Month: June 2022

God Does Not Change

On By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

The words that start this verse are important ones that mean a lot to me right now. Life has dealt us some tough blows lately, BUT THEN… Yes, our granddaughter had a seizure in the pool and was in ICU for three days. But then, God intervened and healed her and she is home again. Yes, our oldest grandson from the same family went off to Navy boot camp, fully expecting to complete the training and be a sailor. But then, he did not adjust well and is coming home next week. His new plan is to pursue a career as a software engineer after he finishes college.

We all make plans and then they get changed, by circumstances or other people’s choices or just life. I’m not the most flexible and adaptable person, as my husband will attest to. I hate change of any kind! I think that is why my life as a military wife was brutal for me. We moved every 2-3 years, to a new place with new people and a new job for me to look for. But then, God always went before me and prepared the place that He wanted me to me. Jobs, housing, friends. Nevertheless, I still reject change and changes of plans. But then God tells me that He is the same God that He has always been in my life, so I can trust Him to lead me through yet another challenge. Yes, the word is through. I have found that God seldom removes me from the challenge (or change, if you like). Instead, He takes me through to the other side and onto the next challenge.

Just as God led the Israelites in the wilderness, He is always leading me. He hasn’t changed and become absent in my life just when I need Him most. Unlike the Israelites, I’m not building idols in my wilderness to seek help from them. Instead, I try very hard to pray more, read my Bible more and to seek the counsel of wise leaders who are led by God. Like a light in a dark tunnel, God leads me if I will just open my eyes.

I may not always be happy with my circumstances, but I am always aware that no matter what happens, God is walking right beside me. The same God who healed me after my stroke, the same God who took care of me during all of my many surgical procedures, He is the same God who comforts me and tells me that He is with me to the end. Yes, life is tough. Most people reply to that, “But I’m tougher.” However, my reply is that “God is in control and He is tougher than anything that life throws at me.” One kidney and it’s beginning to fail? Not a problem for God. You see, no one leaves this earth alive and I know that I know that God will determine the number of my days on this earth and how I will die. So, the thought that my kidney is not the same as it was twenty years ago is not a big thing for me because I remember all that God has already done and I know that this, too, He will take care of. He may heal me and that would be great. He may call me home to be with Him, and that will be even better! Remembering what God has done helps me to look forward with anticipation to what He is going to do next.

How about you? What is your testimony about God? What do you remember about His great deeds on your behalf? I can remember all that He has brought me through and trust Him to take care of the future.

Have a blessed day and may you remember with thanksgiving all that God has done already in your life.

Love Covers

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

As humans, we have difficulty forgetting offenses, but if we truly love, we cover over those offenses and just keep loving. That’s what makes Christians different from others who vow revenge or just ignore people who offend them. As Christians, we are called to love. That is exactly what Jesus did for us!

Have a blessed day filled with love, forgiveness and mercy.

The Right Way

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

In today’s tech savvy world, just about everyone uses GPS to get to their destination, whether it be on the car satellite or on the phone. But most of us have learned from experience that even Google makes mistakes. I know, gasp! Right? In April, my husband and I went to meet an author in North Carolina. Leaving the motel, Harry turned on the phone GPS and followed its directions. It actually took us to the address we were looking for, but in a neighboring town, fifteen miles away from the actual location. We discovered that others at the meeting had been led astray by Google Maps, too. We were actually less than a mile from the bookstore destination when we were at the motel. But we drove over thirty miles out of our way because the GPS led us in the wrong direction. That’s why we have to be careful to check out our compasses!

When we are uncertain about which path to take, we have to take time to listen for God’s quiet voice, directing us in the right way. I have often gotten off the right path and not only does God lead me back to the right one, He does not chide me the whole way back or tell me, “I told you so. You just wouldn’t listen!” He just loves me into choosing the right path again. His voice may be behind me, speaking in my ear, but His Spirit goes before me, leading the way, if I will just open my eyes and follow.

