Grief - another journey

Several weeks ago we attended a memorial service of a dear friend’s Dad.

 It was wonderful to see the love and appreciation shared for a man of integrity who provided faithfully for his family. His love language, “Acts of service”!

Now the hard journey begins for a daughter left behind as she gathers up the precious  memories and places them in a treasured spot in her heart.

No more picking up the phone to call with news. No more hearing that sweet voice again. No more quiet  moments just being in the same room – where few words were needed – the love was there in little things, a smile, a touch, a look.

The promise of reunion, very real, but for now the colors are muted and greys surround my friend’s heart. The world continues, not any different than yesterday and will be the same tomorrow, yet to my friend’s eyes all has slowed and stopped.

In time, carried by her faithful God, supported by her wonderful husband and children and her loving friends , healing will occur and  a new normal will begin. She will hear the birds singing again. She will marvel at a beautiful sunset. She will laugh again. 

In sweet memories of times past she will see her daddy as he once was – strong – independent and whole. She will remember without pain.

But for now the numbness protects her soul. Gentle reminders of the Lord’s love heals her heart. The adjustments come gradually. The pain  slowly subsides. The heartache, a tender gift of expectation of a meeting yet to be – a quiet time with no words needed.

I love you, Ann!

Grey foggy days or blue skies?

Am overwhelmed this morning with sadness.

I am in awe of the blessing to sit at my Father’s feet and share my heart with Him. 

So I begin to list off all the things that trouble me. All the disappointments of special concerns that seem to be stagnant and unmoving. How I long for these heart burdens to be changed to answers. The ache is deep. The weight is hard to bear.
My eyes glance down and see these words in my open Bible, I gasp and smile:

Be joyful always

Pray continually

Give thanks in all circumstances

- for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus

Don’t hinder the Holy Spirit’s work in you life

Listen to prophesies with respect

Test everything with God’s Word

Avoid every kind of evil

I Thess 5: 16-22

Father, may Your joy be evident in my daily going and coming as I give You my cares. 

I give You my sadness, my fears, my disappointments, my longings. Carry them for me. You see all. You control all. Your perspective is perfect. May I rest in Your love and trust in Your heart!

The burden is lifted! He carefully carries it now!

Your Joy is filling my heart – You hold me close!

Jesus Calling today took my breath away in light of the paragraphs above!

Do we see grey, foggy days,

plodding along the rocky path

bowed low with worries, cares and sadness,

grumbling and complaining in our circumstances,

allowing fears and self centered thoughts to rob us of energy, of life itself?

or

Do we live in the blue skies of God’s abundant Presence,

casting our cares, worries and fears into His capable hands,

trusting in His loving heart for our every moment,

delighting in His surprises as we move through our day,

giving thanks for His goodness,

revitalized with His peace and love?

Thankfulness–continued!

My Jesus

Knows my frailties and weaknesses and loves me still

Does NOT change

Is in CONTROL, in all things, holding all things together

Bends over the edge of Heaven to hear my whispers

Walks with me through the fire

Carries me in the flood

Quiets the earthquakes

Holds me in His arms

Guides me with infinite love, gentleness and unwavering patience

Dances with me in the joys of life

Holds me close when the tears flow

Casts out my fear and fills my hearts with His love

Carries my burdens, worries and cares

Replaces all these with His peace

 Surrounds me – He is my rear guard

 Goes before me and His loving hand is on my head

Hears my voice and knows my name

LOVES ME STILL

Today, I am Thankful!

My Jesus:

Redeemed me with His blood, I am FORGIVEN

Stands with arms open wide in love, grace and mercy

Will never leave me, I am never alone

Knows me intimately and completely and loves me still

Knows my thoughts and hears my words and loves me still

Loves me with an infinite love

Knows my name, it is written on His hand and in His heart

Thinks about me all the time, I can’t count the thoughts

Is preparing our beautiful, indescribable Home right now

Meets all my needs our of His limitless riches

Is my SHIELD

Is my REFUGE and STRENGTH

delights in me, loves me – and it’s not because of what I do or don’t do

presents us to God, covered in His RIGHTEOUSNESS, always

LOVES ME

But they thought they knew better–part 2

This phrase still rings in my head . . . “But they thought they knew better”

Adam and Eve listened to Satan and decided they knew more about what they should do than God.  No magical fruit – a trust and obey issue. It was their thinking, their desires, their attitude, their thinking they knew better, their disobedience that caused sin to become a part of the human race. 

