New Boots!

Every morning Mollie (my faithful Lhasa-Schanzo companion) and I take a walk around the fields behind our house. This morning as I started my walk my phone buzzed notifying me of a Facebook message. After checking the message, I starting scanning the latest posts as Mollie and I took a little breather in the shade. I came across a beautiful photo of the Colorado mountains posted by my all-time favorite author, Michele Cushatt. She posted that she was heading to the mountains for some writing and solitude time. My first thought (confession time!) was “I am so jealous! I need to get away. I want some beautiful scenery and solitude!” Don’t get me wrong, Michele needs and deserves her solitude and time away, too … I certainly don’t begrudge her some peace and quiet. But, oh how I long for some quiet time, too! Some rest and relaxation. Some down time to unwind, debrief, and not be “on call” for anyone! Some time to read and write and do what I want to do, not what others want me to do! There now you know I’m not the sweet, little old lady I appear to be! I can be selfish and whiny, too!

Then I looked up from my phone and looked around me … it was as if God was saying, “Look at what I’ve provided for you – beautiful scenery and a few precious moments of quiet and solitude.” As I looked across the fields and down the walking trail, I was reminded that I have a touch of heaven in my own backyard. I don’t have to be jealous of anyone! So I spent the remainder of my walk “counting my blessings” and recognizing what God does for me every morning during these solitary moments.

He restores my soul. In Psalm 23, the NIV says “He refreshes my soul” … Those morning walks help me shake off the debris of the past day, clear my mind of the clutter and chaos or life, and take on the refreshment of a new day with all its hopes and possibilities.

He restores my body. My little one-mile walk around the fields is no doubt a giggle-point for those who are die-hard joggers or runners. But for me, the consistent daily stride in my heavy rubber muck boots burns a few calories, increases my heart rate, and renews my energy level.

Mom’s Boots

Speaking of boots … my mom gave me her old muck boots a few years ago. I don’t know how many years she wore them cleaning out horse stalls and working in her flower gardens, but I put a few miles on them myself until they finally wore out this spring. I popped holes and cracks in them until a morning walk ended with soggy socks. So I got my very own, brand-new pair of heavy rubber muck boots! At this stage of life, it doesn’t take much to make an old lady excited! I have to laugh at the Instagram photos of spike heels and fancy shoes … they don’t hold a candle to my precious new blue boots! But I digress . . . .

He restores my hope. Sometimes life gets heavy. I drag around its burdens and baggage all day and lie awake worrying at night until I’m tempted to throw up my hands and quit! I just want to give up and sink into oblivion. But, instead, I escape into the solitude of my morning walks and meet the Master Hope-Restorer! He reminds me that I’m not alone … I see His Hand in the wildflowers sprinkled across the field. I hear His still small voice in the breeze in the trees. I sense His Presence beside me as I slowly release the burdens and baggage and give them to Him.

I just wish I could leave the junk with Him. But I’ve been known to snatch it back as the day comes crashing in again! Until the next walk . . . . I’m doing a better job of trusting Him with life’s stuff … I’m a self-professed control-freak … I want to fix everything and everybody … but, I’m learning that I can’t … and shouldn’t … I’m learning to leave it to Him … Haven’t perfected it yet, but those morning walks help me adjust my perspective and release my death-grip on my life … Those walks refresh my soul, revive my body, and restore my hope!

How do you refresh, revive, and restore? Enjoy a virtual walk with me today and let God renew your spirit!

Psalm 23 (NIV)
A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

I headed to the office dreading the meeting. I hate confrontation, and this meeting with a co-worker had all the signs of conflict. I hate conflict, too, and I usually avoid the big “C’s” at all costs – give ‘em what they want, no matter whether they deserve it or whether I can afford it; take the blame, pay the price, whatever it takes to make the conflict or confrontation go away. That’s my MO ….

But this co-worker was “calling us out.” We (the boss, the bookkeeper, and the co-worker) needed to discuss the miscommunication of the past week and deal with the resulting effects. So I drove to the meeting with a sense of foreboding that made me sick to my stomach. Did I mention that I hate conflict and confrontation?

As we waited for our co-worker to arrive, the sense of dread grew and so did my queasy stomach. At the sound of the opening door, I thought about throwing up in the trash can next to my desk, but didn’t have time to recover gracefully. So, instead, I stood up and walked to the door with what was probably a poor excuse of a smile plastered on my face.

I was taken aback when she greeted us with a genuine smile and hugs!! Warily, I sat down next to her waiting for the other shoe to drop, as we exchanged a couple of chit-chatty comments. Then, without further ado, she attacked the elephant in the room! She quickly and kindly pointed out that she asked to meet to discuss the issue so we could diffuse what could quickly and easily become bitterness between us unless we all understood each other’s motivations and feelings.

Her openness and honesty, tempered with grace and kindness, gave way to a discussion about the situation that allowed us to analyze, criticize, and correct the miscommunication before our imaginations led us to skew it into something more than it actually was. She stated her case, and then listened objectively as we explained our position. No accusations, no blame-tossing, no finger-pointing … just listening with an open attitude. It was obvious that she sincerely wanted to understand the situation from our perspective. And she wanted to do her part to insure our relationship was not marred by the miscommunication or the meeting.

