Sunday thoughts . . .

 

(source) 

Woke up this morning and we are having a real blizzard today. It was not too bad yesterday.  We managed to get out and do a bit of shopping, dad was able to get here for his supper, but overnight things have deteriorated a lot! There will be much shoveling to do later on for Dan the man.

 

This was the photo from the side dining room window a few minutes ago and it doesn't really convey it properly. You can't see the snow which is falling and blowing sideways.  But you can see the snow which has accumulated on the edge of the roof. I doubt very much anyone will be going very far today.   

 

It doesn't look as if a snow plough has been through yet. This kind of day reminds me of when my children were much younger and I was living on the base in Greenwood with my second husband who was in the armed forces.  Every Sunday we would have dinner with my mother. One Sunday she would come to ours and the next we would go to hers. Oh how I loved those Sunday Dinners.

On one particular Sunday, mid-Winter, we were due to go to hers, but it was snowing quite heavily. My husband thought he could make the journey, no problem. We set out to go to mom's in the car. (We had a huge car, but only four children at that point.) There were two ways to get to mom's.  The main road or the back road, which was slightly shorter I guess.  I wanted to go the main road. He wanted to go the back road. He won.

We got about halfway there and ploughed right into a snowbank which was blown across the road.  The children and I got out of the car and were able to make it to a house along the side who took us in while my husband dug us out.  I was so grateful for their charity in taking us in. 

They had a fascinating house filled with treasures. One was taxidermied Pirana fish from the Amazon which interested us all. I was amazed at the size of these ones and the size of their teeth! Yikes! 

Thankfully a snow plough came along and we were able to get back into the car and follow it.  We carried on to mom's house which was much closer at that point than our own. I can still remember what we had for supper. Her Sweet & Sour Ham and rice. I always so enjoyed our Sunday dinners together.  I do believe we ended up spending the night at hers.

I am so grateful for those years in which we got to live near mom while the children were growing up.  We actually also lived with her several times. My children had a very close relationship with her, which I am sure they all came to appreciate after they were grown up.  

Having had a father who was also in the airforce, we had never been fortunate when I was growing up to live near either of our grandparents. By the time we had moved back to Nova Scotia, we had lost three of them and only my Grandmaman was still alive and she lived in Quebec.  Living close to, and having a relationship with their grandparents was always really important to me when my own children were growing up.  Family is everything, and I am so very grateful now that I will have the chance to live closer to and foster relationships with my own grandchildren. God is good. 

 

This is Pumpkin, my mom's cat. If there is a box around, she can usually be found in it. It doesn't matter what size the box is, large or small.  She just loves sitting in boxes.  Perhaps she finds a certain comfort in that, which is not unlike us. 

 

We too find boxes to sit in, comfort zones we can call our own.  Sometimes they can be large and spacious, other times they can be small and cramped, but if they are our comfort zones, it doesn't matter what size they are. We are comfortable in them and feel safe, just as I am sure Pumpkin feels very safe in her little box here. 

I was up early this  morning and so was able to watch church online via zoom in my old Ward in England/Wales.  The talks that were given were about being able to overcome our fears and trusting in God. Oh how I needed to hear those talks. (The Lord works in mysterious ways.) 

 

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:6–7.)

When I first joined the church our church President and Prophet was President Hinkley.  Oh how much I loved him. He taught that "Fear is the antithesis of faith. It is corrosive in its effects, even deadly. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love""

I think it is quite natural for us, as humans, to be fearful of an unknown future. We want to stay in our comfort zones, in our safe little boxes where we feel like nothing can touch us. But there is no growth in that.  There is much more to this life of ours than that which we can see right in front of us.  If we choose to stay in our little boxes we often miss out on the incredible experiences and amazing blessings that our Heavenly Father has prepared just for us. Getting out of the box requires faith.

I am reminded of the story in the bible where all of the disciples were together in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. A great storm arose.  Jesus was not with them and they were all incredibly afraid.  They looked out through the raging winds and across the tumultuous water and they saw the Saviour walking towards them on the water. Jesus bid to them to come to him. 

 

Only Peter responded: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:28-33) 

There are so many lessons for us to take just from that little story. Peter was incredibly blessed, but only because he was willing to get out of the boat. He was the only one who was willing to step out of the boat, and yes, he did start to sink once he took his attention away from the Saviour and gave in to his fears. Thankfully he had the courage and the wisdom to reach out to the Saviour despite his fears and grab onto his hand. 

Fear can and will  sink you.  Faith can and will lift you up.  

 

God doesn't want us to fail, but He does require us to have faith and to trust in Him in all things.  Although Peter feared, he exercised his faith and stepped out of the boat . . .  his box . . .  unlike the others . . . and he was blessed for doing so, even if for a moment his fear overcame him and his faith faltered. Faith unleashes the supernatural. 

There is so much more to this life than that which we can see just in front of us.  

 

Getting on that plane in the UK back in November and leaving everything behind took an incredible act of faith and trust on my part. And if for a time I sometimes feel afraid and unsure about the future I have in front of me, I can continue to exercise my faith and hope . . .  and to trust in the blessings that have been promised to me for exercising that faith.  For keeping my eyes on and holding onto the Saviour's hand as I continue to put one foot in front of the other, moving forward into what really isn't an unknown future to those who put their trust in and exercise their faith in Him.  If I am honest and look back at everyhing that has happened to me, I can clearly see that my Heavenly Father has been with me and guiding me all the way.  He's not about to drop me now.

Just my thoughts on this snowy morning.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
˛*Lucifer whispers that life is not fair,

and that if the Gospel were true,

we would never have problems or

disappointments. The Gospel isn't a

guarantee against tribulation. That

would be like a test with no questions.

Rather, the gospel is a guide for 

maneuvering through the challenges of life 

with a sense of purpose and direction.

~Sheri L Dew  •。★★ 。* 。 

 

In The English Kitchen today . . .  Best Banana Cake.  A rich and moist buttermilk and brown sugar banana cake topped with a rich cream cheese frosting.  Yummy yummy! 

Have a beautiful Sunday, no matter what you get up to. Stay safe and stay healthy. Don't forget! 

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════


And I do too!