“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
When you see the evil in the world, turn to God.
It is difficult to write today. My heart continues to break for the children and two teachers that were gunned down yesterday at an elementary school in Texas. When I read this morning that the gunman, just a child himself, only barricaded himself in one classroom, I think about the horror experienced in the hearts and minds of the children and teachers. The children didn’t have time to process it. The teachers, like myself, are precisely trained from the beginning of our education on how to protect the children in our classrooms… the best that we can.
I believe this morning, every parent around the world hugged their child a little longer before they sent them off to school. Some, like myself, hesitated in even sending their child to school. But we can’t let evil and Satan rule.
Now, more than ever, we must address the mental health issues and spiritual issues that fuel these tragedies.
There are no words that we can say to the parents and families right now. We can only pray for them. The gut-wrenching loss will take decades to cope with. Even the families who lost loved ones in previous, unimaginable shootings, will grieve anew again.
But in all tragedies, we can turn to the Lord for hope and peace. I know from the tragedies in my own life that only the comfort of God can give peace in the middle of substantial loss. It is a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). It is the peace that gives you courage to take another step, to keep going on when all seems lost.
This unsurpassed peace… it is possible… it is paramount… it is Providential.
To all parents that have lost children… prodigal children, death because of illness, death because of evil… hold on, hope on, Jesus is coming soon.
Dear God,
We cry out to you from the innermost parts of our soul. The evil that happens around the world is sometimes too much to fathom. You understand. You too lost a child. Unspeakable evil happened to Him. Yet, because of His resurrection, we too can have hope as we will see our precious loved ones again. In the meantime, Lord, fill us with Your perfect peace. Comfort those who are mourning deeply. Convict the hearts of the authorities who can correct the laws that we have. Convict the churches, Lord, to reach out – not shame, those who are mentally and emotionally struggling.
We asked this in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen
Two times Hagar was mistreated. First, she was mistreated and ran away on her own choice. But when the angel of the LORD found her, she called Him, EL ROI – the God who sees. The second time she was mistreated she was sent away. She felt hopeless and believed that she and her son would die in the desert. The angel of the LORD visited again, because God “heard the voice” of her son. Have you ever been wrongly mistreated? One time? Two times? Too many times to count? Hagar and many others around the world understand. But Hagar realized in both visits that not only does God see what is going on in her life, and your life, God also hears your prayers, your whispers, your cries, and the moments when you have no words to speak.
I am a visual learner so I like to post notes around my home as daily reminders. I’ve put in several places signs that say, “EL ROI -YOU ARE THE GOD WHO SEES ME.” As I pondered on those words, my heart was gratefully encouraged. I don’t have to tell God every bad thing that happened to me. He knows. His heart breaks when His children are mistreated or suffering. However, I was convicted that God sees the wrong that I do… neglecting or ignoring the needs of others, speaking an unkind word, showing disapproval with my negative body language, giving a disdainful look, or just failing to show empathy to those I meet. God is not a dictator who points His finger at you and shames you when you do something wrong. God brings those things to your mind, so that He can lovingly change you to be Christlike.
I know that you are thinking, If God knows that I am being mistreated or suffering, why doesn’t He do anything about it?
I hear your pain. I don’t have all of the answers. I only know that some things happen because of sin in the world, some things happen because of previous choices that I have made. I do know this… I have years of experience of suffering. I can honestly look back and see where God has brought comfort to me when I turned to Him, or used what I learned to help others find hope.
Be encouraged my friend. God sees you, God hears you, God loves you.
Dear Lord,
It brings me peace and joy to be reminded that You see all things and You know all things. Remind me of Your love when I doubt Your presence. Show me how to rise above my circumstances. When the physcial or emotional pain seems umbearable help me to find comfort in Your Word. And Lord, as You see and hear me, give me eyes and ears for others, so that I can share the comfort and healing that You have given me. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
What is so special about Wednesday? According to the famous children’s poem, “Wednesday’s child is full of woe.” Many people covet Wednesdays. For the workforce that works Monday through Friday, they sometimes refer to Wednesday as hump day. The anticipation is like opening an unknown bonus check. According to Merriam-Webster, hump day was first used in 1959. That is the year I was born, and I was born on a Wednesday!
