Hello everyone,

When I was a child, my Grandmother would often ask my Grandfather how he would like his eggs in the morning.  He usually would answer, sunny side up!  As I think about this, I realized this was also their outlook on life.  They always had a smile on their faces and joy in their hearts.  They were fun to be around.

It wasn’t that they had an easy life.  My Grandmother’s mother died at a young age.  My Grandmother was in her teen years and there were 6 other children in the household.  The eldest had to go to work, and my Grandmother, being second oldest, had to take care of the younger ones.  Her grandmother came to help, and then only a short time later, passed away, leaving my Grandmother to be not only sister, but like a mother in raising the other children.  It was during the time of the early 1900’s plague.

The day my Grandmother and Grandfather got married, my Grandmother was mopping the floors in the morning, and after the ceremony, had to go home to cook dinner for the family!  My Grandfather was a good man and had “inherited” all those children to help care for.  He must have really loved my Grandma!  Later, after they had bought their own  house, the great depression came and my Grandmother took in ironing to help pay the mortgage.  You would think anyone going through this would have a sour disposition – but they always had joy.  As I grew, I remembered all the brothers and sisters (my aunts and uncles) getting together with all their families and having such fun!  They enjoyed the little things in life.  They enjoyed and valued each other.  They did not have a lot, but they viewed life – sunny side up.

It was a different time when God, country, and family mattered most – not the possessions that you “had” to acquire.  Life was simpler.  Not as many conveniences, but still, more time to enjoy family.

I see the same joy on my husband Bill’s aunts and uncles.  I marvel at their positive outlook and how even when things aren’t going perfectly, they still find the sunny side and look at the blessings. 

I think that it is a sign of maturity (not necessarily age related) to realize what is most important in life.  Maybe people living in times when there was not as many “things,” learned the secret of joy at an earlier age.  (I have to admit that my idea of old age has increased proportionately with my age.)  One of my fondest childhood memories was playing a simple game of “Button, button, who’s got the button”, with my Grandma.  It was not a high tech toy, just a simple button that she would hide and I would have to find, as she would say, getting warmer as I got closer, or getting colder as I got farther from it.   I did not realize it as a child, but  it was the time with her that was of most value.  Even though we were not wealthy, life was indeed sunny side up.

These are hard times for many people.  And it is not easy to look at the bright side when things are hard.  But we need to remember that only “things” can be taken away.  God’s love can’t leave us, nor can His gift of eternal life.  In prison, Paul and Silas sung praises to the Lord, with thanksgiving of all that He gave them – not material things, but far more precious.  I should think that the other prisoners wondered how they could have joy under those conditions.  It was supernatural.  It was viewing life – sunny side up.

I pray that we can all see through the hard times to the joy that is right before us.  The joy of the Lord is our strength.  It is our – sunny side up!  Let it shine.  God bless you!

Blessings, Evelyn

Hello everyone,

I was in prayer recently when God showed me a drain plug – a drain stopper.  Your know, the removable kind that you have in the kitchen sink to stop the water from going down the drain.

Just recently we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection.  I thought of how His blood washes our sins away.  Not only does He wash us clean, but He sends the sin right down the drain, never to be remembered again!  What a gift!  I thought of how He washed the Disciples’ feet – the dirtiest part, since sandals allow all the dirt from the road to get on them.  He did this in love and humility.  This was just a small part of the greater love and humility He demonstrated on the cross.   He washes all our sins away and makes us clean.

But are we drain stoppers?  Do we hold onto the sin and not let it go “down the drain?”  Or even worse – not give it to Jesus immediately to wash it away?  Do we feel too dirty to come to Him?  Jesus touched lepers, the most unclean in His day, to show us that no one and nothing is too dirty for Him to touch and wash clean.

Okay, so maybe you’ve given it to Him, but you’re still sitting in dirty water not letting it go down the drain.  How?  By not forgiving yourself.  Or, by letting the devil put you under guilt and condemnation after you have confessed your sin.  Yes, we are sorry – but if Jesus can forgive us, why can’t we forgive ourselves?  Why do we wallow in dirty water and not let it go?

It must make Jesus so sad to see us not living in the freedom He suffered and died to give us.  By human standards, we think that we should have to suffer until we “feel” better – shouldn’t we?  Don’t we have to punish ourselves – at least for a little while – as penance?  We deserve the misery, we think.

Well, by earthly reasoning it’s true – with human love, maybe so.  However, that is the key.  Jesus’ love for us is so great that we can’t always fathom it.  When we can get this from our heads into our hearts, then we will have an idea of how great His love is for us.  We may never fully understand the greatness of that love until we get to heaven.

In the meantime, let’s not be “drain stoppers” and let’s allow God’s freedom to grow us into the person He created us to be, and to bring us into all He desires for us. 

Blessings, Evelyn