Wish I Could Upgrade Myself as Easily as the Laptop!

A few days ago, we made some necessary improvements on my laptop. The outside didn’t change; the inside did: we bought a new hard drive because of a bad sector, added more memory, and upgraded the operating system.

Too bad we couldn’t do that with me, myself and I! But, it is what it is — Grateful this morning for the prospect of celebrating another birthday, I am.

I am big on gratitude – its necessity is the theme of many gardening tips I have learned. Without it, nothing works right. Gratitude is like the bowl that holds fruit of the spirit —  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:23-24)

And it always disappoints me to see how cracked my bowl is.

Age is truly a time of heroic helplessness. One is confronted by one’s own incorrigibility. I am always saying to myself, “Look at you, and after a lifetime of trying.” (Florida Scott-Maxwell)

Depressing confession: I had a birthday manicure today, and the woman who did it could speak little English, she was old – perhaps one of the younger manicurist’s aunt or grandmother. Yet, she was not experienced. Instead of putting myself in her shoes – and trying to empathize with her challenges, I kept a mental tally of her mistakes.

I could have thanked God for all the undeserved blessings that enabled me to sit myself down and have anyone wait upon me. I could have prayed for her.

Seriously.   Self-righteous indignation over a manicure?

Yep – that would be me.

I hate those A-Ha moments when I see a practical example of what Scripture means. For example, the verse where the prophet Jeremiah described the human heart:

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ~ Jeremiah 17:9

The best present I have today – apart from Doug and the kids is the Hope that God is still at work, and is permitting me a day of work on His Sabbath.

I hope you feel His pleasure this morning, gentle reader – and if you have the time, please read, John Piper’s thoughts on aging: The Dignity of Our Deterioration.

His Mercies are NEW Every Morning!