Month: August 2020

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
– Numbers 6:24-26

Okay, I’m just going to shout it from the rooftops, “I miss the laughs and giggles of my grandkids and kids.  I miss my back pew at church.  I miss my life-long friends, and since it’s true confession time, I miss my favorite coffee shop and my sugar-free vanilla latte, yet most of all, oh yes most of all, I miss your smile.”

Those simple upturned lips that signal a moment of recognition, excitement, and perhaps a fleeting memory. Your name may be a mystery to me, but you’re still part of my world.  We have passed in the aisles at the grocery store, the cleaners and perhaps even the pharmacy, but you’re no longer there.  As hard as it is to believe, I only don my lovely mask and gloves and join the world every two weeks. We might have missed each other along the way. It’s as if the world has been turned upside down, and it has. 

Yet here I am, with my life basically unchanged, sitting on the dock with my puppies gazing at the glorious sunset with a breaking heart. A breaking heart for lives that have been changed in ways I can never imagine.  Breaking for families who now have empty chairs around their table.  Breaking for the precious children of God who are living in homeless shelters or the street, hungry and falling farther and farther behind in school. Breaking for moms and dads who can no longer provide for their family because of lost jobs. Breaking for those of you who can only see your aging family members through a window. 

But in the heartbreak, there’s a time of thankfulness. Thankful for the brave men and women on the front lines, keeping us healthy, fed and safe, our world clean, and our hearts and soul healed. As I sit in awe of the gift of the sunset, my heart is joining with those of you who are kneeling in prayer, thankful you have survived another day wrapped in the Holy’s arms.

This is a time when the similarities of one’s path vary more than ever. Some of your lives may be like mine and my western loving cowboy, whose only bump on the road is rationing toilet paper, or watching the same TV shows over and over, despite having a choice of more than 300 channels. (All I have to say about that is someone in my house is a fan of the western channel.)

But through these days of confusion and emptiness, your compassion for one another is seen through the lessons we’re teaching our children as they write words of thanks to visitors who make deliveries to our homes in chalk on their walkways, or signs posted on apartment windows. Families are gathering on social media celebrating special time that might have been missed because of those trite words, “We were just too busy.” Cards and letters are being sent snail mail to forgotten ones in our lives while many are pitching in financially to share their blessings. Through all of this despair my heart is reaching out to each of you, and I feel your never-ending grace. Grace we’ve learned to grant one another through our twinkling eyes as we honor one another by wearing a simple mask or standing 6 feet apart. 

We all have our dark days, whether it’s the ones we are living now, the days that lurk in memories past, or in the times on the other side of a sunset that are yet to come. But the Lord is blessing us, His face is shining on us each day. His face is turned toward us each night, warming us with His glorious love. This is the serenity you feel when you gaze at a sunset, or perhaps as you close your eyes at the evening’s end and say, “Thank you for loving me Father.” I have peace knowing He will take care of you.  And one day I’ll see your smile again, and man oh man, my heart will sing.

Ponder with Me:

1. Do you miss anything?

2. Have you had dark days? Close your eyes and sit with the Holy.  Let His everlasting love wash over you.

3.  Do you truly believe God will take care of you? 

Let us pray together:

I love you Lord. My heart sings when I hear your name, your promises, and feel your grace.

I will never miss your smile, because it never fades away. You warm me with your spirit in the sunrises and sunsets. I am blessed to be your child.

Gazing  at your love.

“

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“Can you believe it?  The internet is down again!” I exclaimed to my husband.  “Well, you know what to do, you’re the pro, have fun!” he said with a grin as he headed out for a walk. After forty-six years of marriage, he knew the wonderful joy he would be missing as he listened to my conversation with our Internet provider.  Little did he know I had wised up and knew the two inevitable options: 1. Hold down the reset button for 10 seconds or 2. Make a call.  I didn’t want to make that call, because all they would say is, ” Have you tried resetting the box?” and when you reply in a smug voice, “I certainly have,” they’ll say, “that’s great but why don’t we try it again.” As an expert “resetter” this is extremely annoying, so I proceeded to go it alone. 

As much as I hated to admit it, after five hardheaded solo attempts, I broke down and made the call and guess what, the connection had been down the entire time. No matter what I had tried on my own, the invention that rules my life was not ever going to connect. It took me making the move to talk to the one who could help me, the person on the 800 number and the second option – the IT tech. Believe it or not, he actually helped me in a very unusual way. He told me I would have to wait. 

As frustrating as that was, it helped me sit in that moment, and realize everything didn’t have to be done immediately. There’s a plan and a time for me and I am not in charge. That’s a shocker, but until I grabbed hold of my helplessness, and accepted life as it is today, I would just keep walking away from the One true source that can help. 

The One who during this particular season of my life is whispering my name.  The One who was calling me to rekindle my love for the precious  who hung on the cross for me.  It was time to return to the days when I began my day with my Father, had lunch with Him and closed my eyes at night with His Holy name lingering on my lips, a time, once again, to grab His hand and walk toward Him. I knew He was my Lord and could strengthen me but perhaps instead of hitting that blinking button on my own, I needed to reach out for the Holy’s hand, and be guided into the glorious days He has planned for me.  

If I sit and listen during this Covid-19 season of confusion, just perhaps He will show me the path, the way to walk forward alongside Him so I won’t get lost wandering on my own. The lover of my soul trusts me, and knows I love Him unconditionally. Maybe I don’t need a reset button this time, perhaps it’s just grabbing onto that righteous right hand that held the tears shed for His son gave to me.  A hand that might be damp and moist, but never so slippery it won’t hold on tight to a wayward soul like me.  

As we live these days of unknowing questioning, the King of Kings is there for us, never wavering, never walking away, and never blinking, threatening to disconnect Himself from us.

There is no doubt that He is with you. He is your God, He will strengthen you, and He will always wait for you to grab on tight to his loving hand.

Points to Ponder:

1.  What surprises you in your days?

2.  How are you spending your time these days?   Do you feel God’s hand?

3.  Does your life need a “reset”?  Who can guide you?

Pray with me: 
Dear Father of Strength,
You promise me you are here for me and I trust you.  You promise me you are my God and you are. You promise me you will help me, and you do. I know You will because You love me and I am Your child.
Holding On