Red Lipstick and Other Idiosyncrasies…

I had something a bit funny… albeit embarrassing… happen to me yesterday morning.  I realized when the dog and I were about a quarter of the way on our walk to the park, that I had forgotten to put a belt on.  A few months ago, that would not have been a big deal, but since I’ve been losing weight, my pants have gradually gotten looser and looser around my waist.  I didn’t think much about it at first because I was wearing a new pair of pants that were a size smaller than all the other pants I currently own…

Well, I quickly learned that it was a problem as I found myself constantly tugging on my waist band!  Then on the way back it happened… before I knew it… my pants tried to make an escape down my legs!  Thank God for two different factors though… First of all, it was pretty dreary, windy and cold outside and no one in their right mind was out besides us, and secondly, my winter jacket is long enough that it covered anything uncovered by the quick shift of my pants!

It was then that I found myself laughing and getting upset at the same time when I uttered a loud… “Oh Come On!” and quickly threw my gloves on the ground and pulled the pants up!  From there I just gave up and hooked a finger on a belt loop and held on for dear life… all the way home!

I thought about that incident all day yesterday and was reminded about it once again during my Bible study time today.  What upset me the most was that I had simply forgotten to take care of something I should have known would happen.  This morning I read from Hosea 4:6 where the Prophet says of the Lord, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (KJV)  My favorite translation from my college days, The Living Bible, puts it this way stating, “My people are destroyed because they don’t know me.”

I often times find myself wondering how much better people’s lives could be, how many uncomfortable situations they could have avoided, and how many problems averted, had they KNOWN the will of God for their lives during the potentially negative times we all face on a regular basis?

I like how Psalms 119:16 tells us that “Your laws make me happy. I never forget your word.” (God’s Word ©)  The connection between our happiness and the act of never forgetting God’s Word excites me and entices me to seek for that goal… How About You?

The King James Version declares “I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”  I found it interesting that the phrase “I will delight myself” is actually one word in the Hebrew meaning “to look upon, to please or amuse yourself, to have a high degree of pleasure and enjoyment, or to caress lovingly and/or affectionately.” (Strong’s)  It sounds to me like it is an action or activity that should be enjoyable for someone to take part in… but is also something that takes commitment, a positive attitude and lots of regular effort and practice!

Don’t take this wrong… but that description immediately reminded me of Piper and I.  Bluntly said… we liked to touch each other… and we did it a lot!  We tended to hold hands everywhere we went… on walks, in the store, at church and in the car.  As soon as we sat down in the car, my right hand and her left automatically gravitated to the center console where we intertwined our fingers together!  Granted… the cars we had with manual transmissions made this activity a little more difficult… but we managed!

I realized one day when I was grocery shopping and pushing Piper along in her custom wheelchair with one hand, while I pulled the shopping cart behind me with the other, that I still made multiple efforts to reach out and make physical contact with her by touching her shoulder or her hands!  It was an enjoyable habit that we had developed over the years that was hard to stop… no matter what the circumstances presented!  Now that she had been promoted to heaven, I find myself touching her picture on the wall or occasionally touching a garment of hers that’s still hanging in the closet.  It’s just a positive way for me to connect with her memories.

I think that this is the way that the Lord wants us to know Him through His Word.  You could almost say that Piper and I could read each other like a book.  As she lost her ability to communicate under the influence of Alzheimer’s, I was still able to know what she needed, what she was probably thinking and what would best satisfy her particular needs… all because we had taken the time over the years to REALLY KNOW each other.

I got spoken to rather sharply from a very close relative of Piper's one Sunday at church, because of the red lipstick that I had put on her that morning.  And I had to suppress a laugh as the individual, who most likely should have known, seemed to forget that Piper LOVED red lipstick… and with her skin tone, it looked good on her!  But for me, it was simply one of the cute idiosyncrasies that were unique to Piper.  (like not liking to be upside down, nor being carried, only being ticklish around her knees, not wearing toe nail polish – on my request… weird right… and other things like only wearing nightgowns and not PJ’s etc) I knew those special things that were unique to her because over the years we spent A LOT of TIME together!

And that is the exact type of relationship that I am continually striving to have with God.  I like to think that I am actually reaching out and touching Him – and Him me - when I spend quality time with Him each day in His Word.  HOW ABOUT YOU?

Psalm 119:16 goes on to say that “I will not forget Thy word,” but we’ll talk about that in our next blog… until then, maybe you’ll want to think about your current relationship with the Lord.  If you’re like me, then you are always open to improvement in this department of your life!

Have a great beginning to this second month in this New Year of 2021!  Keep expecting God’s best and I know that you’ll want to shout with me: “ISN’T GOD GOOD!