SelahV Today by hariette petersen

My Knight in Shining Armor

Last Friday I had an appointment with a neurologist to see if they could determine what is causing this crazy vertigo I have.  "It's not normal", says my ENT.

However, last Friday, I didn't want to leave the house because the threat of ice and sleet was all but certain for our roadways.  I've come to really trust what our meterologist, Austin Bowling, tells us on Channel 7.  Parts of our area were already being hit early in the early a.m., but it hadn't hit us on the eastend of my county here in Oklahoma, yet.  I considered canceling my appointment, but appreciated the fact I'd gotten in to see this specialist as soon as I did and didn't want to postpone it.

So I donned my heavy red sweater, new red gloves and wrapped two winter scarves around my head, then grabbed my cane and waddled out the door to my Prius.  It was bitter cold, as you all know due to the windchill factor.  We were down to 28 degrees and bitter north wind wrenched my scarfs from my neck with every step. Thirty minutes later, I arrived at Southwest Medical Center, and gratefully parked my car relatively close, and went inside. However I was in the wrong building.  So I had to waddle back out, crawl back inside my car and go to the otherside of the Hospital. This time I wasn't so blessed. I had to park farther away from the building.  Yeah. They had handicap parking up close, but I've never applied for one of those tags. Figured there is plenty of handicapped folks more handicapped than me and until I reached a point where it's near impossible to walk, I'll let the wounded soldiers in our area and all the other handicapped folks have those spaces. (I confess...I sure thought it woulda been nice at that particular moment though.) 

I entered at 10:45 a.m. and walkways were still dry.  After waiting for 45 minutes in the office, I'd called my husband, and he said it had started icing over in area.  I wasn't concerned so much about driving in the icy rain (hadn't driven in New England for 15 years without developing courage on icy roads).  My concern was walking on ice with my cane.  I envisioned myself slipping on the sidewalks and cracking my already messed up noggin beyond fixing. By the time I finished with my doctor the clock was hugging 1:45 p.m..

Enter my Knight in Shining Armor (well, actually he looked more like Santa with his bright red car-coat)...but...

I'm checking out of the doctor's office and hubby calls.

"Which building are you in?"

I tell him and he tells me when I'm done to meet him in the lobby with my car key and he'll get my car and bring it to me. 

So...I meet him downstairs about 20 minutes later, and he says, "take a seat".  I watch him trek out to my car in the freezing rain. People came and went in the lobby as my husband warms up and scrapes all the ice off my car.  Then hubby drives the car around to the Medical office curb, walks me to my car, puts me inside, kisses me good-bye and sends me on my merry way home.  He goes back to his truck and returns to work. 

Was I grateful?  You betcha.  Not just for that day and that relief, but that the Lord blessed me with such a thoughtful knight-in-shining-armor over forty-nine years ago.

One man in the lobby of the medical building lobby said to me as he watched my husband helping me, "Chivalry is not dead, yet."  And I replied, "neither is love."

The Demise of a Nation

Nations do fall.  America is perilously close.  Consider the words of Dr. Adrian Rogers:

“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”

What must we do in our country to change the course of foolishness it is following?

"If MY people, who are called by MY name, will humble themselves and pray and seek MY face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

God isn't telling those who do not call Him their God, to humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways.  NOPE.  God is telling we who are called by His name-- we who call ourselves Believers, Redeemed, Sanctified, Righteous, Justified, Regenerated.... US.  We need to fall on our knees and recognize we NEED Him.  Our knowledge.  Our intelligence.  Our cleverness.  Our manipulative ways.  Our maneuvers.  Our strategizing.  Our best oratory.  All is worth nothing.  It is prideful to even conceive that we can fix the brokenness in our land:

the evil. 

the rebellion. 

the arrogance. 

the greed.

the bigotry.

the hatred.

the immorality.

We cannot legislate healing for America.  We need to fall down and ask God to heal our land.  Lord, break our hearts, destroy our pride, and bring us to You.  May we trust in You and not ourselves.  selahV

 

Things I Miss- Integrity, Honor and Hope

I miss the days when integrity flourished.  When your word was a bond.  When a handshake sealed the deal.  When promises were kept and people meant what they said.  When innocent pinky swears were do-or-die and stick-a-needle in your eye unbreakable.  When someone said they were your friend, they remained a friend for life.  When marriage was between one man and one woman and no one ever thought otherwise. 

I miss days when honor was an unseen knowledge that you could trust and believe and rely upon.  When hearts beat harder at the sight of an flag unfurled or draped over caskets of heroism.  When a president stood at a microphone and carried our fears with dignity, treated our thoughts as worthy and protected our freedoms rather than diluting them one by one.  When our military would never dare be punished for believing and exercising their faith.  Where churches were esteemed and not dismissed as unworthy to even participate in donating money to help the wounded soldiers who protected their freedom of religion.  I miss those days.

I miss the hope I once had that my child and her children and theirs would grow up in the same kind of country I did.  Where pledging allegiance to the flag was customary but never taken for granted. Where the nativity was taken for granted to always grace the public square.  And Ten Commandments hung on every school room wall.

Where a cross never held disdain, ridicule or hatred but symbolized goodness, purity and hope.  Where hope was built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and the righteousness He brings to each heart who trusts in Him.  Where I was free to share my faith and not held prisoner to my thoughts or words of expression.  Where I was never bullied for belieiving that "in God we trust" or found myself wondering why our government would choose to rob us of the freedom to worship as we please and express our faith in ways we've done all our lives. I miss those days.

However... I do look forward to the day when Christ shall come with shout of acclamation, the eastern sky will part, the trump will sound and we will see everyone bow and confess that Jesus is Lord.  I do.  I really do.  selahV