Everything changes in this vacuum of time called life.
The babies grow up, the loved one passes away, the job ends, the divorce becomes final, the friends come and go.
Resistance is the human reaction we all grapple with.
The seasons of life can bring great joy as well as great pain.
The good changes are easier to deal with, the scary changes with consequences not so easy.
With every change the uncertainty of life as we know it becomes a distance memory and if we’re not careful…..it can cloud or stall our future…..but be cautious because our faith is our future.
Don’t get stuck living in the past…….it can be a miserable place to exist …I know….I’ve wasted too much time living in the past.
GOD allows change for good….even though we don’t like how it comes sometimes.
We may face life events that seem catastrophic or heartbreaking….but if we are abiding in JESUS….HE will work it all for our good.
The fact that HE allows change….regardless of how it comes….. shows HE doesn’t want us to stay as we are….HE knows change can bring us closer to HIM if we will let it.
Its when we resist HIS change that we stumble and stray….getting lost in the foggy circumstances.
We can choose to stay the way we are….. where we are at……or we can embrace the change….and become more.
More like HIM is the change HE wants.
I know many are wrestling with big changes in your lives……but instead of dreading and fearing them….let GOD’S peace rest in your heart.
Take time to grieve or regroup…..but …don’t linger too long in the pain because that’s the place Satan uses to trip us up……the pain can cause us to become bitter, hardened….hopeless.
The bible says there is an appointed time for everything….for every event under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1
If change wasn’t part of life there would be no long summer evenings on the porch….we wouldn’t have the splendor of fall to look forward to…..there would be no winter for the earth to rest…and without the rest….the spring wouldn’t bring new life.
The same is true in our spiritual life.
Fervently trusting JESUS will change the shades of our faith, making them more brilliant…..no matter what season…. be it the hurts and the joys…. seasons of change spin abundance from GOD’S heart.
Change hurts…. but somewhere along the path….the evolution of the heart finds a harvest of mercy, healing, joy and new life.
Hold on tight to JESUS… embrace the change….and see what HE does next.
So my daddy told me a million times. I must confess I tell my kids the same thing even though they’re now adults.
Be sure your sins will find you
out….was another one of his favorites. He would be proud I actually listened to a few things he taught me.
He was the fun daddy, always willing to do something silly to make us laugh. The first with the quick comeback, the practical joker, and the ever amusing story teller.
He passed away unexpectedly two years ago.
The landscape of our family dynamic just isn’t the same anymore.
His passing left an incredible void in our lives collectively and individually.
His pictures are around us yet they bring little comfort.
We find ourselves saying…”Oh daddy would have liked that….or daddy would get a kick out of this or that.”
Death leaves a major hole in our hearts.
I’ve realized there is nothing in this world to fill it.
We’ve gone on with life….the family gatherings consisting of many firsts without him.
Grandchildren graduations.
Marriages.
Birthdays.
Holidays.
The longing in my heart will never go away as long as I live on this earth…..but knowing my daddy is in heaven is comforting to a certain degree.
One day…..after I enter heaven’s gates and run into the arms of my JESUS……
I’m going to have a good laugh with my daddy. He’s going to tell me how peculiar Noah is…..what a good singer King David is…..and he will probably make fun of Moses’s speech impediment….if he still has one.
I am sure he is spending time with Johnny Cash and perhaps the king of rock and roll, Elvis…if Elvis is there? Surely he is…..a girl can hope can’t she?
One thing for sure….I know my daddy is having a good time…..and I wouldn’t dare bring him back…..because he wouldn’t want to live on this old earth again after living in perfection.
While I cannot wait to see my daddy…..
JESUS is going to be the main attraction folks.
Do you realize when we finally come into HIS presence we will be complete…..and completely fulfilled?
All the longings of earth…..
the heartaches…..
the disappointments…..
the wrongs….
the sickness….
the life altering events…..
the handicaps….
the financial losses…..
the oppression of man……
the deaths……
all the holes in our heart will finally be filled….complete…..perfect.
