By Lois Hewitt

A lot of my adult life has been spent working in offices. But many times I worked second or third jobs as my spending was out of control.  Most of those extra jobs were in retail or restaurants.  I never gave much thought to the purpose of those jobs until yesterday…

I had to pick up a prescription at my local CVS yesterday.  I had been putting off going as I get anxious in that parking lot because it’s so busy. Sure enough I got cut off and yelled at for trying to find a parking space while annoying the person honking at me.

I finally park and go inside.  I’m praying I have enough money to pay.  The store is very busy. I get to the pharmacy and the line is long. So I wait.

My turn comes and I see a young girl heading my way and I actually see her body get rigid as she sees me.  All of a sudden her guard is up.  I give her my information. She gets my prescription and I count out my singles and pay (I had enough!).

When I left I thanked her for her help and you could tell she relaxed. She even smiled at me.

When I got home, I thought about that encounter and just shrugged it off.  I was scrolling through some reels on my phone and came across several “Karen” videos. It hit me.  I look like one of those women.  The young girl probably thought I was going to start something and act all entitled.

I have had women (I’m sorry to say this is true a lot of the time) get up on me and yell at me and totally disregard me.  I have had a couple put their hands on me to push me out of the way.  I have been called stupid and had my life choices questioned.  I don’t have statistics but I can guess any one in customer service has had the same experiences.  It is very sad.

I learned a few things from this encounter;
1.  My retail experiences created great empathy in me for those people working in customer service. No experience is wasted.
2.  Even if you are annoyed, it’s important to stay calm and not yell at the person in front of you who does not make the rules.
3. We still judge people by their looks. I may have made assumptions about the clerk’s blue hair and facial piercings.  And she judged me by my looks.
4.  Everyone has feelings. No matter how strong you are, they can get hurt.  Words can hurt bad!
5.  We all (including myself) can do better. Be better.
6.  Most importantly, if you are a Christian, remember the world is watching how we act.  Jesus commands us to love one another.  If more people did that, society would begin to heal.

So from today on, I will try to be a better person.  Our world needs that!

By Lois Hewitt

Please remember:

You don’t know what you don’t know.

When you look back on younger days and regret the things you did and said…

Remember that you didn’t know then what you know now….

This life is one large learning experience…

You are getting better and more knowledgeable…

Be kind to yourself…
Be proud of your progress!!

By Lois Hewitt

I don’t know about you but this has been an introspective week for me.  Life certainly gets real as you get older. You lose family and friends.  The future is a bit different. As a youth, the future is infinite but age brings a finality to it.  The body aches more often.  Leaks of all manner become commonplace. Energy needs more criteria in order to be efficient because it’s no longer endless.  Oh, and the regrets for things done and those not done. 

If you look at just those things it seems like it could be scary especially when the world we knew is so much different now.  But there is an upside. In my older years, I have gained much, and not just weight. I have gained a wisdom that is serving me well in uncertain times.  I have gained more understanding of how to be healthy which was completely disregarded in my youth. 

I love better now. I do better now.  I don’t care if I fit in or am cool.   I now have peace. Youth is fight or flight, it’s adrenaline and angst.  Those things now unimportant.  Sure I look in the mirror and see a face I do not recognize at times, but it’s a kinder face with more compassion and caring. 

Youth was about me, me and me.  Now not as much. God was an afterthought in my youth. Now He is my mainstay, my rock and my savior.  That in and of itself has been the turning point in my life. Eyes off of me and onto Him.  I know the fears of getting older.  Not having enough to live on, not having health insurance and knowing how easily your health can just go.  But knowing I have a God who is bigger than all  that is bringing me peace as I face my older years.

In my youth, I relied in my own strength and that didn’t work out as well as you’d think it would.  Now I know my limitations and I’m grateful for every provision and every day.  I miss my family and friends, miss the carefreeness of youth but the place I’m in is better, and my vision is more on the eternal.  I know getting older is full of pitfalls and uncertainties but if your eyes are looking upward, the view is pretty darn good.  Stay strong. Believe in the promises of God, I do.  It is life changing my friend.

By Lois Hewitt

In my 61st year, these are the things I ponder in my dark and sleepless nights.

My youth was led by folly. I chased the world and my idols were on big and little screens. I banged my head to music of things of ill repute. I chased money and shiny things. My mind had no filter, all that entered left by way of a wicked tongue. Anger consumed me like an ever present eternal flame.
I wallowed in depression, obsessions and addicitions.

