faith – Page 7 – Pens and Journals

Sentimental Journey and the Moments that Count

Published on December 2, 2014December 2, 2014 by Nancy8 Comments

I’ve felt sentimental lately.

A dear aunt of mine passed away on Thanksgiving.

The older I get my aunt’s age of 77 doesn’t seem that old. Of course I know that younger (much younger) people or children pass away and the reality is that death is no respecter of age.

Either is illness. My aunt actually left her family a few years ago as Alzheimer’s snatched her from her loved ones and kept her captive until being released and set free on Thanksgiving.

She was a big part of my childhood~and even into my adult years~so the memories of the lovely person she was with her beautiful smile and contagious laughter are washing over me like a stream from a waterfall.

I’ve felt the need for stillness in the days that followed the news. I’m sensing a holy hush, a reminder of how fleeting this life really is.

Not only am I visiting memories of my aunt but memories of other loved ones, that have passed on. I’m brought back to different places in time recalling the moments spent with each one, who they were, their personalities, their quirks, their uniqueness and how they mattered. How they mattered to me.

I’m sitting here, in my pajamas (as noon approaches) with my third cup of coffee, and a half eaten bowl of steel-cut oats, clicking away at my keyboard.

Then out of nowhere my husband approaches and says, “Your brother, Frank, got us hooked on steel-cut oats, remember?”

I slide my glasses down my nose and look over them, “Yes, I remember.”

And I’m transported to another time; another memory.

Frank made a big pan of steel-cut oats for us, on one of our last visits with him, before his death. Coffee, oats and laughter filled our morning. Frank always made us laugh with his quick wit and funny stories.

You’ve been there too, I’ll bet. I mean the journey back to those sentimental places for a visit.

Then after a brief visit, we return. We come back to here, now, the moments of today and hopefully begin to savor each one.

I savor through photography.

Some people may think that taking pictures doesn’t allow a person to truly enjoy the moment. For me, just the opposite is true.

My camera engages me with my surroundings so much so that I become aware of things that may go unnoticed by others, especially in nature.

“Some people say they prefer living life instead of taking pictures of it. That’s missing the point. Photography gets you more involved in your environment. Most of all, it gets you out of the house and into the sunlight, where a lot of what I call “present-moment living” happens in the first place.” Jim Miotke

My camera has been a gift from God to help me focus on the blessings that surround me. One by one I see them, frame them with my eye and then snap them.

I don’t have to have a camera to savor the moments and either do you. We just need an awareness of how precious they are and give thanks for every gift.

The point is we often rush through our days without savoring much but when we make a conscience effort to savor we become engaged in the moments without letting them slip by. And we engage with the people we’re with making the time with them count

During this busy season of December, taking notice of when we’re harried, hurried, stressed (and with a deep breath) remember what really matters–the moments–the people–that’s what will help us refocus again and again.

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it is a memory.” Dr Seuss

Let’s savor and value the simplest of moments now–the everyday blessings–even before they become a memory.

When Being Thankful Seems Hard

Published on November 26, 2014December 3, 2014 by Nancy4 Comments

If you look back on my last few posts, you’ll discover a pattern.

I’ve woven the word steal into my text a few times.

In the article I wrote for FullFill Magazine I used the word rob–same thing.

My point was to help us realize that nothing can rob our joy or steal our thankfulness.

I mentioned in Don’t Let Them Steal Thanksgiving (part 1) and Don’t Let Them Steal Thanksgiving (part 2) that in the world of advertising and retail–the focus is to get our attention on the next best thing to buy and they zip right past Thanksgiving and into Christmas often before the end of October.

I’m a true fan of Thanksgiving. It’s a holiday that isn’t surrounded by purchasing gifts and commercialism.

For me Thanksgiving means gathering the family around the table, with a delicious spread of food, conversation, laughter and love. When I sit back and enjoy the day, all I have to do is look at the people who are sharing it with me and give thanks.

However I realize that for some this whole season, beginning in November through the end of December, is the hardest time of year to make it through.

Recently I spoke to a woman who is contemplating divorce. She has a fractured family and her pain runs deep. The Norman Rockwell images of family and home can haunt a person in her circumstances especially at this time of year.

My husband knows a young man who lost his father at the tender age of 15 mo. and struggles in a difficult relationship with his mother. His feelings of loss and abandonment are real and they intensify starting in mid-November.

Some people are separated from family by miles and can’t make it home. Some are estranged from family for various reasons.

Those who have lost loved ones, during this season, carry that reminder with them every year while trying to wear a smile. A loved one’s passing (at anytime of the year) can create a deeper void during the holidays.

I’ve heard people gloss over others’ pain with the trite remark, “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle,” as if somehow those words are ointment that can heal a wound.

First of all that statement cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. This imperfect world sometimes gives us more than we can handle and if we rely on “The God doesn’t give us more than we can handle” theology then the question becomes “how am I going to handle this?” The emphasis is put on I. That sort of ointment doesn’t work.

