experience has shown me (again) the importance of prayer and the power!  When I cast my puppy cares on God, things run smoothly.  When I don’t cast those cares, I lose my patience, and resentment rears its ugly head.

Many situations we find ourselves in are not of our own making.   But that does not mean that we cannot be successful in those situations.  God’s Word says that we are super-conquerors in every situation, which includes those that we make for ourselves and those that are thrust upon us.  (Romans 8:37)  This verse begins, “Nay, in all these things…” And if we read verses 35 and 36, we will see that not only are we more than conquerors in tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword and being led to the slaughter; but also that those things cannot separate us from the love of Christ, which is why we can be super conquerors.  So, if we can conquer these big things, it certainly stands to reason that we can conquer the little things – like a puppy! 

Now, I know that a puppy may not be a challenge to anyone else but me.  But we all face challenging situations at times.  They might be hard for us, but easy for someone else.  Or we might see may see someone struggling in a situation that looks easy to us.  However, we dare not judge one another because someone could be fighting as hard as they can to overcome a situation that is very difficult for them, no matter what it looks like to us. 

Why not look at the challenges we face as ‘victories in the making’?  Think of situations as ‘challenges to succeed’ or ‘opportunities to overcome’.  Ask for and expect God’s help and guidance.  Claim the promises that He has made unto us.  When we do these things, we elicit God’s solutions, which are exceedingly abundantly better than all of ours! 

Situations, challenges, failures and victories are all part of life.  It is in how we handle each of them that makes the difference.  We can meet our challenges head on because God always has our back.  We can be victorious because God bears His mighty arm for us.  Let’s seek God’s help, pursue His solutions and see where He takes us in every situation.  Thanks be to God for His limitless love and goodness!

Note to my readers:  Thank you for taking this journey with me!  And thanks for reading!

(I preface this post with an apology for being late.  I was traveling and even though I had my computer with me, I couldn’t get my writing done.  So here it is a little late, but not because I forgot!)

It surely seems like I forget a lot of things.  I forget names and birthdays.  I forget to take my vitamins.  I forget whether I watered the plants or not.  I forget something on my shopping list almost every time I go to the grocery.  Forgetting these things frustrates me.  I hate forgetting things. 

There is no doubt that forgetting things can be exasperating.  It impairs our ability to get things done and slows us down.  It can be embarrassing, like forgetting someone’s name.  It can be hurtful, like forgetting someone’s birthday.  It can be inconvenient like forgetting something on your grocery list.  Forgetting can be irritating, bothersome, and problematic at times.  It can interfere with our activities, our schedules, and sometimes our peace of mind.  And forgetting important matters can have serious repercussions.

As we age, we might find that forgetting is more common.  Although, I’ve always been somewhat forgetful, I do find that it is a little harder to remember things these days.  The answer to the age-old question, “Why did I come into this room?” often completely eludes me.   And questions like, “What was that actor’s name?” totally stump me.  I may have known the answer in the past, but I can’t remember it now.  Things that I learned in school, past experiences, people I’ve known, and places I’ve been are oftentimes vague memories.  I discuss events with my children only to find that my memory of them is completely different than theirs.  Have I forgotten all these things?

A good friend of mine said that as we age, our minds get so full that they push out the old or unimportant information to make room for the new stuff.  I doubt that is a scientifically based conclusion, but it kind of makes sense.  The principle of ‘use or lose’ seems to be the rule-of-thumb for our mind’s function. 

I marvel at people who can readily remember things.  Whether it’s because they work at it or because they have the aptitude for it, I admire that skill.  I have another friend who remembers everyone’s birthday.  If you tell her the date of your birthday once, she will never forget it.  She admits that she forgets other things, but never a birthday.  I don’t know how she does it.

I think for many of us, forgetting is fueled by technology.  I used to remember most of the phone numbers of my family and friends and many of their addresses.  Nowadays, I only remember my cell number and my husband’s.  All the rest of the numbers are in my phone and consequently, I have forgotten them.  The convenience is nice, but it’s a double-edged sword.  If I lost my phone, I’d be in dire straits! 

But forgetting has a good side as well.

A good side, you say???

For instance, you have a fight with your best friend or your spouse and hurtful words are spoken.  How do you recover from that?  We must forget those hurtful words in order the mend the relationship.  We can’t hold those words against the other person, nor can we harbor those words against ourselves.  Forgetting those words is not only necessary to our relationship, but also beneficial to promote our affections. 

Thoughts of disturbing images, frightening situations, or heartbreaking events cannot be allowed to dwell in our minds.  God designed our minds to be able to refute those memories.  We are able to forget things that cause us pain and suffering so that we can have the peace and joy that God desires for us.

The Bible is filled with exhortations to remember God’s words and actions.  However, remembering is only part of the story.  Some people can quote a plethora of Bible verses from memory.  But do they really believe them?  Unless we make the effort to truly learn what God’s Word says, how could we believe it?  So, remembering God’s Word is more than a mental exercise.  It is an active endeavor to learn and understand what God is saying to us. We live in a world that denounces God’s Word.  Our society does its best to distract us from the Truth.  It tries to fill our minds with a million ideas that are contrary to God’s Word.  Remembering and believing what God says gives us the ammunition we need to fight against those evil thoughts.  God knows that remembering the Light will help us forget the darkness. 

So, although forgetting stuff can be annoying, we can always focus on remembering the most important things – the things of God.  And when those thoughts fill our minds, forgetting the menial things won’t be so aggravating.  And the best of all – when we concentrate on God, our confidence in Him grows.  And when our confidence in God grows, we are assured in ourselves that we can ask for His help with anything, including help to not forget things.  Like all the things of God, it’s a win-win for us!! 

One of my favorite verses…

Psalm 103:2 – Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Isn’t it marvelous that God wants us to “forget not all his benefits”?  He doesn’t tell us to remember them all!  Who could do that??  He simply says, “don’t forget them all.”

Note to my readers:  Forgetting is simply not remembering.  And remembering is simply not forgetting.  So, it stands to reason that if we work on remembering, (especially remembering God’s Word), we won’t be forgetting as much.  Maybe that’s one way to look at it. 

Thanks for reading!