christian living, comparison, faith walk, grace, humility, impatience, life experience, relationships
I recently visited a friend in Prescott, Arizona. On our walk around the neighborhood, I stopped to capture an image of the blossoming beauties by the roadside. This high desert area is not just home to cactus, but oaks, cottonwoods, pines and junipers. Rugged granite outcroppings also dot the landscape.
The cactus, like the boulders, stand in contrast to the green of the trees around them. They are also prickly, spiny and tough. The flower, soft by contrast, reminds me the cactus has a purpose. It is food for many critters of the high desert. Fruit grows where the flower blooms, right between the thorns.
I admit, I haven’t always appreciated cacti. I see their thorns and characterize them as worthy of a wide berth. But I’m reminded that their exterior purposefully protects the fruit for the animals equipped to eat it, in spite of the spiny thorns.
So what do you think of when you see a cactus? Do you see danger or resilience? Do you see a meal or a menace? Are they prickly or purposeful?
It was good for me to reconsider and contemplate this spiky, desert dweller. What I know about myself is, I am too often, too quick to judge and steer clear. I’ve even met a few prickly people, and have been one more than I like to admit. Ouch!
I’m thankful I was reminded to slow down, reconsider and contemplate God’s purposes for his creation, prickly or not.
We’ve all been created on purpose and with purpose.
This is my prayer: Lord, I want to live with and see your purpose in all of your creation – whether the prickly pear cactus, or people that seem prickly on the outside. Help me to contemplate and consider all you have made, and respond kindly. Let me live my purpose for You with passion and sincerity.
“For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16 ESV
christian living, faith walk, God first, impatience, life experience, perseverance, Prayer, resilience, trust, Uncategorized
I’m a fixer, a get it done girl, an advanced planner and someone who likes to think she has some control over situations and circumstances. As I prepare to share messages about Ruth, Tamar and Miriam, I’ve been juggling thoughts as I’ve been reading, highlighting and underlining. The question each story begs to know: What’s a girl to do when she bumps into circumstances beyond her control?
What I am learning from these women helps to answer that question:
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Ruth, widowed and without means, followed her bitter mother-in-law, Naomi, back to her homeland. Ruth gleaned for leftover grain, the only option she had. Yet she became the great grandmother of King David and is listed in the genealogy of Christ.
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Tamar was deceived and abandoned. She deceived in return. It’s a sordid tale. And yet it’s in scripture, perhaps as a cautionary tale. Poor choices and all, Tamar is also named in the lineage of Christ.
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Miriam bravely watches her brother Moses as he is saved by Pharaoh’s daughter, then challenges his God ordained authority, after all the miracles of the exodus. But she is the first woman to be called a prophetess in the Bible.
All of these women had something in common, besides being far from perfect, they didn’t know how their story would end. None of us do. Yet in the midst of it all, the ugly, the hard and harrowing, they encountered the God who created them, loved them and was still writing their stories.
How are you responding to circumstances that feel beyond your control? Are you trying to fix? Or are you trusting God has a plan?
Perhaps, like me, you need to be reminded that your story is still being written. That God is trustworthy even in our unknown and seemingly unfixable. The God who knew and loved Ruth, Tamar and Miriam, also knows and loves you. He’s the author of all of our stories. I’m daily learning to trust Him in all things.
PRAYER: “Lord, let me be a willing participant in all you are doing. Your ways are not my ways, they are often beyond my comprehension. Let me trust you and walk with you. Not away from you or ahead of you. Continue to teach me and draw me to yourself.”
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 ESV
christian living, faith walk, grace, humility, impatience, life experience, Prayer, relationships, resilience, restoration
Can I be honest? I found myself more than irritated with the “customer service” rep on the other end of the phone. I thought my request was simple enough, but I ended up with a bigger mess. Sadly, my irritation was obvious, and I was more direct than needed with the agent. Sad face.
My quick words with their edgy tone have been an uphill battle for me. How is it that my love of words is also a tripping hazard?
My sweet husband reminds me that all isn’t lost and I have made progress in this verbal arena. He says I’m slower to be reactive and harsh with my words. Yay! But I still ask myself what have I done to soften my tone and find gentler/kinder phrasing?
- I confess to the Lord, who is always there, ready to listen.
- I admit that I still struggle to soften my words and my tone.
- I ask forgiveness from the Forgiver of all.
As I am humbled again, by His grace,
- it occurs to me that the customer service rep also needs an apology from me.
