On Vacation!

 by Macy Johnson

“I removed the burden from their shoulders;

their hands were set free from the basket.”

(Psalm 81:6 NIV) 

 

I cradled a cup of coffee in my hands one morning while I enjoyed the birds singing and the water glistening in the sun. Suddenly God spoke to me. He said, “You’re on vacation!” An unexpected peace came over me and I imagined myself sitting on a beach. I realized I had allowed myself to get bogged down with worry - trying to control this and that. He reminded me life is a gift. Every day is a free gift to enjoy in communication with Him.

 

Best for Last

 by Macy Johnson

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;

yet they cannot fathom what God has done

from beginning to end.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)

 

It is a recurring dream. I am at the piano with the Phyllis Merritt Singers nearby. The concert is nearly over after I play a few piano solos. Suddenly, my music falls into a pile on the floor next to the piano bench. Phyllis asks, “Was that your final selection?” I reply as I frantically dig through the music, “No, I’ll find it. I saved the best for last!” Then I wake up.

Focus! Focus! Focus!

 by Macy Johnson

“Set your minds on things above,

not on earthly things.”

(Colossians 3:2 NIV)

 

“Lord, please help me juggle all these goings-on so they don’t land on my head,” I pleaded. I cannot juggle balls like my son can, but I find myself often dealing with many activities at a time.

Small World

 by Macy Johnson

“O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.”

(Psalm 139:1 NIV)

 

January 20, 1945 is a date my family will always remember. Most of Europe was in the middle of World War II and the United States sent troops overseas to assist in the struggle. Daddy was a paratrooper at Fort Benning waiting for his deployment. He and my mother were huddled in a Justice of the Peace’s office in Columbus, Georgia with a small family gathering to witness their wedding vows.

 

Wisdom to Wait

by Macy Johnson

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit

as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

(Proverbs 21:5 NIV)

 

King Solomon, the author of Proverbs, knew something about waiting. Although he had a slew of wives and beautiful palaces, I believe he humbly trusted his Lord to provide success. God blessed him with amazing wisdom to wait on Him.

No Excuse

 by Macy Johnson

“The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me –

she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’”

(Genesis 3:12 NIV)

 

It was the summer of 1970. My brother took a long surfing trip with friends and left his 1969 Ford Mustang for me to drive. It wasn’t long before an Escambia County deputy pulled me over. “Your inspection sticker has expired,” he told me. I tried to wiggle out of the citation by explaining that it wasn’t my car. I was sentenced to four weeks of driver’s education classes in the basement of the Baptist Hospital.

You Did!

by Macy Johnson

“Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!”

(2 Samuel 12:7 NIV)

 

I was in an accident a short while after receiving my driver’s license. As I calmly drove down Government Street near Seville Square in Pensacola, Florida, suddenly an old, ratty, dilapidated car pulled out from a side street and hit my mother’s car on the front right fender. We both got out of our vehicles and the elderly driver from the offending car ambled over to me and asked, “Who hit your car?” “You did!” I exclaimed.