Surprises in the Bible

I should read the Bible.  I know this.  How else am I going to broaden my understanding and deepen my connection?  Every year, it is one of my resolutions, but up until February or so I didn’t do it.  I’d have good intentions and read a bit here and there for a week or two, but I never got very far.

Then in February I spotted the reading plans at Bible Gateway.  I had seen something about a chronological Bible – the text of the Bible is printed chronologically in order of the events depicted.  I was curious and Bible Gateway has an online chronological reading plan.  Each day, they send me a link to that day’s reading depending on how far you are in the plan.  Today’s reading is 1 Kings 12-14.  A couple of days ago, the reading was Ecclesiastes 7-12, and it included a verse that surprised me because it is just so . . . today.  Here is Ecclesiastes 7:10.

Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
    For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

Wow.  That hit a little too close to home.  Whether you are in the “Make America Great Again” or the “I Miss Obama” camp, so many of us spend our time looking back. We talk about when the US was crime free.  Back in the good old days.  Back when people had family values.  Back when people were good. Remember how easy things were before we had to wear masks?

The story of Lot’s wife speaks to this.  She turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back.  She stood frozen, rooted to the spot instead of moving forward.

When we are hip deep in difficulties it is easy to look back.  But don’t do it to the extent that it keeps you from moving forward.  Don’t do it to the point that it keeps you from working toward solutions for todays problems.

How then should you look back?  Do it to gather strength.  My grandmother (see her photo) and her sisters grew up during the Dust Bowl.  They lived in Amarillo, Texas.  There were polio epidemics.  They survived their father’s alcoholism and war.  Times were tough.  My grandmother made clothing out of flour sacks and explained to me how to sort the various fabrics for dresses, boy’s shirts and underwear.  Think about it.  She even made their underwear.

Times are tough today and I’ve made masks but not underwear.  Thank goodness.  Although if I made underwear no one would be able to stare at my wobbly seams.

I look back and I see the thing my family survived.  My Grandmother wasn’t alone.  She had her sisters helping her out.

I’m not alone either.  I’ve got tidbits of wisdom from the Bible.  I’ve got my sisters, Lori and Ruth, and the many other women around me today.  I live with two hard working men and we are in this together.  Grandma always said I should read the Bible and it is definitely something I will continue to do moving foward.  That said, I do wonder what the next timely verse will be.

–SueBE

 

Don’t Look Back

Not that I was Rasputin or anything, but I have to say that I was someone else prior to losing the vision in my right eye. Looking back, I did a lot of…looking back. I could make myself feel guilty about a mistake I’d made decades earlier. 

Even in the car, I found myself looking back, keeping that eye trained nervously on the rearview mirror. God had to get my attention somehow, I suppose, and decided to poke me in the eye with a sharp stick. A surgery meant to correct a macular hole ended up leaving me without vision in that eye. In a way, it was a metaphor for the larger theme in my life up to that point: You can’t drive your car down the road in reverse.

If I could have full vision again, I would do it in a minute, but having visual impairments has been — wait for it — eye-opening. For one thing, I’ve learned that the world was designed for the elusive “normal” person: someone with perfect vision, hearing and speech capabilities, no medical issues and a perfectly balanced psyche. 

There are various “disability” communities, and each has its own lexicon. In the autism community, for instance, those without autism are called “neuro-typicals.” 

But even within those communities, there are differing points of view. For example, in the Deaf community, for some, a cochlear implant is a godsend. Others take exception to the idea that they need to be “fixed” and refuse the procedure. 

Just as I used to drive down the road worrying about how close the cars behind me were, I also spent time on what-ifs and why-mes that didn’t change my situation. When I got out of that roundabout of regret and let Providence take the wheel, the ride became a lot easier. 

Be Here Now

Every so often, someone, somewhere, will be mad at the world and will eventually say these words: I didn’t ask to be born!

Now, this is not to minimize the pain of those going through a hard time, but I wonder.

What if you actually did ask to be born. In fact, what if you even paid to come here. Better still, what if tax dollars were used? Maybe your loved ones in heaven (or wherever souls are stored) are working hard there to support you here. You’d do your best and get to work on meaningful projects then, wouldn’t you?

Maybe they’re spending their afterlife populating your dreams with what seem to be mundane activities (Oh look! There’s my mother, folding towels. What does that mean?) Maybe those are really metaphors and bread crumbs, guiding you as much as they’re allowed by universal decree (maybe the dream’s meaning was: Take care of work first, play later.)  Like the Prime directive from Star Trek. They’re only allowed to gently encourage without revealing too much, allowing for your free will.

But then you’d have to figure out what those meaningful projects are. No pressure! It’s only the peace of mind of your late loved ones, giving it their all so you can have the gift of life!!

Okay. That’s probably not the case. But “projects” is another word for “purpose.”

This fanciful tale was brought to you by all those you’ve loved and lost. I’m no medium (I’d honestly have to admit that I’m more of a “large”), but I don’t think they’d want you to fret as much as you do. They’d only want you to do your best with the days in front of you. And when you look back? To do so with a smile and keep moving.