~By Sharon Czerwien
Since my last post was weather-related, I thought I’d stay with a weather theme to finish out this month.
I wrote the following around Christmas, when the country was on edge with the possibility of severe weather.
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Prep Work for the Pending Winter Weather
While my husband was busy at work, I spent a good amount of time going over home preparation plans with my kiddos. I wanted them to be on board with helping the family in basic prepping.
I told my children that there was a decent chance that we could lose power in the pending ice storm, and that we needed to do certain things in case we lost power for several days.
I tried to make it exciting enough so that there was less of a chance for fear of the unknown…
In case we lost electricity, here are some things that my kiddos and I prepped (my husband did the other major prep work):
~Get the important laundry done!
~Get the dishes done (and make sure there were disposable kitchen/eating things available)!
~Everyone take showers and straighten the hair (me)!
~Get necessities bought at the grocery store (yes, chocolate muffins included)!
~Charge the technology and the batteries!
~Find the flashlights!
Prep work…CHECK!
The Child “Oh-No” Moment
My kids were excited for the storm. The thought of losing electricity became an exciting adventure.
Oh dear—there was a moment, though! I wish the grandparents could have seen the look of shock and disgust when my son found out that the DVR and television would not work if we lost electricity! I mean—come on, there was a new cartoon Christmas special that would be airing on Day 2 of our forecasted ice storm.
Sarcasm aside, there was no doubt that losing electricity and not having access to the TV and DVR was a true difficulty for my young son to think through.
Sure, I could have lectured him about the *really big deals* that people would be going through with the threat of lost electricity, but in that moment…I didn’t.
The “Grown-Up Oh-No” Moments
You and I have those “Oh-No” moments. You and I experience heart aches and bumps that impact us greatly.
On one hand, certain trials for some may not seem like too big of a deal to me at any given time (think of no electricity and no working DVR!). On the other hand, there are certainly trials that seem like a big deal to me that others have a better handle on.
The type, size, and intensity of a trial make no difference. The fact is…we all experience hard-to-us life events.
The Bible leaves us no room for judgement. The “stronger Christian” is never given a right to judgingly look down upon the way someone else walks through a difficult life circumstance.
In fact, the Bible teaches grace and a coming-alongside and a being-a-blessing kind of attitude!
1. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2, NKJV).
I looked up the word bear in my Study Bible. The term carries the idea of:
*To lift, carry, take up (in order to put on oneself), support [1]
We can do some heavy-lifting for those we love to help them make it through their hard-to-them trial!
2. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love…(Romans 12:10a, NKJV).
3. …In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2:3a-4, NKJV).
We can humbly look out for other people’s needs! Humility equals no judgement!
The Takeaway
1. Be encouraged.
You may be experiencing an uncomfortable trial. Please do not analyze your neighbor’s response to a similar trial. Base your need for a proper response on the hope of God’s Word.
2. Seek out help as necessary.
It is okay to ask for help during an uncomfortable trial. The Bible teaches that others can help bear our burdens.
3. Guard our own responses towards another’s response.
May we all be careful to offer a helping hand versus a judgmental spirit towards the way another person walks through a trial.
May your power be on (both physically and spiritually),
~Sharon
Sorry…so cheesy! =]
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Thomas Nelson NKJV Strong’s Study Bible (1982), App for Android phones.
Good points. We often do not stop a minute to find out why someone reacts differently from the way we might react.
Reminds me of this poem:
“Judge Softly”
“Pray, don’t find fault with the man that limps, Or stumbles along the road. Unless you have worn the moccasins he wears, Or stumbled beneath the same load.
There may be tears in his soles that hurt Though hidden away from view. The burden he bears placed on your back May cause you to stumble and fall, too.
Don’t sneer at the man who is down today Unless you have felt the same blow That caused his fall or felt the shame That only the fallen know.
You may be strong, but still the blows That were his, unknown to you…
I love the thought of calling them oh-no moments. It definitely paints a clear picture!