-
Leaning Hard
I wondered when it would happen, when the pain and weakness from post-polio, exacerbated by hip arthritis, would set me up for a fall. And now I know. The other day I took a tumble. I forgot to have my husband put my walker in the back of my mini-van. At some point this year I discovered that leaning on a cane for stability wasn’t enough, and I need a walker for literally every step. But this level of loss and disability is still new to me; sometimes I forget that my “new normal” demands things like taking a walker with me. When I got to my destination, all I…
-
Beware—You Are Being Chased
This past week my husband and I were chased down. Separately, but on the same day, the same morning in fact, we were tailed. You, too, are being pursued and followed. Did you know that? Before you shut down your social media sites and seek an attorney, let me explain. We pursue new jobs, new promotions, new advancements, and new recognition. We pursue new restaurants, new friends, new fashions, and new technology. Our favorite tale of pursuit is: Boy meets girl. Boy pursues girl. Boy marries girl. And they live happily ever after… The flowers, the romance, the drama, the happy ending—love wins, and we love it. We love the…
-
Making Room for Pain
“You’re not jumping two phone books high! Jump higher. Let these kids know how much you love Jesus!” And then I felt it—the water gun hit my back, mingling with the copious amount of sweat already drenching my t-shirt. Yes, that’s right—a water gun. Camp staff members were squirted if they didn’t jump high enough to show their enthusiastic love for Jesus while welcoming the kids to camp in 100-degree sticky heat. It was the start of a very difficult six weeks for me. In the midst of what my doctor diagnosed as chronic depression, I had been hired to serve as camp counselor for middle school girls. I had…
-
God’s Thoughts and Ways – Part VIII (Joseph)
Joseph from Servanthood to Ruler Joseph knows from his youth that he will be a leader in charge of many. This is the destiny that God has put into his heart. However, those closest to him can not see it.
-
5 Ways to Spring Into Trusting God More
Some days I don’t want to get out of bed. Last week I woke up excited about life. Today? Not so much. When stuff doesn’t pan out the way I want, my outlook deteriorates quickly. Every unexpected turn brings new challenges, and then I buckle under pressure. I have known this about myself. My closest friends have often challenged me to have more faith especially when things don’t go my way. My husband does his best to encourage me. But as a stubborn woman, I want things to happen my way and in my timing. I tend to cling to me as opposed to Him. So here…
-
How to Suffer Effectively
Suffering has been effective when you are more Christlike (i.e., more obedient) at its conclusion.
-
Is God Really Good?
How many of us fully understand the truth that we are unconditionally loved? Unconditional love is very foreign to us. We can define it but we never fully give it nor get it from anyone but God. Only God can teach this truth through us to our children. Do you feel the tension as you grapple with the truth that love can be unconditional and still insist on change. God loves us just like we are but too much to leave us in these selfish patterns. His love insists that we grow in our ability to truly trust Him more. Trust allows Him to make us more holy…
-
Only Strong and Courageous
I cried when I hugged my daughter goodbye on the parking lot across the street from the dorm where she now lives. I didn’t care. I knew that moment would unleash the emotions I had bottled up all summer long. So I released it right there. Up to this point, I had watched my student take charge of her college checklist. I helped her unpack and I watched her settle into her new “home.” Honestly, it all felt so wrong but I knew in my heart God wanted this. So when I hugged her one last time, God said, “Let her go.” And I did…
-
Suffering – Imposition or Entrustment?
Several years ago I had the privilege of hearing veteran missionary, Dr. Helen Roseveare, speak at a staff conference for field missionaries of Entrust, International, in Hungary. As a result I read her book, He Gave Us a Valley. In it, Helen describes her twenty years of ministry in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. I think perhaps her life and experience may inform on how to respond in the challenging times in which we live Helen went to the field in 1953 and her twenty-year ministry spanned the Congolese civil war where she found herself captured, beaten and brutally raped. Nevertheless, she returned to the Congo in…
-
What Makes New So Beautiful?
New. What comes to mind when you think about that tiny but enlivening word? A home with freshly painted eggshell walls? A classroom full of wide-eyed kindergarteners? An unknown city bursting with possibilities—and anxieties? When I think about new, I envision a clean white shirt, freshly pressed with a hint of starch mingled with my husband's scent. I love fresh, new things. But I crave the familiar too. Do you? Flip through the book of Revelation, and you won't find much that's new—at least at the beginning. Images of destruction, fear, and horror stain the pages—until you reach the end. Then everything changes. In Revelation 21, the author paints a…