Nails.... and a weird way of seeing them :)

While we were talking she told me that she'd given up nails (the fake kind worn on her fingers) for "her girl." It's one of the things that she's sacrificed in order to save. For she's adopting, and it costs a LOT, so every penny counts. Since then, she's decided, and now she no longer has her fingernails or her toenails done. She no longer pays to go to sit before a man (or a woman) extending her hand (and her foot) out to theirs while they take it to pamper and apply the polish to paint it. Soaking and scrubbing, trimming then gluing, cutting and shaping and filing and painting and finally blowing them dry. Isn't it funny how silly it seems when you think and can picture it? I wonder how many now (in this very moment) are sitting in such a place with their feet in the water that heats and bubbles while the lady works hard on their hands as they lean back in their chair that massages? Okay, raise your hands quickly, how many of you just this past week? Oh well, go ahead, do your nails; I do mine too, I just do them myself. My hands would look horrid without them!

I said all of that today to say, doing nails costs a lot and when you think about it - it seems rather foolish. My friend LIKES her nails (and so do I), yet it's amazing what all that you'll give up to adopt.... because of new priorities, but also, too, in order to pay for it's cost.

Speaking of nails, and costs, and what you'll give up for adoption... it reminds me of another kind of ‘nails’ that cost for an adoption....... My adoption by a King that came!

The sacrificing that Jesus did when nailed for us to the cross cost a lot! And amazingly, we were worth it to Him!

As we continued to talk my friend told me of a girl at church that had said something to her that was uncalled for (and mean!) and had hurt her feelings horribly. Sometimes our sisters (and even we) have a tendency to say the stupidest things (I apologize for using the "s" word!)! And the things that they (and we) say so often are hurt-FULL to others. I was sorry it happened to her. I felt her hurt, I could hear her pain, and I hated it for her. We (all of us!) could all do a little more thinking before we speak.

The next morning after we had talked I woke up thinking of "nails" and "sacrificing."

You might could say that it had been pounding / hammering inside my head all through the night.

I was thinking about my friend's hurt from what her sister-in-Christ had said to her, and I thought about what Christ would do. So, I emailed her again, reminding her of the nails that she has sacrificed for her child, and also to ask her if maybe next time someone (especially a sister or brother) hurts her with the words that he or she has uttered by saying something foolish without thinking first that it would wounds in its sting…. Next time someone hurt her could she not think as Jesus thought: "Father forgive them for they know not what they do"….. And while she thinks of what He once said could she not sacrifice another "nail" of another kind as the hurt pierces her skin?

I told her that this one is one kind of nail that we'll often have to chase!!!…. for the hurt clouds our thinking and it's not always the easiest thing to do. But could we not "chase" that nail down that runs and do as Jesus did with another sacrificial nailing no matter its cost?

Life is full of things that are thrown at us that hit and wound, yet we're still to follow in the steps of our Savior (1Peter2:19-23); doing as He did and turning the other cheek as He's told us to (Matthew5:39). We're not to repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this we were called (1Peter3:9)… in order that we may inherit a blessing.

Next time I'm tempted to sin, or I'm losing control, or I'm mad, or I'm just feeling mean, I'm going to picture my nail as if it's running... and hopefully chase it until I do the right kind of thing.....

"To this you were called,

because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example,

that you should follow in His steps."

1 Peter 2:21

Hurt can basically be summed up like this: Hurt people hurt people (It's one of my favorite sayings!). They do. We do. There's a deeper reason behind the slap than just the reaction of the present moment. Can't we bother to look beneath the skin to see the pain that punches? And die to ourselves (as Jesus did) in order to hopefully give Life to another? We need to let go and let God and be just as forgiving as He is to us.
 
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Cor 4:7-12

Got something that you need to nail and leave sacrificially at the cross today? Surely the "cost" of carrying it is much greater than the "cost" of dying to live! :)