Lent: Finer than frog hair!
A serious wake up call comes to us all. We enter the Home Stretch, so to speak, for Easter is approaching at a pedal-to-the-metal speed. I recall the words of a dear person in the church. He would greet me every Sunday. I would say, “How are you today my friend?” He would reply, “Finer than frog hair cut four ways!” I hope this last leg towards Easter finds you in that same mood…finer than frog hair!
Despite the things that bring us down and the things that hurt our heart. Regardless of how many doors get closed Jesus says to us all as we approach Easter…IT WILL BE JUST FINE! It is okay. You are blessed. Be thankful. Take heart for your valleys will not last forever. Lift your spirit for life will not always be this hard.
I can’t help but look towards a Holy Week that is right around the corner. I think of the pain and suffering that our Lord endured for our sins. I try to comprehend the love He had for us and the love He still has for all. I fall short trying to understand it. We miss the mark often, because we get wrapped up in all our “stuff.” We see our needs and only our needs and that distracts us from a bigger world that is in pain. Yet, when I am able to step outside of my valleys and step into someone else’s to help and encourage I start to know what Christ felt. I begin to feel a love much bigger than myself. I forget about my pain and I see only others in pain and want to help. Then I am able to take heart in my own situations and realize I have it pretty good no matter what. I have a life for which I should be thankful.
Loving outside ourselves, in this way, is what Easter is all about. Serving, helping and giving to others makes us proclaim, “I am finer than frog hair!” It makes us want to help others proclaim the same thing.
You might be suffering right now, but remember your Lord is with you. You might be feeling pain, but if you step outside of it and look in, it might not be that bad. You might even realize that if you just started to love others in their valleys your valley just might vanish. But wherever you are remember life is worth living.
I hope you will come alive this Easter and recall the love that Christ has for you. I hope you will always hold in your heart how wonderful of life you have and how much more wonderful it is in when we are thankful and rejoice in everything.
Today I am finer than frog hair…how bout you!
Love you all,
Rev. Jim
