I Will Not Let You Die

I’ve noticed it for quite some time that she had been falling off.Week after week, she was looking weaker and weaker.I didn’t know exactly what I should do for her, so as much as I wanted to help, I didn’t do anything for her at all. Besides watered her, I just watched.

Today was a little different as I was sitting here looking at my plant in her current state, I felt compel to move and do something to try and save her fragile life.  Although just a plant, it symbolizes life at its best.  And I feel that as long as there is life, there is always a chance.  Always hope.

There are several ways we can look at this, but let me just flow with it for a minute.  Sometimes we have good seasons and sometimes not so good seasons.  We flourish, we grow, we bloom and we excel. Then there are times when we are down and out, sickly and frail, and more vulnerable to our environments.  Sometimes we’re strong.And then other times we’re weak.  Those are just some of the same stages a plant may go through.

As an observer, my heart began to ache at the declining health of the plant.  I remembered when she was so full and pretty.  She was growing and everyone that saw her complimented on her beauty. J ust seeing her made me smile.  But now what? Now that she needs me the most, do I just turn my back on her and let her die.  Do I just sit and watch her deteriorate?
 

Have you ever been in a situation where you saw someone in pain or in need and wanted to do something to help them?  I believe this is where God was with us.  We were sick.  We were dying and He couldn’t and wouldn’t allow us to die.  He sent a Savior- someone to save us from ALL sickness (physically, mentally, and/or emotionally).   He sent someone to heal the broken-hearted and to lift the heavy burdened.

The more I thought about how God’s love for us demonstrates RESTORATION- The process of repairing or renovating a building, work of art, etc., so as to restore it to its original condition—which is wholeness, I decided to no longer sit and just watch her die. As a matter of fact, “I refuse to let her die,” is what I told myself.

I will do all that I can to restore her back to her original state.I will nurture it, pour into it, and I will even SPEAK life back into it.   I refuse to let her die.  I refuse to let you die!  So, no matter what you may be dealing with today, no matter how bad you may be hurting today, don't give up, help is on the way!  Know that God loves you and wants you whole.   Know that there is absolutely nothing too hard for God.   Respond to his love.  Respond to his voice, and watch and see how you bloom.

Stay Hopeful,

Clarissa

IT'S NOT AS BAD AS IT SEEMS

Today I was thinking about when my family first moved to Atlanta in 2009, we (my husband and I) spent almost a year and a half bored to life without any friends.  (Yes , I meant to say bored to life b/c I choose not to use such negative words as bored to death, tickled me to death, etc.—so instead I choose to use the word life.) 

Anyhoo, last year, my baby girl was outside playing with one of her friends and somehow, one of their necklaces got caught up on a limb in a tree, when they tossed it up in the air (don’t ask me cause I just don’t know why).  Instead of them asking an adult to help them get the necklace down, they attempted to retrieve it themselves by throwing jumbo rocks up in the sky.  Well guess what happened—you guessed it right, they broke someone’s windshield, and unfortunately for me, it was my daughter’s rock that busted the glass on the Nissan Pathfinder.

Just as it is with most apartment complexes, any type of accident will bring an audience to yard—some concerned and others just nosey.  The police came out and wrote up an accident report, but because it was a parked vehicle, they couldn’t charge anyone with “at fault”.  Well to do the right thing, we ended up paying for the neighbors’ windshield to be repaired, which was close to 300 bucks.

After the officer left, we ended up meeting some really cool people out of the “watchers” that stayed in the same building as we did.  Since then, we have become like one big family—sisters and brothers.  They have been a blessing to both me and my husband.   I needed a sister and my husband definitely needed a brother.

So you see, had not my daughter bust the windshield, we probably wouldn’t have met our friends, Ron and Camone.  What started out as a disaster, ended up being a blessing.   Since then, we have moved four hours away, but our friendship is just as strong as it was before we left.   Even though we had to come out of our pocket a pretty penny, I thank God for my sister and brother because meeting them taught me that everything is not always as bad as it seems.   Sometimes there is really good in the bad.

