Lost Scissors

The story I am going to tell you is true and I wanted to share what we learned from it.

I have a pair of orange-handled scissors in my office that I use regularly for all kinds of things, like trimming booklets, cutting wrapping paper for gifts, removing tags from clothing, cutting out crafts, cutting lace and ribbon for crafts... and the list is endless.

However, lately I used them to wound my son. And that is what I wanted to write about today.

My son was asked to do a bulletin board at church recently and while he was gathering materials to create his masterpiece, he borrowed my scissors and promised to return them as soon as he was done.  When he arrived home it was late. He just dropped the box off in his room and forgot about those scissors that he borrowed. In the meantime, other projects had taken place and we both forgot about who had them last. To my memory, he was the last one to use them, but his memory was telling him that he did not have them. 

Months passed and I was missing my scissors. I had to use the ones in the kitchen that were not as nice and did not fit my hand as well. To top that, they were dull, old, and black-handled. I wanted my sharp orange-handled scissors back.  I accused him of being careless with my stuff and I wanted him to replace what he lost. In the meantime, he searched and searched in his room with no success. I searched the office and other places in the house without success. I finally told him, "Okay, buddy, You are going to buy me a new pair." I grumbled and scolded. 

Just a couple of days ago when I was looking for some lace to complete a project that I was working on, I found the scissors at the bottom of the bag. I was speechless for a moment. How in the world did they end up there?!!! I knew for certain that he had to used them last. I was right...and I was his mom, after all. I know that I did not have them last.....

I called my son into the office and closed the door. I sheepishly pulled the scissors from behind my back and said, "I'm sorry." His mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of the scissors. Instantly, he hugged me and forgave me as relief flooded his face. He, who declared his innocence all along, was exonerated. I, who had falsely accused him, had egg on my face. He was right. I was wrong. He was innocent, but I wasn't. The situation was not at all like it seemed.

So, what did I learn from this?

• Don't be quick to point fingers and place blame on others. They may be innocent, after all.
• Be quick to admit when you are wrong and say, "I'm sorry."
• Be quick to forgive. He was falsely accused and felt hurt by what happened, yet forgave and let go of the situation.

As for me, once I got the egg off my face and made things right, I walked on up the road of life a little wiser with the lesson learned. He offered grace and forgiveness to me that I didn't deserve. 

What about you? Do you have some "lost scissors" in your life? I honestly thought that I was right and he was wrong. I grumbled and mumbled about it for months, yet in that moment of revelation, I was not as innocent as I thought I was. 

At a wedding that we attended last weekend the preacher gave a little bit of advice to the bride and groom. "If you are wrong, say, 'I'm sorry'. If you are right, shut up!" Good advice.  It'll keep egg off your face.

Thanks for reading.

Donna McHugh

Here Comes The Bride

My niece is getting married tomorrow afternoon. For many months she and her family have been planning and preparing for the big day. There are thousands of little details that have to be worked out so that the day will be perfect. I remember that I was a bride over 26 years ago. The excited nervousness builds as the bride-to-be scurries here making sure that all of the details are worked out.

 A lot of work goes into the preparations for that moment when the bride and groom will be joined together in matrimony. Tomorrow is going to be a wonderful day of celebration for their family and friends. However, some did not get on the invitation list and will be disappointed. For them, it will be a sad day because they won't be part of the celebration. 

That is going to be true at another marriage celebration. However, the difference will be that all have been given the invitation, but not everyone responded in the way that the King had hoped.
In Matthew 22: 2-10 we read of another wedding feast that Jesus talked about in the form of a parable.

2.  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 

3.  And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 

4.  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 

5.  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 

6.  And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 

7.  But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 

8.  Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 

9.  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 

10.  So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 

However, there was another wedding feast that will be coming  when the Bride of Christ is united with her Bridegroom forever.  Don't be like the five foolish maidens mentioned in Matthew 25: 1-12. You remember the story of how five wise and five foolish virgins were awaiting the coming of the bridegroom.

The foolish virgins had not taken care of all of the details.  They forgot to fill their lamps with oil. When they realized it, it was too late. They begged the wise virgins to give them some of their oil, but they could not oblige. As they parable continues, they five went out to buy the oil, but, they were too late. While they were out The Bridegroom came.

Matthew 25:6  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

10.  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12.  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Oh, how sad that would be!

So in all of the preparation for the Bridegroom, we can learn some lessons.

The wedding feast is being prepared and you are all invited to join in the Celebration of all Celebrations. Just imagine the sounds of Heaven as they welcome the Bride to the table. All of the time we took here on earth to prepare for there will be worth all of the work that we put into our preparation for the Greatest Feast of ALL. 

• Don't allow anything to steal your oil of (joy, happiness, etc.)
• Take care of even the smallest of details. (If the King has shown you something in your life that needs your attention, take care of it. It was a little thing that kept the five foolish virgins out of the wedding feast.)
• Don't get careless while we wait for the Bridegroom.

I can't wait to meet you there at the BIG CELEBRATION!!!

Thanks for reading.

Donna McHugh

True Friendship Is A Choice

Sometimes when we struggle with things of life, God uses our friends to help us along the way. 

