Mary – Page 41

Suffering: Count It All Joy

March 11, 2015 by Mary

Sometimes we focus so much on a singular way of doing things that we overlook the many other avenues of achieving the same thing!

Persevere.

Do not be a victim of limited thinking.

The plans that God has for us are much greater than those we have or can envision for ourselves. Be open to new ideas and a new way of accomplishing your goals.

Dedicate your desires to God and ask him to use you in this capacity.

When your world seems dark and you feel weary, look for hope in the darkness….be it a small glimmer of light, ignited by the words of others, a bible passage, or the beauty of a sunset. God is in it and He will see you through.

Everything you have been through in your lifetime will finally make sense the moment you realize that you are in the center of God’s will for your life. He has created you for a purpose and allowed circumstances in your life to perfect you for the task—the plans that He has for you. No experience is ever wasted…our experiences shape us.

Discovering Hope During Suffering:

1. Think positive thoughts. This is easier said than done. Try to counter every negative and fear-based thought with something positive. Most of the things we worry about will never happen anyway!

2. Be around positive people. Sometimes this is hard to do when you are down in the dumps and want to wallow in your sorrow, but positive people are positive thinkers. When we are down, we can all use a dose of positive thinking.

3. Write positive affirmations. It helps to write a few positive thoughts (affirmations) and recite them throughout the day. When you begin to fret, read your affirmation card(s) to redirect your thoughts.

4. Think only about today. Stop worrying about tomorrow.
5. Create. Do something that expresses your inner feelings.
6. Be honest with yourself and others.
7. Realize that “this too shall pass”….
8. Acknowledge the blessings in your life—big and small.
9. Focus your energy and thoughts on something other than yourself and/or your difficulties/problems.
10. Believe in a higher power…something greater than yourself—for me, it’s Jesus.

Think of some of the ways by which your suffering has brought you closer to God.
Suffering brings me closer to God in these ways:

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

New Hope Springs From Lost Hope

March 9, 2015 by Mary

There are seasons in life when we may find ourselves in the crux of being in-between. Human nature does not like the uncomfortable places. It may seem as though there is no progress to be made, like standing still or treading water, so to speak.

Perhaps you have fallen on hard times, lost a job, or a home. Perhaps you are going through a break up or a divorce. Perhaps you are grieving the loss of a loved one or the loss of a business, the source of your income or loss of prosperity.

However uncomfortable we may find the in-between places, being there is ok, as it is not permanent. It is a sorting, resting, mindful, powerful place—a time of emotional change, the emotional discomfort will cause you to make a shift…propel you forward. Being fully present during your season of in-between time, pay attention to your thoughts, feelings and actions. Doing so will allow you a great deal of insight about your needs, desires and emotional and intellectual weaknesses.

When you finally settle into a new “normal”, you will then be able to evaluate what the in-between place has taught you about yourself and your position in life. When you acknowledge your strengths, courage, critical thinking skills and fortitude, you will gain a stronger sense of self-confidence and personal acceptance.

No experience is ever wasted.
God desires you to keep on keeping on.

As we serve Him, feeding the hungry, praying for those in trouble, restoring strength to the weak, guiding others who are walking in darkness, we too are served:

When you are somewhere in-between, do everything you can to serve. Through serving, God will restore everything you have lost and as an added benefit, He will heap on joy and fullness where there was lack. Suddenly, the in-between place loses the power you have allowed it in your mind. New hope springs from lost hope.

Suffocating by Stuff

March 7, 2015 by Mary

Several years ago, a neighbor asked me to help her clean out her deceased mother in laws house. At first glance, the house was adorable; a sunroom running the length of the house with 100-year-old crank out windows, mature shrubbery and an old fashioned covered front porch. However, looks can be deceiving– as once I entered the house I was taken aback by all the “stuff”.

Lola had accumulated large quantities of chairs, baskets, gardening equipment and supplies, canning supplies, sewing supplies, linens, hats, sewing machines, books, nic nacs, china and more. The house was filled with a lifetime of things that may or may not have meant something to her.

As we shuffled from room to room, I could not help but think how meaningless all of it really was. My grandmother had a small house and very few possessions but the things in her home were her prize possessions; she did not keep everything, nor did she collect more than what would comfortably fill her tiny house. As children, we were taught to be respectful of her furniture and knew what trinkets she held most dear and we were not allowed to touch.

On the other extreme, I once knew a woman who became a minimalist. She pared her belongings down to only necessities, donating the rest. Her home was cold and sterile and lacked warm sentiment–perhaps this was true of her spiritual state at the time, as she had just gone through a painful divorce.

Some of us may be suffocating by “stuff”, continually buying and acquiring because we lack discipline and because we are trying to fill a void. In an attempt to suffocate our fears, we surround ourselves with things. And yet, the extreme minimalist may feel so out of control in other areas of his/her life that the sterility of a home with nothing and just the act of purging brings a sense of control.

I have been on a personal journey during the past few years to purge my own home of excess. Admittedly, I have lacked discipline in the past. Previously, if I liked something ~ I bought it. I have a weakness for antique pictures and art. I am not a nic nac kind of person and have purged most of the nic nacs from my home. Cluttered rooms give me a cluttered mind. I lived in a cluttered environment for many years while raising my family, but found that clutter impairs my overall sense of well~being.

