itsawonderfilledlife

Archive for 2020

Greater Love

Posted in Easter, GOD, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #easter, #greaterlove, #nogreaterlove, #selfsacrifice, #theloveofgod on March 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Who do you love?
a spouse? children? friend? parent?

Why do you love them?
how they make you feel?
what they have done for you?
they are yours?

To what extent would your love go for their benefit?
do things they like to do?
move to another city?
sacrifice time? money?

There is a story that always reminds me about the greatest gift of love:

There was a little girl who was suffering from a rare life threatening disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had somehow survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, I’ll do it if it will save her.”

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?”.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

That story always reminds me of the love of God, for us, his children. It is the love spoken of in John 15:13, which tells us, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

In Ellicott’s Commentary, on this verse, we read that, ” … the highest reach of love is the self-sacrifice which spares not life itself.”

If I think about it, I can imagine being willing to sacrifice my life for a handful of individuals … maybe a few more. I care for those people, have a relationship with them, seek the best for them and desire that they have future, a hope.

The thing is the love of Christ for us goes the next step further. God made this sacrifice because he cares for us, seeks the best for us, desires a future and hope for us. But, he made this sacrifice for those who have relationship with him, as well as those who have not chosen relationship with him … and his sacrifice was his own son.

It is the greatest love … there is no greater.

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Why the Tears?

Posted in Easter, WONDER, tagged #forthegloryofgod, #jesuswept, #lazarus, #lent, #whythetears on March 10, 2020| 3 Comments »

He wept.

Jesus wept.

That’s what I’ve been reading, each day of this season of Lent, as I read from the death of Lazarus to the prayers of Jesus, before his arrest.

As I read and reread the account of the death of Lazarus I have more insights and more questions.

“When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”“
John 11:32-37

Each day I am left with the question,

why did Jesus weep?

did he weep because Lazarus was dead?

that doesn’t make sense, because Jesus knew that he would soon raise Lazarus from the grave.

did he weep because he loved Lazarus?

he did love Lazarus, but … death would not defeat Lazarus, and Jesus knew that his temporary ‘sleep’ would soon come to an end.

did he weep because he saw Mary (the sister of Lazarus) crying?

the passage does say that “he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” when he saw Mary weeping, but it is not until they take him to Lazarus that his tears begin to fall.

Though those rationales have some hint of truth in their possibilities, I wonder if maybe the tears of Jesus had more to do with his own fate, in the days that were to come. I wonder if it might have been that Jesus was beginning to face his own ‘sleep’.

As Jesus walked through the events leading to his rising of Lazarus, we read that the death of Lazarus (v. 4) “is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” How could the death of Lazarus be for God’s glory?

Had Jesus prevented the death of Lazarus, that would have been great … but probably not miraculous. It would not have cinched it for Jesus as Messiah … for who could raise the dead to life again? By waiting for Lazarus to die, by healing him when there would have been so many around was to, in essence, crown Jesus king of the Jews. Thus, opening him up to his arrest and all that followed.

Back to the verse (v. 4) “it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Has Jesus (God’s Son) been glorified through his healing of Lazarus?

Well … yes. But what exactly does glorified mean? and what does it mean in this specific context?

Glorified means that someone or something typical is viewed or treated or honored as something more … something or someone special (I hear the Dana Carvey character of the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live saying special). This is not the biblical meaning of glorified.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31-32, we are instructed, “whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. Do not become a stumbling block …” In this we understand that we, as the followers of God, reflect his glory, so we have a responsibility to reflect accurately. God’s glory is who he is, his perfect character. For his glory to be glorified through his son, means that his perfect character and love are reflected through the sacrificial death of his son, for the sake and souls of all people.

In other words,

we could not know of the glory of God’s love for us, except through the death of Christ.

Jesus modelled, for us the sacrificial aspect of reflecting God’s glory … it is not always doing what is easy, what is natural … often it is doing that which might bring us to tears, but the God who he allows us to reflect is eternally glorified.

