Scars

Something has been on my heart for a couple of weeks and I’ve decided it’s time to put it into words…  In John 20:27, after the resurrection, Jesus meets up with Thomas, who is having such a hard time believing that Jesus is alive and this is what happens…  “Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

I can close my eyes and see this…  Thomas must have been a bit tentative to touch.  I can’t imagine the kind of scars that nails…  stakes driven through a hand would leave…  To see them would be hard enough, but to actually touch them…  Something in me would want to recoil, to turn away…  But I know I would force myself to look…  to touch.  Even thinking about it, I can feel the chills on the back of my neck…  an icky feeling in the pit of my stomach…  

But how beautifully intimate that Jesus let him see and touch…  Think about what those scars stood for, at least from the world’s perspective…  In the world’s eyes, they were the scars of humiliation…  The proof that Jesus had suffered the most degrading, humiliating form of punishment and death possible, crucifixion…  the kind of punishment saved for the worst kind of criminal.  It was so awful, the Romans did not allow their own citizens to be crucified.

But in heaven’s view, those scars were signs of a great victory!  Victory over sin and death…  Proof that God is more powerful than anything the world, than evil, can dish out!  They were proof that beauty can come from ashes…  joy from mourning…  hope from despair…  life from death!

And here’s what hit me the last couple of weeks…  Do I feel that way about my own scars in my life?  Maybe they’re not physical scars, but what about the emotional scars that we all carry from living in a fallen world…  True, some scars are worse than others…  But we all have scars!

So how do you see your scars?  Are they reminders of humiliation?  Do you hide them and keep them secret?  Or are they reminders of victory?  Of redemption and restoration?  Of God’s great power, grace and love?

And just as importantly, are we willing to let others see and touch our scars?  Are we willing to share our stories?  Think about what overcame Thomas’ doubt…  It was seeing and touching the scars of Jesus…  It was being able to step into Jesus’ story for a moment and experience the victory that He had experienced!  What great hope that must have given him!!

Yes, there may be things about your story that cause others to recoil…to want to turn away…to maybe even judge you…  BUT, what if letting someone else see our scars, even just one person, could help them overcome their doubts about Jesus?  Would it be worth opening up our hearts and lives and saying to the world, “See my scars…  see what Jesus has done…  see what is possible in a relationship with Him…  stop doubting and believe!”

I am so thankful for the scars of Jesus…  I am overwhelmed at all they tell me…  A story of the greatest sacrifice anyone could ever imagine…  A grace that is truly amazing…  Mercy that is limitless…  Love that is unfathomable…  Victory that is unimaginable!  The story, the truth, behind those scars is transforming…  But maybe God would use your story…  your scars to transform a life too…

But here's the thing...  You have to let Him heal your wounds first...  You have to let Him work victory, redemption and restoration in your own life!  Have you experienced the promises of Isaiah 61:1-4?  Have you let Him bring beauty from the ashes in your own life?  If not, say yes to that journey...  Find someone who is willing to share their scars and let them walk with you on that journey...  (You can e-mail me if you'd like).

But if God has done, or is doing, a great work in your life...  Then let's be willing to let others 'see and touch' our scars!

"Now's My Chance!"

I haven’t written in a while, just no time, but I’ve learned something that is worth writing about!  On Sunday, our pastor preached the most outstanding sermon on loving your enemies and he left us with a challenge to remind ourselves of 3 simple words when conflict arises with other people…

The phrase…  “Now’s my chance…”  My chance to  love…to show mercy and grace…to be kind, instead of condemning, forgiving instead of judgmental or critical…  and wow, the results have been cool.

Without giving too many details, there has been a person in my life who has been causing me SO much turmoil, mainly because it involves one of my children (mama bear on the loose!)…  But I decided to live out “Now’s my chance” and I’ve reached out with encouragement and kindness, instead of pouring verbal acid all over the person, like I wanted to do.  And the coolest thing, the person has responded back with kindness and encouragement.

And then just this morning, I received a threatening message from the State Revenue department claiming that I had not filed or paid my sales tax since September of last year…  NOT…  I have a cleared check to prove I did…  I even talked to this person 10 days ago about the very same thing and still he left me a message threatening me with legal action.

I was furious…  But I took a deep breath, whispered the words, “Now’s my chance,” and called him back.  I expressed my frustration, but not in anger, just very matter of fact…  I reminded him that I’ve consistently worked with him… I’ve never avoided his calls…  I’ve worked diligently to make sure everything is current and accurate…  And I told him that I didn’t think it was fair for him to leave me threatening messages.

Sure enough, as he looked into it, he could tell me every month and what I had paid for that month and by the end of the conversation he apologized and admitted that he should have looked into it, before he called me.

In both situations, I had every right to be angry, to even blast the person for their actions…  But I’ve been challenged by our sermons the last two weeks to set aside my rights and just love the person who is infringing on my rights.  I won’t say it’s easy…  I think if I’m really honest, I want the person to pay who’s hurting me…frustrating me…whatever…  But as we approach Easter, how can I not remember that over 2000 years ago, my Heavenly Father chose not to make me pay a debt that was greater than I could ever hope to repay…  Instead, He had His Son pay it for me and today I am forgiven and debt free because of that grace and love and mercy…  How can I even think of not offering that to those who hurt me?!

And interestingly, the more I practice, “Now’s my chance,” (I have a TON of opportunities in just 2 days!) the easier it gets…  I love the results of reconciled relationships…  They are far sweeter than anger, anxiety and unforgiveness.

Miracles Still Happen!

Last night something happened that 6 weeks ago I really didn't think would be possible...  I'll spare you repeating the details of Zack's injury (you can scroll down to other posts if you've missed what happened to him), but in those initial weeks, I prayed hoping, but honestly, I was struggling to believe it would really happen...  It wasn't a question of whether or not God could heal him quickly, but I also knew that God doesn't always choose to intervene in the natural course of life and I had to come to a place where that was ok too...

I learned that letting go and opening your hand to whatever God has planned is a process... a moment by moment decision, not a one time act...  I learned that when I trust God and believe He is good, no matter what the circumstances look like, it is a much easier place to walk than struggling against what life holds...  Joy is a choice and it will flood into our hearts when we let go and just let God be God... 

