Hurting Souls

Lord, after this week with the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, there are so many hurting souls. There are those who still await a miracle in the finding of friends and family members. Others grieve the loss of their loved ones. Some have been rescued, but their bodies have suffered irrepairable damages and their minds will relive these days for many years. There are those who may be seriously injured and frightened, as they lie beneath the rubble of toppled buildings.

We, as a country, watch the televised reports, and ache for the devastation and massive death. We send aid and join those from far-reaching corners of the earth who have gone to help in any way they can.

Father, so many are hurting for other reasons. There is so much difficulty in lives, whether it comes from illness, injury, bereavement, loss of work or some other reason. When I first met You, someone told me "if you've got a problem, God is the answer." You have proven that to be true so many times in my life.

Now, I lift the hurting souls to You. Whatever their problem, be their answer, Lord. Be strength to the weary and the weak, be love and companionship to the the lonely, be guide to the wandering and seeking, be guardian to those who are fearful.

When my children were small, I would hold them and kiss their wounded flesh. It comforted them. But there are so many hurts which cannot be healed or comforted by a kiss. Father, touch those. Wrap them in your loving arms. Hold them on your lap, like a loving Daddy. Kiss their hurts and comfort their hearts,as only You can. Be their answer, Father...be what we cannot be, no matter how much we hurt for them.

Whatever the problem, You are the answer.

Renewing...

We've been in the process of renewal of the first floor of our home, following a major flood caused by an appliance disconnecting itself. Our carpets and flooring had to be torn out and discarded because they were saturated. The insulation beneath the house was ripped out for the same reason. Having this 'empty space' to fill with my new vision for the place was invigorating to me. Floors needed to be replaced. Walls needed to be repainted, and in the process, the rooms have been redecorated. I'm pleased to say that we are ready to entertain our friends in a new environment.

All of this re-do has put me in mind of the way God "redoes" us. We were created to bring glory to the Lord, but because of sin in our lives, we could not honor Him with what was due Him. Until a 'disconnection' was made between ourselves and the sin we lived in, God had no opportunity to change us. It was up to us to empty ourselves before God, and let Him create His vision in us. It was our job to present the project to the Creator, and give Him our lives to redo. Once that opportunity was given to Him, He began to clean us up, to renew us, from the inside out! No only were we 'flooded' with His love, we were saturated in His righteousness, and renewed by His salvation! God did not just 'redecorate' by painting over our sin with His blood, He filled us with newness, cleanliness and design that is perfect for us.

Now we are ready to bring Him glory as the Guest of Honor in our lives!

God Has Time...

Thirty years ago while our children were sitting in the back seat of our car, my four year old asked, "Mommy, does God have a wife?" Her older and wiser seven year old sister answered, "Amy...God doesn't have TIME for a wife!"

In light of the fact that, to my knowledge, God doesn't have (or need) a wife, she may be right. But God does have time for the rest of us! So many times I've heard people say, "God's got enough to do without listening to my problems." There is no doubt that God has plenty to do, but I'm positive that He has time to listen and to act on our behalf.

There are fathers who don't take the time to sit and listen to their children as they babble on about whatever is on their young minds. There are many fathers who do, however. These are the fathers who know their children well. God is the best of all fathers, for He listens, He's concerned about our concerns, He knows us. He made us. How would you, as a parent, feel if your child never spoke to you? If you could see him or her living their lives, playing and talking with friends, being excited about something or upset about something, but never speaking to you about it, how would you feel?

Consider how God must feel when we live our lives, share with friends, but not with Him. What is it that our friends can do for us that God cannot do, and better? Why is it that some of us think that He isn't interested? He loves us! He is interested in every aspect of our lives, every emotion that we feel, every word we have to tell Him.

God has time...all the time in the world. Can we take a little time to speak and to listen to Him?

Good Vs Evil

In the wee hours of night, while I lay awake in the darkness, something long buried came to the fore-front of my mind. It was something that happened when my oldest daughter was about ten or twelve years old.

We had a finished basement of sorts. The usual small basement windows had been replaced with larger ones which slid and let in more light. Outside of them was a 'C' shaped metal form which kept the dirt from caving in around the windows. Kerry was downstairs one day, and something caught her eye in the window well. She began to watch. A brown toad was hopping, for all he was worth, trying to get out of the hole. Then she discovered why. A garden snake had joined the frog, and was attempting to catch him for his lunch.

Kerry watched as the toad kept hopping away from the predator. His inate desire was to be free of this enemy. The snake, on the other hand, was doing what his nature called him to do, to find something to eat. Eventually the determine toad was able to hop out of the hole and away from the snake. Kerry came up to report to me what she'd seen. After relaying her story, she finished by saying, 'there's a moral to the story, Mom. Good overcomes evil.'

As I thought about that last night, I could see the wisdom in my young daughter's comment. I thought about that toad. He was just happily living his life, like we do sometimes, unconcerned with anything much for that moment. Then, along comes a predator, a snake who sought to devour him. I thought about that snake. He is like the devil who sneaks up to devour us.

