Tag Archives: Friendships

Hope in Our Differences

13 Sep

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblogged from Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

Since the beginning of time, Satan has attempted to mimic and corrupt all that God has created. The current age is not the first time there has been anger & division over differences. Satan mislead Adam and Eve to question to instructions God had given them about eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan didn’t even have to exert much effort to convince them God wouldn’t strike them dead immediately if they ate the fruit. God’s words to Adam’s about this tree were, “for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17).

As the population of the world grew, so did differences among the people. Many fell away from faith in God and worshipped idols made of wood or stone. They looked to the sun, moon, and stars to be their gods. These differences caused wars and the more powerful any one group became, the more differences they found amongst themselves. Throughout history, people have placed a greater value on a group of people that possesses financial wealth while looking down upon, mocking, and oppressing those who labor. Without those workers, though, who would provide the goods and services the wealthy need for survival?

Jesus, on the other hand, came to earth, still fully God but taking on human form and mingling with the lowest people in society. They were looking for the Messiah, but the religious scholars were only talking about one. The 12 men Jesus taught on an intimate level were a diverse group. A tax collector, some fishermen, a zealot, and who knows for sure what the others were. A tax collector was considered a traitor to his own people and yet Jesus called him to follow! The 12 learned from each other, they grew to rely on each other, and their differences strengthened them.

We don’t all have to share the same politics, the same opinions on world affairs. In the end, those topics don’t have long-lasting importance. The only topic that warrants serious discussion is faith. Faith is the root of all differences of opinion. Christians are called intolerant because we believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. Every person has the choice whether they believe that and want to follow Jesus. Nobody is forcing the decision. Those who follow Jesus are called to share this truth, to make people aware, and to encourage others to believe, but Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet” (Matthew 10:14).

Next time you find yourself in a heated conversation, stop to think about how important that topic is. Is there any benefit in arguing? Can you find a way to respect the differences in your opinions? Look at the people around you as more than their opinions on a handful of explosive topics. Get to know the things that truly make up their character: their hopes, and dreams, their heartaches, and their triumphs. Learn from them and recognize that without our differences, we wouldn’t have scientific discoveries, great writing, astonishing food combinations, or transformative music.

God created us each of to be unique. Why would we want to all be the same?

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Breathsavers ®

30 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

In previous musings, I have written about a family I knew growing up, who lived in Deming, New Mexico (please see my post of January 15, 2023).  I mentioned that the family had one child – a daughter – who became fast friends with me.  We are still very good friends, even though we live so far apart.

Ruth Anne and me on the Ferris wheel – NM State Fair 1955

Ruth Anne at the NM State Fair 1955

I also mentioned that when I was old enough, I would ride the bus to Deming by myself (a four hour bus ride) and spend a few weeks in the summer with Ruth Anne and her family.  And the next summer she would come to Albuquerque and spend a few weeks with us.

1956 – Ruth Anne and me in Albuquerque at our house

All that to say that one year I developed bronchitis, and was still coughing away when I went to Deming.  Now one of the most fun things about being with Ruth Anne and her family, was that we would go swimming at the local pool.  That particular summer, Ruth Anne’s mother told me that, as long as I was coughing so much, I couldn’t go swimming.  I had to learn to control that cough!  So I set out to do just that!

1955 – Deming, New Mexico – Ruth Anne, her dad, a friend, and me

But what I learned most about controlling the cough, was when I was trying to sleep.  I learned to cover my mouth with the pillow and cough into the pillow!  Muffle the sound, as it were.  It must have worked, because I remember we DID go swimming!

And as an adult, I have found, through the years, that I still have times when trying to sleep, I still have the need to cough…whether from a cold or whatever.  And since I sleep in the same bed as my husband, and don’t want to wake him up unnecessarily, I still face-plant into the pillow and cough.  Sometimes that just isn’t quite enough to quench the cough, and I used to have a cough drop near at hand.

Credit – Pixabay

 But now I’ve taken to having a roll of BreathSavers® on the night-stand near my bed and pop one of them into my mouth.  It is a smaller tablet than a cough drop, and doesn’t “furr” my tongue the way the cough drop did.  And it seems to do the trick in getting me to stop coughing.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

I had to do that just this morning [as I am writing this], and it reminded me of that time of my life when I had to try to control my cough. 

I used to just suck on BreathSavers® because liked them, and at one point gave a 5-pack of them to our grandchildren for Christmas – just one of their gifts from us.  They enjoyed them and asked for them whenever they were with us. 

Good memories!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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