Heroes for Today

 
photo from http://bostinno.streetwise.co


In the busy-ness of life we don't always feel there is time for the proper honoring a thing requires- a sacred thing; a sad memory; or a person's life or death. Today is one of those days, when we remember and yet the meals need planned, the school work needs to be directed and overseen, the karate katas need practiced. I like what Kari at Simplehomeschool posted this morning right here:

How to Homeschool Heroes


God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble- Psalm 46:1.

Comfort

Grey skies, rain and grieving here today. I was reminded last week that the tough questions, the unsolved hurts, are times we must choose to draw near to God. We can trust even when we don't understand, and God will bring redemption of even those things that we cannot reconcile. We continue to unpack. Here is a little quilt that gets broken every time we move. I am finally making a new little clay figure, a little Fidget swinging high and carefree, that I made from one of my favorite old photos of her. The quilt isn't ruined if I determine to make it better as I refashion it. Just as the hard things don't break us, but increase our faith as we offer them back to God.

Christmas

Christmas has come to Train Central! And the gym downstairs is finally ready too, just in time. We aren't giving a lot of gifts this year because we don't want more stuff to move to River's Edge Bungalow in February. I always need more stationery and ink, so this is my perennial Christmas list. But what I really need, and what I want to be a giver of, is grace. Grace when I'm doing wrong. Grace when I'm bumbling. Grace when I am proud of myself if I'm doing well. Grace when I don't even know I need it. Grace for everything big and small. And fortunately, Jesus, the ultimate giver of grace, has come and showered us with grace by the sprinkling of His blood. In this season, I marvel anew that He would come to be born a baby, to die for me. But better yet, He's promised to come again.

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,' for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'" Rev.21:3-5

Wishing you a truly Merry Christmas. No matter what is going on in your heart and life, the joy Jesus gives can be yours. May His joy be in our hearts all year long, until He comes again.

Joy and Sorrow

I had just finished this drawstring sleeper for one friend when I found out another friend has miscarried this weekend. It is hard to have a divided heart, with joy for one and crushing sorrow with the other.

Psalm 34:18 -The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 

While I do not understand, I am learning to say, The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Lately I am learning about the sacrifice of praise as God has given me several friends with new babies. I had so longed for another baby, and I thought that desire was settled and put behind me. But I am finding that desire is still there, that my heart can become restless with the thought. 

When people ask me how I know God is real, this is how I know: He can fill in where I sorely lack. He has flooded me with joy for others' new babies to the point where it has surprised me. I feel strengthened by praising Him, not only for what He has given me, but for what He hasn't. And because I have had a friend miscarry a baby this week, I also feel sympathetic and able to comfort her in a way I couldn't otherwise. God truly does know what He's doing. And He has been good to me.

Some of the greatest blessings are the unseen joys of the heart. 

On Remembering

Today cannot pass without remembering ten years ago. The Lord has carried us this far and will continue. This hymn which we sang at worship this morning states it well. Words by Edward Mote, ca. 1836. Still just as true today. I find comfort in knowing the Lord has always existed and will continue no matter what happens. And He has promised to take to Heaven all those who love Him and call upon Him for forgiveness of their sins. In this I rest.


My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

After the Storm

 Here are more pictures of pottery and glass gleanings from our walks at the Elizabeth River at the end of our street. Many days Fidget and I jog down there and back. But this morning neither of us is feeling well so we just walked. There is comfort in walking together, taking her hand just to be sure she's still there.

We weathered a sudden fierce storm two days ago. Yesterday when we went to the river there was pottery and glass scattered all over the shore, way up high where the storm waters had surged. Our streets frequently flood in stormy weather, and we saw where the neighborhood water had run over the rocks down into the river. 

We have been through a lot lately, our family. Deaths, anger, grieving, and water damage from the broken ice maker line are but some of the things that have worn us out emotionally and physically. These challenges leave us feeling weak, but ultimately point us to the source of all strength and perfection, Jesus, our Redeemer. 

It would be so nice if things didn't break and we didn't disappoint each other, if dear friends and loved ones wouldn't die. But we are sinners in a broken world, and to expect only good is unrealistic, it sets us up for despair. I was musing on these things with a dear kindred spirit this morning and she wrote : So fun for you and Fidget to find more treasures after the storm.. isn’t that how it goes with ’storms’. They unearth the deep things in us and God reveals the treasure He is in us. 

