Care Full

Apr27

I have a friend who lost her husband to cancer three years ago. Every time I am sad or lonely because my husband’s been gone for almost two weeks, I think of her. At least I have the hope that my husband will return on Monday. She has no such hope.

Tomorrow, my church will be serving the community in what we call Vista Serves. It’s a coordinated effort throughout the church to help wherever we are needed. My family will be going to Jo’s house to help her with some things that have needed doing around her house. Things that around my house, David would normally do: fix a light fixture, replace a shower head, build a small guard around young trees. Or they are things I would do if only I had the energy and weren’t completely wiped out from having all the responsibility of the entire house resting on my shoulders.

I’m worn out from my husband being gone for two weeks. I can’t even imagine how Jo feels. I’d like to sleep in on a Saturday morning, but it is my privilege to spend half of my day at Jo’s house.

“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing” Deuteronomy 10:18.

Instead of being full of the cares of this world, bearing the burden alone, we will be full of care for those who need our help around us.

 

Thankful today for:

231. the ability to help

232. abundance

233. community

Waiting on God

Apr26

I consider myself an OK waiter, meaning that if I have to wait for something, depending on what it is, I usually can do it pretty well. Standing in line at amusement parks, waiting for something to come in the mail, stuff like that. But when it comes to the big things–waiting for a husband, to have children, to get a new electronic gadget that I just can’t live without–those things aren’t always easy. And God doesn’t work on my time schedule, apparently. Obviously.

Recently, my brother-in-law Ron lost his job. We’re talking a month ago. Tuesday, he got a new job. Wow. Not only that, it’s a good job, not just a something-to-tide-me-over kind of job. My sister reports that he said it has everything he was looking for in a professional environment. Again, wow.

They were settling in for the long haul. We know people who have been out of work for months and months and months. Is Ron holier than all those other people who just think they’re trusting God, but obviously they’re not or God would have provided for them already? I think not. And I’m sure my sister and brother-in-law would agree.

Isaiah 55:8 says, “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD.” We cannot fathom the ways of the Lord.

I didn’t get married until I was 29. I have friends who married at 19 or 20. I wanted to get married younger. Why didn’t God act sooner?

I didn’t have my first child until I was 35. I surely didn’t plan that one. Unwed teenagers have unwanted children all the time. Why didn’t God let me and David have one of those years before?

I want a red Mustang convertible. Other people have red Mustang convertibles. How come I can’t have one? OK. Maybe that’s not the best question to ask. Forget that one.

Point is, God does not act the same way twice. Just as every person is unique, every way that God deals with each person is unique. As Aslan the lion in the Chronicles of Narnia series is fond of saying, He’s telling us our story, no one else’s. What He does with someone else really is not our business.

It’s His. And He’s very good at it.

Thankful today for:

225. My story

226. potential

227. a new job for my brother-in-law

228. creativity

229. new songs

230. corrective lenses

Guarding My Heart

Apr24

“Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV).

I have mentioned before that I have heart issues. Every once in awhile, I have these spells of arrhythmia, always in the middle of the night, sometimes for longer period than others.

My doctor says they’re not dangerous, just annoying and disconcerting.

It happened the other night, but only for about 5 minutes, so I was grateful for that. But because it was the middle of the night, and I was alone because my husband is out of town, sleep was elusive for the rest of the night. And the regular skip that I have in my heartbeat was more noticeable and more pronounced because of my circumstances.

If only the sin and wickedness that hides in my heart could be felt as easily.

When the skip in my heartbeat becomes more pronounced, I do a check: what am I stressed about? Am I getting enough sleep? What am I taking control of that is the Lord’s to direct?

Since my husband is out of town and will be for another week still, the answers to the above questions the other night were: everything, no and everything. My guard on my heart was definitely down. Prayer is what it took to be on guard again.

Because I have been separated from my other half for too many days now, I also have to keep my heart guarded in another sense. And I pray that his heart is guarded as well. Vulnerability makes us weak. But he’s out of cell range most of the time, busy with his own schedule, as am I, so our communication is sporadic. Again, pray keeps up the guard as we spend so much time apart.

What will flow from my heart today? It is well guarded at the moment, so love, joy, peace and all those other wonderful fruit of the Spirit should be the result. May it ever be that way.

Thankful today for:
216. A good night’s sleep
217. Field trips
218. New ministry partners
219. God’s mercies–new every morning
220. Toddler hugs
221. Paychecks
222. My washing machine
223. Finding a fun new show on TV
224. The variety in God’s creation

“Mirror, Mirror”

Apr21

I saw “Mirror, Mirror” (a different telling of the Snow White story) with Morgan last night. I enjoyed it. I’ve always liked Julia Roberts, and I think she did a great job in the role of wicked stepmother. But the take-away I got was this: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). I’m going to keep drilling that into my daughter, beautiful though she is on the outside. That won’t last, baby; cultivate the inside. It’s so much more important.

Thankful today for:

213. time with my daughter

214. my boys enjoying a guys retreat with the youth–doing guy things

215. a new recipe to try


My Journey to Jesus

Apr19

I remember the day clearly. A group of us junior-highers were in the beautiful redwood forest of California, not too far from where we lived, for a weekend spring retreat at a Young Life camp. The year was 1975. The day: April 19.

Maybe my memory is not so clear, because I don’t remember the name of the man who spoke to us that weekend, and I don’t remember all of the fun activities we enjoyed, but I do remember this: God met me there that weekend.

I had been a church-goer all my life. I knew who Jesus was. I knew He had died on a cross and been raised from the dead. What I didn’t realize, though, is that He had done those things for me.

The speaker that weekend, at the end of one of his talks, challenged us to go out by ourselves around the camp and talk to God about what we had heard. I think it was the first time in my life that I truly, from my heart, talked to God. I finally realized that, good as I was, I was still a sinner. That evening, sitting on a big rock out in the middle of God’s glorious creation, I finally surrendered my life to Jesus. I no longer wanted to be in control. I wanted to be made clean and accept that gift of salvation that He offered. I was reborn. And it was glorious.

Did I see fireworks and feel a dramatic difference that night? No, the process of transformation is life long. In fact, not entirely sure about what I had just done, over the course of the next several months, I doubted my sincerity and asked Jesus to come into my heart many more times. I have a feeling He just smiled at me and said, “Child, I’m already here.”

What a relief to not be in control. Though I must say I do try to wrest that control back every once in a while (OK, more like all the time). Love, joy, peace, patience; all of these are fruit of the Spirit now living within me. Where would I be today if not for His grace?

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Thankful today for:

210. hdtv

211. working internet

212. an approaching weekend