Friday, February 14, 2014

TIME FOR AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT


I’m hoping that after reading two of my last three blogs you are under no illusion that just because I write spiritually focused blogs I’m some sort of super saint.  Nope, I get discouraged just like everyone else.  And I suffer from depression and anxiety too.  Well, I’m about to make another true confession. 

Here in New Jersey we usually have relatively mild winters.  I can remember years when we had 10 snow storms during the winter season, but that's not the norm.  Typically, we have 2-3 snow storms a season, with about 25 inches in total.  With the huge storm we had yesterday our snow total for this winter is more than twice that – and its only mid-February.

We have a snow blower and five people living in our house, so when it snows on a weekend, or badly enough that no one is able to go to work or school,  we can make pretty quick work of it.  Also, because we have a snow blower and some of our neighbors don’t, we usually will work our way around the sidewalks – and sometimes driveways – of the neighbors on our side of the cul de sac.  We did that during last week’s snow and again yesterday.

Before the latest storm left us it dumped another few inches of heavy wet snow this morning.  My daughter and son in law went to their jobs in New York City and our granddaughter was getting ready for school.  That left just Jim and I to clear off our car and shovel out the latest few inches.  It was tough because our snow blower decided to stop working.

So I confess that when I saw neighbors – much younger than Jim and I - whose driveways, walkways and front steps we shoveled on different occasions, seeing us older folks out there shoveling that heavy snow, I was resentful that instead of offering to help us this time around, they avoided eye contact. 

My “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, and “love your neighbor as yourself” attitude, was blown right away by the chilly February wind.  But thankfully, not for long.  I distinctly “heard” the voice of the Holy Spirit say:
 
 “Uh, Dot, it's time for a serious attitude adjustment!  Why do you help your neighbors?  So that next time around they'll return the favor?"
 
Conviction!!

The Lord continued:

"Remember what you wrote yesterday about how the Lord Jesus is your reward and He's all the reward you need.  Yeah, this would be a good time to remember that”. 

Heard you loud and clear, Lord!  Sorry neighbors.

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