God answers

No Answer But Jesus

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imageLess than a year ago, on a hot July morning, I stood outside a friend’s house, watching police and paramedics come and go.  My friend, Joe, was 43 and had just taken his own life about 45 minutes previous.  As I watched all the people gathered there, questions seemed to explode in my mind.  Why this day?  Why at all?  What if he could have known how many people would gather outside and mourn him just minutes later -would he still have done it?

And why, after losing three of my best guy friends to cancer the year before – ages 56, 50, and 39 – had Joe made this decision?  He was a member of my church too, and he watched all 3 of those men fight for their lives. What did we miss in Joe’s life??

Although my faith is strong, my love for the Lord full, and my future secure in Heaven, I couldn’t find all the answers.  I did come away convinced that sometimes, there just ARE no answers, not this side of Heaven.  Some things we are just not meant to know or understand, no matter how hard they are.  As one of my early pastors said, too, just knowing why is not enough to take away all the pain – we still bear the loss.

Yesterday, two lifelong friends of ours – Rick and Jean, their son and daughter-in-law, and their other 5 grandchildren suffered an incredible loss.  Joey, the 13 year old pictured here, took his own life on Easter Sunday.  Chad & Christy, his parents, made the decision to turn off his life support yesterday, and have now been plunged into an incredible valley that only Jesus can take them through.  Joey’s brothers and sisters are left as well to struggle to understand, and to continue on with their own lives.

And yet.  My “and yet” God has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Joshua 1:5).  He understands the pain of death (John 11:32-36).  He has told us in His Word that the day we are born, our last day is also written down in His book (Psalm 139:16).  And the best promise is that we will be reunited again (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

So, as I pray for another family facing the unthinkable death of their child, I will still ask the Lord a lot of questions.  I will wrestle with the hard truth that Joey’s death did not “surprise” God – that he knew it would happen before Joey was ever born.  And I finally I will give in, again, to the Truth that Jesus is the only answer and I will not know it until I see Him face to face.

No is Only a New Yes!

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Ok, yesterday I got the verdict from my unemployment hearing, and the answer was no…as in nope, you deserved to be fired, and you were, and we owe you no money.  That’s not actually what the letter said – it was all official and said I was disqualified…which is still a not so nice way of saying no!

My initial reaction was the above, along with the thought that my previous employer’s human resource department was sitting around celebrating.  It would also have been very nice to receive 4 weeks of unemployment, and it would have taken away the “sting” of giving 3 1/2 years to them with such an abrupt and untimely dismissal.

AND YET!  That no really means that I am done with my former employer, once and for all, and will now just see them in the rear view mirror of my life, fading away.  Yay!  Also I know that in spite of all the stress and pressure of that job, I would never have walked away from them, because of the salary and benefits that I thought I could not live without.  The job was killing me, but I was making huge money and couldn’t see past that – I thought I had to make that sacrifice.  God knew that, and so He forced me to leave!

AND YET!  For every no, there have been at least two “yes’s”.  Yes to having another job, parttime.  Yes to less blood pressure medicine.  Yes to more time to write.  Yes to a happy work environment, where I can directly impact people.  Yes to watching Him meet every financial need that I have.  Yes to a uniform that keeps me from the constant struggle of having enough work-worthy clothes.  Yes to more time for ministry.  Yes to having a testimony to share of God saying no to me, and thriving in spite of it!

So, if you are in the land of “no”…the place where it seems there will never be another yes…or the place where it seems like the whole world is against you, and you’re not sure about God…relax!  The Scripture is full of promises that God has made to His children, that He intends to keep!  Start looking out for those “yes’s”, and the “no’s” will fade away!  I am living proof of that!

Pink Shoes and Ponytails!

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One of my favorite parts of being back at Chick Fil A is waiting on the children.  They are always so excited to be there, and you never know what they will say.  Today I had a delightful little girl, around 4 or 5, with these adorable sparkly pink shoes that lit up when she bounced, which was often.  She had a ponytail and a big pink bow on it.  Right after her I had more little girls with pink shoes, and I was surrounded by happy!

I started thinking about how children come in, and approach our counter, and us.  They are very proud to place their own orders, and they are filled with confidence that their order will be heard and filled.  If we don’t serve something – like the pancakes a little boy wanted today – then they are disappointed, but they move on and choose something else.  They have parents hovering nearby, and they know that if something goes wrong, the parent will help them out.  And they ALWAYS want dessert!

I wondered what would happen if I could translate their attitude to my walk with the Lord and especially my prayer life.  While I know prayer should be entered into with reverence, I wonder if sometimes I shouldn’t BOUNCE into God’s presence!  Either overjoyed with blessings, or excited to be there, but definitely with a heart full of joy.  And what if I always came with full confidence?  And with the expectation that my request would be heard and answered, or if the answer was “no”, that an acceptable answer would be made known?  What if I accepted “no” gracefully from the Lord, and then MOVED ON??  I could also try asking for dessert!  I am sure God doesn’t mind when I ask for things that I want sometimes, and not just what I need.

And the best part?  The Scripture says that when we can’t “order” our prayers, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us (Romans 8:26) just like those parents in the background. How awesome! May God help us all to not always be so serious, but to “enter His gates with thanksgiving” (Psalm 100:4) – and occasionally a bounce!

You’re Not Just Settling for that….Are You?

