11.27.2012

Give a Little

November 27, 2012

I remember several years ago, 
Freddie and I were not long married.
We did not have any kids yet 
and we both had professional careers.
{He still has a professional career. 
I just have a more important one now than I did before.}

Anyway, every morning on the drive in to work 
I listened to a popular morning radio show.
It was about this time of year 
and the station was doing a promotion 
where people would call in randomly with a "story" 
of someone who deserved to be blessed somehow.

Well, this particular morning a lady called in with a heart wrenching story 
about these two girls she passed each day at their bus stop as she left for work.
Apparently their mother had died 
and they were being raised by their father.
But, she could not help but notice
 that these girls had on the same clothes every day.
Can you imagine?

Freddie and I did not have a lot of money, 
but, this story touched my heart, 
so I carefully noted the girls' sizes 
and headed to the store that evening.
I bought them each a full outfit from head to toe.
I was so proud of what I had chosen for them.
I hoped that they would really like what I picked.

The next day when I went to drop off the clothes,
 I was informed that the radio station 
had received a huge response to this story.
So much so, 
that they had collected 
a U-Haul truck FULL of donations for these girls!

I wonder how those kids felt when they opened the door 
and saw an outpouring of love from their community.
I wonder how that dad felt 
to be blessed by so many strangers all doing a part
 to help him take care of his girls.
Did that day change that family?
Did it make them stronger in their faith, 
stronger as a family, as individuals?
Did it inspire them to be more, to be better?

I think about those children.
The ones I never laid eyes on.
The ones that touched my heart and moved me to action.
Did they graduate high school?
Have they gone to college?
I wonder if one of them was prom queen or class president?
I will probably never know.

What I do know, is that God can take any gift I give 
and use it to the glory of His Kingdom.
Somehow.
In ways great or minuscule.
It's not up to us just what He does with our giving.
But, we just need to know that He does use us.
We just have to be willing.

Maybe you cannot give financial or material gifts.
But we all have our own gifts of time and talent- 
diverse and usable.
Won't you seek out an opportunity to sow a seed?
You never know just what might grow.

"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35

"You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall no be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord you God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake." Deuteronomy 15:10

"Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him." Proverbs 14:31

"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." 1John 3:17-18



11.21.2012

Why I Hate Cats

November 21, 2012

He's going to be fine!
He does not have cancer.
The diagnosis is  toxoplasma lymphadenitis.
Basically, (in the words of the Waterboy's mother) it means that cats are the devil.

Relief does not begin to describe how I feel.
My faith was strong, and it still is.
I knew that my God could;
I just didn't know if he would.

I realize now, more than ever, that we are not in control.
We can go through the motions.
We can do everything right.
But, our lives sit in the palm of His hand.

I don't think it's an accident that this happened during this season of Thanksgiving.
I feel like I do a pretty good job of being ever mindful of all that I am blessed with.
I know just how much I have been given.
And my head knows that it can be snatched away in an instant.
But, my heart was faced with that realization these past few weeks.

You cannot go through an experience like this and not be changed somehow. 
Your perspective becomes just a little bit more clear.
It's like getting a new pair of eye glasses; 
You can see what was there all along, but now in bright vivid colors and crisp lines.

LIFE IS SHORT.
The older I get, the more I realize the truth in those words.
It's worth making the effort to squeeze out every drop we can from the time we do have.
It's best not to waste even one moment.

GOD IS GOOD.
Things could have had a different outcome.
We could have had to walk down a very difficult road.
But, He chose otherwise.

GOD IS STILL IN THE MIRACLE BUSINESS.
I believe beyond a doubt, after reading both pathology reports, that my son has been healed.
Period. 

IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO FOLLOW GOD AND LIVE ACCORDING TO HIS WORD,
BUT THE ALTERNATIVE IS ALWAYS HARDER.

"Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for 'The righteous shall live by faith.'" Galatians 3:11

"but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." Hebrews 10:38-39

"But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled." 1Peter 3:14






11.13.2012

THAT mother

November 13, 2012

I've been uncertain for two weeks. 
Not knowing for sure. 
Thinking it was one thing. 
Disappointed that it may not be as benign as I originally hoped. 
I wanted to be that crazy, lunatic mother. 
The one dragging her kid in to the doctor, demanding bloodwork, for a mosquito bite, or a cat scratch, or an infected cut. 

"I'm sure it's just an infection. The antibiotics should work." the doctor reassured.
Two different ones. Just to be certain.

Instead it grew.

"I'm confused," he admitted. "You need to see a surgeon."

Still not panicked. 
Concerned. Yes. 
But, still assuming that I was that mother. 
Being too careful while I imagined the nurses poked fun as I walked out of the office.

"We've got three options. We can wait three months and see what happens. We can put him to sleep and remove it. Or we can do a needle biopsy, and still need to remove it if the results are not clear."
The choice was easy. 
A mother cannot wait an eternity- and three months seemed like forever.
Removing it right away seemed a little too extreme, even for that mother.

So, he had an extremely painful needle biopsy.

I waited in that exam room for results fully expecting to hear confirmation of what I'd suspected all along.
I'm that mother.

When he walked in, I knew immediately that I was wrong.
Apparently, pathology cannot confirm nor deny certain "very worrisome" possibilities.
The report I hold in my hand scares me. 
Trying not to over-react or fall apart.
"Hang on to Hope. Everyone's just being extra careful," I tell myself.
His words shocked me, "It has to come out. When can you do it?"

And here we are.
Faced with the possibility that I still might be that mother. 
Hoping that I am.
But, knowing that God may have something in store for our lives that we do not wish for.

I'm scared and I've cried.
Not because I don't trust God.
I do.
 I have nothing else to hold on to- and I'm hanging on for life!
But I know that sometimes He asks us to go places we don't want to go.
Nonetheless, I trust that my Father loves me.
I trust that He wants for me the same things I want for my own children.
So where ever this road leads, I go with Him.
I'm just praying that we go down a less scary road than the one we might be faced with.

Please pray with me.

"In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection." Psalm 18:29-30

11.05.2012

Sharing

November 5, 2012

I hope you'll stop by my friend, Daphne's adorable blog! Take some time to poke around while you're there. And if you leave a comment on today's post you just may win a $20 Starbucks gift card {that you can share with me!}

http://www.bayoubelles.com/2012/11/todays-day.html