DO_NOT_ALTER

“DO NOT ‘ALTER’!”

{Poem Book # 7}

Do not ‘alter’ your treatment

of others who’ve harmed you badly, *

Let GOD take care of them *

& continue to ‘love’ them ~ gladly! *

For REMEMBER our Precious Savior *

Whom Judas had betrayed, *

He went out to destroy Him *

even while Christ ‘prayed’.

Yes, He knew what it was like

to be hated by ‘enemies’, *

Yet He came & DIED for ‘ALL’ *

& told us to: “Love our enemies!” *

For, when we ‘LOVE’ them

we help them to ‘repent’,

Showing that we’re ‘different’ *

& that we’re ~ ‘God’ sent.

Now LOVE is NOT giving them

everything they ‘want’ to have,

But, joining hands with God

to discipline, Love & Laugh!

‘Tough’ Love isn’t easy

it goes ‘against’ the grain,

Yet if we don’t do it

it may cause them much more pain! ¹

The pain of ‘never’ learning

how to run to ‘God’,

Then, oh the pain of ‘not’ knowing

our Lord ~ upon this sod.

‘Fully’ surrendering to Him

so they might have ‘Peace’,

Learning that He loves them ‘more’

& will give them ‘sweet release’!

Healing all those memories

& hurts from their past,

So they can walk ‘uprightly’

& be ‘FREE’ at last!

Before we give in to ‘feelings’

& hinder ‘Christ’s Work’ in others,

‘Pray’ about WHAT to do

when ‘serving’ one another!

* I Pt.2:23; Rm.12:19; Rm.12:20-21; Ps.109:4-5; Mt.26:14-16; Mt.26:47-50; Mt.26:3-4; Rm.5:8; Mt.5:44; Mt.5:47-48. 7/28/99

¹ For which is ‘better’, my friend, when that child reaches out to touch that HOT stove? ~ To ‘touch it’ or for you to feel the pain of HAVING TO smack their little fingers ~ especially when they

‘refuse to listen’! And so it is, too, as they grow older, we must release them to GOD (do you TRUST HIM enough to do this?) & let HIM begin to deal with them ~ even though you are hurting inside ~ having to stand back & watch them make their own mistakes because they are in rebellion & ‘refuse to listen’ or ‘do’ what’s right!

As my Grandma used to say: “If you don’t ‘listen’ you’ll have to ‘feel’!” (the pain ~ that is! The consequences of our ‘choices’ in life).

We can’t keep our children from experiencing THEIR consequences in life, although we ‘try’ to. We must remember that many times GOD can ‘use’ those consequences to DRAW

them to Himself ~ IF we would ~ stay out of HIS Way!

Our children, too, must learn & experience GOD’S LOVE for themselves. How can they do this when we are standing in the way, constantly drawing them to us instead of to HIM? We must, as well, LEARN to TRUST GOD & to ‘STAY AT PEACE’ in our own hearts ‘IN the midst’ of any storm around us. Remember, Satan is out to destroy our CHILDREN & he will use US to do it when & ‘if’ we are NOT LEANING on & TRUSTING GOD to work! He is trying to take us from ‘little’ Faith to ‘Great’ Faith in Him ~ The ONE Who ‘overcame’ for us in the Garden! Not overcoming ‘people’, but overcoming our weaknesses & short-

comings so that we might ‘better’ serve Him & others!

~ ~ Oh, dear Lord, I did NOT like being ‘sandpapered’ ~

but I like ‘even less’, being sandpaper to help knock off the

‘rough edges’ on others You’ve placed around me! ~ ~

Patricia 7/28/99

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