Remembering As We Grieve

 

       Grief.  We all know the implications when that single word is spoken.  There’s been a loss.  Someone has lost someone special to eternity.  It could be a spouse, parent, friend, extended family, son or daughter.  None of these losses are easy.

Today is Memorial Day.  It’s the day of remembering lost sons and daughters through a sacrifice given to our country.  It was through the efforts over the centuries, since this country was formed, that men and women have given their lives so that we could spend our days in whatever way we choose.  We have the right to choose our partners, live where we like, and most importantly have the right to worship wherever and whenever we want!

Loss is hard.  We recently just had a tragedy in Texas that has once again rocked our world.  Small children lost their lives in the most un-sensible way.  Parents, brothers, sisters, friends, aunts, and uncles and other family members are grieving the loss of these innocent little people.

Someone once made an observation I hadn’t ever thought about.  When a husband loses his wife, he’s a widower.  A woman who loses her husband is a widow.  A child who loses a parent is now an orphan.  But what is parent called who loses a child?  To my knowledge there isn’t a ‘standard’ word which identifies them.  

I ‘googled’ the question and there were plenty of options about there not being an identifiable word in our language.  But apparently there is a word: coined/created by Duke Professor Karla Holloway.  “Vilomah”.  Its Sanskrit and means "against a natural order.”  It provides an identifier where there was none.  https://dying.lovetoknow.com/ideas-advice-coping-grief/vilomah-meaning-origin-powerful-word 

What’s incredible, is to think about these children now being in eternity with Jesus.  God knows about the wonder of these lives, and there is some consolation in knowing one day there will be a reuniting, assuming that Mom and Dad know Jesus as their personal Savior.  

It’s also wonderful to know for every person who has given his/her life as a sacrifice for our country, one day, as a Believer, will also encounter a grand reunion in heaven with their loved ones day.

But for now we need to remember.  It’s important that while we ‘celebrate’ those who have gone before, with family gatherings and picnics, the most thing is remembering the sacrifice they gave.  We need to recall the important ways they changed and/or impacted our lives.  When we stop and reflect on these gifts of dedication, bravery, honor and belief in doing ‘the right thing’, we can appreciate them just a little bit more!

We also need to remember the sacrifice Jesus gave when He gave his life for us.  Freedom is not free.  Our military marches to the front lines whenever they are called upon.  Jesus was called to the front line when God the Father wanted him to be the sacrifice for the whole entire world!  He was the Perfect Lamb.  In this way God understands loss as a Father.   And we can be assured of God’s faithfulness to meeting our needs, as we grieve....and remember.

Photo Credit:  https://www.pinterest.com 

God Tends His Garden

 

        Spring is amazing and I love working in the garden.  There is something immensely gratifying when we place tiny little seeds in the ground and then see them sprout, grow, and eventually produce a crop.  There’s joy in harvesting, preparing and serving something we’ve planted, weeded, nurtured with compost, and watered when the rains didn’t come.

As they’ve grown, the fragrance of the delicately flowering herbs, greens of leafy vegetables, colors of deep purple beets, yellow squash, red strawberries, and on and on, imbeds in me the pure joy of God’s creation, and a ‘grounding’ in meeting with nature on it’s terms!

Even though most of the vegetables are gathered in one large garden, it’s interesting to note just how different they are.  They have unique needs, which they often pull right from the soil where they are planted.  But the care for each can be different if the optimal harvest is desired.  Some plants require no picking for several years after the initial planting (strawberries and asparagus, for example), while others will produce immediately and return as volunteer plants next spring!

Weeds need to be countered, so vegetable roots can spread and not be choked out; sometimes a specific fertilizer needs to be applied if the desired nutrients don’t live in your soil; and some want full sun, while others thrive better in partial.

God’s given us an enormous gift by granting us the care of the fruits of our labors within our vegetable garden.  But he’s given us another gift, as well.  We have the gift of caring for one another. 

It’s interesting to compare the human race to our garden.  We are each different and require individual ’nutrients’ to help us grow.  Some thrive in large crowded spaces, like cities; others want less crowds and find themselves deep in the country searching for solitude.  We are short and tall, thin and not so slender, lots of body hair and some with only a sparse amount.  We like different foods and drinks, books and entertainment, and again, the list could go on forever.  

