A Woman's View

Take a fresh look at trials and sufferings

Maybe right now you're in the midst of a long, hard time in your life.

Maybe you've reached the end of your endurance. Sometimes you wonder whether God has turned his back on you. Otherwise, how could you pray and pray, yet nothing changes?

Been there, thought that, sometimes.

That's when we try to make sense of it on our own. Every one of us can think of times when we "knew" how "A" would lead to "B," then inevitably to "C."

Except it didn't.

Then it's time to remind myself what I know. I see only today. God sees yesterday, today and tomorrow. He loves us and promises to be our strength all through life, in good times and in the worst of times. 

That does not guarantee our life will smooth out and be pain-free. All we can do is keep on trusting and keep on walking.

Someone sent me this YouTube. The song was new to me and so was the singer Laura Story. Her song touched my heart. She says what we all need to remember when we're slogging through one of those misery times.

I hope these lyrics speak to you as they do to me.

Lovingly,

Lenore

Story Blessings song http://youtu.be/1CSVqHcdhXQ

Here's proof that labels and diagnoses need not define a life

Sometimes problems crowd in on us, don't they? That makes it a good time to remind ourselves about a few of the individuals who actually faced the big hurdles.

You probably know of Joni Eareckson Tada, who as a teenager was paralyzed from the neck down in 1967 when she dove into a too-shallow lake and broke her neck. During her initial bout with depression she found a deeper faith in God and also a new calling. She speaks to groups, does television interviews, has authored fourteen books and is a fine artist. God has used her to bless countless people with or without physical challenges. (Google her name to learn about the organization she founded, Joni & Friends, a resource and advocacy organization in the disability community.)

History is full of overcomers who chose to keep going instead of giving up. One man, raised in extremely humble circumstances, became a storekeeper and went broke. After that he ran for office and lost election after election. We know that "failure" as Abraham Lincoln. 

How about the student labeled "mediocre" in chemistry, whom we know as Louis Pasteur, the scientist?

Or a boy called "too stupid to learn," who went on to develop the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. Albert Einstein became known as the father of modern physics and was one of the most prolific minds in human history.

Then there's the boy called dull and hopeless, who flunked the sixth grade, the one we know as Winston Churchill.

Tell a youngster who loves to sketch and draw that he has no talent. He surprises everyone by growing up to become famous as Walt Disney.

Take a couple who survived a Nazi concentration camp and feel their pain when he is paralyzed from the waist down at age four. They could not know their boy would grow up to become internationally acclaimed concert violinist, Itzhak Perlman, who consistently plays to sellout crowds. 

Could a person born with cerebral palsy who never managed to speak clearly ecome a minister and a much-in-demand public speaker? Ask David Ring, who speaks to over 100,000 people every year at conventions, in churches and at gatherings. His recurrent line is, "What's your problem?" (Google his name if you want to know more about him and hear the details of his story.)

I read a list like this and ask myself, "What's your problem?"

Suddenly everyday frustrations shrink to their proper place.

After all, peace does not come from problem-free living. Once again the Apostle Paul says it best, in Philippians 4:7:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Here's to joy-in-the-midst,

Lenore

Do kids need faith in God? Do you?

What difference could it make whether we believe in God? All that matters is that we believe in something. 

You've heard that said. Maybe you agree. After all, what difference does it make? 

A lot, I think.

Some people say, let children grow up and then they can make up their own minds. Sounds reasonable at first, except it means they pick up their values for life along the way. Think Sesame Street and Nickelodeon and MTV. Throw in Facebook friends, for good measure.

Not many parents I know would considere those the best sources.

"Out there" youngsters absorb a lot of negative stuff and fears. How it affects them depends on what's stored up in their hearts and minds.

Kids are less likely to run scared or be in the pits when they believe deep down that God created them (Psalm 139) and "God don't make no junk."

Even when (they think) nobody loves them, kids who believe in God know that Jesus loves them. At church they learn that old song, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Faith in God is like the cornerstone of a building, the basic, essential part of the foundation that keeps a structure standing when storms and winds come.

And what about times when nothing seems to make sense? Or when someone says they know the exact date of a worldwide earthquake, which will usher in the end of the world. What are they to do with their fears and aren't sure how to tell truth from lies?

What can a child--or an adult--hang on to?

If we know Jesus, we hang on to him. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

We find peace in what's known as, "the Gospel (Good News) in a nutshell," John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Right now the media floods us with pronouncements that tomorrow, May 21, will bring the end of the world. Christians, however, remember what Jesus said. You can read his words in Matthew 24 and in Mark 13. Jesus said,

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.         --Mark 13:32

So no matter how sincerely he believes it, Harold Camping does not know the day or the hour when the world will end.

God is still God and we human beings remain, well, merely human.

The difference is that we rest in the love of God the Father. He loves us because we believe in his Son as our Savior.

We rest in the certainty that our lives today, tomorrow and forever are in the hands of God. That means we have nothing to fear.

That's what Jesus said, in John 14:1:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."

Peace to you, my friends,

Lenore

Find peace of mind despite the scarcity of hope

Are you troubled, convinced the world is a mess and there is no hope, no beauty?

Feast your eyes on God's handiwork one recent spring in a California canyon somewhere near San Luis Obispo. 

(Sorry, photographer unknown.)

I've loved this photo since I first saw it. I can't imagine a better visual for what Jesus said in Luke 12, starting at verse 22.

"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes . . . Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."

Maybe you suffer from the same malady as I. Worry. Oh, I can call it something nicer, but really, it's worry.

When I look at wildflowers, as in this photo, I feel the tightness in my shoulders ease up. The One who splashes these remote hills with extravagant beauty tenderly cares for all His creation.

That includes you and me.

Whatever we are dealing with today, we are not alone. The weight of the world does not rest on our shoulders. Count on it. His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:21-16)

Every day mercies and blessings surround us. 

Are we looking for them?

Here's to having eyes to see,

Lenore