Can you put yourself in the shoes of a blind man sitting by the wayside and begging? I cannot. However, I would imagine he must have felt he was in an “impossible” situation. As a blind man, he must have always been dependent on others to lead and assist him through life. How miserable would life be dependent on the mercy of others? “Others.” Many times “others" have disappointed me more than I care to share.
Do you ever feel like the burden and weight of deployment and separation are an affliction? May we be able to learn something from the prayer of Hannah in I Samuel 2:1-10 as she presents her son, Samuel to Eli, the priest, and offers him in service to the LORD.
From the blog of a soldier's wife, serving in Afghanistan: As I write this, winds continue to howl furiously throughout the woods in our backyard. The weather was expected to be severe late tonight, but as we drove home from dinner we were surprised to find ourselves driving into heavy rain and severe lightening. The severe weather had arrived much earlier than predicted. As we neared our home, we drove deeper and deeper into the severe storm that was passing through Georgia as it continued it's way North East.
On Memorial Day we honor many who died in service to our country . . . and thank the guards charged with keeping watch over the unknowns who represent the utmost bravery of our military service members.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry.” Whatever our role, our position, our organization—we should strive to be the best. Agreed. But what if there was more . . . ?
How do you change your spouse? Nervously, I began to fidget, play around with my jewelry and crack my knuckles as I sat on the brown sofa. It had taken all my courage just to muster up enough strength to walk into the Christian counselor’s office.
Have you ever PCSed and had the realtor tell you that the most important thing to consider in choosing a house is “location . . . location . . . location”? In his book, Dangerous Calling, Paul David Tripp says that phrase also refers to life. When I read that statement I was intrigued.
In 1879 it became practice for the first verse of this hymn to be sung at the conclusion of chapel services on Sundays at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Through the years, verses have been adapted to “The Navy Hymn” to reflect naval service by aviators, submariners, Seabees, SEALS, Marines, military families, and others who serve nobly.
I love the story of the two men on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, as Jesus walks beside them and talks to them in the days after His resurrection but before His ascension. His presence was so real, but at first they did not know who He was. Jesus asks them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
My Christmas celebration includes listening to the delivered words of Dr. S. M. Lockridge in his sermon, “That’s My King!" And a similar joy comes at Easter when I listen to his preaching “It’s Friday. . . but Sunday’s Comin'!”