I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
It has been a tough week for me, but through it all, God has shown Himself faithful. Being faithful means He keeps His promises, and it is part of who he is, not just something He does. Since it is one of the fruits of the Spirit, God wants us to develop that quality in our character, too.
As I spoke quietly with the family last evening at the funeral home, I felt the Lord’s presence surround me with His comfort and love. I saw the teen granddaughters, trying to maintain their composure and smile, but I saw the hurt in their eyes, too. So, when I got up to them, I told them how much their grandmother loved them and talked about them all the time and that she would always be with them in their hearts. That’s when they shed a few tears and I gave them a hug. God is faithful to show us what people need and how we can help them.
God is faithful all the time, in all the ways we need Him. Sometimes, I think faithfulness means that God marches to the beat of my drum, but that isn’t true. God fulfills His promises in His Word, but it is His plan that is unfolding, not mine. He is faithful to His plan for all of our lives, oftentimes in spite of my getting in His way and trying to demand changes in His plan. God remains faithful.
God is faithful when I am irritated with Him. Be honest. You get irritated at God, too. His timing isn’t working out for you. His plan is taking too long. The prayers you consistently prayed weren’t answered the way you thought they would be. But God is still faithful. He is doing what is best for us, even when we are too short-sighted to see it.
God’s faithfulness to us is part of His great love for us. He faithfully works with us, to make us more like He created us to be.
God’s faithfulness surrounds Him and when we are in His presence, it surrounds us, too. There is no one like our God!
When God is shows us His faithfulness, He wants us to share it with others so that they, too, can have hope and believe. In a world where lying, deceit and chicanery are part of the everyday habits of most people, tell others about our faithful God, the God who does not change and who is always faithful in all ways. We may disappoint Him, but He remains steadfastly faithful.
This was my devotional this morning, after a heart-wrenching day yesterday. The devotional is from the YouVersion Bible App and is entitled “Knowing God Has a Plan: 5-Day Devotional by Anne Wilson.”
When Grief Comes, Is God Still Good?
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5
Some say grief is horror at loss…at not being able to touch them, laugh with them, or make new memories with them. Others may say it is soul-crushing…excruciating…and it makes eternity feel instantaneously close… yet so far away. For me, it is all of this on top of the what-ifs and what-could-have-beens rolled into one.
In the “Seventh of June” song, I wanted to be transparent about the process of grief…how it comes in waves and on anniversaries…how it spills out in tears. We are all in the trenches at times – “praying and trying to make sense of what don’t make sense in this life.” We are all put on notice, waiting for the impossible moment that we never want to face. But we all face loss. We are not getting off of this earth without it.
Grieving people ask themselves: Did they know how much I loved them? What should I have done differently? It can be heavy and full of despair, yet empty of adding up to make sense. How could this have happened? Why did this happen? And the ones no one likes to talk about: Is God still good? And where is God in the midst of our grief?
Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the broken-hearted for they shall be comforted…but ask a new mother holding her stillborn baby if she feels blessed. Ask anyone at the edge of a hospice bed if they feel blessed.
I have learned that the blessing is having Jesus to weep with you. To hold you. To give you supernatural peace that only He can give. At my lowest times and my darkest days, the Prince of Peace is there to encourage me and to catch my tears. I want to remind you that He is good and promises us that weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Here are some questions to ponder as you process your grief with the Lord:
Is God responsible for our loss?
There must be a reason we have a period on earth to experience truth, beauty, and goodness but also deception, ugliness, and evil. What could God’s purposes be?
