A Really Honest Talk

We are good and proper quarantined. I'm pretty sure. Fact is, I'm on my third slight cold with symptoms of COVID-19. I've probably been asymptomatic once or twice by now. Anyway, I think we should get back to living. I'm tired of worrying that I have it or am giving it to someone unbeknownst to all.

I keep thinking about the slaves in Texas that were oblivious to their freedom two and a half years after the fact because they were never informed of it. Their owners kept them in the dark on purpose. I hope that isn't the case nationally with the coronavirus.

For that reason, I am thankful for our rabid social media. There is no chance of missing an important notification these days. Or is there? I told my mom on the phone recently of my glorious peaceful week. "How did you do that?" she asked.

"I didn't listen to or watch the news." I answered glibly, and then we both laughed because ignorance sometimes IS bliss.

In other news...

I am doing boxed gardens this year. It is purely experimental. I have been informed there is too much shade and pine for it to be truly successful. If I cared about true success I suppose I would not attempt. But my purpose is to see what I can see and to have fun, so there's that. I'm learning a lot. I am scavenging topsoil from mounded areas in my cleared woodland...which makes it sound vast. It's not... this is a small area, I guess then it makes sense that in my gathering of soil I unearthed buried bottles and tins, amongst and intertwined with an old rusty bed spring. The jumble became too confusing to sort through and dispose of properly so I rescued an old tin and a few bottles, then buried the rest all over again. I pity the person that finds that mess in twenty years or fifty.

Which made me think about our histories and the things we bury and why? Literally and figuratively. I found perfectly whole colored glass bottles. They're beautiful to me. Why do we bury some of things we bury? Or any? Why not dispose of and clean up things properly? Why not expose it to the light of day and above ground? What is the purpose of deceit other than deceit? 

Love though...Because love covers a multitude of sins I Peter 4:8  Loving each other is the tool we are given to stay above ground...There have been times in my life that I felt irate at unjust behavior and ignorant choices made by "godly people". I longed to tell the truth, to expose and bring to light the wrongness and stupidity. It would feel good and right to set them straight. I could have even possibly felt righteous and successful spiritually. But that would've been a view of man not God, because God doesn't need our self righteous actions or wise thinking to set people straight. He does a phenomenal job by Himself. If He does use us, it's through our deeds of loving and through our trust in Him. Trust that God is the one with the power and righteousness. 

We should live without buried junk sunk deep into our souls. But if we are going to dig up the past, it better be our own stash we're working on. It is not love being used properly if our longing is to expose someone else's bad history. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. We better leave Him to it. We have pretty powerful tools though of loving and praying. God moves in 'strongerbetterfaster' when we get out of the way. If you don't believe me you could read the book of 1 Peter then try living it.

I must end with something a little less deep. It's actually pretty shallow of me. Excuse the puns😁.

 I was feeling pretty low last week, asking, begging, and crying to God for something specific...{sorry, there always seems to be something shrouded in my honest talks} so anyway, 'something specific'... I was kinda like the pharisees in needing a sign. Because you know, my faith and trust can be in working order but I reach deserty places and need a little more oomph...so I was begging and all that, and several physical, shallow things happened in a row that felt like that 'something specific' I was asking for.

 OK. I'll just say. I was feeling neglected in every way. I wanted attention, affection, and conversation from a real live person. Specifically from my husband. First of all, my husband came home from work and asked about me and listened to and understood my lonely little broken soul. Then, I won a prize from Lemongrass Spa products for $90.00 worth of stuff. I didn't even know I had entered when I placed an order previously. Leaving out details here on both counts so as not to bore you...

 Yes, shallow I suppose, but I got that little extra oomph to continue in trust and prayer. I'm gonna give God the credit because I was doing my utmost to God focus during that time and I was praising Him anyway in my little desert storm. How about you? Do you have desert storms?

 By the way, if you haven't seen Lemongrass Spa products here is the link to check it out... if you want to order from my local consultant it is JoAnna Skrivseth   www.lemongrassspa.com