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The Return of the Blessing

Posted in FAMILY, GOD, WONDER, tagged #aaronicblessing, #andtheirchildren, #benediction, #elevationworship, #theblessing, #thelordblessyou, #thelordturnhisfacetowardyou, #thereturnoftheblessing on March 8, 2020| 4 Comments »

and guess what?

it never went anywhere

“The Lord bless you
and keep you
make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26

The blessing given by the Lord to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel” (v. 23). It is known as the Aaronic blessing and, although said to many people at one time, is believed to actually be received by each person as a personal blessing from God, himself (they are his words, after all).

This blessing has such meaning to our family.

It has been the blessing of dedication for each of our children (the one we, as parents whisper into the night), one that was a nightly lullaby when they were so very wee (above) and the benediction of blessing that hubby offered to congregations for so many years …

I cannot hear it, read it, without seeing him, in my mind’s eye, lifting hands and repeating this blessing to the “people of God” (POGs, as I would joke).

The thing is … it has become harder for me to hear, to receive, even to speak since that season of life came to an end.

Then I heard a new song (like only days old, kinda new … video below) that somehow helped me to hear and receive this blessing as, I believe, God wants us to hear it …

as a blessing, from God, spoken to Moses, for each of the children of Israel, but also for me … for you … right now, wherever we are.

There was something about this line:

the Lord turn his face toward you

The Lord turn his face toward you …

Remember, these are his words, so there is no mistaking them. He wants us to be blessed by his turning to us …

He, the God of creation, of this world and the one to come …

turns to us …

think about this …

think.

about.

this.

God is turning his face towards us.

Like a parent who looks into the face of their child to assure them that they are not alone, to remind them of how loved they are, to bond and attach to the one who is theirs …

This is part of the blessing.

Today our fab five family will reunite after almost six months apart … a fresh reuniting. And my momma heart will be receiving and sharing the blessing that has been here all along … just like a parent who ever turns their face to their child … the blessing … it never went anywhere.

“May His favor be upon you
and a thousand generations
and your family
and your children
and their children
and their children”

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The Everyday Things

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #dontgiveup, #godspeaks, #igiveup, #listenforhisvoice, #theeverydaythings on March 5, 2020| 1 Comment »

As I read the words they stuck, momentarily, in my throat …

for I knew that I was not leading devotions, but being led into devotion.

I had chosen to share this story just the day before, no real conviction in my choosing … more like desperation for something that I thought would just do … without seeming like it would just do.

The day I read this hastily chosen story, I was in a funk.

I had no ‘treats’ (ok, sugary motivation) for the students to ‘sweeten’ my sharing of devotions with them. My tummy was terribly upset and I longed for a steeped tea. Then my drive to work took too long for me to stop for the tea I so desperately wanted. I reached work, only to find that conversations were already in process, so I couldn’t even have a moment to air my frustrations with the day.

Death by a thousand cuts.

So I began to read, feeling confident that the story would at least keep their attention … hoping that they would hear the hope that was written between the lines.

“Sometimes the best training for the really big things is just the everyday things.”

gulp.

Those words for me.

I knew it and I knew who placed them on the paper, who led me to them the day before, who led the classroom teacher to ask me to cover devos. this week. It was the same one who I have been groaning to for months … the same one who I had recently started to moan, “I give up.”

Don’t go sighing … don’t mentally, condescendingly pat me on the back … you’ve done it too … we have all done it.

We get frustrated waiting for the answer and we throw our hands (and our hopes) up in the air and declare it (whatever it might be) to be too hard, too frustrating, too much.

Then we have a choice …

walk away from the hard things, the unanswered things …

or …

do we dare listen, for that still small voice?

Here is what that still, small voice said to me, just the other day …

maybe, when you read it, there will be something that you read that gets stuck in your throat … and you will know, that this was here for you to read.

The story of Cliff Young,
as told by Ann Voskamp

The old cahoot ran in his boots.

Weren’t too many of anybody who believed he could.

How the old guy ran for 544 miles. His name was Cliff Young and he wasn’t
so much. He was 61 years old. He was a farmer.

