Three

Third air traffic accident in three weeks! Three in three!!  Air traffic controllers were short as it was; we need more, not less. God bless all those involved and affected including those who were injured.

Joe's Run

When I was a kid (that was yesterday!), my cousin, Mary and I would traipse for hours a creek called Joe's Run.  Joe's Run ran for miles to different parts of Zanesville, my hometown. One section ran through the golf course; one part had some deeper water and a falls; the furthest end ultimately emptied into the Muskingum River. That river ran through town joined the Licking River, finally connecting to the Ohio River at Marietta, Ohio.

This journey took quite awhile but think about it, how the Ohio joins the Mississippi as it then goes to the Gulf of Mexico!! (Please don't correct me here. I choose what I said). It hit me that if a small creek or stream has this much potential with a bigger body of water, then how much are each of us indivuals part of a much larger reality.

I can tell personal experiences of speaking up or having personal conversations with those in authority helped, from chairman of a board, pastors, department heads or those who were the leaders. Of course, it pays to be calm and have correct facts, not just emotions. Looking back over my lifetime I have talked with many.

Yes, it can be frightening, however, I also pray and ask for guidance, a calm demeanor and the right words. Sticking to principals, not tearing down personalities is paramount. 

For me, sometimes I felt like I was "arm wrestling" with God because some of those times I surely didn't want to approach those individuals, but felt a much deeper push to do it. And I could have lost my job!! 

One thing, I didn't have expectations that the other side do it my way, but simply knew I had to honor what my God was asking of me! It has always brought me peace!!

Looking back over many of my own "Joe's Run" experiences, I now can see how they joined a much larger picture so if ever you think your words, example and actions are insignificant, think of Joe's Run and how that small, insignificant stream eventally joins the Ohio River.We all know how great that river is!! Always know we are part of a much bigger world!

Courtesy of the Internet 

My Purse!

Many years ago I had an incident where I forgot my purse on the back of a chair at a local restaurant.  That establishment had a policy that any belonging left by a customer would be kept in their safe until claimed.  What a safeguard!

But when I called it was not there!  Believe me, have you ever lost you purse/wallet? It had everything in it, including license, keys, money, credit cards and more!! What more that could be done with all that valuable information was enough to tip me upside down let alone the process I had to go through to deal with each lost item!

Luckily, although frightening, the restaurant called saying a waitress had taken it home. She returned it the next day but potential remained.  Now the fear of whether she had information that was inside the purse of what she might do with it in the future.

At one distant point I said, "all's well that ends well" however, just like there being things that must be done when we lose our purse/wallet, what do we do now when a bigger purse is being taken from us, our children and our future? 

Well, think of it.  How do we deal with someone  having the keys to the Treasury Department and all the information inside... social security numbers, tax returns... endless possibilties!! And what will happen if the Department of Education is shut?  Those are purses, and possibly more, on a huge scale that could have tsunami effects that might paralyze our country.  The richest man in the world has access to all of this. What safeguards are there now?

This is huge; it is affecting not only a certain party, but each and every one  of us.  What will Musk do with information he will have from inside the Treasury...why does he even think he needs it...it is not his!! What a violation!

We can avoid voting, or bashing one or the other side but life has just gotten real.   We may be losing a huge purse and may not ever get it back!  Safeguards that are supposed to be there have collapsed, called Congress. That purse is called our Constitutional government! It needs to be protected at all costs! Now what will we do...what will you do? 

Courtesy of Pixabay

Mice!

 I have a best friend and when either of us has a situation that has us in a panic attack we call each other and say, "I'm up on a chair!"  You, know, like when a mouse scares the daylights out of us and we run up on a chair!!! Snakes in the yard do the same thing to me...it's called a panic attack at the snap of a finger!  No fun and not easy to deal with sometimes!

There are so many things that can put us up on that chair!  For one, some folks often have financial concerns wondering if the deposit will come in before a bill is due.  If a family member needs help, is there a capability to help them. I think of today's news regarding the plane/helicopter crash in DC...I can only imagine ALL that those families are going through (and my heart just aches for everyone affected by it!)

We all have been "up on the chair" at some time, no matter the details but what has helped us get off the chair?? Recovery programs use phrases, one being "One day at a time."  Another one is, "Just for today."  Then, prayer really helps, and listening then to what God might speak back to us. Good friends are a goldmine, too, to listen to us when we need to tell someone when we are on the chair! Also, turning the news off helps!

So, when real life situations push us "up on a chair", I say, it's not that we got up on that chair but how soon can we get down from it and what helped us get down? It happens to all of us but not letting those "mice" of life scare us to hopelessness is what really matters!  Think about it!

Courtesy of internet