Worry

by Kay Heitsch

Today I posted, "Worrying is a total waste of time. It doesn't change anything. All it does is steal your joy and keeps you very busy doing nothing."

I was a BIG time worrier. I said I couldn't help it; because it was just the way I was. Plus, I had plenty of things to worry about.

When I became a Christian, I bought a Good News Bible. I asked the Lord to teach me what I needed to learn. I bought some colored pencils and started to highlight what was standing out and getting my attention.

Guess what? At first, almost everything I highlighted was about not worrying. This made me smile because I knew God had my number. Later I read that there is 365 text about not worrying in the Bible. So I knew I wasn't the only one with the problem.

After reading in the Bible that worrying was something God didn't want for me for my own good, I worked on not worrying. But it was a bad habit, and I didn't seem to know how to break it. Plus, I didn't know God well enough to be sure I could really trust Him.

A few years down the road, I started to attend a church. I'd heard about Lent, but it wasn't something I knew anything about. I knew people who told me they gave up chocolate or some other thing for Lent, but that's all I knew.

One Sunday before Easter, the pastor asked people to write down what they wanted to give up for Lent. I wrote down, "Worrying."

From that day on, things started to change. I became serious, and I mean serious, about not worrying. Every time a worried thought came to my mind, I'd pray, "Thank you, Lord, for working on this situation." Then I'd drop it, leave it, let it go!

I won't say that 'worry thoughts' don't come to my mind because they do. But I've learned to say, "Thank you, Lord, for working on this situation."

Truthfully, giving up worrying has helped not only my mental health but my physical health as well.

Finish My Course With Joy!

by Kay Heitsch

It isn't always easy to deal with things in life with a good attitude. Boy, do I know that! One of my goals is to finish my course with joy! Acts 20:25

Today I heard a message that helped me feel even more enthusiastic about being able to do that. There were some points that I want to keep fresh in my mind. I hope you won't mind if I share them with you.

1. I need to preset my mind for victory. I like the Bible text "Set your mind and keep it set." Colossians 3:2

2. There will be pains! Oh no! Yep, the pain of discipline or regret. I can feel the pain of disciplining myself or regret that I didn't. Exercise, food, and attitude are a few on my list.

3. I may need to zip my lip. "Drop it, leave it, let it go" Mark 11:25 AMP I like, "What you don't feed...dies." Stop thinking and talking about things that's not helping me to "Finish my course with joy."

4. Being able to be happy when things don't go my way. Now that's freedom!

5. This is really #1. Put God first and depend on Him to help me. Because I want to, "Finish my course with JOY!"

No Greater Love

by Kay Heitsch

Today I posted my latest coloring page with the text, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13 As strange as this may seem, this text changed my life forever.

I hadn't even picked up a Bible in over 20 years when I came on this text. A young friend had called asking me a question I could not answer. That's when I found a Bible and prayed in my heart for an answer.

I opened the Bible, and this is the text that I read. It hit me right away! Somehow I knew this was the answer to her question...and it was!

From reading this text, I started to see that the Bible could actually speak to any need I had. It became alive to me that day, and it has from that day on.

Do I know the actual intent of this text and what it REALLY meant when it was written? Yes, I do. Jesus laid down His life for us! But if you think about it in our everyday life, anyone who lays down their life for another person gives them a great gift.

I am thankful that I was guided to this text many, many years ago. It opened my eyes in a way that has changed my thinking and my life forever.

The Game

by Kay Heitsch

I heard a story about the game Monopoly. I remembered playing the game many times in my life. Sometimes it was fun, and sometimes it was not. Very much like life! It's not always fun!

We all gather around the table and set the board up. Someone is the banker, and they hand out the money. As the game goes on, we can buy and sell a property. It's a great feeling to own Boardwalk, Park Place, and trade in those tiny green houses for red hotels. Since the hotels were red, you know that's what I wanted.

As the game goes on, it's fun if you're the one buying the red hotels and winning the game. But the round comes to an end at some point. It isn't very long, and it's time to put the game away. The game ends, and it all goes back in the box.

How true that is in life. It doesn't really matter how much stuff we accumulate in life because, in the end, it all goes back into the box. Life is much more than property. We have no idea when the game will end. It may be today for all we know.

I've learned a few things over the years. I know it's not stuffed, I'll take with me when the game of life is over. These three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Common Things

 by Kay Heitsch

Right before Todd died, he asked me something I will never forget. He asked, "Mom, have you ever noticed the beauty of the bark on trees? Every tree's bark has a different kind of texture." I remember I gave him a quizzical look and answered, "No, I have never noticed."

It's odd, but from that day on, I started to look at familiar things differently.

I came across this quote. "The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things."

People asked me why Todd was so happy. I knew part of his happiness came from the way he thought, but when I read this quote, I realized it was how he looked at everyday things. 

