operation

Welcome to unseen. It has been a hard week and I am glad it is nearly over. God reminded me that he can take care of my family members. I know that but it is hard to watch when they have bad days. Read on to see what I was reminded of this week.

Operation

Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

 

                A man is going in for an operation. The nurses start IVs and clean the incision site. The transport aides move the man onto the gurney and begin rolling him down the hall. His wife follows, holding his hand. They reach a pair of swinging doors and she kisses him and goes to the waiting room. Inside the operating room, the doctors and nurses perform a well-rehearsed symphony in the sterile environment. They move together with few words needed, each one doing his or her part to complete the operation efficiently and safely. In the waiting room, the wife prays and waits. She fidgets and paces. She drinks coffee and chews her nails. Finally she gets up and when someone runs out of the operating suite she pushes her way in. She comes up behind the doctor doing the surgery and says, “Do you need some help? I think the incision is too big. Are you sure those stiches are going to hold? They look a little long. You know, while you’re in there can you do some liposuction? Why are you taking so long?”

                What would you do if you were the doctor? You had gone to school for years. You had practiced your skills. Here was a woman coming into your sterile, safe environment, bringing germs, advice and demands. We would never do that, would we? Unless it is to God. Do you have a loved one that God is working on? Perhaps it is a stubborn teen or a family member or friend opening a heart to God. How hard is it to sit in the waiting room and let God do His job? God informed me that my job while He was working on my loved ones is to pray, sing praises and love them. I would much rather tell God how He should hurry and suggest things He could fix while He is at it.

                I love and hate the verse in Isaiah that says, “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31) I love it because it reminds me that God is faithful. I hate it because it is so hard to wait.  I am a good West Texas girl and was taught to pull myself up by my own bootstraps, even if I don’t have any boots. I have to rely not only on God, but on friends who bear each other’s burdens. The waiting room is a hard place to be.  If that is where you are, take courage. The Great Physician has your loved one in His mighty hands. If you are not there now, you probably have been and can bear someone’s burden.

 

 

Welcome to Unseen today. Today i feel nostalgic and sad. My children are growing up and my parents have passed away. Today is the anniversary of  my mom's death. I went looking back through old writing looking for encouragement. This is what I found. Hope it is helpful for you, too.

 

Watch Me

The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him. Ps 33:5

“Watch me, Mama!”  How many times have I heard those words in the last 19 years? Usually they are followed by a daring feat, a skateboard jump, a dive or even a spectacular crash with Hot Wheels. Many times, it will work great until the moment that I look, and then fall flat. It doesn't matter to my kids though. They just love the attention.  It is not just my kids either.  When my kids were little, I would sit out on the front porch with them on cool evenings.  I would watch them play and neighbor kids would come up. “Hey, Rob's mom, watch!”  The need to be noticed is universal. We don't seem to outgrow the need either. I was talking to one of my residents at the nursing home where I work not long ago. She had been a professor at a local college, and I asked her what she liked best about teaching. She looked me in the eye and said, “People would listen to me.”  What an indictment on our culture.

In Genesis 16 we read the story of Hagar, Hagar was Sarah's maid. She had been given to Abraham so she could bear him a child. This was Sarah's idea. When Hagar actually had the child, Sarah was furious and jealous and the Bible says Sarah was despised in Hagar's eyes.  Abraham tells Sarah that she can do what seems right with Hagar. Sarah sends her to the wilderness.  In despair, Hagar is crying in the wilderness, when an angel finds her and brings her words of assurance. She builds an altar and says “You, oh Lord have seen me.” Her words in Hebrew, El Roi, are one of the names for God: the God who sees.

When I was little I used to hear the song “There's an All Seeing Eye Watching You” , and to be honest it gave me the willies. I pictured a big eyeball watching everything I did, waiting for me to make a mistake. I know now, though, that it is the eye of a loving God watching over me just as he watched over Hagar. Psalms 121:5 we read, The Lord watches over you. He is your shade on your right hand. Matthew 10 says that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without his knowledge. Ladies take comfort in the fact that your Father is watching you and he sees all your pain and the injustices done to you. You are precious to him.

Help me find the stairs

Welcome to unseen today. The post for today was one of my first and is the "title piece" for my first book. When we live unseen we may feel like there is no purpose for what we are going through. Read on to see how God can redeem our trials.

Help me find the stairs

Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

                Once upon a time there were two sisters.  They lived in a big house in a small town.  There was not a lot to do, but they managed to keep busy and happy.  One thing that was fun to do was to sleep in the basement.  It was set up like a living room. Along one wall was a couch. On the other wall was a day bed, and next to it was a bookcase with glass doors. In the back corner was a sewing machine that was set up on a card table. At the front of the basement was a large cabinet TV.  Around the corner from the TV was the stairway.  There were two light switches; one was at the top of the stairs and the other was at the bottom.  The sisters would camp out in the basement and put sleeping bags in front of the TV.