However, in reality, most weekends seem like a continuation of work, cleaning a house, yard work, running errands, or taking your children to sports events. Possibly, Sundays are more restful, or should be, God said,
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God…” (Exodus 20:8).
Other than the blog and writing the book, I wanted to add something else. I wanted to add a splash of encouragement for the middle of the week. I am introducing Wednesday’s Ripples beginning Wednesday, May 18th.
Mental health issues have accelerated. The only person and truth you can rely on one hundred percent is God. Discouraged, depressed, disconnected, distracted, debilitated is how a large percentage of America is walking through each day.
I want to infuse hope in you. No matter what you are going through, earth-shaking as it may be, as long as you have breath, you have hope.
I love this photo that I found and use on the main page of the blog. To me, it is the perfect image of how to turn adversity, waves of trials, into waves of gratitude.
According to Wikipedia, Rogue waves (also known as freak waves, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) are unusually large, unpredictable and suddenly appearing surface that can be extremely dangerous.
Does that sound like something going on in your life?
Unusually large… unpredictable… suddenly appearing… possibly life threatening?
I’ve been there. I’m there right now.
However, look at the wave in the photo, when the wave hits the rock… it bursts upward.
A rock can be negative… hitting a wall, nowhere to turn, landing on the bottom hard…
Or… on the positive side, you can look to the ROCK.
“I Love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. My God, my rock in whom I take refuge;…” (Psalm 18:1-2a).
“Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 71:3).
“He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 62:6).
“Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be to me a rock of strength, a stronghold to save me” (Psalm 31:2).
“There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You. Nor is there any rock like our God” (1Samuel 2:2).
If you turn to the LORD in the moment of your need, heartbreak, disappointment, or grief, He will be with you. You can turn your devastation into praise and watch how God will work through you, and give you joy amid the loss.
I want to encourage you. Like a ripple, breath in and out, be calm among the tumultuous waves. You can have peace through the chaos. God said, “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trust in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in God the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock”.
Ashley Judd recently shared about dealing with grief over the death of her mother. She said, “There’s a miracle, but there’s footwork. I’m in the footwork department. God is in the results department.”
When tragedy hits you, you won’t find lasting peace in your own will. Give it to someone stronger and higher than you.
I hope to give you a ripple of encouragement from God’s Word. Something to meditate on, ask yourself questions about, breath in and out. God’s Word always turns the worst to worship. Then watch the wave of your peace ripple into your family, your friends, your world, and your life.
I have been meditating frequently regarding the recent death of a singer. Years ago, this singer experienced an illness that kept her from performing. She was severely depressed because what brought her joy was singing and bringing joy to others.
I understand her feelings more now than ever.
When I was in Asia, it brought me great joy to orchestrate and complete outreaches and special programs for children in the villages. I also loved planning educational services for children with special needs, and for their parents, who desperately needed help. I don’t know which brought me more joy, the children’s reactions or the revelation of the teachers and other professionals that I trained.
I loved planning, training, and teaching. Each successful event, by the grace of God, fueled me, and the flames grew for me to continue.
Like opening the windows in an old abandoned cabin, confidence and understanding in the children infused the room full of radiance, smiles, and joy both from the children and their teachers.
I equally loved working in the horrific Red-Light district. Women and children learned that someone really cared about them.
Interlaced through that, I would plan and present seminars educating churches in Asia concerning special needs children that were neglected, and ways the audience could be involved in advocacy against human trafficking, even being involved in intervention of human trafficking.
I then did the same in churches and in seminar venues in the U.S. and Canada.
The ministry is something I miss a lot. Not being able to reach out to children in poor villages makes me sad. I miss traveling and speaking and training others. Bringing joy to others would bring joy to me.
Living back in the U.S. for three and a half years, I no longer get to do those ministries for various reasons. I feel the singer’s sadness and loss.
On top of the loss of ministry, I lost three people very close to me…
A counselor and dear friend.
A mentor, advisor, and dear friend.
A sister.
