Two for the Price of One!

(These feet don’t stink)

Snoring and Stinky Feet

My sister, Aimee told me a little story of when she was working at the hospital (on the baby floor), a woman and her husband was in their room after she had given birth the night before, and when Aimee came on shift she said the whole floor stunk. She said it smelled like “collards cooking”. Everyone was complaining. They couldn’t find the source.

So Aimee set out like a huntin’ dog on a scent. She found the source. Lying on a couch in his wife’s room lay a tuckered out workin’ man—snoring loud enough to wake the dead…and with feet and leather boots stinky enough to kill ’em all over again!

Miss Fix-it found a bag to put said stinky boots in and tied the knot tight. When the wife roused from her sleep—she explained that they were “smelling so bad, it might upset your stomach when your supper gets here.” The sleeping giant of a husband never even skipped a snore. Kept right on sawing the veritable logs.

Well, that was your funny for the day. It was an old story from Aimee’s hospital days…but made me laugh. Maybe it did you too!

Strength from Pain.

Several months ago, I felt a twinge of emotional pain being inflicted from an outside source. I stood there —asking the Lord, why—-“Why would You make me face this? When so much is already going on? Why? Then He said to my heart—“he is having to deal with what he has done. He will have to face his decisions. It may be hard on you…but your strength comes from Me.”

While I fully realize that any strength I have comes from my Father, I also know that I can’t avoid the pain. He gives us strength to endure the pain. Every single kind of pain.

I had to have blood drawn last year for a simple cholesterol check. My regular nurse—the one that KNOWS how difficult it is getting blood from me and HOW TO DO IT WITHOUT KILLING ME had a baby and was not there. So —I got this little chick—who said—“oh it’ll be easy, I’ll just leave the blood pressure cuff on”. Yeah right.

So while the blood pressure cuff is cutting off the circulation to my hand, and sweet young nurse is tapping the inside of my arm to get a vein to pop up and say “here I am—stick me please”….I am thinking of Wanda. And how many times she was poked and prodded. How she endured needle after needle, blood draw after blood draw. Year after year.

She was given strength. To endure the pain. The pain wasn’t removed from her life just because she was a sweet precious child of the Father. But He gave her unimaginable strength to keep going.

That’s what He does for us. As we face trials and problems, situations that just knock us down, the Lord lifts up our weary body, brushes us off, cleans us up….sometimes even has to do a little “garment repair”—when we act out of character for our calling. I have had garment repair. In years past, my mouth got me in a world of trouble. WHEN I am not careful it still does.

So with caution I stand. Willing—unsure of my ability, but very sure of His ability.

Your strength and my strength, comes from Him. Yes, you may have to endure the pain of the drawing of blood….but He will strengthen your soul. He strengthens my soul.

Bless the Lord,
O my soul,
and all that is within me;
Bless His Holy Name!

© The Knightly News 2007-2009