I am so thankful for a friend who helps me see that in any storm there are treasures to be had. If I cling to God, He will reveal the treasures in His time.

Gifts and Triumphs

 We celebrated the weekend yesterday morning with poached eggs. They may be run of the mill to some folks, but poached eggs are something I've never been able to get right in 18 1/2 years of marriage, not even when Mumsy bought me a real live egg poacher appliance that buzzed when they were supposed to be ready. Turns out these little nifties from King Arthur Flour are just what the baker ordered. Finally, eggs with runny middles for the Pres! Of course when they were done we sat down to eat and I forgot all about taking pictures.

 However there was plenty of time for pouring tea. Last week I talked to my dear old chip from high school, middle school, and come to think of it, elementary school, and she commiserated with me about my friend who'd died. And I commiserated with her about the tough eggs she works with down there in South Florida. Next thing you know, I'm unwrapping an extravagant care package from said chip.

 It came complete with hand knitted, cleverly embellished tea cozy, traditional British tea pot, tea, honey, diffuser and more.

Here's the inside fabric on the tea cozy. I've never had a cozy before and was surprised to find out that it really works. Not only that, a cutie like this one is sure to cheer me up no matter what the morning holds.

A Lost Treasure

When I met my friend, this lovely young mother came to me one day after Bible study because I had shared openly about trying to commit suicide while I was growing up. I had turned to numerous destructive behaviors to dull the pain, but it always came back. I shared with the ladies at the study that I was diagnosed with manic depression, got lots of counseling, and was put on medicine that I was supposed to be on forever. The only problem was, the medicine didn't help. Nothing helped until I became a Christian. After that, God removed the depression from my life and I have not tried to commit suicide anymore. So I thought it was the same with my friend Jessica.

She wrote me a letter after Bible study, telling me that her mom had committed suicide a few years earlier. She told me she was in AA/NA because of her previous destructive behaviors. She felt free to share that with me because I had friends in AA and NA, and I acknowledged that I had tried all sorts of worldly methods to keep the pain from returning. 

But with me, once I was a Christian this dark pain was immediately removed. Yes, it is a miracle, but I explain it as the means God needed to use to bring me to an understanding of the extent of my sinfulness, and my inability to save myself even a little bit. Once I was desperate for Him and turned to Him, he graciously removed it. He didn't have to do that. He doesn't do that with everyone. He didn't do that with Jessica.

After awhile I did not see Jessica often because she went to a different church and then my family was stationed in another state. We lost touch. What I was told is that she was hospitalized for manic depression for a month, and when she left the hospital her family came back to our church last Sunday. She told the pastor's wife, a dear friend of hers, that she thought she was getting better. The next day she was found in a hotel room, having overdosed on prescription medicine. 

Having become a Christian I did not think about suicide anymore. It didn't occur to me that anyone else would either. The assurance of my salvation is a treasure, something I feel protects me. It helps me see that no matter how bad things get here, I have but little time to wait until I am in heaven rejoicing at the throne of God. 

How I wish I had known Jessica still had those dark thoughts. I am sure I am not the only one saying that today. If only... But though the enemy clouded her mind and obscured the treasure that was her salvation, making it seem lost forever, I know that my friend is with Jesus now. The lost treasure was not lost, it is the thing that carried her to the throne, a weak and weary wayfarer who I knew and loved for just a little while. Yet I know I will see her again, in God's time. In the meantime I am praying for Jessica's husband and her three little children. May God protect them and their treasure until He returns. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus. We need you.

Joy Persists

We have had a couple of challenging weeks here at River's Edge. But I am glad it is this season. Much as I felt empty a week ago, and I sought God for answers, I find as this Christmas week begins that joy persists in the face of sorrow. Somehow, hope in God finds light of day in our darkest times. 

In yesterday's sermon I was reminded that God knows our most difficult hurts, having had to give over his only Son for the demands of sins' punishment. God knows hurt. This is why He can be trusted with our broken hearts. He is the only One who has the power to redeem even the hardest things in our lives. Christmas couldn't come at a better time than when we hurt. Maybe you need reminding today, as I do, that this little baby, born in a manger,  came to give us hope for the future; and that brings joy in the here and now, even in this broken world. Merry, joyous Christmas.