One of Kelsey's
favorite pass-times is reading. So to
celebrate her birthday back in June (She's 11 now. WOW!
Time passes way to quickly when you're watching your child grow up.) we
went to 2nd and Charles in Auburn Hills to get some books.
One of the books
that I purchased for us is Daily Reflections
for Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey.
I have been reading
it every day with breakfast along with the other devotionals I read.
One particular entry
in this book keeps eating at me. Here it
is:
FEBRUARY 20
I love these lines
from The Man Nobody Knows by Bruce
Barton, which illustrate that giving to others is like giving to yourself as
well:
There are two seas in the Palestine. One is fresh,
and fish are in it. Splashes of green adorn its banks. Trees spread their
branches over it and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of it's healing
waters. . . . The River Jordan makes this sea with sparkling water from the
hills. So it laughs in the sunshine. And men build their houses near to it,
birds build their nests; and every kind of life is happier because it is there.
The River Jordan flows on south into another sea.
Here is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no
song of birds, no children's laughter. Travelers choose another route, unless
on urgent business. The air hangs heavy above its water, and neither man nor
beast nor fowl will drink.
What makes this mighty difference in these neighbor
seas? Not the River Jordan. It empties the same good water into both. Not the
soil in which they lie; not the country round about.
This is the difference. The Sea of Galilee receives
but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop that flows into it another drop
flows out. The giving and receiving go on in equal measure. The other sea is
shrewder, hoarding its income jealously. It will not be tempted into any
generous impulse. Every drop it gets, it keeps.
The Sea of Galilee gives and lives. This other sea
gives nothing. It is named the Dead. There are two seas in Palestine.
There are two kinds of people in this world. There are two seas in Palestine.
Why would this eat
at me?
God put us here to
be present for each other.
One way to be
present for each other is to share our journeys. The ups, the downs. The
lessons learned. Sharing God's
strength through our weakness.
Correcting, Confirming, Loving, Uplifting.
One way that God
wants me to be present is by writing. I
haven't done a whole lot of sharing.
Despite all the
changes that have occurred, are happening currently or will occur, if I don't
share them I'm being selfish and I'm not truly changing.
Not
self-conscious….SELFISH. God has been
convicting me of imprisoning myself along with others who can benefit from the
lessons I've learned.
No matter our
differences, inside and out, our paths cross for a reason.
To truly change,
therefore transform, into the Malinda God wants me to be I have to let go of
that selfishness that binds me to the old Malinda.
It's way past time
to unlock these prison doors.
Yes, this has been
eating me alive from the inside out. I
want my freedom.
May you be free
too. Life's not easy. Life can be easier on us though when we share
the journey.
I love you all.
Malinda :-)
XOXOXO
PS - I wonder where
Kelsey got her love of reading???
(Tee-Hee)
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