Selah

According to Wikipedia:

Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh) is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible that means GOD HAS SPOKEN.  – it used 71 times in the Psalms and three times in Habakkuk  – and is a difficult concept to translate. (It should not be confused with the Hebrew word sela‘ (Hebrew: סֶלַע‎) which means "rock.") It is probably either a liturgico-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen". Selah can also be used to indicate that there is to be a musical interlude at that point in the Psalm. The Amplified Bible translates selah as "pause, and think of that". It can also be interpreted as a form of underlining in preparation for the next paragraph.

I used to wince at red lights. Okay, I'd more than wince. I'd complain, usually inwardly, but sometimes aloud. "Oh, no!" you'd hear me say. "Not another red light!" And truthfully, sometimes it seemed (or seems) that I'd hit one red light after another. "These lights are so badly timed," I'd grouse. I'd fret about poor fuel efficiency. I'd worry about being -- not just late, but -- later.

I have a bad habit of being too much of an optimist, not allowing extra time in transit for such things as red lights, construction, traffic jams, and that's the kind of thing that makes you late. I'm getting better...

Anyhow, back to the topic at hand. One day, while sitting at a red light, it came to me. Stewing was a poor use of my time. Did it get me anything? (Other than aggravated, that is.) No. Obviously.

What if I were to use red lights profitably? How could I use them profitably?

Give thanks in all things. While it may seem silly to you, it came to me (while sitting at a red light) that I could be using red lights as a time to praise. To meditate on Scripture. To contemplate my blessings. To give thanks. (See 1 Thess. 5:18 and Eph. 5:20)

The idea of "selah" seemed to fit. I'd heard a definition of "selah" in a sermon some time ago; the preacher had called it a time to pause and reflect on what had just been said (in the Psalm we were reading), or the deep breath before the dive into the next section, or both.

Practicing "selah-ness" at red lights has totally changed my driving attitude. Now instead of an "oh, no!" reaction to a yellow light announcing a red soon to follow, I (usually) am reminded that God is there in the midst of my busyness, my hurry. It's a sort of tug on my spirit, a signal to slow down and think about what's really important.

I'm sure it's done my blood pressure some good, too.

Thankfulness

Rejoice always,

pray without ceasing,

give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thess. 5:16-18 ESV

 It's not always the easiest thing to do. Grumbling for some reason is much easier than gratitude. "Counting your curses instead of your blessings" is what we call it around here, or rather, when in the middle of Attitude Adjustment, it's in the form of an admonition to count your blessings, instead of your curses.

I've been pretty grumbly at times today. We need a new roof, and there's water damage in the living room that may or may not come from the old roof. We're hoping that it won't be serious in the end, but we won't know until they tear off the old roof and see what's there to see. I could go on and on, but I won't.

You see, we are so blessed, so very blessed, that we don't even know how blessed we are. How many people are out there with no roof, or dirt floors, or a whole family crammed into a room or two, or not enough to eat? And here we are, grumbling about our not-perfect house, or an annoying sister, or plans that aren't shaping up exactly the way we want them to. Not to mention our own shortcomings, the things that didn't get done today because of our (poor) choices.

No. Not going there. I'm going to concentrate on blessings right now. I can hear the Giant Schnoz enthusiastically gulping her dog food after ignoring it all day. (A little kombucha was all she wanted. Guess she was feeling grumbly, too.) Dinner will be quick and easy tonight -- crepes. Just whip them up in the blender and start frying, one by one, and top with powdered sugar and lemon juice and roll them up. Church meeting tonight to talk about the possibility of a new pastor, after our church has been in limbo for many months.

(Still counting blessings... the interim pastor has been a gift of God, a shepherd who loves the sheep he's been given to guide through a difficult time, who has brought healing with his wise and understanding heart.)

Anyhow, am going to keep on counting those blessings and more, even after I finish up here and post this.

How many blessings can you name today?