Lord, I Need Something Today

By Susan Dollyhigh –

I prayed myself out of bed that morning. It seemed I’d existed on prayer for the past two years. A broken foot only forecasted the brokenness that was to follow. Broken marriage. Broken business. Broken finances. Broken me.

“I’m trying to hold on, Lord,” I prayed as I pulled on an old pair of jeans, “but I need You to give me something today.” I couldn’t believe I’d just prayed such a selfish prayer.

“I’m sorry, Lord. You have been my Sustainer. It’s just that I’m so weary, so worn out…”

I had an errand to run, so I drove downtown. As I parked my car, I saw Scottie walking towards me in typical fashion; head down, plaid, wool jacket hanging askew over slumped shoulders and worn-out tennis shoes shuffling under the tattered hem of brown polyester pants.

I stepped out of my car. “Hello, Scottie.”

“Got some money so I can get me some lunch?” Scottie mumbled.

“Where would you like to eat today?”

“Barney’s,” Scottie replied.

“Well, come on, we’ll go to Barney’s.” I slowed my pace to match Scottie’s as we walked the short distance to the sandwich shop.

I pulled the glass door open for Scottie to walk in. Scottie sat down at a table, removed the napkin wrapped around the silverware, gave it a shake and tucked it into the front of his wrinkled shirt.

I walked over to the waitress, “I’m buying Scottie’s lunch today.”

People in our town take care of Scottie, and I could tell the waitress had done this routine before.

“What can I get for you today, Scottie?” the waitress asked.

“Cheeseburger, French fries, and pop.”

The waitress walked back over to me. “He ordered his usual, it’s $5.00.”

I pulled a bill from my wallet, gave it to the waitress, and turned to leave. When I walked by Scottie, he stuck out his gnarly hand and took mine. “Thank you,” he said.

I squeezed his hand in return. “You are welcome, Scottie. God bless you.”

Tears filled my eyes, yet I felt my heart swell. Isn’t it just like our Father to bless us by allowing us to be a blessing to someone else?

I walked to my car with my heart full of praise and thanked God saying, I asked you to give me something today. I didn’t know what I needed or even what I was asking for, but You knew just what I needed and sent Scottie to bless my heart.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for Your great love and compassions. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness, Lord unto me.

BIBLE VERSE: “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV).

Da-Da Fix It

By Susan Dollyhigh –

“Broke,” my grandson, Drew, said as he held up his red Matchbox car in one hand and a set of wheels in another. I watched as a frown furrowed Drew’s forehead while he turned the car over and tried to snap the wheels back into place.

With all of the manual dexterity of a two-year-old, Drew worked to replace the wheels on the underside of his small car. But, it soon became evident, even to Drew, that this problem was too difficult for him. I expected Drew to become frustrated, perhaps cry or maybe even throw his toy down, but he walked over and calmly placed it on the coffee table; looked over at Amy, his mama, and said, “Da-Da fix it.”

Drew left his broken car on the table and turned around to play with something else.

“Whenever something breaks,” Amy said, “Drew just puts it down and says, ‘Da-Da fix it.’ He thinks his Daddy can fix anything.”

I have many things in life that I hold up and say, “Broke.” Relationships, finances, health – “broke.”  A frown furrows my forehead while I try to put the pieces of my life back together.

With all the spiritual maturity of my fifty-four years, I work to fix my problems until it becomes evident that they are too difficult for me. Unlike Drew, sometimes I do become frustrated, cry and even throw up my hands in despair.

Yet the Lord tells us to give him our broken pieces; to place them at the foot of the cross, walk away, and have enough faith to say, my Heavenly Father will fix it. I know He can fix anything.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us and hearing us when we cry out to You. Thank You for being close to us when we are brokenhearted. Thank You for the promise of delivering us from all our troubles.

BIBLE VERSE: “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all” (Psalm 34:17 – 19 NIV).

 

Walking in Daddy’s Shoes

By Susan Dollyhigh –

Drew, my two-year-old grandson, wobbled into the living room with his daddy’s size eleven gray Nikes on his small feet. I watched as Drew held up his short arms for balance while his toothpick-looking legs shuffled one large shoe in front of the other. Beneath his blonde curls, his smiling face said, “Look at me, I’m walking in my Daddy’s shoes.”