Now, back to me and my losses. Two good friends and former colleagues passed away this week, but I just heard of their deaths yesterday on my way home from my urologist. I was rejoicing that my bladder scan was good and the solution proposed was an easy one of long-term, low dose antibiotics. Then, I got the text that shattered my world and sent my heart into a tailspin. Ann Garner, the attendance secretary at the high school where I worked for so many years here in Virginia, passed away on Sunday morning. Ann was a dear friend as well as a co-worker. She and I used to go out to lunch together several times a month. After my stroke, she was gracious to include my husband Harry in our outings, since I couldn’t drive myself. We shared laughter, tears and a lot of happy times together. I spoke to her just before I went on the grad tour. She called me to tell me that a former student wanted my phone number and she wouldn’t give it to her without my permission. When I called her back, she sounded really weak, not like herself at all. So I asked her what was going on in her life these days. We hadn’t seen each other for over a year since I had health issues, she had health issues and we just couldn’t make our schedules work. But we stayed in contact, so I was devastated to hear her news that her cancer was not only back but she was on home hospice care. I asked if there was anything I could do and she just asked me to pray. So, my husband and I did. I knew then that the end was close, but I refused to accept that truth and kept praying for healing. After all, she had survived for twelve years with cancer. But the end came in spite of my prayers because God called Ann home to be with him. A widow since 2006, she is reunited with her beloved Clarence now, so I know that her cup is filled with joy. I, on the other hand, feel distraught and a deep grief, a sense of longing for our times together that won’t happen again.
The second blow came as I was online trying to find the information about Ann’s services. I finally found it on Facebook, of all places, and in scrolling, I discovered that a second colleague, Coach Joe Harper had passed away yesterday. Joe was a wonderful man and a good friend who encouraged everyone to enjoy life while we had it. After my stroke, he used to come by my room almost daily just to check in with me and ask how I was doing. I should note here that he taught all the way on the other end of a very large building, but he made the trek to the language hallway because he cared about others, including me. He used to greet us in the office at the mailboxes each morning with the same big smile and the words, “Another day in Paradise!” I truly believe that this kind and loving man who was unselfish to his core is also in the presence of the Father.
After these two deaths had time to settle in my conscious, I cried quietly, then I sobbed. Then, I went to bed early, long before my regular time. In fact, I was asleep before 6:30 last night, praying for peace and comfort for all of the friends and family and that God would give me peace and allow me to rest. He did, and I did. I awakened a couple of times as usual, made my bathroom stop and fell back to sleep. Today, I am feeling a little numb and like I have entered a world that is not well known to me. The death of two friends within days of each other invokes grief but also a wake-up call to my own mortality. None of is promised tomorrow, but if we know the Lord, we are promised eternity.
So, to answer the questions in the devotional: God is not responsible for the loss. Sin came into the world and death follows sin. God’s purpose is not always known, but He is always working out His plan, in others and in me. May the deaths of these loved ones point others to Christ. I know this must be part of His plan.
I am not really feeling joy this morning, but I am feeling a peace and a comfort that can only come from God. Whoever you are missing today, I hope that as you read these words, you will know that God is close beside you and longs to comfort you with His loving presence.
May this old hymn speak to your heart today and give you peace as you reflect on all that God has done and is still doing for you. I am thankful for all of the safe trips we made and the blessings of seeing grandchildren graduate, my brother and his family from Colorado and our daughter and granddaughters from Pennsylvania. Here are photos to show you the graduates, my family members and happy, blessed me!
Isaac Steven Watts on graduation day with his Grampa and NannaTyler James Bailey on his graduation day with Nanna and GrampaTeryn Joy Bailey on her prom day (also Tyler’s grad date). She is a homeschooled young lady who plans to go to Liberty University to study elementary education, with an emphasis on serving on the mission field. Teya Elizabeth Bailey on her graduation day. Me, my brother Steve, his wife Lee and my great-niece Juni in Myrtle Beach, SC (Steve and family flew in from Colorado.)Amen!
It is very easy to get busy with our own lives and forget that there are people who need help. We say we will pray for them, but do we? When is prayer not enough? We have quickly discovered that we can send money to a good cause and our conscience about helping others is assuaged. Jesus did not say to send money. He said to “go.” I am guilty of being one of those who tends to be insular, staying at home and sending money. I want to be more active, to look around and see the needs of others and to meet them if I can. And if I cannot, I want to find someone who can. There is so much evil and greed in the world. I want to reflect Jesus with my love, a heart of compassion and real caring. How do I do that? I don’t know, but I am willing to find out. So, my heart’s cry is “Send me.”
Please take the time to listen to the words of this song. Our answer to God should always be “yes” before He even asks. After all, He sought us out before we even knew Him.
I am creating this post early since tomorrow my husband and I are traveling to a nearby town to celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary. But I couldn’t let the day go by without wishing everyone in my little blogosphere a Happy Easter!