The meeting that I had dreaded so intensely, had turned into a lesson in HOPE. Our co-worker, probably unbeknownst to her, taught me a beautiful lesson in conflict resolution, laced with HOPE that relationships can withstand conflict if approached with grace, mercy, and love.

Here are four lessons I learned from this co-worker about conflict resolution:

1. Confront the issue with courage. My usual tactic of avoiding conflict at all costs was cowardly. She showed me that facing the issue with courage and conviction resulted in a peaceful resolution and instilled hope and joy in the hearts of those involved.

2. Attack the issue (the elephant in the room) not the individual. She wasted no time beating around the bush or tip-toeing around the issue. She stated the obvious and then proceeded to dissect the issue to determine the cause of the conflict – miscommunication, not malice! We talked about WHAT caused the problem, not WHO caused it!

3. Address the issue with love and compassion. She greeted us with a genuine smile and sincere hugs. She had prepared herself for the meeting with prayer and confronted us with kindness. Her attitude of peace and obvious desire for reconciliation, and her willingness to offer a compromise while holding fast to her convictions, helped us to progress through the meeting with hope for a peaceful and mutually satisfactory resolution.

4. Resolve the rift to restore the relationship. We all tend to confront issues with selfish motives: to make sure we’re treated fairly, to preserve our rights, to insure we get our fair share. But real resolution should focus on restoring the relationship. And that’s what she showed us in the meeting. She stated from the beginning that she requested the meeting so bitterness over the miscommunication would not result in a broken relationship. There is no better reason to confront conflict than restoration of relationships!

We ended the meeting holding hands as we prayed together … her prayer that God would bless our friendship, our business, and our lives together, gave me HOPE that conflicts can be resolved, relationships restored, and we can enjoy a renewed and shared passion for our mutual endeavors in the days ahead.

I still hate conflict and confrontation! But these lessons learned will help me view future confrontations with courage, through the lens of HOPE!

How do you feel about conflict? Have you been blessed by a similar confrontation?

Another Fourth of July has come and gone, and with it the warm-fuzzies of patriotic parades and fireworks displays. Now we’re back to the political cynicism, the racial unrest, the moral decline that fill the pages of daily newspapers, and monopolize the commentaries of the talking-heads of CNN and FOX News. And along with all that, the question is raised: Is there HOPE for America?

Generally, I keep my political views and opinions to myself. I choose not to argue or debate issues of politics or religion or morality. I tend to take my stand and leave others to theirs, without passing judgment … at least not audibly! But I must admit that I’m distressed by the obvious way our nation has turned from God and His Word. And I wonder what kind of society my grandchildren will inherit.

It would be easy to assess the current situation as hopeless! However, having spent yesterday (July 4, 2015) thinking about our country, our freedom, our future, I believe there is HOPE for a return, a revival, a renewed allegiance to God … but, no doubt, at a high price.

It was Ruth Graham who said, “If God doesn’t soon bring judgment upon America, He’ll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”* As I read the headlines and listen to the nightly news, I wonder how long before God brings judgment on this nation that celebrates sin and denounces religion.

And yet … there is HOPE!

I’m reading through the Bible this year, and yesterday I finished the books of I & II Kings. Over, and over, and over, I read of kings who “did evil in the sight of the Lord,” who led God’s people to worship idols, sacrificing their own children to pagan gods, turning their backs on the God who rescued them and brought them into His Promised Land. (Please, don’t read anything into this with regard to my opinion of our current national leaders … let them speak for themselves! I’m only relating what I read in scripture!) Through the years and years of evil kings, every now and then there would be a king who repented and turned back to God and attempted to lead the people back from their sinful ways. Sadly, those revivals didn’t last, and in time, the people were conquered, captured, and carted off as slaves to a foreign land.

End of story? Not quite! There was HOPE!

In yesterday’s Our Daily Bread reading, Dave Branon wrote about the Cyrus Cylinder discovered in 1879 in modern day Iraq. On it was inscribed the account of King Cyrus allowing a group of people to return to their homeland to rebuild their “holy cities.” It’s the same story related in Ezra, and Daniel, and Nehemiah. “Together, the Cyrus Cylinder and God’s Word combine to show us that the king’s heart was changed and he allowed the exiled Hebrews to go home and worship.” HOPE!

Branon goes on to say: “This story has great implications for us today. In a world that seems out of control, we can rest assured that God can move the hearts of leaders. We read in Proverbs 21:1 that ‘the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.’ And Romans 13:1 says that ‘there is no authority except from God.’

“The Lord, who is able to change our own hearts as well as the hearts of our leaders, can be trusted for He is in control. Let’s ask Him to work.” (Our Daily Bread, July 4, 2015)

The reading concludes with this thought: “Rather than complain, pray.” And I was reminded of the scripture in 2 Chronicles 7:14. “if my people, (God’s people, not national leaders, world leaders, politicians, etc.) who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

So, is there HOPE for America today? I think the answer is “Yes!” but it may come at a high price if we don’t get off our high horses and get down on our knees!

And in the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I have to say about that!”

*This statement frequently attributed to Billy Graham, actually originated with his wife, Ruth, during a review of her husband’s manuscript for his book, World Aflame, published in 1965. He had just finished a chapter vividly describing the sinful conditions in America, and gave it to Ruth to read. She was very much sobered by the writing and returned the document to the study where he was writing and laid it on his desk, saying, “Billy, if God doesn’t come soon and bring judgment upon the United States, He’s going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”