God Change Me

by Kay Heitsch

"Two of the most important words we can utter in our prayer time are, CHANGE ME!"

Over the years, I've wanted God to change other people or change my circumstances, so I could be happier. I hadn't ever thought about God changing me.

Later in life, much to my surprise, I came to this understanding. Maybe I needed to change. Maybe God wanted to change me and my attitude more than He was interested in changing others and my circumstances to keep me happy.

Once I started to pray, "God changes me." I began to enjoy life more. My happiness didn't depend on people or my circumstances. If things never changed, I was somehow still going to enjoy my life because slowly, God was changing me.

The day I gave my life to the Lord, I said, "God, you know what you were gettin' when you got me. Have at it!" God had His work cut out, but I was no surprise to God! When I said, "Have at it!" I guess I was really saying, Change me!

I may not be where I need to be, but at least I'm not where I used to be. I'm pressin' on!

My Walk One Winter

by Kay Heitsch

When I was a child back in the 1950's living in Michigan, winter seemed to last a long time. I didn't really care because I enjoyed playing in the snow and I especially liked to ice skate. The city snow plows would bring snow and pile it in a vacant lot across the street from our house. Let me tell you that these snow piles were awesome to play on. What was especially good was that these snow piles were close to our home. I only had to walk across the street to warm up.

However, the skating rink was at the other end of town. I had a friend named Star, whose dad flooded their backyard and built an ice rink for her. Of course, I wanted my dad to water our front yard, but he never did.

To skate, I usually went to the skating rink at the other end of town. I lived in a small town, so that rink seemed a long way away at the time.Mom would drop me off then come and pick me up.

This one day, I was having fun skating. Several people were there I knew; however, one by one, they left. There was a little shed you could go in to get out of the wind and cold, which was nice. I sat in there for a short while there decided I would walk home.

I will never forget that walk on those ice skates. There were no cell phones back in those days, so I couldn't call my mom. My poor ankles were killing me by the time I walked up to our front door. The look on my mom's face! I was crying, of course. She asked why I didn't wait for her to come and get me. I didn't know. When everyone left, I didn't want to be alone there, I guess.

I didn't know how far I had walked on those skates until today. I got on the internet and put in the two locations. I thought I had walked a good 2 miles but found out it was closer to 1 mile. Anyway, walking on ice skates a mile seemed like two at the time.

I remember Mom helped me get my skates off, and we both had a cup of hot chocolate. Boy, I needed it!

Valentine's Day

by Kay Heitsch

I don't know about you, but I remember Valentine's Day when I was a child with much delight when I went to public school. We were given instructions to decorate a box. I usually used a shoebox. We were to bring a valentine's card for every student in the classroom. No one was to be left out!

I couldn't wait to see what kinds of Valentine Cards the local stores were selling. It was so much fun to pick just the right style.

I started to decorate my box early. The night before the big party at school, I would check out each card and decide who I would give them. I always had a boyfriend in the class. I know no one is surprised at that! Lord knows if he ever knew, but let's just say, he got the best card.

I so enjoyed the party at school. I came ready to pass out my cards, as did everyone else. I loved getting the candy hearts and usually a heart-shaped cookie with a drink.

I don't know if children still participate in Valentine's Day parties, but I hope they do. This was an extraordinary memory of mine.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! I hope you'll think back on some special memory and SMILE!

Help Me Jesus!

by Kay Heitsch

These past couple of weeks have had a lot to be desired. I've noticed I've been saying, "Help me, Jesus!" a lot!

Right before Christmas, I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned. After the cleaning, the dentist came in to check my teeth. In a calm tone of voice, he said, "I hate to ruin your Christmas, but you need three crowns replaced and a root canal." The girl left the room and came back with the price this work would cost. GULP!

Knowing this work needed to be done, the dentist's office called to remind me. I scheduled the visit. On the day of the procedure, I pulled out of the garage. Lo and behold, I couldn't believe my eyes. At the end of the driveway were 2 interlocking hearts. These hearts were made in the light dusting of snow by someone turning around in the driveway. I jumped out of the car and took a picture. I couldn't wait to show the people at the dentist's office. The girls in the office all said, "Who did this?" Of course, I didn't know. I got on FB to post the picture, and I saw a post that read, "Someone in Heaven loves you." I had to smile! I sat in the chair for 2 1/2 hours while they drilled the old crowns off and did the root canal. All the time thinking, "Help me, Jesus!" I drove home and went over to Planet Fitness. I felt pretty good and didn't see any reason to stay home.

Before the permanent crowns were put in, I was home and needed to go down the basement to get a can of vegetables. When I walked down the steps, I couldn't believe my eyes! Oh my, the hot water heater had malfunctioned, and water was all over 1/3 of the basement floor. I was standing in water as I drug boxes etc., to areas of the basement that didn't yet have water on it. I sent up a prayer, "Help me, Jesus!"