Satan, in his fall from grace “thought he knew better”!

Imagine, he was created as:

A model of perfection

full of wisdom and perfect in beauty,

was in the Garden of Eden with God,

every precious stone set in gold, adorned him,

He was anointed and ordained as a guardian,

was blameless in all his ways till . . .

HE THOUGHT HE KNEW BETTER!

His heart became proud and knew he was beautiful,

He was filled with violence and sinned

He said, “I will ascent to heaven,

I will raise my throne above the stars of God

I will sit on  my throne on the sacred mount of the assembly

I WILL MAKE MYSELF LIKE THE MOST HIGH”– Ezekiel 28

and you know the rest!

In contrast –Christ, the Son of the Most High – HE KNOWS BEST and yet:

Being in the very NATURE of God

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped

but made Himself nothing,

taking  the very nature of a servant, became a human

and became obedient to death  -  even the cross

SO

God has highly exalted Him to the highest place on the sacred mount!

and gave Him a name above every name, that at the name of JESUS every knee will bow

in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell

and every tongue WILL confess that Jesus Christ is LORD

to the glory of God the Father! – Philippians 2:5-11

In the process of learning who our God is, we see how ludicrous the thought – 

“But I think I know better!”

And even more precious is the fact – when we sin and blow it, He holds out His loving arms full of forgiveness, grace and mercy, to pull us close and grow us to be more like HIM!

But they thought they knew better . . .

Just read in a devotional these words “But they thought they knew better” 

The story? Adam and Eve – God gave them freedom throughout the Garden of Eden. All the luscious fruit and veggies were for them to enjoy, EXCEPT one. A conversation with Satan, a doubt planted and suddenly “they thought they knew better” than God.

You know the rest of the story . . .

Me???? I don’t think I know better than God! . . . 

or do I?

How often have I argued with God. Expressed my opinion about  events that effect my life. Ranted and raved about circumstances that made me uncomfortable, threatened “my world” and caused me not to have . . . Stormed the gates of Heaven with my wants and desires, not taking time to consider God’s perfect plan. Demanding what I want, when I want it and how soon it needs to be delivered. Sat down, devastated at the bill, the doctor’s report, the pink slip, the phone call, “unanswered” prayer . . .and wondered how a loving God could do this to me!

BUT I thought I knew better . . .

“Cease striving” and KNOW I AM GOD!    Psalm 42:10

Windows 8 and God!

Windows 8!

How exciting! I have read about it, seen the promos, looked forward to when I can download it onto my computer. I have talked about it to others, believe it to be good and helpful and an advancement over Windows 7. 

BUT, until I use it, learn its secrets, work with it and experience all it can offer – I do not know it. I can talk about its attributes, I can imagine all that I think it can do, BUT, all this means nothing until I take time to read, learn and use it.

Are we that way with our relationship with our God? Do we merely scratch the surface of our Christianity? Do we skip reading His Message to us and depend on what others tell us? Do we live our lives only on hearsay and not studying for ourselves?

What if our relationships with our friends were based on just input from others? How deep would our love be for those special to us, our spouse, if we only made contact occasionally and through other people instead of spending precious time digging deep into their hearts, learning their characters, appreciating the specialness of who they are, loving their smile and relaxing in their embrace?

Join me in getting our Bibles from off the table! Dust it off – let’s ask the Holy Spirit to awaken our souls to the riches of God in His incredible Love Letter to us and let’s dive deep into a wondrous world of grace, mercy, truth and love!

A WORD OF WARNING!

Commitment to this JOURNEY is life changing.
 You will never be the same!