Lessons from a skinned knee

When I was little we lived in a house right on the edge of a huge (well maybe it wasn't that huge but when you are 4 everything is much bigger!) church parking lot.  One of our favorite things to do was ride our bikes for hours in that parking lot.

I loved riding on my pink powder puff trike and other bikes which came as I got older.  So many happy memories flood into my mind as I think of those days riding with my siblings in that parking lot.  But some of the memories that I now look at with affection started out horribly for that little girl I used to be.  Falls are pretty much guaranteed with riding bikes, or with running and playing outside.  And I was no exception.  I skinned my knees more than a couple times, or skinned my palms trying to break a fall.  Concrete and gravel hurts!   A few things come to me mind when I think of those accidents I had riding bikes or playing outside as a child.

1.  Falling is part of learning.  I am sure that as I learned how to ride I fell less often, I probably adjusted the way I was riding or watching out for others and avoided frequent falls as I got older.  I feel sorry for kids whose parents don't let them learn through falling (or try to protect them to an extreme point) - because I think these lessons are an important part of growing and learning.  Even these first lessons in pain are valuble later in life. 

2.  Sometimes it has to hurt more before it gets better.  I remember falling and having pieces of gravel stuck in my hand - as I ran screaming to Mama she held me and comforted me but then did something I couldn't understand at the time, she washed my scrapes and got the gravel out of my bleeding wound.  And as if that wasn't painful enough she put Bactene (sp?) on which STINGS on open wounds!  What kind of loving Mama would cause so much more pain to a little child who was already hurt!?  Maybe this lesson is the most important as I grow up.  If God is the loving Father I believe Him to be, could it be that He knows best and maybe the pain I am having is Him cleaning me and protecting me from dangerous things (such as infection in a scrape but so much more deadly things spiritually etc). 

3.  Compassion.  You have to go through some kind of pain to learn compassion.  Whenever I see a child with a skinned knee I am taken back to those days and I remember how horrible it felt to get hurt as a child.  Something that wouldn't be a big deal now was traumatic as a child.  I can show compassion as sympathy to others because of pain I have felt physically and emotionally.  After a painful break up (which later ended up to be my Husband!)  I had much more understanding and compassion for anyone in that situation.  My heart feels that horrible pain of being alone and abandoned and God uses that to touch others who are hurting in a similar way.  I have a lot to learn about true compassion, but I want to be willing to allow God to teach me and I see that one way is through suffering of my own.

How can God use the pain you might be facing today?  Be willing to learn and to have compassion for others.

Get Away

On Memorial Day when the rest of the world was heading back to work after vacations my sweet Husband and I started off on an adventure.  We said good-bye to regular every day life and took 3 full days and nights to do absolutelly nothing -- well nothing except:

swinging in the hammock (until it got drenched by one of many rainstorms)

making and eating healthy camp food (salmon patties, corn on the cob, and asperagus with fresh garlic

napping - I seriously took a two hour nap every day which was so wonderful!

reading - Hind's Feet onHigh Places - an excellent book which I read as a child and now am re-reading out loud to my Farmer.  (I will be sharing some bits in this blog)

playing mad libs and laughing our heads off (laughter is the best medicine!)

enjoying the beauty of Creation (these are wilkd trillium) on hikes

I hope you all can have the chance to take some time away from everyday life and enjoy the simple things.  Sometimes just stepping back gives life such clarity and peace.

Perspective

I love the insignt we can gather from others who are running this race of life with us.  I spent some precious moments with one of the most beautiful people I know over last weekend in between wedding festivitives of a dear friend.  As this young lady and I sat over a scrumptious rehersal dinner, we talked about suffering (I know it might seem weird but there was a lot of context which I won't bother you with now), and joy, and the God who redeems.  I have watched this young lady grow up and she is one of the very closest people in my life at this point.  She has endured suffering in pretty much every area of her life, yet she still shines with a gorgeous smile and her heart is still tender and pliable in the hands of God.  We discused the reason for joy, and the differences between happiness that the world chases which is so different than lasting true peace and joy in the hope God gives His children.  As we talked and shared what God has been teaching us both, she said something that stood out to me.  She said that sometimes when life hurts so much she reminds herself that this is as close as we (as Christians) will ever get to hell.  We have the hope and promise that heaven awaits us - full of total and all encompassing joy, perfection in every way, and lack of all suffering.  This life on earth is such a small part of our existence - and we don't have to fear hell because Jesus Christ has saved us by paying the price for our sins in dying on the cross. 

When we look at life through this perspective, it really helps us walk with our hope in tact through suffering of all kinds.  Are we always happy?  No, but we can always be rejoicing in the hope and love that Christ pours out on us every moment.  We can be honest about the suffering that this life on earth brings - but also we can raise our eyes above the pain and see the face of the Lord and know that everything is going to be ok. 

I thank God for this godly and very dear friend, and for the lessons that I am able to learn by watching her walk with the Lord through suffering toward eternal joy.