faith – Page 5 – B Is for Blessed!

True Independence…

Freedom for black and white or red and blue
No increase for me at the expense of you

That faith not fear would rule this land
That justice could rule with an even hand

Would those who fought for the red, white and blue
Be honored and cherished for all they went through

We choose to stand tall and fight for what’s true
As some fuel a hate that would tear US in two

We, the people, yearn for an answered call
One nation, under God; liberty and justice for all

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—”

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28 NKJV

High Hopes!

“Next time you’re found, with your chin on the ground
There’s a lot to be learned, so look around
Just what makes that little old ant
Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant”

My hopes haven’t always been high.

I’ve always been a “realist” even as I prayed to God for the miracles I sought. It is only in the past four or five years that I realized I wasn’t setting my “hopes” even remotely high enough.

As I began to see how God was using my son Lan to not only show me what He could do and would do for me, God also taught me to get my hopes up!

One small victory after another made me realize that I didn’t have to have the weight of the world on my shoulders. I somehow managed to let God be God and relax a little and truly trust God for the things I prayed for.

It has been my general experience that God responds to my level of expectation. The things I dare hope and dream for He brings (slowly) to fruition if I hope hard enough and trust that He can and He will.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:1-5 NKJV

Hope does not disappoint.

I would rather hope for the best and be proven wrong than wallow in misery faithless.

Yes, there are things I will never understand. Yet, I cannot allow life’s disappointments to rob me of God’s peace when I choose to trust in Him.

Lan is asserting his independence more and more. He has “high hopes” for his future. If I tell him something’s not going to happen he just gives me “the look” learned from big brother that basically says I hear you but I’m not listening to a thing you say.

And that’s not always a bad thing.

I believe my past failures to hope as high as God would have me to do stem from listening to people instead of listening to God. If we are so tuned in to the multitude of “nos” coming from the choir, we will never hear God’s whispered “yes.”

Lan has confidence I never had at his age, partly because he had to work extremely hard to meet his goals. He learned far sooner than I ever did to tune out the “no.”

I’m grateful to have come to a point where I can persevere and hope for God’s best fully aware that His best isn’t always what I want.

Hope does not disappoint.

“But he’s got high hopes, he’s got high hopes
He’s got high apple pie, in the sky hopes
So any time you’re gettin’ low
‘Stead of lettin’ go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant”

**Songwriters: J. VAN HEUSEN, S. CAHN High Hopes lyrics © BARTON MUSIC CORPORATION

Bend Don’t Break!

Everyone is guaranteed some form of hardship, storms, distress/duress that ultimately forges us into the people God would have us to become. Though not pleasurable experiences, our problems are necessary for our progression from one stage in life to another. The way we deal with these experiences determines how we will come out of them. Some people seem to make it through, scraped up a bit but they come out in one piece. Others, instead, succumb to situations and trials never to come out of them and instead become overcome or swallowed by circumstances. So what is the difference between making it through and remaining stuck in a particular situation?

The answer is simple. Bend don’t break.

We all have the best laid plans. However, the plans for our life and God’s plans are not necessarily one and the same. Our expectations don’t always transform into our experiences. Delays and disappointments are inevitable. The people who make it through hardships aren’t broken by life’s surprises. Instead, they learn to bend.

Twigs snap. Quick and sudden stress causes them to break into pieces. People can also snap. It is when experiences become so extreme, circumstances are crazy and expectations unmet that we “lose it” and do things we would not do if we were in our “right mind.”

The propensity to bend means that we can weather a storm. We can withstand the course of whatever life throws our way. It may be uncomfortable, hard and even painful but bending means we won’t become broken by disappointment. Our attitude determines our outcome when we choose to bend a little.

Sometimes we have to change our habits. At others, we have to change our minds. And then there are situations where we have to choose to give a little, possibly giving up our own expectations or desires, in order to push forward and even keep peace along our journey. Being inflexible in our relationships and even our own preconceived ideas only limits us and sets us up to potentially “snap” under pressure. We should always be willing to bend to some extent by choosing to learn, mature, and submit to God.