I am so thankful that God has chosen to intervene in the natural course of healing and last night Zack played in his first game of his senior year...  If you could have seen the initial wound, you would understand why this is truly a miracle...  (If you want to see it, let me know and we'll text you a photo...  just be prepared though, you'll get an anatomy lesson on the lower part of the leg!)

Thought you might like to see some photos...

Back in his role as one of the captains...

Waiting to go onto the field...  I can't even describe how fast my heart was beating!  There's something so lonely about this picture to me...  It was a hard thing to do, and yet it was something he had to do by himself...  As a mom, I wanted to hug him...  tell him to 'kick butt'...  encourage him... but it was one of those moments where all I could do was watch and pray...

His best friend (who is our goalie) game him a hug when he came onto the field (so did R's younger brother)...  I love those boys!!  It was special to watch his teammates welcome him back!  They are a great group of guys!!

His first big quick...  The inside of his right ankle is where the injury is so it takes the full impact of almost everything...  It looked great after the game though!!

His first foul... the other team was screaming for a Yellow Card... Zack is back!

I was really dreading his first slide tackle!

Zack had great care...  He used wisdom in caring for his injury...  He had a fantastic doctor...  But my greatest thanks is to everyone who prayed for him because ultimately, all of this was in God's hands...  And while I am so thankful to have the blessing and pleasure of watching him play in his senior season, I am even more thankful for all the terrible things that were avoided...  Infection...skin graft...  I could go on and on...  To God be the glory...

It Wasn't Luck!

So I’ll just say at the start, if you’re reading this post (it’s going to be a long one) and you’re not a Christian, you will probably find it an odd post…  Well, you probably find most of my posts odd, weird, or whatever other term you might have for someone who lives by their faith…  But that’s ok…  Because when I look back on the day of Zack’s accident, and all that has happened since, I think it’s odd to say what happened to him was luck, or simply good fortune… 

Remembering is an important act in the Christian faith…  In remembering, our faith grows.  We look back and we can see how God has intervened in situations, how He has done things that couldn’t possibly be luck or coincidence, and our faith grows…  If you were to go back and read our adoption story with Abby, you would see the hand of God at work…  The story of how Nick got into Southlake…  And on the day of Zack’s accident, God’s handprint was everywhere...  So today, I want to take a minute and remember and just be thankful....

This wasn’t a little accident that happened to Zack…  A 1300 pound piece of equipment ran up the lower part of his leg… He had just tripped and fallen on a pallet about 6 inches high…  So part of his leg was on concrete and part of it was at an angle, unsupported by anything, and not one single bone snapped, broke, or even cracked a little…

From that sitting down position, with his leg at an odd angle, Zack was able to lift up on that 1300 pound piece of machinery, and with upper body strength alone, he was able to push it off of his leg.  It’s important to understand that he lifted it up…  The top part of his wound is much deeper than the part over the ankle bone, if he had not lifted up, it would have taken out his ankle bone…  Psalm 91:11 says, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways…”  There are some unusual notions in the world today about angels.   I don’t buy into them, because they go far beyond what Scripture teaches us about angels, but when I look back at that day with Zack, I believe Psalm 91:11! 

Adrenaline can only go so far in explaining how a 17 year old boy, from a sitting down position, with a heavy piece of equipment on his leg, could not only push the equipment off of his leg, but lift it up and push it off…  His boss said that he doubted that Scott and himself together could have lifted it… 

If you have a weak stomach, I’m not sure you want to read this next part, but it’s the part that every time I think about it I am filled with gratitude …  The treads of the machine cut down into his leg, chewing up his leg from just below his calf, to over the top of his ankle…(It’s the inside right leg)   When he looked down, he could literally see the blood pulsing through both of his arteries on either side of the wound…  The nurse told me this week that if those two arteries had been cut, he would have bled out pretty quickly…  One artery wouldn’t have been as bad, but my mom (who is also a nurse) said, that even a trained medical person would have had a hard time stopping the bleeding of two…  That tread that did so much damage, cut cleanly between those two arteries, it didn’t even nick one of them!

But then, as we learned later when the ER doctor gave my husband an anatomy lesson on the lower part of Zack’s leg, the bone was exposed, both ligaments over the ankle and the main tendon that runs down the front of the leg…  It missed everything that would have impacted his ability to walk!

That day, he was working on a job at my friend’s house and another friend, who is a trained nurse, stopped by…  She had had no plans to go to my friend’s house that day…  Her husband even asked her why she was going…  But in a text to me the day after it happened, she said she told her husband that “she just felt led” (that inner prompting to do something that I truly believe has a source that is greater than emotion or indigestion!)…  She knew exactly what to do to keep Zack from going into shock!

Zack is a soccer player, it’s his senior year and he had been named a captain, something he had worked hard for these last few years…  Of course that was his first thought and one of the EMT’s in the ambulance was a soccer player…  She encouraged him and she understood his heartbreak…

The nurse assigned to him was the head of the Pediatric Sedation Committee at the hospital…  She was an advocate for Zack and his treatment…  She was our angel in the ER.  The ER doctors were great in the long run, but they actually considered the possibility of cleaning out the wound and just stitching him up in the ER…  Every fiber of my being wanted to scream at them, “You’re crazy!”  But I just prayed about the wisdom to know what to fight for, when to fight and when to be quiet…  It was that wonderful nurse who was outside the room fighting for Zack…  You see, they could sedate him, but not put him to sleep in the ER…  What needed to be done to him was excruciating, he needed to be put to sleep and that’s what she fought for!

While I was desperately praying for wisdom for the doctors, a friend of mine had called her brother-in-law who is a plastic surgeon.  He drove out of his way to come to the hospital and ‘just happened’ to be there when the ER doctors gave us their treatment plan…  He was able to assure us that they were doing the right thing…  Later, he would play an important part in confirming for us that prayers had been answered…  He also said it was the dirtiest wound he had ever seen…  It was full of mud, rocks and mulch, yet there was never even a hint of infection!