“He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelations 21:4
Man …..that’s something to look forward to isn’t it?
My heart swells just thinking about that day…..makes me homesick for my final home.
If this Father’s day has you longing for someone….or something….take heart…this too shall pass away.
One day the longings of this old life will be no more and if we know JESUS as our SAVIOR…..our broken hearts will be made complete.
Is there a recurring problem in your life continually discouraging you? Is it a relationship? A job? An inconsolable grief? Your marriage? A financial concern? A child? Is it sin you can’t seem to overcome? Are you drowning in the consequences of sin?
Discouragement is a key emotion Satan pulls from his bag of tricks. I know the feeling of discouragement oh so well. I grabbed the dangling, tainted carrot as recently as yesterday and found myself flat on my back.
Satan uses discouragement to isolate us from GOD.
A recurring discouragement for me of late is health issues. I had a long list of things I wanted to accomplish this weekend and nothing has been done. I had errands I needed to accomplish but I didn’t feel like getting out….I even turned down a shopping trip with my sister….all because physically I didn’t have the stamina to go the distance. I thought I can at least work on a couple of writing projects….but my eyes were so blurry it hurt to even wear my glasses. Nothing has been completed as per my expectations; therefore, it didn’t take long for me to get down in the dumps over my health.
So life happens…..it doesn’t go as we plan……and then………disappointment settles in our heart.
This isn’t where we thought we would be at this point in our lives right?
Why did this have to happen and change the course of my life?
The “what ifs and if onlys” bring no comfort as many of us can’t go back and change things…..we are stuck with a new path to navigate.
This perpetual state of discouragement is exactly where Satan wants us to live.
When he keeps us discouraged….he keeps us defeated…..hopeless….almost lonely in our state of misery. We think no one could possibly understand how we feel….how we hurt….what we face everyday?
Some days it feels like we are just going through the motions….existing in a place where life may go on around us but we’re still stumbling around on the original path where it seems we lost it all.
Life is just plain hard isn’t it?
In all my physical misery yesterday…..I couldn’t focus. I didn’t feel like doing anything….so nothing got accomplished and I ended up with a bigger to do list…..I ended up discouraged….thinking my health is slipping away from me.
Stealing our focus from GOD is what the Devil works so hard to do in our lives.
He will throw everything in our path until he hits us with the one thing ….that’s going to change it all.
How do we look up…when everything changes? When we lose the job? When we lose our health? When we lose the loved one? When we lose it all?
How do we look up?
How do we keep going?
The bible tells us JESUS was a man of many sorrows….HE experienced our hurts….our fleshly feelings….our disappointments.
In my silly moment of doubt I asked…..how could HE have felt it all? How could HE understand the utter feeling of deep despair where we feel we are loosing something precious or we’ve already lost it?
I’m ashamed of myself for asking questions like these…but I am so human…and GOD knows this of course. So once again HE lavished HIS infinite mercy upon the silly child I am…. even with endless questions I have just like a three-year old…HE spoke very clear to me this morning.
When JESUS was hanging on the cross for our sin…HE cried out to GOD….HIS FATHER….
“My GOD, my GOD….why hast thou forsaken me?” Mark 15:34
I can’t imagine the feeling of being abandoned while dying….can you?
Yet JESUS experienced the ultimate loss.
JESUS was separated from HIS father’s presence…as HE died…hanging by flesh torn hands….in unimaginable agony.
GOD turned HIS back on HIS only son.
JESUS was alone….utterly and completely alone……with all the sins of the world….yours and mine….ravaging HIS body with every drop of redeeming blood….. hitting the ground.
GOD smacked me on the head this morning….you silly child…..JESUS knows exactly how you feel…when your hurting….when you have lost your health….a child…..a job….a home…..a marriage.
HE knows all too well the feeling of loss.
You see the Devil wants us to doubt JESUS….so he sends us the life hurts that diminish our faith and throws us into a spiral of defeat….disappointment…..discouragement.