Mr. Young showed up for the race in his Osh Kosh overalls and with his
workboots on, with galoshes over top. In case it rained.

He had no Nike sponsorship.

He had no wife – hadn’t had one ever. Lived with his mother.

Never ran in any kind of race before. Never ran a 5 mile race, or a half-marathon, not even a marathon.But here he was standing in his workboots at the starting line of an ultramarathon, the most gruelling marathon in the world, a 544 mile marathon.

Try wrapping your head around pounding the concrete with one foot after
another for 544 endless, stretching miles. They don’t measure races like
that in yards – -but in zip codes.

First thing Cliff did was take out his teeth. Said his false teeth rattled when he ran.

Said he grew up on a farm with sheep and no four wheelers, no horses, so
the only way to round up sheep was on the run. Sometimes the best
training for the really big things is just the everyday things.

That’s what Cliff said: “Whenever the storms would roll in, I’d have to go run and round up the sheep.” 2,000 head of sheep. 2,000 acres of land.
“Sometimes I’d have to run those sheep for two or three days. I can run this
race; it’s only two more days. Five days. I’ve run sheep for three.”

“Got any backers?” Reporters shoved their microphones around old Cliff
like a spike belt.

“No….” Cliff slipped his hands into his overall pockets.

“Then you can’t run.

Cliff looked down at his boots. Does man need backers or does a man
need to believe? What you believe is the biggest backer you’ll ever have.

The other runners, all under a buffed 30 years of age, they take off like
pumped shots from that starting line. And scruffy old Cliff staggers forward.
He doesn’t run. Shuffles, more like it. Straight back. Arms dangling. Feet
awkwardly shuffling along.

Cliff eats dust.

For 18 hours, the racers blow down the road, far down the road, and old
Cliff shuffles on behind.

Come the pitch black of night, the runners in their $400 ergonomic Nikes
and Adidas, lay down by the roadside, because that’s the plan to win an
ultra-marathon, to run 544 straight miles: 18 hours of running, 6 hours of
sleeping, rinse and repeat for 5 days, 6 days, 7 days.

The dark falls in. Runners sleep. Cameras get turned off. Reporters go to
bed.

And through the black night, one 61-year-old man far behind keeps
shuffling on.

Cliff Young runs on through the dark — because he didn’t know you were
supposed to stop.

The accepted way professional runners approached the race was to run 18
hours, sleep 6, for 7 days straight.

But Cliff Young didn’t know that. He didn’t know the accepted way. He only knew what he did regularly back home, the way he had always done it:

You run through the dark.

Turns out when Cliff Young said he gathered sheep around his farm for
three days, he meant he’d run across 2,000 acres of farmland for three
days straight without stopping or sleeping, without the dark ever stopping
him.

You gathered sheep by running through the dark.

So along the endless stretches of highway, a tiny shadow of an old man
shuffled along, one foot after another, right through the heat, right through
the night.

Cliff gained ground.

Cliff gained ground because he didn’t lose ground to the dark. Cliff gained
ground because he ran through the dark.

And somewhere at the outset of the night, Cliff Young in his overalls, he
shuffled passed the toned runners half his age. And by the morning light,
teethless Cliff Young who wasn’t young at all, he was a tiny shadow — far,
far ahead of the professional athletes.

For five days, fifteen hours, and four minutes straight, Cliff Young ran, never once stopping for the dark –

never stopping until the old sheep farmer crossed the finish line – First.

He crossed the finish line first. Beating aworld record. By two. whole. days.

The second place runner crossed the finish line 9 hours after old Cliff.

And when they handed old Cliff Young his $10,000 prize, he said he hadn’t
known there was a prize. Said he’d run for the wonder of it. Said that all the
other runners had worked hard too. So Cliff Young waited at the finish line
and handed each of the runners an equal share of the 10K.

While others run fast, you can just shuffle with perseverance. While others impress, you can simply press on. While others stop for the dark, you can run through the dark.

