Who would be grateful for something like that?

It is amazing and beautiful when I get to witness the absolute glory of God in the life of another.

You may or may not know that my father in law has been struggling with cancer for about 14 months now. Actually during this time, everything that could go wrong....well, it has gone wrong- terribly wrong.

In his last visit to the oncologist, she basically said, "this is as good as it gets for you now". In that few minutes with the doctor, every hope and future plan was canceled out by her cold and matter-of-fact words. His passion and will to play the game of golf again was taken, his hopes of travel and leisure, in this his time of  retirement, were corrupted and his mind began to believe the lie that, "this is as good as it gets".

It would be easy to end here and more stories than not sadly, do. However, this one...it goes on.

So, in trying to find an answer for the pain he met with a surgeon. In another "matter-of-fact conversation" amputation was suggested. Amputation! Oh, my goodness, no way what will we do? O, the Horror- kind of thoughts crossed my mind....but, not his.

Who would be grateful for something like that? Tom would. It was the re-creating of his hopes and future. It was knowledge that there was so much more for him and in that instant, the lie was shattered.

God's ever-loving plan had changed everything. Tom is doing just fine- better than fine- without his right leg. And his spirits? Not in at least the last 14 months have I heard of him with such true joy. He is pain-free and has a new lease on life. Come what may, we know that God's glory is always shining in you, me and all around us.

So, who could be thankful and blessed by an amputation? I can, my husband can, my mother in law can...we all can because today....it is the gift of seeing God's hand and the blessing of unlimited physical freedom in an unlikely answer.

In our infirmities, when we are weak, desperate and almost giving up....God's glory is our strength. The strength to embrace the loss of an extremity. The strength to overcome any obsticle placed on our path, the strength to face death and chose to live.

Do not forget to see the glory of God everyday, in the simple, in the painful, in the storms and in the obvious. Don't miss the blessings He has for you new every morning and don't wait to do what you know you were created for...we are not guarnteed time beyond this very word....embrace that, "there is so much more for you than this!"

Storms

Today as we drove to church the sky revealed a most awesome storm front rolling in. It was like God had taken the sky and folded it back, divided it, the sunny skies from the dark ominous storm clouds that were quickly approaching. It was just beautiful. -wish I was a photographer because that would have been a great picture.
Anyway, we sang a song today in church that says, "I will be still and know you are God" then I learned that "I will be still" in the Greek means: to quit scampering about. This began to bring the morning together for me as I stood there very thankful that I could honestly sing those words as well as do them. I mean there are some words I find that I can't sing because I know I can not or have not yet mastered the faith to do the action so -I tend to cry out for the faith to do so instead of sing them. However, today I was so thankful that I can be still and know that: in my daughters storm, or my Husbands pain, or my mothers struggle and even in a loved one's cancer....I can be still and know He is God. To me, that speaks to my heart..."Do not fear for I am with you". Today that is enough for me. I can pray, I can seek God's healing and peace but, I do not have to be overcome with worry. I am not controlled by my circumstances, my control lies with my God.
Once upon a time, my heart and mind did not know that I could just be still and know....I was in perpetual turmoil due to the circumstances that surrounded me. I did not know how to trust God. Now, He has revealed Himself to me, pursued me, grown and stretched me, healed me and most definitely put my feet on a solid ground. Today, I lay it all down and know that I can be still and know that He is God.
If you are reading this and caught up in your own storm that has you completely wrapped up. All I can do is tell you what happened to me. I had to learn that when I was scared, angry, upset, disappointed or whatever....I had to talk to God about it.
For example, one of my biggest struggles was that I just could not stand this particular person, I really just tensed up and was overtaken with "dislike" when I was in their presence. It became almost obsessive for me I worried about if they would be at the same place as I, I made my commitments dependent on if that person would be involved or not, it ( I ) was crazy. It was not until I became "still", took it to God and prayed about it that I realized it was MY problem.  It had very little to do with all I made it up to be in my mind, it was about me. God stayed with me and I even began to pray for that person. It was less genuine at first but, grew into authentic heartfelt prayer and you know what, God took that and made it a wonderful victory in my life.
That is a kind of lame example but, no matter what it is.... He may not remove the thorn but, He will use it to grow and stretch you if you allow it.

I am not YOU ARE

You are the master creator, Alpha and Omega, my redeemer, restorer and the lover of my soul. You are ever present and always with me. You come to hold me when I am sad, you discipline me when I have gone astray and you know me from the very fibers you knit me together with in the womb. You were there in my pain and you are there in my healing. You set the timing for all of it.
Lord today, I fear. I am scared and although I know you are there and working ahead for your purpose, I am scared. I know you, I have seen your hand print on my life consistently and I feel you near to me- I still fear. I trust you and I have seen the glory you can make out of a disaster. I have seen you allow miracles around me and still I fear.
So today, I will say I am not....but, YOU ARE! I will praise you in my fear and I will believe that your plan is in the works and I will trust what I know is true, I am not but, YOU are the I AM.

The Cable Guy

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Today the cable guys were here doing more work than they had planned on or expected. I tried to keep them hydrated and as comfortable as possible and chatted just a bit with both of them. One of them made a comment to me that really made me think. He said, “You sure are accommodating, much more than what I am used to, it seems like people these days are grumpier than when I first began doing this”. I replied, “I guess it is our modern day society, people have been spoiled, they want it fast and if they have to wait at all it is considered an inconvenience”.

