Down by the River

A man decided that he would take a walk down to the river to contemplate life.  He sat down on the bank of the river beneath a large oak tree.  As he sat there twisting a long blade of grass between his fingers and deep in thought, a strong wind blew down upon the man and toppled him over onto his side.  As quickly as the wind came it left.  The man sat back up and brushed himself off.  As he did this he heard a noise above him in the tree. It was the sound of crackling branches.  He looked up and saw a figure sitting on one of the branches.  He was startled.  As he attempted to quickly get up from his sitting position he fell forward down the back toward the river.  Catching himself before he fell in, he stood up.


Before he could say anything a voice came from the figure.


"Do not be afraid my son" said the voice.


"Who are you?" said the man.


"You know who I am" said the voice.


Without saying another word, the man did know who it was.  It was God.  God came down out of the tree and telling the man to sit down with him, they sat down on the bank of the river.  Although the man could tell that God was there with him he could not focus enough to truly see God.


God asked the man what was wrong.  The man told God about his problems.  He talked about his job, his family, the things that made him sad, the things that made him mad, and the general frustrations of life.  The man talked about how he didn't see him (meaning God) in his everyday life and how that scared him.


God listened intently to the man.  After the man was done.  There was a pause. 


Then God spoke, "Life is like this river.  There are ebbs and flows.  Sometimes life will be smooth and easy and sometimes it will be rocky and filled with rapids.  There are many hard times in life and although it may seem like I am not there with you or for you I am.  Look for me in the people that are put into your life when you need them most.  When there is darkness often my light is shone to you though people that I put in your way.  People that might show up out of no where to be there for you when you need someone. Some times people have a tendency to pass right by me or think that I am not there for them by ignoring the people I put in their lives.


  I use you in the same way.  Aren't there times that you feel pulled to call someone or go see someone for no reason what so ever?  Aren't there times in your job when you do something that you might not normally do that benefits someone else? Yes it may be a sudden short term situation where I put you into someone's life, or it might be for a long long time.  Sometimes you will move in and out of people's lives as they need you. 


 I am with you always.  Pay attention to those around you because you never know when I might be starring back at you through the eyes of another."


Upon these last words there was another rushing wind which again knocked the man over.  When he righted himself and sat back up God was gone. 


Or was he?

The End is Near

I wonder if you could ever tell when something was about to end. 


What I mean by that is have you ever felt like you could tell that a relationship / friendship was about to change or end? 


Have you ever foreseen the future of your job whether it was you quitting or you being fired? 


Have you ever known that because someone else has made a change that it was ultimately going to change you in some way?


I have always been a really observant person.  I often people watch.  It gets me in trouble sometimes with my friends because they know what I am doing when they catch me gazing at someone from a far.  I was really shy growing up.  Watching people and learning things about them and before they even say a word became the norm for me.  I could read people.  I still read people.  I catch things that other people don't see purely by observing a person's mannerisms or behavior.


I get in trouble with Coleen sometimes because I am pessimistic and I know how something is going to play out.  She is such an optimistic person, it is one of the qualities I love most about her.  I often tell her what is going to happen and she doesn't want to believe me because it is normally a negative thing.  Unfortunately I am right most of the time.  I don't like it but it happened very recently and although it is hard to believe it is exactly what I said would happen.


Don't get me wrong, sometimes I am right and it's a great thing but most of the time it is the opposite way around.  There are a few things that are on my radar. Changes that seem like they are going to happen.  A couple of them I really get but one or two of them I am not sure why they are going to happen.  I'll let you know if they pan out.


I believe that God has a plan and there is a reason that people are put in our lives or in our way.  Sometimes they just seem to pass through but other times they stay and leave footprints on our heart.  It is easy to let go of someone that is just passing through but it is much harder when they stay and leave footprints on our hearts. 


I am not sure really why I wrote this post, it was just something on my mind and on my heart.  I appreciate you reading and I hope that you hold on tight to those that make footprints on your heart and never let them go!