The race is won by those who keep running through the dark.

(I could not find the link, but you won’t regret checking out Ann Voskamp)

” … we know that … perseverance (produces) character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

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“Don’t Cry”

Posted in GOD, Grief, life, WONDER, tagged #dontcry, #grieving, #mourning on March 3, 2020| 3 Comments »

What would you think if you were crying and someone said to you, “don’t cry?”

Luke 7:11-13
Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.””

In this story of Jesus meeting up with a funeral procession, Jesus said to the mother, “don’t cry.”

It is so easy to simply focus on just those two words, but, there is more revealed in the story to give us understanding of what Jesus was thinking when he said those words.

Verse 13 says, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.””

Jesus was all God, all man. He could laugh, and cry. He could celebrate, and mourn (after all this was not the only person who Jesus raised from the dead. When he heard of Lazarus’ death, he wept, then raised a four-days dead man!). Jesus humanly understood the sorrow that the young man’s mother was suffering, and her suffering tugged at his human heart … as well as at his divine being. Maybe he not only saw, but also felt the heartache that the mother was feeling (Romans 12:15 “rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”).

As ‘his heart went out to her,’ Jesus saw the heartbreak, the agony, the loss, and the hopelessness in the countenance of the widowed mother of a dead young man. Her son that was to be her only hope for a future in that society.

Jesus also knew that he, a son, was the only hope of a future for us. Perhaps the mourning that Jesus saw in that woman was a foreshadowing of what Jesus, the Son of God, would experience when he would be separated by death, from his Father.

Then he said, “young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” (v. 14-16)

And, as the people were all in awe that “God has come to help his people,” those same people knew nothing of the sorrow that He would bare in order to help them, in the very near future. But, He knew.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.
Anyone who believes in Me will live, even if he dies.
And those who live and believe in Me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26

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Lenten Addition

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #easter, #imitatejesus, #jesusprayer, #lent, #lentenaddition on March 1, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Lent, from a Latin word, meaning forty, can imitate Jesus forty days of prayer and fasting in the desert, as some celebrate lenten practise six days a week (not on Sundays) up to Thursday night celebration of the last supper (Maundy Thursday) and others do so every day straight through to Easter Sunday.

There is nothing magical or mandatory about the practise of Lent. It is, quite simply, an opportunity to prepare, focus and share in sacrifice as we await the season of Easter.

I practised lent a number of years ago, giving up cream in my coffee. It was such a little thing, but I missed it so much. Because morning coffee is how my day begins, I missed it … and, in missing something so regular, I was reminded daily of the (so much greater) sacrifice of Christ, for me.

This year I felt a tug to celebrate the lenten season again. This time, though, I did not feel compelled to give up, but take in.

A wise man, James R Dennis recently wrote, of lent,

“If all we do during Lent is give up chocolate, that’s not a Lenten discipline, that’s a diet. And that’s fine, but that’s not the life we’re called into. We are called during that Holy Season to abandon anything that gets between us and God, to lay down our burdens and begin again.” James R Dennis

ahhh … to begin again!

If giving up chocolate (or any other thing) is done so as a sacrifice that will bring us closer to God, that will remind us of his sacrifice, then do it. Let me tell you, I had no idea how important cream in my coffee was to me, until I gave it up for Lent. But I wanted something out of the lenten season that would not just remind me of his sacrifice, but also fill me with his life.

So, my lenten practise will be reading from the book of John, from the death of Lazarus, in chapter 11, to the prayers of Jesus (before his arrest), in chapter 17. I will read this passage every day, from my Bible, not a screen version. During the week preceding Easter weekend, I will then read John 18-20, from his arrest to the empty tomb. In addition to this, I have committed to speak what is called the Jesus Prayer or The Prayer (in the image) daily, to remind me that the mercy I have received has come, at great cost, from Christ.

How about you? I’d love to know if and how you include lenten practise in this season.

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Got Your Back

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #fearnothing, #gotyourback, #neverwillileaveyou, #whateveris, #whatsaheadofyou, #whoisbehindyou on February 27, 2020| Leave a Comment »

“Fear nothing in front of you because of who is behind you.”

