We’ve known it, and seen it, in others, as well as ourselves. How we live life often scatters debris about us. Leftovers from life. Lying where it falls. Some of it is good, and others are simply life leftovers that must be handled by others.
Our lives are often messy and complicated. The choices we make, as well as the situations thrust on us, well, they create opportunities to learn for the better, or to duck and hide from their results. That’s one kind of debris field. We all experience this.
Of course, you get to make some choices in your life that defines this debris field, but many things left behind is simply a minefield for those coming in behind you. You may not be able to clear all the negative debris and others will need to deal with it, but you do get to make the choice of how you can control what you leave behind.
Today, I’m thinking about a different kind of debris field. The thought is like Christmas morning after all the presents are unwrapped and all the wrappings that must be cleared out. If you look at it in the right light, they are the debris left behind from the good gifts you received!
One persons debris (in the negative sense) becomes my treasure trove of thoughts, experiences, and the love I feel this week.
Today. I’m thinking about a debris field full of love and goodness.
Your Debris Field
With the passing of my sister, and the great response we’ve had to our family, I’ve learned from this, as well as from many other situations I’ve dealt with throughout life, we can either choose to remember and express the good. Or we can choose to be negative.
Before you ask. No one has shared anything negative! I’m thankful. Nor would I have allowed them to keep that thought alive! That’s who I am.
Many have expressed great love for Teresa and deep sadness at her passing. Friends from school and life, you know who you are, have reached out to us with great thoughts of love and sorrow. Your pain, tears, and shared memories paint a great picture of the debris field my sister left behind. Your sharing shows your heartbeat! Thank you!
So many hundreds and thousands of others have simply prayed and we have felt the strength of comfort and kindness. Though social media makes it much easier to feel your love, let it be known you are leaving behind a wide debris field that will never be fully comprehended. Your expressions tell me how important it is to be there for others when they are going through their struggles. What an awesome Debris Field!
The constant offer, “Can I do anything?” My. My. What do we say? Several have tracked me down and spoken these words to me, and I can only shed tears. At this point, prayer is our greatest blessing. But the fact that you offered and meant it leaves behind a great Debris Field of memories!
This Makes Me Think
So this brings me to my early morning thought. I’m at my nephew’s house, while they struggle through a delivery process for their first child, my sister’s 5th grandchild. It’s a beautiful part of the world to my liking so I could be here for a long time and never gripe! Teresa would have been here this weekend to welcome her newest into the world. So. I’ve picked up the mantle of saying, “Sis, I’m here for you.” The rest of my family dealt with everything that happened in Texas, and I was able to connect here, but God orchestrated my visit here for a purpose.
Late Sunday night, yes, this week, I got deathly sick. My bride was worried so she decided to drive me to the airport instead of me getting stuck on the train if the sickness lingered.
As we were preparing to leave the house, Southwest Airlines texted me – Flight Canceled, Click here to Rebook. Have you ever felt the frustration of upended plans at the last moment? Though in recovery mode, I was there! Frustrated and fearful.
So. I challenged my phone’s screen size to help me rebook and be prepared to royally mess up all my plans!
Booked. Same Departure time, but with a layover of several hours to elongate the journey. Only, the layover would be where my nephew is and at least I could check in with him about the soon arrival of their firstborn (Yeah! I’m a firstborn!).
All is not lost!
All is not lost! I’ll be on the ground, checking in with family, and enjoying dinner to strengthen me from the sickness the night before. I can do this!
While in the air I get a text from my bride. Tragic. My sister gone. In an instant. It’s hard to write….
Southwest Airlines stepped up to the plate and helped me while in the air and on the ground to redirect my energies and plans to staying where my nephew was just handling the news. His mom is gone.
As many have said, I agree, there are no true coincidences in life. Things happen for whatever their reasons are, and you are left to make the best of everything. My plans were changed by providence. I did not understand it at the time, but I’m totally in tune with it now!
I’m still here with my nephew, 3 days later, and the baby is coming this morning! “Sis! I’m here for you!”
My Own Debris Field
While dealing with everything, I realized how close I was to my own debris field. Here is a part of my own life that needed some mending. Just a couple of miles away. Yes. You know who you are, and you know what I’m talking about. I pray our fences are mended and we both feel some relief.
We all have debris fields of “please repair now”. It’s not too late for any of us to glance over the fields of our lives and ask, “What can I do to clean up my fields?” I wrote this posting last week and it sort of lays the foundation for what I’m dealing with today. Tell It Like It Is If I cannot be honest and handle my own debris field, how can I deal with others?
We can keep our debris field covered until it’s too late, or we can take ownership. Even if it means swallowing our pride and pain, and be a blessing to the debris in question.
One Final Point For Consideration
How do you want to handle your reputation after your gone? I was asked to be a part of a funeral some 30 years ago, and the grandson told me his granddad was an atheist and left a bad taste in everyone’s life with his rants and raves about “There’s No God!” But then he would sing a little song, “I’m going to hell. I’m going to hell. When I get there, you’ll be there too!”
This debris field was truly a minefield.
What do you do? Well, after considerable prayer and consultation, I simply preached hope and love to the family.
“A Song of degrees.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD,
which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper:
the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil:
he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in
from this time forth, and even for evermore.”
Psalms 121:1-8 (KJV)
Take your eyes off the world around you, look up to the Lord, he will keep you, and protect you!
Learn From Life
Learning to handle that debris field taught me a lot – you can either join others in their pigpen, or you can be better than the situation and handle it differently. Be the blessing and let those blessings flow over the fields of life that can be full of negatives. Let your blessings wash out the debris that is simply what the word means. Left overs. Waste. Fragments. Discards. Useless.
You can either join others in their pigpen, or you can be better than the situation. Be the Blessing! Let those blessing flow over the debris field of life. Click To Tweet