When all is Well, and When it's Not

Isn't that so true?  Spring has come and with it will come the profusion of flowers. In a beautiful flower garden there are the border flowers, the ground cover flowers, the blossoms lifted up on tree branches, the flowers grown for cutting, the big and bold that make a statement, the little ones that are so sweet, the ones that complement each other in colour - every colour, variation and size but together they bloom in gardens the crowds come to see! 

I have been appreciating anew how wonderful it is to have two working hands and how daily life changes when you don't!! I don't have to tell you, I'm sure, that I will be thankful when my cast comes off! in several weeks!!

My thoughts have been going to the passages where we are taught that the church is Christ's body and how every part is important.

I Corinthians 12:26 says " ..if one body part suffers, all the members suffer with it!"

Yes, I am experiencing that..I am protecting my left arm, I wear a protective cast, I am careful not to bump it, I don't ask anything of it, I carry it in a sling so it can rest.

That is true in the body of believers as well. I have experienced such a rallying around me of loving support and sympathy. It is good to be in fellowship , caring for and about each other.

But I want to look at this from another perspective.

Because my left arm is not doing its part, the rest of my body struggles. Simple tasks like washing my hair, getting dressed, opening a jar, cooking a meal, cleaning the house,  have become time consuming and difficult.

Then there are the things I cannot do at all, like typing or sewing or knitting or driving or opening a jar or carrying something heavy or awkward.

Because of the 'lack' caused by a non functioning arm, the rest of my body is inconvenienced at best and at  times completely shut down. (I am thankful for my husband stepping up to do more than he is used to!)

Is this true in the body of Christ?

I think it is. 

Philippians 2:30 reads ,"...because for the work of Christ he came close to death not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in you."

What is Paul talking about here?

The man he is talking about is Epaphroditus, the only time he is mentioned in the New Testament.

Paul is gently rebuking the Philippian church that Epaphroditus had to work so hard filling in what they were not doing. In fact, he made himself sick trying to do more than he should have had to do.

We all have a 'gift' with which we serve others. If all my body parts are doing their part, it is a wonderfully working  body, every part working and supporting every other part. So also if everyone does their part , the church is a wonderful thing to see.
 But rarely do we see everyone doing their part. Many of us feel we either have no gift or it is too small to make a difference.

I broke my toe in high-school playing soccer and I can tell you that even the smallest part not working causes all kinds of trouble!!

How to know what your 'gift' is?  What do you love to do? What is your go-to when you have the time and opportunity? What makes you happy? Look there to know your gift. Maybe you love to cook...use that to bless others who could use a meal, or a cheering-up dessert treat!

Maybe you love to strike up conversations with people you don't know. Use it by visiting lonely people in hospitals or care homes. Maybe it's your hobby  -  photography, outdoor sports or activity, maybe it's gardening or crafting, maybe its spending time in prayer, maybe its caring for children. Think about it...what gives you the most satisfaction , the most joy?  God gave each of us the gift that involves and centers in the things that give us joy, the things we could spend all day doing, if we could.

Know that what you have been given is important for the well being of the body of Christ. Whether it might be considered big or small does not determine its need or importance in the body of Christ! ..YOU are a uniquely gifted, one of a kind ,much needed person in the body of Christ!!

You are loved and treasured!!  Bloom where God planted you and know that without you God's garden would be incomplete, and the body of Christ would suffer a missing part!!

 Longing ....

My husband took the above photo of our hummingbird sitting on our patio table, but he has been spending most of the day sitting on the branch of a patio plant under his feeder.  That is so unusual because it usually in for a drink and then off to his next destination.

His habits changed with the winter freezing temperatures we have been having. 

He is obviously cold. Fluffing up his feathers to stay warm enough to survive.

As I watch him through the patio door -  my side so warm and comfy,, his so cold -  I feel so sorry for him. How I long to just open the patio door, cup him into my hand and bring him inside where it is warm.  Inside where he could be safe and warm and fed. 

