Tag: He is faithful

A Rainbow

I was driving home from taking my oldest daughter to work. It had been a dreary rainy day the previous day and at that hour there were still some sprinkles. After leaving her at work I made my way home. The sun was starting to peak over the horizon. Before me, in the middle of the gray clouds was a faint, but large rainbow.

I began musing about the promise God made to Noah and how we still see evidence of this today. It struck me as odd that God did this. He could have sent an angel or some other method to share this promise with Noah. But he didn’t. He made it permanent a part of our natural world. And yet a rainbow while being real in a scientific sense is also extremely ephemeral and mysterious. If you try to track the rainbow you will never catch it. It disappears before your eyes.

The rainbow comes on the heels of the a storm. Without the storm there is no rainbow. He doesn’t promise us there will be smooth sailing. He never said a trouble free life is a sign of his hand in our lives. No. He promises us hope in the storm. He reminds us of his presence and greatness even while the rain falls.

He gives us hope to face what we need to face. His rainbow is a reminder of him and his great love for man.

Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Surprises

I was planning to get into my garden and weed and maybe even plant some carrots this week. I didn’t have time last week. But mother nature had other plans. Late snow for Calgary.

Life is like this. We plan, things change, we adjust and we move forward. If you sit down and contemplate how little control we actually have over what happens, it can be overwhelming and a bit frightening.

That is how believing there is a God behind it all offers us hope. Not a vengeful, wrathful God, but a loving God. For me personally the idea that some good can come out of terrible experiences, or even some order can emerge from the chaos, is a hopeful thought.

The garden will come, whether I weed on schedule or not. I’m just enjoying the time to sit back and reflect and wonder at the blessings God has gifted me.

Romans 8: 26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Choose God

We attended a wedding a few weeks ago. It was a joyous day watching a lovely young faithful couple declare their commitment to each other. Blue skies, warm weather and a crowd of family and friends were there to bless the bride and groom.

One can’t help but reflect on your own life in this situation. I am grateful that God brought Wes into my life. I am thankful that Wes chose me. There is a real honour in someone trusting you with their love and their future. I believe he feels the same way about me. Nice how that works isn’t it?

God chose me. Even before I knew him. Even before I was born he loved me. He loved me so much that he sent his son to die for me. God chose you too. Even before you were born he loved you. He offers his love to anyone who will chose to accept it.

An amazing choice – to receive another’s gift of love. We just need to accept. We can trust God with our love and our future. He is faithful.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The irony of fall

Fall has always been a time of renewal for me. A time for a fresh start. Perhaps after years of starting school in September it seems like a natural new start time. We even got married in the fall. Two of my babies were born in the fall. We bought this house in the fall. I have started new jobs in the fall.

The season of change where nature prepares itself for the oncoming winter shouldn’t be associated with newness. And yet it is. The leaves aren’t turning yet and the weather is still pleasantly warm. My garden is still growing. Summer is lingering on. But, there is a change to the way the air smells (minus the smoke – cough cough). The evenings are getting shorter. Before long the harvest will be in and the leaves will be crunching under our feet.

For the first time since Wes’ stroke I feel as though we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It has been an extremely difficult time wandering lost in the wilderness. I hope now that this fall ushers in a time of renewal and rebuilding.

In the same way as a renovated kitchen has to follow the demolition of the old one, so do we have to undergo times of great trial and sorrow in order to be built up stronger.

I pray that fall will be a time of refocusing and renewal in your heart and life.

Psalm 51: 10 – 12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Open to inputs

I could not move my dog last night. He was sleeping by my feet and was on the sheet and blankets in such a way that I couldn’t cover my body. I tried to move him. He resisted. He used his substantial weight (ahem!) to resist my nudges.

This reminded me of my kiddos when they were little. As a parent I always respected a bit of a stubborn streak in my kids. Thinking that a bit of firmness of character is a good thing, and it is. But there were those times when my kids were unreasonably committed to the cause of that moment. If you are a parent you understand what I’m describing. The times when a child takes a stand. A firm unmovable stand. Not because the issue is so serious or because they would normally feel this way, but because they are hungry or overtired, or just feeling out of sorts. An unreasonable, unwilling to listen to logic, unflinching stand.

While I do believe we need to stand on our principles, we first need to work out what our principles are. We need to be willing to examine information and test it against the scripture. We need to make sure the hill we die on is worth doing so. Children have not yet learned the art of picking their battles, or self examination. We need to do this to be mature. We need to review our beliefs and question what we accept as correct. This way we know when to be steadfast and when we need to adjust and grow.

It made me wonder if when Christ was on the cross he looked at the mob in front of him and saw them the way a parent sees a petulant child. The weight of His understand and his love is truly overwhelming when you consider it.

Luke 23:  33-34 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there,
along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Rely on His strength

I’m listening to old hymns, just instrumental, but the lyrics are so well known that my heart sings them along with the music. “This is my father’s world” the tune flowing through me.

Life’s struggles can mount up. The craziness and unpredictability of the world is frightening.

It is easy to feel alienated from the world around us. Like someone watching a strange improvised play where the actors have no idea they are acting.

The weight of the world can feel unbearable. Stop. Breath. Remember this is God’s world.

Isaiah 40: 29-31 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, 
they will walk and not be faint.

Sounds like home

I remember as a child holding a big conch shell up to my ear. Some adult urging me to try it. If I held it to my ear, I’d be able to hear the sea.

I held it up to my ear, it sounded breezy and muffled. I was skeptical. I cupped my hand and placed it over my ear. The sound was different. Had I thought to try it with a coffee mug my skepticism would have been founded, as the sound is similar, but I didn’t.

This seashell was plucked from the sea, but if you listen close it whispers of its home. You could bring home a vial of sea water. It would look no different from slightly murky salted water. Or you could bring a jar of sand. Neither the water nor the sand will tell you where they came from. But the shell will, if you care to listen.

This is like humans. If we watch and listen, we can know where people are from. Not identifying their country by their accents, but rather to whom their loyalties lie. We can hear where they belong. I hope our lives whisper to those around us and let them know that we have a home with God.

Matthew 7: 16 – 20 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

It’s a dog’s life

I like having my dog around. I love having him come snuggle up for cuddles. Or even follow me around harassing me to take him for a walk. But the best thing is that he is a reminder of what it is to live in the moment.

How much of my life is spent worrying about problems over which I have no control? Or fretting about what might or might not happen tomorrow?

I can get so obsessed with worry that I forget to sit in the sun and enjoy its rays. Or I fail to greet the people I love with an enthusiasm that shows how much I value them. Or I forget to take time to snuggle up with loved ones and pet their bellies. Wait! No – not that one. But maybe I could hug my loved ones more often.

I could learn to be more trusting, like my dog. He doesn’t wonder or worry where his food comes from, he knows his master will provide.

A dog lives now. Not tomorrow, not in the past. Now.

1 Peter 5: 6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Please God

We struggle with defining success. The usual markers are; money, stuff, friends, popularity, prestige… the list goes on.

We judge ourselves by what we don’t have and what we can’t do. But God doesn’t use the same metrics to judge that humanity does. He sees the emancipator of a nation off hiding in a foreign land. He sees the ruler of nation tucked away in the fields with his sheep. He sees the greatest prophet waiting by the river being fed by ravens. He sees the messenger heralding the arrival of the messiah in the wilderness eating locust and honey. He sees the foundation of his church in a simple fisherman.

He sees us. He sees the heart. He knows the struggle we face and the wounds we incur as we journey.

Don’t let the world badger you with its values and criticism, rather worry about pleasing God.

Matthew 20: 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”