andyet…God

Little Moments, Big Gratitude

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One of my main goals spiritually is to grow in my gratitude for everything, especially in recognizing my blessings and giving GOD the credit for them, and no one else.  I especially want to grab those little moments – moments of pure pleasure and joy – and embrace them for the gifts they are – gifts from a loving Father who delights in surprising His children.

This morning was one of those.  I am off today and the morning was gorgeous – deep blue sky, and cool temperatures.  A God-given day to ride our motorcycle, and so we took advantage and went about 45 minutes to Valdosta to eat breakfast at Denny’s.  Yum!  My favorite breakfast place, ever.

After receiving our order, we blessed the food and dug in.  And then it happened.  As I cut into the fluffiest, most beautiful pancake stuffed with plump, juicy blueberries, I realized that I had everything I could ever wish for, right then, right there.  Did I have thousands of dollars in my bank?  No.  Did I suddenly lose those 20 pounds and have a gorgeous body?  No.  Was I eating filet mignon surrounded by the rich and famous?  No.  Did I drive up to Denny’s in the most expensive car available?  Again, no.

And yet!!  My God had so carefully arranged my morning to bless me!  Having a day off during the week.  Having the money to go out to eat, in spite of having my income cut in half.  Having a retired husband who had time to take me!  Having a beautiful day to ride, and a motorcycle to ride on.  And sitting beside the love of my life, who I am still crazy about after 32 years of marriage!  A perfect little moment in my life and a perfect opportunity to worship and praise the Lord for all His goodness to me.

And tomorrow?  Tomorrow I will be back in the land of cleaning tables, washing trays, taking orders, and sweeping rugs. And you know what?  Tomorrow will also be a wonderful day, because I have the opportunity to share how God blessed me today, and to try and “pass on” a blessing to someone else!  Little moments are ours for the realizing, and I pray that God continues to show us how to grab them, and then THANK Him for them!

Breath is a Gift!

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“It’s Your breath, in our lungs, and we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise…”  Song by All Your Sons and Daughters

It all began when we moved to the house I grew up in.  Sandy and I found each other because her family lived about half a mile from us and we went to the same school.  We became fast friends and had a blast.  Riding bikes, playing outside, dolls, you name it.  Together more than not, we navigated through elementary school, jr high, and then finally high school until my family moved away.  Then when my sister and I moved back two years later, we reconnected by working at the same job.  She was at my wedding, I at hers.  And then we both moved and lost touch.

Fast forward many years and we found each other again on our high school’s 30th reunion website..what a blast we had catching up!  And then came our 50th birthday year.  Mine was in January, hers in June.  I was having very mixed emotions about the whole 50 thing, and was not particularly excited.

And then came the news.  January 6th I found out that Sandy had gone to the hospital on the 1st of December, they found a brain anuerysm, operated, and Sandy died on Dec 15th.  No watning, no clue, nothing.  She had a headache one day and was gone 2 weeks later.

I was devastated.  I was not happy about turning 50, and Sandy had died at 49.  What a perspective changer.  I vowed frim that moment on to never complain about my age, and I haven’t. I still miss her, especially at Christmas when I pull out my ornaments and see hers..she gave me my very first one as a married lady.

I say all this to say remember.  When you are having a tough time, remember that it IS His breath in our lungs, and that while we have that gift, we need to say thank you..and pour out His praise to this world!

Sandy knew Jesus and was a child of His.  I will see her again.  But until then, i continue to live my life in her honor, and for His praise!

They Are Precious In His Sight

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10174985_10154140497620454_5344776850501140117_n[1] “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they were all written, 1477939_876743832387421_1127893204140839405_n[1]the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”  Psalm 139:16

Today is a very special day for me.  And here’s the story of why.

In July, 2012, little Bennett Coleman (picture on the left) was born to my cousin and his wife.  Bennett, whose names means “little blessed one” was welcomed into his family with great joy, joining his older sister and brother.  On April 28, 2013, Anderson Eaton (picture on right) was born to his family with great joy also, joing his older brother and sister.  Bennett is the 10th grandson of my aunt and uncle, while Anderson is my “adopted” grandson.  Both were born into loving, Christian families who are seeking to raise their children in the ways of the Lord.