Those years spent raising children, working and doing too much, with too many expectations of myself (perfectionism), left me with little time for contemplation. It was a set up for disappointment until one day I realized that I had little or no sentimental attachment to most of what I had accumulated but rather, I was gathering, trying to fill my half empty cup with things other than God, and was in desperate need for an intervention from my Savior.

The Bible tells us in Isaiah 55: 1-2

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.”

Why spend your money on things that will not satisfy? The Lord says, “come to the waters…come buy milk without money and without cost.”

Only He can satisfy.

If you are suffocating in “stuff”, take some time to ask God to come and fill your cup with those things that truly are the “richest of fare.” Take time to think about the state of your life and your spiritual health today. Ask God to show you what you need to purge. Our souls crave that… which only our Savior can give.

Sunday Thoughts…

March 1, 2015 by Mary

Let me be your shelter. Come hide beneath my wing. GOD

Psalm 91:4

Hide beneath the wing of the One who knows you, the One who died to protect you, the One who will fight for you. Rest.

My Grace is Sufficient for You

January 11, 2015 by Mary

She wakes up after eight hours curled into a tight ball…pain wrenching her body, consuming the God within her. Pulling open the weighted drapes that keep the winter cold from hitting her headboard at night in an old house, sunshine greets her with a smile. A little worn, a little weary, a little ravaged by an illness trying to suck the life out of her very limbs. She stands, smiling. New day, new hope.

Each night, she closes her eyes, clenching blankets tightly, lulling herself to sleep as if she is holding onto the hem of His garment. Cuz if she can get through the night, He will greet her in the morning and morning may look entirely new. However, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes she has to swallow hard and hold back tears of discouragement when she awakes and everything still hurts.

There is a busy world around her, filled with people worried about small things that seem big, when in reality there are people like her who are fighting to live each day fully and smile while going through the motions. Illness has a way of shredding hope, shredding dreams, shredding plans, shredding futures. Her bedroom, a safe place from the world, the place she takes comfort when pain is too much to bear. Surrounded by pictures of places she dreams of one day going, flowers, things she loves—like the wooden jewelry box with a gold key that her mama bought her, years ago. Marriage vows in a red barn wood frame– etched by a folk artist, trinkets that her children created with small hands while growing through the years, a black and white of grandma and grandpa. These things bring comfort during the dark days of bed rest. A stack of bibles and devotionals with a reading lamp on her nightstand.

Why is it that we pray for things, that we pray for success, affirmation from strangers, and we say that we are doing it to please God? Cuz what really pleases God is a contrite heart, a heart so in love with Him that we forget being known by thousands of people and kneel beside the bed of just one person who is struggling? That’s important ministry…one person at a time. Those people clutching blankets as though they are the hem of His clothing, begging and praying for healing.

Evening falls and it is dark in her room. I go in and light a small lamp. She’s curled up under furry blankets, the kind that bring comfort when everything else hurts.

She has felt it coming on for days, and it gradually gets larger until it washes over her like a tidal wave—three or four days go by and she remembers not much but trying to survive it..the headaches, the blurry eyes and brain fog, the trembling in pain. She too, takes refuge in her bedroom—a place she has made uniquely her own because she spends more time there than most of us can imagine.

For those of us with chronic illness, we need a holy place. Our bedrooms become just that…the place we meet God at our weakest. The places we reconcile, pray, ask, give thanks and cry tears of hopelessness onto our pillows. We have a special wisdom in that we find Glory in small moments. We see God’s goodness and recognize it quickly. We are eager to give thanks and know the fragility of life. We do what we can with what we have and still find joy. We know the wisdom of suffering and can share our compassion with others who are suffering, because we too, have suffered.

There is a God in Heaven who understands our suffering. He is our refuge and an ever-present help in trouble. There is a God filled with mercy who sends seekers to our bedsides, those who on bended knee, usher up whispered prayers to the Host and He comes down to meet us, right where we are. Where hearts are filled with presence. Where we are one-on-one with those who are suffering, contrite hearts, muttering prayers of selflessness from the deepest places because we have forgotten about ourselves and the world around us, if only for a moment. We have connected with the Holy of Holies as our hearts and knees bend with compassion and humility.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

2Corinthians 12:9

He says, His power is made perfect in weakness. Not only in physical weakness, but in all our weakness. The weakness of perfectionism, the weakness of approval seeking, the weakness of not even knowing our weakness, spiritual depravity, depression, abuse, pride, hatred and unforgiveness, bitterness, lust, addiction, the love of money. My grace is sufficient. Each of us are fighting battles, but with each new day there is new hope…and the greatest news is that we can start again, sins washed clean. God accepts us new each day. As we pull ourselves out of bed, fighting battles, a little worn, a little weary, a little ravaged, He sees us…one person at a time, begging, praying and tugging on the hem of His garment.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

Suffering makes the rough edges smooth and gives us the wisdom to open our hands and blow seeds of hope to another who is struggling just to hang on…struggling to find joy, struggling to see His goodness. Those seeds of hope covering people who are trapped up in their beds, clenching blankets tightly, those who swallow hard to hold back tears of discouragement when they awake and everything still hurts.

Whatever suffering we endure, the Holy of Holies wants to pick up our shredded hopes, shredded dreams, shredded plans, shredded futures, because he has a plan for each of us and His plan is Perfect. His grace is sufficient for us. His power is made perfect in weakness.