Knees

   Over the last few months I have been nursing a knee injury that finally led me at a doctor and physical therapy. The doctor thinks that the fat pad under the knee cap has been pinched and is irritated. When I momentarily got over the fact that he said fat pad and must be a brave (or nutty) fellow to ever tell a woman such a thing, I was ready to listen to all the instructions. One of which again must have led to a look between confusion, consternation, and just plain a lack of translation. The instruction boiled down to, in a nutshell – if it hurts you, then don’t do that. Do something else. Well, by the end of the day, walking hurts, sitting hurts – what am I supposed to do? It is really hard for me to give myself permission to sit and rest this leg. I have found myself trying to consolidate trips into the other room or down the hall. So, why if I know that this joint needs to rest is it hard to rest?

   We have heard mention of the Puritan work ethic, to not be lazy. But, when is it okay to rest? When do we seek out rest? And yet, we have such a wonderful example to look at. God creates the world. He pulls it all together in it’s tiny and great complexities and then rests. He doesn’t rest because of fatigue. He rested as an example. There was no thought of laziness, lack of productivity. My knee hurts. I’m going to rest it and not feel guilty. After all, what better example could I follow?

Stuck

   Ow, ow ow ow ow ow!!! Somehow I managed to catch my hand between the phone and the plastic phone case. It was stuck on a pants pocket and I couldn’t get it off my pants pocket or my hand. Let me set the scene….

   Buddy, the puppy needs to go out and I put his leash on him and we go out. I grab a hat on my way out the door. After a text, and trying to put the phone back into the case one handed with a leash being yanked on by a happy hyper puppy, somehow my a small chunk of skin got caught in the phone case with the phone. Thus, here I am standing outside in my rubber boots, hat, and with the puppy on the leash declaring to the entire neighborhood, ow ow OW! My attempt to release my hand wasn’t working and it was really jammed in there, I couldn’t just pull it out. So, I dashed inside and got assistance to get my hand free! Thank heavens for helping hands!
   So, what did I learn besides putting your phone back into it’s case should be done only with two hands and adult supervision? Sometimes, you need someone else to help untangle you!
   Matthew 18:15 tells us, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.” We were not made to be solitary creatures, but to rely on each other as one part of the body relies on another part to function. There are times when we can work through a problem, just us and God. However, there are other times when we need someone else to come along beside and teach.

On the Other Side of the Table

   I had an opportunity to help pass out food to around two hundred families last weekend. With around 10,000 pounds of food shared, approximately 800 people were helped. It was a beautiful experience. The mobile food pantry works by a truck loaded with food coming. The food contained inside on palates is a combination of canned goods, fresh produce, and items which are considered extras by many grocery budgets - like large bags of walnuts and juices. There were large ripe tomatoes that were bagged up for easy delivery. A family even had picked a truckload full of sweet corn the night before and it was also bagged and added to the stock of food.

   People started lining up about two hours before the registration could even begin. Workers came approximately an hour early to help unload the truck and set up the tables. Registration began and people passed through. Soon, grocery carts were filled with food and people were loading their vehicles full of produce.
   One of the discussions I heard going on was being on the other side of the table. It is a joy being on the giving side. It is a beautiful thing to hand out milk, tomatoes, corn, cereal, soup, and a variety of other foods. It is not always so easy to be on the receiving side of the table. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t gratitude there, but there may also be wounded pride, embarrassment, and feelings of failure. It is not always easy to be on the receiving side of gifts. Especially gifts you cannot pay back.

   And yet, isn’t that what grace is?