A Hug From God!

How big is your God? My sweet granddaughter Riley who is five years old knows how big God is. The other night while praying for someone she loves very much, she asked God to take care of her and make her better and give her a big hug. As she continued in prayer she must of thought about how big God must be and added “hug her tight but not too tight, so you won’t hurt her”. I would love to get into her 5 year old mind. Was God as big as the sky she looked up into? Did all of the stars and the moon reflect his big arms? She must have known that he is a loving, “hugging” God. She knew that as she looked into the sky that her Aunt NeeNee was looking also into the same sky seeing the same stars and moon and praying to the same great big God. Did it occur to her that God is everywhere? All I know is that in Riley’s mind he was loving enough to give a big hug, but still strong enough that maybe she should warn Him not to squeeze too hard.

Many times in the bible we are asked to believe as a little child. Do I realize how big God is? Do I understand his power, do I always know that he is loving enough to hug me but powerful enough to answer my prayers?

Jesus, however, invited them: "Let the little children come to Me, and don't stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Luke 18:16

Resurrection Lily

My heart was as heavy as the humidity that hung in the air as I started the mower and headed for the field. Just a few months ago, the spring air and the hope that it brought filled my heart. As spring “sprung” my heart filled with the awareness of the goodness of God and even mowing was a joy. The birds sang as they set up housekeeping to raise their families, new plants came up right on time in such exquisite colors to brighten the earth and my days as well. I went out to my “prayer chair” with great expectancy as if searching to see what spring perennial had poked it’s head out for the first time. My spirit soared as new truth came out of God’s word. The warm breezes were like whispers from God himself to my heart. My whole being was full of praise, I could hardly contain it.

What had happened to those days I wondered? My mower bumped over the hard ground, dried and cracked by the heat. Some of the grass had succumbed to the conditions of the summer so there were bald spots and the only thing growing was the water grass that stuck it’s ugly head up all over the field. The barn swallows that had entertained me early in the spring were sluggish probably because the bugs were so plentiful that they had already had their fill. The birds had stopped singing and all I could hear was an occasional coo from a mourning dove reminding me of the hurt I held in my heart. Woe is me I thought, as I reminded God of the burden that I had carried that instead of getting better had gotten worse.

As I dragged myself toward the house, drenched from the heat and humidity, I caught a glimpse of something growing in the, now drooping flower garden. It was a friend who came for a surprise visit! No not the human kind but a lily that comes unannounced. I don’t know what the true name is for it but I have always called it a Resurrection Lily. There it was standing in the middle of flowers that had seen better days. The first year we lived here is the first time that I had ever given any mind to this beauty. It is said that this is one of the most cold hardy plants in the lily family. Evidently the heat doesn’t stop it either. There it stood as if in a royal parade. My heavy heart lifted a bit but I went to the house still feeling the despair that I had been drenched with on this summer day. The next day, and the next, I gazed out at this beauty, still standing even in the heat. I wondered when it too would finally succumb to the blistering heat.

I “happened” to come across a beautiful scripture in Isaiah today that sums it up for me.

The desert and the parched land will be glad, the wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the crocus, it will burst into bloom it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
Isaiah 35:1-2

According to some, this text refers to the coming of Christ, to me it means hope, not hope in the dryness of my feelings or the wilderness of my despair but in the Resurrected Christ who never changes. Even through my lowest times, I can trust this amazing truth. My lily burst into bloom and shouted the joy of the Lord to my tired, dry soul. Thank you God for this beautiful reminder.
Eventually my Resurrection Lily will fade and die but the truth of the resurrected Christ will stand for all eternity.