Now, I am a single mom with a special needs son. I have been having major health issues the past couple of years… add to that the accident almost two months ago now that has still left me dealing with the results of the concussion and physical injuries.
This morning as I was thinking about the singer’s death and praying for her family, I started thinking about something I have known for years, but haven’t focused on or practiced daily since my return to this side of the world.
We do not find genuine joy in who we are and what we do. We find authentic, everlasting joy from having salvation and fellowship with Jesus.
We can lose everything and still have everything with Jesus.
Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him” (Job 13:15/NKJV).
Habakkuk believed,
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills” (Habakkuk 3:17-19/NKJV).
Even though I am not doing all that I wish, I am content as I am where I am because it is God’s perfect plan for this season of my life. So I hold on to Jesus, regardless of the pain, loss, and tears. I hope to continue to write not only for this blog but also the book, bringing hope and healing to those who feel there is no hope, and nowhere to turn.
When I think of how the Lord has been with me and all that God has provided for me and my son for the past three and a half years… I trust Him and hold on.
You too should trust Him. Amid heartache, health issues, loss, confusion, unanswered questions, and having to wait, and wait, and wait…
Hold on… Jesus is holding you, no matter what you are experiencing.
Hold on to Jesus amid the storms.
Hold on to Jesus even in the losses.
Hold on to Jesus when the waves come crashing down upon you.
Lift those waves of heartbreak into waves of praise.
And then listen… God is whispering to you too.
P.S. A dear friend shared a special song with me the other day. Here are a couple of versions.
I haven’t written for over two months… for good reason.
Weather forecasters can give us weather updates daily and alert us when potential storms are coming in. Not so with real life storms that hit us without warning.
One of my sisters has had some serious health issues over the past several years. She has had good days. But within one 24-hour period, several weeks ago, her vitals dropped dramatically, and she was gone to heaven. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
I could not see her. We were trying hard to work our schedules together but fell short of making it happen. I remember weeping intensly. Out of the five siblings, we had always been the closest. I was told years ago that she raised me for the first five years of my life. My mother lived in a black hole in clinical depression and suicidal attempts. I do not remember this sister being with me much at home. She was nine years older and left home when she was fifteen. I vaguely remember her occasional visits. I must have loved her deeply as a small child, because I remember weeping lavishly and clinging to her when her visits ended.
After high school graduation, I hastened to the big city to be near her. We felt blessed with ten years of close communion, having long talks, and sharing laughs and serious conversations. I not only had time with her, but with her precious girls as well. I watched the girls at home frequently.
After I was married, our conversations came through phone calls and emails. We could have only a few brief, in-person visits.
Now, there will be no more conversations on this side of heaven.
My son and I traveled 800 miles to attend her funeral. We spent a couple of days with the family and then loaded up the car for our trip home. Only thirty minutes into our trip, on a five-lane highway in morning-busy traffic, a driver lost control of their car and smashed into us.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the car coming across the highway sideways. Something or SOMEONE urged me to turn a little left. The sound of crunching metal made me realize the driver had hit us. That, and the scream of my son in the back seat. I thought it was only a second, but it must have been a few minutes when the officer came to my side window. I immediately looked in the back seat to see my special needs son, gratefully, sitting upright, and not crying. A quick view of us both comforted me we had no broken bones or lacerations. Adrenaline and mother mode kicked in and the officers and I quickly planned how to get my autistic son from our totaled car into a police car, on the busy highway, without him going into shock or him screaming and running into the traffic.
Many thought it was a horrible thing for God to allow us to be involved in this accident just briefly after we had said goodbye to my sister. But God was taking care of us!
Miraculously, we walked from a totaled car with no broken bones or lacerations!
If I hadn’t slowed down and given a slight turn to the left towards the medium, the car could have hit my side or could have hit the back side where my son sat. God also gave me the strength to drive the 800 miles home while feeling effects of the accident, because I knew if my son needed medical care, his doctors at home would be best.
Now, four weeks after the accident, my son has recovered from the bangs and bruises he experienced. I am still seeing a concussion therapist and physical therapist weekly.