Hardening our hearts and an unwillingness to listen to the counsel of others can leave us rigid, frail and easily broken. Refusing to compromise can leave us frustrated and at odds with ever-changing circumstances. Flexibility doesn’t dictate that we conform to the world. Flexibility allows us to move with God instead of remaining stuck where we are.

If you want peace of mind, be willing to change it when Divinely directed. If you wish to prosper, set goals but change them when God dictates. We can’t truly prosper out of God’s will. What worked yesterday won’t necessarily work today. Don’t stay bound to the same ideas or experiences when God is trying to stretch your faith and do a new thing!

Listen when God speaks and then obey accordingly. God has challenged me do things I never would have imagined yet I can definitely say I’much better for it! I’ve been blessed when I chose to follow God instead of my own (sometimes crazy) inclinations.

Bend or Break?

The choice is ours to make!

Be Persistent!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1 NIV

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1 NIV

Persistence is something we must each embrace if we are going to obtain the very best God has for us. Each of us is called to finish our race. There will be trials and obstacles, distractions and pitfalls but we must push through if we are ever to reach the prize that awaits us at the end.

Persistence often separates those who could from those who would.

You don’t always have to be the most “qualified.” Sometimes all it takes to get ahead is showing up and having faith enough to step forward, no matter how small the step.

I admit that isn’t always easy.

Some obstacles will look insurmountable. Many people will call you “unrealistic.” Still, we must muster up our faith and continue to walk toward our goals even when they seem impossible.

Like a marathon runner, we have to run through the pain. Sometimes we walk and then there are times all we can do is crawl. Our cheerleaders won’t always stay the course. It is up to each one of us to endure our race full of expectation and determination even as doubt and fear loom on the sidelines.

No pain, no gain?

Oftentimes true.

Life sometimes hurts. There are disappointments. Failures and fatigue come with climbing uphill.

But keep climbing anyway!

Hebrews 12:2 instructs us to fix our eyes on Jesus and consider what He endured so that we do not grow weary and lose heart.

“For the joy set before him, He endured.”

We are called to do the same.

We must be willing to give up our fears, choose God over pleasing people and dare to dream for what defies “logical” expectations. I’ve learned what God wants for me is usually far better than anything I envision for myself. God’s best requires endurance. The tests of patience and pain push us from one stage to the next. When we persist, we choose faith over fear.

Persist in pursuing what God has placed in your heart to the point that people think you are nuts! Bystanders thought Noah, Gideon, Moses and even the Disciples were crazy for daring to do what God called them to do. Yet, in the end, their reward was great!

Persist and pursue God’s best for YOU!

“As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” James 5:11 NIV

***This post is dedicated to my son Landon, class of 2017, ever persistent in reaching his goals. We are VERY proud of you!

The Winds of Change, Again…

Last year this time was a bit chaotic in my household. I wrote about the winds of change as my oldest son prepared to graduate high school and we joyfully prepared for his move out of state. I’d accepted a promotion; my husband started a new job and we were excited about what the future would hold.

We never imagined exactly one year later our next graduation celebration for would be haunted by grief. My mother’s absence at this milestone is painful. I have no doubt she will see her grandchild graduate, yet I miss her just the same.

And, once again there is change in my employment status.

By the time you read this, I will be “officially” retired. I turned in my keys to the pharmacy with no regrets yet grateful for the opportunity to practice pharmacy for twenty-five years. I’ll miss my pharmacy phamily and my favorite customers, but it is time.

It is time for me to nurture the talents God blessed me with. It is time for me to step out in faith and stretch myself. Sometimes we pray for change but when it comes we stand bewildered and confused!

God often answers my prayers in the most unexpected ways, ways that are far higher than my understanding. Yet, I trust that God knows what is best for me and when I’m mature enough to actually receive the answers I’ve prayed for.

The child I never imagined leaving home for college despite prayers too many to count is actually leaving home for college!

Full Sail ahead for him!

