#broken #waterwalkinggirls

Monday morning I rushed into my office to grab something and planned to run right back out. As the door slammed behind me I heard the sound of something hitting the floor and the glass breaking.  As I looked back I saw on the floor a broken picture frame.  Many people may have been upset to have broken something like this but for me it was a God wink as just hours before I had written and posted about the Water Walkers word of the week “broken.” God had provided a tangible example for me.  In fact it triggered a memory of when my son Preston was 4 years old.  He had come to school to be screened for preschool.  After the assessment the teacher told me one of the items he had lost points on was on his response to the question, “What should you do if you break something?” The expected answer was, “I get help from an adult or I take it to a grown-up.”  However Preston’s response was, “I fix it.” Being the independent 4 year old that he was, his plan if he broke something was to try to fix it himself.

Aren’t we the very same?  When we are broken or if we are experiencing brokenness often our first response is to try to fix it ourselves.  This week I have been reminded of a poem I read years ago.

Let Go and Let God

As children bring their broken toys with tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dream to God because he was my Friend.

But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help

With ways that were my own.

At last, I snatched them back and cried,

“How could You be so slow?”

“My child,” He said,

“What could I do? You never did let go?”

(Author: Loretta P. Burns)

Last week my life was touched so closely by tragedy.  As a mother I wanted to help and I wanted to fix the brokenness.  However I was at a loss.  I had no words to help.  I felt helpless.  God has reminded me that I am not the one to fix the break.  Only God can mend the broken hearts.  The Bible tells us over and over that God heals, God mends, God fixes.   I encourage you to take some time today to read the entire chapter of Psalm 31.  The chapter closes with, “Be strong and take heart all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24 NIV  Now read the Message version of Psalm 31:23-24, “Love God, all you saints; God takes care of all who stay close to him, But he pays back in full those arrogant enough to go it alone.  Be brave.  Be strong.  Don’t give up.  Expect God to get here soon.”

So my prayer for you and I is that we give God whatever it is that is breaking our hearts today.  Let’s let go of it and allow God to work in and through it.  Let’s stay close to God and not “go it alone.” Let’s be brave, strong and not give up.  Most of all let’s “expect God to get here soon.”

#dream

In the last few months several families, friends, and our community have experienced unimaginable tragedy. When you lose someone often it can feel like you are amid a bad dream. Yet in the morning when you awake, the unsettling truth is still reality.

As humans we ask; why do bad things happen to good people? My thought has always been that since Jesus died on the cross, our pain and suffering is no different. This past week my daughter Kendal helped me see things in new perspective. The perspective is that God loves all his children. We are all precious in his sight, therefore when bad things happen, he does not categorize us as good or bad. I was reminded of the scripture from Psalm 139:13; “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb”. God’s love for us started with our creation.

Kendal went on to tell me about a scene in the movie ‘The Shack” where the father is asked to choose one of his children to go to hell over the other, which would it be? Of course, no parent could make this choice because they are equally loved just as God equally loves His children.

This past week in prepping and planning to write, I came across this song, When God Dreams by Scott and Becky Parker. The lyrics sing; “When God dreams, there’s a throne. His children have come home. In one voice will praise His name, oh Lord. Will always remain in the image we were made. The old life gone to a long-lasting grave. When God dreams, I believe we become what we might be, there’s no more shame, no more pain, no more suffering”. Again, this is a beautiful reminder of God’s love for us and how He sees us from creation.

In our Run for God group, we have recently talked about how grief is different for everyone. My grief over my Dad’s death is going on ten months. Since we did not live in the same town, there are days I dream of seeing him at Christmas and then I wake up. A friend shared with me that grief is like an ocean and that it comes in waves. I find this to be very true. In the same song, the question is asked, “When God dreams, does he dream in colors we can’t see”? This is a beautiful reminder of how God sees our lives from beginning to end. Just like the footprints in the sand poem, He is there to carry us through our trials here on earth and will never leave us as we journey to our forever homes.

Note, the pictures shown are of my sister Leaha and I with our parents during and after my Dad’s cancer journey. We have been blessed to create many memories that we continue to dream about today. 

