Laying down His Crown, The Father tenderly scooped me onto His Lap and bounced me up and down like a hobby horse.
*Laughing uproarious Cassandra lay her tired head upon His Strong Shoulder, wrapped he’d exhausted arms around His neck, sighed and fell asleep. Patting her back, lightly, The Great One rocked and rock and sang songs of comfort to His Beloved Daughter. After He made sure she slept soundly, The Father strode upon the winds of the night, kicking up stars, in His Wake. Quietly, He lay Cassandra upon a bed of 🌹 rose petals. She was His Rose! Kissing her on the forehead, The Great King set His Sights upon others of His Children*
You matter. I have stopped wondering if I matter to folk. I am just choosing to spend the rest of my days loving as many folk who will allow me to do so. The rest will come out in the wash.
It was never your job to make him/her/they love you. Folk will or they won’t. Their choice was always about them and seldom about you.
Let go of the plow.
It was never your job to turn the situation around. You were just there to lend an ear/shoulder/hand. Your pom poms were never meant to replace God and Life’s corrections/instructions.
Let go of the plow.
It was never your job to unpack and fold the load of another. You were just there for them to lean on as they caught their breath. Your feedback on what he/she/they should wear was not required.
Let go of the plow.
It was never your job to save your family/friends/community. You were just there to witness and be a witness in however and with whomever God asked you to be available to Him for. HE does the work.
Let go of the plow.
It was never your job to save your workplace in working yourself to death and never seeing to your own needs/goals/dreams. You were there to do your best to support your job and have your goals met as well.
Put down the plow.
It was never your work to ensure folks always had a pillow when going through God and Life things. Folk get put between a rock, The Rock, and a hard place for a REASON. It is THEIR work to do.
Put down the plow.
It was never your job to hide your tears from God, from Life, from others in order to show how tough you are and that you ‘got this’. God and Life got this, got you and you were meant to share the precious meat of your tears with God, with Life, with others. Your tears are precious watering agent God needs to continually restore the soils of your heart and others.
Put down the plow.
It was never your job to play world waitress/waiter by trying to make everyone’s life easy at all times. Life is just that. Life. It happens to us all. You weren’t meant to live YOUR life and support folk as they live out their own.
Put down the plow.
HIS Yoke is EASY. HIS Burden is light. If you find your hands swollen, your back hurting, your shoulders bowed, check to ensure whose and Who you are serving.
If you find yourself toiling underneath the burden of man, you, expectations, the world, others, fear, anger, doubt, gloom, doom, woe and the like…
ALL of us. Together. United. Fighting. Together. Hand in hand.
Fighting our common foes:
Hate.
Apathy.
Division.
Strife.
Hunger.
Homelessness.
Since when, beloveds, is it permissible to disdain those who have no shelter?
WE are supposed to be their shelter.
WE are supposed to help them find home.
WE are supposed to extend food to the hungry.
WE are supposed to give water to he who is thirsty.
WE are supposed to clothe those without warmth.
WE are supposed to offer our shoulder.
WE are supposed to look after the elderly.
WE are supposed to look out for the infirm.
WE are supposed to give two hoots.
About ALL. Not just those who look and sound and believe as we do.
What happened to the mothers? In the past, a mom was a mom was a mom and she gave not two hoots what the child looked like, acted like or talked like. All moms used to see was the NEED. Not, the differences.
What’s worse, moms used to be the ones to champion the little ones to be different. Moms used to be the one to let the odd ones know they were not odd at all. Moms used to protect the weak. Now, it appears moms are not moms at all. They are women who simply look after their own. Giving no thought to those that do not look as them, that do not live where they live, that do not talk as they talk, that do not listen to what they listen to, that do not worship as they worship.
Woe to us all. ALL of us. For thinking that ANY of us were okay to be dismissed as not being good enough to live a good life, a life full of education, fresh fruits and vegetables, affordable housing, being able to walk down a street and dream of living in a nice home without being asked what we are doing there?
Enough!
Am calling on the moms. ALL the moms, to get on their needs, to lend their ears, to offer their shoulders, to make sure that each and every child has everything he/she/they need to thrive in this life.
All my life, I have had this pull, this call, this unction to be there, for folks. In the rain, holding the door open. So, folks could come in, out of the darkness. Into, warmth and love and care.
All my life, God has been whispering for me to come. To, Him. For 54 years I have been pursuing Him.
All my life, I have tried not to be a disappointment.
To, Him.
To, Life.
To, family.
To, jobs.
To, friends.
To, the church.
To, the world.
Again, and again, still yet again, I felt as though I was nothing but a disappointment. Especially, to me.
