Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

All of us have times when we experience loneliness and friendlessness. These are not good feelings and can create the perception that we are worthless and unwanted. Often these emotions are based on untrue feelings, but sometimes the events of our lives really do put us in a position of rejection and loneliness. As an African American born in 1896, Ethel Waters had every reason to feel alone and unwanted. Born to a 13-year old rape victim, Ethel spent most of her young life raising herself. Though her maternal grandmother had responsibility for her, she spent much of the time running wild in the slums of Philadelphia.

It is amazing how little things can sneak into your life. When you are least expecting it (and from the craziest places), wrong ideas and thoughts can enter the mind and totally upset your world. It kind of reminds me of living in an old house. I love this historic farmhouse that is our home, but there are certain things that I will always have a hard time getting used to. About this time every year, as the weather turns colder, intruders disrupt our usual routine. Though I have no problem with cute gray mice in cartoons, I have a big problem with them invading my house. Yet every year a new troop of them decides to find warmth and comfort within our walls.

Good things come in small packages! Each Christmas there are many packages of different sizes nestled under the tree. The brightly colored wrappings and decorative ribbons please the eye and tantalize our curiosity about what special something could be inside each box. The biggest gifts draw the most attention. They are what you see right away. But it has been my experience that the best gifts  are often the ones in the smallest packages.

Deep down in each person's heart there is a desire to leave behind a legacy. Though each of us is involved daily with life's mundane circumstances, we hope that the seeds we plant will make a difference in others' lives. Truly our attitudes and actions do affect others, but when it is all said and done, will the fruit our lives produce remain?

Have I ever told any of you that I am terrible at directions? No matter how hard I try I always pick the wrong direction. That is why I rely heavily on my GPS. Siri and I are the closest of friends when it comes to finding my way. I trust her completely. Just yesterday I was traveling through a neighboring town that I do not visit often. I asked Siri to take me home and she kindly began directing me. As I blindly followed her lead she took me through a very unfamiliar area and I was completely lost. Though I started to have some doubts about her wisdom, there was nothing left to do but continue to follow her guidance. Much to my relief, in twenty minutes I finally recognized where I was. It wasn't the route I was expecting but a back way that took me right where I needed to go. Once again, I was so glad my good friend knew where she was going because I sure didn't!

There's a whole lot of "ticking" going on. Alone in our office I stepped out into the Event Center where our Clock & Watch Auction was set up. As I stood perusing the many timepieces that sat on the long tables, I noticed the ticking. It wasn't very loud, but as I cocked my ear I could distinguish the soft pulse of hundreds of clocks beating out every second. "There certainly won't be any excuse for the auction attenders to be late to their next appointments," I chuckled. "Their timing should be perfect."