Category: Devotion

Grief’s Ebb and Flow

Margaret2 Comments

Grief grabs me at unexpected times.  My mom left us 10 months and 7 days ago.  There are days, and even weeks that are just fine, when I think of her, it’s pleasant memories.  Maybe I’ll smile, or perhaps I’ll just get lost in thoughts of her…how she’d laugh, or how excited she’d be to share anything about Jesus.  

Other days, though. Those days sucker punch me.  I don’t see it coming, and suddenly, there it is…and I’m drowning in the loss of my mother. There is no rhyme or reason to grief.  The very same thing that happened yesterday with no emotion can happen today, and I’ll find myself in tears.  

A few weeks before Thanksgiving I was on vacation in the mountains.  There were beautiful fall and Thanksgiving decorations placed all around the Apple Barn and Cider Mill, where I was shopping. As I was enjoying the displays, I suddenly had a stark realization that Mom wouldn’t be around for Thanksgiving.  I left the store in tears, and it took several minutes to compose myself.  Yet on Thanksgiving day, no tears.  

Christmas is throwing me for a loop.  Some days are harder than I thought it would be. Sunday, as I was going through my Christmas decorations, I was so very aware that my mom is gone.  Gone.  She’s not coming back, and there will be no more Christmases with her.  No more of her specialties she enjoyed making for us, especially her chicken and dressing.  Because of covid, last Christmas was the first Christmas in my life that we all didn’t get together, my sisters and brothers and their families.  I’m am eternally grateful that I did get to spend last Christmas with her.  She was very sick, but still, she made us a small pan of her delicious dressing.  She asked me to help her, but then wouldn’t let me. So typically Mom.

How I wish I’d known that was my last Christmas with her.  I wish I’d known how terribly sick she really was…it would have helped me understand a few other things that were going on at the time.  I wish I’d known the really big hug she gave me in late November was the last real hug we’d have.  I miss her wisdom, her calming presence, her prayers.  Oh, how I miss her prayers.  They were like a warm security blanket, protecting me.  Yes, her prayers are still active, but it’s not always as easy to know that as when she was here.

Having said all of the above…I’m very happy for her, that she is in paradise with the One she has loved and served so faithfully these many years.  Not even for one minute would I bring her back to this earthly realm.  No, she paid her dues.  Never again will she have to feel the heaviness of a pain-ridden mortal body, or the sadness she couldn’t explain. She is now clothed in eternity with complete healing, and peace beyond our comprehension.  I may not have a full understanding of life after death before the return of Christ, but I do know that to be absent from this life is to be present with Him, and that is where she longed to be in her last few weeks with us.

How I miss her.  My Mommy.

Reeling and Flailing

Margaret1 Comment

Often, distractions win in the battle for my attention, and I find my focus on the things of this world.  As if the news is not bad enough on its own, media sensationalizes headlines, and if I’m not focused, they reel me in, leaving me flailing in a sea of deception.  I don’t suggest we bury our heads in the proverbial sand with what is happening around us, but we can’t let the world’s busyness and duplicity steal our focus from where it should be. 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 

2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV

It takes real effort to remain focused in the hostile environment of politics, pandemics, and lies designed to sideline us and thwart our purpose. We must take the fiery darts of the enemy captive the moment they infiltrate our minds.  Otherwise, those flaming arrows will take us down a path where it is sometimes incredibly hard to find our way back.
“…and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.“
(2 Corinthians 10:5). 

What has your focus?  No matter how big a problem is, never forget that He, indeed, is in control, and He will forever sit on the throne, the foundation of which is justice and righteousness.

The Shifting…

Margaret2 Comments

When this is all over, when people calm down, businesses reopen, schools are accessible, and the doors of churches are opened again…we will live in a different world.  Everyday life as we know it is shifting, and the weight of prayer will decide which way things shift.  Seek Him first.  Pray without ceasing. Find out what God’s word says…if you are not studying your Bible, get it out and begin reading.   Psalms, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Galatians, all are a great place to begin, or begin with Genesis…just read!  I pray that God opens our understanding so that we comprehend the scriptures!  (Luke 24:45)  May He open our eyes that we may see wondrous things from His law (Ps 119:18)

Today begins Passover.   There is no doubt that Christians need to be praying passionately during this season for our nation that God will lift this plague that has beset us…that He will pass us over.  There is a lot more going on with this virus on a spiritual level, and few of us have taken the time to truly seek God and His thoughts and His plan for where we go from here.