I treated my body and my health with no regard. I slept little or way too much. I ate only things meant to kill me. Doctors gave me pill after pill to take away pain and make my body work.
What a mess I was. Those, however, were my best of days. The best of my youth….wasted and destroyed.

Now in the later years, maybe not the end but closer, I see the misturns and missteps. I see my youth has all but slipped away.
So now in these later years, I see my biggest mistake was ignoring God.

I lived for myself and endured the fires I created to come out the other side as a different person. Wanting desperately to fall to my knees at the feet of Jesus and beg for His mercy. Wasted was the best years, now only left with the rest. Jesus opens His arms and says “Come my child. I will give you rest.” Oh how unworthy I am to sit at His feet, yet He calls me child. He cares not what brought me here just that I got here.

I lay awake at night reliving the past, but it is my future with Jesus that replaces what was with what is. The person of my youth gone and a new person born willing to make now the best. It’s never too late, my friend, to turn it around. It’s not too late to make now the best.

By Lois Hewitt

When you look around the world today it is easy to only see the injustices, the unrest, the divisions and the mistrust. People yelling and screaming at each other. Everyone seems offended about one thing or another. Homelessness, unemployment, foreclosures and more. It’s easy to not even want to get out of bed. I get it, believe me.

But there is something I have finally learned in life…this is truly the day the Lord hath made. He is not overwhelmed by today. Nothing caught Him off guard. He made the sun rise, the flowers bloom, the birds sing, and every other beautiful thing. He made this day knowing what you need today.

I know you have been praying for answers. I used to think He didn’t hear me. Some times the answers do not come swiftly. But that in NO way means He is not listening. Now when my anxiety is high, I look at the things that He provided and I learn to wait on His perfect time. While I wait, I enjoy the beauty of the day, grateful for all He has given. He calls us to rejoice in all circumstances.

It’s not always easy when the pain is too much. But please remember He has promised to never foresake us. Hang on tight to His promises and try to find the beauty He has given you while you wait for His perfect answer. It’s hard, but worth the wait.

By Lois Hewitt

I have learned to live with less…

So my life can be more.

More fulfilling.

More surprising.

More intentional.

The things in life will fade away.

The purpose in life is a legacy.

By Lois Hewitt

My FB feed is full of nice little quotes that are designed to help you achieve peace in your life. Some of the suggestions include getting rid of clutter, setting boundaries, reading a good book and lots of other ideas.  These are all good things to do but do they bring lasting peace?  I ask because you can declutter all you want, it’s not likely to always stay that way. You can set boundaries but sometimes when you do that you feel bad.  Reading a good book is amazing but I get stressed when I am close to finishing a good book. 

Life has a sneaky way of taking all your lists and organization and tossing it out the window. Things happen unexpectedly.  The other night I went to bed with prayers of gratitude and woke up with an unexplained panic attack.  This happens. So how do you get lasting peace?  Through Jesus Christ.

Now hear me out before you start thinking that I drank the Kool-aid.  The Bible tells us that we will be given peace for all things. Does that mean just when the house is clean? No. Or when the bank account is full? No. It means God will give us peace in the good and the not so great times.  So how does that manifest into our lives? By making a decision in our hearts to have peace. When it starts to falter, which it will from time to time, fall to your knees in prayer.

Most of my life I lived not knowing peace, momentary happiness but not profound peace. When I did feel peace, I had a death grip on it.  I didn’t want to let go of it and that, in and of itself, destroyed the peace.  One day I gave all my worry and fear to God and accepted His ways instead of mine and slowly peace washed over me. Not 100% of the time but it gets better everyday.  The only way I have found to have real peace is with a relationship with Jesus.

Life won’t be all cookies and cream, but you will find He gives you the strength you need in the difficult times and that builds peace. Knowing you are not alone in the darkness. Jesus is real and He loves us no matter what our pasts look like. He is faithful and is the bringer of peace.  I have seen it in my life. why not try Jesus?  True peace is a gift beyond measure.

By Lois Hewitt

I was sitting thinking about my life.

What about dreams not realized?

What about mistakes and regrets?

Oh the people I hurt with harsh words and deeds.

Feeling bad about who I am.

Then I realized Jesus willingly died a horrible death to cover my sins.

Jesus became the example I try to emulate.

Flaws, will always haunt me as I am yet human.

Forgiveness is freely given to me and I must forgive others.

I changed the path I was on, the long dark path.

Sad I am at times, but better am I now.

For His love has changed me from who I was.

Grateful I will be as I wait for the day we meet face to face.

What a GLORIOUS day that will be.