Is Life Really So Simple?

A blogger friend gave me some verses to read. I opened my The Message Bible to the right book. I started reading the intro and then turned to the first page.  I know I haven’t made it to the verses yet. I wanted to see what this book was about according to this Bible, The Message. It is written for easy understanding for simple people like me. I was instantly taken aback at the words.

Now I will have to say I am a simple-minded girl, lady, woman. I read and I see it in not elegant terms, but very open words. I thought about what I read and decided that this sounds so boring. I felt that life may be what the poem stated in reality.

But for me there is more. That is where I am a weird person. I am always having to dig underneath   the words, in between the lines. I saw that the reason I see things differently than the author of the poem is I add love, compassion, understanding and vigor to my life. I have to spice it up, see the small miracles, give thanks to God for any little thing I have and do. I can not afford to see such parallel at this point in my life. Caring for my brother takes more than just love for him.

I have to love God even deeper. Count on friendships harder. Pray more often.

Maybe some of you will totally disagree with me. This is alright. You may have a brain better equipped to see things and figure out stuff than I do. Maybe you will even want to offer me some advice.

I would also like to offer you the opportunity to point out verses that you are familiar with in the Bible. Please show me that it is impossible that our loving Mother is not conversing with Al. Tell me that Al is not in his right mind when he says he is speaking to Mom. That he has seen her hand reaching down to him.

I am confused, can you tell? A big part of me wants to believe that Mom is here to  help Al when the time is right for him to leave. Yet I also believe in God and his word. I don’t think for one moment that any evil is in our house. Why? Because there is too much love for God between Al and me. We lean on him so heavily how could any evil enter?

This is not a lose/win session between me and you, my friends. This is a time when I have to admit I don’t understand the Bible as well as you. I am looking for answers, as most of us are from time to time.

Here is what I told you I would let you read that I read.

Ecclesiastes

The Question

These are the words of the Quester, David‘s son and king of Jerusalem.

Smoke, nothing but smoke. That’s what the Quester says.

There’s nothing to anything- it’s all smoke.

What’s there to show for a lifetime of work,

a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?

One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,

but nothing changes- it’s business as usual for old planet earth.

The sun comes up and the sun goes down,

then does it again, and again- the same old round.

The wind blows south, the wind blows north,

Around and around and around it blows,

blowing this way and that- the whirling, erratic wind.

All the rivers flow into the sea,

but the sea never fills up.

The rivers keep flowing to the same old place,

and then start all over and do it again.

Everything’s boring, utterly boring-

no one can find any meaning in it.

Boring to the eye,

boring to the ear.

What was will be again,

what happened will happen again.

There’s nothing new on this earth.

Year after year it’s the same old thing.

Does someone call out, ” Hey, this is new”?

Don’t get excited- it’s the same old story.

Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.

And the things that will happen tomorrow?

Nobody’ll remember them either.

Don’t count on being remembered.

Well this is what I read. If you have any words of wisdom please feel free to speak to me or write to me. Now, I am going to go read the verses my friend pointed out.

The Ugly Duckling

Embarrassing parents – swan duckling

Everyone made fun of David. He was born premature but ended up being an obese child. From the time he started Kindergarten he was teased. Fatty fatty two by door can’t get through the kitchen door. Hey watermelon boy.

Even when he was home there was no place to run. His parents picked on him and made rude comments about his weight. The more he was ridiculed the more he remained in his bedroom. He did his homework and ate in his room.

As he got older he would play his music  loud enough to drown out all noises in the house. His nice bike that his grandparents had bought him for his birthday was used primarily for going back and forth to school.

When Grandpa and Grandma would invite him over to their house for an over night visit; this is the only solace he received. They didn’t judge him. In fact they offered him many snacks all being healthy. They made David feel very special; like he was the only kid in the world.

On his 13th birthday he made up his mind he was going to lose the extra weight. Instead of racing home on his bike he remained behind and ran the track behind the school. At home he measured out his own food making sure he didn’t go over the limits of calories.

He went to sleep earlier so the urges to snack were removed. On the weekends he walked around his neighborhood until he was walking two miles each day. Kids at school started noticing and little by little girls were turning  his way.

This gave him even more gumption to keep on pushing himself. He was no longer running the track for a half an hour. He was now running for over an hour after school. The weight dropped quickly. Everyone around him was now paying him big compliments.

His parents took him to the store for clothes shopping. He was able to pick out more modern and up to date clothing. Sometimes when he looked in the mirror he had to take a double look to recognize himself.

One day he was running the track and he collapsed. It was a good thing that the coach had his team out practicing for baseball. One of the team members noticed David on the ground and yelled,” David’s down Coach. Come on everybody, let’s go check him out.”

