The contemplations of Easter week tug at my heartstrings each and every year. From the joy and Hosannas of Palm Sunday, to the cleansing of the temple courts, to the ire of the religious leaders, to the betrayal and arrest and trial and beating and the awful agony of the crucifixion—the horror of that Friday hurts my soul.
“Your mother was my teacher. When I discovered I was pregnant, I transferred to her school. She helped me through a very hard time in my life. It is an honor for me to care for her during this difficult time in hers.”
Occasionally, my father would tell us an action-packed story from his WWII experiences. My favorite ones described the so-thick-you-could-walk-on-it shrapnel that brought down his B-17 bomber. As the pilot, to save his crew, he bailed out last.
I am, unfortunately, all too experienced at saying these goodbyes! But, I was not prepared for six granddaughters to simultaneously wail so loudly that their mothers came running!
She spoke reassuringly, “I believe in the power of human touch, and I will be holding your hand during the surgery.”
I could recognize the melody but not the words. It was my son singing his seven-year-old daughter to sleep.
In John Chapter 2 we find the first miracle the Lord performed. They were faced with a situation they had no control over, and they needed help. Jesus’ mother instructed the servants with these words, “Whatever He says to you, do it”. Stop. Read it again. Let that sink in.
The Lord helped me to recall things that “I did know”. Because I am a list maker and a visual learner, I grabbed my notebook and turned the page from all the information the doctors had just delivered (which prompted my list of things “I did not know”) and I began my new list of what “I did know”.
I love asking the Lord to direct me to books of the Bible He would like me to study. However, I was less than thrilled when He directed me to…Lamentations. Seriously? Who studies Lamentations? Well, YOU do if that is what the Lord says do.
I never felt “good enough”. I have made mistakes. I have regrets. But I am thankful those things do not disqualify me from being used by God. I love how God chose certain women throughout scripture when He needed a job done. If you are like me, then you too want to be used by God and “picked” to fulfill his Divine Purposes. For many of us that desire might also come with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy.
I am a life that was changed by one woman stepping into the life of one woman.
The incorporation of frugality into one’s life has its place. Greediness does not. Many of us make sure we get everything we have earned because we believe we deserve it. God’s Word surprises me, at times, because his instructions are very practical and specific.
My Grandmother had a funny way with words in order to get her point across. Some of her favorite sayings were: “This is how the cow ate the corn” as she grabbed your knee to get your attention, “Well, shoot a monkey” when things did not go her way and “A little bird told me” when she was curious about something she had heard.
Recently one word out of this verse hit home: advisers. Plural.
Notice it does not say adviser.
In fact, the verse says many.
Have you ever had a conversation that helped you reframe a current circumstance? Recently my husband’s comments about a difficult situation provided me much-needed perspective.
A much younger friend works out with me to help me improve my health. She regularly reminds me that I “pace myself” when I’m doing any given physical challenge. While she would like for me to exert myself fully throughout, instead I start slowly and gradually increase my effort. She says I hold back.
Japanese culture has a beautiful tradition. When a piece of pottery breaks, it isn’t thrown away. Instead, the cracks are glued back together with flecks of gold through a process called kintsukuroi, or “golden repair.” The pottery is then carefully secured so that the pieces stay together as the gold dries. After the repair is complete, the piece has even more value than it did before it broke.
I love broken people. Do you know who I’m talking about? The folks you meet and instantly click with? There are no walls of pretense you have to climb over, no barriers to keep you away. All you see is pure, humble transparency. Every time I meet someone like this it's refreshing... and convicting.
One afternoon I was hiding under the bed covers, feeling defeated as usual. I cried out to God and felt His calm, familiar presence envelop my tired spirit. And I saw this…
Believe it or not, the process that Paul describes above is similar to the one oysters use to make pearls. But did you know only about one in ten thousand oysters actually produce pearls?