But I know if I did, it would probably cause his death and at best he would panic in an unfamiliar environment.

My emotions are a deep longing to help him ... but I am helpless to do so. I do what I can, make sure his hummingbird feeder is well-supplied and it has a heat lamp to keep his drink from freezing. But I would do so much more! 

Jesus' words came to mind.  He  expressed His longing to gather HIs people under His wing...and could not.

I thought about God longing for something He could not have or do and I could not imagine how much greater His longing would be than mine. His emotions being God-sized.

When I was a child I did not have the concept of my parents having  an emotional feeling of hurt or disappointment when I did something wrong, or a longing for me to do something I wasn't. .  Children  see parents as totally self-sufficient and we have a  tendency to see God in the same way. 

But we have scripture where God does express His longing.

What does God long for that He cannot have or do?

In Ezekiel 37:27 we read God's desire to be in the midst of His people - to be their God and for them to be His people.   We know how quickly His people turned to other gods and  walked in rebellion to God.  How that must have pained Him. 

In a familiar passage in Jeremiah 29:11 we read, ... "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil , to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me and I will listen to you."   

Just as I knew what my little humming needed , but I couldn't give it to him because he is afraid of me,  so also God knows exactly what we need but if we don't come to Him and ask ... He will not force us.  He has given us free will,  and He will not violate that. 

There is a beautiful passage in Isaiah 30:18,19 that says, "There the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you, and therefore He will be exalted that He may have mercy on you for the Lord is a god of justice blessed are all those who wait for him". 

Now that my granddaughters are grown and have their own 'life', the oldest married expecting a baby, the younger in college with a steady boyfriend, they no longer have the time to spend with me like they used to.  I knew it would be like this, it is what we wish for our grandchildren - to be happy in a fulfilled life, but that means that we 'wait' for them to have some time here and there to visit.  
It's hard to imagine the Creator of the Universe - the Almighty God, longing , waiting to spend time with us, isn't it?   Yet, He says it is true !  

Then there is the passage I referred to above - Jesus' words in Luke 13:34. Listen to the aching longing of His heart. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!"   
"Not willing!" when the God of Love desires to gather us close.  

How often we have sat beside our children, grandchildren's beds and watched them sleep, for no other reason than because we loved them so much.  Did you think about God sitting beside your bed as you sleep, thinking about you?  Look at Psalm 139:17,18

"How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand, When I awake, I am still with you!"

This week when the world remembers 'love' , let us remember the Love that is greater than any earthly love - the Love that loves the unlovable because He has plans to create for them a life that brings  'peace' and 'joy' and 'glory to His name'! 

 HAPPY NEW YEAR, to you and yours!! 

New calendars are hanging on our walls... 12 pages that have not yet been turned. What will unfold with each turned page we do not know,  and the unknown can fill us  with anticipation or fear and anxiety.

It is our choice which mind-set we put on, isn't it? But it can be a mindful choice rather than a blind one.

Blooming Deserts! 

If you have your Bible, open it to Isaiah 35. I think this passage is a beautiful promise and encouragement for our new year.

This chapter of Isaiah is first of all a prophetic chapter describing eternity on the new earth when everything will be perfect. We only have to look around to know that where we are living now is a long way from perfect.

While this chapter is speaking prophetically it is also speaking to where we live today spiritually. It is the NOW  but NOT YET.

We have as it were duel citizenship. Our real citizenship is in the heavenly Jerusalem,  but we still have feet of clay walking on this physical earth.

So how real is our heavenly abode to us now? Is it where we 'live' in our innermost being ? Is it the place from which we relate to life - circumstance, events, relationships?

I know how easy it is to let the darkness and dryness and disfunction of this life  to discourage us but I want to challenge us to begin , and to build , our 2025 on this Isaiah chapter.

 Look how the chapter begins.with a word  picture of .a beautiful  blooming desert. 

The photo above is of a desert in Chili, that is said to be the driest place on earth..Do you feel you can relate it to the 'driest desert' of your life? There is hope!!