We were told that because so much of the tissue had been chewed up, they would most likely put in a wound vac and in a couple of weeks do a skin graft…  In surgery the next day, the surgeon closed it…  The plastic surgeon I was just telling you about said, “The only reason they were able to close that wound is because prayers were answered.”  We went 4 weeks before we knew for certain that he wouldn’t need a graft…  4 weeks of literally watching a serious wound heal (from the inside out) before our eyes…  We have literally had the blessing of watching prayers be answered every day…

There are so many other ‘little’ things I could tell you about…  But what I hope and pray that you see is that Zack was NOT lucky…  He was blessed and he was protected…  I don’t know why God chooses to do things the way He does…  It has nothing to do with us…  And this is where faith comes in…  It has EVERYTHING to do with God’s plan, His mercy, His goodness… 

A very long time ago, in the Garden of Eden, mankind opened a door for sin and suffering and death to enter in and every day we feel the effects of that open door…  Zack got hurt that day because of the world we live in…  God wasn’t snoozing on the job…  He wasn’t punishing anyone for anything…  It’s just what happens because we live in a ‘fallen’ world…  But that day, for whatever reason, God cupped His hands around Zack and said, “This far and no further…” 

Tomorrow it could be a different story, it has been for some friends of mine lately, but even my friend whose husband was tragically killed in an accident last week, found the courage to sing these words at his funeral…  “Blessed be the name of the LORD…  He gives and takes away… My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your Name.”

God is good…  It’s not luck…  And I am grateful that I don’t live my life at the whim of an unfriendly universe… Instead, I can walk in joy and confidence because I live my life in the hand of a great and mighty God, who loves me beyond my wildest imagination and who takes trials and tragedy and turns them into triumph…  Since I can only speak for myself, I will always be grateful for how God has used this trial in our life…  And forever Zack’s leg will be a ‘remembering stone’ to all of us that God is at work in the world and miracles do still happen.

Before The Chaff Can Be Separated...

As I stood in church this past Sunday, it hit me how tired I was…  I often find myself in survival mode, doing whatever has to be done but not really living.  But I’m starting to learn that to really live, to really experience life, we have to acknowledge the good and the bad… Not just live the good and survive the bad…

So as I considered how tired I was, an image came to mind from one of my trips to Africa…  

I love this picture of the gogo (grandmother) chaffing the corn…  I love the cloud of dry, useless chaff as it blows away…  I love that the good part that’s left will nourish the children…  I love that it only takes a gentle wind to blow the chaff away…

But then something hit me…  There is so much more to that picture, something had to happen before the chaff could be separated…  It’s the part that I don’t like to think about, it’s the part where I usually find myself struggling, or at the very least, just surviving…  It’s the part where the corn has to be beaten, or threshed, so the chaff can be loosened.

So as I stood there on Sunday, I realized that that was why I’m so tired…  Physically tired, but even more so emotionally…  If you follow my blog, you know our oldest son was hurt pretty seriously a few weeks ago…  But in addition to that, there has been a multitude of small, but unusual annoyances on top of it, not even worth listing, but draining on our finances, our time and even our sleep…

However, as I reflect back over the last few weeks, I can see that God truly has been taking this threshing from life and He has been gently blowing away the worthless attitudes, beliefs and habits that weigh me down and keep me from being the person He created me to be…(I’ll share more of that over the next couple of weeks…)

As we’ve walked through these last few weeks with Zack, I’ve learned something that I think will forever change my life…  When tough things happen, I have a choice…  I can let them rob me of so much…joy and peace… my faith and trust... OR I can take back from them…  I can learn from them…  I can grow in my relationship with my Abba Father and those around me…  I can let God use them to shape me into the person He created me to be…

The bottom line is that when we submit to the ‘threshings’ of life, instead of resisting them, trying to escape from them or fighting against them, we WIN…  what is intended for evil becomes an instrument to bring about good in our lives and the lives of others and ultimately it is used for the glory of God!

A Great Perspective...

This morning I was driving Nick to school and I said, "Nick, do you realize that since we decided to go to Africa as a family next summer, the refrigerator died... Zack had a terrible accident...  my car died and now the stomach flu is making it's way through our house!"

Nick didn't miss a beat...  He looked at me and said, "I guess that means we're supposed to go!"

Now that's a perspective that makes me smile!  One thing I've learned... when you're heading down the right path, obstacles will abound!!  You can let them knock you off the path, or you can let them be some assurance that you're on the right path...

Now I realize that one could argue, "well maybe they're meant to direct you to another path..."  And I would totally agree that sometimes God does use circumstances to re-direct us...  But what I've learned over the years is that God clearly closes doors, He doesn't play guessing games with us...  Or He takes away our peace... I've never experienced Him using discouragement to lead me to another path...

Just this morning, I was reading 2 Chronicles 20...  A vast army has come against Israel and this is what God says to them in verse 17...  "You will not have to fight this battle.  Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you...  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  Go out and face them and the LORD will be with you."

And Israel went out to face the enemy's army with thanksgiving and praise! 

So I think I'll take a page from Israel's playbook!  I'm going to praise in light of all these annoyances (and a few heartaches with Zack's situation)...  And I'm going to stand firm and guard my heart against discouragement...  This is not my battle to fight and I have TOTAL confidence in the One who is fighting the battle for us!!

(Off to the doctor in a short while for the next check up for Zack's ankle... Will post an update later...  Thank you for all who have been praying!)

And My World Swayed... Literally!

Today was our first follow up visit to see the surgeon since the accident and surgery, last week.  I admit that I had some really…  no REALLY… unreasonable expectations…  I’m not sure what I thought would happen, but it didn’t quite turn out like I wanted…  you know, completely healed, stitches out, Zack playing soccer tomorrow night in the season opener…  (Well…  He is the God of the Impossible!)

But what I saw when they took bandages off pretty much rocked me to the core…  Now I really hate to tell this, but until today, I had not seen Zack’s wound…  Yes, I was in the ER with him, but I either had my eyes closed or my back turned when the doctors were examining him and trying to decide what to do.  You see, I have this sometimes very uncontrollable response to blood… gore… especially when it’s our children…  Not wanting to become the center of attention by fainting in the ER and since I couldn’t offer them any of my non-existent medical expertise, I thought the best plan of action was to keep myself where I could comfort my child (passed out on the floor would not have accomplished that!)…

But today, Scott couldn’t be there, so I knew I had to ‘man-up’ and pay attention to what the doctor had to say…  That meant I had to see what he was talking about…  And oh my goodness…  It was awful…  Part of the cut that runs up his leg is healing well, but down around the ankle…  ugh… I’ll spare you the details…  But my heart broke…

And yet, God had prepared me…  From about 4 a.m. on, I couldn’t really sleep…  I would doze and pray…  I was literally pleading for a good outcome today…  and sometime, in those early hours, that soft, gentle whisper (in my heart) came again…  “Are you just trusting Me for a good outcome in the circumstances, or are you trusting ME?” 