So what works? The healing ointment of grace and mercy from Jesus–that works.

Jesus Himself told us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) He said we would have trouble not that we might have trouble.

His overcoming power is available to help us through any obstacle, hardship or painful situation and that’s something we can always be thankful for.

When we are weak He is strong. That’s what 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us. In other words, when we tell the Lord that WE CAN’T HANDLE IT–whatever IT is–that opens up the connection for His resurrection power to flow.

That’s the key. It’s how we lean and how we wait during the blackest of days that gets us through them. Leaning on God, waiting on Him and looking for even the tiniest things to give thanks for restores hope and joy.

If we keep seeking Him through prayer–even when we doubt that he is there–even with our questions–our load becomes lighter, because in the seeking and the waiting we start expecting.

We become expectant for the arrival of an answer, a direction, a change in us, a change in circumstances, and just plain help. Whatever form it takes, it will come and we start believing that truth while we seek and wait.

Sometimes taking a look back at our lives helps. Pause for a moment in that place that seemed dark at one time. It’s good to recall how God took the ashes (adversities) and made something beautiful out of them. This practice always helps me when I’m in a troubling season, because it reminds me that what He did once He will do again.

In Isaiah 61 He promises a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

So this Thanksgiving I hope that we can all find something that we are thankful for even if it’s just giving thanks that God has seen us through difficult days before and He will do it again.

Are you wearing your new clothes today?

Published on November 19, 2014November 25, 2014 by Nancy5 Comments

I’m grateful and deeply humbled to lead you to Fullfill Magazine for today’s post. They chose an article that I wrote titled “New Clothes” for their on-line publication. You can read my article at http://issuu.com/fullfill/docs/exits_fallwinter14_final/24?e=1170081/10192276

If you are new to pens and journals, you are welcome to look through my archived posts and for those of you who visit me often here–THANK YOU for your support, encouragement and many kind words–I love and appreciate all of you!

Nancy

The Kingdom Comes Through Us

Published on September 4, 2014January 24, 2015 by Nancy4 Comments

Have you ever been comforted, known peace, joy, love, faithfulness, goodness, or been sustained in other ways through the Spirit of God? Have you been touched or helped by God through another person? God’s grace is manifested in so many unique and surprising ways.

When we are blessed, it’s not to hoard the blessings, or to use them solely for our own comfort or to judge others outside of the faith. We are blessed to be a blessing, to use the blessings–to become ‘kingdom come’ people.

We can spread the kingdom through a smile, a touch, a meal, friendship, a listening ear, a prayer–it’s meeting the needs of others and showing up when others may have turned away. It’s being present; being the gift.

Jesus talked about seeing the signs of the kingdom displayed through us and he rarely pointed to big things. It was more about washing each other’s feet. (John 13:14).

Through his parables we see that the little things are the ways through which the kingdom is often spread: the yeast in the dough, the mustard seed, etc. (Matthew 13:31-33).

The kingdom comes to earth through us in little ways and little events. It’s like offering a cup of cold water to someone who is thirsty. It’s simple, easy, loving ministry. (Matthew 10:42)

When we are available as a kingdom come person, opportunities will open right in front of us. The question then becomes, will we take the challenge or walk away? Will we be the person to offer that cup of cold water to a thirsty person?

I’m always amazed at the situations that my husband, Bob, and I find ourselves in. Even when far from home and traveling God goes ahead of us and with us to set up divine appointments. God’s divine appointments certainly reach further than our own neighborhoods.

Last year while walking down a street in Sarasota, FL, we had one of those encounters.

This story is more about the willingness of my husband to be a kingdom come person than it is about me. I just tagged along.

Our path intersected with a man. Someone whose hands were bigger than my forearm and whose height towered over both my husband and me. He shook our hands and introduced himself. His name was Roy. He walked beside us and talked and the more he talked the more we came to realize that he was homeless.

I wanted to turn, say goodbye, and move on. I convinced myself that just praying for him would be enough. I kept thinking, what if I was walking down this street alone? But I wasn’t alone, I was there with Bob and something prevented Bob from turning away. So we walked side by side with Roy.

We heard his whole heartbreaking story as we strolled down a neighborhood street. He told us about his mother’s death, alone in the world, no direction, no coping skills, no help, no one, nobody, just this big guy up against the big world. Alone.

As his story thickened, we learned about his prison stint. Attempted murder he said but assured us it was just a fight with another man and that he was wrongly charged. “You know, African-American men get raw deals sometimes,” he said. When he got out of prison he was homeless and alcohol became a remedy for his pain.

I was thinking that would have been a great time to part ways but Bob asked him if he was hungry. Roy said yes.

We walked to a nearby restaurant and offered him a seat on their outside patio.

I talked more with Roy as Bob went inside to find a waiter and all along I kept wondering if those working in the restaurant would even agree to serve this homeless soul.

