When

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of Fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and Self-Control... "

- Apostle Paul, Galatians 5:22-23

"Where could my heart find refuge from itself? Where could I go yet leave myself behind? Was there any place where I should not be a prey to myself? None."

- St. Augustine, Confessions

There's a story about an elderly lady who enters a local diner and sits down at the nearest table. She drops her heavy parcels on the floor as she eases herself into a seat. She's tired and hungry. The diner is busy. A frazzled waitress approaches her with a steaming pot of coffee and begins to fill her cup. The rich aroma fills the air as the waitress mumbles, "Just say WHEN."

Half-attentive and preoccupied, the woman smiles as she looks out the window. The piping hot coffee swirls around the perimeter of the cup...reaches the brim...and spills over! "Oh my!"...says the woman. As the waitress grabs a cloth to wipe up the spill..the woman looks up and says, "WHEN."

The weary waitress had asked her to say, "WHEN,"...She left the control of how much coffee was to be poured into the cup in the hands of the woman. But the woman expected the waitress to notice when the cup was filled.

Listen, more often than not, many of us sit quietly through life relying on others to see that our cup is filled. Like the cup, we are vulnerable to what others pour into us.

It's high time we stop hoping others will see what they are doing to us and take control! The truth of the matter is that most people will keep dumping their burdens and their problems and their responsibilities into you unless you speak up and say, "WHEN!"

Take control of your life and be the one who says, "WHEN!"

Pastor Harry

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