Ouch…  And then it all started to make sense…  God loves us so much He gave His Son for us…  THAT is a love I can trust…  Circumstances may be painful…  they may break my heart…  or my children’s heart…  BUT, if I say I trust God….  If I say He is good…  If I proclaim His love for us…  Then it can’t be dependent on the circumstances, it HAS to be dependent on who He is…

So once again, He made sure I had a place to stand…  And then He let my world rock, well, literally sway a little (talk about whoozy!)…  

I don’t know why today was so hard…  Maybe I’m tired and it’s all catching up to me…  Maybe the fog of last week is finally wearing off…  but it has been the hardest day yet… 

In perspective, it’s silly maybe…  I have my child…  I can laugh with him…  talk to him…  see him…  And he has an injury that will heal…  he’s not going to lose his foot…  or even any mobility… he’ll walk away with a dreadful scar (and as a guy, he’ll be proud of it)…  Even if it requires more treatment, it will still be ok…  But all of that rationale doesn’t change my heartache for right now…  My heart is just not getting the same message as my head…  And for a little while, that’s ok…  But I don’t want to wallow here…

Because the truth is…  the place I chose to stand on is this…  I have an Abba Father who loves me and my family more than I can imagine…  I have years of ‘remembering stones’ where He has shown Himself faithful over and over…  I have story after story of where He took brokenness… heartache… sadness… and literally brought beauty from the ashes…

Great is His faithfulness… His mercies are new every morning…  Tomorrow is a new day!

A Sure Place To Stand... Lessons From Zack's Injury

I’m not sure why I feel led to write this post…  Honestly, I’ve been resisting it for the last couple of days.  I’ve started it and stopped several times, but since I can’t get it out of my heart, I’ll just give in…

Over the summer, I led a small book discussion group using One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp.  It is a wonderful book and God used it in such a sweet way through the early moments of Zack’s injury.  He literally used it to give us a place to stand in the storm…

When I first arrived at the ER, I had no idea what state I would find Zack in…  I knew by then that there had been very little blood loss, so I really felt like his life was not in danger, but I had no idea what state his leg was in…  And I admit, one my greatest heartaches was thinking he had lost his senior soccer season. 

I guess to some that might seem petty or small compared to the damage that could have been done to his foot.  But I knew how Zack had been looking forward to this since his junior season ended.  And not just Zack, but me too…  Soccer has always been one of our special places of connection…  Scott has given me the blessing of taking him to most of his weekend tournaments…  I take tons of photographs…  It’s just been something special we’ve shared.  I was looking forward to savoring every second of every game and now it looked like it was being ripped away…

Not long after I arrived at the hospital, Scott went out to the waiting room to make a few phone calls… So it was just Zack and I…  Zack looked at me and said, “Well, I guess any hope of making all conference is gone…”  I could feel the tears coming so I turned my back and pretended to do something at my purse to regain my composure…  And at that point, it wasn't just soccer I was worried about...  At that point, we only knew what had happened and what the wound looked like...  In our logical minds, we couldn't see how there could be anything but broken bones and shredded ligaments and tendons...  My heart was breaking over soccer...  but even more, my heart was breaking over what this might mean to a 17 year old foot that has a lot of years to go... 

And that’s when I heard a soft whisper in my heart…  Just a few days before, our book group had finished One Thousand Gifts and one of the parts that made such an impression on me was when she wrote, “What if I opened the clenched hands wide to receive all that is?  A life that receives all of God in this moment?”

The quiet voice asked, “Will you receive this with open hands?”  Every fiber of my being wanted to scream “NOOOOOOOO!”  But in the depths of my soul, I could imagine my hands opening and then peace flooded into the heartache…

I turned back to Zack and I said, “You know the book I just finished with the book club?...”  But then the tears came again and I thought twice about what I was about to say…  Would it sound trite?  Would he feel like I was minimizing his heart ache?  And then he said, “Mom, it’s ok…  what were you going to say?”

I don’t know where the words came from…  they weren’t mine… I didn’t even fully understand them when I spoke them…  The Bible says that God will give us our words when we don’t know what to say…  That is my only explanation…

So I told him about opening our hands to receive this…  I told him about the author’s reminder of Romans 8:32…  “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?”  She goes on…  “He gave us Jesus!  Gave Him up for us all.  If we have only one memory, isn’t this one enough?  If God didn’t withhold from us His very own Son, will God withhold anything we need?”

“Zack, I don’t understand why this happened…  It doesn’t take away the grief…  the disappointment…  the sadness…  but that gives us a place to stand in the midst of it all…  We can look at what He did for us when He let Jesus die on the cross and we can trust Him…”

Somehow it doesn’t seem right to share his thoughts at this point, but I was blown away by his ability to look beyond his heartache and see a bigger picture…  He understands that in every situation, eternity is what hangs in the balance…

But it’s only been in the days that have followed that I’ve really begun to understand what I said to him…

The grief over his season has hit me hard…  I know that it’s not lost…  That there’s a good possibility that he’ll get more than half of it in…  But I’m a selfish woman and I wanted it all (how’s that for honest)…  I wanted to suck the life out of every moment…  And I can tell you for certain that Zack did too…

I took some laundry out of the dryer yesterday that was a leftover from before the accident and as I folded it, I realized that it had his soccer jerseys in it…  I’ve never had such a hard time folding 2 shirts in all my life…

But in the midst of the storm…  I have a place to stand…   No matter how much it hurts…  No matter how the emotions batter my soul…  I can experience them all because God did not withhold His very own Son from me…from us…  There is no bigger picture of His love… And there is no greater assurance that I can put all of our hopes and dreams safely into His Son’s nail scarred hands…

Years ago, Scott and I were in a store and saw the amazing photograph by Jean Guichard that I put at the beginning of the post…  I have never forgotten it…  The storm that is raging around the man is CRAZY...  yet he stands with such peace and confidence because he is certain of where he is standing...  That photo left an imprint on my heart because it is such a picture of how I long to live when storms hit...  And it is a picture of who Christ can be for us when we find refuge in Him…  Are you certain of where you're standing?

