Just a thought

God loves us.

       He loves all of us – even when we sin.

              Regardless of what our particular sin is.

         No sin is dirtier than any other.

     We’re all playing in the mud.

Because He loves us, God chose to die on a cross

       To free us from our sin.

              All sin.

    (Though He still loves us when we sin).

Hurt is a consequence of sin.

       Because sin causes Pain. Fear. Worry. Loss. Death.

              But death is just a door –

                     To a life without sin

                     Or to the awful enduring penalty for unforgiven sin…

By the way, all sin can be forgiven.

       Every sin can be forgiven.

              Yup. Even that.

          Forgiven.

The penalty has already been paid –

 All we need to do is acknowledge our own individual sins

              (‘fess up and say you’re sorry – and mean it!)

       And cling to His forgiveness.

There is no other way...

There won’t be any tears in Heaven.

       All because He loves us.

Today -- take 2

My first appointment with my new gynecologist got off to a bad start. 

          "You're overweight. You need to lose fifteen pounds." 

Perhaps seeing the stunned look of horror on my face, 

or the anger beginning to brew behind my eyes, 

he added, "but your weight is better than most of the population..."

There was a bit of awkwardness followed by a long lecture on exercise and eating properly, 

before we moved on to safer topics.

 After a longish interrogation, he decided that I'm probably simply peri menopausal 

(which could explain the middle-of-the-night drenched-with-sweat wake-ups). 

However, because of my age and some of symptoms, he does need to rule out uterine cancer. 

I then had three options - completely ignore it and do nothing, get it over with immediately 

in the office, or schedule a surgery. 

 After another awkward pause during which I played a mental movie of what my friends would do to me

 if I chose option number one, I chose option two (so you can put away the cattle prod, Erica). 

Number three was really never an option, because it probably would have morphed into number one. 

 A short wait, a dash of agony, and the deed was done. Results in a week.

 As a walked out the office in my pink cowboy boots, a sly, sneaky voice whispered,

            "uterine cancer was Grammy's second diagnosis..."
But just as the tears began to pool in the corners of my eyes, 

a loud, clear voice boomed back, 

         "She is loved. She is approved. She has nothing to be ashamed of. 

                                                    I am with her. I am with her."

 With each tear dried, there was peace in my heart 

as I drove to Friendly's for a hot fudge sundae.

Today

Today I have a new mantra.

And at the end of the month I’ll have a slightly larger than normal water bill…

It’s been a week of long showers as I wrestle with God and seek solace in His presence under the flowing hot water. 

Today I get to meet a new doctor and whine for a bit.

Today I need to take out all of the trash and wash all of the laundry and dishes that have been building up from working late and then rushing off to tutor.

Today I’ll chat with 8 more sets of parents and tell them how naughty – I mean, how smart their little ones are.

Today I’ll carve out the time to read and respond to that last email from Mom and Dad in Africa.

Today a dear friend is attending her son’s funeral.

Today another dear friend is cuddling her very old kitten as she puts his IV into place.

Today – and suddenly, today is just so crushingly heavy and I curl up in a ball under the beating water and cry out to my Abba to just please remind me that I am not alone.

And in the silence that followed, I remembered again how Grammy used to claim God’s promises through the bumps in the road. 

So I searched my mind for a promise to claim. And He whispered down, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

I am loved, I thought. 

And just as that registered, another verse came whispering in – one that I had recited at the beginning of AWANA every Wednesday night that year I lived in Barrington. “Study to show thyself approved onto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.”

I am approved by God. I don’t need to be ashamed.

And as those thoughts sank in, another verse came, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” 

He is with me.

And then “Lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth…”

He is with me.

I whispered those words, over and over. By the time I turned off the water, I was saying them out loud. 

Suddenly my heart was lighter, my day was bearable. Livable. Enjoyable. Because today

I am loved.

I am approved.

I do not need to be ashamed.

He is with me.

He is with me.

Discovering Peace

I have a beloved friend who’s heart was horrifically broken yesterday. She’s a dear friend who’s always been there through my own heart breaks. So it’s instinctive to want to step up and cherish her through her own…

I can still remember that first conference we were both at – a prayer retreat off in the woods somewhere. It was years ago, maybe even decades – back when our boys were still almost babies…

We sat down and prayed together. I remember her prayer request because I’ve prayed it often over the years. She asked for peace. She wanted to be the peace in her household.

Today I’m going to sit with her for a bit. And she told me to bring my peace.

“I will.” I answered confidently.

But today, in my shower, as I cleansed my outsides with soap and my insides with tears I questioned if I had any peace to bring. It’s been a very difficult year already, and this tragedy is peace-shattering…

But my Rock Solid All-Knowing Oh-So-Loving Abba gently whispers down there is still Peace.

      Peace is not an absence of tears.

      Peace is not an absence of questions.

      Peace does not mean not wondering why.

      Peace is not an absence of pain. Peace comes in spite of pain. Hand in hand with pain. 

            Because of pain.

Without the pain, without the wars, without the tragedies, we wouldn’t understand the need for peace.

Peace is simply letting Abba into the pain, and letting Him remind you that He is bigger than even this. That somehow, some day, this, too, shall pass. 

P – patiently

E – enduring,

A – accepting

C – Christ’s

E – Everlasting

LOVE

Please pray today, that my friend is wrapped in His peace.

How can we pray for you?