When the coach checked for a pulse he could barely feel it as it was so soft. He told one of the kids,” Run as fast as you can and have the office call 911.” Soon the ambulance had arrived and found David barely breathing.

They rushed him to the hospital where they discovered he had suffered from a heart attack. Wow, at 13, a heart attack. Several tests were taken and when the results all came back the doctor sat down with the parents of David.

” David has definitely had a heart attack. He has over worked  his heart at his young age. What would make him want to over exert himself to this point? Do either of you know?”

The parents looked at each other and hung their heads down saying, ” No we don’t have any idea why he did this. He wanted to wear clothes that mainly skinny kids wore is all we know.”

The doctor looked at them and he knew by their guilty looks that they had placed the idea in David’s head that he was ugly and fat. He told them, ” Well I am not sure what is going on in the home but a change is needed. He is dehydrated and his blood levels are low. To have a heart problem at this age is unreal.”

He stood up and went back to watch over David. The parents sat out in the waiting room saying nothing. Their guilt eating them up for helping this to happen to their son.

When the doctor went home that night he was telling his family at supper about the young David. One of his daughters asked,” Dad, who is it? What grade is he in? Do we know him?”

” I can’t reveal his name. It is against policy but I can tell you he is around your age.”

The daughter said, ” We have this one kid. Everyone picks on him all the time. The kid’s name is David. He just loves to eat and got himself so fat we all sort of teased him. I know it was wrong Dad, but you just couldn’t help it when you saw him waddling down the school halls. But he has changed. He decided to lose some weight and now he is looking really good. He fits in with the rest of us.”

The doctor hung his head in shame. My own daughter played a part in this. I thought I taught her better than this.

” Everyone has a reason for being different. Whether it is our skin color or our weight, we all have the same hearts. We all feel pain and hurt the same. We all want to feel wanted and needed. No one wants to be made to feel different” Dad said.

” I am ashamed of you. I thought I taught you better than that. How would you feel if you were David? asked the Doctor.

Tears started to fall from her cheeks as she realized what she had done to this student. She had known better but didn’t want to look out-of-place by standing up for David when her friends were making fun of him.

Without the Doctor saying his patient’s name everyone at that dining table knew it was David. The table got very quiet as they finished eating.

About a month went by and David was able to return to school. He had suffered no permanent damages. His age had protected him. When he rode his bike to school and entered the front doors he saw banners hanging from the ceiling.

Each one of them said “Welcome Back David”. There were colorful balloons with streamers hanging from them placed all over the commons. There were arrows pointing towards the auditorium. Strangers to David walked up to him and told him to follow them.

David did as he was told but wondered what in the world was going on. When they entered the double doors they were welcomed by the entire school. All the kids and teachers stood up and started clapping.

Two students guided him to the front and lead him up on the stage. The Principal went to the microphone and welcomed David back to school. David’s classroom went up to the microphone and publicly apologized to David for the way they had treated them. After each student had spoken he was shocked beyond belief.

The two biggest kids that picked on him walked towards him and handed him a trophy. It was a big gold statue of a boy standing with his head held high. He was holding books in one hand and waving with his other hand. The words on the trophy said, To the Most Honorable Student.

David looked at the trophy with tears in his eyes. All of the disappointments and bullying had vanished. He looked up and out over the audience and said, ” Thank-you everybody. I don’t know what to say but thank-you.”

The student body stood up and clapped and cheered him. There was never a lesson they had been taught that school year as important as the one they had learned from David.

 

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Continuing Story Part 34

Drake’s name was called by the nurse, and David walked with him back to the little room where the nurse took his vitals. His blood pressure was up a little but not to the point of alarm. After several questions, the only thing Drake complained of was a slight headache and a sore neck.

The nurse took him back to the room where the doctor could take a closer look at him, and then David was checked out next and waited in the room next to Drake. When the doctor opened the door and came in to see Drake, he asked him about the accident and how Drake had felt at the time of impact. Did he suffer any dizziness or blurriness, how much pain did he feel. Drake said that he had a slight head ache and that his neck hurt. The doctor ordered a cat scan on his head and neck, and then told him he would be back with the results.

After leaving Drake the doctor went in to see David, and after talking to him, found out that he was alright. No need to do any testings. He had been a lucky man the doctor had said. He dismissed David and went to see other patients waiting for him, and when the tests came back he went back to Drake’s room. He stated that the test had come back alright, with no problems. He may suffer from a little neck stiffness, and he had brought with him a neck brace, and wanted him to wear it if he felt a greater pain. Whip lash was something that Drake could experience as the days went by. Other than that, he was going to dismiss him also, unless he had more questions. Drake asked if the doctor knew anything about Dahlia, and the doctor said, to go wait in the main lobby and he would have him called back when they knew more information.