#finish #waterwalkinggirls

I have to admit that when we began this week together talking about the word finish I had no idea how God would lead me to finish this week.  On Monday, the beginning of my work week, I shared with you a picture of our new porch furniture still in boxes.  Today’s picture is the finished product of our back porch with all the furniture put together and in place.  If you have been reading Water Walkers for a while then you know the process of selling and buying our house was a yearlong process.  However, it was actually much longer.

Recently, as I was unpacking boxes, I found a paper that was dated August 21, 2010.   On the paper was a list of goals that Clark and I had each written.  One of the goals that I had written was, “Buy or build a bigger house.”  The furniture on the back porch represents an over 10 year goal that now has been accomplished. Go God!

If you have been following our posts then you also know that the day after we bought our house I also began a new job.  Another of my 2010 goals stated, “Research/investigate career choices/options.” Wow! God had planted the seed in me of changing jobs over 10 years ago! Now let me explain that after writing those goals or big dreams down, I was not so focused on them that I was pining away or wringing my hands wondering what direction I should go.  However I think it was always in the back of my mind and I had my eyes and ears open.  I would have never guessed that the job I have now was the job God was preparing for me. But isn’t that just like God? The “finish” our Maker has created for us is more than we imagine and better than we hope. 

How about you? Do you have a long time dream or goal that is not finished? Have you been working on or waiting on the next step? Or is God now planting a seed that will not grow into fruition until a later time? Philippians 1:6 tells us, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” If God has given you a dream or goal it will happen. However you and I may not see the finish line yet. Sometimes the finish line moves but it always comes in God’s perfect timing. Along the race God will help you grow and prepare you for what is being prepared for you. Keep dreaming. Keep believing. Keep trusting. Finish with grace and humility. Finish strong my friend! Finish strong!

#nourishtoflourish

I am tired both physically and mentally. Juggling life is messy. No matter how chaotic life may look, I know I must take care of me by nourishing areas of my life that will allow me to flourish in the middle of the chaos. In Ephesians chapter 5 we read about instructions for the Christian household. It does not mean we need to submit to perfection but rather submit to imperfection. We can learn from the Apostle Paul on how to care for ourselves and our loved ones in Eph 5:29 NIV; “After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church”.

This past Monday was a day full of imperfections. As I sat and read my morning devotions, my coffee mug slipped out my hand and crashed to the floor. Was I more upset I waisted good coffee or shattered a good mug? Now that I had a mess to clean up, I was in desperate need of more caffeine, not more work. While packing my lunch with just 5 minutes to spare, I spilled the bag of pretzels while pouring them. As the pretzels scatter across the counter, I could feel the emotions build up. Was this how my day was going to go? I could already hear the devil’s reply. Just like the pretzels scattered so did my mind in a million directions.

Juggling means to continuously toss into the air and catch several objects, to keep at least one in the air while handling the others. That Monday evening, I juggled a run, dinner, and then the dreaded homework. It was 11:00pm before my head hit the pillow. Although life is messy and chaotic at times, I am thankful to have the grace of God to walk with me through my imperfections. Some of us go to bed wondering, if we were an intentional mom, a loving wife, or a faithful friend that day. We must remember to love and nourish ourselves, including our flaws, just as Christ loves us.

Will you give yourself grace tonight as you lay your head down? Juggling is not perfection. Next time you have multiple objects in the air, remember it is ok to let one fall.

#impact #waterwalkinggirls

Impact: (verb) 1. come into forcible contact with another object  2. have a strong effect on someone or something

This week we have explored how we are able to impact others through our five senses; sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.  Impact is the word I chose to be my “word of the year” for 2020.  So today I would like for you to examine your impact.  Who or what are you impacting and what is your impact? Is your impact positive or negative?

The cover picture today is of a special group that makes a huge impact whether they realize it or not.  Each Thursday our Run for God group gathers.  Julie leads us in a time of devotion, discussion and prayer.  Then we set out to walk or run.  We have built up to the distance of a 5k (3.1 miles).  There is so much I could write about this process and program but for today I want to ponder the impact of this group.  I wonder what others in the surrounding community see as we cover the 3.1 miles?  What do others think when they see a group of 14 people, various ages, some walking, some running, coming down the street every Thursday?  What do they hear from our conversations when we trickle by their house or pass them on the street? How do they feel when they read our shirts that have “Run For God” on the front and “Who do you say I am?” on the back?  What impact are we making as a collective group?