That is what happened to me today. I was praying over some situations that were troubling me.  I sought the godly counsel of  my friend as well.   She told me that I have a choice to do what is right or not. I could allow the situations to overwhelm me and steal my joy or I could listen to the voice of God and live free of the struggle....

That was the voice of a true friend speaking to me...one who cares about me enough to speak plainly in love about making  right choices.

  A friend loveth at all times... Proverbs 17:17a

We were talking about the friendships between women in our Bible Study in the book of Ruth. Naomi was a mentor and friend to Ruth even though she was an older widow, yet she cared deeply for her daughter-in-law. As a result of their friendship, Naomi was able to lead Ruth away from the pagan religion of Moab and into serving the God of Israel. Throughout that book we see the positive influence of Naomi on Ruth as one of the greatest examples of redemption  in the Old Testament. God blessed their lifelong friendship in so many ways. He had a greater plan than the friendship.  That plan was for Ruth, a Moabitess... a foreigner...to be chosen for the Messianic Line. What an honor for both of these women who faced very difficult times together!

Another example of true friendship is between David and Jonathan. 

1Samuel 18:1
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 

They were close knit friends!  We can read the story in 1 Samuel 18-21 of how Saul, Jonathan's father wanted to kill David, but we also read that Jonathan was faithful to his friend until the end of his life. When David became king of Israel, he wanted to show kindness to anyone left in Jonathan's family. There was one, Mephibosheth, Jonathan's crippled son, who was found and brought to the king's palace. He was fed from the king's table all of the days of his life. That was kindness of a true friend!

Proverbs 18:24  
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 

 The real point here is the last part of a verse. "there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."  That friend is Jesus Christ Himself. He will never forsake you in any situation. You can always call on Him. He will always be there no matter what time of the day or night that we need Him.

So, if you want to have a true friend, you have to be a true friend. The more you get to know your friend, the more your relationship with them will grow and deepen. The same is true about your relationship with Christ. The more you spend time with Him, the greater your relationship will be and the deeper your faith will grow. 

• If your friendships are a negative influence in your life, you have to make choices to pull away from that which is harmful. I had to make those choices in my life and it was painful, yet the new friends brought so much more into my life.

• Friendships that are founded and built with Christ as the center of the relationship will be strong enough to stand life's difficulties. Those friendships will go on into eternity!

Eternity with Christ and our true friends....Now there is a good combination for happiness!

Thanks for reading.

Donna McHugh

Hide and Seek

When I was a very young girl we lived way out in the country where our nearest neighbor was at least 1/4 mile away. I look back on those days as being happy times where we played hard and had a lot of fun just being kids.

One cold November day when we were playing hide in seek in the house, my brother hid really well. We could not find him, so we went to ask my mother to help us.  We looked under beds, in closets, and any other place that we could think of.  My dad came home from work and he helped search too, but my brother was nowhere to be found. The sun was beginning to set and a light drizzle began to fall and the temperatures were dropping. My mother was frantic. She had a new baby and several other children who needed her care, so she could not leave the rest of us to join in the search. 

The neighbors came, some to chatter and drink tea or coffee, but most searched in the woods, in neighboring fields and properties, yet he could not be found. They called his name over and over again, yet there was no response. For hours they searched. The fire department came and joined in the search, but they could not find  him either.

Finally, while the house was in an uproar, the babies were crying, I slipped away to do my own search of the house....and I found him, but nobody would believe me!  My mother was on the phone with the police when I made my way through the noisy crowd of neighbors and firemen. 

"Mommy," I said in my little girl voice as I tugged on her skirts, "I found him," 
"Shhh...." she said frustrated and a bit overwhelmed. 

I shrugged my shoulders and made my way through the crowd again. I got down on the floor and  looked my brother in the eye and said, "You're going to be in big trouble. Mommy is calling the police!"
I grabbed his hand and pulled him from under the bed where he was lodged between boxes. (He had crawled between the boxes and fell asleep. They had searched that room and even moved the bed, but when they did, the boxes moved with the bed and shifted his sleeping form along with the boxes.) However, if they would have done what I did and gotten down on their hands and knees, they would have found him.  I pulled him along with me as we made our way back out to my mother....

I tugged on her skirt again, "See, Mommy, I found him." I said as she gasped and told the police dispatcher to never mind, that he was found.  She told me today when I asked her about the incident that she didn't know whether to hug him or spank him. Her lost child had been found. Gunshots were sounded into the air. The sirens blared so that those hunting for him would know that he had been found. There was a real celebration going on! 

Some may think they hide so well that God will never find them. Adam and Eve hid in the garden because they had sinned and were ashamed, yet God knew exactly where to look. He knows where we are, too. He knows our deepest darkest secrets and He will never turn us away.

He is seeking for you, too. Many have gone before you (the great cloud of witnesses) and are cheering you on. You do not have to hide any more. The Good Shepherd will lift you up into His arms and lead you to safety. 

Jesus is seeking for anyone who is not in His fold. He will do whatever it takes to bring you into His Kingdom. Heaven is ready for the celebration. Are you?

Thanks for reading.

Donna McHugh