Yielding to Necessity--Making the Best of Bad

A few days ago, while I was on the phone with Jonathan, the kids started yelling that the trampoline had blown over onto our little trees! My conversation was cut short, as we all stopped what we were doing to rush out to try to rescue our poor little trees. As you can see, we couldn't rescue the aspen soon enough.

 

I had just remarked to Jonathan a couple days earlier that the aspen was doing really well this year. It actually looked like a substantial little tree after several years of tender care.

And now--

Timmy and I managed to wrestle the big trampoline up and over just enough to get it off the aspen and the crabapple tree, and upside down on the ground. (Dad and Sam would have to help set it upright again.) 

Thankfully the crabapple tree was supple enough that it sprang right back up without breaking.

Also thankfully, not the whole aspen broke, just two or three branches. I went out and got them, and decided to put them in a jar of water and enjoy the pretty aspen leaves indoors as long as we could. 

It was a small way to make the best of what could not be helped.

Which reminds me of what I read in Jeremiah 27 a few days ago, where Jeremiah was admonishing the people of Israel to humbly yield to the judgments that God was bringing on them, and to serve the king of Babylon.

He told them, "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live." (Jer. 27:12)

There are going to be those kinds of circumstances that are completely beyond our control.

They may be brought upon us by others, or they may happen to us as a result of our own choices. 

And there seems to be no way out of--BAD!

 Matthew Henry's commentary says:

"Some would condemn this [coming under the king of Babylon] as the evidence of a mean spirit, but the prophet recommends it as that of a meek spirit,

which yields to necessity, 

and by a quiet submission to the hardest turns of Providence

makes the best of bad.

"Many," he adds, "might have prevented destroying providences by humbling themselves under humbling providences. It is better to take up a lighter cross in our way than to pull a heavier on our own head."

In the wake of judgment and circumstances beyond the control of even the best of the people of Judah, Jeremiah urges the people to give up fighting, and instead to surrender and live.

There are times that there is no way out of BAD no matter where you turn or what you do. 

You are sometimes stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

Continuing to fight the circumstances will sound heroic.

But surrender, i.e. the acceptance of things we cannot change, will actually be the safest and best route, one that will have hope in its final end, like Jeremiah foretold his people.

They were to plant gardens and build houses in Babylon.

They were to take wives for their sons and give their daughters to marriage.

"Though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed," sounded like doom, but Jeremiah followed that truth with one promise after another of the safety and the future God wanted to give His people if they would obey and trust Him for the long haul ahead.

Down the road, God was going to turn the tables, and there would be a glad return,

a joyous redemption,

and a fruitful nation once again.

So when circumstances hit us that are out of our control,

when we have no choice but to accept a bitter cup and things that everything in us wants to fight,

may we take heart that in our very surrender to the bitter providence that God has permitted

is our hope of a bright future.

"God give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference." 

Hailstorm!--Understanding Our Differences

Just after dinner today (Sunday) the Lord gave us a beautiful gift!

Water from heaven!

At first it was hail, and lots of it. Here is a pile on the deck.

And a pile on the front porch!

 We had brought all the potted flowers inside,and I handed Rose the poor old umbrella to hold over her head while she ran out to try to cover her corn in the little garden.

 Timmy bravely went out in the hail and maneuvered the calves into shelter.

Trying to get them inside the shed.

 The north side of the house, yard (bare dirt) covered with water.

Hannah gathering up a handful of hail after it was nearly over!

Water began pouring through the yards, and even was running through our normally dry streambed.

It has been so long since we've had a good rain, that we ALL went outside to just explore all the puddles and see how much water ran into the pond, which had gone dry.

A little waterfall by the pond.

The dogs were soo excited to play around in the water.

They went running all around, splashing everywhere.

They posed at the top of the hillock.

The calves are out and about again, and the temperature plummeted about 20 degrees.

However, not all animals respond the same way to sudden changes in weather and water from heaven.

The calves stand humped up and endure it (unless a merciful boy like Timmy pushes them into shelter).

The dogs go out while it's still finishing raining, and have a wild, fun old time.

But this young pullet nearly died.

In all the melee of trying to get other animals in and gardens protected, we weren't able to get the new pullets inside. They did have a shelter under the chicken "tractor," (i.e. portable chicken pen) and all were okay except this one. It was struggling to breathe when we brought it in, and we thought it was dying. With nothing to lose, Jonathan and I turned it every which way and rubbed its neck and feathers in case there was an obstruction, and then wrapped it in rags to warm up.

And it did! Little by little it came back around. We were so happy when it appeared that it would live and be fine. There it is down in the corner by the pieces of bridge that we started to put together last night for our back yard. We hugged each other in joy!

Likewise, not all of us respond to storms, drama, and other "weather" in the same way.

Some people just hump their back like the calves and endure.

Some let the water roll off like water off a duck's back.

Some, like the dogs and puppies, thrive on drama--even in worship. The louder the better, the more charismatic the service gets, the happier they are, the faster the beat the more they run.

And then there are some who just can't take things like others.

People who've been wounded or who are struggling with depression or who otherwise need shelter from the blast, who come to church needing quiet and peace and care.

They need our care; they need the warmth of human understanding; they need wrapped up in love.

Maybe someday you or I will be the one needing the care, the warmth, the quiet, and the love.

May we be given eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to feel the needs of other hearts that are different than our own.