My son and I have experienced many losses, disappointments, health issues, and frustrations over the past three years since returning to the U.S. Most would see the accident as one trial too many. But I look at things differently because of God’s faithfulness over my lifetime.
So, what do you do when you are a single mom, with a special needs son living in a new area with no child care, and experiencing daily severe pain, while also helping your son recover from injuries and trauma? What do you do when the car that was totaled was so old that you knew the money wouldn’t replace it, and you had no means to buy another car? You pray, and you trust a faithful Father who has met your needs without fail. Granted, there are many things that we have been without, and many times we have struggled, but God has never abandoned us.
And God did just what I believed He would do…
Go back with me to the week after my sister died.
I was desperately looking for someone to care for our two-year-old ESA lab. She had been with us since she was four months old and never boarded. I checked out a few kennels, but knowing her attachment to my son, I imagined she would be miserable in a kennel. I received a referral concerning a couple that boarded dogs at their home. Even though I didn’t know them, I checked a reference, prayed, and dropped her off on our way out of state. I didn’t have any choice.
The care given to our lab while we were gone was the greatest. I even received photos of how happy she was. The pet sitter and I had connected because we had similar things in common, like adoption and special needs children.
A couple of days later, when we returned home in our rental car, the wife texted me and said that she and her husband had decided on donating their older minivan to us. Only God could have orchestrated us meeting them!
The more I have had significant losses or trials, the clearer I have seen God’s hand in my life. Many people, at the beginning of each new year, ask God to give them one word to meditate on and live by for the year. I felt God gave me two words and have meditated on them both:
Boldly – confidently and courageously show a willingness to take risks.
Prevailed – Be victorious!
A friend recently shared that she had prayed that God would give her courage to stay the course. We all need to pray that prayer hourly! In a Bible verse she shined light on a word I hadn’t noticed before.
“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51/NIV). In another version it says: He was determined. Don’t you want to be determined about who you are in Christ in your character, your actions, and your ideas and beliefs? I do!
Recently, we had a tornado warning in our area. My son was at school and had to join his classmates in a shelter. In danger, we run for safety. In the same way, when we are experiencing a life storm, we want to run and hide. It is easy to put on a headset, turn on our computers, and browse through social media, or imagine ourselves in scenes of a movie, trying to not think of what is happening in our lives.
I have seen more of God’s hand at work in my life in the heartbreaking death of my sister and more of His provision and loving care in the accident and what has followed. Yes, I miss my sister, but I WILL see her again. Yes, I am in pain, and yes, I cannot work right now. This, too, shall pass. But what I have experienced in seeing God through all of this has brought me joy-even in the storm.
“Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea— the Lord on high is mighty”(Psalm 93:4/NIV).Stronger than the waves that you feel are crashing down upon you. The LORD is mightier, and He will never leave you or forsake you.
I believe the Lord allows trials to pile up on us so that we can grieve and empty ourselves so He can fill us with Himself.
Marshall Segal, of Desiring God, said this, “Do the promises that Christ will come again ever feel sweeter than when life on earth feels harsh and unyielding?”
Have you contemplated the same thought? Is it amazing to you how you survived some of life’s obstacles and tragedies? Have you experienced adventures you never would have dreamed of?
Faithful pray from the previous generation is the only way I can explain how I survived coming from a legacy of alcoholism, clinical depression, and poverty. It is only possible through the efficacy of prayer and the grace of God that a little girl, rejected, and thought of as stupid and worthless, decades later, would become a teacher, travel the world alone, have public speaking opportunities, train others in education and trauma, excel in higher studies, and given the blessed prividedge of raising an abandoned special-needs child.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (emphasis added, James 1:17).
Only through prayer and the grace and power of God.
I believe I know my prayer warrior… my great-great grandmother, Priscilla.
In 2014, one of my assignments for a psychology class was to discuss my family heritage and the generational effect on me.
Let’s see…. my mom… and my dad… and… finished! I possessed limited knowledge of our history. My grandparents died before I was born. I never knew them. My mother was undescriptive about her father and mother. My father never mentioned his parents… let alone his grandparents.
There were sometimes rumors about having an Indian or Irish heritage, but with no validation.
