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| (photo from howcast.com) |
Watching
the man beside me in church type so quickly with his thumbs amazed me as much
as it does my grandson to watch me use all of my fingers to fly through words
without looking, almost as quickly as I can talk. No wonder they don’t bother
to offer classes in keyboarding to grade school and middle school children
anymore. If they’re going to use their thumbs, it’s just a matter of practice
to gain speed.
Is
this a “bad” thing?
Well,
to me, it’s not a good thing, but I’m still learning that my way isn’t always the
only good way to do things! Others may actually come up with better ways of
doing what needs to be done, in an even timelier manner. Ouch!
Just
because something looks new or different to me doesn’t mean I should assume it’s
inferior to what I consider normal.
Having
just spent some time “back home”, accompanying my mother to mass every day, I
repeatedly prayed the Lord’s prayer using the word “trespass” instead of “debt”.
This brought to my remembrance the story of a young boy, who, in complete innocence
prayed, “…forgive us our trash passing as we forgive those who pass trash
against us…”
Ponder
that.
This
little boy’s understanding of his prayer could be “corrected” – but, he wasn’t “wrong”.
Who
has “passed trash” our way; often piling it up quickly?
Better
yet; who are we burying with the “trash” we pass along?
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| (picture from barbarakoob.com) |
1 John 1:9 assures us that: “God
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all
unrighteousness” – in other words, He’s faithful to forgive us of all that
we do to offend Him and to clean all that “trash” off of us.
But,
the people around us, whether strangers or friends, can’t always see our heart,
especially if we’re busy at the work of building safety walls around it. They
many find it difficult or even impossible to forgive us for all the trash we
pass their way.
It’s
just as hard for us to see their hidden hearts, often making it unthinkable for
us to forgive them for all the trash they pile up at the door of our
heart, begging us to ask, “Why are they doing this to me??”
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| (photo from orangemuscle.com) |
Recall
the Lord’s prayer says, “…forgive us as we forgive…”
That
line could make this a scary prayer if we don’t have a very forgiving heart.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and
lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:23-24 (KJV)
Notice,
we’re not led to pray, “Lord, search my neighbor’s heart and point out their
wicked ways….”
What
does this have to do with typing with our thumbs?
Simply
to say that for my heart to be set free and be healed of the piles of damage it’s
sustained over the years, and in order for my life to change course, I may need
to do some things differently. I may need to look at what’s going on around me
from a different point of view; I may need to ask myself, “What is God’s take
on this?” – and I may have to face the fact that His point of view may be quite
different than mine, or even than what I think His should be. I want to line
up with Him and do things the way He wants me to, even when it costs me; I may
feel embarrassed, I will be humbled….
But,
if I want to heal and grown I need to change my thinking. I need to get out of
the rut of thinking that the way I’ve always seen things is the only way they
can possibly be…..
What
a startling revelation!
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| (Meme from alanon.actionboard.com) |
Pastor
recently quoted a paraphrase of the Serenity Prayer, I loved it! It went
something like this:
Lord,
grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change
The
courage to change the one I can
And
the wisdom to know – it’s me
Selah!
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| (Meme from whatwillmatter.com) |
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