Watch Out, Cousin! New Barber's First Try!

Last Saturday was the evening to wash hair and cut hair, too.
When I started giving two boys haircuts, my niece Elisa mentioned that she would like to learn to cut hair.
Well, you don't say things like that around Aunt Anna because she will immediately give you the hair clippers!
And that is precisely what happened!

Sam said he wanted his hair cut short again, and a sort of butch hair cut with clipper guide is an easy way to learn. And our easy-going son Sam didn't panic, even when cousin Elisa made a dent in one spot! I just love giving our children and others a chance to learn new skills. Elisa said her brothers probably wouldn't like her to cut their hair, but cousins might let you try. So Sam was an easy target! Zzip, zzip. Elisa did a good job!

More pictures of cousins together on top of Pikes Peak. While Gabriel and Elizabeth took a whole bunch of them from three families one afternoon, I stayed home and had a quiet afternoon to clean up and make supper.

I guess this is some sort of new thingamabob like a merry-go-round on Pikes Peak.

Rose taking time with Benjamin at the foot of Pikes Peak.

Next day they were on their way to Royal Gorge while I stayed home again and some of the older ones worked. Gabriel's family shared these pictures with us.

We haven't been to Royal Gorge since the fire destroyed parts of it several years ago.

The new gondola cars.

The three cousins listening to a sweet girl at church.This young lady who is from a home schooling family has spent a year or two in Africa studying and working.

The puppy Elisa is trying to sell LOVES to take naps in the most inconvenient spots. But he is truly a darling!

And I will tack this picture on here, of Crystal with her cousins! They were waiting for their plane at JFK. But that was well over two weeks ago.

In between days of travel and delivering Bibles to contacts as well as setting up in outdoor markets, the young people attend one church service after another, singing several songs at each place. This church had around 300 people in it. And about everyone in the church wanted to shake hands with the cousins afterward, so they came by in a line and shook hands!

They called this "a scary snake."

A peaceful sunset in Africa.

This evening Jonathan and I took a walk in the sunset glow here, too. 

The sunset and sunrise show God's handiwork without even a word of preaching or Scripture. They let us know that God is, and that we can be as sure of God's love and presence as we are sure that in the morning the sun will rise and that tomorrow evening it will set.

No matter whether we are in Africa or America,  Pennsylvania or Colorado, God is to be trusted.

He is enough for our every need.

How to Have a Happy Day--Mind Your Own Business--Aunt, Cook, Baby-Sitter, Housecleaner, Pet-sitter

"How do I have productive days with minimum drama? Simple: I  mind my own business."
That was a quote I thought was worth copying down.
There was a lot of my own business to mind the week my brother's family--plus another niece, plus a missionary family--were here.

The day before Gabriel's family left, the girls celebrated their last dinner together with us by making pizzas and homemade icecream.
It was wonderful watching all those teenage girls having so much fun working and having fun together. 
"You can tell who the strong women [girls] are. They are the ones busy building each other up instead of tearing each other down."
I have had some of these quotes copied down for a long time, and yay! here is a good time to use them. 

It takes three girls to decide if the pizzas are done or not!

Those pizzas were outstanding!

Gabriel said if he owned a pizza shop, he would hire Rose to make the pizzas!
It's great having a brother who looks for ways to be kind and doesn't play comparison games.
There was absolutely no jealousy, just both sides looking for ways to bless and encourage each other.
Although here is a thought just in case you do have to deal with people who are jealous of you or yours:
"Jealousy is a good indication that you are doing things the right way. People never get jealous of losers."
Isn't that a happy thought?

Here is another happy thought--Rose also spearheaded making two batches of home-churned icecream!
Ohh-happy day!

The girls had bought a hand churn for icecream a year or so ago, and they enjoy using it every once in a while.

Rose made vanilla icecream and strawberry.

There's just nothing like home-churned icecream!

This one was chock full of strawberries.
Here's another quote I liked: "Do more things that make you forget to check your phone," or Facebook, we might add.
and "I hate that our generation feels the need to share everything with the internet first before connecting with another person."
All week, we were busy being productive, connecting with other people and having fun, and not being much at all on the computers.

"I thoroughly enjoy minding my own business." Such as churning ice cream and making pizzas and baby-sitting sweet, cute little babies who are trying to make themselves into icecream by fitting into the ice cream churn!

I loved watching Baby Aaron trying to feed Elisa's puppy with a spoon!! And the puppy cooperated!

And how about this one:
"People aren't ignoring you. They are busy with their lives. And the way to stop feeling ignored is to get busy with yours."
That is the best antidote to feeling sorry for yourself--get busy being productive and happy!

So I'm telling you what--we got busy with our lives that week especially!
Sure, there were some difficult moments.
BUT
"The real mark of maturity is the ability to remain pleasant even when others are not."
Now that is a quote worth thinking about.

There were quite a number of mature people here! Gabriel's three oldest girls are simply gems!
The boys wanted to sleep outside in the front yard,

and the girls slept on the back deck.
AND, Mom and Dad and little tykes slept inside (sorry no pictures!)

Hannah had a good time helping make it a  pleasant time for Baby Aaron.

I had picked up this Little Tykes toy at the house where I was cleaning, where we had to clear a bunch of stuff out of the garage and get rid of it.

We just brought this home, hosed it off, and saved it for while Gabe's family was here.

Hannah had a ball being a little mommy!