It is amazing , isn't it? The unexpected beauty of a desert in bloom, and often this happens overnight!. A seeming miracle! Remember, no matter how hopeless you feel life has become, there is beauty waiting to burst forth!! Our God is a God of miracles - His beauty manifested best in dry places.

. But look again at the scripture passage. There is an important detail easy to overlook if we don't look closely. The blooming of the desert is not a miracle meant to astound us. It is a purposeful RESPONSE to something that happened. What happened?

Chapter 24 describes the Lord's coming judgement,  restoring and renewing , resulting in the new earth where all God's creatures will all be safe and with their mates forever! And then  chapter 25 describes the  rejoicing response  of the  deserts, declaring praise and glory to the excellency of God.

  There is more that causes the deserts to rejoice. Our God, who cares about every little creature also cares about every human being   including you and me. 

What is the message of the blooming desert? It declares God's promise (vs 3) that His strength is perfect in weakness - let the weak hands be lifted up and the feeble knees made strong!!  Let those who are fearful fear no more for our God is our Protector. He is our High Tower, be strong and fear not!!

He is our Healer -  physical and spiritual needs are met from His giving hand. 

The 'Not-Yet' is not yet come …but spiritually we are encompassed by it and already live in the promises. Our life highway (vs8) is a safe and beautiful one, Jesus, is our Guide as we follow Him. Nothing can take us from His love and as we live and walk and breathe in Him, we too will burst forth with rejoicing  along with the desert.

Let us begin 2025 with a heart of Thanksgiving for all we have been given, for all we have been promised and for all that is yet to come!!

A thankful heart will, like the desert, burst forth with praise and song to the excellency of our Almighty God!

 I want to wish you and yours the most blessed Christmas!  and a New Year filled with the goodness of Jesus !!  

A Hidden Rose 

The Ladies who were part of my Bible Study group gifted me with a gorgeous, huge bouquet of fall coloured flowers and  foliage.  After some time it was looking a little tired and needed to be sorted out, saving the parts that were still lovely.  
 I was separating the foliage, when I  saw a large,  wine coloured lump.  As I lifted it out I realized it was a beautiful rose!   I was surprised, as it did not at all fit the colours and style of the bouquet. .  And I don't know how it happened - maybe its stem was shorter than the rest of the flowers/foliage stems but the rose was perfectly dried - its beauty preserved. 

As I held the rose, I knew it was the key to a devotional !  Immediately I thought of the Rose of Sharon from Song of Solomon 2:1 where it reads, "I am the Rose of Sharon...." The Song of Solomon has historically been interpreted as an allegory of Jesus and His love for the church.  So the words , "I am the Rose of Sharon" are attributed to Him. 

The first thought that came to me was that to many, Jesus is 'hidden'.  He is there, but they don't see Him.  Then one day, their eyes are opened and they find Him.  It does not matter if they find Him sooner or later - He is waiting with all His love and beauty. 

 The beautiful Rose of Sharon grows in dry and hostile environments.  I thought about how Jesus came into a sinful, dark world that contrasted in every way from the glory from which He  stepped down.

I did a bit of digging to find the Hebrew meaning behind 'rose' and 'Sharon'.  The word for 'rose' comes from an unused root meaning 'brightness or light'.  and Sharon means 'beauty'.  That is a fitting description of Jesus, isn't it?  is He not the Light of Beauty ?  
Without 'light' everything is in shades of grey because colour is not in an object - it is in the light.   Without Jesus in our life, everything is dull and grey but with Jesus we live in His Light and we see beauty all around.  

Just like the dried rose is preserved - it does not wilt, so Jesus is the same - yesterday, today and forever !  What hope, what great promise we have when we put our faith and trust in Him!  

I love Christmas because it is a time we remember when 'love' and 'light' came into the world to save us from the kingdom of darkness and bring us into the Kingdom that shines with the glorious light of God's love !  (Colossians 1:13) 

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12