Heaven

I write a lot about the tragedies that have befallen my family because it gives me an outlet for my pain, it gives encouragement to others who may be suffering and it gives God glory for His love and mercy.  Some of you may wonder how I can give God glory for the death or our grandson who was only 5 months old and for the accident that severely hurt my grand-daughter, Sarah, and left my 4 year old grandson paralyzed from the neck down.  That is a valid question.  One of which I had to ask myself.  I didn’t immediately fall on the ground giving God thanks for what had happened.  It wasn’t like that at all.   I had a wide range of emotions that I went through.  Some of which were anger, frustration, hopelessness and guilt all of which eventually gave way to peace………. Undeniable, unmistakable and all encompassing peace from God. 

My relationship with God changed once I realized that these things didn’t happen to punish my family.  I wouldn’t presume to know all of the reasons God allowed these event to happen, but I believe one of the reasons was to bring me into a closer relationship with Him.  Yes, I wish they had never happened but I can’t and wouldn’t change those events if it meant changing back to the person I was before they happened.  I have a different appreciation for God’s word now.  It came alive to me through tragedy.    “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”  Psalm 147:3  The bible was no longer something that  I opened occasionally at home and on Sundays when I happen to make it to church..  It was the living breathing word of God that reached into my soul and gave me hope, it gave me peace and it gave me a future.

My grandson, Caleb, is in the arms of Jesus.  He spent his first Christmas with the Savior.  I have to smile when I think about that.  The bible says that in heaven we will know as we are known , 1 Corinthians 13:12.  We will know each other in heaven and this makes me overjoyed because when I get to heaven I will have one of the things that I love the most here on earth, a baby.  Not just any baby but my sweet baby grandson.  I will be able to love him forever into eternity.

If God doesn’t heal Jason while he is living here, he will be made perfect when he gets to heaven.  No more breathing machine, catheters, feeding tube or colostomy!  Every part of his body will work as it should and be perfect in every way.  Our heavenly bodies will be made of flesh but it will be indestructible flesh that will last for eternity.  After Jesus was raised from the dead he said “”Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself! Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”  Luke 24:39  Our bodies will be like Jesus when we are in heaven, so if He has flesh and bones we will have flesh and bones.

My thoughts of heaven are consuming some times.  I think about the perfect body (of course), meeting Jesus face to face, holding my baby grandson, Caleb, living in paradise, walking on streets of gold!!!  Imagine that we don’t have to eat to sustain our bodies but we eat for the pure pleasure of it and what that food will taste like.  I imagine it will be better than any food we have ever tasted multiplied by a thousand!  Eternity in heaven is what gives Christians hope.  Without this hope life isn’t worth living.  I can think of many reasons to be angry, depressed, frustrated, discouraged, etc. but I’m not.  My joy is not in this world but in the world to come. 

Death is going to come to each of us.  I know some people don’t like to talk about it, but it is the natural end to life.  Sometimes death comes sooner than expected, it’s tragic, but we have to face the truth, we are all going to die.  I pray that you have this hope of heaven and that your name is in the Lamb’s book of life.  If you do I thank God for you.  If you don’t will you please consider where you will spend eternity if your life was asked of you this very day?  Do not wait or put off to another time when the Spirit is leading you.  Another time may not ever present itself.  

The Love of God

Life’s crises are a journey of personal and spiritual growth that can turn our life into an amazing adventure - if we look to God for strength, guidance and faith that His will be done.  For I know the plans I have for you – this is the Lord’s declaration – plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

God loves us and He will never leave us nor forsake us even when we think He has.  Our lives are all planned out from beginning to end.  We might not like what is happening now or has happened in the past or still could happen in the future but that doesn’t matter.  When Jesus was in the garden “he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."  Matthew 26:39  He didn’t want to go through the pain and torture of crucifixion that was ahead of Him but He was faithful and trusted God unto death.

Not our will but His will be done is sometimes easier said than done when your life or the life of a child or spouse is spiraling out of control.  You see the damage that this can do to your life and lives of the people you love.  There have been times in my life when I have lost control and was unsure how or even if I wanted to go on.  The pit of despair is a dark and lonely place and when tragedy strikes this is exactly where Satan wants us to be - Alone, lost, out of control and in the dark. 

