It’s an ATTITUDE not a condition: The Lord has been SO GUT to me…Know what an epiphany is? A startling, never before noticed, revelation of some sort. The most fantastic “epiphany” we read in The Word was Paul’s “epiphany” on the road to Damascus. Remember? This great light…altered Pauls’ course for life! I heard an elder of that Road to Damascus…every child of the King will experience their own personal Road to Damascus when God first stirs in their hearts. And, they’ll know they’re there.

I have often given long discourses of the way my family bumped our way through life, hitting hard places. Cold places. Barren seasons. I’ve always followed those tho’ts with the way Mama NEVER flinched at hardships or sorrow. And, regardless of our circumstances when asked how things were going, she always quickly responded, “The Lord has been SO gut to me!” What a “spiritual” guide she was even when I wasn’t looking for one…hindsight…20/20.

It always made me kind’a mad that she would say that…I wanted to mutter (mutter, under my breath…’cause she was swift to use the “rod”) “What’s so GUT about OUR life!” We’re poor. We struggle. Never were soft, fuzzies proffered to us. Just hard scrabble. Made fun of at school. Looked down on at church. Never fitting in ANYwhere! What’s so GUT about THAT, Mama!”

My “muttering” never affected her acceptance…with gratitude…of whatever life had in store. I know she must’ve felt helpless sometimes. I know she had to have been frustrated…chirren, so many chirren, needing food, clothing, shelter…jobs not available. I’ve commented on her, on a few occasions, taking that old straw hat down from a nail on the wall, putting it squarely on her head, walking from the house to the woods…us chirren thinking she was gone forever…but, eventually, coming back, hanging her hat and going back to the chore at hand. NOW, I’m seeing that she probably fell on her knees and wept bitterly because of her “lot” in life. She might’ve vowed to NEVAH go back to those hungry mouths again. But, I also believe, God applied the balm of Gilead to Mama’s heart when she was exhausted giving her new life and energy and hope.

And, His unction never failed to stir her. I saw it in church. Sitting on that front pew, always, tears glistening on her cheeks. When prayer was offered, Mama slipped from her pew and knelt on her knees…right there in front of God and everybody. She was “washed” in those times of her cares and doubts and fears. She was a GUT Mama, a GUT woman, a Christians’ Christian.

Just recently, I was in a meditational frame and sat and “thunk” about my life growing up in Mama & Daddy’s household, my marriage, my children, my life experiences through the years…tho’t of Mama’s words “The Lord has been so GUT to me!” And, felt this Spirit coursing through my very soul, turning “light” on so MANY dark areas of my heart, causing me to want to shout, “The LORD HAS BEEN SO VERY GUT TO ME!” And, it was not just a chance occurrence. It remains with me, today.

I’ve been writing these soliloquies for many years, spilling my angst into your laps. It has been beneficial to me. Painful layers are being peeled away and the “baby” skin underneath my battle wounds is being exposed to “The Light”. I hope, and have reason to believe, others have benefited from my experiences. And, that’s double the pleasure.

I didn’t challenge God to “speak now or forever hold your peace”….He just came to me in the quietness of my meditation and spoke loudly to my heart. I am His. He is mine. I am blessed beyond measure. Ask me about my life…I have a perfectly REAL response for you. And, no matter WHAT your life story has been, if you’re able to tell it, you are incredibly blessed! And, as I was gently, sweetly led to see, It IS an attitude…not a condition.