My professor encouraged me to try one of the many genealogy sites. That assignment inspired my life. I joined a “search your family tree” site, and with hopeful anticipation, typed in the search bar with what diminutive information I knew.
The same astonishing excitement as when my foster child became my son came rippling up inside of me. I shrieked, tears flowing down my face.
I HAVE A HISTORY!!!
Another sojourner who was in search of family truth, next to the line, had already discovered some treasured gold. There, before my eyes… names, a place, a heritage!
Endearingly granted, I know that my real heritage lies in Christ.
“And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17).
But here on earth, treading the path before me, were my great-great grandparents, William and Priscilla, from… somewhere near Belfast, Ireland! I have searched periodically to find pieces of the puzzle. Only known, they arrived in America in 1866. Where they came from, where they came to, I do not know… but somehow, over time, weaved their way to southern Indiana.
Priscilla bravely survived the Great Irish Famine, boldly endured the coffin ship with three small children, and she would have four more children in America. She somehow extraordinarily overcame rejection and poverty, loss of her homeland, and everything which was once familiar and dear to her. Yet, she miraculously persevered until she was 81.
I had the blessed opportunity to visit the area where the family lived in southern Indiana; I walked the same streets they did, walked past the wool factory the family worked at (now a high school), and visited the church Priscilla was a member of, although this church had burned to the ground three times! My heart rejoiced in discovering the headstone of Priscilla and William. As I sat there and prayed and reflected on their life, I felt God’s presence.
Something happened though… somewhere along the generation, the family forgot about God. It was my eldest sister, though, who convinced my mom to attend a church when I was approximately five years old. I accepted Jesus in my life when I was eight. That decision was the secure foundation that would protect and hold me together through decades of abuse and loss.
I strongly believe that Priscilla’s bold faith in an omniscient God sustained her for her lifetime. I know my faith, wavering occasionally, has taken me on journeys I would never have dreamed of in my younger days of poverty and heartbreak.
If you read through Exodus in the Bible, you will find how God miraculously saved the Israelites and provided for them continually. Yet, they would forget multiple times and complain to God. I can never forget how God not only saved me eternally, but saved my physical life, not once, but three times, if not more, times that I am unaware of. Still, I am not perfect. I have had my inconstant share of doubt.
These are the reasons God says to record what He has done. Write it down! Tell others! Our memories are unnerving!
In Deuteronomy, Moses taught the commandments of God to the people and reminded them, “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (6:7, 9).
Lest you forget.
It is essential to instruct our children on the commands and promises of God, modeling them in our everyday life.
Lest they forget.
It is of paramount importance to record and share the faithful stories of God in our lives.
Lest we forget.
Most significantly, we must fervently pray for our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, neighborhood children, and those not even born yet.
My devotion is to continue a beautiful legacy of praying for generations to come.
Father God,
We entrust our children in dedicated prayer to You. This generation, and the generation yet to come.
Save Your children by Your grace.
Draw them closely to You.
Safeguard them.
Illuminate their path.
If they should wander from the chosen path, realign their steps.
If they lean toward sinful choices, convict their hearts.
Help them to be disciplined, persistent, and run the race with endurance.
Help them to live with a grateful heart, rejoicing always.
Help them to love You with all of their heart, soul, and mind, and love others above themselves.
Help them to be pure and holy, as You are holy.
Guide them in Your word, in prayer time with You, listening for the calling that You have for them.
Where are you hovering right now? What is your typical discontent?
My common unstudied thought in my early thirties was, I wish I would have… but now I am too old.
Someone unexpectedly strengthened me. I went to college in my late thirties and became a teacher.
God inspired me using inspiring speakers. I visited Haiti, Peru, and finally moved to India in my mid-forties.
Awareness of my circumstances curiously counseled me. I went back to school for a degree in psychology in my early fifties.
God has instilled dreams in my heart, above and beyond my imagination, now in the sixth decade of my life. I still have breath, I can still dream.
I am no different from you. I have the same unsteady baggage from the past, insecurities about myself physically and intellectually, financial strain, and the life-infused hardships of daily living.
