Dearest
Ruby B., Eliana and Gehrig,
Good
afternoon, sweethearts. O.K., first
question you have is probably why is Grandpa Jud writing all of us
together. Well, it occurred to me that I
wanted each of my messages to be heard by all three of you, not just two or
one. So from now on my
"Pearls" will be for all three of my sweet grandchildren together.
I
got a call from a dear friend this morning.
I have known Tom Solon and his family for over forty years. Tom selected me to be his mobile home
specialist when I was a rookie salesman in the Portland Branch of Owens-Corning
Fiberglas in 1970. Tom was the general
manager of the Manufactured Housing Division at the time and over time I worked
for him in other divisions. He became a
close friend and mentor. It is my hope
that each of you, at some point, has a Tom Solon to be a positive influence in
your lives.
Tom
told me about the passing of his brother who was eight years his junior. His assessment was their relationship was not
all that close over the years but, in the end, they had reconnected and spoke
almost every day. Tom used the word
"guilt" in talking about his sibling and their past.
Tom
asked about the recent wildfires which threatened our lives and our property
here at Possum
Kingdom Lake . By the time you read this those fires will
not only be ancient history but the devastating effects will, most likely, not
even be evident. Just so you know,
however, the wildfires of 2011 consumed over 125,000 acres of beautiful north
Texas hill country, burned to the ground 167 homes and 128 outbuildings, took
one life and left huge parcels of scorched and blackened landscape in their
wake.
Granny
and I were forced to evacuate for five days but, thank God, our home, as well
as all of the homes in The Cliffs, were
spared. Other areas all around us were
not that fortunate. We felt helpless at
the time, totally out of control.
Tom
mentioned how it seemed like lately there has been so many violent acts of
nature, like our wildfires. More than
usual. We discussed the stronger than normal Atlantic hurricane season last
year and the devastating tornados and flooding that have plagued the entire
country all spring. We didn't even get
to the deadly tsunami and earthquakes which struck Japan
in March and the recent volcano in Iceland , but Tom's observation was
quite accurate.
Toward
the end of my conversation with Tom he made a comment with which I could
readily identify. He said the older he
got, the more he realized just how little control we have on the overall scheme
of things. He said that as he sat there
in his recliner he had enough to be concerned about with his own family and
their well being let alone the multitude of natural disasters of late. He used the word "worry" in
discussing those challenges which are closer to home. This kind of brings me to my next "Pearl ":
Thirty-Eighth
Pearl:
"You Have To Give Up Control to Get Control"
Most
people like to think they are in control.
In control of their possessions, in control of their finances, in
control of their relationships, in control of their time....in short, in
control of their lives. Whether we are
directly faced with it or just watch it unfold on the evening news on TV, the
awesome power of nature reminds us we have no control in those situations. When we see the national debt ($ 14 trillion
at this point) spiraling upward at alarming rates, we realize we have little or
no control. And it is little comfort we
still have the right to vote as our single vote must be combined with millions
of other like-minded American's votes to effectively shift the political
course. Not much control there. When
violence and corruption seem an ever growing part of our societal makeup, as
individuals we feel helpless and out of control. We can change to a more healthy diet,
exercise more, and do all the things the doctors d jour tell us to do, but even
then, we do not even have control over how and when we will die.
So,
you say, Grandpa Jud, what are we to do?
Well, there is hope, young ones.
When we face seemingly insurmountable challenges and feel weak with no
control, God is there to take up the task.
We need not worry and shouldn't.
When we turn our worries over to God, He is our strength and will answer
our petitions if we pray with faith. How
do I know this, because of personal experience AND Scripture tells me so.
He has
said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the
power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in
injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.
For when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
“Therefore, do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew
6: 34
But
what about our guilt, Grandpa Jud? Guilt
is just a tool the devil uses to convict us of our sins. Basically, Satan is whispering in our ear,
"Hey, you really messed up this time and there is no way God is going to
forgive you for this one." Well,
you know what? Satan is a liar. God will forgive us anything if we come to
him for forgiveness with a sincere and repentant heart. The Bible says, "He throws our sins as
far as the east is from the west".
It says, God "drops them in the sea of forgetfulness and remembers
them no more". Is that because God
has a bad memory? NO, of course not. It
is because he loves us and his promise is:
If we
confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1
John 1: 9
So little ones, do not be concerned about your
lack of control, or worry about your problems or feel guilty about what you
have done. Turn it all over to God. You have a champion in our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ and gain control when you give it up.
I
love you, bunches and bunches,
Grandpa
Jud
No comments:
Post a Comment