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way, say to fearful hearts be strong and do not fear…he will come to save you. Isaiah 35:3-4

Out of Darkness

I have been studying the life of David and it has been a journey. David was out minding his sheep and minding his own business when Samuel the prophet came and anointed him King. Things went pretty much as usual until King Saul called him to play music for him to calm his frazzled nerves. From then on his life took a drastic turn. King Saul eventually turned against David because he was jealous of him and set out to kill him. For fifteen years David was on the run, he came across one challenge after another and I am sure he sometimes lifted his hands to God and said “Hey what is going on here?” I thought when I became “God’s chosen” I would live on easy street. In fact, we can find many of his writings that tells us of his dismay, his faintness of heart and the darkness he felt.


In Psalm 143:1 He said; O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.


Psalm 143:3 The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me, my heart within me is dismayed.


I know that most of us have been there where David was as darkness over came him and there was no hope.


I am reminded of a time in our lives that hope seemed to be gone. A few words from a doctor had made our world spiral out of control. My sweet husband was told that he was going to go blind from an eye condition. At that time, he was given no hope, he was told to go home and get ready for the inevitable. My strong husband, who lead our home and family with strength felt crushed to the ground with no hope. The mere thought of this impending physical darkness brought about a darkness in his soul. I had never seen him so broken.


During this time he searched the scripture for something that would make sense of that whole thing and give him hope. He came across a scripture that seemed to lift him from the pit of hopelessness. It is a scripture that has brought hope to many.


Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.


To this day, the Lord has kept his hand on Larry and has preserved his eye sight. One of the fears he had is that he would not be able to make a living for his family but he worked for 43 years at his job and was able to provide for his family and is in his 5th year of retirement.


As David, many times our spirits are crushed and there is darkness all around we lose hope. David found his hope in God, in Psalm 144 he says, the Lord is my Rock, he is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge.
You are God’s chosen even if your world seems dark right now. Take heart! David eventually took his place as king and the bible says he danced and praised the Lord as he entered the City named after himself. He could finally say “I will sing a new song to you, O God on the ten-stringed lyre, I will make music to you, to the One who gives victory!
Praise the Lord!

Lament Anyone?

Have you ever lamented? This is not a term that we often here or say. Sounds like a exotic French coffee flavor doesn’t it? The dictionary states that to lament is to express sadness, grief or sorrow about something. Also to express regret, annoyance or disappointment about something. Now again, have you ever lamented or are you lamenting right now? If you have ever read the Book of Lamentations in the bible you know what real lamenting is. I challenge you to read it but be prepared for the utter hopelessness of it’s content. When I read it I found myself almost as depressed as Jeremiah the author of this book. As my husband would say “lower than a whales belly”. Jeremiah was known as the “weeping prophet” and I can see why. He was weeping for Judah who was going through all kinds of calamity. In the introduction of Lamentations it says that those who are feeling wounded, hurt, or betrayed may feel strangely understood reading this book. I have felt wounded at times and could identify with the some of the suffering expressed here. This book was brought to my attention by one of the heroes in my life during a particularly excruciatingly difficult times in her life. She identified with the hurt and suffering but led me to Lamentation 3:21-26 and the word that leaped out at me was “Yet” in the beginning of vs. 21. After all that we go through and all that she had gone through there was a “yet”.

Yet, this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. Lamentations 3:21

I like how the The Message puts it:

I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
The taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all__oh, how well I remember
The feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember
And remembering , I keep a grip on hope.

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
His merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great is your faithfulness?
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits.
To the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
Quietly hope for help from God.

My hero is waiting, as all of us has waited from time to time, waiting, quietly waiting and hoping for help to come from God. Remembering that His love is created new every morning. That his merciful love couldn’t have run out or dried up. Remembering to keep a grip on hope!

jeanie-ology

As my eyes glazed over reading the first chapter of Matthew I decided that I needed an attitude adjustment. I really don’t know if I ever read through the entire genealogy of Jesus with all of the “so in so was the father of so in so who was the father of someone else“. As I read I came across something that sparked my interest. It was; David was the father of Solomon whose mother had been Uriah’s wife. I skimmed the side notes and found that there was a reference to that statement. The title to this little blip on the side of my bible was “Why list Uriah in the genealogy of Christ? Indeed! Why would the “dirty laundry” be written right there for generations of readers see? What I found was a beautiful thought. Jesus, was willing to be identified with a sinner like David. Uriah a good man, was killed in order that King David have his wife Bathsheba. David, God’s chosen, His anointed one, the one who God spoke of as being a man after his own heart was frail man just like you and me. David sinned. This was a beautiful reminder of God’s grace. When I read the story of David, I find that he was not done, God didn’t disown him but used David even after this terrible failure. That is grace.