Stay Hopeful,

Clarissa

It Ain't My Fault

Sunday Morning, with less than ten minutes to spare before leaving for church, my youngest daughter comes in my room and asks for a band aid for her leg. Before moving to get her the requested item, I ask her what she needed one for. As a mom, we have to know everything about our kids, right! She responded by telling me that the razor that was sitting on the side of the tub, fell down on her leg and cut her. Hmmm, that just don’t sound right to me.
“Don’t lie to me,” I say.
“Mom, can you please give me a band-aid.”
Now I’m noticing the blood streaming down her leg from underneath the towel she had wrapped around her, and my psychic-mom abilities kicks in. I know that she has wanted to shave her legs, arms, and whatever else that she is too young to do. We’ve all been there—wanting to grow up too fast. My daughter and I have had many conversations on why can’t she wear make-up, and why can’t she shave, and why can’t she get her eyebrows waxed, and why can’t she stay up late “like her big sister”. “It ain’t fair,” she says. Anyhoo….. After she admits to trying to shave, I did what only a mother can do best. I scolded her.
“You had no business messing with that razor because; I have already told you that you can’t shave your legs. One- You’re too young. Two- You don’t know what you’re doing, and when you’re disobedient, things happens.”
Now, I must be honest with you, God got me good on this one. Let me see if I can show it to you like he showed it to me—there were three people in this situation at fault.
1. My oldest daughter- who is 19, out of disobedience, left the razor on the side of the tub- This was careless and irresponsible on her part, especially after I have gotten on to her about not putting things back in their appropriate places.
2. Me- I hardly ever go in their bathroom, but I went in there like two days prior to the incident and noticed the razor on the side of the tub. My first thought was, that I needed to move this razor before my youngest daughter sees it and gets tempted, but instead I left it there, because I wanted to fuss at my oldest daughter for leaving it there in the first place.
3. My youngest daughter- out of disobedience as well, she bothered something and did something she had been told NO about several times. Although my daughters were wrong, so was I, and I am thankful to God because He didn’t let me get away with it. So, the same way I fussed at my daughters, he scolded me. EVERYONE is at fault.
With my wild imagination, I can see my baby girl sitting in the bathroom on the first day, and the razor is saying, “C’mon girl, pick me up and use me. Nobody has to know.” I can see her fighting this temptation with all her might, and the first day, she beat it; but that second day, she wasn’t so strong because it came to her again with more enticing words. So what’s the message this week—I’m glad you asked.
1. Always be careful not to leave things out for other people to fall, to sin, to error. Be careful that you don’t cause another person to fall. Everyone is not as strong as you are, and what may not be a temptation for you, may be a temptation for others. Remember, you were not always at the place you are in today. If you do this type of thing, YOU ARE AT FAULT
2. If you see something out of order, fix it. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t create the mess; if you have the power to correct something—then do so. You never know whose life you may be saving, or what you may be preventing from happening. If you see something out of order, and leave it there because…. YOU ARE AT FAULT
3. Take heed to the teachings that are given to you. Be obedient, especially to the Word of God, because disobedience brings about consequences and repercussions. If you disobey what you know is right, guess what….YOU ARE AT FAULT.
Lord, please forgive us for being careless in our ways, careless with our words, careless with our actions. God I pray that we become mindful of what we are doing in front of others, and that we would be careful not to cause others to fall or to error by our actions. Lord I also pray that we will become more accountable for our brother and sisters, that if we see something out of place in their lives, that we will step in and do the necessary things to keep them from falling. That we won’t turn a deaf ear or ignore the signs to what’s going on around us. And Father, I pray that we will learn to follow instructions and be obedient to you and your word in all things, for we know that you wouldn’t withhold any good thing from us. Help us to remain humble, and to never try to be more than what you have created us to be. Thank you for the lessons of life. Thank you for a teachable spirit, and thank you for being the God over my life. We love you! In Jesus Name, Amen!

Stay Hopeful,

Clarissa

Get Your House In Order

Today was just one of those days where—I didn’t feel like doing much of anything.  For one, this sinus cold is really getting the best of me, and so I have been feeling kinda blah.  Anyhoo, my husband is the kind of guy that likes a clean house, and being that I don’t work, I try my best to honor his request in that matter.  It’s not spotless, but you know it’s enough to keep him from fussing.  **ha ha**

Well I played around doing a little bit of something, but a whole lot of nothing, and when I looked at the clock, I only had 15 minutes to wash the dishes, make the bed, and straighten up the living room—by taking coats and things, and throwing them in another room.  **LOL** 

As I was running through the house trying to get things in order before the hubby got in, I imagined, just for a moment, was this how we would be doing at the return of Christ.  Would we already have everything in order, or would we be running around like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to get everything ready at the last minute? 

My prayer today is…. that we will get ourselves prepared for the Lord’s return.  That we will be ready and prepared like the five wise virgins, for the hour that He will return, no man knows.  Have you accepted Christ?  If so, are you prepared?  If not, there's not time like the present. 

Stay Hopeful,

Clarissa

Take Heed to the Warnings!

Yesterday, as I was driving, I was stopped by the State Patrol. In this case, not to make an excuse, but I really didn’t know I was speeding. The speed limit at the beginning of this highway was 65 MPH, but when I went through one of the little cities, the speed decreased to 45 MPH. After I had passed the city, I pulled my speed back up to 65 MPH, not realizing that it had now changed to 55 MPH. Needless to say, I was going 10 MPH over the speed limit. Luckily for me, I was only given a warning instead of an actual ticket. WHEW! One thing I can’t stand is, giving my money away for something that could have been avoided or carelessness.