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It has barely been 24 hours since I announced in yesterday’s blog about my new job, and the comments have covered the whole range of available answers!  “Really, you want to work parttime??”  “Is that because you are afraid nothing was happening?”  “Isn’t it too soon to rule out other options?”  And my favorite, “Why are you settling for that?”

What fun!  While most people have been supportive and congratulating me, I have actually heard -either by text, phone, or in person – all of the above comments in some form or another.  We have become a society of outspoken people, and never more than when we think an opinion is wanted/welcomed.  And I am just as guilty of that as anyone else I know.

This is not the first time in my life that I have heard this – this “settling” for something.  As if something bigger, greater, and more wonderful was waiting just around the next corner.  Sometimes, I really did “settle” for something, and God did have other options available.

But as I get older, and hopefully wiser and more mature, I have come to realize something.  When someone asks “are you settling for ____________”, I can truthfully answer NO.  After all, if I have prayed for an answer, earnestly asked God to provide, and see Him working to answer that prayer, why then would I turn around and question Him about it?  Or why would I question another believer about their decision if I know the same is true about them?

When we use the phrase “settling for”, we are usually implying that what has been given, or an answer that has been received, is less than.  Why?  Is it a case of the grass is always greener?  Or is my faith less mature because I believe that I have received guidance from the Lord on something that may not meet other’s expectations and I proceed forward?

One of my favorite Bible stories is of the early Christians praying for Peter’s release from jail, and while they are praying God releases him. Peter goes to the house where they are praying, knocks on the door, and they’re like, “Quiet!  We’re in the middle of a prayer meeting here to get Peter released” (paraphrase mine, see Acts 12:5-16 for the whole story).

Isn’t that a riot?  And that’s what this post is about.  When God answers a prayer or need, rejoice and go with His answer!  So, YES, God has answered my unemployment prayer, and YES, the answer is parttime work, and YES He has other great things for me to do that I couldn’t do working fulltime!   It’s all about HIM, and HIS desire, and I am fine with that!

Obedience + Forgiveness = Blessings

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obedience 2[1]What an awesome lesson learned!  A couple of days ago I shared my experience with asking for forgiveness and how God used that in my life to restore a relationship and bring peace.  Today, I am announcing:  I HAVE A JOB!!

And I do not for a minute believe that is a coincidence.  Now, does everyone who is unemployed have unconfessed sin/need for forgiveness in their life?  Absolutely NOT.  There are all kinds of reasons for unemployment and I would not dare to presume to have some special “key” to fixing that.  Not at all.

But my struggle was with God shutting door after door for fulltime work anywhere in our community.  Slammed shut.  But there was one job I had left – voluntarily – and not in God’s timing, and the way I left was not pleasing to Him.  And I have always known that I had left some bad feelings on both sides unresolved.

AND YET!  God provided the opportunity for me to now go back, work for His glory, not my own, and rebuild some bridges that I tore down and have been a hindrance to His work in my life and my ministry for Him.  What a mighty God we serve!

He has also given me, again, the opportunity to work part time.  Yay!  Less money, but less stress.  Fewer benefits, but more time.  Less “prestige”, but more ministry.  What a mighty God we serve!

So, as the title says, I believe my obedience in seeking the forgiveness I needed to receive has directly resulted in this new opportunity.  Scripture is quite clear that as we forgive others, God forgives us (Colossians 3:13) AND that we are to go ask for forgiveness  (Matthew 5:23-24). I am a living testimony today that God is faithful to His Word, and that you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain!  Let’s go out there and pratice some obedience!

Two Lane Trouble!

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9e036ce4cce7f1daf056f5040063bdc2[1]I will preface this blog with two thoughts.  First, yes I do spend a LOT of time at Walmart.  Second, there is a bell that rings every Wednesday morning (lol!) for all senior adults to proceed to our local grocery store (which has Wednesday only bargains) and then to finish up at Walmart!

Now that you know those things, as I was in Walmart today, I headed toward the checkout only to find a near senior adult riot occurring.  There were only 2 “regular” checkout lanes open, but our Walmart now has “self check”…and those machines were almost totally unoccupied!  And the griping and complaining could be heard everywhere near the checkout – “I can’t believe they only have two checkouts open”  “This store doesn’t care about its customers” and “they must be cutting back again, since there are NO cashiers!”

Now I understand that seniors and technology do not always go together.  However, they were not the only people in line.  There were all ages represented, and each line was 10 deep. And when I went to the self checkout, it scanned all my groceries, let me use my coupons, and took my debit card..and I was out the door before about half of those in line.

How does that relate to anything?  Many believers are the same way!  They want to come on Sunday morning, occasionally on Sunday night or Wednesday night.  And then, they complain.  They complain about the service being too long.  They complain they are not cared about.  And, they are the first ones to say, “I just don’t feel like I am growing spiritually” or “something’s just wrong with my spiritual life”.

AND YET!  God never intended for us to “stand in line” all the time, waiting and complaining, and not receiving the “service” from Him that we need.  He is ALWAYS there.  Just like those self checkout lines, we can “speed up” our growth, our happiness, our contentment, and our usefulness – all we have to do is “self help” ourselves!  We can self help through the Bible, His written and inerrant Word, and through prayer.  There is never a line for either of those, you can just step right up, and receive.  And I have yet to see a local church, at least here anyway, that is so crowded that you cannot find a seat and “self help” yourself by becoming part of a local fellowship!

So, if our relationship with the Lord, seems lacking, or stale, or stalled, it may be time to look at our self help habits, and see what we are missing out on!