Now what about you? All week we have pondered your individual impact.  Today think about your collective impact.  What groups are you a part of that make an impact on others? Are you part of a church group, coworkers, friends, that make an impact together?  I encourage you to read the book The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews.  The premise of the book is that everything you say or do matters and has an effect on others.  So today spend some time examining your impact.  Whether you realize it or not you are having a strong effect on someone or something.  Is your impact positive or negative? Are you answering the question “Who do you say I am?” through your impact?

#power

Pause + Patience = Power

This past Friday we had a lightning storm that caused us to loose power at work. As a result we got to leave early. While most people were overjoyed I was feeling overwhelmed because my To Do list didn’t get checked off. Anyone else find joy in checking off a list?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:” Ecc 3:1 NIV

I took advantage of a time for everything, went grocery shopping and cooked a yummy dinner for my family. One thing I have enjoyed during this pandemic is being creative in the kitchen. Then Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we were without cable and internet at home. For me as a college student this presented a challenge.

“being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,” Col 1:11 NIV

I developed some patience and took the time to read my text book while I waited for internet to be back up. This all may sound trivial but how many times do we let a change in our schedule ruin our mood which in turn spills over into our household?

Last week Deborah talked about “pause”. It was so helpful for me to keep in mind that maybe the pauses I was experiencing was God getting my attention. Too often I am so busy that I don’t get the right things checked off the list. That right thing may not have been as important to me as it was to someone else. I learned that pause + patience = power which would give me the endurance to carry out the very assignments that God has intended for me.

Will you recognize your pauses as a “Time for everything” vs. allowing them to drain God’s power from within?

Will you allow God’s power to fill you up so that you will have patience to carry out the assignments God has intended for you today?

#pause

Housekeeping has always been one of my downfalls. I think I did ok before children but once my first child arrived I became so caught up on managing being a parent that I fell further and further behind with housekeeping on a daily basis. As our children grew older and our lifestyle became busier and busier our house became messier and messier. While I did a good job of cleaning bathrooms, floors, etc., I did not do well at creating daily routines and habits that would help to maintain a tidy home. Over the years as the clutter and chaos grew, so did my anxiety and guilt about not being a good housekeeper. I read books and signed up for daily emails that offered housekeeping tips. In my prayer time I cried out to God for guidance and help. Without realizing it, my lack of housekeeping skills was in a way causing a great sadness within me. And then God planted a seed in me about our family selling our home. At first the thought of dealing with all of the clutter was ominous and foreboding. How could I possibly tackle the project of even getting the house ready to be shown? Yet I knew in my heart it was the next step for our family. As I have shared before, I spent my school summer break last year preparing our house for the market. In June when we got out for summer break I began going through one room at a time. I picked up every single item and decided if it was worth keeping or not. Some items were sold, some were given away and others were thrown away. With those things we were keeping I had to decide if it was something we could do without for a time and put in storage or if it was something we may need to use. (Disclaimer: there were a few things I packed for storage that I later realized we needed lol.) This process was foreboding, time-consuming, and also cleansing. While I sometimes became frustrated and thought the task would never end, I also found that getting rid of “stuff” also helped with my sadness about housekeeping. I began to have hope. By the first week of August our house was ready to be listed and we put it on the market. Now we began the “show ready” lifestyle. We had to keep our house neat and tidy in case a last minute showing was requested. While this was hard on a daily basis to not really relax in our home, this practice was also creating daily routines and habits to teach me. Our house was on the market for almost exactly a year. While living through that year of being “show ready” was not easy and seemed to be never ending, now that I look back I can see that God was forcing me to pause. During that year long pause God was teaching me. In hindsight I can see that I had created the wrong daily habits to be a successful housekeeper and that God used our year long, “show ready” pause to answer my cry for help. WOW! GO GOD!

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.  He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.” Psalms 145:17-18

What about you? Is there an area of your life that you have been crying out to God about and asking for help? Are you currently in a forced pause? If so, I want to encourage you and give you hope. When you are in the middle of a pause, it feels never ending and it is hard to see the reason you are there. But God sees the big picture. Your loving Maker wants the very best for you I and is working on your behalf even though you may not see or understand. Stay close to God and trust. Focus on today and what God has placed in your path. Perhaps today will be the end of your pause. But if it isn’t, I trust that this pause will be the answer to one of your biggest prayers.