You Never Know

For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Galatians 5:14 HCSB)


It wasn't a particularly peculiar day at work. It's not unusual to have several people inquire for direction to find certain library items. The Dewey Decimal system can be intimating to some. When the situation calls for service, it's also not uncommon to help a Patron hunt down a much sought after book. It could be the latest bestseller. I'm often asked to assist a mom finding craft books to busy her kids during the summer or help a gentleman that can't seem locate a certain title on building backyard decks. It's comes with the job. After all, it can get quite busy some days. Shelving and accepting library materials during a summer reading program can keep an avid library employee hopping. On this day, I had several inquires to assist one person after another. Although, not much surprises me--as over the years I have seen and heard some pretty odd things occur in our public library--I was about to be surprised.

I was going about my daily routine putting away a cart of books. The area I was in ranged from home decor, sports, poetry and literature. The routine sets one into a zone and shelving non-fiction becomes systematic. As I gathered my next batch of books to put away, out of my peripheral vision I spied a petite woman walking toward me.

"Do you work here?" she timidly asked.

I replied. "Yes, yes I do."

The lady stood around 5 foot tall, nicely dressed and spoke broken English. I noticed right away her Asian dialect as she began to talk to me.

She began to explain to me that she was trying to write to a friend that had just moved to Florida. The lady proceeded to pull out several snapshots of her friend's new home. This lady wanted to return a card expressing how beautiful the Florida home was and a few other personal words of endearment. Although, she knew what she wanted to say, her understanding of how to put this into a letter format baffled her. She proceeded to ask for my help to complete a short note to her friend.

At first, I admit, I felt awkward. This stranger wants me to write a personal note to another stranger. It felt weird. I wasn't sure how to respond, but then I quickly saw in this woman's face that she genuinely wanted to express her feelings to her friend. She unfolded a single sheet of filler paper. It's first two lines had only a few words. She explained what she had written so far, but found herself stuck. I assured what she had so far was nice. A letter is simply words from a person's heart, sharing thoughts and sentiment to another. It could be anything she chose to share.

So, she began. As she spoke her thoughts to me, I wrote down the words, using the metal shelving as a make shift desk. She mentioned she would copy it over to the greeting card later.

The words were simple. "Your home is beautiful. I hope your family is doing well. My son is moving into his own apartment on July 19. I love you and miss you. It has been really hot in Arizona. I will give you a call." Love,....."

When we finished, I showed her how to address the envelope and where to include her return address. Then, I took her over to the section in the Library that holds books on letter writing. I referenced several pages showing examples of styles and formats of letter writing. She was so happy. I told her that she could use these as examples to help her along.

She seemed content with the letter she could now prepare for her friend. The thought suddenly hit me about having a Servant's Heart. Aren't we here to help one another in ways we may never expect and even when it takes us out of our comfort zone?

I decided to share the experience a co-worker. As I relayed the story, I noticed her attitude wasn't the same as mine. Maybe the day had already been too long for her. Maybe her time on the job had become too tiresome. Maybe her heart was disconnected from remembering the days of common courtesy. Her only response was to tell me of a complaining customer she had dealt with earlier. As she spoke, I thought, how sad. This place, where I began working over 13 years ago, used to go the extra mile, to help a customer. We took our time when we could to assist or share a laugh and personal inner action. After all, we are serving our community, the families that live in our neighborhoods. However, due the lack of staff, over-worked employees, and higher stresses, the attitudes have changed. The HEARTS attitudes have changed!

It is sad, but it's reality. However, in the back of my mind, the thought wouldn't escape me. The World VS God. The World says, rush, don't take your time to help others, be impatient. God says, to love others as you love yourself!

The thought of God smiling makes me so much happier than making the world happy.

I also had this thought:

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2.

You never know....

Like a Duck on the Pond

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2 HCSB)

Many times I’ve compared myself to a duck on a pond. While the duck appears to be resting peacefully and comfortably above the water surface, beneath it paddles frantically to keep afloat.

On the outside, I seem calm and collected, keeping the plastered smile on my face. While on the inside my heart is pounding anxiously, with my palms sweating and my emotions running around in a maze.