I asked Roy if he knew anyone else in the area that could help him. He pointed to a Christian church a few blocks away and said that he had been there before, the pastor was kind to him and that maybe they could help. I encouraged him to go talk to the pastor again. He said that he would.

Bob gave the waiter some money and pointed to Roy and said, “Give him something to eat.” The waiter’s eyes grew wide and said, “But I don’t know what he wants.” Bob explained that Roy was homeless, hungry and that he’d probably eat anything but the waiter insisted on bringing him a menu.

A pure expression of surprise came over Roy’s face when the waiter approached the table to serve him. He placed the menu in front of Roy and said, “What can I get for you sir?” Roy picked a pizza and water.

The waiter told Bob that most people would not have done what he did for Roy and called Bob a good man. Bob explained that he was only doing what needed to be done and thanked the waiter for serving Roy.

As I watched the waiter bring Roy the menu, treat him with dignity at the linen covered table and prepare to serve him, I realized that God showed up through two willing men that afternoon–my husband and the waiter.

When we said our goodbyes, Bob told Roy that God loved him and would take care of him. He said, “I know.”

Roy was ‘the least of these’ and the kingdom came to him that day in a tangible way through my husband and the waiter who didn’t refuse to serve Roy.

It reminds me of Matthew 25 and especially Matthew 25:40: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

By being kingdom come people, we not only serve others but we are serving Jesus too.

When We Need Each Other

Published on August 4, 2014August 6, 2014 by Nancy14 Comments

“It’s kind of scary,” she said. A young woman, who stood on the threshold ready to walk through a new door, summed up her thoughts with those four words. It’s. kind. of. scary.

I sat with her for a couple of hours. I listened, offered some suggestions but those four words didn’t leave me once we left one another and drove home in different directions.

Sometimes doors that we don’t want to go through appear and we have no choice–we have to enter them. Others may look beautifully inviting but may not be the best ones to open. She and I tried to sort that out together.

Although years separated that young woman and me, we actually weren’t that different. It’s the unknowns that lie ahead that can overshadow our faith sometimes. They can paralyze us with fear if we allow them to consume us.

She was growing up, about to venture out into the world, taking on new responsibilities and she was afraid.

I, a mature woman, recently had a few of my own fears.

My husband, Bob, started his treatment for CML last week. As he was preparing to take his first dose, I read all the possible side effects from the information sheet that came with it.

That did it. I allowed my thoughts to spin out of control. All of a sudden the scenarios of what could happen played out in my mind. Those scenarios overshadowed my faith. I began to tread on shaky ground but caught myself before I got too far.

That’s when I asked others to pray for Bob (that he wouldn’t have any adverse side effects from the chemo drug) and that I would regain my peace.

It’s times like this that we need each other. That’s when we need others to speak back to us the faith that we announced, pronounced and were walking in just hours before.

We aren’t lone rangers. In a world that glorifies independence it’s difficult, at times, to step back and then turn back to what is true–we need each other. It’s called interdependence.

Independence proclaims, “I don’t need anybody.” Dependence says “without you I can’t survive.”

Interdependence throws off pride, doesn’t pretend to have it all together, isn’t a burden on others but knows when it’s time to reach out to someone.

It’s the way we’re designed. We weren’t designed to handle life alone.

In our fear we should never be afraid to share what we’re experiencing with the right people. Often it will lose its grip on us just by telling someone else about it and talking it through.

It also loosens its hold on us when we allow others to carry us to Jesus when we’re too weary or afraid to walk toward him ourselves.

Like the paralytic man in Luke 5: 17-26 who needed someone to carry him to Jesus we, at times, need others to carry us to him when we feel paralyzed by fear. You’ll notice in the story that Jesus commended the faith of the paralytic’s friends and then ultimately healed the man.

It wasn’t long, not even a few hours, when my fears washed away and faith returned.

Also sometimes it’s good to go to a familiar place where we are alone or a place that we know will help us to enter into the presence of God.

For me, one of those places is the lake near our home.

The night of Bob’s first treatment, after he took his first dose and I asked others to pray, we drove down to the lake.

It was chilly. We sat in the car and watched the sun begin to set. Then I walked down to the water’s edge. Very few people were on the beach in the chill of that evening. It was peaceful. Some sunsets are brilliant and other times the sun looks like a ball of fire against a dark sky. The only way to describe the one before us that night was tranquil.

Bright light broke through the sky with ribbons of pink around it. Waves washed up on shore and light reflected on the wet sand from the light above.

As I think about that night, I’m reminded of the words from “Hosanna” by Paul Boloche–“In your presence all our fears are washed away.” My fears were washed away…in his presence that night on the beach.

With every wave, in the peaceful tranquility of the sun setting, I was able to carry Bob in prayer to the one who would keep him, hold him and use the medicine to heal him and not to harm him. Other friends and family came to mind too. As I carried Bob, I carried others.

And today I’m able to carry my young friend in prayer. The one who was about to walk through a door into the unknown. The one who spoke those four words to me, “It’s kind of scary.”

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it is a memory.” Dr Seuss

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