He has changed drastically this year alone, fought his way through the trials of autism and matured in ways we couldn’t foresee only a few years ago. It will be quite the change when August arrives and our nest is empty!

Perhaps, the only constant in life is change.

Some changes we bring on ourselves. Others blindside us without warning.

We can never fully anticipate the future but we can be assured Who holds it.

I haven’t always embraced change in my life but maybe now that I’m a bit older, I hope I’m wiser as well.

Whatever changes loom on your horizon, I pray you trust God to see you to and get you through them.

Even the best of times don’t last forever. Still, we can cherish the good, learn from the bad and hopefully our experiences leave us changed for the better.

Whatever my journey, I hope to stay the course until His winds change it once more…

The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course. Ecclesiastes 5:6 NIV

Lessons From My Mother…

She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

Proverbs 31:27-28 NIV

I’ll admit I’d been dreading this weekend for weeks. Losing my mother at the first of March, I was keenly aware that Mother’s Day would soon be upon me and I’d have to somehow get through it.

Yet, my favorite cousin reached out to me and convinced me to celebrate this weekend and not dread it. After a bit of reflection, I realized he was right.

I was blessed with a wonderful mother, the kind of person I’d believed I could never take for granted. Now months after her passing, even with the best of intentions, I realize I did.

Still, she left me far more blessings than I’ll ever be able to count. I thank God for my years with her and challenge you to make time to remember and appreciate the special women in your own life.

Celebrate your mother, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, godmothers, teachers, community leaders and any women who have positively impacted you. If possible, give them flowers while they can smell them and kind words while they can hear them.

Here are a few lessons I learned from my mom…

Keep your eyes on your destination, not your location

Good manners show you value other people

The merits of a good education

A great attitude will take you farther than a good education

Money can’t buy common sense

Don’t expect anything you aren’t willing to work for

How to cook with love

How to give generously

Unconditional love

How to pray

And finally, even as I was losing her, my mother managed to teach me one final lesson.

Be still and trust God.

Not knowing what each day would bring, Mommy demonstrated how to trust God and peacefully wait on the Lord. She kept her faith and kept her cool all the while concerned about everyone else.

I’m pretty sure I’m not yet mature enough to handle all the obstacles she overcame as graciously as she did throughout her lifetime. She set the bar mighty high.

But maybe one day…

Happy Mother’s Day Mommy

Home…

When I drove to my hometown in January, I had no idea of what lay ahead. What I thought would be a day trip, a weekend at most, would evolve into something completely different.

My mother and I spoke of the azaleas blooming all over. Lavender and hot pink azaleas were ablaze in her yard. Spring often comes early to Tallahassee, even still, January was way too soon.

Our “trials” would teach me perseverance. My faith was indeed tested. I was blessed with prayers and understanding from family and friends in my “hometown” as well as “back home” outside of Atlanta.

Mommy’s initial surgery went well. Then, doctors would find the need to do another. She was out of one hospital and into another to transition to rehab.

Or, so we thought.

We talked and laughed. We caught up with each other, watched television all while she would prod me, “Don’t you need to go home?”

I assured her there was no place I would rather be. I was blessed to be at her side, listening to doctors, giving my advice and whatever I could do for the woman who hadn’t been hospitalized since giving birth to me!

I would eventually put up her Christmas tree as it began to look oddly strange on Groundhog Day. I tidied up. I purchased a microwave for the kitchen that had gone forty-five years without one.

Mommy was a good patient, exceeding expectations and many prayers were answered. She pushed through surgeries, pain and discomfort. Only a few times did she ever complain, and prodded by docs to do even that.

Six weeks to the day of that emergency appendectomy I kissed her and said, “You’re going to be just fine.”

Those were the last words I would say to her before they put her under. I didn’t think too much of it. Just another hurdle to overcome like so many before.

I would later cry among those pink azaleas, uncontrollably and not sure why. Mommy’s condition hadn’t changed, but maybe God was changing me. After everything she had gone through, it was the first time I really contemplated that she might not return home.

