Keeping Herself Straight

She's a dignified, wise, older lady.  And I enjoy her company.  Our talks are always positive and pleasant.

The other day we spent some time together.  When I was walking out of the room, I turned to her and said, "Hey, keep 'em all straight around here."  She looked at me, laughed, and said, "Tell you what.  I'll just focus on keeping me straight." 

What a great response.  And what a fantastic motto to live by.  "I'll just focus on keeping me straight."

There's an old German proverb that states, "Sweep in front of your own door."  That means deal with your own issues and clean up your own messes rather than fixating on your neighbor's issues and messes.  We're to focus on keeping ourselves straight rather than obsess with keeping others straight.

Jesus talked about this before.  In Matthew 7:5, He said "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Did you catch His point?  Deal with your own matters first before you begin addressing other people about theirs.

The older I get, the more I feel the exact same way.  I find myself minding my own business more, and monitoring other people less.  The way I see it, I've got my own struggles, weaknesses, and tendencies to deal with.  I'm not perfect and I'm not qualified (or even want to) sit around and tear down other people.  I'd rather focus on becoming a better man myself.

It seems to me we all would be wise to deal with ourselves first before we even think about getting into the business of carrying on about the flaws of other people.  That's what Jesus wants us to do.  And that may, in the long run, help each of us to become more and more of the men and women God wants us to be.

Elizabeth's Haircut

While standing by the kitchen sink, I noticed it.  My daughter, Elizabeth, walked into the room.  There it was.  A change in my girl.  "Elizabeth, you got your hair cut.  I like it.  You look great, girl!"  As soon as I said that, she started laughing, looked at her sister, and said, "Dad I've been wondering when you would notice it.  I told people that I was going to wait and see how long it took for you to catch on."  I responded, "Well, how long did it take me?"  "About 24 hours," she said with a laugh.

Then, that afternoon, I walked into a restaurant here in Sumter.  There was a group of girls by the door.  They're good kids who are friends with Elizabeth.  One of the girls smiled at me and said, "So, Mr. Richardson, I heard it took you 24 hours to notice."  Then that group of girls laughed out loud.  I couldn't help but stand there and laugh with those kids.

Yep, sometimes we fail to notice things in each other.  Whether it's haircuts or someone going through a tough time, our attention doesn't always lock on to everything around us.  This can happen when we are distracted, self-absorbed, or even apathetic to what others are experiencing in our lives.  Of course, it can also happen accidentally because we are human, which means we are not always on our "A game".

But here's the great thing : God notices everything.  He sees, hears, and knows all.  Nothing and nobody escapes His attention.  Our awesome God is completely in tune with you, me, and everyone else.  Proverbs 15:3 tells us "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch."  Also, Psalm 66:19 states, "God has surely listened and has heard."  Then, in Psalm 139:3, the writer says this to God:  "You are familiar with all my ways." 

That's a good thing.

God's awareness shows He values us.  We matter to Him.  He is a watchful Father who keeps His attention locked onto His daughters and sons.  Just think about it:  With all of the many different things competing for God's attention in the universe, He still maintains a laser-like focus on us.  Wow, what an honor it is to matter to God!

I'm sorry it took me a little while to notice Elizabeth's haircut.  But I'm glad it takes God no time at all to notice who we are, what we are experiencing, and what we need.  There's a lot of comfort in knowing that we are always noticed by the Lord who loves us immensely.