Help in the Fire

3 fire fighters, reaching out to "library kids"

This morning I attended the story time at a public library with my granddaughters. The special feature this week was a visit by three fire fighters, who's fire station is right across the street from the library.

They read a couple of books for the mostly 2-4 year-old crowd. But then one of the men put on his uniform with the special mask, tank, boots, gloves, etc. He was quite unrecognizable, even as a human being, when he got all decked out for fire duty.

I was surprised that several of the children were quite scared of him and retreated to the arms of their mothers. I thought at first that it was not very wise to make these toddlers feel so insecure, but then the men explained that if they had a fire at their house, they didn't have to be afraid of someone who looked like this. There was no need to run away from him. Instead he was there to help them. He kept saying through the mask, "See, I'm still Fireman Bob." After "high-fiving" several of the kids and letting them touch the uniform and get close if they wanted, he took the uniform off so they could see he was still who he was before.

There are many things in life that frighten all of us. How many times do we run away from what we perceive is danger or hard trials, but it turns out to be our salvation? That's why it's so important to get to know God, just like the children needed to know it was really Fireman Bob under all that garb. Because God is a real, caring Being too...and we shouldn't run away from Him, even when there's not a fire.

Bits and Pieces

A big accomplishment for me today was working on my PowerPoint presentation for a Christian women's retreat this fall. I have been meaning to go to the college library computer lab for weeks now, but the logistics just never seemed to work out. But today, the "stars were lined up just right" and I was able to make a big dent in creating a PowerPoint about caregiving.

Of course, I have been doing research, making notes, and making an outline on my laptop here at home, but just didn't have the PowerPoint capability on my home computer. I tried working on it at the public library a couple of times, but it was too nerve wracking there with a time limit over my head and other people working feverishly on every side. (You'll remember the time I left my memory stick there and thought it was lost for good, until I discovered someone had turned it in to the librarian on my next visit.) On the other hand, the college library was almost empty today between semesters, so I was able to make some good progress on my project.

I guess one lesson I have culled from this endeavor is that our work has to broken into little pieces for it to be manageable and for the end result to be worthwhile. Similarly, our character development happens in bits and pieces throughout our lifetime. When we're very little, we research all the adults around us and learn what we can by our observations. Then as we get a little older, our early school years, we start making notes. As teenagers, we begin to organize all our notes and create an outline of who we want to be as adults. Then in the adult years, we create our "PowerPoint" character presentation for the King of the Universe.

Hmm, I wonder what mine will look like.

Forgetting to Remember

I have come to the conclusion that it is a waste of time getting DVDs for Dean at the library. I painstakingly chose some today that I thought he might not have seen. He is on the second go-round for one of them that I brought home. I told him when it started the second time that he had already seen all of it. He said, "Oh, well, I can't remember it."

That is just one change in Dean's dementia. There are other subtle things, but fortunately it is all very gradual. He used to notice if he had seen a video within the last year or so, then it was anything in the past week or day. Now he's watching them back to back!

Isn't this how we fall into sin though? Rather gradually? It can creep in without our knowing it, but not without our permission. What a careful watch we must have on our senses. Satan is looking for a way to cause us to forget God. That is one kind of dementia none of us can afford to have.

A Safe Environment

Who would have thought that my daughter would be trading babysitting gigs with her mom. I babysit for the grandkids one night a week, and she comes and takes her dad out once a week to give him and me a break. We seem to have something going here that works for both of us.

I think she's learning the environments that work best for her dad. Today she took him to a store (wrong choice), the library, and then to her house, where he sat in front of the television while the girls got their naps. It's just hard to get him out of that recliner even here at home. But then, do we really want to? It's his safest environment...at least for us.

Finding the Lost

I couldn't believe my good fortune when we made our regular visit to the library on Sunday afternoon. Without expecting a favorable response, I asked if anyone had found my flash drive that I lost in the computer lab there a few nights before. The librarian went straight to the lost and found shelf and came back with my precious "memory" stick! I reported in my blog earlier that it was about the size of a lipstick, so here's a picture of it. I'm just so happy to have it back.

Now, my next responsibility is not to lose it again. Let's see now. I must put it somewhere that I can remember where it is. I know. It'll be safe on my dresser...right next to the lipstick!

I'm so thankful to God for helping me find something twice. I feel even more attached to something lost, because of its miraculous return. God must feel the same way about us. We belonged to Him because He created us. But how much more precious we are when we return to Him after being lost to the world. I intend to stay right where God wants me too, so I won't be lost to Him any more. 

Losing It Twice

I can't believe I lost something twice today. When I first lost my flash drive at home (a small memory device for your computer, no bigger than a small lipstick), it was only after Dean made me stop looking and pray about it that it was found. But then as I left the library, after using the flash drive, I wondered on the way out to the car where I had put it, not imagining that I could possibly have lost it again so soon after all my searching earlier.

It's so easy to lose your way on this Christian walk of ours. You'd think with something as important as our Christianity at stake we wouldn't lose it in the first place. But then we lose our patience, and a little while later we lose our temper. They're almost the same thing. When you lose one, you almost always lose the other.

I think the only solution to any losing problem is prayer. God will show us where to find patience. He'll even help us find our temper. Our sweet, loving one, that is. Thank you, God, for helping us find everything we really need.

P.S. I'd like to show you a picture of that flash drive, but I still haven't found it!!!

Story Time at the Library

Monday morning is "toddler story time" at our local public library and I accompanied my granddaughters and their mother to the event this morning. Naturally, my eyes were mostly zeroed in on my two precious girls, as they watched and responded to the story and animated songs that the teacher presented to the small group sitting on the floor in front of her.

There is a difference in Jenna's responses now. She didn't used to participate in any of the motions that the teacher encouraged them to do, but as she's become more familiar with it all, she's become less shy and more at ease with the clapping, foot stomping, and whatever else the songs demand.

As a matter of fact, I observed three levels of activity with the youngsters there today. Some were very shy about participating, like Jenna used to be. Then there were others, like Jenna now, who were just beginning to open up and enjoy being part of the group. But there was also one or two, who were very vocal and not the least bit shy about sharing anything and everything. In other words, the ones that caused the librarian to put her finger to her lips the most often.

I wonder where I might fall on this spectrum of group dynamics. As adults, we probably all fall into one of the categories at different times and in different settings. But when it comes to my witnessing for the Lord, I hope I can be like the most vocal youngster there and be willing to share Jesus anytime and anywhere. When my Master Teacher tells me to be quiet, I'll comply...but it won't be easy.

God Has a Plan

I knew it was going to be a busy day when my daughter called ten minutes before library storytime and asked if I could meet her there and help watch one of the granddaughters. Fortunately, it only involved putting my shoes and jacket on and going out the door, but I thought on my way there that only for my daughter and her little ones would I be making such an impromptu and rather inconvenient trip. I did have other things lined up for the morning before she called.

And then I thought, am I as willing to go on God's errands? Would I be just as anxious to drop all my plans and follow His? The answer lies only in how much love is motivating me to do it. It has to come from a pretty close relationship, just like with my daughter.

Lord, help me to hear your voice and, no matter what I am doing and where I am going in life, to just go where you want me to go and do what you want me to do. I may not be able to make sense of your plan, and it may cause hardship and sadness to me, but I trust you to lead the way.