Sometimes – I still stress eat… sit when I should walk… watch videos when I should read God’s word and pray… yell at my son… buy what I don’t need… you can fill in the blank with your own personal journey.
It’s still January! There is still time to set new goals, to challenge yourself, to do what you have only dreamed of. Honestly… living your dreams doesn’t have to begin in January. Any day is a new day to start all over.
But wait… I don’t know how to do that! I don’t have those skills. I am not sure if God wants me to do that. There is so much going on right now! And the big question? What if I fail? It takes courage to pursue any step.
You may have started and stopped. Tried, and failed. But defeated, never!
Before you move forward on your passion and dream for the world, are you?
Anxiously waiting for the world crisis to end? It’s not happening. However, you can improve the world by the contribution you make with your time, talent, and dream. There is invariably hope.
Languishing first for a long-lost relative to leave you loads of loot? Sadly, that probably won’t happen either.
Are you waiting for the kids to graduate from high school or college?
Eager for the bills to be paid first?
Counting on??
I know, you believe if God wants you to do something specific, He will send someone to suggest you take a specific path. That has only happened once to me in my life. I thought their suggestion was insane! Turns out, it was what God wanted me to do.
You might think God will unexpectedly send down lightning, powerfully speak to you through a burning bush, or meticulously write the plan on the wall. Some days, I wish the answers were that clear! If any of those things happened, though, I would go hide in a closet! If God spoke in that magnitude, I know that I would have to listen and obey!
God whispers to us quietly. You have heard him speak.
Close your eyes…
Rested by the ocean, a gentle breeze blows and a ripple wave flows across the sand.
Meandering through the woods, a fragrance of pine, a flutter of a butterfly, or a flicker of light silently sprays through the trees.
A stranger walks up to you, expresses a smile and a kind word.
A newscast or Facebook posting causes tears to trickle down your face and something stirs your heart to make a difference
God is speaking to you.
Sometimes, He just uses His word to reach you.
My Sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; (John 10:27).
So then, faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3).
It’s time for you to be brave… arise… take courage… and go for the dream that God put on your heart. You are never too old. Remember 5 d’s moving on:
Discernment – realistic in your eyes but unimaginable in God’s eyes – judge well.
For many, that is impossible. There are houses to decorate, family dinners to plan, gifts to buy, children’s school vacations to prepare for, church events, yearly letters to write, travel plans to make, and Christmas cards to send. For some, that is all the ingredients with no recipe. For others, it is a well thought out, step-by-step recipe to make a glorious final product, called Christmas. Whichever method you use, it is all chaotic.
This December, I did a mental refocus and tried to take more moments to let my mind rest. To meditate more, ponder more, pray more.
Trust me, there were still many moments of insanity! The chaotic days as a single mom with a special needs child – endless doctor appointments, health issues, fighting for rights with schools and medical care, endless paperwork and phone calls… “Please hold for the next available agent, you are now 20th in line. Your approximate wait time is twelve hours.” Okay, a little melodramatic.
I was also still sending resumes and introduction letters, not-so-patiently praying, waiting for someone to acknowledge the education, experience, and skills of this senior, single parent. Praise God, after three years – a final, perfect match!
There were also my health issues. Twenty-five years of chronic pain, I had managed. This new, sleepless nights, can’t walk-stand-sit, intense pain for the last year, has been a new adventure. The endless blood tests, exams, x-rays. Then changes in doctors because of insurance regulations, incompetent professionals, and several cancellations and reschedules because of life, has been tedious.
Amid all these things, I wanted to refocus my mind. Not to take away from the transcendent celebration of the birth of our Savior with its eternal glorification, but to stop the mind’s battle… my mind’s battle.
Countless pastors have spoken about the battle of the mind and its consequences. Pastor Rick Warren wrote in his chapter The Battle for Your Mind, “It is the battle for your mind, and that battle is vicious. It is intense. It is unrelenting, and it is unfair because Satan never plays fair. And the reason why it is so intense is that your greatest asset is your mind.”
How many times do you let your thoughts take control of your feelings?