Satan wants to separate us from JESUS….just like the sins JESUS bore for you and me separated HIM from HIS father.
I now have no doubt……our SAVIOUR truly felt the loss of everything….and I feel comfort from this truth.
It’s in the times we are hurting the most ….we have got to cry out to JESUS….help me JESUS….HELP ME! I don’t know what to pray or how to pray ……I don’t know what to say…..I don’t know how to go on….I don’t know how to live in this new place I find myself in? HELP ME JESUS, HELP ME PLEASE!!!
I have been so broken before, I didn’t have a clue what to pray or ask GOD to do in my life.
The bible says the HOLY SPIRIT will intercede on our behalf.
“In the same way, the SPIRIT helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the SPIRIT himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.” Romans 8:26
“Inexpressible groanings”……WOW!! Words that can’t express the pain of HIS heart….that’s how much HE cares.
Friend you may feel distant from GOD because HE allowed a great loss to come into your life. Don’t let Satan fool you…make you think GOD doesn’t care…or even worse….GOD is mean.
Cry out to GOD and ask HIM to help you put your eyes back on HIM when you stumble into discouragement.
Don’t let Satan keep you defeated…..don’t let him steal your purpose in life…..don’t let him make you bitter and feel distant from GOD.
Chose to endure your trials…..your grief…..your disappointments….chose to lean on JESUS.
We will never understand in this life why we are dealt the cards we have to play with…..but we have to keep our eyes on the game (GOD’S purpose for our life)….and the game maker (our GOD) ….and in the end….. we will win!
“Behold we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of job and have seen the outcome of the LORD’S dealings, that the LORD is full of compassion and is merciful.” James 5:11
“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the LORD has promised to those who love HIM.” James 1:12
Hang on friend….hang on….
“Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
Cling to the hope of our future with JESUS…. and the promise that he is always with us….even in our sorrows!
Hang on friend…..JOY IS COMING so CHOOSE TO ENDURE!!!!
The Merry Life: “A Season To Mourn”: I stood at the graveside of my dear friend’s father today. I watched the cold air sting her face as the tears clouded…
The sadness hovering over our community this week has been debilitating to me personally. The death of Will McKamey has dominated my mind and prayers. This beautiful young man was the type of kid the world needs more of. Just doesn’t seem fair does it? It’s just not the natural order of life to loose a young man with so much promise and goodness.
I have wrestled with so many questions this week. Why things happen…tragedy, heartache, sickness and trials?
The devil always throws a few more jabs when we’re discouraged……my husband had testing this week revealing troublesome health issues. Waiting with my husband in recovery as he slept……. I was miserable in spirit and I just found myself asking GOD….do I really trust you?
These are hard days Lord…..do I really trust you?
This life stinks Lord….do I really trust you?
It’s so hard to pray when discouragement bares down hard and you wrestle with life and death issues.
Getting down in the pit and rolling around in the discouragement is exactly what the enemy wants us to do because it throws us off our game…..focus….. and mission. I’m sad to say I fell straight into the enemies snare.
I am amazed at the faith of the McKamey family……rejoicing in grief…..because they know where Will is. I honestly don’t know what I would do in their situation? I think back to the time my own son collapsed on the track after winning a regional meet. It was his senior year and he had just won the KIL county championship the previous week. He was preparing for his fourth visit to state, predicted to win it all in his division.
Doctor’s told us he had swelling on the brain from a bleed. The swelling caused seizures and unconsciousness. We were stricken with fear….I was numb. He was a week away from graduating, we didn’t know if he would be able to walk across stage. Diagnosed with a weak, leaking vascular angioma in the left frontal lobe of his brain, we were told surgery was too dangerous…..the risk for stroke too great…..and just like that…the scholarships were gone…..the athletic career ended …..it was over for our seventeen year old ambitious son.
