From My Heart To Yours

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 (ESV)

There is a hope and a peace that supersedes anything that the world offers. The world extends its hand; soft, beautiful, full of possibilities. Often those promises fail, falling short of our expectations. We are lured into a false sense of security by outward appearances and desires that are temporal in nature, only to plummet to the deepest depths when the truth, at last, is revealed. We frequent the broad thoroughfare because, it seems, everyone else is making their way down that appealing path. We fear being ostracized for standing up with a different worldview or simply with the directions to a different trail.

Another hand is extended. It is rough and calloused. This hand has known hard work. It is not pampered or cared for in a loving manner. It is common and if you view its marks and scars as flaws, then it is not, in the least, appealing. It is a hand acquainted with hardship and yet, in that dry, cracked skin, is hope…and love...and faithfulness. This hand is not what you want or expect, but it is very often, just what you need. It is the hand of your Savior. It is the hand of my Savior. It is the hand of God. A potter’s hand, a carpenter and stone mason’s hand, a shepherd’s hand, it is the hand of the LORD. In that hand is empathy, grace, mercy, but most of all, forgiveness!

This Son of Man does not keep us from falling but is there to pick us up and offers His shoulder upon which we are allowed to weep. It is often the hard times, the times when we feel consolation is far away, that He is closest to us. Listen with your heart, not with your ears or even your brain. He is there in that low, nearly inaudible whisper, in the quietest of the quiet and He will soothe and comfort. How do I know this? I have been to the pit and He has raised me. I have been ill, and He has healed me. I have been distraught, and He has flooded my soul with a peace that only He can offer. He is my rock, my salvation, my refuge. He is beside me and indwells me and though I have turned my back on Him more than once, He has never deserted me. I still have questions, sort of like when my 13-year-old watches an illusionist’s act and asks, “How?” I don’t know the answers but praise God I know who possesses them. His name is Immanuel, God with us, with me, with you.

Discovering Grace
Where can I find grace?
Is it a free gift as some have said?
Can salvation be so uncomplicated?
His love poured out for me…
The debt I owe, paid by One
Who is innocent of all error
How can this be?
Ahhh, I have discovered GRACE!

Have you discovered God’s grace for your life? How about for today?
Do you know that His love and grace is only a prayer away?
His grace is sufficient for all that you are faced with, but He asks that we petition Him. Why would He want us to pray and ask Him for something He knows that we need?

“I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” 2 Samuel 12: 23b (NIV)

Facing the imminent loss of a loved one and then to finally lose them, is unimaginable. There are no words of comfort, no acts of kindness that can heal the injured heart. There is light that will filter through the dank mist at times but then we must walk that dark corridor of grief once again. To say that time heals, seems trite and uncaring. The truth is that we do heal over time, to some degree. We are left with memories that can be both joyful and sorrowful. The good news is that for those who trust in the LORD, we know that our grief is not endless. There will, one day, be a joyous reunion in the Heavenly realm.

For Always
Too soon the goodbye
Too much left to say
I love you for always
Forever…today.
Will miss our laughter
Will miss the tears
I love you for always
Forever…today.
Sharing dreams, thrills
Heartache and more
I love you for always
Forever…today
Take some of me along
The path not returned
Because I love you for always,
Forever…today.

Do you think there are any words you can say or actions that you can take to show your care for a person in mourning? If so, what?
Why can just “being” there with a person in sorrow be helpful?
Do you believe that there is a prescribed time when mourning should end? Why or why not?

Make the world your audience where you proclaim His undying love; make your neighborhood the stage where your life is lived and His life is shared; make your heart the residence where the WORD abides forever.