David and Drake found themselves both waiting out in the main lobby. Time ticked by so slowly as they waited for someone to call his name, but no one came nor called out to them. It was getting late in the afternoon and David asked Drew if he was getting hungry.

Drake had not really thought too much about food until the word was mentioned, and then he decided he was rather hungry and could use something to eat. Both guys went to the receptionist and told her they were going to go to the cafeteria. If the nurse was trying to locate them, please have them paged at once, and they would return right away.

David and Drake found the cafeteria and ordered some lunch, and after paying for it they found an isolated booth and sat down to eat. The talk was light, finding out about each other, what did they do for a living, finding out that they lived in the same vicinities. Other than that, it was pretty quiet between the two, Drake anxious for news and David wishing someone would call over the PA system.

They finished their lunch and not being able to sit still any longer they got up and wandered through the gift shop and Drake found a soft, cuddly stuffed kitten and he wanted to get this for Dahlia. Together they left and went back to the waiting area. Drake went to the front desk once again, asking if anyone had asked for him while he had been gone, and the answer back was no, I am sorry, no one has been looking for you.

They both were sitting and watching the television and then Rachel and Ralph and some of the ladies from the house showed up and were asking a lot of questions. Rachel stated that she had just been informed by a neighbor, and she was upset that no one had come to them letting them know that there had been an accident  sooner.

Just then, the nurse came and called Drake’s name. She asked him to follow her back to a little office where the doctor would come talk to him now. Rachel grabbed his arm and asked if he wanted her to go with him, and he nodded yes, as he had just became aware of a knot rising in his stomach. Like being called to the principal’s office in school for being naughty.

The two walked back and sat down in a small office, that only had enough space to  hold a desk and two table stands with light, and two chairs, and of course, the doctors chair. They only sat there for a moment, when the doctor walked in and they both stood up and shook his hand. Drake introduced his mother and then asked how Dahlia was.

The doctor opened his file he had brought with him, and acted like he was seeing it for the very first time. He began by saying that the accident had flipped her head back and forth a couple of times too many, and had caused nerves to swell in the neck and head. There was some slight swelling in the brain, and this had caused her to go into a coma. She was still asleep and had not woken up as of the last time he went in to check on her.

Drake rubbed his neck and then his forehead, waiting for more information. The doctor said that the swelling was not  too bad, but yet it was more swelling then he wanted to see, so he wanted to take her into surgery and drill a tiny hole in the top of her head to relieve the swelling.

Drake started crying like he had just heard the words dying, and Rachel let out a gasp, as she had never heard of such a thing. The doctor went on in his calm voice, asking if one of them could sign papers allowing this procedure to be done. Drake said that neither of them were related to her, and that her father was the only one that they knew of that was a relative, but he was home bound and what were they going to do now.

Drake explained that they were going to be married in a month and a half. The doctor sat for a while and did some thinking. There was nothing he could do, there was no one to sign papers, and yet he could not let Dahlia lie there at risk. He once again spoke, and said that he was going to go ahead and do the surgery if it was alright with Drake, and Drake replied if it will help her to live, please, please do it. Go do it now.

With that the doctor left to go let the nurses in OP to get ready for a patient coming in and he left two people, a mother and son holding each other trying to comfort away the dreaded word of surgery.

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Are You Listening?

Psalm 27

Can I bring the crappy part of me out

Can I scream and throw a fit all about?

Can I quit pretending that this day will end

Never to see its ugly face again?

Is hope a thing that I can stand on

Or will it continue to let me down.

Is God really watching over me

Is he listening wherever he may be?

Is it alright to be angry now

To rid the stress upon my brow?

Must I smile and bow to all I see

And pretend that we are a happy family?

Do I say that I am alright today

When all I want is to run away?

Do you not see the tear in my eye

When I look above and ask oh why?

Would you help someone if they wanted to die

Or would you stare and ask them why?

Do you explain the rights and wrongs

Or do you start singing the songs of Psalms?

I can feel anger coming over me

At what this disease has brought me to see.

I am tired of waiting can’t you tell

I want you to heal him and make him well.

If you can’t do this then take him home

Give him his legs  back, so he can roam.

I have had all I can take, I have given my all

I pass the ball to you, and now it is your call.

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Another Piece From Dr. Charles Stanley

 
July 14/15

How to Cry Out to God

Matthew 14:29-30

The phone rings, and you answer. A sullen voice informs you of a tragedy. Your heart is so heavy that you feel as though you could die. What do you do?

