FORK IN THE ROAD

FORK IN THE ROAD

We wrestle with challenges in different season of our lives.  We all will come to that fork in the road and a choice has to be made to stay one way or go another.  I’ve even heard some say they just couldn’t decide and quitting was too easy and so there they were stuck at the fork in the road.

Do we quit because we just want to give up or we think the next road will be more difficult?  I know it’s much easier to quit at times than shovel on through the problem.  I head an older pastor say one time that the more God wants to use you, the more likely you’ll be tempted to just quit.  I know it’s true as at times I have felt that way….it was just easier to quit.

As I’ve gotten older, maybe not any wiser, but older, sometimes God has helped me to see that the reward is to pray and chose the next step.  It may look harder but the reward has been just around the next curve.  And sometimes I have gotten a little glimpse of one road and opened my eyes to trek back a bit and take the other road which ended up being the best road at the time.  Sometimes the reward is just staying the course and not going down another road until you get a clear picture of which one you are to take.  You’re not quitting but waiting.

It may not always be easy and we may be tempted to give up, but stop and ask God for the best direction and road to take.  I always include talking to God first and I don’t always take other people’s advice on what your road I should be on in my life.  God has allowed me in the past to catch a glimpse of the outcome had I stayed on that road.

If you’re tempted to give up, give in or quit at times….seek God out and don’t do it.  Listen to Him and for Him.  Sometimes he just wants you to keep on keeping on.

^“So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.”   (Galatians 6:9 GNT)

Red Rose on Mother's Day

Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday. A special time we remember our Mothers who are still with us and those who have passed.  I shared this before and thought I’d put it out there again for you all to read. 

As a kid growing up there was one special HONOR that I remember and not sure many churches still do this or not.....but it was the one time of the year my Mother would get a small old Valentine box down from her closet and she had small red silk roses that she pinned on me and my brother. I was always in awe of the one WHITE rose that was in with all the red roses. My Mother would always pin that one on herself. I was a little envious at first, until she explained to me what it meant. You wore red in HONOR of your Mother if she was still alive.....and white in REMEMBRANCE if she had passed on. Well....believe me.....I was glad I was wearing the red rose instead of the white one.....because I wanted my Mom to still be alive. I was proud to sit in church and be a part of the many red roses in the congregation those many Sundays when Mother's Day rolled around. Each year I would look around and spot more white roses....a constant reminder that someone had lost their own Mother and was now forced to never more wear the red rose on Mother's Day.

Many don’t know when this old tradition was started.  Some say it was when Anna Jarvis got Mother's Day started....she wore a white carnation in honor of her mother.....but not sure who actually started the whole red/white flower tradition. And lots more say it came from the south....Appalachian tradition.....but I just remember churches, or at least our church did this every year....up until the late 70’s.

By the time my own Mother passed away in 1990, no one was wearing the small flowers anymore and not sure if very many churches still do this timely old honor? But I do know that if I had to pin on the white rose this time, I could understand so much better now why my Mom would tear up as she put on her flower. Bless our Mothers with us still and those who have passed on.