Where She's Downright Helpless Without Him

"Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved."   ---Psalm 55:22

"Apart from me you can do nothing."   ---John 15:5

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So to fill our outdoor bird feeders I--

grab my coat,

remove a board (which keeps Dan the Cat out) from in front of the accordion basement door, 

push back that door, move aside the curtain across it. 

I switch on the light, descend the five stairs, 

then usually climb right back up, having forgotten to grab the empty plastic shoebox and cup for birdseed.

Then in the still-semi-darkness I --

step over to the storage bin with the birdseed, 

struggle with the lid, 

set it upon the floor then 

scoop up birdseed with the cup a few times into the container. 

Then I carry the seed back up the stairs, through the doorway, replace the board and the curtain

open the backdoor

walk over to the bird feeders

then fill them.

I walk back over the little sidewalk to the back door,

open it, pull the curtain back 

reach through the accordion door opening over the board to the shelf

and replace the empty plastic shoebox and cup,

close the curtain

walk up the three stairs into the kitchen

and go about my day.

All this just to feed the birds! I imagine all my other tasks and discover a sudden need to sit down. ツ

But here's the thing: at age 62-as-of-tomorrow, I can do nothing without Jesus' help. No seriously, not even the vacuuming. Oh, the dread, struggle and loneliness of living one moment apart from Him!

For me? I refuse to live even seconds without the knowledge, the remembrance, the vital presence of Jesus. They've become too much like breathing now, especially during this pandemic, and more? They keep away all silliness like wilderness trips alone and where's God gone? thoughts. 

Phooey on all that stuff.

But go relying on people this way and we're doomed to disappointment (and often disappearance). Even when I mess up, Jesus stays, which says much during these cancel culture times. 

I mention all this because of this paragraph, below. Weeks ago it both shook me and confirmed that Life lived in this manner is best. I cannot shake these words (nor wish to). May they shake you, as well.

"(Jesus) answered: I've given each person a will. The desire of the hearts of those who will not accept me is that they want Us to stay out of the way. They don't want the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit. They say, 'Leave me alone, I'll make it.' They think they can make their own lives, live the way they want. That's the will of people who deprive themselves of salvation. So I immediately had to create a place of total separation."

From Heaven Is Beyond Your Wildest Expectations, Ten True Stories of Experiencing Heaven by Sid Roth and Lonnie Lane

And now may you go with God. Forever moment-by-moment. In joy.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."   ---Proverbs 3:5,6

Only one person has consistently encouraged me when I desperately needed it. Only one. Jesus. End of story.

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Oh, now here was a terrific movie: The Resurrection of Gavin Stone. Tom and I watched it on Saturday and both agreed it was perhaps the best Christian film of this type we'd ever seen. Highly recommended.

We watched that one over at Amazon, but this one, Crossing Streets, was another winner (we found it at Pure Flix). A seasoned detective is assigned a pastor as a partner so to get a different angle on the city's youth. 

It's a drama, but there's lots of humorous banter between the two men. Very enjoyable.

“I have come to see clearly that life is more than self. It is more than doing what I want, striving for what will benefit me, dreaming of all I can be. Life is all about my relationship with God. There is no higher calling, no loftier dream, and no greater goal than to live, breathe, and be poured out for Jesus Christ."
--Jamie in Brother Andrew's "The Calling”

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Please remember: My posts are ALWAYS about more than they appear to be. 

 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15