Faith & Family

I drove along a curved coastal freeway as the sinking sun reddened the glassy ocean in the distance. Darkness engulfed my soul as evening closed in. I had nowhere to sleep that night except in my car, an embarrassment to drive around. A massive dent I couldn’t afford to fix marred the passenger side door.

Sad memories piled into a hopeless heap like my belongings slumped in black plastic trash bags in the back seat. Years of chaos and dysfunction had worn me down. I felt lost in a world of people who seemed to have it all together: jobs, college degrees, a home of their own, solid relationships—none of which I had. The ease of taking my life taunted me. No one would miss me if I drove off the freeway’s edge.

I barely noticed the rumble strips warning me to pay attention as I negotiated the curve. Suddenly, the ringtone from my cell phone jolted me from my daze, and I swerved back onto the road. A friend discerned I was not okay. He offered to put me up at a hotel for the evening so I could rest.

Shifting my grip on the steering wheel, I steered away from contemplating the worst and toward sleep instead. Crawling into bed with puffy eyes, a light shining through the blinds of my pitch-black hotel room caught my attention. It was as if hope in the form of light reached between the gaps to remind me that no amount of suffering could darken my life enough to prevail against God’s plans for me.

Jesus is the creator and sustainer of our lives. He gives us the illumination we need because darkness exists. We need to see things as they are. Darkness will never overcome the light of Jesus.

God loves us so much that when He foresaw the sin and suffering that would darken and distort our lives, He chose to create us anyway because He wants us and has a plan for us. Some of our greatest blessings emerge from hardships that threaten to detach us from what holds us back from freely loving Him. There will be a time when He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and we will live pain-free. Until then, He will use the troubles that have infested our lives to transform us into the person He created us to be.

Don’t let hardships hold you back from freely living and loving Jesus. 

Fritz, our large, six-year-old, orange tabby house cat, trotted happily out the door with me onto our front porch. With tail held high, he bounced by my side into the hot, humid August afternoon.

Every day, Fritz would take his “walkabout.” He would take off on a long circuit of his world here on our Tennessee ridge. He is usually gone a couple of hours, returning in time for his supper in the late afternoon. Our property borders a Wildlife Management Area along the Duck River, which is designated a National Scenic River along this miles-long stretch.

The Wildlife Management Area means wildlife is protected, and because of this, we are used to a wide variety of creatures and critters meandering through our yard—deer, turkeys, ’possums, raccoons, skunks, foxes, boar, and a host of the other usual suspects. Fritz is familiar with all these, and despite being quite territorial and possessive of his ridge to other male cats, he adopts a live-and-let-live attitude with nearly all wildlife. I’ve seen a flock of turkeys pass peacefully around him as he lounged lazily on a rock in the middle of them. (Rodents and snakes are another story, however. Frequently, Fritz will proudly bring those home as gifts … sometimes while they are still wiggling.)

But this day differed. Fritz took a couple of steps onto the porch and froze. His nostrils went into overdrive. Hopping up on a table for a better look, he slowly scanned the front yard while tasting the air, his tail occasionally swishing with concern. Eventually, he focused on the thick woods that border the eastern edge of our property, the tree line about a hundred feet away.

His body went rigid, and his hackles rose. His tail sliced the air. Occasionally, he would look back over his shoulder at me to make sure I was still close, his green eyes as wide as quarters. Something was out there. A something he didn’t like and even feared—and I have rarely seen Fritz fear anything. Cats aren’t called nature’s gunslingers for no reason.

I didn’t see a thing. I scanned the area carefully with binoculars but saw nothing. When I got up to go back inside, Fritz dashed to the door with me and slipped safely back into the house. Definitely no walkabout today.

Fritz sensed something he couldn’t see, and he heeded that warning. I, too, have an early warning system. God’s wonderful gift, His Comforter, His presence in the form of His Holy Spirit, lives in me. The Spirit sees things I don’t, sees across time, teaches me, and helps guide me through the hidden dangers of this fallen world. Often, my problem is stilling the clutter in my mind long enough to hear the Holy Spirit’s soft voice speaking. I must focus on God’s Word, let His peace soothe the chaos that usually swirls in my head, and most importantly, listen for and recognize that sweet soft voice.

Are you listening for the Spirit’s voice?

