STUFF!

Fall is literally blowing in outside today!  When Fiver and I took our early morning short walk this morning, the thermometer on our balcony was barely registering 40 degrees and the flag I have attached to the railing was blowing perpendicular to its pole!  I even put on one of my insulated hoodies to brave the day.  I met a lady at the trash bin as she and I had the same task in mind and we talked about the colder weather.  As she slipped back into her car, she stated without looking back: “But it sure is nice!”  To which I relied, “Yes, it is!”

Apartment living is definitely a lifestyle unto its own!  Sometimes I’ll just sit up on my balcony and watch the world unfold around me.  I’ve noticed that I am one of the few people in the whole place that actually opens up my blinds during the day.  I realize that many of the folks are off to work, but not everyone.  I can’t stand being in a dark atmosphere!  There seems to be three different kinds of people who live here.  The first are very friendly and outgoing.  That’s how I am.  If I can make eye contact with you while walking the dog or going to the car, then we’re gonna have a conversation.  And if I only get a “yeah” or “a-huh,” I am going to make it a personal challenge to break them down over time, until we become friends!  Of course, I’ve always been that way, on the job, at church and even at the stores I frequent.  I’d much rather have someone smile at me than scowl!  The other two kinds of folks are those who immediately turn and go the other way when they see someone else or those who say “Hi!” and then look away and hurriedly move on.

I’ve also learned that there is an unwritten rule here.  You don’t bug people who are in the sanctity of their outside patio.  Its almost like there is the “Cone of Silence” from the old Get Smart TV series that invisibly comes down and surrounds the space… even though you can see and hear everything going on!  Some of the first-floor patios are a mere couple of feet off the walkway, so when Fiver and I walked by we have to force ourselves to keep looking ahead.  It gets a little embarrassing for me when he stops and lifts his leg against a bush that’s right in front of someone’s patio when they are sitting there and we are both trying our best to ignore each other!  I’ve tried to say hello in the past, but some folks look right through me, like I am not even there!  So… I respect their privacy and play the game!

Most people are pretty private in and around their apartments, although I almost rolled out of my chair early yesterday morning when I glanced out the window and across the parking area to a set of apartments that run parallel to ours.  They unlike most of the others, are situated above the garages and have a separate entrance with enclosed stairs leading up to their living quarters.  Well, as I looked out, a man who’s most likely in his early sixties steps out onto his little stoop with nothing on but a pair of shorts, hair all messed up… big belly and all!  From the distance it looked like he’d just gotten up and came down to shake something off his shirt that he was holding in his hands... and this guy drives a brand new customized Lincoln Navigator... you never know!  Then there is the Japanese lady on the second floor down from me… Let’s just say that I’ve learned to keep my eyes away from glancing up to their balcony and windows whenever I’m outside… (They are one of the others who keep their blinds open!)

One thing I’ve really begun to realize lately, now that I’ve been here going on four months, is that I miss having more room, a yard and MY STUFF!  I went to my storage garage the other day with my younger daughter and just kind of stood there, longingly looking at all the STUFF we’ve collected over the years.  JoAnna had asked if they could temporarily store their crib there and as she took it out of her truck, her daughter Sarah Piper came up to me and asked where Grandma’s piano was.  So, I showed her the pile of STUFF that it sits under… well covered and somewhat insulated!

The longing desires are always stronger when I’m at the unit and looking at the STUFF.  When I’m back at the apartment it’s not too bad as I don’t SEE all the STUFF that evokes all kinds of happy memories.  I was reminded about all this during my Bible Study today when I recalled the words of the Apostle John in John 1:1-5 where he unequivocally declares to us:

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was already with God in the beginning.  Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.  He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.  The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.” (God’s Word ©) 

In thinking about my STUFF, I was reminded about how important it is for us to keep our eyes on the right things.  When Piper and I were in the midst of our horrific battle, it was basically a life and death priority for us to keep our eyes on God and the promises He was giving to us in His Word… and not on the deceitfulness of the world’s STUFF around us.  From the moment we began to step out in faith and follow what we firmly believed was God’s path for us to proceed along, the enemy of our faith stepped in using whatever and whoever he could around us to put doubt, unbelief and fear into our minds.

That fear, doubt and unbelief was simply a tactic of the enemy to get us to focus on the physical STUFF of the world, be it finances, the adverse doctors reports, or the insinuations that I was making the wrong decisions in the care of my wife, instead of the truth of God’s Word which gave us the light we needed to move on from day to day with an attitude of peace, joy and victory.  At first it was very difficult to turn over first thing in the morning and face the physical changes in my sweetheart’s appearance.  But after a short while… as we literally stuffed ourselves with God’s Word… my first thoughts of the day weren’t on what I SAW but instead on what I KNEW to be the truth about her situation from God’s Word.

The norm for us quickly became the necessity of us casting our eyes away from the deceptive suggestions concerning the STUFF around us and onto God and His life and light giving Word.  Afterall, John 1:3 tells us that: “Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.”  Then the very next verse declares that He is to be our source.  So why then… would any of us expect anything other than HIS WORD to bring into existence the things that we need and are standing for?  The STUFF around us just isn’t going to do it… right?

This deception is all part of the plan of the one who is said to be “the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9 KJV).  His plan and his job is to deceive those of us who seek to follow the way of the Lord... to keep our eyes focused on the STUFF and away from the Word… but just remember John 1:5 where it says, “The light (Jesus and His Word according to John 1:1) shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.” (God’s Word ©)  Our stand and focus on the Word will ALWAYS win us the checkered flag!

Have a great weekend, and as you do, say along with me, “I am expecting to keep looking at God and His Word instead of the STUFF that tries to deceive me!”