Playing ball and being a light

I headed out of town a few days ago packed for baseball in Paris and loaded down to send my oldest to Georgia to play softball. I cooked in Dallas at my in-laws to get everyone’s bellies full before hit the road. I accidentally burnt the cinnamon rolls because I was on the phone with my husband. I had the following thoughts about playing ball right about the time I performed cosmetic surgery on the cinnamon rolls to remove their dark brown bottoms. Go get the state title, the college look, the ring, the medal, the home run or strike out applause, but do not just get “it” and come home. Give and be a blessing in the place you are in, on your team, in your vehicle. Pray for someone, share a water, be an encourager, smile, and give your coaches and family a thank you for going with you and supporting you wherever you are. This applies to everything in life. Get the grade, but give a kind word in class. Get the job, but bet ready to be a blessing and work hard. Get the title or promotion, but be ready to encourage someone. Get the ring, the trophy, or the scholarship, but be ready to find a younger kid to mentor. Get the girl or the guy to marry you, but be ready to put them first and love unconditionally. I saw this idea in motion when we checked into the Comfort Inn in Paris. There was man working who greeted us, and went to work. I mean…he went to work! Trinity checked us in and mopped up a continuous puddle of water that kids made when they ran from the pool to the lobby. He delivered blankets. He made reservations. He cut up fresh watermelon, put out trays of cookies, and sent someone to get extra drinks that could be iced down in the lobby. He visited with kids playing video games and elderly women there for a family reunion. He circled through the dining area to make sure our crew was okay on his way to carry more towels to the pool. We were all in awe of his hospitality. Did he own this hotel? Was he the manager? No, he was just an employee on a mission to do his best and give back. I asked Blaise, my youngest, what she thought about Trinity. She said right off the bat, “Mom, He IS a Christian.” She could tell he was a Believer and not just a believer in anything or anyone, but a Believer in Jesus Christ. He told her that he loved Romans 10:17. It says “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” In a little sermon in the lobby on his way to help some kids track down something they had lost, he told her to get as much of the Word of God as she could every day. I was reminded several times this weekend to give life my best shot and to be a light. I love the saying “Bloom where you are planted.” It often slaps me in the face! I threw a few fits when we were packing up the car. (yes, a few) I sometimes momentarily forget to bloom where I am planted and to be a LIGHT in every situation that the Lord puts me in. It is not possible because of who I am, but who He is. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” That, my friends, is a thought for the week.

peas

When I poured my first cup of coffee one morning last week I had a tingle, really a pain, in my thumb. I felt like I had been in a fierce thumb war and won the championship after several rounds. Once the cup of caffeine set in and recharged my brain, I remembered that my thumb was more likely sore from my new hobby, shelling peas, than from any recent thumb war. I call it a hobby because I enjoy it. Go figure, I married a man from Dallas who has managed to be more country than I ever dreamed and grow an amazing garden. He grows, waters, and I tend to it when I am home in the summer. We are a pretty good team. One day last week in particular, the kids and I spent some time in the pea patch and also in the corn. The corn is so tall in one area that I thought I was in a maze I had seen in a Texas Highways magazine. I spent many a hour in a pea patch ten times I know the size of mine when I was a kid with my Great-Grandmother. She was a master gardener before the term even existed. I did not like it then, but many years later, the physical labor and quietness of outdoor work sure has grown on me. The first batch of cream peas we picked were not quite ready. We got excited snapped them from their vine a few days too soon! One of my kiddos asked me after the day we brought them in and realized they were not fully developed it they would get bigger and better. My answer was well….no. I saved that thought for a teachable moment the next time we were out in the garden. Covered in sweat, dirt, and bug spray because mosquitos did not seem to get the message that they are only supposed to bite at night this year, I bent down to show Blaise and Bosque how we were letting the peas stay connected to the vine a little bit longer. They started avoiding the smaller ones and went for the “Big Daddy Peas.” I started my verse in John 15:5 and they finished it for me about staying connected to the vine. Peas just take time. Gardening takes time! I guess that is why I love it. It teaches me to wait. It teaches me to be patient. It teaches me that when I get my kids outside together and away from television, phones, and technology all together, that we have the best conversations. I have sat outside and inside so much the past week shelling peas and it has served my mind well. I have sorted through some problems and seen mother nature first hand. I have learned the hard way for the thousandth time, that waiting is hard, but rushing anything can cause waste and ruin. I have remembered all of the times that I took the reins in life to rush and push my way into what I wanted or thought was best for me. Sadly, that never works because God has a plan and His plans cannot be rushed or manipulated! I am reminded of a promise in Micah 7:7. It says “But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” Instead of rushing the crop, or rushing your life, looking and waiting for the LORD is a much better plan.