TerryLema

I was thinking about my mother this morning. Because of her mental and emotional problems, she was often a difficult personality. She was intelligent and musically talented, but her one prominent trait was that she thought the world revolved around her. We did not know at the time that there was a label for that trait–narcissism.

As she aged, my mother’s hearing worsened but she would not get hearing aids. That often caused her to not only not hear what was being said, but to mistake what she heard. She once told me that she threw out all her pork chops because she heard on the radio that eating pork gave you “Amtraks” (anthrax).

But as I thought about her this morning, my favorite story of her old age was the “Saga of the Macaroons.” For some reason, my mother became enthralled with coconut macaroons a few years before she died. They were always part of her grocery order, and she ate them every day, many times a day.

One day she called me in a panic and said that she had gone grocery shopping and there must have been a “run on coconut macaroons” as there were none on the shelves. I asked her if she was sitting in her motorized cart while she shopped, and she said yes. I asked her if she only looked at the shelves at eye level from her cart. She said yes. I asked her if she “looked up” to see them on the upper shelves (where they were usually kept). She said no.

Looking up is extremely important. In Luke 21, Jesus told His disciples about the things that would happen prior to His return. He described signs of the times and then gave a warning. “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” [Luke 21:28 NKJV]

My mother missed having her coconut macaroons because she failed to “look up.” We can miss far more if we fail to “look up” from this life and see Jesus.

My mornings are routine. Coffee. Blanket (if the house is cold). Find my rocker/recliner and take and record my blood glucose levels and my blood pressure. Then I open my computer. I send out and post my daily devotions (via email, website, and Facebook). Then I check my bank account.

That is my morning routine. When it is completed, I open my two email accounts. From there it is anything but routine. For example, this morning … ZipRecruiter (not sure how I got enrolled in that) found several jobs they think I might like—one working in a warehouse.

My daily recipe was for several kinds of soups and chilies (it is supposed to be close to 90 degrees today)

I got an update from my congressman and first “dibs” on a new melt at Panera. I can also find discounts on liposuction, new windows, bankcards, and knee pain relief. And, of course, there are the usual phishing emails that are attempting to steal my money.

But each morning there are a couple emails that I look forward to opening. My daily Bible verses. Today, I was reminded that “The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.” [Psalm 91:1 HCSB]

And Paul prayed this: “that [my] love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that [I] can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ.” [Philippians 1:9-10 HCSB]

What better way to spend the day than growing in the knowledge that I live under the protection of the Most High … and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty! Amen.