When I heard Will collapsed last Saturday morning, I immediately told my husband. We stopped and prayed for him right then…..we knew what this family was going through. My heart just ached for them. I am still aching although I cannot understand the grief they are now in. My son couldn’t compete anymore….their son is now in heaven……I can’t really relate to their loss.
How does a family go on in the face of tragedy?
How do we cope in times of hardship and discouragement?
Everywhere I have turned this week I have been reminded of the scripture in Isaiah 40. This precious chapter holds several of my favorite reminders that give me hope and remind me who GOD really is.
In verse 11 it says…….
Like a shepherd HE will tend HIS flock, in HIS arm HE will gather the lambs…..And carry them in HIS bosom; HE will gently lead the nursing ewes.
HE is our shepherd in all the seasons of life…..and death. The shepherd keeps us from straying….in our deeds and thoughts. Sheep are prone to stray, they are easily confused and frightened……. they are totally dependent on the shepherd for protection and guidance. They listen to their shepherds voice and follow him…..they don’t lead……they follow.
If we know JESUS as our SAVIOR…..HE is our good shepherd…..and we can totally be dependent on HIM. HIS voice won’t lead us astray.
In verse 18 it says………
To whom then will you liken GOD? Or what likeness will you compare with HIM?
Who in your life has been everything for you? Man will let you down….even family…spouses….but GOD will never let you down. Who in your life can compare with GOD? There is nobody in my life that can restore me….heal me…..replenish me…..comfort me….. only GOD has done these things for me……nobody compares with my GOD.
Verse 26 reminds us that HE is our creator…….
“Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, HE calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of HIS might and the strength of HIS power, not one of them is missing.”
HE hung the stars, HE calls them all by name, HE knows exactly where each one should be, they don’t go missing. HE knows and calls us by our name…..HE knit us in our mother’s womb…..we are not invisible to HIM….therefore; HE tends to our needs….our broken hearts….our souls…..HE sees us.
The scripture goes on to say………
“HE gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might HE increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly……Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
So here we are LORD…..we are weary. Weary to the point that we lack might……so we wait for you LORD. We wait for new strength…..we wait until you take our weariness away. We need our good shepherd to keep us from going astray in our grief and discouragement…..we need you to call us by name and tend to our hurting hearts.
Who else can we trust?
Who else has been faithful the way our LORD has?
Only HE can be ALL and EVERYTHING to us.
Only HE can give peace to the McKamey family….only HE can give them a portion of healing to sustain them in the days to come…..
Only GOD can be their ALL and EVERYTHING.
No man or earthy thing can comfort them like our GOD can.
I honestly don’t know how people make it without JESUS? How do they cope? Who gives them peace and joy in tribulation?
I can’t function without my JESUS…..
We will experience hardship, loss, and pain in this life but the only one who can sustain us is JESUS.
JESUS is the only one we can trust.
Will McKamey’s life is powerful evidence of his trust in JESUS as well…….he knew him……he relied on him……he had felt his healing power before…….and now he is basking in his SAVIOR’S presence.
I stood at the graveside of my dear friend’s father today. I watched the cold air sting her face as the tears clouded her eyes. Oh how my heart hurt for her. Death….we are never ready for you, yet you come to us all….. eventually. This season of Joy has been peppered with death. On December 30th, a sweet girlfriend from highschool observed the one year anniversary of the passing of her 23 year old handsome son. A tragic accident on Christmas night claimed the life of another high school friend’s niece. A precious young mother at our church lost her hero….her daddy. Other dear friends of mine have lost loved ones as well in the last ten days. Such a sad event for such a wonderful season…the celebration of our Savior’s birth. It will be two years on January 26th, I lost my father unexpectedly. In the days and months following I became very depressed. I had to take iron because I became anemic from not eating. I couldn’t write, read, or concentrate. I didn’t want to do anything but curl up in my bed and sleep. There are so many thoughts runnin through our heads when we lose a loved one. The thoughts are usually flooded with “if’s” and “only’s”. We recall the last coherent moments and what final words were exchanged. We think about the things that brought joy to our loved one. We recall funny story after story offering a much needed moment of laughter in the midst of heartache. Oh if only we could turn back time. If only we could talk to them just one more time. If only….if only….and so on it goes
For months I clung to a verse that literally gave me just enough strength to function daily.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalms 34:18
I read this verse over and over, day in and day out. Some days all I could physically and mentally accomplish was opening my bible to this verse. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” I was certainly brokenhearted, so knowing the Lord was close to me, gave me the only comfort I could somehow muster. I remember thinking how long is it going to take for me to feel normal again? How long am I going to cry every day or look at his pictures? I became so agitated in my state of malaise, I was literally frustrated because I was still grieving the if’s and only’s months later.