I am thankful because, the warning was all that I needed to correct the thing that I was doing wrong. So many times, we fail to take heed to the warning signs that are given to us, but had we—we could have prevented ourselves some major heartaches and headaches.

Warnings are good because it allows us time to prepare and get things in order—Look at Noah!
Warnings are good because it allows us time to get out of a dangerous situation—Look at Lot!
Warnings are good because it allows us time to make corrections or changes before we enter into a dangerous state—Look at Cain!

I am convinced that the warnings of God, are far better than the consequences of disobedience any day.

As we enter this new year, my prayer is that we take heed to the warnings that the Lord has graciously seen fit to send to us. I pray that we don’t have to endure the pains of destruction in order for us to get in line with His will and purpose for our lives. I pray that we all have a prosperous year!

Stay Hopeful,

Clarissa

Whoa! This Is Not What I Asked For

My step-daughter’s son stated he wanted an XBOX 360 for Christmas, and his mom decided to get him the XBOX 360 Kinect.  For those of you who don’t know, the only difference is, the “Kinect” is an attachable motion sensor that allows you to operate games without using an actual controller.  They are actually both the same exact thing because, if you want to, you can actually detach the Kinect, and hence have the original XBOX 360, however, as a small child, he could not grasp that he was actually getting more.  He told his mommy, “I don’t want the Kinect, I want the 360!”  He couldn’t grasp that his mother wanted to bless him with more than what he asked for.  He couldn’t grasp that he was indeed getting what he asked for, but so much more to the 10^th power.

The scripture that comes to mind is, Ephesians 3:20 (The Message) God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. 

Brace yourself, beloved.  God is ready to blow your mind!  He dreams bigger than we do!  So while you’re asking for a house, he wants to bless you with a mansion.  You’re asking for a job, and he wants to give you a career.  Honey, whatever you are asking for, believing for, or even thinking about; He wants to give it to you a 100 times over.   Don't let your small thinking limit what God can do! 

Spiritual Disclaimer:  Sometimes the things we ask for comes with a price, and a great responsibility—so be careful when you start asking, dreaming, and thinking.  God is ready to do the unimaginable for you and through you! 

Stay Hopeful,

Clarissa

Making A Bad Situation Worse

My baby girl, age 11, experienced her first pimple bump, positioned perfectly, on the right side of her face, about an inch underneath the eye. Using motherly wisdom, I warned her not to pick at it because, it was too soon, and it could make it worse. When she came home from school the next day, there was a noticeable change in the blemish. What started out as a small, red bump, had now turned into a sore. She was devastated. Without caring how hideous she looked, she was putting band-aids on it, and applying globs of cocoa butter on it. Sounds familiar?

Have you ever had a small problem/situation that you were faced with—carelessly, you approached it the wrong way, and made it worse? Then, found yourself trying to bandage it up, and apply soothing creams on it, to make it feel better, or to reverse the bigger mess you’ve created. This could be as simple as a small bump, but for most of us, it’s life—our finances, marriages, friendships, raising our kids, our bodies, our health, ministries, goals, etc. And for those of us that understand the power of words, we don’t even have to put our hands on a situation to make it worse, we can just speak the wrong things regarding it, our lives, and things/people attached to us.

Sarah is a prime example of meddling—trying to fix a problem in her own way, and making a bad situation worse. I’m sure she thought to herself a million times, “What on earth have I done?” Every time she turned around, there it was; a reminder of what she had done. But in the end, God fixed it.

We can’t change what has already been done, but I’m confident, that there is absolutely nothing too hard for God, and he can definitely clean up, heal, and undo, some of the things we’ve done. However, from this point forward, we have to learn to be careful in how we approach a situation. Be careful what we do, and most importantly, watch the words that we speak, regarding our situations, and our lives.

Some things are just not for us to mess with, but in the result that we do, it’s not the end of the world. Although we can’t fix it, God can. Is there anything too hard for God—even the messes that we make for ourselves? Absolutely not!

I’m a true believer that this is what God meant by: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT) Yes, even what we consider bad, and mess-ups, God can use for a bigger and better purpose, and for His Glory! “I can see Him saying, she messed up, but I can use that later. Uh-oh, she messed up again, I can use that too!” Only God can make a mess, a message, and bless someone by it.

Disclaimer: Sometimes the consequences of our actions, leaves an everlasting blemish. These lessons should be used as testimonies for others. Don’t you remember someone older telling you that they are telling you this, to keep you from making the same mistakes as they did? Right; it’s a learning experience. So, don’t be sad about it, use it to help someone else.

Stay Hopeful,

Clarissa