PRAYER for today:
O God, You have cast us off; You have broken us down; You have been displeased; Oh, restore us again! You have made the earth tremble; You have broken it; Heal its breaches, for it is shaking. You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion.

Psalm 60:1-3

I am not saying that God caused this.  But there’s no denying He has allowed it, and He has a reason for all He does.  It could be that His foremost purpose is that we would begin to seek Him.  Could God be gently warning us with how quickly American people and the economy have been shut down? It is not just about a virus or just about America; God’s people are all over the world, and we know the scripture well: “If my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face…”  (2 Chronicles 7:14) Don’t you imagine that outside of America, God’s persecuted children have been crying out for His return for decades? 

Who can disagree that our politicians and our media made this virus political, and I don’t believe they meant any of it for good. It is imperative that we pray for our leaders.  Even if you don’t like President Trump, put your feelings aside and do what the Bible tells the Children of God to do:  Pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:2).  If you don’t know where to begin with, start with his salvation, that he will be a born again, on fire, Bible-believing thorn in the devil’s side.  Pray that God continue to surround him with God-fearing men and women, people who know how to listen for the voice of God in decisions and in advising the President.  Pray for his protection, strength, and wisdom, godly wisdom.  Pray for God to have His way in the life of our president, in the lives his cabinet, and in the lives of all our elected officials.

People are afraid this God’s final judgement, that He is pouring out His wrath on America because we have turned our back on Him.  It is true that God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11), but if you are feeling hopeless, anxious, or angry in this time, take comfort in knowing that people have been earnestly praying for America for years.  Remember Abraham’s request of the Lord: “Suppose ten (righteous) are found there?   And He answered, “On the account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”  

God loves justice.  I don’t believe He enjoys pouring out judgment on His people, but if you read the Old Testament, you know that He did, and there were times it was quite harsh.  In His mercy, He is giving us a reminder to turn to Him.  What will you do with your choice?   He loves us all.   Let’s love Him back.

We Shall Behold Him (written by Dottie Rambo, sung by Sandy Patty)

Breaking Good

Margaret1 Comment

We all know New Year’s resolutions rarely, if ever, work. We may not realize why, but we have repeatedly experienced the failures of the goals, aims, or changes we planned for a new year or various Mondays throughout the year. Over the past months, I came to realize something important. All of my past Words of the Year didn’t have the success I’d envisioned because I focused on the goal, not myself, not my own bad habits. It is a whole lot easier to give in a bad habit than it is to break it and build a new, better habit.

The word of the year for 2020:
Break

I was in WalMart a few months ago, looking at some sugary delights. I moseyed over to that section because I was sure I heard them calling my name. I reminded myself to only get a small item so when I ate it all without restraint, I wouldn’t have done too bad. I had already figured out that freedom didn’t look like I thought it should.

The truth of freedom is that, as born again Christians, Christ paid the heaviest of costs for our freedom on the cross. All the years I thought I was fighting demons, addiction, or some force I couldn’t name or understand, I was really only fighting myself. Or my self nature, to be more direct. Me…I was fighting ME! As I stood there looking at the table of sweets, I knew I really did have a choice.

If I chose the cookies, I could then choose to have only one of them, but would I? My habit was to mindlessly graze on junk the way home. Or I could walk away. If I take the cookies then I must consider the baggage that comes with it: I would, most likely, be dealing with the urge to eat with abandon the rest of the night if I overdosed on sugar. Did I really want to fight with myself all night long? How many times did I choose my bad habit over my desire to lose weight?

For all the times I times in my life I felt like I had no choice but to continue on in the very way that made me miserable I have to admit I believed a lie. Every time I said “It’s stronger than me.” I believed a lie and forgot the promise:

“I can do all things through Christ
who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:13

No matter how strong the urge to give in to the very thing you want to avoid (be it sugar, relationships, addiction, spending…or anything else you fight) with Christ, you are stronger than the pull. If you do it anyway, you choose that path. Discipline comes when we begin to tell self “No.” And in the beginning, that’s a really hard thing to do. Break those habits, those chains, those unhealthy patterns. I know I am.

Happy New Year, my friends!
May you find a BREAK!