Bad news, danger, and pain all cause us to look for help. As believers, we dwell with the almighty God, who is able to aid us. At those moments when we are sideswiped by life’s circumstances, we should cry out to Him.

In the Bible, crying out refers to speaking audibly with great emotion concerning an urgent need. God invites us to use this form of prayer to communicate that we desperately need His mercy.

It takes both faith and humility to share our heart’s concern aloud. Crying out, then, is a way for God’s children to express trust in the Lord’s ability and willingness to help. By calling upon Him with such urgency, we also lay down our pride and any attitude of self-sufficiency.

The Word of God assures us that our Father hears our cries and responds. In Psalm 3:4, for example, David wrote, “I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered from His holy mountain.” When we call aloud for help in Jesus’ name, we invite His power into the situation. Remember that there is strength in just speaking His name.

When we cry out to God, He may remove the problem immediately, yet we often have to wait for His perfect timing. Harsh circumstances might even be allowed to remain for His good purposes. But we can always count on His comfort and presence, which enable us to live with joy and hope.

Picture It And Write It, Prompt #23

Celia was in David’s arms once again. Lovers they had become. Celia embracing him with  all of her emotions and  needs, pouring them into David, feeling his heart beating against her bare breasts, his arms wrapped around her making her feel beautiful.

Celia was a spoiled woman, who had been given all of her heart’s desires by her father. Her father loved her and could never discipline her. He never wanted to see her with a sad face. Celia was a married woman, who had a hard-working husband, named Bill. Bill was secure,  providing money for all of her needs, or so he thought.

Celia had met David at a local pub. She had gone there because of another argument between her and Bill. She had seen a beautiful dress in a store window the day before, and bringing this up to Bill  at supper tonight, he had said no. Celia wanted this dress. She could imagine herself walking the streets of downtown, with all the people staring at her beauty. Bill’s argument was that she had enough dresses already hanging in her closet. That the house and auto insurance premiums were coming due, and these needed to be paid first. They would try to buy the dress out of the next pay check. Celia was not happy with this plan. She wanted the dress now. She had walked out of their home, and went straight to the pub, to drown her sorrows in music and alcohol. While there, she drew the attention of David. David was a lady’s man. He thought all women adored him, and he used all women for his own enjoyments, usually dropping each one as his needs were fulfilled.

He walked up to her and asked her if he could buy her a drink. Celia looked up at him and saw the most beautiful dark eyes she had ever seen, and motioned for David to sit down next to her. They drank and they chatted. He told her about his nice car he had just purchased two weeks ago. She asked him what kind of work he did, and he told her he was in sales. David told her that he lived in a high-rise only a walking distance away. After some time of senseless chat had occurred, he ask her if she would like to come with him. Celia saw her new dress hanging in her closet. All she had to do was entertain David and fulfill his fantasies, and the dress would be hers.

They both walked to his apartment, and when the door was unlocked, David let her go in first. As soon as the door was shut behind them and locked, he began to tear her clothes off and she was tugging at his also. Their lips met hard, their hands grasping for each other, as they made their way to his bedroom. David threw her on his bed, and took her there. After their love session was over, she told him that she wished her husband could make love to her like this. She explained that their love-making had become boring and too routine. David didn’t even blink when she mentioned her husband. He didn’t care if she was married or not. All that mattered to David, was that for tonight, she was his. Having gotten his needs taken care of, he stood up and started to get dressed. Celia asked him why he was in such a hurry to end this night, and David mentioned that he had forgotten an important phone call he needed to make. Celia said nothing, and with a pouty face, got up and dressed. He walked her back to the pub, and gave her a piece of paper with his phone number on it, and said, call me, the next time you are going to be at the pub. Celia took the paper and placed it in her purse, and walked home, being no closer to the dress she wanted than she was before.

Bill was sitting at his office desk in their den, going over their budget. He told Celia, that he would be able to buy her the dress in two weeks. She made a grunting sound and walked past him, to their bedroom, and running herself a nice, hot, bubble bath. She got in and went over the past few hours of her evening. Sure, David was good enough in bed, but he could offer her much more, than just

thrills. Meanwhile, a block away, David was thinking of her also, and knew that he had a wild cat here, and he wanted more.

A few days later, Bill had to leave for an overnight business trip. Celia found her piece of paper with David’s phone number on it, and she called him. She told him she would be at the pub that evening, around ten. She asked him if he would care to join him for a drink. She wanted the dress, and he wanted his desires met, so once again, Celia was in David’s arms, and lovers they became.

This story was written for Picture And Write it by Terry Shepherd and credits going to

http://ermiliablog.wordpress.com/