I could never do enough or be enough or have enough or look good enough or sound good enough or give enough or…
ENOUGH!
Enough, God said to me. Surely, I WAS enough. For, Him. For, Life. For, all. For, I was His Beloved. I was, I am, still, His Precious Daughter.
And, being precious in HIS Sight, helped me to see me as He sees me: Precious!…*hugs self*
Slowly, over the course of time. Slowly, after acknowledging how afraid I was that He would never accept me, never fully believe me capable of fulfilling my dreams, never give me the chance, the opportunity to try because I would disappoint everyone. Only, THEN, did He scoop me up into His Arms and let me know I could never, ever, never, no way and no how be a disappointment.
To, Him.
To, Life.
To, me.
He let me know though all the world may call me disappointing, that I shall ever be precious in HIS Sight. Which left me, which now leaves me feeling: 🤗 Precious!
Since then, I have been standing at the door, still. Beaconing all to come inside. To, get warm. To, receive love. To, be loved.
Today, He said…
Come inside, beloved.
Inside, I come. I have done my work. Time to rest a bit. It is YOUR turn now. I shall relieve you in due course.
So many souls are cold, beloveds. So many hearts are alone, beloveds. So many hearts are looking for home.
Hold the door, beloveds. Let them know HE is Home 🏡.
Come inside, beloveds. Come in from the cold.
You, are welcome.
You, are not a disappointment. Not, to Him. Forgive yourself for all you thought you have not been or done. Or, feel you have done wrong. Right what you can. Forgive the rest. It’s time.
*screams of agony could be heard winding their way towards heaven*
“I’m hungry!”, hangry snort.
“I’M HUNGRY!!!”….*Cassandra stomps foot and continues to act ten kinds of fool*…smh….oopps.
“What in the fresh…!!?”
A mighty racket could be heard within the walls of Apartment 12(apartment number changed to protect the innocent).
Meanwhile, outside gloom, doom, and woe were in conference with anger, anxiety and doubts to see who dared venture in to find out what the hockey puck was going on in there.
“Hecksnaw, not me!”, declared anger, still smarting from the tongue-lashing and hands throwing at the hands of Cassandra last time anger tried to run the show. anger suggested anxiety take doubt and double team her.
“Are you completely out of your mind?!?”, anxiety and doubt shouted in tandem having remembered the mighty beatdown bestowed upon them by said she. anxiety and doubt told gloom and doom to enter therein and take woe for just in case and as reinforcement for the two.
“Are you all cra cra???!!!”, woe exclaimed. woe proceeded to tell numerous tales of woe regarding Cassandra’s upper cuts and left hook. woe cowered and told anger to stop all that cutting up already if it wasn’t going to demand entrance.
Jesus, bounded up the stairs, heard the ruckus, inside, watched the carryings on, outside and uttered but three words…
“Peace, be still.”
Walkway now cleared, Jesus asked entrance. Following the source of all the hoopla and hysterics, He casually peered in the kitchen and…….
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Incensed by Jesus’ taking humor at her expense, Cassandra redoubled her efforts and quadripled her screams of frustration, agony, pain and what in the world going on around here huffings.
To her, He said: What you doin, Cassandra?
To Him, said she: I am STARVING! Trying to open this can of green beans and this DUMB electric can opener keeps spinning and will NOT open this STUPID can!….*outraged gasp*.
Said He, back to her: Uh, I hate to point this out, but wouldn’t it be a tad easier to see the can if you were to turn on overhead light? Why are you trying to open a can of green bean using living room’s light and not in the living room?
To He, she huffily replied: Well, OBVIOUSLY, I am in a hangry hurry and figured it was enough light to see a stupid can of green beans for heaven’s sake!!!
Gently, responded He: What say I say let there be and get some light going on?
Knowingly, she retorted: Make it so.
Making said light so, Jesus clap His Hands and sang the Clap on, Clap off song from a long forgotten commercial and product.
Smiling, despite her best efforts not to, Cassandra looked down and simply shook her head.
The can had been upside down the whole time.
HAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Cassandra and Jesus fell into each other’s arms having a laugh at her expense.
Since He was there, Cassandra invited The Great King to a bite of lunch. In agreement, both had a whale of a time until such time as work called her to it’s bosom.
With one final smile, a wink and a hug, Jesus made His way to see what else He could get into.
Hangry now satisfied, Cassandra reminded herself to make a note so she could share The Great Green Bean Fiasco with one and all….
Cassandra
Moral of the story: Take an extra second and turn the lights on. Taking the time to do something right the FIRST time will save you all kind of hoopla and hysteria. Be encouraged, beloveds. Keep going.
Why Can't I Be Loud?! 