Love Your Neighbor

Last night I wept. I wept for those who are being broken by their circumstances right now. I wept for those who fear how they will support their families. I wept for those burying loved ones, some of whom they did not get to farewell. I wept for a world who is hurting in unimaginable ways. I wept and then I prayed.

Even in the face of all of this, life is still continuing. Babies are being born, people are getting married and others are taking their last breath. Life doesn’t stand still even when something like this happens, life goes on and so must we.

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

I’m a Pro-Life advocate and a trained crisis pregnancy counselor. That means a good part of what God has called me to do is to step into someone’s crisis and walk with them. It’s probably one of the greatest privileges of my life, to have someone trust their greatest vulnerabilities with me. I feel honored when I meet a woman I can help. Right now, I see such a need for crisis intervention in the lives of so many, and this is the call of every Christian. We can help them one by one if we look past our own circumstances, trust God to provide the way and take a step of faith to reach out to them.

1 Peter 3:8 “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tender hearted, and keep a humble attitude.”

We have never been given a greater opportunity to reach our neighbors with the love of Christ. I pray that we have soft hearts, hearts of empathy and compassion. It’s easy to allow crisis to overcome us and to draw away, focus on self and our needs, but if you are in Christ, God will provide for you so that you can do the work He is calling you to do. This is the hour to be bold, to put on love and to embrace those within your reach. Let us mourn with those who mourn and celebrate with those who celebrate.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

~St Teresa of Calcutta

(Written April 2, 2020)

Family

If we can change our perspective from all the trouble to the blessings we can see what a gift this time can be for family. It may not seem like it at the moment, it’s definitely not easy, and clearly this is not the way anyone ever imagined their last few weeks might be. Going from busy societies to standstill around the world. Our go, go, go has stop, stop, stopped!

There is a renewal that is happening to our families around the world. I can’t help but wonder if this crisis has revealed that the family unit, in so many ways, has become socially distant and disconnected. Maybe that is why God has called us all into our homes to stay together isolated for just a little while...

The sports have stopped, schools have stopped, vacations have stopped, shopping has stopped, distractions have stopped. Time, that is what we have. Time and family. I’m not making light, I know it’s hard, parents are stressed and kids are frustrated but if we can shift our focus and see the blessing, this could possibly be the very thing that changes our families in an even greater way. We are stronger together.

Colossians 3:13 “Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

Eventually society will open again and people return to work, school, and activities. This is not a permanent situation. It’s overwhelming, yes. It’s frustrating, true. It’s hard, absolutely. But it is a gift of time to heal and strengthen our families if we will just shift our focus and let God show us how.



I pray, that of the seeds planted during this global pandemic, that a restored and renewed sense of family will be the harvest. I pray that when our children tell their children about this, their stories will be of how awesome it was to be home, to all be together, that they remember this extra time not as scary and tragic, but as a gift. We as parents can determine the direction of our families walk through this. I pray that the peace of God overwhelms us that we can focus on simply loving one another and take this gift of time to grow in our families.

Colossians 3:15 “ let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Photo credit: Island Encounters Photography, Fiji

Simplicity

I haven’t left my house in 11 days. I don’t know that I have ever been house bound in my life for 11 days. I was snowed in for 5 days during Winter Storm Atlas in 2013, but even then I trekked to visit my parents and neighbors.

During this 11 days I have discovered the remarkable contrast between “wants” and “needs”. In being stuck at home, unable to fulfill my every whim, I have discovered how much of my life was consumed by wants and I’m thankful to have had my eyes opened!

Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

God is faithful! Our needs have been and will continue to be met. He gave me the wisdom to prepare in advance for this time of being home and has provided through the help of others everything else. Around the world He continues to supply for the needs of His people with the kindness of a stranger or the generosity of a friend. He may even choose to supply through miracle and send the ravens-nothing is too difficult for Him (1 Kings 17:6). When we put our hope in Him we can trust that He will supply our needs because He tells us he will!

Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”

I look back at the hustle and bustle of my life before all of this and I realize that so much my time was dedicated to “wants”. After a morning of homeschooling I was always eager to get out of the house and usually ended up shopping in the afternoon. This desire to “go” and “do” had very little to do with any true need. I have a hard time sitting still and shopping had become the antidote for an excuse to be “busy”. This “want” was often a waste of money and almost always a waste of time. When it comes to wants vs needs it’s nearly always about filling a void or trying to somehow feel secure in a time of insecurity, but nothing you can buy that, only God call fill that space.

No one needs 60 rolls of toilet paper or six month supply of food for a few weeks of self-isolation, but unfortunately we see panic buying stripping the shelves around the world. We want to feel secure, and it’s OK to desire to feel secure but no supply or luxury will secure us. The only security that we can rely on is God, He should be our hearts desire. We need Him and we should absolutely WANT more and more of Him!

We are called the hunger and thirst for God. Jesus is the only one who can satisfy our deepest longings. I pray that when life returns to some form of normal that I will not go back to old ways. I will remember who supplies all of my needs! I pray that He is my only source of wanting, because He is truly all that I need.

(Written March 31, 2020)

No Backup Plan

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” ~Proverbs 3:5-6

My whole life I have had a backup plan. Every time life throws something at me and often even before anything actually comes to pass, my mind becomes overcome with a way out, a way forward whether the threat is real or perceived. Truth be told these backup plans never come to pass and almost always steal my peace and distract my focus from God. Trying to out plan a situation instead of seeking God alone for His plan is nothing more than a distraction!

In this time of actual uncertainty I have decided to stand unmoved resting in the promises of God. The answers to the future are safe in His hands. Whatever control I grip tightly in my hands must be released if I am to receive what’s in His. I will trust our unknown future to the all knowing God! God is good, His mercy never fails and He holds my future!

Instead of analyzing everything going on and being consumed with outcomes I will meditate on God and seek Him for guidance about what I can do to serve Him effectively in this time and season. My focus needs to be on Him so that I know what He desires from me. He hast to be my first love!

When I gave my heart to Jesus I said “yes” to Him and His plan for my life. This relationship cannot have a Plan B. Just like entering a marriage thinking “if it doesn’t work out I’ll just get divorced,” dooms a union from the start. So too is choosing God but only trusting His plan when it goes your way. It’s an all or nothing! You are either in or out!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11

I resolve to let go! To fall into His arms of grace when I cannot see the road ahead. There is no plan B, there is only God’s plan! I will give him my worries and fears and I will take hold of the peace that only He can give. There’s no better plan and the plan of God! 

Grow In Faith

Let’s be honest, times of trial are hard and uncomfortable and it can be difficult to shift our focus from the problems to the growth. Sometimes it’s hard to see how God might use all that you face to bring about good things but He can and will if we just press in!

“We need occasional mountaintop experiences, but the fertile soil for growth is always down in the valleys of tribulation, not on the mountaintops.” ~Neil T. Anderson

A muscle that is not offered any resistance or use will become weak, but a muscle that is pushed out of its comfort zone, a muscle that meets resistance will be strengthened! It doesn’t feel good at the time, but afterwards the result of strength and growth is evident as the muscle is able to take on a heavier load. The Lord is our strength, He helps us as we grow as our faith is tested.

We make it through the valleys we face, the trials and struggles by remembering the mountaintops! We don’t look at the problems but remember all of the things God has already done, knowing that He will help us once more. Taking time to reflect on all of the ways God has helped us in the past renews our heart of thanksgiving and sets us in a place of worship as He walks us through the trial. 

“He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1:3‬ 

The rivers that feed the valley come from the mountain tops. This refreshing comes to us and renews our strength. God is our source of everything in every season! The valley is a fertile place because of the rivers, God takes us to where we can grow. God pours out upon us, He is generous in His love for us and cares for us without fail. The valley is not a place to fear, we can choose to rejoice when God allows our faith to be tested, because in the testing we are strengthened! 

If we stayed on the mountaintop we would not have the ability to grow. Our work that we are called to do, to reach the world with the message of hope in Jesus, cannot be done from the mountaintop. The valleys are our training field and our testimony is one of our greatest weapons against the enemy! 

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I muse on the work of Your hands.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭143:5‬ ‭

Take time today to look back at all God has done for you and rejoice that He will take care of you in what you face today!