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

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The word “biopsy” triggered fear as I listened to the nurse on the phone explain why I needed to make an appointment for the next day. My mind dove into a dark place of what-ifs, conjuring up all the worst possible outcomes. What if the growth on top of my head was cancerous? Who would care for my family if I didn’t survive? Uncomfortable pressure from the lump intensified as I imagined how my family would cope. But worrying doesn’t work.

Fear of the unknown made for a restless night. The next day,  I arrived at the doctor’s office with puffy eyes and a knotted-up stomach. After examining the bump, the dermatologist determined a biopsy wasn’t needed. We scheduled an appointment to remove it.

Instead of leaving the office relieved, my mind went into another tailspin. What if the professionals handling my case discovered something unexpected during the operation? Or the incision got infected during recovery? Waiting a full two weeks for surgery felt agonizing, but it eventually came and went. The tumor biopsy results came back negative. It didn’t take long to realize all the time and energy I spent worrying was unnecessarily exhausting for me and my loved ones.

Leaning on worry when facing problems doesn’t work, but leaning on God does. Prayer and petition with thanksgiving demonstrates our faith in God’s goodness and provision despite what we’re experiencing. Communicating honestly with Him about what we need draws spiritual resources into our physical reality.

Every trial is an invitation from God to trust in His ability to handle the adverse events that come our way and help us cope. When we face unpredictable circumstances, we may use worry to keep our emotional guard up, brace for the worst-case scenario, or give us a sense of control in an alarming situation. But no amount of worrying can prevent what happens to us in the future. Worry steals our joy, kills our faith, and destroys our strength. Unbridled worry can wreak havoc on our relationships, impair our performance, and create medical problems from the stress.

Get honest with God about what you’re worried about. Invite Him into your problem. Tell Him your worries, and ask for His help. Release your fear, despair, and pain into His capable hands. Seize the peace, strength, and hope He provides daily to overcome the difficulty.  

As we prepared for a family member's 100th birthday celebration, everything seemed to come together just as we intended.

The week before the event, the weather forecast included rain. Honestly, I was disappointed and started to pray that the forecast would change. We wanted a bright, sunny day. The rain would cause us to modify our plans and likely damper what we intended to be a joyful day.

On the morning of the celebration, the forecasted percentage of rain had increased to 95%, more than the 40% originally forecasted. As I listened to the hard rain fall outside on the celebration day, similar tears fell from my eyes. My grandfather had passed away unexpectedly 364 days before. He was the reason we were planning the 100th birthday celebration. It was one of the last things he spoke about during his last day on earth.

As I prayed again for God to stop the rain on this beautiful occasion, God reminded me that rain is beneficial, although at times inconvenient. Droughts are naturally drier-than-average conditions. Our family had been in an emotional drought as we worked through our grief. But my perspective shifted, and God reminded me that only rain can cure the drought.

I began to praise God for the rain and viewed it as His way of replenishing our souls and addressing the drought we had experienced. Rain increases growth, and I believe the rain on that day was symbolic. God would grow us and restore every area of lack.

Sometimes, we have to shift our perspective to realize that God is in control and gives us what we need when we need it, not always when we want it.

Do you need to shift your pespective? Ask God to help you.

One of the first things I taught my son to say was “Thank you.” I can still remember the cute way he said it as a toddler. He looked at us with an enormous smile and bright eyes and exclaimed, “Tank you!”

My son is a teenager now, but I remind him daily to say thank you. I have always thought showing appreciation to people, especially God, was necessary. When we say thank you, we acknowledge we have received a blessing. Thank you is an expression of the gratitude we feel for that blessing. It’s an essential practice in our lives.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. The Bible mentions this Scripture six times and the phrase “give thanks” fifty-two times. It must be important if give thanks is noted that much.

Everyone appreciates a thank you. It’s an acknowledgment of effort and sacrifice. When we say thank you to God, it shows we recognize how blessed and thankful we are.

We have many reasons to give thanks to God. He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, so that we could experience salvation. One of the benefits of that salvation is the love and care God has for each of us that endures forever. Just these two facts are reasons to give thanks, not to mention how God blesses us daily by answering our prayers. Those are a few of the million reasons to be thankful.

Today, take a few moments to thank God for all He has done. Remember to show Him how thankful you are through your everyday actions. May we never stop thanking and praising Him for the many blessings He bestows on us.