Monthly Archives: September 2015

Come To Your Senses – #3 “Touch the Master’s Hand”

The Old Violin

The Touch of the Masters Hand
by Myra Brooks Welch

‘Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.

“What am I bid, good people”, he cried,
“Who starts the bidding for me?”
“One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?”
“Two dollars, who makes it three?”
“Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,”

But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said “What now am I bid for this old violin?”
As he held it aloft with its’ bow.

“One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?”
“Two thousand, Who makes it three?”
“Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone”, said he.

The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
“We just don’t understand.”
“What changed its’ worth?”
Swift came the reply.
“The Touch of the Masters Hand.”

“And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters’ Hand.

*Let Him touch your heart today as you touch his nail-scared hands.

Come To Your Senses – #2 “Listen Up”

Our electricity was turned off yesterday for several hours as they were working on some things at our house. I was running errands for what I thought was going to be the time we would be without power. But when I got home we still had no electricity.

It was so quiet in the house. I didn’t hear the refrigerator running. No washing machine churning back and forth. No dryer turning or dishwasher sloshing. No sound from the television or radio. No buzzing from the overhead lights. No dinging from the microwave.

But when I sat down and really listened I could hear our cat purring during her afternoon nap. I sat on the patio and could hear birds chirping, motorcycles roaring by on the highway, the leaves rustling in the wind. I heard our dog barking. I heard horns blowing in friendly” hellos”.

It made me realize how much I do NOT hear. I tune out the refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, television, and music because I’m not focused on listening to those things even though they making noise all around me.

I have missed out on the beautiful sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind.

We get so focused on our busy lives that we miss out on the peaceful sounds around us. We have learned to tune out our children, our friends, our spouses, our pastor, and our bosses.

We try to do too much at one time instead of listening.

My challenge to you (and me) today is to LISTEN. Let’s realize what we are missing and try to tune in to the sounds around us – not only the physical sounds but also the voice of the Lord as He leads us.

Turn up your hearing aids. Turn down your busyness.  Come to your senses. There’s a lot to hear if we will just listen!

 

Come To Your Senses – #1 Sight

After writing my last blog about “Pappy” slowing down and taking in the sights, I began thinking about all of our senses and how we are so busy we just don’t enjoy life the way we should.

This morning I decided to turn off the radio, not talk on the cell phone and just LOOK AROUND at all of the beauty on my drive to work.  I saw landscapes depicting the true Midwest – grain bins, cattle, rolling hills and corn ready to harvest.  I saw newly dug fence posts. I saw the rusted posts on the tiny bridge I cross over every day.  I didn’t even realize it was a little bridge, and I have driven across it for years!

I saw woods with huge trees hosting deep green colored leaves and some trees peeking through with a few brightly colored orange leaves preparing for the autumn season.  I saw freshly tilled dirt in fields where soybeans had been harvested.  I saw the most precious baby calf lying next to its momma in a small, soft, green pasture.

I saw red summer flowers still hanging on in the warm temperatures in flower pots on front porches and on the opposite side of the road, mums displayed with straw bales and scarecrows depicting the change of seasons.

I saw all of this through my dirty windshield.

It reminded me how God SEES us.  He sees the beauty, the newness, the precious spirit, the warm heart, the changing seasons in us even though our “windshield is dirty with sin”.  He SEES our hearts and is able to wash away the dirt with one single swipe.  He accepts us as we are.

Today let’s strive to “come to our senses” and see the beauty all around us….. not only in the landscape but in the people we come in contact with – even through our own dirty windshields.

Happy Sight SEEING!

Just Taking a Leisurely Stroll

A friend was telling me a story of how she and her family took their grandfather to a baseball game at a stadium he had not been to in decades.  It was a milestone birthday for him and he had always wanted to go back to this particular stadium.  So for his birthday they made his wish come true.

While heading to the stadium, the family was walking quickly keeping up with flow of the crowd to get to the stadium to claim their seats when they realized they were walking much faster than Pappy.  They slowed to walk with him and realized that he was “taking it all in”.  He was looking at every building and every landscape and taking in all of the sights along the journey to the stadium.

It’s a good lesson for all of us to learn as well.  We go through this life in a rush.  Seeing what else we can fit into this 24-hour day.  We get caught up in the “flow of the crowd” around us and trying to walk at their pace.  We say “Let’s do this and mark it off the list” and go to the next thing without even realizing what we missed.  We need to slow down!  Take in the sights.  Smell the autumn air.  Listen to the birds. Touch the roses.  Taste the rain.

Today be aware of your surroundings and of your pace.  Just take a leisurely stroll and don’t miss anything along your journey.