And in God’s timing, and his alone, Bennett left us a year ago today – on Anderson’s 1st birthday – April 28, 2014.  Bennett was diagnosed with cancer in December, 2013, and after a great fight went to live with Jesus.  In the words of his family, he is celebrating his first HEAVEN birthday today, while Anderson is celebrating his 2nd earthly birthday.

AND YET!  This story is not about sorrow and brokenness and death.  It IS a story about God’s sovereignty, and His plan.  Bennett’s parents have suffered through a year of grief and sorrow and pain – but also, as his mother Megan wrote, a year of watching God work through a very short life.  While Anderson continues his journey here, his parents and I have great hopes for how he will grow up to be a Godly young man and impact this world through his life.  While Bennett continues his eternal journey, his parents and I are seeing hundreds of thousands of lives touched and brought to Jesus because of his legacy here.

How could two little boys been born, and impacted their worlds with joy, and yet one of them be taken back to his home with Jesus?  The verse above is part of the answer.  God, and God alone, knows the span of our lives and what He is going to do with each one of us, whether here or in Heaven.  He is the author and creator of life and this world, and He alone has all the answers.  All we can know is that, like Paul said, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8).  To Him be the glory forever and ever.

Brokenhearted Together

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We were a group of four yesterday when we entered the airport, and then suddenly we were once again just three.  We had been four for a solid week – Robert, me, Mom, and my sister – having a great time, laughing, catching up, and just enjoying each other.  And suddenly, a week had flown by and she had to go back to her husband and her life. It was a pretty gloomy ride back to the house, with each of us lost in our own sadness at seeing her go.

When we got home, Robert and I were supposed to go to an awesome wedding of two very special young people in our church.  We had been looking forward to it for a couple of months. And yet…we needed each other.  And Mom needed us.  We needed to be together and just hang out, to give each other the strength to face our first evening back together as “just us”.  So we did.  Frozen lemonades and ice cream, then a movie, then soup and cornbread later.  Nothing fancy, just love…and being together.

Which is exactly the way God intended life to be for all His children – together (Hebrews 10:24-25) .  Life is hard enough without the added stress and danger of doing it alone (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).  Of course the Holy Spirit is with us always (John 14:16-17) but when sadness comes and hearts are broken, we need the physical comfort of each other as those who know and love Jesus, King of Kings.

The comfort of “together” provdies courage. It gave us the courage to  leave the airport yesterday, and my sister courage to go, knowing that we would have each other. It has given two friends recently the courage to leave gravesides and keep going as their church families surrounded them.  It is giving another friend at church courage to hear the words from her doctor last week that the diagnosis was wrong and she does have cancer after all.

Together in Jesus is the only cure for broken hearts. If you aren’t experiencing “together” on some level, make that change today, and watch our Heavenly Father bless you!

Celebrating Home

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FSCN0540

It’s been a wonderful week with my sister being here from St. Louis.  She only gets to come twice a year, and we try to make the most of every minute.  We have the best time catching up, and loving on each other, and then the time is up and she has to return to her family.  It is always bittersweet watching that plane rise in the air taking her home, while rejoicing that she got to come, and already anticipating her next trip.

There’s been sadness this week as well, in learning that I am losing yet another friend to cancer.  While she has been brave and courageous in her fight, unless she is given a miracle by the Lord, she will be healed in His presence in Heaven.  This is also a bittersweet parting.  Bitter for the family and friends that will have the loss, but sweet for Mary as she goes to live with Jesus with no pain or suffering.  And unlike my sister, there is no return trip for Mary – but there is the sweetness of knowing that we will see her again as we join her there one day.

Which brings me to this picture.  I took this last summer on a gorgeous afternoon, and I love everything about it – because it reminds me of our eternal home.  The brightness of that day, and the majesty of those clouds, all remind me that I am going to a place of beauty beyond description.  The shadows in those clouds remind me that there will be no shadows or darkness there, only light.  And the joy that I feel as I look at this picture is just a SMALL thing compared to what I will experience when I am there.  Best of all?  There will be no more parting!  No more separation for any reason, just an eternity to worship the Lord and praise His name together.

So, if you’re having a hard time getting through your day in this dark and dangerous world, look up, and know that one day we will celebrate being home!

HE Knows My Name

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One of the best things about being back at Chick Fil A is the relationships I have with customers.  During my first employment there (2 1/2 years) I made so many friends who were regular customers.  We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, grandchildren, graduations, and other happy occasions together.  They supported and prayed for me while I was on a mission trip to Nigeria, and when I had surgery.  And unfortunately, I have now even been to the funerals of some of them.