Family and friends prayed for healing.

I often wonder now what she prayed.

Each week spent in the hospital meant the road to recovery became longer and longer. Mommy told me she did not want to suffer any lengthy illness. Or become a burden. She knew all too well what it entailed to be a caregiver. She had done it herself for years.

But, the woman who loved me faithfully and selflessly could never become a burden to me. Couldn’t she see how much I loved her?

Or maybe, just maybe, Mommy loved me more.

In the end, I was correct when I told her “she would be just fine.”

Those pink azaleas gave way to white.

On the third of March, God called her home. And I suspect after seven weeks of poking and prodding, she was ready to go.

“Home” isn’t the same anymore.

The yellow house on the corner is just another house without her in it. When I think of home, my mind now looks toward a place of peace and joy unlike any other. One without pain. No doctors. No tears.

See you when I get home…

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 NKJV

Trials…

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 1:2-5 NIV

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been “off the grid” lately.

I’m hanging in there but currently dealing with a family emergency back home.

Many thanks to all of you who have blessed my family with your love, prayers and support. It has really seen us through.

I’ll be back writing soon but right now Mommy needs me more.

Peace, love and B Blessed!

***Our “Bridges” series will continue on this site “as I get by with a little help from my friends” 😉 I’ll rejoin the conversation soon.

New Year, New You?

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.

Blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
Psalm 40:3-4 NIV

Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV

Goodwill to Men…Crossing the Bridge with Susan and Andy

He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:16-19 NIV

Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
John 4:9 NIV

As we celebrate this Christmas season, we would all do well to ponder “goodwill to men.”

Merriam-Webster defines goodwill as “a kindly feeling of approval and support: benevolent interest or concern” It is also defined as “willing effort.”

In one of our Friday letters on race,Tom who blogs over at realchange4u reminded me about the relationship between the Jews and Samaritans.

“Relationship” may be an overstatement because the Jews did not mingle with Samaritans.

Yet, Jesus went about “doing good” and regularly connected with those who were considered the fringes of society. Swearing fishermen, tax collectors, crippled beggars, and the infamous woman at the well were just a few.

Jesus made a “willing effort” to minister to those unlike himself.

“But He needed to go through Samaria.” John 4:4 NKJV

Jesus did not confine himself to “Jews like him.” He did not segregate Himself the way many of us intentionally and often unintentionally tend to do.

“And he was a Samaritan.” This account of Jesus healing the lepers is miraculous without these five words.

However, I believe these words were included to demonstrate that Jesus did not differentiate between the Samaritan and the Jews. I suspect there is an even greater message in the fact that only the “foreigner” returned to thank Him!

The divide between people will only close when people choose to close it. Doing this requires a conscious decision act differently. It demands a willingness to renew the mind daily and submit to the Holy Spirit.

I would have missed out on so many blessings had I not been receptive to the kindness of people unlike myself.

We tend to prematurely judge people based on what we learn from family and friends, or worse, misinformation in the media. Our personal experiences either affirm or defy our preconceived notions.

Still, when we broaden our vision and view people as God sees them, we can acknowledge each person’s individual merit instead of categorizing someone and hastily applying a label.

If we remain stubborn and defy the Holy Spirit we will always miss out on God’s best. Our blessings are often disguised in the people we would least expect to deliver them.

This Christmas, don’t speak of “peace on earth, goodwill to men,” but live it.

May we be peacemakers, willing to extend ourselves beyond our usual boundaries. May we make the effort to connect with others. Those first tentative steps may very well bridge the gap between where we are and the blessings we seek!

And speaking of bridges, Susan, Andy Oldham and I will continue our conversations into the New Year under a new category titled Bridges.

It is our desire to include more people and topics in our conversations. We welcome your comments and are grateful to you who have joined us on this journey. If you care to contribute a post please let us know! Andy adds his voice to the conversation next Friday and we will begin anew in January.

As this year ends, may we all give glory to God in the highest, promote peace on earth and extend goodwill toward men.

Merry Christmas!