Reaching up past February since we cannot go to the beach this winter....
Life is full of so much hardship. Regularly, I am asked to pray for families in marriage crisis, struggling with a decision about adoption, personal issues......and as a nurse I am technically a fixer. God has shown me over time that it is my duty to walk beside people on their journey and not worry about fixing.......which is such a powerful gift of wisdom.
This week alone I was hit hard by situations that are hard, painful, desperate. My response again and again is this: Turn to Jesus. Fix your eyes on Him. Find Him in your journey and let Him direct your path. This takes time and emotional fortitude. We must silence the other thoughts in our heads that seem to direct us and move us to decisions.....and we need to learn to sit in the quiet place of the moment and let God move....or shift.....or speak.....or just Be with us.
Life as we know it is only a journey, nothing more. We journey to our distiny in Jesus name and plan, and then we do the hard work of living that destiny. It's not a big party when we get there, just more of the work of living and pushing against evil and sorrow and hopelessness in the world.
Two years ago this week, Josiah's birth mom died. That event is one of my darkest days of my journey in life. I cannot fathom how hopeless she felt on that day.....and my heart breaks, even now. I wish I could have pointed her back to Jesus as I had done countless times before.
I have discovered that I am not fit for this world. I'm too weak. I choose to not be of this world. I don't understand how people can be so selfish, so hurtful, so evil. I don't understand how children are trafficked, orphaned, abused and neglected. I don't understand how marriages fail because of petty and unnecessary actions. The politics of our time make me feel ill. Our position in global stature is
appalling......and yet other cultures are even more hurtful to their people than Americans sometimes!
February in Iowa can be dark and wet and cold. It can cause us to give up hope of ever seeing warmer days, and going outside to sit in the sun and hear birds and see flowers and know that children are playing outside......for that matter, March can be even worse in Iowa.
I choose Hope. I choose Jesus. Spring will come to the wretchedness of the end of winter. Jesus will come to heal the broken and redeem the lost and raise up the least of these into His Kings and Queens. Jesus will help us turn our eyes to Him and not stay downcast, trudging through this world.
I may not get as many requests to help folks as they begin to understand that I only have one answer any more.......and that is Jesus. Where is Jesus in this? Find Him! Worship. Read His Word. Sing
I His Songs. Pray. Help others. Bless those in need. Apologize. Repent. Accept forgiveness and
be humble and mold able. Give up the values of this world. Reach higher.
This week alone I was hit hard by situations that are hard, painful, desperate. My response again and again is this: Turn to Jesus. Fix your eyes on Him. Find Him in your journey and let Him direct your path. This takes time and emotional fortitude. We must silence the other thoughts in our heads that seem to direct us and move us to decisions.....and we need to learn to sit in the quiet place of the moment and let God move....or shift.....or speak.....or just Be with us.
Life as we know it is only a journey, nothing more. We journey to our distiny in Jesus name and plan, and then we do the hard work of living that destiny. It's not a big party when we get there, just more of the work of living and pushing against evil and sorrow and hopelessness in the world.
Two years ago this week, Josiah's birth mom died. That event is one of my darkest days of my journey in life. I cannot fathom how hopeless she felt on that day.....and my heart breaks, even now. I wish I could have pointed her back to Jesus as I had done countless times before.
I have discovered that I am not fit for this world. I'm too weak. I choose to not be of this world. I don't understand how people can be so selfish, so hurtful, so evil. I don't understand how children are trafficked, orphaned, abused and neglected. I don't understand how marriages fail because of petty and unnecessary actions. The politics of our time make me feel ill. Our position in global stature is
appalling......and yet other cultures are even more hurtful to their people than Americans sometimes!
February in Iowa can be dark and wet and cold. It can cause us to give up hope of ever seeing warmer days, and going outside to sit in the sun and hear birds and see flowers and know that children are playing outside......for that matter, March can be even worse in Iowa.
I choose Hope. I choose Jesus. Spring will come to the wretchedness of the end of winter. Jesus will come to heal the broken and redeem the lost and raise up the least of these into His Kings and Queens. Jesus will help us turn our eyes to Him and not stay downcast, trudging through this world.
I may not get as many requests to help folks as they begin to understand that I only have one answer any more.......and that is Jesus. Where is Jesus in this? Find Him! Worship. Read His Word. Sing
I His Songs. Pray. Help others. Bless those in need. Apologize. Repent. Accept forgiveness and
be humble and mold able. Give up the values of this world. Reach higher.
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