My foes?

"In your loving kindness, answer me; in your compassion, turn toward me. Do not hide your face; answer quickly, for I am in distress. Come close and save me from my foes."

Psalm 69

This is my "September Psalm," which just means that I pray it everyday and hopefully, by the end of September will have it memorized. And understood. Maybe. As I prayed and thought about this Psalm the other day, I was struck by the word, "foes." Do I have foes? Save me from my foes? I couldn't think of any people-foes, so I went a bit deeper and realized that my real enemies are within. An inability to forgive and forget, perhaps. That's a foe. Also, harsh judgments I make about others are enemies within, too. And my dismissive attitude about others' opinions. My "rightness." All of these "foes" can keep me from being the person God knows I can be. So, yes, Lord. Please save me from my foes. They're aren't at the outside gate trying to get in; they are on the inside needing to be let out. Love, heidi

Only God is God...

"Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth."

1 Corinthians 3:7

 

Sounds like there were difficulties within the church way back in St. Paul's day...the people were squabbling about who was the better leader, Apollos or Paul. And Paul sets them straight. Neither. They need to remember to whom they belong--God and only God. Human leaders may be charismatic and fascinating. We may want to follow them because they tell it like it is, or they tell us what we want to hear. But the fact is, they are still human. When difficulties or divisions arise we may need to step out of the fray and remember; we belong to God. God is the one who deserves our allegiance. Human leaders are not God nor are religious institutions God. Only God is God. Thanks for the timely message St. Paul! Love, heidi

Don't miss a minute!

The other night, as I was going into the baseball game, a little cub scout was handing out Hawaiian leis for a special promotion. I was more interested in picking a color that matched my outfit, but the little scout was more concerned that I noticed the free snow-cone coupon that was attached to the lei. He was the cutest little guy in the world and he was so excited for me to appreciate the free snow-cone. The whole incident made me realize that I'd missed the whole summer. "Wow, that's a stretch," you may be saying. "How did she get there?" Well, it was late August and this was my first baseball game, and, sad to admit, I haven't even had a snow-cone yet this summer! These times and seasons of our lives go by way too fast. Are we fully engaged in these times we will look back on later? Are we taking them all in enough so we can pull them out of our memories and savor them again? Maybe the little cub scout reminded me of Blaine as a little gaffer...a time that was way too fleeting. As we begin, today, going back to real life as we know it, let's take care not to miss the moments! Love, heidi