Satan wants us to feel that there is no way out.  That life is not worth living and God doesn’t care about us - but I am here to tell you that God does care and life is worth living.  All we have to do is open our bibles to see that God is all about love, grace and mercy.  When our load is heavy we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother – God.  Proverbs 18:24 

My life is full of stories of God’s grace and mercy.  There are many things in my past that I would never even tell my best friend.  I’ve experienced pain and suffering that could have led me right back to the pit that I came out of but instead it led me closer to God.  When my heart was shattered by death and then again by tragedy, God was there holding me gently in His arms reminding me of His promise that everything was going to be alright.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake:  for when I am weak then am I strong.  2 Corinthians 10:12

We are trophies of God’s grace.  We are forgiven and made righteous before Him because of the blood of Christ.  We all have problems, hardships, dilemmas and yes sometimes even tragedies in our lives but these things do not hinder nor stop the love of God – it reinforces His love by drawing us near to Him and Him to us. Come near to God and he will come near to you.  James 4:8      

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Hebrews 10:22

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever.    Psalm 52:8                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

No matter what we are facing the love of God will see us through.  This, my friend - you can count on!!

03-08

God's Great Mercy

I want to tell you a true story about the great mercy of God.  My story begins with my youngest son, Jason.  He began experimenting with drugs at about the age of 12.  I didn’t realize his problem was drugs until he was 16.  I thought he was just acting out and rebelling.  After all when he was nine we moved away from all he had ever known to a new town, a new school and a new dad.  I figured it was normal to rebel after all that he had been through.  When it got to the point we didn’t know what else to do we sent him to a military boot camp for five weeks……in July……..in Arizona.  That will teach him to respect his parents and stay out of trouble.  Well, it did for about six weeks.  Then it was back to life as it had been, only…thankfully….he was no longer addicted to methamphetamine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before he found another drug of choice, Xanex. 

When he was 18 he joined the Army, good…..until he fell 15 feet and hurt his back.  Then the doctors gave him muscle relaxers.  A couple of weeks later we told him that his nephew had died of SIDS.  We were going to wait until he graduated boot camp but at this point we didn’t know when that would be and a month had already passed, so we told him.  Then the doctors put him on Xanex!!!!!  Xanex, his drug of choice before going in the Army.  I thought he was going to kill himself on that drug and now he comes home from the Army with a prescription???

In and out of jail for minor infractions until November of 2008 when he finally made the decision he didn’t want to live like that anymore.  He moved back home and hit some stumbling blocks but none of them included pills.  He had an aversion to work; to say that he was lazy is being nice.  He worked here and there for a little while and then he had to make a move, either get a job, go to school or move out.  He made the decision to go into the job core but after a few weeks there he realized that wasn’t the life he wanted.  He enrolled in college, filed out paperwork for grants and loans, got approved and now……….he is attending college.  He is getting great grades and is enjoying his course of study – game design; Nothing like doing what you love, right?

 Jason’s addiction had put a lot of stress on our family and my marriage and honestly, he had run out of options.  As I prayed for his sobriety I could see God working in his life.  I could see the small changes almost daily.  It was amazing to watch this transformation happen right in front of my eyes.  Now, he attends church with me (most of the time) when he is home for the weekend.  He is respectful and helpful around the house and I can see hope in his eyes.  He has a future to look forward to; One that doesn’t include the addiction of pills – pills that almost destroyed his life and mine.

God has shown him a better way to live.  Jason said that God let him go through what he went through early in life so he could get it out of his system.  I think he’s right; he has a story to tell and a testimony for others who struggle with addiction.  I pray that all of Jason’s struggles will bring glory to God and he will use his experiences to teach others about the love of God and how He can change your life. I thank God for His mercy on me and my family each and every day. 

I want to encourage parents to pray for their children.  My prayer life changed the day my grandson died.  It changed again six months later when an auto accident paralyzed my grandson ( who was only four at the time).  I was consumed with grief and reaching out to God at every turn.  It sounds strange but those two events allowed me to seek the face of God and truly know His love for me.  I am no longer a lukewarm Christian!  I pray differently, I think differently, I act, speak, live and love differently.  I believe my prayers were heard by the Lord and He had mercy on me and gave my son back to me.  What a wonderful gift!!!!  God does care about me and He cares about you.  I hope that you won’t have to experience the pain that our family experienced before you seek the face of the Lord in prayer.

Never give up hope, take time to pray and thank God for each day. There is power in prayer!!

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.  Luke 1:50