(Zack is doing so much better...  no real pain...  sleeping and eating better...  Now we're all just waiting and praying for Monday when we see the surgeon and find out if the wound is healing...  if you've been praying, thank you...  Would you keep praying for him that God will supernaturally heal the wound and that a skin graft will not be necessary?  Thank you, thank you!!)

Catapulted...

So how do I begin to tell a story that I feel like I got dropped… really catapulted… into the middle of? It wouldn’t have been story that I would have chosen, had I been given a choice… And yet, I wouldn’t ask to come out of it now (Zack might want to smack me for that one… you’ll understand why in a minute)…

On the surface, it seems like it began yesterday around 1 p.m…. But as I look back on provision after provision, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, it started well before it seemed…

Sometime after 1 yesterday, my cell phone rang… it was the call that every mother dreads, “Sharla, Zack has been in accident.” I know my friend tried to reassure me, but I could tell by the sound of her voice that this wasn’t the usual, ‘go to the hospital and get an x-ray’ kind of accident… Perhaps her words, “the ambulance is on the way” was the obvious give away!

From there she handed the phone to Zack so he could reassure me… “Mom, the bobcat (a 1300 pound piece of landscaping equipment) ran over my foot. I don’t think it’s broken, but I can see bone.”

It’s amazing the number of thoughts that can run through your head in a matter of nanoseconds… Utter confusion… (How does my friend D know? Oh yeah… Zack is on a landscaping job at her house...) Frustration at the utter confusion (Ambulance…why is there an ambulance coming?) Relief… (It’s not broken… how bad can it be?) More confusion… (Bone…. How can you see bone? Ambulance? I’m still not getting the ambulance…) Understanding… (It’s cut really bad…) Sheer terror (How do I get to my child?) Despair (So much of what he’s…truthfully, what we’ve… looked forward to his senior year of high school soccer… co-captain with one of his closest friends… a swirl going down the drain)…

Calls to Scott… where to take him… calls to church… please pray… calls to friends to pray… to work out the logistics of caring for 3 other children… Fear… a band around my insides until one of our pastors prays with me and then peace… sweet peace that passes all understanding… calm in the middle of a storm that I have no idea how big it will be…

I finally make it to the hospital… to Zack… and then I stand back and watch the hand of God… It really started at my friend’s house where the accident happened…

The accident… Zack was at his landscaping job… He realized the bobcat he was operating was in the way of the man he works for (incredible guy… we’ve been so blessed to have Zack and Nick work for him this summer)… He started to back up with it and forgot that a pallet was behind him… he tripped and fell… the bobcat ran up his right leg… a 1300 pound piece of equipment on his leg… somehow he pushed it off… the body is an amazing thing… he didn’t even know he was hurt… he stood up, turned off the bobcat… looked down and realized that he was in trouble… I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that he could see everything on the inside of his right leg from his ankle to about 5 inches up…

Another friend of ours was visiting at the house… I learned today that she went simply because she felt led to go… Even her husband asked her why she was going… She’s a trained nurse… she knew exactly what to do to prevent shock… she took care of him until the ambulance arrived…

Having no clue how serious this was, we asked to have him taken to our local hospital… The EMTs in their great wisdom overrode us and took him to a trauma center downtown…

And ever since that moment, we have spent the last 32+ hours in awe of our great God… 1300 pounds on a leg and not even a cracked bone… a horrible wound that gouged out flesh yet went between 2 ligaments that attach to the ankle… tendons… and cleanly between 2 blood vessels… I don’t even want to think what that could have meant…

The next hours were filled with an amazing nurse who clearly had been given a heart for Zack… She advocated for him… she reassured us… she didn’t just do her job, she served us in such sweet ways… I will never forget what she did for us… There were desperate prayers for wisdom for the doctors, especially when every fiber of my being said that one of their options for treatment was not the right one…

And then a gift… another friend called her brother-in-law who is a plastic surgeon… he agreed to stop by when he finished rounds… he looked at Zack’s wound and just as he started to talk to us, the ER doctor came in to tell us the plan… Dr. B stayed and listened to it all… After the ER doctor left, he confirmed that they had come up with the right plan, the plan he would want if it was his leg… Peace… sweet peace… No… I absolutely DON’T believe in coincidence!!

In the midst of the storm… friends… our church body being the body in the most amazing way… prayers… phone calls… visits… texts… e-mails… I can’t even begin to tell you how all of them have touched us and been the tangible comfort and strength of God through it all…

They did a preliminary cleaning of his wound in the ER and then surgery was planned for today… A sleepless night… but then I have to say that anything that drives you to God’s throne of grace isn’t all bad…

I admit, while I prayed for the impossible, closing the wound with no skin graft… I didn’t really think it was realistic to hope for… But I still prayed… A very wise ministry leader told my dear friend, not too long ago… “Something won’t NOT happen, because I didn’t ask for it…” So I asked (and so did a WHOLE lot of others! Thank you!!)…

And at 9:00 a.m…. just 40 minutes after surgery began… his surgeon came out and said, “we’re done…I was able to close it completely.” The God of the impossible, did the impossible!

Zack will miss some of his soccer season, but not all… In another post, I’ll tell you about a really sweet conversation with him, in the midst of this crazy storm… I’ve never been more proud… I’ve never forgotten what a friend of mine quoted from her husband, “People are like toothpaste, you don’t really know what’s inside until they get squeezed.” Zack got squeezed… We saw his heart and his character… We love the Christ in him that we see growing…

More in the next day or so…  I'll leave you with one of my favorite Max Lucado quotes, from the Great House of God...

"When somone speaks, Jesus hears...  When Jesus hears, thunder falls...  When thunder falls, the world is changed...  All because someone prayed."

