Holidays always cause me to reminisce about childhood memories here at Gram's home. The excitement and sense of love and happiness permeated every corner of this lovely home. A few days before, we would begin cleaning and dusting the house. When Thanksgiving came, the good dishes came out of the hutch, the turkey was in the oven and knocks began at the door. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade would be in the background and we would all stop from time to time to watch the various floats go by (my favorite was Snoopy). In poured the family - aunts, uncles and cousins. It was not unusual for there to be twenty to thirty of us in the home as grandkids brought their own young children in latter years. We kids would find places to talk and play while the women rolled up their sleeves, smiling and sometimes giggling in the kitchen together. Grampy would be home from his annual 'hunting' trip (he was relentlessly ribbed by his hunting buddy's that he never once shot a deer), his big grin evident at the head of the table. Card tables were draped with tablecloths and pushed against the long dining room table, and we all finally sat down to pray and thank the Lord for family, friends, and another year together. After the meal, the football game was turned on and everyone lounged around the living room, some quietly playing games, others lost in conversation. It was serene and peaceful, and my young heart would nearly burst with joy at being with my family again.
Last Thanksgiving, a few of us remained around the table with my little Gram. How things had changed! Gram was tiny and frail and all of us kids were parents and some were grandparents themselves. Family times were now spent at other homes, with other traditions. I felt joy well up inside me as I looked around the table at the people I loved so dearly. Meredith, my daughter Shelli, and I were the ones in the kitchen. Paul and the boys spent time in the living room with Gram. Though things had changed so very much, there was a bond, with Gram at the center of our Thanksgiving. She had asked us all to write down four things we were thankful for. When Gram's turn came, she was thankful she was an American, as well as having lived a long, healthy life, and was very thankful for a new little great-grandson who was born on her birthday just a month prior. Our little band of eight bowed our heads in thankfulness to the Lord.
When Gram went to heaven in January, I knew things would change. I almost dreaded the holidays coming up. I didn't want things to change, and I still miss her so much! I figured the kids would go to their dad's and I could just sit on the couch with my bathrobe on, watching the Macy's parade. Little did I realize as the year unfolded, that God would bring friends and 'family' into my life in such an abundant way!
After Gram passed, I found a place to work in which I am able to bless the elderly every day! Though my physical limitations prevents me from doing the things I used to be able to do, I work for a family owned business which allows me to excel in other ways. Each life I am able to touch is a blessing to me! God brought Christian women into my workplace to encourage and bless the office just by walking through the door. Most mornings, we greet each other via text messaging and share an encouraging thought or a verse to start the day. My little girl is able to minister to the elderly in nursing homes regularly by singing, dancing, hugging and loving the dear people who sometimes have no one who cares. God brought amazing friends into our lives this year, in a way that has never happened in my prior 43 years!
Yes, I am still a struggling single mother. There are days which seem to flatten me physically and emotionally. I desperately miss my Gram and Grampy so much, especially when the bittersweet memories of days gone by crowd in around the holidays, but I am blessed beyond measure. All I have to do is look around me and see the blessings of new found friends and 'family', and I am brought to my knees in gratitude for the way the Lord has provided!
Grampy used to quote verses all day long. They were a comfort to me, and I never tired of listening to him. He was my hero, the love of my little life back then. Over time, as he quoted scripture in day-to-day conversation, they began to 'stick' in my heart. One verse which he quoted often comes to mind today as I look around in awe at all the Lord has done:
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Grampy used to describe this verse as a box of cereal. You can fill the box to the top, but if you shake it and press it down, you can add even more! Each time you shake and press, there is room for more and more blessings to be added! Imagine the blessings God has for you, pressed down, shaken together and running over!
It is almost time to start getting ready to go. I thought I might just putter around the house today with a pint of Ben and Jerry's and feel sorry for myself, but my 'family' wouldn't hear of it. We are going to a place of warm embraces and boundless love. The kids will hear laughter and fall on their pillows with wonderful memories etched in their minds. Memories that will comfort and bless them for years to come. It just doesn't get any better than that!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so very much for memories! Help us all to savor each moment we have with loved ones and friends, for these memories will be engraved in our minds to comfort us when life inevitably changes. May we not look back to the past as the 'best days', but may we look forward and delight in what is here and now. There are times I succumb to deep loneliness, wondering how anything will ever be the same again. I thank You for Your comfort in the valleys, and Your reminder that there will come a day when we will have a family reunion that will last forever! In Jesus' name...
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Don't Miss the Promises!
What has God asked you to do that you are putting off? That was the question posed by my pastor this morning from the pulpit as he relayed the message from the first chapter of Haggai. The children of Israel were building homes for themselves since returning from exile, yet their consensus was that it wasn't the right time to rebuild the temple. Though they were doing all the other right things, God's instruction was not their priority. "You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag of holes." (Haggai 1:6) And yet, "I am with you," says the Lord. (vs 13b)
I needed that message. I believe God has prompted, encouraged and made it clear to me to write about Him through many years of my life. When my heart is not right with God, I stop writing. It seems that nothing comes to me naturally in my times of drought. Since my writing is about my relationship with the Lord, it doesn't seem appropriate for me to ever put my thoughts down to share if I have not first approach Him in humble and earnest prayer. What's the cure for an arid, barren soul when creativity and joy elude me? Go back to the beginning - the first seeds of the dream and find out what has stolen my joy. Without fail, I can always trace my lack of motivation to something in my own heart that isn't right with my Savior.