So as I have gotten reaquainted with old friends, I am also making new ones. However, I am 4 1/2 years older, and learning their names doesn’t come NEARLY as easy as it used to.  I had one of them finally slide up to the counter the other day and say, “by the way, my name is Melinda, not Miranda.  Just wanted you to know”.  Sigh.  At least they are patient with me and put up with my failing memory!

The other side of this is learning their particular wants/needs.  No coffee lid for this one, no pickles EVER for that one, etc.  I make a few mistakes here and there, but I am rewarded with awesome smiles and thank you’s when I get it right.  I love serving them, caring about what they want, and making it happen! And when I can’t, I try to be compassionate in saying no.

AND YET!  God, the creator of everything and owner of it all, reminded me that He loves me (John 3:16), knows my name (John 10:3), and knows my wants and needs..except!  He doesn’t have memory issues and does not make mistakes.  He rejoices when He can make my requests happen (Psalm 37:3), and He is there to comfort me when He can’t.  He delights in knowing me, and He is always there to celebrate the victories and milestones, and to walk with me through the dark valleys (Psalm 23:4).  What a blessing to know Him, and to live in the delight of having HIM know my name!

Toast and Jam

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I am not really a toast kind of girl.  Being Southern, and having women in my family who could make mouth-watering biscuits, I much prefer those. My waistline, however, made the determination years ago that toast is my breakfast bread, and I have learned to live with it.

Eating toast at home, I stick to no butter, and only jelly/jam.  A few days ago I was dismayed to find my jelly jar almost empty, and my toast was hot and waiting.  I scraped out what I could, and smeared it on.  The result?  Awful! Toast with just enough jam to barely taste is offensive.  The hint of flavor makes you frustrated, and longing for more.  And I learned something…things spread too thin are useless.  The toast would have been better without it.

I believe God used this to remind me of something I desperately needed to hear right now.  PEOPLE spread too thin are also not doing a whole lot of good…and sometimes it can even been offensive!  There are some things that contribute to this that we have no control over – work hours, family, etc.  But in my case, and I suspect I am not alone, there are things that I CAN control.  Many times, I am guilty of overcommitting my own time, without any help from anyone else.  I love to do ministry, and saying no is hard for me even when I have no real time for anything else.  I love to write and yet I find myself not writing nearly as much as I thought I would because I am usually busy doing something else.

I have been guilty too many times of trying to do too much, and as the saying goes, not doing any of them too well. I have given people/ministries/my family the equivalent of my toast, and that’s not good. I have left them frustrated, and longing for more – of my efforts, or just more of me. My prayer is that God will “show” me a piece of toast every time I am tempted to overcommit myself, and that I will immediately stop!

Love Makes Me Dance!

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VBS11VBS12VBS13I was so fortunate to capture this moment last year during our Vacation Bible School.  Robert and I kept the toddlers, and Ruthie had just been adopted from an Asian country by a family in our church.

Adopting a child from overseas is a grueling process, at best! We saw her family go through tons of paperwork, hundreds of visits, thousands of questions, and that was just to get started!  We prayed with them through the interviews, the waiting, the red tape, more waiting, and finally – a trip to Ruthie’s country.  Even then, it took many days to get her, go before government agencies, formally adopt her, and then get to take that wonderful trip home.

Although very shy at first, Ruthie quickly warmed up to her new family, her new home, and her new church family.  We were playing and singing to music and she just broke out in this dance!  And why not!  She had gone, in a very short time, from being completely alone in a cold, overcroweded orphanage where her basic needs were barely met, to a wonderful world of love, care, beauty and happiness.  She was WANTED.  And she was ADOPTED!

This is such a beautiful picture of God’s love for us!  He has gone through the ultimate to adopt us – the death of His only Son, Jesus, on the cross.  He has brought us from a VERY far away country, the land where sin and the devil reign.  He also had to wait – longer on some of us than others – for us to come to Him.  And just like Ruthie’s family took her before the ruler of her country and said “yes, we want her”, Jesus has brought each of His children before the King of Kings, and said, “yes, Father, I want them, because I died for them”,  What love!  I am wanted, and I have been adopted..I believe I need to dance!