It’s not always easy to keep the faith. Even when we know better, fear rears its ugly head, controlling our thoughts, our words, and our actions. It’s particularly difficult when one crisis after another seems to become the story of our life.
What are you afraid of?
I often feel like I can’t handle any more troubles. Over the past decade my husband and I have faced multiple tests of faith.
The scariest was a case of mistaken identity that threatened to put the love of my life in state prison for four years. An innocent and good man raised up in the ways of the Lord, prosecutors portrayed my husband as a menace to society.
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This month I was able to visit a family who lives in Guyana, South America. We stayed in their home, ate meals together, walked home in the rain after visiting other friends, and spent many hours in their boat on the river. I watched them give hearty handshakes, exchange smiles, hold little scared hands. I watched them give rides, give encouragement, and give hope.
I watched them love.
You see — they’ve been living in a remote part of Guyana for almost five years now, ministering to the needs of the people in areas only reachable by small plane or boat.
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I’ve been working my way through Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting On God, by John Snyder, over at Counting My Blessings this summer.
I believe that finding this book was a God appointment in my life. You see, I’ve been praying about something for a VERY long time. God has blessed me with peace and patience most of the time, but occasionally when longing sets in and my heart hurts . . . well, I’ll bet you can relate.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is:
Prayer is not like rubbing a magic lamp to get our wishes granted.
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I’d waited weeks for this moment: toes in the sand, waves crashing in the distance, sun warming my soul. I watched as my two-year-old made happy piles of sand in front of me, experiencing the beach for the first time.
Then from beside me I heard a sigh and a mutter. “It’s not fair. I wasted my money.”
My ten-year-old son pouted and kicked his body board further from him. From the outside it looked fine, blue cloth stretched over the foam core displaying South Carolina’s traditional palmetto tree and crescent. But beneath the covering, the board was broken in two.
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Today, as many women spend time honoring and loving on their daddy’s, I wanted to take some time to remind you of how much your Father in heaven delights in you! I don’t know what kind of earthly father you have. Or perhaps this day brings pain because your daddy has left this earth. And for some, your earthly father was not the kind and compassionate man that he should have been.
No matter what type of emotions this day beings for you, I want you to know that you have a perfect and loving Heavenly Father who thinks the world of you.
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How do you hope to be remembered someday? Whether it’s your children, family, co-workers, or the person you met one time, what would you like them to remember about you?
I know I’ll be remembered differently depending on how close that person was to me. For example, my daughter and I have always spent a lot of time baking together. She will remember me in personal ways from our time together that a co-worker would not know about me. At the same time, a co-worker might remember me from working on team projects, which is a side of me my daughter has not seen.
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Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD. (Psalm 107:43)
Sometimes God takes drastic measures to get our attention. Other times he just uses the ordinary daily things. This time, in my case he used a pickle to remind me that He loves me, is merciful and prefers I learn to yield to Him. Always.
It was close to ten in the evening. I remembered that there was supposed to be a “Super-moon“. Actually my dear hub reminded me. Of course, I wanted to run right down to the beach. Even though it was a bit cloudy.
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It is a Sunday morning during church.
I watch my little girl coloring a page from her coloring book on the floor in my living room. We have a little house church so it is very casual and as I watch her I notice she colors the grass green, the sky blue, and the sun yellow.
I can’t help but wonder why she didn’t color the grass pink or purple, the sky red, or the sun green?
Because, she knows that is not the reality of nature.
She consistently sees grass green, the sky blue, and the sun yellow. She colors from what she sees and knows to be true, from the beauty and truth that surrounds her.
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