I think that sometimes my straying from the right path is because I am following what I think will lead me to where I want to go, in pursuit of my own pleasures. But I have discovered that if I put God first, He leads me in the way that is right for me and that will also result in my receiving the true desires of my heart. These two Scriptures were together in my devotional this morning and I had to ponder how they merged together. I see it now and hope that you do, too.

Finally, there is this verse that admonishes me to guard my heart because in doing so the course of my life is determined. If my heart is set on following God, then my path is straight and my desires are fulfilled. Perhaps the biggest error I make is expecting that God’s desires are the same as mine. His desires are to carry out His purpose for my life and they are much loftier than anything I can imagine, so I need to get in step and follow His pathway in order to get to the correct destination.

May each of your steps today be ordered by the Lord and may your day be blessed with His desires for you.

The Soil of Uncertainty

On By vickleaIn Scripture7 Comments

In my “Mornings with Jesus” devotional this morning, Jeanne Blackmer’s theme was faith or fear. She presented an interesting analogy, saying that uncertainty is the soil that either grows faith or fear. Think about it. We have that choice, to face uncertainty with growing fear or with growing faith.

With our oldest granddaughter just out of ICU, my faith was sorely tested this past weekend. We were visiting our other son in Maryland and I strongly felt that we needed to head to Virginia right away and be with Scott and his family. Praying before we left, I felt a calm peace wash over me. Of course, I cried a lot as we left because it meant I would miss the birthday of little Nathan, our youngest grandson who just turned one. Nevertheless, God’s Spirit was telling me strongly that we needed to go see Iris. We prayed as we traveled, for traveling mercies and for Iris to be okay. When we got to the hospital after almost an eight-hour trip, Harry and I were both running on adrenaline and a lot of faith. Melissa, our daughter-in-law said that Iris was doing well except she wouldn’t eat. Melissa couldn’t leave the hospital to get Iris some of the food she likes because Iris would pull out or bite her IV. So, we took Iris chicken, fries and hot sauce along with her favorite tubes of yogurt. She gobbled up all of the yogurt and ate the chicken and fries eventually. Of course, we also took Melissa some food. This seems small but it was confirmation that we were needed in Virginia to help out, particularly since our son Scott was flying back from Kansas City that day and would not return home until about 8 or so that night. We were filling the gap of his presence and being there for family. The uncertainty of what we might find when we got to the hospital was overwhelming at times, but we chose faith, praying and believing that God was going to touch and heal Iris’s lungs. For those who missed my earlier post, Iris is nonverbal autistic. The activity that she loves the most is going to the gym to swim and on Friday night, she had a seizure while swimming and sank quickly to the bottom of the pool. Her mom always watches her carefully in the water even though Iris swims like a fish. She saw her sink to the bottom, quickly got to her and lifted her out of the water, getting her onto the deck and on her side with the help of another patron who was swimming at the time. The ambulance came and whisked Iris away to the ER where she was evaluated with water in her lungs, sedated and put on oxygen and into the ICU. Now, for the amazing “God is good” part of the story. During her seizure, Iris’s windpipe contracted so she did not inhale as much water as she would have. Instead, the water went down her esophagus and into her stomach, so she had an upset stomach but not lungs filled with water. Yes, she had some water in her lungs, but not enough to cause a great deal of damage. She is home now and is taking a larger dose of seizure meds and an antibiotic for a possible lung infection. We are so blessed that she is okay. The fear that gripped me when I heard the word ICU was replaced with faith as we prayed and traveled. God heard and answered our cries for help for Iris. The nurse at the ICU, when she was discharging Iris, said that she was their youngest patient ever in that ward. Iris is eighteen, but I’m guessing that the ICU is filled with the elderly after strokes or cardiac events. After all, that is where I ended up after my stroke seven years ago. I’m so thankful that Melissa got to Iris quickly, that the man was there to help lift her onto the deck, that the ambulance arrived right away, that the ER doctors treated her quickly and thoroughly and that she now has a new neurologist who will see her more often than once a year. Uncertainty in this case provided the soil for faith, but it could just as easily have been fear. We had a choice and we chose faith and prayer, trusting God to take care of the situation.