Like most small boys, Drew wants to walk like his Daddy walks, talk like his Daddy talks, and mimic his every action. My son, Eric watched Drew struggle, stumble and even almost fall as he made his way across the room. But Eric never took his eyes off of Drew; he was ready to catch him if he fell. Drew finished his journey, and stood in front of his proud Daddy where he heard, “Good job, Drew!”

Major decisions, financial concerns, and family problems sometimes leave me feeling like I’m wobbling through life while trying to shuffle through problems that are way too big for me.

Yet, like Drew, I want to walk like my Father walks, talk like my Father talks, and mimic His every action. I know my Heavenly Father is watching as I struggle, stumble, and sometimes almost fall. But He never takes His eyes off of me; He is ready to catch me if I fall. So, I need to put a smile on my face, shuffle along, and focus on my Father. Someday, when I complete my journey here on earth, and stand before my Him, I hope I too will hear, “Good job!”

PRAYER: Father, I know my help comes from You, the Maker of heaven and earth. Thank You for keeping me from all harm and watching over my life.

BIBLE VERSE: “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalms 121:3-4 NIV).

Outta Sight, Outta Mind

By Susan Dollyhigh –

The Sweeper Vac’s battery charger resided on the counter in the butler’s pantry of my 1927 home. It was ready to connect with the batteries when they became weary and drained. After spending time in the charger, the batteries were rejuvenated and the Vac was ready to tackle whatever task the day might bring.

One day in a cleaning frenzy, I tucked the charger into a drawer instead of leaving it out for the world to see. As the saying goes, “outta sight, outta mind.” I soon forgot about my Sweeper Vac and returned to using a broom, even though it left me with a pile of crumbs to clean up.

Weeks later, I saw the neglected Sweeper Vac sitting forlornly in the corner of the cleaning closet. I pulled it out and pushed the button to turn it on, but all the life was drained from its batteries.

Just like that Sweeper Vac; I have a Charger, too. For many years, I kept it in a drawer instead of leaving it out for the world to see, and it became “outta sight, outta mind.”

But when I came to know my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I discovered the importance of my Charger, which is God’s Holy Word. I removed my Bible from the drawer and placed it on my kitchen table where it resides, waiting for me to connect with my Father.

When I spend time in God’s Word each morning, I am spiritually rejuvenated and better equipped to tackle whatever task the day might bring. I’ve also found that with God’s Word hidden in my heart, there’s a lot less mess for me to have to clean up at the end of the day.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for proving to me over and over that You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

BIBLE VERSE: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds” (Psalms 73:26 – 28 NIV).

Uprooted

By Susan Dollyhigh –

The gladiolus plants stood tall and proud in my neighbors’ garden just waiting to burst forth into bloom with their beautiful pink, purple, red, white and orange flowers. But my neighbor decided she was tired of her gladiolus garden so she uprooted them – flowers, stems, bulbs and all. Tossed into a pile, they were destined to be thrown away.

As any good neighbor would do, I walked over to see what was going on and arrived just in the nick of time. I scooped up an armful of the long, green stems with the bulbs still attached and rescued those orphaned plants. As I prepared to transplant them in my garden, I noticed the dried-up, brown, onion-looking bulbs were actually, well…ugly. But I knew inside those bulbs lived everything they needed to once again grow strong, tall stems and produce beautiful flowers. The bulbs just needed someone who cared to replant them in just the right soil.

Sometimes we, too, may be uprooted in life. Major moves, divorce or loss of loved ones can all leave us feeling uprooted. We may feel that we’ve been thrown away by those we love and maybe, even by God. We may feel that our heart has withered down to just an ugly, brown bulb.

But just like that gladiolus bulb, inside we still have everything we need to grow back strong and tall. We just need someone who cares. That Someone is the Lord our God. When we cry out to the Lord in prayer, He hears our prayers and sees our tears and will heal our broken hearts. With our mended hearts planted in His love, we’ll survive any uprooting life may bring our way.

PRAYER: Father, thank you that you hear out prayers and see our tears. Thank you for healing our broken hearts.

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV).

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