Comparison
Worry
Doubt
Confusion
Hate
Fear
Guilt
Discontent
Resentment
Arrogance
Bitterness
Worthlessness
Regret
What about times that you think someone is misjudging you? Criticizing you? We can spend hours, even days, caught up in the four walls of the battle of our minds.
I don’t want to live there anymore!!
There was a sermon by Pastor Louie Giglio and at the end, he felt led by God to speak words of truth to those suffering mentally by cruelty said about them or done to them. His words of wisdom? Let it go!
Simply… let it go.
Painless, yet painful.
For years, I dwelled on the malicious words that my mother spoke to me all of my life. I forgave her because one, clinical depression was genetic on the maternal side, and two, she was retaliating from her own inner pain. I did not want that legacy to continue. Have I altogether forgotten those words? No, but I measure them to their value, which is none. Our true values are not about what someone says about us or thinks of us. Our true value comes from what God thinks about us and says about us.
You cannot change the past. You cannot give back the hurtful words said about you or the harmful things done to you. Sometimes you don’t have the strength to do that – I get it! That is when you give it to God and ask Him to remove those painful memories from you or for Him to show you how to make purpose out of the piercing.
But you can manage your mentality! If you know Christ, focus on Him and how He values you.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast (unwavering), because they trust in Him (God)” (Isaiah 26:3).
” Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (Isaiah 46:4).
“Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me” (Isaiah 49:16b-17).
“For you formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:13-14).
Tomorrow is a new day, a new year! Impress on your mind, “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
When the waves of ridicule, rejection, regret, and remorse come crashing into your mind, let it go – for your peace of mind, and ultimately for God’s glory.
These sometimes crippling devastations come without warning.
Oceanographers measure waves to monitor oncoming tsunamis. The unanticipated soul serene on the beach is unaware of the powerful wave getting ready to crash into them.
Almost a year ago, the Lord gave me the phrase, “Waves of Gratitude.” I knew precisely what its meaning was personally, however, I could not elegantly express its meaning in words to anyone else. Other than the daily ministry of making Christ’s love known, God wanted me to practice gratitude in all circumstances daily.
I fondly treasure symbols. More than once, I snuggled rocks in between my clothes in my suitcases internationally because I experienced a soul-satisfying moment with the Lord on a distant beach and the perfectly picked-out rock would stand as a stone of remembrance.
The ocean brings me exceeding joy. To me, it represents the greatness of God. Above the ocean for five hours on my first trip to Hawaii, although a little scary, gave tremendous comprehension to “grasp how wide, how long, and how deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18). I could sit on the beach for hours meditating and talking with God.
Ocean and waves can have a negative characterization. For instance, there are rogue waves,
Freak or killer waves, extreme storm waves, greater than twice the size of surrounding waves and very unpredictable. They often come unexpectedly from directions other than prevailing wind and waves. (Noaa.gov)
Some view waves cascading down upon them, like the trials of life. Waves in the middle of the ocean seem harmless until they surge and gain strength. I want to train myself, and therefore share with you the practice of turning the waves of tragedy into waves of gratitude and praise.
Waves rise to a crest and then fall into a trough.
You have been in the trough before… the wave collided with you. You are on the bottom grasping to hook on to something stable. Guttural cries of pain come from deep within your soul over the loss of a child, cancer, finding out your spouse has cheated or left, financial debt, broken dreams, or being alone.
Why Lord? My son was the kindest child I have ever known! Why did he have to suffer and die?
Why did he leave? Our vows were, “until death do us part.”
Cancer? Me? But who will care for my children?
LORD, I am supposed to provide for our family! How?
Miraculously, the wave rises back up, and the Lord reaches down to you with His hand of comfort… A friend’s phone call… a loving message from someone… a reminder of promises from God’s Word.
Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry and will deliver you. (Isaiah 46:4)
Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God-my God-will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. (1 Chronicles 28:20)
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
Jesus holds you in His healing arms. He takes your hand and lifts you up again. You find strength for another step, another day. You find courage to step out in faith, even without answers, and trust the One who has been with you all along.
Instead of being tossed back and forth by the waves of everyday living, hold on to your anchor in Christ. Let Him guide you.