I remember thinking what a terrible mourner I was. I specifically remember telling myself I was lame and I had to snap out of it. I questioned if I was mourning the right way. I even talked to my pastor about my inability to pull myself out of the despondent state I was in. But oh how thankful I am to have Jesus. Oh how thankful. He was there on those dark days when I was so low at times I couldn’t look up. He was there even though I was so self absorbed I couldn’t focus on him. I honestly don’t know how people make it through this world without Jesus? It became ever so clear to me this time of deep mourning was exactly where God had placed me. There was no where I could escape this valley, no way around it….I had to walk straight through. “Okay God, you have me here in this fragile place with a broken heart…..now what?” I started asking him repeatedly over the course of many months. And sometimes with a bitter tone. And then I heard him specifically speak to me one morning during my quite time. I’m not sure how you hear from God but when he speaks to my spirit, I know it very well…..because he usually leads me to specific scripture and I can feel his presence heavily in the atmosphere and laying like a ton of bricks on my chest. I heard his gentle voice speak to my frail spirit. “It’s okay to cry child, but don’t forget to laugh. It’s okay to lament, but don’t forget to smile. It’s okay to withdraw, but make sure you fellowship too. It’s okay to grieve Mel, but don’t stop living in the midst of your grieving. Don’t stop living in the midst of your grieving. Did you hear me? Don’t stop living in the midst of your grieving.” It became ever so clear to me though my heart was still so fragile, the Lord wanted me to press on. To let my faith kick in. To live. Immediately I turned to Ecclesiastes 3, scripture I had read many times but had no real significance to my life until then. He sent this scripture just at the right time in my grief journey. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent, and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is something so comforting in this scripture to me. You see the way I look at it…..every detail of my life…… and your life is orchestrated to the detail. Everything we go through….the good and the bad……it’s all filtered through his loving fingers. We are all born into this world with an expiration tag and only the Lord knows when that expiration is up. We are all born into this world with a life to live, a song to sing, a hurt to heal, a laugh to share and a tear or several to shed. We are all born into this world with predestined seasons for our lives. We are all born into this world to live each day to the fullest even if it’s our time to mourn…..to laugh….. to plant……to dance…… to mend…..to be silent…. to love…. and eventually….. to die. Knowing that he has my days…..and my life events planned out to the detail…. just for Mel Porter…… is mind blowing to me. This gives me incredible comfort because his agenda is so much better than mine.Even though this old world is hard and we will all eventually experience every season listed in Ecclesiastes 3, our heavenly father gives the good and the bad…..but he never abandons us. There is a time for everything….. He gives us both spectrum’s of life……the good and the bad…..there is a balance. Forgiveness for sin…..mercy for disobedience….peace for turmoil….joy for sadness……..grace for unworthiness…..he gives it all….he gives it all with all the love that hung on the cross over two thousand years ago. Trust in Jesus can be so hard when we are blinded with a broken heart……but trusting Jesus is all we got. My God has reminded me this week as I grieved with my dear sisters and brothers…. trusting him in every life event…every season….in everything….is his perfect will for my life. In order to glorify him….I must press on and live….I must move on yet grieve….I must find joy among all the tears……I must praise him…in the valley’s….on the mountains….and especially by the gravesides….for these are the seasons of my life…..purposed by my God…..just for me.