I don't understand how prayer works...  or why God chooses to use our prayers...  But I know He does...  I've seen it and experienced it with my own heart and my own eyes!  And I've never been so thankful!

A Reason To Praise!!

As I look at the world around me, there is some really hard stuff going on right now...  Japan is at the top of that list...  My heart just breaks for what the people of that nation are having to live through, especially in the areas hit hardest by the tsunami...  but as I watch news reports, my heart also aches for the people of Li*b*ya...  To live in fear under such an oppressive, evil regime...  To fight with all you have to be set free...  I can't imagine a day to day life like that...

And yet (and this is not where I had planned to go with this blog, but wow... what a parallel!!)...  That is such a picture of the spiritual regime that the world is under, apart from Christ!!  There is a very real enemy who oppresses...  enslaves... seeks to kill and destroy...  and people will fight him a million different ways to try and escape...  food, alcohol, shopping, promiscuity, pornography, even tv...  But here's the thing...  Just like the re*bels fighting in L*ya...  On our own, we just don't have the weapons to win...  But all is not lost, with Jesus, victory is already won...  It may not look like it some days... maybe alot of days...  But we have got to learn to live in the truth of what's already been accomplished on the cross!!  Jesus WON!!  We He arose on the 3rd day, He defeated sin and death, once and for all!!  Now that's a reason to praise...

But I had another reason this morning too...  It's where I originally planned to go with this post... I read Psalm 100...

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God.  It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.  For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

What an awesome Psalm...  Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we belong to God!!  We are His people...  His treasured possession!!  No matter what is happening in our lives, we can still praise Him because we can trust His faithfulness and His love!!

When I think about our Great and Mighty God, comparing Himself to a shepherd...  WOW... a dirty, nasty job... yet the shepherd loved his sheep... he would do whatever he could for them... and that's the image that God gives us of Himself...  AMAZING!!

I know life can be so hard, but keep your eyes on THE Shepherd... He loves you beyond anything you can imagine... He is faithful, no matter what the circumstances might look like...  and He is victorious!!  He paid with His life to buy us back from the enemy...  What more reason do we need to praise!!

Have a GREAT weekend...

So What About?

The Psalm I read this morning was Psalm 145, verses 13-18...  I admit I struggled a little when I first read it...  Here's how my thought process went... (My thoughts are in parenthesis)...

"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations.  The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made." (Ok... but what about the people in Africa?  Do they feel loved?)

"The LORD upholds those who fall down and lifts up all who are bowed down."  (Definitely know the truth of that!!)

"The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time."  (Ok, I believe that ALL of the Bible is true, but I'm struggling with this one...  Not everyone has food...  Many die every day from starvation...  How do I make this work in my head?)

"You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing."  (Still struggling, some just desire food and water...  You're definitely Enough for all my needs...but what about the hunger thing?)

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made.  The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth."  (I get loving everyday...but I'm not hungry...do hungry people get it?)

So there's a very real and honest look at what was happening in my head and heart...  But here's what God reminded me of...

For whatever reason, God has CHOSEN to use the church to be His hands and feet to the world, at this time.  He doesn't need to do that...  Just look in the Old Testament... He made manna and quail rain down from heaven and He fed the Israelites as they wandered in the desert...  He told Moses to strike a rock and water flowed from a rock...  God is perfectly capable of providing, all by Himself.

But that is not how He has chosen to do it...  He has given US the BLESSING of being His hands and feet...  I remember the first time I gave a man a grocery card on the side of the road...  I got a little ways down the road and had to pull over because I was crying so hard...  I was COMPLETELY overwhelmed at the blessing and privilege of getting to help someone in need! 

And yet, I live like I think that getting a new sweater or a new pair of shoes is an even greater blessing...  But it's NOT...  New anything has NEVER once blessed my soul like helping someone else

So, is Scripture wrong?  NO!!  Is God falling down on His job?  NOOOOO!!  We (the church) are the ones who are misrepresenting our Great and Glorious God to the world!  Too many of us (like me) have bought into the lie that stuff will bless us and bring us happiness...  but that's what it is...  a lie! 

There is no greater blessing than having the opportunity to show God off... to proclaim His greatness... His provision...  His generosity...  to someone in need!

Scripture is true about God...  it is the responsibility of the church to make sure the world sees and knows that!!

Lingering Thougts From The Mats...

So three days have passed and I can't stop thinking about Nick as he fought off getting pinned by his opponent on Saturday night...

It's made me ask myself... Do I ever resist the enemy of temptation in the same way he resisted getting pinned by his opponent?  Do I want victory over sin so badly that I'm willing to fight, no matter how much it requires of me?

The lures of this world are SO easy to say 'yes' to... It is so much easier to give in to them than it is to fight them off...

I so want my life to mirror what I saw as Nick resisted his opponent on the mat...  And I want to win... Jesus gave His life so that I could know victory on the "mats" of temptation...  So I truly need to resist temptation with all that is within me...

The battle is over... the victory has been won... it's time for me to live like it, every day...  in every moment!!

Lessons From The Mats

It seems that Nick has found his sport...  wrestling!  He tried it a couple of years ago and didn't really like it, but a couple of his friends convinced him to try again last spring and he really loves it.  He started wrestling in matches at the end of January and I'm amazed at his progress...  He just keeps getting better and better!

I love watching Nick wrestle (that took a few matches to get to the place where I could honestly say that, it just looks SO painful)...  I don't think I've ever seen such determination and perseverance...  Last night he wrestled in the state AAU tournament and he was wrestling the guy who ended up winning first place...  The other guy was good, he was pinning everyone he wrestled with seeming ease...   And then he came up against Nick...  Nick took the early lead in points 5-1 and the kid didn't like it...

Somewhere along the way, the kid discovered a weak point for Nick, his left shoulder and from then on it was painful to watch...  He would take his head and grind it into Nick's shoulder and pull back on his arm.  Actually, I'm stunned that the move is legal, but it is and this kid was out to win, even if meant inflicting injury.  Twice, the ref had to stop the match so the kid wouldn't hurt him too seriously and at one point I really thought Nick was seriously hurt...  When Nick acts hurt, he is hurt...  He has a pain tolerance that blows me away...

But after a couple of minutes, Nick wanted to continue...  They ended up in overtime and Nick lost 9-8...  But I was so proud of him...  He fought so hard...