This fall when I have to shut the doors and windows and prepare for winter I plan to look up my family on my Mom’s side of the family. Someone has already done my Dad’s family tree and also my husband’s family so I find that side of the family very interesting. I don’t know if I would find any scoundrels or saints but it would be fun to trace the family. The pictures that I posted fascinate me. My Grandpa Camp is the young man in the center with his father (Great Grandpa Camp) to the right in the picture. From what I have heard they were all upstanding members of society but I am sure I have seen Elliot Ness of the “Untouchable” wear that same kind of over coat. Because my mom has my great grandfathers ledgers, I know he kept track of everything and recorded even the smallest things. I would assume that he was an organized man, he definitely didn’t pass that on to me. Will I find people who my kids resemble or talents that has popped up from some generation in my past? I don’t know. Maybe there was someone generations ago who prayed for me and my generation of the family. For over forty years I have prayed for my family into the fifth generation. Did someone do that for me? If I had been in the family of Jesus I know he would have included me, as unworthy as I am. I thank God for His Amazing Grace!

I can see it now…Charles, father of Verna, who was the mother of Jeanie a sinner set free by the grace of God!

The other picture is of the “Camp Kids”, I’m told it was taken at a Camp Reunion. The sweet little girl (smallest girl) in the front is my mother. The ornery looking little fellow in the front with his hands on his hips is my Uncle Rex.

Changes

Everything is always changing, have you noticed that? Being a newlywed was a change, of course it was a great change I loved being married, I was proud to be Mrs Larry Nihiser but none the less it was still a change. I had barley taken a breath of wedded bliss when I became a mother and all of the happiness that comes with that beautiful time of life but still a change. Just when I was enjoying having babies at my knees, they began to troop off to school, one by one. Tears stung my eyes to watch the big yellow bus take my babies away to kindergarten …again change. My babies went from pigtails and loose teeth to lipstick and eye makeup. They went from loving Barbies to loving boys. I blinked my eyes two times and they were walking down the isle to become a newlywed themselves. Then I found my self experiencing something new and wonderful, being a grandmother and as any grandmother can attest a delightful change. I now see my grown daughters going through the same changes and so the cycle continues. One of my daughters, wrote on her Facebook wall that she had been watching home videos and said “where has the time gone?” I understand what she is saying. We also go through changes that are sometimes not so pleasant. Our bodies change and don’t have the energy it once did. Our hair turns gray and “wow, who is that woman in the mirror”. Sadly, there comes a time when we are unable to care for ourselves and after years of giving, we must accept the help of others.

My husband and his brother spent the past week getting things arranged to have their mother move to an assisted living facility. Up until now she had lived on her own. It was hard on mother and sons alike. As she, in their childhood, had held their hand and guided their way, today they hold her frail hand to steady her unsure gait. It’s going to be really nice for her there since she will be getting the help she needs but can also remain somewhat independent… still another change. She is 91 and often says “I just can’t believe I am that old” and you know I understand what she is saying. As we undergo one change after another we have to bear in mind that we have a God that never changes. The same God who knew me before I was born, still knows me today. He has not grown old, tired confused, or forgetful . His hand is still steady. He has been my best fan as I have struggled through the changes of life. He has applauded when I’ve done well and cried when I have been hurt. I am still his child, He holds my hand and that NEVER changes. He still holds the hand of my mother-in-law and someday will welcome her home for her final change where her hand will not be frail or her gait unsure and she will meet the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever.