Archive for September, 2011

Rejoice in the Day

Monday, September 26th, 2011

This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Countless times I’ve sung that song but never thought much about what it means. In my mind I had a picture of welcoming the dawn, being glad for the glory of the rising sun.

What I didn’t think much about was the events of the day to come: the plans I had, the problems I’d face, the trials and difficulties, joys and failures that make up my life that day.

This summer I had a series of days I didn’t want to rejoice in. My home was no longer my own; my sister-in-law and her daughter had moved in. My husband and I were reeling from the changes that had come to our lives. I was certainly not rejoicing in the daily adjustments we were forced to make.

I should have at least tried to be more obedient, for now, a few months later I can see such blessing that God is bringing to our lives.

Sure, we still have bad days. My niece can be temperamental. She gets anxious and agitated, melts down like a four-year-old and throws temper tantrums like a teenager. I’m still learning how to manage these times.

In between all that, we have seen progress. We are having more good days that bad, days of calm and tranquility, days when my niece is cooperative and happy, willingly goes for a walk or helps with chores, or even asks if we will read the Bible. The other day she was positively joyful, wanting to dance.

It’s easy to rejoice in those days. The difficult ones are a different story. But we are called to rejoice in the day that the Lord has made early in the morning, before we know what the day will bring, at noon, when we are in the midst of our daily business, and in the evening, when we have either enjoyed success or endured failure.

And why rejoice when the day brought nothing but pain? Because by enduring faithfully, we learn patience and gain endurance. Our faith becomes stronger, our character is refined. We can rejoice in those hard days, knowing that God will do His work in us and in our circumstances. He uses all kinds of days—the good and the bad—for His purposes, which we know are for our good, because He loves us.

Now if I can just remember to rejoice in whatever kind of day God sends.

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Never An Ill Wind

Monday, September 19th, 2011

It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good, so the old saying goes. My own family was hit with some bad news when a relative was diagnosed with cancer. She’d had vague symptoms of fatigue but didn’t think she needed to do anything about them. Suddenly she and her adult handicapped daughter had moved into our house and the life we had known was no more.

A very ill wind was blowing through our lives. Almost a tornado. We weren’t sure what had hit us. All we could do was trust God for each day.

Already we have seen much good in this situation. My husband, who through the years and distance had drifted apart from his brothers, has reconnected with them. One of my nieces rose to the occasion and managed much of her mother’s care after surgery. My handicapped niece has gained a new purpose in life, as she is now helping with simple household chores.

I pray daily that God gives me a love for my handicapped niece, who can be difficult at times. While sitting with her in church, the Holy Spirit touched us both with an overwhelming wave of love for each other, a love that flows from the source of all love, love that knows no conditions or bounds.

Which goes to show me why we are commanded to give thanks in all circumstances. When things happen in my life that I don’t like, what do I do? Usually complain. Or get angry or distressed.

Only later do I see what God is doing and the good He is working in my life. Only later do I realize that it took some dramatic event like illness or accident to get my attention off the things I think are important and to turn it to what is vital.

Because of this, I need to give thanks when what I think is an ill wind starts to blow through my life, causing what seems to be havoc and destruction. By clinging to God, I can see that the ill wind is meant to blow me back into the arms of God. As I wrestle in prayer and see His hand at work and experience His never ending love, I am reminded that my faith is true and I can know that God is the Lord of all.

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Rescue from a Train Wreck

Friday, September 16th, 2011

The faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven

Colossians 1:5

A relative had called, saying she had pneumonia. I offered to take her adult handicapped daughter so she could get some rest.

That was the beginning of a slow train wreck, every day bringing worse news. Tests revealed cancer, masses were found in two different areas. Two weeks later surgery revealed Stage 4 ovarian cancer. Suddenly my husband and I had two new members of our household for an indefinite period of time. Our plans for our future put aside in helping our relative deal with the change in her plans.

My faith was feeling pretty weak. The tears were just below the surface, ready to force their way to the top, revealing that my outward calm was barely a few inches deep. And when the sadness wasn’t uppermost, anger roared, over the smallest frustration in my plans.

I didn’t know how I was going to survive weeks, months, maybe years of caring for these relatives. Could I really trust God to give me the strength I needed? And from where would come the love for a mentally handicapped woman who went from moments of sweetness to moments of great ugliness and meanness? The only way I could see being able to bear years of caring for her, especially if her mother didn’t survive, was if I could find some way to love her. But that seemed impossible.

Then I realized the source is the hope stored up for me in heaven. God has promised whatever we think we have lost in this life, we will gain and more in the next. So it doesn’t matter than my plans for my life have been put aside, maybe ever forever. God has better ones waiting for me.

When I can trust God in that, then I can trust Him for the daily needs, the strength and patience I need, and even the ability to love someone who can be very unlovable.

Four weeks ago when I started writing this, I hadn’t yet even caught a glimpse of what God is going to do in this situation I call a train wreck. I asked him for a love for my handicapped relative, and He responded with a love that from time to time wells up and overflows and turns some of the worst drudgery into pure joy. How He will help me over the next weeks and months I don’t know. What I do know is that He will rescue from the wreckage and create something wonderful.

Thank you, Lord, for your answer to my prayer. Let me be a channel of your love in every circumstance, to everyone you put in my life.

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