The one element we all need however is a relationship with the Father.  Just like sunshine is a requirement for all plants, so is SonShine required for all humans.  Our nutrition is gleaned from God’s Word, prayer and fellowship with other Believers.  We grow as we read material which is scripture based, and listen to Sermons which teach the truths in God’s Word.  

In this way, God ‘tends his garden’ much as we tend our garden filled with different veggies every day.  It requires work to have a good harvest.   This is true with our vegetable garden and true within the framework of our ‘Spiritual Garden.’

I ask you…… ‘How does your Spiritual Garden grow?’  Are you working to pull out the weeds in your life.  Satan is an expert at planting seeds of doubt, and the whims of the world in our lives.  He’s diligent about making sure these evil seeds are watered and nurtured ——unless—-  we’ve been careful about pulling these ‘weeds’ much like the weeds which will take over my vegetable garden if I’m not diligent in removing them---and yes, I'm working on that!  

 

Photo Credit: pictures of spring vegetable gardens  --- No...the picture is NOT our garden, but we're getting there!   (I do have lettuce and spinach up, onions and asparagus, beans and more!)  But not nearly as pretty as these totally weed free gardens! 😂

A Journey Of Faith

        I love seeing a person receive Christ as their Savior!  They are joyous and filled with passion for the Truth that has enveloped them in ways that are, in many ways incomprehensible.

Some however, while excited in their new faith, have this perception that their faith will keep them from any trials and tribulations known to the human race.  But we all know that tests, trials and tribulations are not unique only to non-believers.  We all face stressors in our life.  It may be financial, health issues, aging problems, children perplexities, work issues—or lack of work, ridicule or persecutions, and the list could go on for several pages.

After a week, or month or so of sufferings, the new Believer finds himself bewildered with the lack of changes in his life regarding 'the perfect life'.  "How can this be?" he may ask himself, "I asked God to come in my life, why am I deluged with all this strife?!"

Being a Christian, according to God’s Word, promises us a unique kind of suffering.  Satan is going to see to that, because he hates anything that is of God.  Our faith, therefore, isn’t a ‘one and done’ event.  It’s true, we need only be ‘saved’ once.  But we are on a life long journey, requiring us to take a step at a time, which allows us to grow in our faith as we find ourselves needing to depend on God more than we could ever have imagined!

We need to be in the Word so our new life can be undergirded with the foundational words on which to build our lives.  We need to know the promises found there, and the commands.  We need to read the examples of the disciples and Christ himself, to get a glimpse of what we may have to endure.  Further, we need to know and understand in a Christian perspective words like love, compassion, patience, kindness, mercy, understanding, family, brother, sacrifice, and many more.

As we build on these words through our daily time spent in the Word and in prayer, and embed His Word in our hearts, we will discover layer by layer has been applied to our lives, creating the ‘shield of faith’ described in Ephesian 6.  This enables us to build a true relationship with The Father which helps us understand His Word and know when Satan is doing his best to deceive us in every way he can imagine.

Suffering will come, as will trials and tribulation; and perhaps even rejection and persecution as the end days draw nearer and nearer.  But we can be ready, and actually, we must.  If we don’t, we leave an opening for Satan to enter in and do everything he can to destroy us.  

Our faith journey will never end, until we are with God in glory.   Until that time, we must endure; but we aren't alone!  Jesus told his disciples he would send a comforter to remain with us.  So when we are under oppression of any kind, or stress, disillusionment, Satan's whims of deceit, or other kind trial or tribulation we have the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, and Guide, who goes before us and remains in us!  What a promise and gift on which we can rely!

 

Re-Rooting

 

         My husband and I have traveled around the country for years.  It wasn’t until my husband worked in a job for many years and we were financially able, that we began traveling regularly; taking a two or occasional three-week vacation every year.  Our children enjoyed the fruit of our travels and all can now say they have been in every state in the Continental United States.  That said, our youngest of five has only minimal memories of many of those places we visited. 

What all the traveling did, however, was create a thirst to continue to visit other places.  But, as we’ve gotten older, we’ve discovered our health (and now the price of fuel), among other rising costs, deters the traveling we once enjoyed.

