Time Out

Dear Little Sis,
I came up with a solution for our dog Karlie's incessant barking at the door when someone knocks I say ..."Time Out"!  When I hear her barking ferociously, I point to her bed near the fireplace and say "time out".  When it's time for her to get out of her Time Out, we say the word, "Free".

After a few weeks and much patience, we finally achieved this training feat. I proudly show off our dog to visitors, family and friends that she was laying in the corner of the house when they entered. When we were ready, I then released her with the command "free" and she comes over and greets our guests.  Most everyone is really amazed that she is so well trained, but for me it was mostly a selfish desire to just have some peace and quiet in our home.

The other day I noticed that she was lying in this time out bed and I was happy that she was feeling comfortable with it.  But I also noticed that she didn't look very happy.  If I was heading outside to get the mail or another task, she would just lay there and look at me.  So I would call her and tell her to come along. She jumped up and joyfully joined me.

The other day she again went to her time out bed and I heard her whining.  I thought this was strange, and I wondered what was wrong. It then dawned on me...she went to lay down in the comfy bed but after a while she forgot she had put herself in Time Out and didn't know how to get out of it!  She laid there miserably until I finally said the command "free".  I released her from her self made prison.  I laughed hilariously, but later I felt a little sad.  All along she laid there, feeling constricted, imprisoned and condemned, but she had the power to leave the bed but didn't know it.

Thoughts crowded my mind as I thought of how much this was like us as Christians: imprisoned in our own self made "Time Out" bed.  We may have originally gone there to find comfort but we found we couldn't get out by ourselves. We dwell in our anger, fear, or habits, and find ourselves imprisoned.  We lay there in what was once a comfy bed until we realize we don't have the power on our own to get out... Who can release us?  We see our Master and then realize, He has the power to get us out of our prison. We wait patiently for Him and then we hear the Master's voice, say "Free".   Joyfully we jump out of our self-made confinement.  John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed".

After hearing His voice,  we realize we had His Power all along to leave our self-made prison and live in His Freedom.

No more time outs little sis!

My Brother, My Nephew, My Reunion

On July 7, 2011, I was so blessed to be able to see my nephew, Mike, whom I haven't seen in over 40 years...It was a dream come true reunion for me and my children. The last time I saw him was in California when he was 2 1/2 years old before his mother took him back to Texas where she filed for divorce from my oldest brother, Keith. Divorce is so extremely devastating for everyone involved and the heartbreak affects all family members, especially if they move several states away.

Seeing my nephew after all these years was very emotional and bittersweet. He turned out to be an outstanding, amazing, wonderful, kind, loving and caring man with so many more awesome qualities. I am so extremely proud of him and all of his accomplishments. He is a retired Coast Guard after 21 years of service and he continues to work hard for his loving family. I caught myself hugging him every chance I could get and just staring at him throughout the evening because he looked so much like my brother with his mannerisms and all but his demeanor was so gentle and sweet; so opposite of my wild, rebellious, older brother.

I briefly thought of my brother and the way in which he was raised by a father that was way too hard on him. I am ashamed to say that my father was not a "good father" or "role model" for my brother. My father was physically and emotionally abusive. Too many times my father would call my brother "worthless" and as he grew older, it hardened him, toughened him and he grew angry. So angry that he enlisted in the United States Army and volunteered to go to Viet Nam. There was no love lost between the two of them and they never once saw eye to eye on anything. The only time I ever saw a change in both of them was on my beloved mother's death bed. My oldest son who is a Pastor spoke to his grandfather about the importance of "forgiveness" and it was then, over 50 decades of my brother's life did I witness them "forgive" and begin to love one another, as they both embraced and wept.

My brother attempted to connect with his son on a few occasions but it was not meant to be. He wrote a final letter to his son while he was in a hospital in Arizona. He did not get a response but who could blame his son after a lifetime of disappointment. He never saw his son again and passed away on April 10, 2010 from lung cancer and kidney failure.