Light – Prayers and Paintbrushes

SAYING GOODBYE

Saying goodbye is so terribly hard! We rarely say “goodbye” when we’re just walking out the door as I think about it. It’s more likely, “Have a good day”, or “I had a great time”, or “See you soon!” Goodbye sounds so final and serious with long term implications.

Today I attended the funeral of a lovely, sweet, much-loved friend who very unexpectedly stopped breathing one night a few weeks ago. In that moment, her stunned husband was a widow, her kids were motherless, and grand babies without a Grandma. There was no warning for this event at all and everyone was shocked and surprised. On some level, we know we’re going to die. Don’t we? But do we really think about it and what it might mean?

I’m not writing about insurance, advance directives, or going through “your stuff,” although all of the above are valuable and worth the effort. But, after sitting through the emotional time of remembering this sweet life this morning, I realize again that our time is FLEETING. You or someone you thought you can’t live without, will be gone. This is a BIG destination and one that quite possibly ought to get more of our consideration. . . Because. It matters!

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life and will not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

After Lazarus died, Jesus went and spoke to his sister Martha. “Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”” (John 11:21-27).

“I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6

Belief does not require effort on our part. It requires submission. It requires trust. We don’t have it all figured out, after all! Trust is bending a knee to the One who has all the answers and believing He will lead the way and guide us safely home.

The best of all is that our goodbye is NOT quite so final or serious. When we lose a believer to death, we have confidence we will see them again and in a much better place. To have someone know that you are entrusting your eternal destiny to the Only One who can do something about that, is powerfully encouraging for them. Today I said goodbye to my friend Richelle rejoicing she made it Home. No one saw this one coming and it is a great sorrow. For sure, she will be missed. But “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13. She has made it home to paradise. Goodbye, my sweet friend.

Thinking of, Praying for the people of Ukraine

The sunflower has become a symbol of hope and resistance as the conflicts between Ukraine and Russia continue to become more desperate.

The sunflower is also the national flower of Ukraine. Recently I saw a FB post from an artist asking all artists to post their paintings of sunflowers. I shared this painting entitled, My Sister, My Friend. The words below were written by the prophet Isaiah, somewhere around 740 BC in the 40th chapter of the OT book of Isaiah and I feel they are relevant:

“All people are like grass and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.⁷The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass.⁸The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
²²HE sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.
HE stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
²³HE brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
²⁴No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than HE blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

And the most marvelous, poetic words of this chapter~

²⁸Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

These are dark and troubling days. We thought we were smarter than that – that those dark days of war were behind us. God has warned us there will be “wars and rumors of wars” But He is still in charge, still on His throne. Find comfort in these words and pray for our brothers and sisters in peril around the earth.

Meet, Know, Follow

As we move forward on the paths of life, we will encounter loss. It may come gradually over time slowly filling us with anguish. It may happen suddenly causing profound and devastating shock. But loss is unavoidable and however it happens, we are forced to face the changes – ready or not.

I met Jesus in my mid-twenties after years of rolling my eyes and changing the subject when He became a topic of conversation. I was searching for Him even though I didn’t realize it was HIM for whom I was searching. One day, God found me. To my amazement, I met my Savior and was captured by the “Hound of Heaven.”

Over many years I came to know and build a relationship with Jesus. I studied the Bible. I attended a church learning under a Godly pastor. I began to recognize Jesus’ voice leading me, and as the years went on and the pain of loss began to tear deeper into my world, I clung to Him. I trusted His faithfulness and great love for me even though I did not understand much of what was happening in my personal life. I KNEW He loved me although I lived shrouded in emotional and relational struggles. He did not take away my pain, but He was there with me everytime I cried

God led me through one painful step at a time. After many difficult years, He led me slowly out of that hard season of loss into a time of joy and abundance. I learned that although He may not answer my prayer as I expected it should be answered, He did have an answer. And it was one I never would have dreamed.

