The Second Chance Geranium

Through my living room window, I can see a potted geranium plant out on my patio. A few weeks ago it was in dire straights, literally.

Having survived the winter, I had neglected it all spring due to my recent surgery. It was alive still, but just barely. The dirt was dry from lack of water, the blooms that once was vibrant hung pitifully; faded and shriveled. The stems and leaves were dried up as well (as if embarrassed), with only a few green leaves and visible signs of life remaining. I thought, "What the Heck, I should probably just toss this old thing in the garbage and put it out of it's misery." But instead, I decided to give it a second chance.

I clipped away all the shrivelled, faded blooms, then started cutting away all the dried leaves and stems. By the time I was finished there wasn't much left. Then I watered it, and gave it some plant food, and waited. Each day I patiently made sure the soil had enough water to sustain it. Then I waited & crossed my fingers.

Today when I look out my window I now see one big beautiful red geranium bloom rising proudly above a now green, healthy and beautiful plant. Small miracles happen every day if we are willing to open our eyes to them.

I realize that I too, have been like that geranium plant that has survived a hard winter; (barely).  I have felt dried up, & have lost all my color. I have stopped blooming. I have been in a desert place of a different kind; (divorce, illness, fatigue, fear, anxiety). My soul parched and dry, my spirit shriveled away to nothing.

But God looks at me in my sad, dire condition, and sees hope in me. First, even though it is a painful process, he starts pruning away what is no longer useful in my life. I understand that even though it hurts it is for my good. Next he waters my parched soul with his holy spirit and my thirst is quenched. Finally he allows the glory of his son (sunlight) to bathe my spirit with healing rays of hope, renewing my faith, for a brighter tomorrow. And I, like the the red geranium on my patio, I will bloom again. Under the tender care of the master gardener have been given a second chance.

Let Go....Go On

 I recently came across a Mary Engelbreit card I purchased years ago because I loved the saying as well as the picture. it shows A girl taking great steps forward, with a branch in hand as a walking stick, and a opened suitcase trailing behind her with an assortment of personal items falling out of it.  What I like most about it is the caption: LET GO....GO ON.

There comes a time in all of our lives when we come to a point when we have a choice: hold on to the past (or even a current undesirable situation) or let go and go on. Wowzie! Sometimes just the thought of letting go of the familiar (even though it may be painful or toxic to us), paralyzes us into remaining rooted firmly in place because even as painful as it is, it has become a sort of comfort zone for us.  Fear grips us, holding us from going forward. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being alone, fear of the unknown. Whatever it is that is that is keeping you from going forward becomes like quicksand; first by gripping our feet, but then eventually swallowing up our entire body so that we become immobile, helpless to go anywhere. I know, I've been there myself.

During the past two weeks following my recent divorce (which I finally had the courage to have finalized) I have seen the above phrase no less than three times.

Coincidence? I don't think so. I believe that when we finally take the leap faith to LET GO and GO ON, there will be road signs confirming we have made a step forward in the right direction. Sometimes we don't even know what direction that is~ we are just taking one step at a time, one day at a time and just moving forward to whatever God has planned for us. I read a quote the other day that said: "God will direct our paths, but we have to be willing to pick up our feet and take the first step. 

What are YOU currently facing today? What specifically is holding YOU back?
Be Brave. Be Strong. Be Courageous. Be Fearless. Most importantly;
 LET Go and Go On. Move forward and don't look back.

Blessings to you and your journey wherever it takes you! :)

Blessed Assurance

The song "Blessed Assurance" has been a part of my life for a long time. As a child I remember singing it in church, as a young adult it meant a lot to me as well,l but not until 1987 did the words take on a new depth of meaning for me. you see, it was one of the songs I sang at my mother's bedside in the hospital, as she lay dying of cancer. As I held my mother's hand and she took her final breath, I believe God gave her and me the sweet blessed assurance that everything was going to be OK. And it was. Sure it was hard to let her go, I grieved as a young mother of two young children of all the events she wouldn't be a part of my life of anymore. And to make it even more difficult, my mother's mom had passed away just two weeks previous to my mother's death. The sense of loss was overwhelming, and yet underneath the pain and sorrow that we as humans face with our earthly emotions, there was an underlying peace and sweet blessed assurance that some day I would meet them both again in Heaven.

So the other day some twenty odd years later, I woke up with the words to that song in my mind. It means as much to me now as ever, but I paused to slow down and really listen and to think about the words.

"Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine.......

Now that right there lets me know that no matter what circumstances I am going through today, I need to stop and accept the fact that Jesus is mine.
He is my Savior, he is my Redeemer, my friend. Most importantly of all is that whatever is facing me today, I can rest in the peace and sweet blessed assurance that he is right here with me holding my hand through it all.

Oh what a foretaste of glory divine..........

Now to me that means that whatever joy or happiness we have here on planet earth is just an appetizer for the wondrous joy that yet awaits us. Eyes have not seen, nor ears have heard the wonderful things, the glorious things that God has prepared for his children. We are just allowed a foretaste, a glimpse of the marvelous joy that is waiting for us in Heaven.

Heir of salvation, purchased of God, born of his spirit, washed in his blood.