I don’t know who said those words, but they speak such valuable truth … truth that we (okay, I) need to be reminded of regularly.

What’s ahead of you, today?

A new job? A divorce? A disease? A move? A new baby? Infertility? Loneliness? University? Aging? A tough conversation? A test? Leaving your home? Going back home?

… even the threat, the possibility or hint of one of those things is enough to have many of us shaking in our boots. We fixate on the struggles of the situation, the ‘what ifs’ of a situation. We allow the fear of what is or might be around the corner to decimate the gift of today.

We forget that we are not facing our fears alone.

Throughout the Bible there are reminders that we are not alone, we are not abandoned in our joys, our sufferings, nor our fears.

Hebrews 13:5 is one such example; “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Now, we have to do our part as well … we need to walk with God, acknowledging his presence in our lives. He’s still right behind us, even if we don’t, but the peace of God … we actually have to do something to receive it.

Philippians 4:5-9 speak of that peace:

“The Lord is at hand (he’s right behind us); do not be anxious about anything (okay, easier said than done, but we do need to, actively, practise this), but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (yes, he already knows … tell him anyway … unload it at God’s feet … and look what he says will happen …). And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding (I like to say, it goes beyond all human understanding), will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers/sisters (what’s next tells us how to avoid fear …), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

He’s got your back … now let’s think about the whatevers and the if theres.

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More God, Less Me

Posted in FAMILY, life, The Kids, WONDER, tagged #godsnotdoneyet, #moregodlessme, #parenting, #whosekidsarethey on February 25, 2020| Leave a Comment »

I was recently asked if our son being away was as bad as I had thought it would be, while he’s off in New Zealand and Thailand with a Christian missions and outreach group. I replied that it was hard to let him go, I have had moments when his presence was missed and I cannot wait to see him.

but …

it’s been okey,

he is where he ought to be,

doing what he ought to be doing …

living his life,

always close to my heart,

but independent of me.

That is the stage we are at in life … it’s the season of cut and release.

I have to say, I like this stage of life … semi-empty nesting … kids into their twenties, no longer directed by us, dependent on us, except in their choice to be. I have no inner ache to go back in time, though I have warm memories of the seasons past. There are things I wish that I had done differently, but we live and learn, from our successes and failures.

Parenting is all about
more God, less me.

That is what this stage has been reminding me … that I am the hands and feet (and heart) of God in this parenting adventure … I do not, nor have I ever, possessed my children. They are and have been and will continue to be a gift to my life, but they are not my life and I am not theirs.

A friend recently said, “I thank God that he was ultimately in control and corrected my mistakes. My children survived and God is still not finished with us.”

” … and God is still not finished with us” … us, not them. For we are all are learning and experiencing life, as we live intermingled with our kids. Our kids are not at the end, nor are we … we are all God’s work in progress.

Our kids are, have been and will continue to be in the capable hands of the same God who allowed us to share in their adventure called life.

I am so thankful for where this adventure has taken us, so far … but I cannot wait to see what is around the next corner … for our kids, as well as for hubby and I, as we all continue to live under the care of God … acknowledging that parenting still has to be more God, less me.

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Lament … it’s healthy

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #godcanhandleourlament, #lament, #lamentations, #lamentitshealthy, #sorrow on February 23, 2020| 2 Comments »

Ever cried in your pillow? How about punched something (a wall, a tree)? Ever stood in a forest and screamed at the top of your lungs? Or stared out the window, but your thoughts were so far away, you didn’t see anything? Ever sighed from a place so deep inside that you wondered if there was any air left in your body? Have you ever waved fists up in the air, while stating your sorrowful case before God?

Ever lamented?

lament … it is the feeling and/or expressing of regret or disappointment (Oxford dictionary). We all lament at some point.

I wrote this post eight years ago, though it originated from my experience, closer to fifteen years ago.