Feel free to check on me and ask me how the apology went. I’ll appreciate the accountability.
If there is a lesson you are learning on repeat, would you please share it with me in an email? I’d love to pray for you as you graciously learn to repeat the lesson less often!
“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4
“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” Proverbs 21:23
christian living, faith walk, God first, grace, impatience, life experience, parenting, relationships, resilience
In my teens I thought thirty somethings were over-the-hill, ancient people. Then when I turned 30, it felt like a light clicked on and I understood life better. After all, I was the oldest I had ever been.
My husband and I carried this phrase into parenting. We used to say, often with a knowing chuckle, “they are the oldest they have ever been.” The reason for the phrase was to recall our own growth journey and in turn find grace for our children.
At two, our toddler son felt like the king of the world with all his new abilities. Often saying, “I do it myself!” The confidence with each stage of development continued – single digit to tween, we’d say, “He’s the oldest he’s ever been.” When he was 18, was a senior in high school AND living at home, unique challenges and lively discussions abounded about house rules, freedom of choice and personal responsibility.
That son is now respectably closer to forty than eighteen. He’s more mature and thankfully, so am I.
I saw my forties as a great awakening of sorts. I dug deep into who I was – a child of God and my parents, baby sister to 4 siblings, but also a wife for 20 years, mom to three who was seeing life through her own longer lived experience.
The grace part became beautifully and deeply real. I needed to give grace like I had already received it.
Aging is an ebb and flow of living and learning. Wherever the Lord has you on the “you are as old as you’ve ever been” continuum, look in the mirror and accept that there is grace enough for you at every age. Then, freely give others lots of grace for their aging experience.
We are all the oldest we have ever been!
“… he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” Ephesisans 2:7-8
“…to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight…” Ephesians 1:6-8
christian living, faith walk, friendship, life experience, Listening, perseverance, Prayer, relationships, spirituality
I love my yellow boots. Although they are perfect for mucking through garden mud and planting pansies, they could hardly be called the “right shoe” for a day at the office or a night out when I need a more polished look. Understanding the “right shoe for the job” has many helpful implications.
There have been many times when I failed to choose the right “shoe or tool” for a situation.
- What tone of voice is best? House shoes or Military boots?
- What facial expression communicates my heart? Brightly colored sandals?
- When is a hug needed more than words? Fuzzy slippers might do the trick.
- When does listening have a greater impact than speaking? Sneakers are multipurpose and particularly good for listening due to their quiet nature.
I’ve been on a quest to identify the right shoes for the job. Some tasks call for shoes that are comfortable for more than 2 hours, ( wouldn’t it help if they were labeled by their hours of wear time!) but I’m also learning that what is most comfortable for me, isn’t always best for the situation. My yellow boots may be great for stomping through the yard, but the lighter footprint required at times, means a shoe change for me.
It’s ironic that I can learn so much when wearing my garden stomping boots and yet I can fail at the finesse needed in more delicate circumstances.
If you also need a little help choosing your shoes, or communication tools, spend time with these encouraging words of wise counsel from God’s Word, the Bible.
“The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips. Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Proverbs 16:23-24
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5
Lord, help me to seek your wisdom about the right tools and shoes for the job! May I know when to step lightly and when to quietly listen.
christian living, faith walk, friendship, life experience, parenting, perseverance
Once upon a time there was a mom with three young kids who didn’t know how to ask for help. Even when her legs and joints stopped working, as the pain of Valley Fever attacked her body, she put on the “I’m okay” mask and tried to carry on with life.
However, in this chapter, “carrying on” was hard because her body wasn’t cooperating. It needed time to heal and healing meant she needed to rest. And ask for help.
Rest and Help were both foreign words to this energizer bunny, mom. Thankfully, those who knew her, also knew she needed help, whether she asked, admitted or not.
- Laundry. Meals. Picking up kids. Taking them on school trips. Band practice. More meals. Dance. School. More laundry. Weeks turning into months.
All such gracious gifts. Gifts she was humbled to receive. Gifts that would be hard to repay.
As the next chapters were written, the mom had wise women in her life who would remind her that the gifts “could” be repaid, as occasion permitted, but they were offered without strings. The mom was humbled and challenged to accept them as such.
The Greatest Gift we can ever receive is also offered without strings.
Chapter upon chapter, the mom was learning more about grace and gifts – deserved and undeserved.