                There was only one problem.   The basement was very dark at night. Many nights the younger girl would wake up and need to go upstairs. She would wake up, get up and go to where she was sure the stairs were. Instead she would bump into the couch. She would adjust and try again to find the stairs, only to bump into the wall this time. Now she was more careful and walked with her hands in front of her. The longer she was in the dark the harder it was to keep her bearings.  She would find a wall and, deciding that the stairs where close by, she would take a step up, but there would be no stair.  She usually ended up along the far wall by the day bed.  If she found the bookcase she would drop to her knees and crawl until she found her sister. She would shake her and say, “Sheryl, help me find the stairs.”  Her sister could find the stairs every time with out fail, because she had spent more time in the basement and because she was older.

                The story about the two sisters is true. It is also much like our lives before we come to GOD. When people are in sin they are wandering in the dark.  They think they know their way out but they find out that they are wrong. The longer they stay in their sin, the harder it is to find their way.  Finally they may be fortunate enough to find someone who has been there before. Who can help them better than someone who has already found the way out?  When we get to the “up stairs” of GOD’S grace, he lets us recover from our ordeal. Then he sends us back to help others.

                 Listen for the cries.   They may be loud and angry or quiet and pleading but they are saying the same thing.

                “Please help me find the stairs.”

Make the Most of it.

Hello and welcome to Unseen today. I have been working on a tribute to my mom and have been searching through my memories. Read on to see what I learned about life from one of my most colorful family members.

 

Make the most of it.

My Grandma was what we lovingly called a character. She always looked at life about 30 degrees off of what everyone else did. You never knew what you were going to get. Once she made sandwiches cut in a variety of sized circles with mayonnaise, cheese, bread- and- butter pickles and jelly. She was so excited about them none of us had the heart to tell her that they were terrible. She loved genealogy and was telling me her version of Grandpa’s family. She said, “Now, your great-great uncle John Carver was a stowaway on a wagon train. “  Grandpa rolled his eyes and said, “Oh, Stella, he was not! It’s my family. I ought to know.” Without batting an eye she said, “Well, I have to make it sound good.”

When I was in high school, my mom and her brothers and sisters told Grandma and Grandpa that they needed new carpet. Grandpa said that they didn’t because it was the top of the line carpet when they bought it. (in 1968) One child got them out of the house and another let in the carpet layers.  Of course when they saw it they loved it.  My cousin Nancy was there that weekend and had gone on a date. She didn’t want to wake anyone up so she didn’t turn on any lights. She nearly tripped on Grandma laying in the middle of the living room floor. Grandma was in her 80’s at the time and Nancy asked if she was alright. “Well, sure.” came the reply. When Nancy asked why she was lying in the middle of the living room floor she said, and I quote, “I’m just trying to get my money’s worth out of this new carpet.”

Grandma may have understood something many of us don’t.  She did her best to get the most she could out of ingredients in the fridge, stories, and carpet. How do we go about getting the most out of life? One way we can do this is by using the gifts God has given us. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the different types of gifts and how many members become one body. It is tempting to try to fit our spirits and our mind into a mold that looks more exciting or more profitable than what we are designed for. We may want the spotlight or the thrill of public leadership when we may be fitted for behind the scenes work. For example, I could make a meal and host someone at my house, and it would be fine, but I would probably do more good with half an hour of writing or singing than in 2 hours of cooking and 8 hours of cleaning to get my house ready for company.  My mother-in-law finds it hard to express her love in words, preferring to cook, sew or craft instead to show her love.

Ephesians 2:10 say,  For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. He told Jeremiah that he had set him apart as a prophet before he was born. (Jer 1:9) One of my favorite life verses is Phil 1:6. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it till the day of Jesus.  Then there is the beautiful verse in Jeremiah 29:11-13. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

Remember who you are. Find your gifts and learn to serve God and others with your gifts. Then we can do what Paul advises in Ephesians 5:16 Walk as wise men, not as unwise. Make the most of the time because the days are evil.

Shadows

Once again God took my post in a direction I did not expect.  I tried really hard to write a great post about busy signals.  Maybe next week. See if you are one of the ones who needs to hear this instead.

Shadows

Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalms 119:105

My dog does not have the same sense of night and day that I do. If the urge strikes him to go out it is in my best interest to oblige. His Indian name is He-who-must-not-be-ignored. I don’t worry about being out with him after dark, because he can go from zero to ferocious in 2.6 seconds if he thinks I am being threatened. One night we were walking through the complex in the moonlight and I saw something strange on the ground. I reached to do pick it up and see what it was. It was actually just a shadow. It looked solid and real, but it was an illusion. 

One dark and stormy night when we were kids, the electricity went out. We hung out in the living room together.  We made popcorn in the fireplace (and scorched it). Dad told silly stories that he made up as he went along. We hung up a sheet between the living room and kitchen and put some big candles behind the sheet with us. Then we did a shadow play which our parents said was fantastic.

 Petra had a song that said,

Sometimes a shadow, dark and cold, falls like a mist across the road

But be encouraged by the sight. Where there’s a shadow there’s a light.  

In both of these cases the shadow was cast by the light from the moon or the candles.

                How many times does there seem to be a threat to our spiritual well being, our safety or our joy. Yesterday the threat to my joy was that I did not know how God was going to meet a need that I had. Fortunately he knew exactly how He was going to meet it. As real as my anxiety seemed it has melted away in the light of his truth.

Jesus is called the light. John 1 says  “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” One of the promises of Jesus coming was in Isaiah 9:2. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. And in John 8, Jesus tells us,  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Let Jesus light cast out the shadows in your life. Then be the light that is set on a hill that all men may see.

 

Stars

This was not the post I was planning on tonight but apparently it is the one God was planning on. . Are you feeling insignificant today. Stop it and read on!

Stars

When  I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. Psalms 8:3-5

With the weather in the brief span of time that passes for spring in West Texas, I am spending more time outside. I love to walk outside or lay on the grass and look up at the stars. Stars are just cool. They are beautiful and powerful and draw our attention in an almost hypnotic way. My children could spout lots of cool scientific facts about stars and how big they are, how far away they are and how long it takes the light from them to reach our eyes, but I am not going to put those numbers here.  If you want them you can look them up or call my children.

Louis Giglio has an amazing video on the web that talks about the relative sizes and distances of different stars I am blown away when I watch it.  The thing I come away with is awe at the power and majesty of God. God keeps galaxies with vast numbers of stars in perfect alignment, and yet we are fearful that he doesn’t have the power to answer our prayer. We may go to the other extreme and say that he is too busy or we are too insignificant.  The reality is that neither of these things is true. The psalmist has such a beautiful expression of this.  Read it again.

 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. Psalms 8:3-5. Psalms 147:4 says He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Psalm 19:1 says, the heavens declare the glory of God.  The writer goes on to describe how God made a tent for the sun like a bridegroom coming out of its chamber.

We are the crowning accomplishment of this creator. It was for us that he sacrificed the one most precious to Him. He wrapped his power, so great it can keep billions of stars and galaxies operating, in humility and weakness for us. How dare we allow the enemy to make us feel insignificant! He has called us to be his children and invited us to share eternity with him. Take him at this word.

In the midst of the storm

Welcome to Unseen today. Summertime means storms, both in the physical world and in our lives. Read on for a lesson about weathering tough times.

In the Midst of the Storm

These things I have spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. John 16:32-33

                Monday was a long day. I was making visits for work and MapQuest had failed me more than once. People in rural West Texas give directions like, “Find the Atmos building and go 3 miles till you come to a red fence. The mailbox has cow horns on it. You can’t miss it.” Believe me, I can too miss it! It was a little over an hour’s drive home and I was tired. I had friend riding with me so she could navigate. The clouds started to look a little dark. The further we drove toward home the darker they got, and I noticed the wind picking up. Finally, we reached a spot where there were dark, ominous clouds on one side of the car and bright sunshine on the other. We went around a curve and got a few misty sprinkles, so I turned on the wipers. Within a few seconds it was raining heavily and I listened to the wipers. Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, thunk. I looked out my rain streaked driver’s window to see my wiper dangling off the windshield. I couldn’t reach it to get it back on track, so my friend got out of the car. The wind whipped her hair and clothes as she wrestled the wiper into place. She got back in and we took off, but in just a few moments it was raining too hard to see the road. We pulled off on the shoulder, such as it was. No sooner had we parked than hail peppered the car and wind gusts rocked it back and forth. I would like to tell you that I realized the power and sovereignty of God, but the truth is it scared the willies out of me. When we could hear over the storm we called and texted our families to let them know we were stuck but unharmed.  When we were able to go again we drove slowly for the last ten miles into town. She laughed and asked if I could pry my hands off the steering wheel. I was never so glad to see town in my life.  

                Are you going through a storm in your life? If not you probably have recently or are about to. How do you cope when you’re in the middle of a storm? Some people rage and rant at the unfairness of the storm, but that doesn’t make it go away. Some people are like me and try to isolate so they won’t bother anyone, but that doesn’t help either. Remember the story of the disciples in the storm? The Bible tells us in Matthew 8 that they were on the lake in a boat. I was not happy being in a little car in the rain, wind and hail. I can not imaging being in a boat! They were just like us. Some of them ranted and some tried to hide while shivering in their sandals. Do you remember what Jesus was doing? He was asleep in the boat. “Lord,” they said, “Don’t you care that we are about to drown?” He got up and spoke to the wind and the waves. “Peace. Be still” Immediately the wind stopped and the waves died down. Then he looked at the disciples and says, “Oh you of little faith, Why were you so afraid. .”

 Jesus is with us in the literal and spiritual storms in our lives. Sometimes I may be going through something that seems huge to me, but Jesus is asleep in my boat. This is not because he doesn’t care, but because he is so completely in control. Some of my storms last a lot longer than I want and I am ready for Jesus to hurry up and speak to the waves, but he does it in His time and he is with me in the boat in the meantime. The psalms tell of the privilege of hiding in God and resting in Him. Psalms 46 and 84 in particular encourage us to be still and know the safety of being with God. Isaiah 30:15 says in quietness and trust shall be your strength. When you go through storms try to rest in Jesus. It is harder than it sounds and takes a conscious decision, but it will get you through till you see the end of the journey.