As he sat and waited for his last match, he looked at me and said, "I really don't want to wrestle again, I am so sore, but I'm going to see this thing through."  As his mom, I wanted to tell him to stop...  not to risk further injury...  but something in me told me to be quiet...  that this was important and as painful as it might be to watch, I needed to let him choose his course.

His last match started and as the end of the first round came close, his opponent got him on the floor, so close to pinning him (both shoulders have to be touching the mat for it to be a pin)...  But in spite of the pain, Nick fought and he fought hard... We watched him arch his back, push with his legs, twist and turn...  fighting to keep one shoulder off the mat and he managed to do that for a good 15 seconds...  I've never seen such fight and determination...  It was SO hard for a mom to watch...

The first period ended and the score was 5-1, that's really difficult to come back from in a match like this...  But before we knew it, Nick had his opponent on the mat fighting to pin him...  For a good 15 seconds Nick fought hard to get both of his opponent's shoulders on the mat and finally that beautiful sound of the ref's hand slapping the mat...  Nick had done it!!  He won and finished 3rd at his first ever AAU tournament!! 

As I've reflected on last night's match, a couple of things have hit me...

The first was about the wrestler who won first place...  Now let me say clearly, I am not in any way comparing this kid to the devil (although I probably felt differently last night)...  But there is such a parallel here...  The kid found Nick's weak spot and went after it...  Over and over and over...  His intent was to win, no matter what the cost was and that's exactly how the enemy comes after us...

He finds our weak spot and he goes after it...  Whether it's a tendency to gossip...  Be insecure...  Overeat... Drink too much...  Overspend...  The enemy goes after it over and over until he finally breaks us...

So what to do...  Well, one of the other dads who was watching Nick told him, "keep your elbows in, you're giving your opponent the opportunity to thread his arms through and pull your arm."  Sure, Nick needs to work to make that shoulder stronger, but even more importantly is learning how to protect it so the enemy (oops...I mean opponent) can't take advantage of it...

And that's exactly what we need to do...  we need to come up with strategies to keep the enemy from getting a hold on our weaknesses and exploiting them and causing damage to our hearts and souls...  Whatever it is, there are things we can do to protect those weaknesses...

But there's something else that hit me about last night...  As Nick wrestled his opponents, especially that last one, there was a group of us cheering him on with all our might...  We were shouting for him to fight...  to pin him...  some of the dads who know wrestling were shouting for him to keep his head up...  There was encouragement...  There was counsel and advice...  But we all wanted him to win...  It's almost as if we were willing our strength into him and when he won...  WOW...  a cheer went up, we were so excited for him!  It was so much fun to watch one of his teammate's dads who was coaching him... he was SO excited!!

And that's how it should be as a family of believers...  We should be cheering each other on to victory...  sometimes it with words of encouragement... sometimes advice and wise counsel...  sometimes a gentle reproof...  but their fights should become our fights...  their defeats should feel like our defeats...  and we should celebrate their victories like they were ours...

Because I believe that that's exactly what happens in heaven...  Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us..."

When we come alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ and cheer them on through life's battles, it's as if we are pulling back the veil and giving them and the world around them, a glimpse of heaven.  I am so appreciative of the families and coaches who are loving our son so well with their encouragement...  they are cheering him on to run his race well... on and off the mats!

Let's find someone we can cheer on every day and bring a little heaven to earth...

Our One True Hope...

So it's Day 3 of my new devotion...  I didn't set out intending to write every day, and I'm still not quite ready to make that commitment, but we'll see where this goes... (Warning... this one is a little heavy, but it's what is on my heart this morning...)

Today the Psalm is Psalm 130...  When I first read it, it didn't hit me...  So I slowed down and read it again, and again, and then again...  I started to put myself in the shoes of the writer...  What was he feeling?  Had I ever felt that before?  And that's when I really started to get this Psalm...

In verse 1, the writer says, "Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD..."  Out of the depths...  I've been there before, it's a wretched place to be, but sadly I can't say my first response is always to cry out to God...  Usually I go looking for relief at the mall, or in a movie, or too often, a bag of M&M's...

Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result...  I guess by his definition, I must be a little insane, because more often than not, when I find myself, even on the ledges just above the depths, I try too many other places before I cry out to God...

Now I'm thinking that the writer is suffering because of some sin because he talks about sin in verses 3 & 8...  But again, it prompts me to ask, does my own sin ever burden me like it is the writer?  Or am I too busy trying to escape it that I don't really notice...

But here's what I love about the Psalm...  Instead of running to all the other places he could run to for relief, he just waits for God, knowing that the only true relief will come from Him...  He writes, "I wait for the LORD (Yahweh...  the biggest name for God, representing ALL His glory and greatness)...  my soul waits..."  Don't you just sense this longing in him...  "In His Word, I put my hope..."  He's not trying to escape his pain, he's just waiting for God to show up and redeem his pain...

He says again, "My soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning..."  That's some pretty serious waiting and watching...  I've never been a watchmen, but I can imagine that darkness was a really scary time for them...  And think about this...  The watchmen waited for the morning because they were CERTAIN that it would come!!

And that's what the author of this Psalm gets...  He can wait for God to show up because he is just as certain that God is coming as he is certain that the morning will come after the dark!!

And here's why...  "O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption.  He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins."

He waits on the LORD, in the midst of his deepest suffering because he KNOWS...  Beyond a shadow of a doubt...  that God will show up because of His GREAT love!!  And that great love will bring full...  complete... redemption where NOTHING is lacking!!  And God Himself does it!!  He reaches down into the pit of our life... the muck of our mess and lifts us out...  If we just wait for Him!

Nothing will EVER bring such satisfying relief, such complete redemption as God Himself...  I don't know about you, but I think it's time for me, no matter what's causing me to feel like I'm in the depths, to stop this insanity and run to Him!

Have a GREAT day...

Mind Blowing...

So it's Day 2 and the reading is Psalm 34...  I don't know what it is about Mr. Giglio's method that he teaches, but it's getting me to slow down and really consider things I've never considered before...  Here's what hit me this morning...

Verses 4-8...  "I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.  This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles.  The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.  Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."

