Father you know we mamas are creatures who crave constancy not change. When it comes to our children, our hearts are troubled by the trials of transition. Tis the season of approaching change, God. Soon our babies will be starting kindergarten, entering high school, arriving for their senior year and launching off to college. As our lives are fluctuating, and our familiar becomes foreign, our normal becomes new and our usual becoming unknown, it feels like permanent pieces of our lives will be changed forever. They will never be as they were again. It is the dying of a chapter that is so deeply rooted and known that it is painful to imagine how life will look moving forward. We are challenged to hold gently and fondly to what was so that we may courageously embrace what now is. Give us the grace to be more than conquerors in all these circumstances of change, Father. May the faith that lives in our hearts be bigger than the fear that lurks in our minds. Bless our children. Insulate each and every one of them from head to toe under your wing of protection. Remind us mamas that we have raised or children to run with determination not retreat in doubt. There will be trails, and there will be triumphs. May we all remember that disguised in all our disappointments are Your Appointments. Give us the grace to not look for life somewhere under the sun, but in someone above it-You, Lord Jesus. Amen
Tag: courage
He Chose Life For Us
This is heavy on my heart this morning and I believe God calls us to be courageous about our convictions. I know I have friends who will disagree. I am not asking for a debate or argument. I am not endorsing a party, but a person—Jesus Christ. I do respect your right to have your own opinion. That being said, I have been very bothered by a statement I heard in the VP debate the other night. Having the right to choose to terminate the life of a baby is no different than having the right to choose to take the life of a person walking down the street. As a country do we believe ALL lives matter or just the convenient ones? We are all orphans adopted by a merciful and loving Father. I am so thankful He chose life for me! Jeremiah 1:5 ~“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.”
The Party of Our Master, Not Man
We can choose to fuel the loud, petty noise of the world or we can commit to fold our hands in prayer for the faith of Abraham, the convictions of Daniel, the courage of David, the peace of James, and the joy of a father whose prodigal son has returned home. Circumstances either reveal or re-make us.
Father in such a time of chaos, hypocrisy, untruths and high emotions, let us put aside the fruition of our agendas and embrace being one over being offended. May we respect the opinion of each of our brothers and sisters while realizing that we can choose the need to be right or respectable.
Entitlement is fueling anger and tensions among our people. May we put off the lie that we deserve, (fill in the blank), and put on an attitude of, what can I do for you rather than what you should be doing for me.
May all the anger, unrest, and dissension be eased with our remembrance that you are on the throne every day. You take no vacations, and you do not rest. You are at work even when we cannot see or understand the commotion swirling around us. Please let us be motivated to encourage and engage one another peacefully.
Above all, Jesus, we represent your party and your platform. May we remember the virtues and characteristics of your master vision for America, not man’s. Amen.
Hope Survives Where Happiness Does Not
It takes great courage, faith, and intentionality to feel the grief of our cross while anticipating the gifts of its resurrection. To feel the burden without hope of the blessing is a victory for the opportunistic enemy who since the Garden of Eden wants us to believe that God is holding out on us. We must resist feeding our minds on his lethal fruit, and feast on The Bread of Life. It is one thing to believe, but an entirely different thing to LIVE as we profess to believe. Our walk must be congruent with our talk. Self-congruence does not mean we are happy all the time, (that is not the gospel), but hopeful, yes! Hope survives where happiness does not. You are loved.
Courage Part Two
COURAGE
noun:
the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
Heavily hearted, I sat at my desk attempting to type words of support for a first time, expecting mama. Her rejoicing had collided with a reality no parent wants to hear. Still innocently nestled in her womb, her tiny one is facing circumstances aching for miracles.
Seemingly hollow words besieged me, as I typed. I sensed the inadequacy of my message in proportion to her pain. I hit send with a lump in my throat and an ache in my heart. She promptly responded; my heart blessed beyond measure by the fortitude of her faith.
As I read her message, dressed in bravery, it occurred to me that trials are often the display windows through which we view God’s character modeled by His people. I have many times witnessed the process of grief unleashing the grace of God in piercing places. Here it presented again, and as it often happens, I ended up the one being blessed by her witness.
It is only when we live with the God of the Universe as our true north that we can endure the pain of this word with such conviction. Her words: “Our upmost prayer is that her little life, no matter how long or short will glorify the Lord. He is already using her, and we pray that He continues to do so.” That is COURAGE, friends! #PrayForAnnieRuth
Courage
Still young in her years; a beautiful mind but bruised body from fighting the cancer she has wrestled far too long. Without adequate explanation, something was undeniably prompting me to ask her the difficult question. Maybe I needed to know she was okay? I suppose I was searching for an ounce of self-comfort, too. Not expecting such brave, candor, I leaned into my fear and asked, “Are you afraid?” “You mean to die, she asked?” “Yes,” I replied with an awkward hesitancy. “Not anymore. “I had a dream not too long ago and God told me everything was going to be alright. I have not been afraid since then.” I am ready to go. I cannot do much in this body anymore. I can do a lot more good as an angel than I can down here.”
She could have understandably complained. Her circumstances are grueling, but she demonstrated to me that God’s grace is sufficient even in the most sorrowful places.
And that friends, is Courage worthy of being honored!
Embracing Transparency
Embracing transparency frees us from a life of isolation, and the exhaustion of trying to appear like we have it all together. Transparency is contagious and liberating because it gives others permission to be “normal.” We need to walk this beautifully, broken life with each other well. I cannot do that if am not willing to give up my need to manage what people think of me, and to have an appearance of an “altogether” life. We are all only accountable to One. He accepts us just as we are-broken.
The Life Is Not the Last Chapter
I am as inadequate to the world as the world is to me, and when we learn that is as it was designed to be, that is GRACE.
Thankfully this life is not the last chapter. As it is now is not how it will end. For those who have resigned to their insufficiency and submitted to belief in a sufficient God the story ends differently. Our temporary life concludes with an abolishment of pain, suffering, evil, fighting and discontent. These things, the broken things, are all around us and seemingly more prolific every day.
Life isn’t fair, and on the surface of many circumstances God seems an unjust God. That is the treasure of the Bible, however. God’s word warns us of it all, injustices of every kind. Just as we have been apprised of the tragedies of this life so have we been promised a great trust in the next.
The last chapter is ironically the beginning. The beginning of a life free from a world imbued with pain and suffering. We have this great hope, friends. By grace for all those who have believed through faith and not of our own adequacy, (Ephesians 2:8), the crown is ours.
The story has a beautiful ending free of tears and tragedies. The story ends with a new beginning. A beginning that has no ending and cast amidst perfect peace and triumphant joy. Our hope is not here in this frail and fleeting place. For that, we may all rejoice!
Breaking Bondage
Transparency is the breaking of bondage that bridges someone from thinking I am an anomaly to I am not alone. May we all be bold enough to share it and blessed enough to receive it.
Good Company
If you are suffering today, remember the lives of Jesus, Naomi, Job… If you have been waiting a long time for something, remember Abraham, Sarah, Moses…You are never alone in your pause or your pain. We can not always choose our position, but absolutely our perspective! Be of good courage friends, and never loose hope.