Easter is my favorite holiday. Most people say that Christmas is their favorite, and I think that used to be my answer when I was younger. But now that I am counted with the elderly, I look forward to Easter and the joy and hope it brings.
Ambassador Mike Huckabee and his wife are in Israel now, serving our nation as he has done for most of his life. As you read this scripture, say a prayer for him and Janet to be safe and well there.
I get Ambassador Huckabee’s Prayer Tree each day in my Messenger and it really is worth the subscription. Uplifting and powerful words, plus prayer requests that keep us in touch with other hurting siblings in Christ. Remember to keep Mr. Huckabee and his wife in your prayers. They plan to be in Israel to start their service to our nation by this Thursday. May God bless Him and keep him and his wife safe in that war-torn nation that is still God’s chosen people.
This day is also called the day of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I can only imagine what our Lord was thinking or feeling as He entered the city for the last time, welcomed by crowds of cheering people. Some of those same people will be in the crowd that in about a week insist that He be crucified even though He is totally innocent of any sin or crime. Let us ponder this Palm Sunday if we have put aside all of our doubts about who He is and worship Him in spirit and in truth. This is a day of celebration but there is somber spirit, too, because we know, just as Jesus knew, what awaits Him. Yet He willingly went to the cross for each of us so that we could be reconciled to the Father. He knew, yet He went to Jerusalem. He knew what would happen to Him there, but He went anyway. As you think about Jesus’s sacrifice, spend some time today thinking about areas in which you struggle and know that Jesus set the example for us and followed God’s will, even to the point of death. Problems with repetitive sins? Jesus understands. Problems with moving past your sin and forgiving yourself? Jesus knows your heart and loves you. Problems with forgiving others? There is not one single person in all the earth then or now that Jesus was not willing to die for. Be thankful and thoughtful today. Meditate, ponder, appreciate.
What does it mean for the Lord to be our shepherd? This video explains well and I hope it blesses your heart to know all the ways God is your shepherd.
I particularly enjoyed the part about God’s being there in the valleys. We seem to have a lot of challenges in this life, but God is right there, leading us and keeping us safe. I also liked the part about God’s preparing a table for us before our enemies, teaching us to rely on His protection. The Psalm is from the beginning of the video until about the four minute mark and the other seven plus minutes are a prayer based on the psalm. It was very relaxing and uplifting for me to start my day with this today.
Then I followed this scripture and prayer with this song from Phil Wickham. I hope you have a blessed day, knowing that God is with you always and you will be with Him for eternity.
I never really understood what God’s peace means in my life until I started having one health problem after another. My natural tendency would be to rail against the unfairness of life and to give God a stern talking to about the fact that my life was not being blessed as He promised and I expected. The problem was that I was blessed, He kept His promises, but it was my expectations that were wrong.
This quotation from C.S. Lewis explains what I discovered is absolute truth. No matter how many problems I faced, I still had God on my side, in my corner, watching my back. All of those things and more! The circumstances didn’t change, but my attitude toward them did. What could be so wrong, you may ask? I was born with asthma, a single kidney that started failing about fifteen years ago and I had a massive stroke in 2015. So, in short, I have had and still have a lot of health problems, but there has not been a single problem that I have had that God has not helped me through it. He didn’t leave me floundering after the doctors pronounced their words of wisdom over me about my conditions. Rather, God comforted me and kept whispering to me that He was right there with me.
How do I find God’s peace in the middle of my tumultuous life? I spend time in God’s Word, daily, consistently and faithfully. His promises are there, including the ones about peace. I say them over and over until they go from my mind to my heart. Then, I accept that God is in control and move on to the next thing that I have to do, with my hand in His and my life submitted to Him.
Could I choose to be bitter and angry? Of course, because we all have that choice. Instead, I choose to be thankful for each day God gives me and each new thing He shows me in His Word. Some people look at the silver lining and proclaim loudly that they see a cloud. Rather, I look at the silver lining and I am thankful for it, no matter what may follow.
Yield means to let go, to slow down and be aware but you don’t just stop living. I have peace because I have chosen to yield to God. My number of days is in His hands. He is the One who gives me peace and He hasn’t let me down, even when I have disappointed Him with my initial reaction of rebellious demands.
I leave you with this old hymn that means a lot to me and I hope that you will listen and enjoy the lyrics and the meaning behind the words.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 