Then I thought again about the toad. He recognized that he'd be in trouble if he sat still, so hopped away, he tried to escape. He was not willing to lie there and let nature take its course. He wanted to be free of this danger. I thought about us, as humans. When the devil comes toward us, do we recognize him right away? And, what do we do when we see him coming? Do we run, or do we sit there idlely waiting to see what he'll do next?

The Bible tells us that the enemy comes, seeking to destroy and to devour us. It tells us that we should not be caught unaware, as he comes as a wolf in sheep's clothing. The Word tells us that we should resist the devil, to fight back. Running from the evil one is the only way to victorious living. As Christians, we should be instinctively aware that there is nothing we need from that snake, and we should do all we can to preserve our life.

Thank you Lord, for such a simple lesson.

His Eye is on the Sparrow

This morning, I watched a baby Mockingbird hopping around the yard, going this way and that. Unfolding his wings, he fanned his feathers, just like the older birds of his kind do. This little ball of fuzzy feathers could not yet fend for himself and could not yet fly. I noticed that one of the parent birds sat high on a roof, watching over the young one, as the other parent made numerous trips to and fro, bringing back a mouthful of bug or berries to place in the tiny beak. If the guardian bird felt that the smaller one was in danger of human or animal threat, the adult would dive and squeal toward the predator with a vengence. The parents would continue their activities until such time as the baby would learn to feed himself and take flight from the earth.

As I watched the parents meet the needs of their young charge, as they continued to guard from a distance near enough to provide protection, but far enough to allow abit of learning and independence, I could not help but liken the scene to the way the Lord cares for us, His young.

God knows that we cannot live without Him. He watches from on high, aware of our every move, knowing that, on our own, we have no real direction. He watches always, but allows us to make our own choices. He speaks to us, reminding us that He is always near and that He has b better way for us to go. He protects from predators, allowing only what is in His perfect will. He provides for us, making sure we are well fed. The day will come when we, too, will take flight from this earth, to soar the Heavens. Until then, our Father cares for us.

I am grateful for this lesson the Creator shared with me.

SISTERHOOD

God did not bless me with a sibling called a 'sister'. My mother had three of them and two half-sisters, as well. I watched Mom and my aunts' relationships and always thought of them as best friends. It made the fact that I didn't have a sister even more vivid to me.


I always thought how wonderful it would be to have another girl in the house that I could share secrets with, borrow clothing from and do things with. I was quite close to one of my brothers and grateful for both of them, but they weren't sisters!

Over the years I've been fortunate to have some very good friends. Through our growing up we shared the experiences of sleep-overs, dating, shopping sprees, and all the wonders of being a teenaged girl. Later, we shared marriage plans, weddings, childbirth, child rearing, failing marriages, deaths of loved ones, moves across the miles. We've shared phone calls, prayers, encouragement. We've even, on occasion, shared disagreements and short separation. These friends have been like sisters, and the closest thing I've ever had to one.

As I look back at my Mom's relationship with her sisters and compare those with the times I've shared with my female companions, I've come to wonder, are my relationships any different? Is it blood which makes women 'sisters'? Or, could it be something more? Perhaps it is the tying of heart strings rather than sanguinity. I believe that might be so.

Prayer

Probably every Christian knows the reasons to pray and the power there is in prayer. Certainly, I have seen the wonders that come from laying my concerns before the God of the Universe. I firmly believe that if we are obedient to God in praying, He will bless us in our obedience. He will answer, according to His will, not our own, but He will answer.


We need to pray for many reasons. God is our Father, and He created us to have fellowship with Him. He desires for us to talk with Him about all things in our thoughts and lives. Can you imagine going through life and not speaking with your mother, father or others who love you?
Would you spend the day on an outing with a friend and not discuss it with them as you go? God is with us in every moment, and I'm sure He'd like to have us share with Him as we walk through the day.

There are times when we behave in ways that aren't pleasing to God, things that are in disobedience to what He's taught. At those times, it's especially important to pray...for forgiveness. We need to ask for a restructuring of our thoughts and actions. He will be faithful to answer this prayer!

We need to pray when we feel thankful. So often we are overcome with gratitude in our lives. Sometimes it's just something small that happens but we are so glad for the occurance. God is the giver of all good gifts, and we should not forget to thank Him for them, no matter how small the gift might appear to be. Can you imagine giving your best to someone you love, and never receiving a thank you for it? It would hurt you, wouldn't it? Let us remember to give God His due...our praise for His goodness and our thanks for His gracious gifts.

I cannot think of a time when it would not be appropriate to speak with our Father. When we are hurt, He cares. When we need direction or correction, He'll provide it. Whatever we need, it will be provided, but the Lord delights in our prayers. As Paul writes in I Thess 5:17, "Pray, without ceasing." In every situation, in every moment, remember to speak with the Lord.