Heart Hope by Olga

The water cooler talk in the office today seemed to revolve around the police probably because a co-worker had to appear in court for not having the proper sticker on her license tag. She had to drive 35 miles round-trip for the summons to sit for a couple of hours waiting to get her fine for an offense that had already been resolved. Everyone at work had a story of an encounter with the police in some way or other; a few shared their stories while others decided not to confess their misdeeds. The one common thread was that for some reason when we come in contact with a police officer we become frightened that we are doing something wrong. Knuckles turn white on the steering wheel, palms become sweaty, and we try to “look” innocent (even if we really are). Why do we have that fear and dread? Is it because of past experiences? Or could it be of tales that we have heard? Or was it that our parents taught us to fear the police by using them as the scapegoat when disciplin...

Sitting at the dinner table my grandson, Will said, “Raise your hand if you are good” and immediately six hands shot up. Thinking quickly, I determined that this might be a teachable moment, so I hastily put mine down and explained that my first reaction had been wrong.  Elaborating further in order to clarify to my grandson that I am not good…my actions are sometimes wrong, my thoughts are not always pure, my words are not always kind, my heart motives can be contaminated because I am a sinner. The only reason that I have anything good in my life is because of Jesus. I informed my grandson that I am a sinner saved by the grace of God. I continued telling him that I make mistakes, but that I try to make good choices because I represent Jesus to the world. By the time I had finished my confession, all of the hands around the table were down. The Bible tells us that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” but it also tells us that we don’t have to stay that way becau...

Last week while having lunch with a friend she asked me if I had ever heard the story about the python snake. Her husband had told it to her and I think it is worth repeating, even if you have heard it before.  There was a girl who had a python snake. She gave it the full run of her house—it could go anywhere and sleep anywhere it desired.   During the day, the girl would feed the snake mice, rats or other small creatures. At night the python curled up at the foot of her bed right next to her feet. It didn’t keep her warm, since they are cold-blooded creatures and it really didn’t cuddled close to give her love; it was just there.  The girl began to notice some changes in the snake. It stopped eating and this concerned the young woman, but what really made her worry about her python is that instead of curling up at the foot of the bed, he began stretching out on the bed next to her. Since this was odd behavior for her snake, she thought it best to call her veterinar...

"Pretty" Pothole Hitting the brakes…Cars swerving to the left or to the right…car tires plummeting into the abyss… it must be pothole season. They are quite common along the roads in the mountainous area of Colorado this time of year. The harsh winter weather with water, ice, gravel and extreme temperatures takes its toll on the pavement. What might start with only a little crack ends up being a huge hazard in our path.  Potholes, no one likes them, but we must learn how to deal with them. They seem to pop up overnight, but in reality may be the result of months of wear and tear. Potholes almost always start with tiny fractures along the surface of the pavement, something you might not even notice while driving down the street. The cracks allow water to seep into the surface of the road, which can freeze, causing the surface of the road to buckle and become fragile. When cars drive over it, the surface breaks down and begins to crumble and deteriorate quickly.  Sin is a ...

The week started with a celebration; Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey. People were so excited that they took off their cloaks and laid them on the road along with branches so that He could pass in honor. They even shouted praises of “Hosanna” to Him which means save in Hebrew and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” The entire city was stirred wondering who this man was that deserved such acclaim, but within a week He had been killed. What went wrong? How could God have allowed this to happen? In reality God had His perfect plan in place and this included the cruel murder of His Son. In fact it was the very reason that Jesus left His home in heaven and gave up His rights as God. He knew that He was coming to pay for my sins and it would involve some horrific experiences. On the last night of His life, Jesus shared a meal with His twelve best friends and told them how they would celebrate His life in the future—the bread was His body broken for us ...

Living in the mountains has many wonderful benefits—the beautiful views, the four seasons, the physical activities, the cool crisp air… I could go on and on, but don’t want anyone who lives somewhere else to get too jealous.  However, there is one thing about living in the mountains does bother me—the dirt. It is on shoes, on walkways, in the house, but worst of all it is on the cars from about November to June. This is not just any kind of dirt; it is mixed with sand and gravel. We try to keep things clean, but if there is one bit of moisture in the form of rain or snow, you can’t help but pick it up wherever you go.  The car washes are jam packed on beautiful days and you might wait an hour or more, just to get your car clean for one short day. Yesterday when my car was overdue for a wash I was excited to find only one car in line in front of me. As I drove into the stall, I was embarrassed by the dirt on my car, but when exiting, I felt clean not just on the outside of...