Wow, this really brought home how we expect everything to be fast and easy. Look at our marriage/divorce rates, our investment in convenience foods, faster phones, faster computers, facebook – you can announce anything immediately and saturate your friends circle moments after anything exciting happens  (we instantly share our lives).

Today, I was not in a hurry, I did not care to wait in fact, I was grateful that they were invested in their jobs enough to do the work right since it was “lacking” from the previous cable guy. I anticipate that the end result will be proper working Internet, phones and cable TV. Therefore, I am willing to wait patiently.

Aren’t the best things in life worth waiting for? We wait 9 months for a precious baby, we wait (usually) to plan a wedding and the Honeymoon, we wait and prepare for a job, we wait for those things that matter. Why can we not wait patiently? Like in our prayer life, can you honestly say you wait patiently in you prayer life? I can not, I have learned where and when to take my life happenings, wants and needs to the Lord but, waiting on Him is a skill that I have still not a mastered.

Much like the cable guy experienced, I seem to be consistently impatient when it comes to waiting on God to lead me in whichever path is right. I tend to go before and sometimes I pick the right path but, I miss the blessing of peace because I have gone on before and am a nervous wreck because I have gone out on  my  own  instead of waiting on the master technician to show me how to do the job right.

So, maybe next time you (I) - we find ourselves in a tizzy because we have not waited steadfast in our prayer lives and are riddled with doubt and wonder how did we get here? ….remember the cable guy, stop, pray and wait.

Just breathe and be patient. Nothing He has planned for us will pass us by if we are praying in His will, being obedient and waiting faithfully. In HIS time we will get the job done, right and without being riddled with doubt for His glory not ours. Doesn’t that sound so much better than the original scenario? I think so!

The heart of a Lion

God is remarkable in his individual creation of our spirit. We see it everyday, we watch telethons about it, we see newspaper articles about it, we see expose about it on TV, we pay to watch movies that exploit it and it testifies to our souls that there is still good in this world.
The human spirit to me is that voice inside that encourages us to strive for more, that focus's us and drives us in whatever it is that we are passionate about.
I myself see it daily and often am brought near tears at the sight. In this corrupt world filled with all the crud we are surrounded by I look for the human spirit to arise and reassure me that I am not alone.
I am so blessed to be a mom and see the spirit in my children daily however, it's those times that the unexpected happens that we realize that God took so much creativity and care in knitting together His masterpieces you and I.
My daughter just lived out one of these miraculous times for me in what would seem a usual day. That is it...making the ordinary extraordinary. God knit into my daughter's very being a passion for track. She loves to run and is very competitive. It is absolutely one of the most beautiful things I know, to see someone living out their passion. I am partial, however in this instance, I think we can all appreciate this example of how the human spirit can move us, motivate us and encourage us.
She has been on crutches for 8 days and it has been a long 8 days. She has stood by and watched others step into her place and fill her positions and with each passing day doubt has set in, her spirit...downcast and unsure.
On Tuesday she had the opportunity to run full out for the first time since being on crutches. This was a small meet, not special but, to her it was going to be a defining moment. She stepped on the track again and she ran, if you ask me she flew. She was going to be OK was what was on mind mind, she was definitely back! The second race was one she had determined to prove herself, come what may she was going all out, no holds barred, she had resigned herself to leave it all on the track. It was a hard race and as she received the baton they were behind by 15 or so steps. As she took off it looked grim for us to win as we were following a significant lead. As she started into the first turn we all could see that she was catching up. There was hope still alive in this race. she did, she caught up and was neck to neck with the competitor and then as she crossed the finish line she fell. It was horrible to see and for a millisecond  she was motionless. It was one of the scariest moments I have endured as a mom. She was skinned from her temple to her shoulder to her arm, wrists, elbow, thigh, knee just all the way down her body. She was kind of like a drunk person that wants to drive....she kept saying I am alright trying to walk away but, her legs were useless. I believe that she had expelled so much energy that her body just hit empty.
Well, Cassie recovered and went on to run another race still bleeding from the fall. Nobody would have expected her to run, in fact it would have been perfectly acceptable for her to skip the race and go home to tend to her injuries. Instead when faced with the decision she sucked it up, pulled herself together and won her heat in her last race.
I can't tell you how that example of the human spirit testified to my heart in the midst of an ordinary track meet. To many they have told her that they admire her heart and courage and to some they totally missed it, some probably think it was humiliating...to me it makes me more thankful that God is so intricate in His design of His children and how we see His beauty in others everyday.

Things to pass on

It has taken me a lot of thought to come up with my number one can not do without, information to pass on. Just for the record, it may change but so far this is what has proven to completely encroach on absolutely everything if left to fester.
Forgivness...unforgivness will lead to hate, bitterness and will seep into everything you do, plan, love and into your heart. It is a conscious choice we have to make, either to forgive or not to forgive. We fool ourselves into thinking that holding a grudge, punishing the wrong doer, or ignoring the elephant in the room will give us a FEELING of satisfaction.  Our FEELING should not lead our choices the truth of God that we know in our minds should lead our steps. We fall into the enemies trap when we start living by feelings alone. This feeling we can get of "satisfaction", is short lived and is, in fact, a wolf in sheep's clothing, so to speak.  Harboring ill feelings, animosity, or the past against someone will only bind, rob and destroy you in the long run.
In the word are  we are, point blank, told to forgive as we were forgiven period, that's it- no if's and or buts about it. Over the years I have grown to see that God doesn't ask this of us just out of obedience but also because it is the absolute best option for us. Forgiveness allows us to live in the freedom that is our for the taking. So, forgive for your freedom and let God use you in remarkable ways!