You are going to be knocked down by waves. This is a broken world, even more so today. It’s up to you, though, to lift your hand above the dark, swirling water that tries to pull you under and instead give praise to our God. I know that you have no strength to lift your hand when the devastation and the losses are great. I understand you get weary… I do too.
In Exodus 17, Moses led the Israelites to defeat the Amalekites. He commanded Joshua to fight the army and supported him, stating “Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.” Remember the staff, that God had used several times to perform miracles through Moses? “As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantaged (verse 11). But Moses became fatigued… as we do. So what happened next? Moses’s friends found a place for him to sit. One friend held up one hand, one friend held the other (verse 12).
Do you have a non-judgemental friend that will help hold up your hand when you cannot stand any longer? Find one through a church or a Christian mentoring ministry.
Stand in gratitude for the good Christ has done, and the provisions that He has made. Watch what He will do next in your life.
Take the wave that Satan tries to destroy you with and lift it up into waves of gratitude.
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8/NIV).
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20/NKJV).
But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore – the LORD above is mightier than these! (Psalm 93:4).
Most of society observes Mother Teresa as one of the greatest living symbols of unconditional love. We as believers, though, have living proof that there is only one who emulates unconditional love… that is Jesus. Two thousand years ago, Jesus physically walked on earth and people felt His unimaginable agape love. We only experience this love now through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Agape love, sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, even death for the benefit of another, expecting nothing in return.
A recent article written by a pastor shared about a time when he was dating the woman he would someday marry. He came up with a creative way to express his love by hanging a poster with an enormous heart, expressing his love for her, knowing she would see the sign the next morning through her dorm window. He wrote,
Why did I do that? Because I was hopelessly in love with this girl? Yes, but there’s an even more important reason why I made that drive and nailed that sign up to the tree. You see, I loved Shelley, but I wanted her to know that I loved her without any shadow of a doubt. (Emphasis added – The Power of Perfect Love/L. Giglio)
But wait… what if you have never experienced that deep love where someone would do anything for you to show how much they loved you, whether expressed in a romantic relationship, from a family member, or a friend? Jesus told us what a loyal friend was, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13-15). Jesus laid down His life so that we could live for eternity. As we honored our veterans a few days ago, I remind us that veterans will give their lives for us so that we can have freedom.
No one can fully express unconditional love because it is not humanly possible. But for someone wanting you to know that they loved you “withouta shadow of doubt?”
How can you fathom God’s perfect, unconditional love if you have no comprehension of love? What if the love you have received has cost you everything?
Was all the love you received conditional?
Has someone told you they loved you but their actions were the complete opposite?
Did you receive abusive love?
For decades, I could not apprehend the intimate and unconditional love of God. If I received “love” from a person, they based it on how I acted, the way I responded, because of what I did for them, or the frame of mind they were in. Any reaction on my part that differed from what they desired resulted in disgust, distance, ridicule, or abuse. It wasn’t until I began working with special needs children I recognized what desired unconditional love might feel like.
My love for special needs children is boundless. I have years of experience of rejection and belittlement. These children deserve no less than authentic acceptance. My greatest desire is that children who are differently abled, know without a doubt, that I cherish and love them genuinely.
I have seen my son, my little girl – who has been with Jesus since 2017, and countless special needs children, model near-perfect love. Unequivocal trust and love joyfully visible in their actions and responses.
Here is how to experience unconditional love …
Pray – Go to a quiet place and ask Jesus to reveal to you His perfect, unconditional love. Then, open your eyes and your ears, and receive His love fully, as He sacrificially lavishes His love upon you. Be aware that the love probably will not come through a romantic interest, or a friend or family member extending a generous gift. No, Jesus knows you intimately. “O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away” (Psalm 139:1-2/NLT). Jesus will show His love to you in only a way you can perceive that it was only from Him.
Search God’s Word – The Bible is abounding with God’s faithful promises and speaks boastfully about how much He loves you.
I have loved you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)
How precious is your unfailing love, O God! (Psalm 36:7)
For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zephaniah 3:17)
Be grateful, have courage, love others as Christ has loved you.
Waves of Gratitude 