Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Attitude Adjustment Needed!

Have you ever had that "alone and rejected" feeling...for no reason at all? The only song you can think of to sing is that old " Blues, Despair, and Agony on me!" sung by Grandpa Jones on Hee Haw?

Well....I've had this feeling for the past couple of weeks. Nothing has changed in my life. I'm not sick. We've had no traumatic happenings in our family.

And, you know things have not been right when I'm not inspired to post on my blog!!

I just haven't been able to put my finger on the "why".

I clicked on Denise's Blog this afternoon. Looks like I'm not the only one that's been in "deep, dark depression"! After I read her post, I looked in my draft folder and found this story that my Beaumont friend had sent me a couple of months ago.

It made me realize wherein my problem lies...I need an attitude adjustment!! Denise, maybe this story will speak to you as it did me.


Be Still With God

All day long I had been very busy; picking up trash, cleaning bathrooms and scrubbing floors. My grown children were coming home for the weekend. I went grocery shopping and prepared for a barbecue supper, complete with ribs and chicken. I wanted everything to be perfect.

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Suddenly, it dawned on me that I was dog-tired. I simply couldn't work as long as I could when I was younger. "I've got to rest for a minute," I told my husband, Roy, as I collapsed into my favorite rocking chair. Music was playing, my dog and cat were chasing each other and the telephone rang.

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A scripture from Psalm 46 popped into my mind. "Be still, and know that I am God." I realized that I hadn't spent much time in prayer that day. Was I too busy to even utter a simple word of thanks to God? Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there, I thought. I longed for a few minutes alone with God.

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Roy and I had invested a great deal of time and work in the patio that spring. The flowers and hanging baskets were breathtaking. It was definitely a heavenly place of rest and tranquility. If I can't be still with God in that environment, I can't be still with Him anywhere, I thought. While Roy was talking on the telephone, I slipped out the backdoor and sat down on my favorite patio chair. I closed my eyes and began to pray, counting my many blessings.

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A bird flew by me, chirping and singing. It interrupted my thoughts. It landed on the bird feeder and began eating dinner as I watched. After a few minutes it flew away, singing another song.
I closed my eyes again. A gust of wind blew, which caused my wind chimes to dance. They made a joyful sound, but again I lost my concentration on God. I squirmed and wiggled in my chair. I looked up toward the blue sky and saw the clouds moving slowly toward the horizon. The wind died down. My wind chimes finally became quiet.

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Again, I bowed in prayer. "Honk, honk," I heard. I almost jumped out of my skin. A neighbor was driving down the street. He waved at me and smiled. I waved back, happy that he cared. I quickly tried once again to settle down, repeating the familiar verse in my mind. Be still and know that I am God.

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"I'm trying God. I really am," I whispered. "But you've got to help me here."
The back door opened. My husband walked outside. "I love you," he said. "I was wondering where you were." I chuckled, as he came over and kissed me, then turned around and went back inside.

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"Where's the quiet time?" I asked God. My heart fluttered. There was no pain, only a beat that interrupted me yet again. This is impossible, I thought. There's no time to be still and to know that God is with me. There's too much going on in the world and entirely too much activity all around me.

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Then it suddenly dawned on me. God was speaking to me the entire time I was attempting to be still. I remembered the music playing as I'd begun my quiet time. He sent a sparrow to lighten my life with song. He sent a gentle breeze. He sent a neighbor to let me know that I had a friend. He sent my sweetheart to offer sincere sentiments of love. He caused my heart to flutter to remind me of life. While I was trying to count my blessings, God was busy multiplying them.
I laughed to realize that the "interruptions" of my quiet time with God were special blessings He'd sent to show me He was with me the entire time.

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~Nancy B. Gibbs~

12 comments:

WomanHonorThyself said...

you found your own healing my friend...depression is an old friend of mine or anyone else who thinks and feels as deeply as you!..God bless and stay strong ..youre a sweetheart!

Anonymous said...

“Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep dark depression, excessive misery;
If it weren’t for bad luck,
I’d have no luck at all:
Gloom, despair and agony on me.” —Song lyrics from the TV comedy Hee-Haw


from ---- west of nod ----

Tammie said...

duh....no kids stuff (vbs), more than that no fellowship with spunky children's ministry team. just kidding!

bel'v me there is nothing dull around here wherein fourth of july is concerned!!!!!!!!!!!

neecie said...

Glad to see I'm not the only one. Your story reminds me of a song on my playlist, "Be Still" by Story Side B. Check it out.

Gayle said...

Excellent post, Inspired. I hope you are feeling better.

There's a lot to be depressed about going on in this world, but there always has been. We need to remind ourselves often who it is that's really in charge. I find myself having to do that several times a day!

God bless! :)

Gayle said...

By the way, I almost quit blogging about a year ago because politics can get so extremely depressing. I wrote a post about it, and many of my readers came in and told me to take a breather and refresh myself, but asked me to please come back. So I took about a week off and I've been right as rain ever since. I don't know what will happen should Obama win in November though. I'll have to walk around chanting "remember who it is that's really in charge!" :)

Tonya said...

I used to love watching Hee Haw with my grandparents!

Jackie said...

Angel: Thank you! and, the same to you...

Mr. S-I-L: After your bit of hard luck, I hope you don't make this your mantra!! (Keep those hands glued to that cold plow!!)
For those of you reading these comments, this is a private joke between me and the son-in-law!!

tammie: All kidding aside, I felt the "let down" when the kids stuff ended!!

neecie: Still haven't checked out the song "Be Still" but it's on my list of things to do!! Love you...

Gayle: I AM feeling better...I just need an attitude adjustment every now and then. (plus....I got a haircut today!! That always boosts my spirits!!...lol)

And, PLEASE don't think about not blogging. You and Angel are my main source of information...plus the fact that I've grown to love and admire you both!

And, believe me, there will be A LOT of people walking around reminding themselves "who's really in charge"!!

Jackie said...

Tonya:

Hi there!! Thanks for stopping by. Yes, Hee Haw was one of those fun, Saturday night T.V. programs. I miss the good, clean programs that we once viewed. I'm glad you had the opportunity to experience Grandpa Jones!!

Anonymous said...

Be over that BLUE FUNK when U arrive at the poor farm.
Glenda's Flunky

Jackie said...

Flunky:

Yes Sir, Sir!!

thisisme said...

This is a great post, and it hits home pretty hard for me today. Thank you.