Loyal
It’s easy to be loyal when you’re in someone’s presence. The question is, are you loyal to people when you are not with them?
I’m not just talking about the wandering, lustful eye. If you’re married or in a committed relationship, this shouldn’t be happening at all anyway!
What I’m specifically speaking of today is loyalty to people in the way you speak about them when you’re not in their presence.
Sadly, an individual lost their battle with depression and chose to end their life last Monday. This individual used to work at my place of employment. As tragic as the situation already was, I couldn’t help but overhear people chattering away about their speculations of what happened leading up to him taking his own life. This weighed heavily on my heart the entire week.
Some of the people were friends of the individual, and it saddened me greatly that they seemed to be enthralled in the details each were passing around.
“Did you hear …”
“Well, I heard …”
It took me back 15 years ago to when we lost my sister. She was a very private person, and it pained me greatly thinking of how she was now the “talk of the town” back then. She never liked the attention being on herself at all, and back then, people were sharing and exchanging awful stories of rumors they’d heard back and forth. How do I know? Because one rather heartless individual asked me point blank questions surrounding my sister’s death. I’ll never forget this as I had just started a new job where I hoped no one had knowledge of this tragic event in my family’s lives. I wanted to go some place to start fresh without anyone looking at me with “that” look and whispering about my sister or my family. That dream was short lived as I sat in my office with tears filling my eyes as this individual poked and prodded with their questions.
Here’s a word of advice: No matter the circumstances of a person’s death, do NOT ask what happened. This is especially important if the death is a result of a suicide. Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, ask how the person did it, what they used, who found them, what they looked like, etc. You will be making the family member re-live this horrible event in their life. Also, never EVER say, “They must have really wanted to die” as another cold person said to me. Likewise, don’t look at the grieving family with their hearts shattered and say, “Sorry about your sister, but life goes on.” I had this happen to me AT the funeral home the night of my sister’s visitation. I became a blubbering mess as I looked this unsympathetic person in the eyes and said, “I don’t see HOW without my sister!” If you don’t know what to say, let me offer the following suggestions: “May God comfort and provide peace” or “Thinking of you in this very difficult time” or even “Keeping your family uplifted in prayer.” Think of how YOU would want to be approached and what you would want to be said to you during your time of grief.
Have a heart when dealing with grieving people.
And, be loyal to the ones that have passed on.
Saved
During this first week of school, my daughter has enjoyed sporting around in our new-to-us Volvo C70 convertible. It’s Celestial Blue Metallic, and if I must say, it is a sweet ride!
Tuesday afternoon, I picked my daughter up from school and proceeded down the road to meet my oldest daughter at the grocery store. My youngest daughter and I talked for a bit on our drive, then enjoyed listening to the soft music playing on the radio. As a black SUV approached, I was feeling content with life. Everything was right in my world at that moment in time.
All of a sudden, this SUV started coming into my lane! We were about to get hit head-on!
My immediate reaction was to get out of their way! With my right hand gripping the bottom of the steering wheel, I snatched the wheel to the right to get us out of the SUV’s path. When I did, the car went too close to the edge of the road. Fearing that we were going to go off the side of the road, I snatched the wheel to the left. My daughter looked up after feeling the car shifting directions and said in a very weak voice, “Mama …”
As her voice trailed off, it was as if the hand of God reached down and took the wheel. I’m not copying the famous Country song when I tell you this either. Our car immediately veered to the right, straightened up, and we were out of harm’s way within mere seconds.
I did not even hesitate when the car straightened up. I started thanking God for protecting us from an accident! I know without a doubt that GOD saved my daughter and I that day.
Trying not to show my anxiety, I continued thanking God and proceeded on to the grocery store.
When I walked in, trying to hide my legs which felt more like limp noodles, my oldest daughter took one look at my face. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she asked, “What’s wrong?” I told her what just happened and how God protected us. Then we started discussing the grocery items we needed.
I was not making light of what happened by only focusing on it for a moment. I was intentionally trying not to upset my daughters with the details of what could have been.
Later that evening, I’ll admit that I had flash backs of an earlier accident I had when I was 18 years old. I was driving an older Volkswagen at that time, and when the tire blew out, the vehicle went to the right, left, then right again as we went into a full fishtail. Losing control on the wet pavement, our top heavy Volkswagen went airborne where we flipped six times, landing in the middle of a field. God saved my sister and I at that time, too. Without a doubt! We walked away with me having a fractured vertebrae in my lower back, and my sister with scrapes and bruises. I thank God for sparing our lives back then, too! He saved us!
No one knows the hour we will be called home. Just like on that Summer day when I was just 18 years old and fast forward 26 years to this week when we had a near miss, it can all happen in a split second. We didn’t plan on that accident 26 years ago, and we certainly didn’t plan on this close call this week either. As my grandma used to say, “We need to make sure we’re prayed up, packed up, and ready to go.”
Friend, do you know Him? Have you asked Jesus to come into your heart and life? If you haven’t please, I encourage you, do so today! In the blink of an eye, your entire world can change. Give your heart to Jesus today!
The Love Center
Yesterday, my family and I took a road trip. It was the day before school started back, and we wanted to do something fun. So, a road trip it was!
After a day of sightseeing and good food, we headed back home. With the radio turned up listening to our favorite tunes and the vast skies before us, we enjoyed the scenery and places we’ve never been before.
Singing along with the radio, a sign on the roadside caught my attention. I looked over to see The Love Center; a church on the country road leading home.
I pondered the sign and how appropriate it was. The Love Center … and then I thought, “Love should be at the center of all we do.”
Interesting, isn’t it?
That one little sign up in the sky with a white border, black lettering, and a red heart sent me into deep thought.
And you know what?
At the very center, right there in the core of love, is Christ. We love because He first loved us!
