I was thinking about this photo yesterday as I was paging through my social media. I am really tired of it. I am tired of all the bad news. I am tired of all the political back and forth. I am tired of all the shootings and all the anger. I am tired of the lies and the hate. I am tired of the dark and the gloom and the doom. In my last blog I posted about keeping your thinking on the most important stuff. Today I am hungry for some things that are wonderful and amazing. Hence the above picture! I want to think about things that make me stop in amazement. I want to be filled with wonder, just like Anna, at something that is good and sweet and fun. So I made a list of some of these social media posts that fit the title of "wonder and amazement" to share with you here..... not the actual posts, but what I felt about them as I saw them.
1. I saw a "throw back" post from one of my nieces of her kids about 7 years ago. It made me smile and think....boy have they ever grown up! Said a quick prayer for their family.
2. There was a post featuring a one month, two month and three month picture of a simply adorable baby boy. There is a long "back" story on this post, I have known the mom of this baby since she was in Kindergarten. She has not had an easy path to this point. I love celebrating with joy and wonder and amazement with her as she shares her precious son with me. So many prayers of thankfulness for her family.
3. Someone shared a news post with a video of a baby elephant with a wading pool and a hose. It was wonderful to watch this not so little creature just loving that blow up pool. How could you not smile at this video.
4. I watched a video of a man who was holding a sign that said "Free Hugs". He was hugging anyone who approached him. He was hugging policemen. He was hugging runners. He was hugging old people and young people. He was hugging black people and white people. And they were all smiling. What a great idea.
5 On a page I follow that deals with grief and loss there was an amazing picture of a sunset over the ocean. It was titled "Breathe". I spent a bit of time just taking in that scene, remembering all the times that I spent just "breathing" in the ocean and the sky. It is so life giving.
6. There were several delightful photos on Instagram of sweet children, happy families, great friends and wonderful scenery. Actually, for the most part, Instagram is the one "social media" that is mostly good and pleasing things to focus on. I have found myself looking there FIRST when I have a moment to scan my phone. As a matter of fact, here is my most recent Instagram post. It was my view from my back patio, early in the morning, listening to the birds sing and feeling the soft breeze. It is a wonderful way to spend quiet prayer time.
Yesterday I woke up singing the song "Stand up, Stand up for Jesus". It is an old hymn that reminds us in the second line that we are "soldiers of the cross". We are told to "lift high His royal banners". The first verse concludes, "till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed".
Stand up, stand up, for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner,
It must not suffer loss:
From victory unto victory,
His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed.
Most importantly, there is the reminder that Jesus is leading the army! I love the reminder to lift high the banner of Jesus. Do you know what that banner says? It says LOVE!!! Jesus told us the most important commandment is this.... Love the Lord your God with all you heart and Love your neighbor as yourself. That is the banner of Jesus. We need to raise up that banner right now and raise it up high. There is nothing more that the world needs to know right now than Jesus wants all to love our neighbor. When Jesus was asked "who is my neighbor" he told the parable of Good Samaritan. It is found in Luke 10:30-37.
30 In reply Jesus said: “A
man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by
robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away,
leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He
went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he
put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of
him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[a]
and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I
return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus knew it would not be easy to love our neighbor. But he knew that it was possible to show mercy and help others. The antidote to the hate and violence is love and mercy. We just need to be those soldiers right now, wherever we are - whatever our circumstances are. Let's all stop and raise high a banner of LOVE and MERCY. Smile at a stranger. Reach out and give a hug. Say please and thank you. Be a soldier of the cross. Remember, Jesus is Lord INDEED!
Jesus, thank you so much for the reminder that we need to stand up for the cross and raise your banner high over our life.. Holy Spirit, help us to love well and show mercy to all. Remind us of the wonder and amazement of the creator in our world. Amen
Thank you so much for that! <3
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