I sent Bill a text. No answer. I sent my friend Penney, a text, and she asked if we had a shop vac. Yes, we did, so I ran out to the garage to bring it in. Oh no, it was 3/4 full of water. "Help me, Jesus!" I tried to roll it outside to dump the water out, and a wheel broke off. It wasn't too easy rolling it out, but I did. I carried the vac down the basement and started to vacuum the water. It wasn't doing much good as water was still pouring in. Bill sent a text back and said to call the plumber. I did. I was in shock when the office girl said the cost would be over $2,000 for a new hot water heater.

After I got over that shock, I asked how to shut the water off. I had pulled the plug and turned something off on the hot water heater, but it was apparent it wasn't the water. The girl tried to tell me how to turn the water off. I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. Shortly after that, the plumber showed up. Bill called, and I handed the phone to the plumber. I had to smile when I heard him say, "Your wife has it under control. She even has the shop vac down here getting the water up."

The phone rang again while the plumber was still here! This time, the dentist's office wanted them to know when I had the previous crowns put on. They said the insurance wasn't going to pay unless they were over 5 years old. They wanted proof! Really? I'd had these crowns for at least 15 years. Where they were done was anyone's guess. We had lived in different states. I didn't even remember the names of the dentists who may have done the work. I sent up a prayer, "Help me, Jesus!"

The plumber was a lovely young guy. I asked if he was married. He said he wasn't, but he did have a girlfriend. I told him to tell her she was blessed to have a guy in her life who knew how to put hot water heaters in. He would be able to save them a lot of money. He smiled and said he was going to tell her. I was thankful I kept a good enough attitude to think of something nice to say to this guy. Thank you, Lord!

Later that week, I started to receive emails and calls from what looked like Social Security. I wasn't sure these were legit, so I sorta ignored them, but they bothered me.

A couple of days passed when I woke up and looked at my phone. I turn the sound off when I go to bed, so I hadn't heard a text that had come in. I couldn't believe my eyes to read that my friend's son had died! I immediately sent a text back! I drove out to their home. I have to say I was almost in disbelief to find out that they would have the Memorial Service at the exact day and time our son Todd had died. February 6th at 2:00. I sent up a prayer, "Help me, Jesus!"

On Thursdays, I help a lady named Bea. It just so happened that when I picked Bea up, I remembered it was her 88th birthday. I guess with all that had gone on, I had forgotten. After we went shopping, I told her I would take her out to eat for her birthday. We had a nice lunch, and I took her home. After I got home, I was gathering up my stuff to go over to Planet Fitness. As I grabbed my purse, I noticed that it felt light. I looked inside. My wallet was missing! I looked on the couch to see if it had fallen out. It hadn't. I called Bea and drove right over, saying, "Help me, Jesus!" When I walked into Bea's house, she was on the phone to the restaurant asking if they had found a wallet. No one had, but I found the wallet in Bea's car. It had fallen out because I hadn't zipped my purse after paying for our meal. When I saw it, I said, "Thank you, Jesus!" Bea kept saying, "Amen, amen, amen!" I had to smile!

On February 5th, I went back to the dentist's office to have the permanent crowns put back on. Everything went well. I came home and mixed cookie dough up, and made brownies for dinner held after the Memorial Service.

I posted a story about the day Todd died on FB on February 6th. I felt so much love from people who clicked "like" or posted comments. These certainly helped me as I attended the Memorial Service of my friend's son at 2:00.

On Monday, I received a letter from Social Security. This time I knew this was legit. There was some problem they needed to discuss with me. I was over at my friend's house, who had lost her son, when another SS call came in. I didn't answer it! I came home and tried to call the guy back but to no avail. Quite frankly, I didn't want to have to deal with this stuff by myself. Bill is good with these things; I am not. I sent up a prayer, "Help me, Jesus!"

This week, I decided that I would go down to the SS office by myself and try and get this mess straightened out. The weather was terrible, so I chose to go another day.

I sat down to work on my coloring Bible verse, "There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear." 1 John 4:18. When I received a text from Bill. He had been in an accident. Bill said some guy tried to pass him and hit the ice and slammed into his side. Bill texted, "The police are on the way!" I prayed, "Help us, Jesus!" Then I thought, "There's no fear in love... I calmed down.

A few hours later, Bill walked in the back door. He was fine and asked if I wanted to go to the SS office. Yes, I did and was thankful I didn't need to go by myself. Bill was able to explain what this situation was and what needed to be done. It was kinda funny as the woman tried to tell Bill what was up, but when she talked kind to the Supervisor, the Supervisor told her the same thing Bill had said.

I have to say, "Thank you, Jesus, for helping me stay somewhat calm, cool, and collected when I cried out, 'Help me, Jesus.'"