I have been reading over and over again in the Old Testament about the Israelites straying from the Lord. He raised up prophets to bring warnings to them, and usually the warnings went hand in hand with an alternate promise for restoration and blessings as well. It all hinged on the choices they made next - not that "works" impress the Lord. There's nothing we can do in our lives to make Him love us any more than He does right now, and on the flip side, there's also nothing we can do to cause Him to love us any less. No, but the Israelite's actions in response to the prophets' warnings or blessing would reflect the condition of their hearts.
As I was reading this scenario repeatedly in the Old testament in my devotional time, I really wondered why the Children of Israel couldn't seem to get excited about the promises of God. At the same time, I have had to ask myself that same question. In my own life, when I get so overwhelmed with the immediate issues and needs in my own little world, I tend to skim over the blessings promised in the Bible, become hardened to them or worse - I secretly wonder if His blessings are for other, better people. I miss His love and grace all too often as I focus on my own achievements or lack therof as the catalyst for all that He has already offered to me in His Word. In reality, He is still living in me, with all the power of the Holy Spirit. When I secretly struggle with Him over control of my life, my ears become deaf to His love and promises - just like the Israelites.
Picture your Father, standing in front of you with a beautifully wrapped gift containing the thing He has personally chosen for you - something He knows will bring joy to your heart! Now picture Him as he watches you set the gift aside without unwrapping it to walk out the door with your head down because you know your relationship with Him has grown cold! The promises are still as bright, but your heavy heart has made you indifferent and distant.
So the question is - what has God asked you to do that you aren't doing? More importantly - why aren't you? I'm so thankful that I receive the blessings that come from obedience to His prompting when I sit down to write! Writing is not only a gift God has so graciously given to me, wrapped up in the beauty of His love - it is also a gift I can give back to Him! When I can meditate on His promises as I pray for grace to obey, I am whole. You have a purpose that is unique to you, and it is a gift from the Lord. Go back to the beginning and find that joyous seed in your soul. Remember the dream placed in your heart long ago that just won't die? Dust yourself off, take hold of His hand and allow Him to breathe His promise to never leave you as He equips you to do the thing He created you for. What are you waiting for?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for your promises. May I never allow the noise, worry or frustration of sin to drown out Your gently whispered promises. When You chose to describe Yourself in one word, You chose the word love. Please help me to remember that You, in your lovingkindness and mercy, have drawn me to You. Though I will never comprehend the depth and height, width or breadth, please keep my heart soft and my ears open to all You have to say to me. Please help us all to put aside whatever hinders, open our ears to Your calling, embrace the gifts You are offering, and then offer them back to you as we seek to do Your will. In Jesus name...
I needed that message. I believe God has prompted, encouraged and made it clear to me to write about Him through many years of my life. When my heart is not right with God, I stop writing. It seems that nothing comes to me naturally in my times of drought. Since my writing is about my relationship with the Lord, it doesn't seem appropriate for me to ever put my thoughts down to share if I have not first approach Him in humble and earnest prayer. What's the cure for an arid, barren soul when creativity and joy elude me? Go back to the beginning - the first seeds of the dream and find out what has stolen my joy. Without fail, I can always trace my lack of motivation to something in my own heart that isn't right with my Savior.
I have been reading over and over again in the Old Testament about the Israelites straying from the Lord. He raised up prophets to bring warnings to them, and usually the warnings went hand in hand with an alternate promise for restoration and blessings as well. It all hinged on the choices they made next - not that "works" impress the Lord. There's nothing we can do in our lives to make Him love us any more than He does right now, and on the flip side, there's also nothing we can do to cause Him to love us any less. No, but the Israelite's actions in response to the prophets' warnings or blessing would reflect the condition of their hearts.
As I was reading this scenario repeatedly in the Old testament in my devotional time, I really wondered why the Children of Israel couldn't seem to get excited about the promises of God. At the same time, I have had to ask myself that same question. In my own life, when I get so overwhelmed with the immediate issues and needs in my own little world, I tend to skim over the blessings promised in the Bible, become hardened to them or worse - I secretly wonder if His blessings are for other, better people. I miss His love and grace all too often as I focus on my own achievements or lack therof as the catalyst for all that He has already offered to me in His Word. In reality, He is still living in me, with all the power of the Holy Spirit. When I secretly struggle with Him over control of my life, my ears become deaf to His love and promises - just like the Israelites.
Picture your Father, standing in front of you with a beautifully wrapped gift containing the thing He has personally chosen for you - something He knows will bring joy to your heart! Now picture Him as he watches you set the gift aside without unwrapping it to walk out the door with your head down because you know your relationship with Him has grown cold! The promises are still as bright, but your heavy heart has made you indifferent and distant.
So the question is - what has God asked you to do that you aren't doing? More importantly - why aren't you? I'm so thankful that I receive the blessings that come from obedience to His prompting when I sit down to write! Writing is not only a gift God has so graciously given to me, wrapped up in the beauty of His love - it is also a gift I can give back to Him! When I can meditate on His promises as I pray for grace to obey, I am whole. You have a purpose that is unique to you, and it is a gift from the Lord. Go back to the beginning and find that joyous seed in your soul. Remember the dream placed in your heart long ago that just won't die? Dust yourself off, take hold of His hand and allow Him to breathe His promise to never leave you as He equips you to do the thing He created you for. What are you waiting for?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for your promises. May I never allow the noise, worry or frustration of sin to drown out Your gently whispered promises. When You chose to describe Yourself in one word, You chose the word love. Please help me to remember that You, in your lovingkindness and mercy, have drawn me to You. Though I will never comprehend the depth and height, width or breadth, please keep my heart soft and my ears open to all You have to say to me. Please help us all to put aside whatever hinders, open our ears to Your calling, embrace the gifts You are offering, and then offer them back to you as we seek to do Your will. In Jesus name...
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