FAST FORWARD Loss continues to follow me of a different sort. From my youngest years I knew I would sing. It was just built into me – even though the reality of it scared me. I first picked up a microphone to sing a solo before our church when I was in my mid twenties. I was terrified! But the joy of communicating a powerful message with beautiful music was like nothing I could have imagined. I continued to sing for over 4 decades loving the sense that I was communicating from the depths of my soul. I sang to an Audience of One regardless how many faces were in front of me. God heard. And each person sitting in their seat heard, each receiving it themselves – as one. Singing was one of the ways I defined my life. Music was a Big Deal to me.

About three years ago, I realized my “instrument” wasn’t working as it always had. I felt as if I had somehow swallowed someone else’s vocal cords! My range was rapidly changing, my high notes disappearing. I lost confidence in my ‘identity’ as a soloist. I realized it was time to hang up my soprano hat. And that has been and continues to be difficult for me. I have lost part of what had been part of my identity. Yet I FOLLOW Him where He leads. I trust Him as I walk the path of my life: sometimes in light, sometimes in darkness – not often knowing what lies ahead for sure. But I TRUST Him, wherever He takes me.

If God has seemingly taken something important from you, I know it hurts. There is grief and sadness, confusion and pain. There is a period of mourning for our loss – there is no way to avoid that. But He is always there! He KNOWS. He CARES. He DOES have a plan for our lives and it likely looks nothing like we had imagined.

Here I sit. Writing to you. Painting now and again when my paintbrushes scream to be taken into the light. 🎨 I could NEVER have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would write – that I would PAINT, for goodness sake! That I would care so much to share what the Lord has taught me over 50+ years of holding tight to His hand. That my paintings would bring a smile to someone’s face is such a surprise. Writing and painting did not happen until my voice began to fade away…

I pray these words might encourage you in your season of grief or loss. He is FAITHFUL and He will continue to use you in ways you may not have yet considered.

I have followed and trusted Him these many years since He ‘caught’ me. And Jesus has loved me well. He has forgiven me for every mess I’ve made, for every heart I’ve wounded, for my anger and frustration and hurt for so many years – He has loved me and will love me, to the last breath I take. And He is there for YOU. All you need to do is call out to Him and invite Him into your wounded heart.

Trust the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

Meet, Know and Follow Jesus is the mission statement of my home church, Traditional Service at Sun Valley Community Church, Tempe, AZ

Let there be light✨

This is That Time of the Year and we are all having a bit of a problem believing it. The calendar, the ads, the decorations everywhere you look all remind us Christmas is Coming! But I have to admit I’m having a bit of a problem getting in the mood. This year has been so unimaginable that Christmas doesn’t seem real. But we made the effort and put up our Christmas decorations last weekend. My husband and I got busy making Christmas visible on the exterior as well as the interior of our home in hopes that we might catch some holiday spirit. 🎄

As I’m sitting here trying to feel anything remotely like childlike Christmas spirit, I began to notice a common thread in our decorations – twinkling bright lights: lights on our tree, our mantle, our roof – everywhere it seems. And these lights bring us joy. The usual look of our home has taken on a happy, colorful sparkling warmth markedly more cheerful than at other times of the year. We love our home, but at Christmas time it takes on a holiday glow.

In the very beginning, Genesis 1:3, God said, “Let there be light.” Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World” in John‘s gospel; chapter 8:12. Light is God’s gift to us – it dispels darkness, reveals color, brings warmth, clarity, joy and reveals truth. Jesus told us he was the Light of the World – to light our way through the darkness of life and BE our Truth. The glow we see all around us this Christmas season is but a faint reflection of the great Light God’s love shines on those who seek Him.

So from wherever you sit as we begin this month of Christmas and Hanukkah, maybe you will view the lights all around you as a reminder of God’s great love. If your heart struggles, I pray you will look around and see in the bright lights that God sent His son to us not because we deserved it, but because He loves us. He proclaimed the Good News through a heavenly choir of angels to the shepherds in the fields and lit up the sky with a brilliant blazing Christmas star to guide the way.

I’m feeling a bit more Christmas spirit as I think on these things. We all need to be reminded to look up when our mind might be telling us not only to look away but to shut our eyes completely! Let’s keep our hope and trust in God and celebrate Christmas in whatever form it may appear in this crazy year of 2020. Bring it on, Lord Jesus!