This is my heritage. My entitlement to this blessed assurance has been already bought with Christ's death on the cross, paid in full by his precious
blood.

This is MY Story this is MY Song, praising my Saviour all the day long.

This means that this is personal to me. It is the story of My redemption, and because I've been redeemed, it is my song of praise, praising my saviour all day and everyday for what he has done for me. Hallelujah!
 It is also the story of my life; the joy, the pain, the heartache, the loss the difficulties, the trials, the sorrows.

Some people feel that we as Christians should never experience pain, sorrow or difficulties. I know that we were never promised that life would be a "Rose Garden:" I know that life is not fair. I know that it rains on the just and the unjust. I know that as long as I am clothed in this earthly, fleshly body, I will be subject to the emotions and experiences that we as humans experience. Our Savior knows first hand these pains and sorrows as well when he experienced heart wrenching pain and grief while here on earth.

And so beloved, we are given a gift; this blessed sweet assurance that when we have to walk through the fire of trials on this earth, that we are never truly alone. Our Savior is right there walking aside us reaching out to hold our hand through the most difficult times.

"Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine"..................................

What God Requires

Last night I began a bible study written by Beth Moore. Every time I read her books or watch her on DVD, I am totally amazed and blown away at how gifted she is. The way she writes, her ability to speak to an audience, the way it seems like she can identify with so many christian women and their struggles today. 

So this morning when I got up I was thinking; I have such a yearning, burning desire to write! Then the second thought; "well what can I write about?" My next thought was; "oh why can't I write like Beth Moore?" Can you see where this was going? All of a sudden what started out as a simple desire to write, escalated into a pity party because I'm not as talented as Beth Moore.

Well, the Holy Spirit immediately convicted me and I felt God speak clearly to me and say; "because, I did not CALL YOU to be Beth Moore."

Ouch! OK, God, point taken. God showed me that he didn't call me to be Beth Moore, or Oprah, or Sandi Patty, or anybody else.
God called me to be me and only me!

He instilled in me the gifts that I have to glorify him, to serve him, and him alone. He created me uniquely, he made me an original; by his divine specifications, he formed me into his child with the skills and talents he determined me to have. He also allows situations into my life that help me learn how to grow stronger in him. These experiences are sometimes the turning points in my life that later become my personal testimony to God's miraculous and mighty power.

What God requires of me is only to be the best me possible! To love him, to worship him, to serve him with my whole heart and to use my gifts and talents to honor him and bless others. I don't have to compare myself with anybody else, no matter how beautiful or talented they are.

God just requires (or rather desires) me to be just ME!

And so I am reminded once more of these words:

"I have great worth apart from my performance because Christ gave his life for me, and therefore, imparted great value to me.
I am deeply loved, fully pleasing, totally forgiven, accepted and complete in Christ."

Since I tend to be a little stubborn and bull headed, I'm sure God will continue to allow situations and circumstances to occur in my life until I can finally learn this powerful and truthful lesson.

God simply requires me to be me.....it is enough.

A Prayer for today

Dear God,

Open my mind, soften my heart; mold me and make me pliable.

Help me come to a state of surrendering to your will.

Let me feel your presence, let me honor and respect your holiness, your awesomeness.

May I rest in the assurance that you are guiding me, directing my steps; that you are in control and that all is well.

May I search my heart and seek forgiveness for any thought, action or deed, that is not pleasing to you.

May I lay any concerns, worries or fears at your feet; trusting that you will take care of any and all of my needs.

May I feel compassion for others and pray for their needs as well as mine.

May I find areas to serve you and to reflect your love to all I meet.

May I resist all thoughts of resistance, judgement, unforgiveness, and fear; taking captive any negative thoughts and surrendering them to you.

May I feel your peace, hope and love in my life every day.

May I be grateful for the blessings that you bestow upon me and thankful for all situations, recognizing and learning the lessons that you are trying to teach me.

Let me recognize your truth in all things.

Help me oh God, to live the wonderful, awesome, abundant life that you have planned for me.

Amen

Priming the well

When I was growing up, we were poor. I had to go outside in all kinds of weather and pump water from a well, carry it back inside the house and then heat it up on a space heater. This was in the late sixties/early seventies and not too many of my friends lived in such dire conditions.

Now, before you could even get a drop of water out of the well, you had to prime it. This meant forcing the pump handle up and down continuously for some time until the force propelled the water up and out of the pump. This was called "priming". You couldn't just go to the pump and pump the handle one time and expect a stream of water to start gushing forth. No, it always took time, effort, and strength to manually force the water to come up into  and out of the pump.

And so, life is the same. Sometimes we want "instant" everything. Answers to life's questions, solutions to the problems at hand. Although we live in a world of instant gratification, sometimes it's just not that simple. Sometimes the water in the well is far from the surface and takes a lot of so called "priming."
I don't necessarily enjoy "priming the well", but lately things seem to be requiring a lot more effort on my part to get the end result.

I have been doing a lot of "priming the well" lately. Searching for the refreshing coolness of water when my soul and spirit is parched and dry. I know it will eventually come and so I wait; and I keep on "priming the well".

Slings and splints and things

Ok, I have come to the realization that splints and slings do not make great writers friends. So if I happen to be slow to post new things....this is why.