I also discovered the one thing I really missed, when traveling, was being involved in our church—and our church family.  There is something uniquely comforting about having a body of Believers who share my faith and are willing to sacrifice some of their time and talents to make us feel like family day in and day out; and knowing that we’d do the same for them.

There are times, however, when circumstances requires us to move from one area of the country to another; sometimes even to a new country.  This can be beyond stressful and disconcerting when you find yourself in a new environment, perhaps culture, new home and church, new job, learning new faces, and so many other unknowns in re-settling.

Military families find their lives uprooted all the time; and the children within these families usually learn to adjust, just because they must.  My one daughter fit this category until her husband retired and then they moved across the country with the plan to live a much slower pace in life.  It didn’t quite work out like they expected since they are very much involved in their ‘homesteading’ lifestyle, but also within the community and 4-H, and love it.

Another of my children moved West after he finished college.  He married and now has a family out there.  Another daughter lives in the northern states, and one son in the South, while we remain in the East, with only one of our children in the area.  

So this often raises the question of where we ‘should be.’  As time passes we find ourselves comfortable, but also wonder what other places would be like, to actually ‘live’.  Sometimes we find ourselves asking ourselves ‘Would we be ready and willing to make such a drastic move so far away from where we’ve lived all our lives?  Are we willing to uproot ourselves from all we know and people we’ve grown to care about?”  Is traveling still our best option, without putting down new ‘roots’ elsewhere?’

God will call us sometimes, to relocate even if we are not immediately willing.  There is a job to do, with the talents he’s given us, in places with people we don’t know.  But it can be scary to walk away when we are so comfortable where we are.  If we can remember that God’s presence is with us no matter where he sends us or what he has given us to do, we can successfully place our roots into the area around us, and begin to grow in ways we hadn’t imagined.

When this happens, the best we can do is keep our roots planted in God and let Him re-root and continue to 'grow us'!

Photo credit: free pictures of roots

Set Apart

 

     This has been a tough week.  I lost an elderly aunt a few weeks ago, and within the week of her death, also lost her husband, my uncle— my Dad’s brother.  The funeral for both of them was this past week and while it was time for grieving, it was also a celebration of life.

My uncle was a quiet man and rarely said much, even when asked a question. He’d often respond with a simple one word answer, but was as kind a human being as you can imagine and I loved him very much.  I’m glad he was a Believer, albeit a quiet one.

My aunt, on the other hand, was funny, and busy; really busy!  She knew everyone and loved them with her whole heart.  And more than this, she loved the Lord.  She was a Sunday School teacher for many, many years, and was a willing helper in most all occasions.  She extended kindness and grace to everyone she met!

I read a story about using a taxi as a mission field for Christ. The author of the story tells how she took a taxi one day and discovered the driver was happy to engage in conversation.  It was the perfect time to share the message of Christ, and she grasped the opportunity.  This became her passion as she availed herself of needed transportation.

My Aunt Betty was like that.  She shared the Good News with everyone she met.  She believed with all her heart and recognized opportunities because she asked God for them and then looked for them!

We all have opportunities within our daily lives to share this Message with others.  But how often do we avail ourselves of them?  I’m guilty of not bringing up the subject, afraid of saying the wrong thing, or for other reasons I don’t even recognize.  That’s not who I want to be!  

We are given amazing gifts and talents that puts us in unique positions to work for the Lord.  He’s coming back soon.  How are we using the gifts given to us?  Why are we so shy about sharing the best news in the world?  We’re quick to talk about a family member who has had success or does something we think interesting.  Why do we hesitate sharing the message of Christ’s saving grace?  It’s far more important than any other information we could share.

Jesus is the Good News!  He came that we may have eternal life.  He’s given us the gift of Salvation!  We need to be excited enough to share.  

I think sometimes we hold back because we are content with being ‘pew holders’.  Sure, we attend church, we might even pick up His Word and read a scripture or two throughout the week.  But do we believe it with our whole heart?  Do we trust God enough to give him our voice in situations open to sharing?

As Believers we are to be set apart for the Kingdom.  Can people see Christ in our lives?  Do our actions mimic our words or are there contradictions?  Do others want to have the joy we demonstrate as a Believer in the one and only God of the Universe?

       These are serious questions with eternal consequences.  Where do you stand?

Photo Credit:  free pictures of being set apart