I was struggling to see, to dream even, how God might ever be able to penetrate into the heart of another. There was nothing within me, my vivid imagination, my belief in God’s redemption, that could give me hope for this person.

And so my soul began to groan in lament ...

I remember, ugly tears falling from my face, head shaking in disappointment and hopelessness when a song started reverberating through my memory.

How long O Lord ?

Though the Bible has ample examples of lamenting (the Psalms, Job, and, of course, Lamentations), it is not something that we often see, or do, in our churches. I am not sure that church is the place where lamenting should occur, but the absence of this practice (at church) could make people think that it is something that we should not do.

Often our Christian circles can be so … clean, happy, perfect …

UNREAL!

We are not living on the side of eternity, we are living lives in this temporal, sin-filled worlds, with sin-filled bodies and minds. We live lives of sorrow, disappointment, worry, sickness, heartbreak and agony. To live authentically does not mean we paste a smile on our faces and sing Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).

To lament is to pound our chests, and, with fountains falling from our faces, cry out,

“God, I hurt!”

“God, I don’t know where you are in this!”

“God, did you leave me? Because I feel so alone.”

“God, why did you allow my enemies to do this to me?”

“God, I am so lonely.”

“God, why did you …

forsake (abandon) me?”

David lamented.

Job lamented.

Jeremiah lamented.

Rachel lamented.

Jesus lamented.

To lament is to powerfully, passionately voice our sorrow, our agony. To lament is to pour out your heart. To lament is to be the most real we can be. To lament to to come to the end of our rope … resulting in the abdicating of power and ability to do it alone, anymore.

When we lament, we speak, we cry, we moan in the most pure and beautiful language to God’s ears. To lament is to be on our way to acknowledging that we cannot do it (life) without Him.

God can handle our laments … our God has broad shoulders, and he wants us to lay the weight of our world on them.

And so, this song, this Psalm (for the words of the song come from Psalm 13) has been playing in my mind again … not so much out of current lament, so much as a reminder of fifteen years ago, how I lamented from the deepest depths of my being …

and how I am now seeing God’s hand on what I had lamented as hopeless. He is giving “light to my eyes” as “I trust in his unfailing love.”

Lament will come again, perhaps just around the corner … but the one to whom I lament … his shoulders can carry the weight of our lament … he desires it from us.

Until then, even when the lament comes, I will remember that, “he has been good to me.“

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.

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Wavering Faith

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged #godiswithyou, #lookup, #waveringfaith, #wheredoesmyhelpcomefrom on February 20, 2020| Leave a Comment »

The sun’s rise signals the start of a new day.

How I love to actually see it rise since we live in a place that sometimes called Raincouver, the Wet Coast or (more commonly, by me) the Monsoontown. For many months it takes faith (and hope) that the sun is actually rising … somewhere, up there.

Yet, when we get to this annual February repose from the Pacific Northwest winter doldrums our (wavering) faith is rewarded with glorious sunrises and sunsets, the daily growth of bulb plants emerging from the ground and even blossoms on the trees.

Wavering faith …

Like my mind and mood in the dark and damp winter months, our faith can sometimes waver. Perhaps it wavers due to the dark and damp months effects on our serotonin production. Perhaps it wavers due to external forces on our lives and loves that just do not make good sense. Perhaps it wavers due to hurts, so deep, that it could take a lifetime of mining to bring them to the light of day … the light of a sunrise.

To see the light of a sunrise only takes opening ones eyes, for the source of the light (the sun) radiates to wherever it touches. To steady faith that is wavering … that also takes looking to the source …

Ralph Waldo Emerson said,

“Sorrow looks back;
worry looks around;
faith looks up.”

His quote fits well with Psalm 121. This Psalm/song to sing while travelling is known as a song of ascents. It is a song whose lyrics remind the traveller to trust in God during the journey … for he is not just at the destination, but God accompanies us throughout the trek, as well.

God is with us … in the mountains and in the valleys. He is with us when our faith is strong, but he is also with us when our faith is wavering. He does not move, he does not leave us alone. We need to look up.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.