August 12, 2022 – Click here to listen
I have turned the corner on fixing a couple of things that have plagued me all my life. For as long as I can remember I have been an insomniac sleeping only 2-3 hours a night. Recently I’m getting 6-7 hours sleep per night. I am so rested these days I can hardly believe it. I guess the farm life with its fresh air and hard work is good for me. Most of all though I praise God for blessing me in such a manner. I’m getting older and the extra rest seems to recharge me mentally and physically. It comes at a good time in my life.
The other thing is profanity. I have used profanity virtually all my life, and in fact, I probably came out of the womb sputtering and cussing because the nurse wasn’t cleaning me up fast enough. I’ve written many times in Words for the Day about trying to stop this terrible habit and had all but given up on being able to achieve it. But lo and behold I have all but stopped cursing. Like my insomnia problem it just mysteriously happened. I believe God knew how much I wanted to stop that terrible habit and He just blessed me with a little miracle.
I say that because I have prayed serious prayers about finding a way to eliminate profanity from my vocabulary for decades. I’ve fined myself for each cussword and given the money to charity, I’ve popped my wrist with a heavy-duty rubber band until it was nearly bloody every time I said a bad word, but it did no good. To be honest I have prayed and prayed about it until blue in the face and it seemed no one was listening. Now suddenly out of the blue I just stopped. It is as though God walked over and turned off the water spigot. It was the same with getting sleep.
Could it be that I’m becoming normal? I had a friend almost fall on the floor laughing when I suggested I was now normal. He told me that I’m as far from normal as the sun to the furthermost star in the universe. Maybe I’m not normal and never will be but I do know that we should never give up trying to achieve our goals. Perseverance is the key. Even if it takes decades or a lifetime God can change us, and He never stops in that effort. I believe with all my heart that throughout our lives He shapes us and works with us to clean us up and often we don’t even know that He is behind the scenes doing it. I recognize the work He has done in me and continues to do.
The old adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks is simply not true. God never gives up on us even when we hit those golden years. Be encouraged, that sin and bad habits can definitely be broken even if you are an old codger like me.
Isaiah 46:4
” . . . even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!