The Grass Is Greener...

My husband is used to me blurting out, "Please pull over so I can get a picture of that sunset!!" He's had to live with me & my obsession for photography (of sunsets, sunrises and much, much more) for many years now. Tonight was no exception. As we were headed to the Open House at our g-daughter's day care center, the sun was setting. And, I was smitten. The clouds seemed to make a trail to the west - beckoning me to follow. 

I've wanted to float away from my responsibilities & my reality with the clouds on many occasions. I've wanted to catch hold of a jet trail & take it to distant places. I've watched people getting on planes & day-dreamed about where they were going & if I'd like it there.

That SATURDAY Feeling!

I've been thinking a lot about SATURDAY this week... it seems to get over-looked in the story of Easter. And, many people in this world are living in the "Saturday" right now -- feeling as though the "Saturday" will never end. There are so many things which plague us in this fallen world:

• grief
• shame
• poverty
• guilt
• loneliness
• insecurity
• despair
• pain (physical, emotional, etc.)
• human trafficking
• sorrow
• depression
• persecution
• loss

Many know that Sunday is coming... but aren't feeling it at all! Seasons of brokenness can feel overwhelming & without end. Times of hopelessness can nearly consume us. Grief & pain can break us down, robbing us of the strength we need for even the simplest things in life. Many things can make us afraid to take chances again or take another path. And, it's easy to allow our poor choices or weaknesses to cause us to begin believing we don't even deserve a better life. Often we can become so weary from the battle that we want to throw in the towel... and just give up. We want to cry out "it is finished" without a glimmer of hope.

I can't imagine how the SATURDAY after Christ's crucifixion must have felt to so many. It had to be a day of much anguish... questioning... fear. I wonder about those who'd stood by the side of Jesus as he spoke the words to bring Lazarus back to life... to bring the daughter of Jairus back to life. I wonder if those people even considered the possibility that their Lord could also come back to life? Or were they overwhelmed with the knowledge of what was at that very moment. There was a separation on that day. And, that separation was horrible. 

I was able to capture this photo during the Good Friday service at
my church which was lead by Alanna Story.
What a blessing that service was!!

YES... I've been thinking a lot about SATURDAY this week... and about how so many people in this world are living in the "Saturday" right now. May our hearts be moved to walk alongside those who are going through that "Saturday" feeling.

"They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip and kill him, but after 3 days he will rise again." Mark 10:34

#JoyDare No. 2497. reflecting on SATURDAY

Crazy Food! - 31 DAYS OF CRAZY - 03 October 2012

Earlier this morning I shared a Snapshot of the Day talking about another aspect of my dysfunction -- my depression which manifests itself more in the "I can't seem to get myself to DO that" mode than in the "Poor pitiful me. I'm so sad" mode. More often than not, I feel overwhelmed by the mundane things of life that other's breeze through.

My breakfast meal today made me think of my life full of crazy food...

• When my dad added peanut butter to oatmeal to mask the "flavor of oatmeal"
• The numerous times as children when we were served broccoli (fresh from the freezer & steamed to preserve the nutrients) which tasted more like freezer burn than broccoli
• The story of my father cooking a rodent over his little camp fire which he & his buddy had caught in the field behind his house
• The chicken claw that was floating in the homemade soup which I ate with a smile in a village in Jamaica on a youth missions trip - I chose to leave that in the pot for another friend

Spending the formative years of my life in a home of Dad (a country pastor) & Mom (a missionary-kid & pastor's wife), we learned that you can survive on almost anything.  I'm so grateful to be blessed with abundance & the luxury to eat more "normal food" in these years.  

A big part of the world lives on CRAZY FOOD every day -- and, not the fun or funny kind.  I encourage you to take a few minutes today to find a local pantry where you can serve or share food from your abundance.  Make & take a meal to a new mother or a person in your area who is dealing with an unexpected illness or diagnosis.  And be reminded, we can't live by food alone!  

Related post: Life's Snapshots - Old Fruit 

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