When I am emotionally drained, I also find myself physically drained as well. It takes a toll on the mind and body. My head pounds from tension headaches and the grip is like a vice pressing tighter and tighter. My shoulders and neck tense up and ache. I debate would it help to release it all with a good cry or soak my head in sink full of ice water?

We have all days like that. Our emotions can get the better of us.

We sit in the conference room; listening to the same agenda we heard at the last staff meeting. The company is under stress and more cut backs are expected. Yes, there will be adjustments adding to the workload. Yes, we hear the same speech of depleting funds stripping the resources needed to do a job well. Inside, we are boiling. Inside our head is pulsing from the migraine the keeps reoccurring. Unable to concentrate, we begin watching the clock, hoping the workday will quickly pass. We don’t voice our opinion because, after all we do need the job.

Once again, your rebellious teen has disobeyed. The house rules have been stated time and time again, but he doesn’t seem to adhere. His attitude and body language conveys his distance and disrespect. Your disappointment is hard to hide, but even more your heart is broken because you know that your son knows better. You didn’t raise him to be so disrespectful. You try to remember the days before he began talking back and disobeying. You stand your ground, but on the inside your heart bleeds.

A friend, a person you thought you could always count on lets you down. This hasn’t been the first time. It’s become a pattern. You begin to consider the expense of this friendship. You make excuses for her behavior. The trust has been broken so many times. The pain is too much to continue putting up with the unsolicited antics. You are constantly feeling empty or hurt. Her words sting every time she says something unsuitable. Her ideas have changed so much you wonder about any hope of recovering any thing cordial you may have once shared?

We mask our emotions, leaving us drained from energy and lonely. We pretend we are happy when we are not, keeping that plastered smile on our face, hiding our true feeling, while we wonder, ‘does anyone really see my pain?”

I’ve have been that duck on the pond. Sitting quietly, seemingly relaxed on the surface, while beneath, I am paddling frantically to keep all appearances still and calm.

Many examples from the bible tell us there has been many that have experienced that sudden emotion, not knowing exactly what to do at first. Once they sought God, their thoughts changed. God brought them peace.

Daniel must have been filled with fear when he was first thrown into that den of lions. He mind must have been racing, wondering about becoming dinner for the untamed beasts.

Noah probably scratched his head, perplexed with thought, feeling overwhelmed with the idea of building an Ark. He may have lost a few nights sleep, thinking this job is way to big for me.

Mary must felt so anxious when she found out she was pregnant, unwed and having to face her family with such news. Yet her emotions turned joyful when she realized she would be giving birth to the Savior of the World.

And Jesus, as his body was stretched across those wooden planks, beaten and his body shedding blood. Did he feel alone and broken, knowing he was about to give up his life to safe us from sin?

Emotions.

We are overjoyed finding out that our first-born will soon make us a grandparent. We are proud watching our daughter walk across the stage to receive that well deserved diploma. We can hardly contain ourselves, when we find out our body is cancer free. It certainly gives us feeling of contentment when we look across the room and see our spouse that has shared the past 20 years with us, being steadfast and true.

God gave us emotions. They can be good or dreadful. Managing our emotions in a healthy way comes with maturity. If we don’t learn to manage they can and will drain us when unexpected or dreaded situations arise. We will be left feeling exhausted and powerless.

When we learn to surrender ourselves, our emotions to God, we develop a certain freedom. We are freeing ourselves from the drowning, overwhelming feelings that some emotions can take from us.

As I paddle through life, I’m learning to match the underneath waters with what appears on the surface of the pond. On the outside I am calm. On the inside, I am learning how to be calm. I am experiencing the joy when God surprises me with an unexpected blessing.

On the days when I’m not prepared for the unexpected, prayer calms my spirit. Releasing my anxieties brings a certain peace, reminding me to quiet down and be still.

To adjust how we feel we must adjust how we think. If we think of God first before we allow our emotions to take over, God will set the tone. He will bring us through the valleys and rejoice with us in the victories. Both can be rewarding.