Iris and her daddy Scott when he made it to her ICU room later Saturday night. The O2 was gone and she was much more comfortable and thrilled to see her daddy who had been away all week.

I pray for each of you to face the uncertainty of the future with faith. As someone said: “I don’t know what the future may hold, but I know Who holds the future.”

Have a blessed day, my friends. I hope that this testimony encouraged you.

Happy Father’s Day

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

My son Scott just left to pick up a breakfast bowl to take to Iris in the hospital. She is eating some now, so that is good. Scott is a devoted father and was beside himself when he was 1100 miles away when Iris was admitted to ICU. We got to his house about nine last night and he was packing up things to take to the hospital that Melissa had requested for Iris. Then he left and returned several hours later, after posting a photo of Iris with a big smile next to her daddy. I’m glad that he is back safely and that Iris is doing better. She may even be discharged from the ICU today. We are waiting to hear about that. Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads out there who play such an important role in their children’s lives! I appreciate my two sons and my son-in-law and all that they do for their families.

Have a blessed and wonderful Father’s Day! For those whose fathers are no longer with you, remember their words and actions and all that they taught you about life. For those blessed to have a father still with them, honor them in a special way today. I’m thankful that my Heavenly Father is always with me.

Praise During Chaos

On By vickleaIn prayer, Scripture13 Comments

Life is happening again and we could use prayers, but we are not forgetting how good God has always been to us. We are in Maryland and supposed to celebrate our youngest grandson’s first birthday today. Instead, we are packing and getting ready to travel home because our oldest granddaughter, eighteen year old Iris, is in the hospital in ICU after suffering a seizure in the swimming pool last night. Please pray for traveling mercies for me and my husband and for her father Scott who is flying back from a teacher conference in Kansas and will arrive tonight. And, of course, the biggest prayer request is for Iris. She is autistic and nonverbal and has been on seizure medication for years, hospitalized various times but this is the first time in the pool and she aspirated water. She has been taken off of oxygen this morning and the doctor says she is doing well but wants to keep her a few days for observation to make sure she doesn’t develop pneumonia. Thank you all for your friendship and prayers. God is in control! Praise His Name even in chaos and when plans have to change!

Have a blessed and safe day.

Careful and Steadfast

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

I hear a lot about people who refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. Right now, I’m in the midst of frustration over our government that is throwing our nation into turmoil and does not accept any responsibility for their irresponsible actions. So, I’m just pointing out that choices lead to consequences and the Bible is filled with admonitions to choose paths carefully, stay on the right path and choose to avoid evil. It’s our choice every time!

I hope that your day and weekend is blessed and safe.

Deeds Done in Humility

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

james.bible/james-3-13

This is a verse that made me stop and think this morning. First, I don’t consider myself particularly wise or understanding and I thought it was odd that the verse would start with such a question. Who can be considered humble if they already consider themselves wise and understanding? Then, I thought some more and realized that God gives us the wisdom and understanding that we need and in that, we can be humble, acknowledging that these are gifts from Him. Then, we can show our wisdom and understanding by doing good deeds without expecting any kind of recognition in return. That is humility and it truly comes from wisdom. If we only do good deeds to get recognition, then is it truly a good deed? Food for thought.

Have a blessed day, my friends, and enjoy the goodness of God who gives us all things to use for His glory.

Thankful

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

This was in my devotional this morning and it goes along with my post about not boasting yesterday. If we truly realize that everything comes from God, and are thankful for it all, then we will not be boasting. I am very thankful today because we are spending the week with grandchildren and bonus! My brother is coming for a few days from Colorado. I usually only see him every couple of years, but this is an extra visit since he had to come east anyway for a memorial service for his wife’s stepfather. Be that as it may, I get to see Steve and Lee again and introduce them to our youngest grandson Nathan, the little one I took care of for a while in the fall and who turns one on Friday. So many things to be thankful for! What are you thankful for today?

Have a blessed day, counting your blessings and being thankful to God for each of them!