Now remember, we're talking about GOD...  Sovereign Creator of the Universe...  THE One who holds all things in place...  The One (from yesterday) who is so BIG that He can gather the sea into a jar...  Consider what this Psalm teaches us about Him.

HE is available and HE answers us...  HE delivers us (personally) delivers us from our fears...  HE is our source of joy...  HE hears us when we call...  HE saves us...  HE sends a messenger to watch over us...  HE is our refuge...

To think about our Sovereign, Mighty, Holy God being so intimately involved in my little life that is just a blip on the radar of eternity, just blows my mind...  I can completely understand why David wrote in Psalm 8:4, "What is mankind that You are mindful of them?  Human beings that You care for them?"

I'm looking forward to chewing on this one all day!!  Have a great day!

Just Wow!!

I started a new devotional this morning...  Louie Giglio has a book for students called (well, I'm not sure what to call it...)  One side is called, "Wired For a Life of Worship..."  but you flip it over and upside down and it's called "30 Day Worship Journey."  It is the coolest book!  It's all about how we're 'wired' to worship God and the Journey part is all about learning to know and praise God through His word...

The first Psalm that you meditate on is Psalm 33...  And here's what made me go WOW...  Verse 7 says, "He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses."

Now I'm a sissy, but the ocean terrifies me...  I don't like to swim in it and I am filled with dread when I have to fly over it, like on the trips to Africa...  I hate that moment when you realize you're no longer over land and it's just a black sea of water and creatures below you, my insides shrivel up and I just have to pray or be overcome by anxiety.

But this verse tells me that God is so BIG...  so MIGHTY...  He can put the sea into jars!  Now think about your grandmother's mason jar for a minute...  The sea, that overwhelms and terrifies me is nothing to God!!  And the deep, the places that we can't even imagine, He can scoop them up into a little old storehouse!

It just makes me ask myself the question...  Why do I fear anything?  I am a beloved daughter of this Great God who can put the sea into a mason jar!!  He bought me with a very high price, His precious Son Jesus, and as Paul so perfectly writes in Romans 8:31, "if God is for us, who can be against us?"  That verse takes on a whole new meaning when I consider it in light of the mighty power of God!!

He is truly an AWESOME God... I can't wait to see what the rest of this 30 day journey holds...  The sea in a mason jar...  Just WOW!!

She Loves To Be Loved...

Something struck as I laughed at Abby running to beat me to get Scott's first hug this evening, when he came home from work...  She loves to be loved!!

Makes me think about my Heavenly Father... Do I love to be loved by Him?  Do I soak in it?  Do I relish it like Abby?  Do I run to spend time with Him?  Do I overflow with joy like she does?  Simply because I'm loved?

I want to be like Abby!!

A Sweet Valentine's Day!!

Today was a REALLY special day... It started with my wonderful husband surprising me with lunch and flowers...  He came home from work with one of my favorite treats...  Summer sausage and cheese, flowers and a really special card!

Then, this evening we (Scott and I, with Mackenzie and Abby and our good friend's daughter, K) went down and served dinner to the men at one of the rehab facilities in our city...  I've written about it before, but essentially they are a facility for men who are fighting addictions. 

This was the first time we took Abby and Mackenzie and I admit, I was a little unsure...  They both tend to be shy in new situations and I had no idea how they would respond in this one.  So yesterday, when I was explaining to them what we were going to do, I said, "Abby, remember how I told you that you are SO special that God sent us all the way across the world so you could know Him?  Well, He thinks these men are SO special that He wants us to go serve them dinner so He can show them how much He loves them!" 

That was all it took...  They were AMAZING tonight...  They smiled...  they served them dessert and interacted with them and as we finished serving dinner, I have never been so proud!  I looked over and all of the girls (another family was there with their teenage daughter) had gone over and sat down with one of the men that was sitting by himself.

They talked to him, they listened to his stories and it's clear that they were deeply affected by all he had been through...  They've already asked when we can go back!

I wrote once about Africa that it is so hard to leave because the spirit of God is almost tangible...  That's because I believe that God always shows up where people are desperate for Him... 

Well, I realized tonight that His Spirit is just as tangible in an American city in a dining room with 100+ broken men... It's evident in the people who are there to volunteer... It's evident in the employees...  Tonight, it was evident in an 8 year old girl, who God brought across the world, to show these men just how much He loves them!  Once again, I learned that God shows up in the places where people are most desperate for Him!

I can't think of any greater privilege or blessing than GETTING to show God's love on Valentine's day!  Like the girls, I CAN'T wait to go back!

If I REALLY Got It....

A question has been on my heart alot lately... I mean ALOT...  Like, no matter how much I try to escape it, it just won't go away!


I've been wondering, if I really got... I mean really, REALLY got, how BIG...how HUGE...  how HOLY... our God is...  would my life look any different?

Somehow I think it would! 

A GREAT Quote!!

I am SO loving this journey through the Psalms and learning more about God, but also about how the men and women of the Old Testament related to and experienced God!

As I've been reading the Psalms, I've also been reading an incredible devotional by Warren Wiersbe*...  This morning I read Psalm 44 and I read a quote in Wiersbe's book that I just had to post for everyone who is going through a hard time of waiting...

He said, "He always waits to do His will at a time when it will do us the most good and bring Him the most glory.  (Now for the part I REALLY love...)  The delays of God are not denials."

Let me write that again...  "The delays of God are not denials."  Denials of us or our circumstances...  I think too often when God seems silent, we are like the writer of the Psalm...  We think God has rejected us...  Forgotten us...  Or just gone to sleep on us...

But none of that is true...  Just look at the cross...  He gave His ONLY Son to die for us...  EVERYTHING He does is for our good and His glory...  We can trust that, even when our circumstances and our feelings seem to be telling us something different!

Whatever you're going through right now...  CLING to cross and the UNFATHOMABLE love of God...  He hears your prayers...  He loves you beyond your wildest imagination...  And He will answer in His time!

Remember...  Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that FAR outweighs them all!  (1 Corinthians 4:17)...  Have a blessed weekend!

*Devotion by Warren Wiersbe is "Prayer, Praise & Promises, A Daily Walk Through The Psalms."  It's out of print, but you can still find it from re-sellers...