Monday Morning Memo: Is Peace Possible?

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard comments similar to this lately:  “We sure live in a dark world” or “Our world is scary right now” or “We sure are living in messed-up times”.  I don’t think there are many, whether they are democrats, republicans, libertarians, or anything else, who would disagree with those statements.

 

I’m getting to the place where I hate to turn on the news anymore.  Pushing the “on” button on the remote, fills my mind with reports of atrocious, hate filled murders, unimaginable abuse of children, politicians all shouting they have the answers for our country but, unfortunately, most of those “answers” leave a lot to be desired…and I could go on and on. Add to that our day-to-day stresses of living such as job issues, family difficulties and health issues and it is no wonder that many people are suffering from depression.

 

The surprising thing is that none of this is new news.  Just pick up the Bible and start reading the Old Testament.  I don’t know if you have noticed, but there aren’t a lot of fun, good-feeling stories there either.  There were many wars, multiple murders, people sacrificing their children, plagues (just to name a few) and none of these events leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling.   Just yesterday in our Sunday School class, we looked at Romans 1 in the New Testament…and you would have thought we were reading a current day analogy.  Unfortunately, sometimes reading these Biblical accounts makes a person feel worse when they’re done than when they started.

 

But then, come across Isaiah 2:22 and it says, “Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.  Of what account is he?”   Read and reread that verse, and you may come to the same conclusion that I did that this verse summarizes the main reason we can feel “down-in-the dumps”.  Many times, we become discouraged because we have put our eyes on man and man has let us down.  As Christians we need to remember that our focus is not to be on a human, but on the One who created us and will never let us down.

 

Humans can be unreliable, selfish, shortsighted, cruel…yet we often seek after them instead of putting our trust in our all-knowing God.  Psalm 100:5 tells us, “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”  HE is good…HE is faithful…HIS love never fails.  

 

If we believe this to be true, then it is important that we ask ourselves: Where is my focus?  On whom do I put my trust?  If Christ is the answer to these questions, then even when the world is in turmoil around us, we can have peace that passes all understanding.   And it is that peace that the world is looking for, but may never experience, unless they see it in us first.  

Monday Morning Memo: Heavenly+

I have no idea how you are…but you have probably figured out by now that I’m not a good “wait-er”.  If I get in my head that something should happen, I usually think it should happen now.  Or better yet…it should have happened yesterday!

 

I think I can blame our world for some of the reasons I feel this way because we live in an instant society.  Many things I own in my kitchen are there because I want to do things faster.  I own an electric mixer because I don’t want to take the time to stir something by hand.  I own a microwave, because heaven forbid, I would have to wait for something to heat up on the stove.  I own an instant pot, because I want to cook our meal in the fraction of the time that it would take in the oven.  

 

Add Walmart+ into my life, and I usually don’t have to wait more than 48 hours to have something delivered to my door.  Doesn’t it just fry your goose when you go to order something and it says it will take longer than two days to show up at your door?  You mean I have to wait extra days for it to ship?  Outrageous!

 

Don’t you wish God had Walmart+…or for you…maybe Amazon Prime?  Oh, I’m sure it wouldn’t be called either one of those things, but it could be called Heavenly+ or Heavenly Prime.  When we need an answer quickly, we could just get on our computer…pull up either website...put our order in and within 48 hours our prayer would be answered.  We could even sign up for updates to be sent to us so we would know exactly when our answer would arrive.  Oh, and if the answer we received wasn’t exactly what we thought it should be, we could send it back, no questions asked.  Ahhhh, what a life that would be!

 

But that’s not reality, is it?  Unfortunately, many times in our lives the only answer we receive from God is to wait.  Ughhhh, I often find that difficult to do.   “Wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord”  Psalm 27:14.  “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” Psalm 37:7a.  “But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently”  Romans 8:25. “Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised”  Hebrews 6:15.  Those verses are just a few reminders of how we should wait. 

 

My difficulty in waiting pretty much goes along with my times when I lack trust…which I wrote about a couple weeks ago.  One feeds the other.  But I’m thinking that each time we can successfully wait on God…trusting His timing and His answers…we get one step closer to looking like Him.  And isn’t that what our goal should be?

 

I shared that I was going to really work on trusting God…no ands, ifs or buts…and I think I’ve done some better these past days.  But I’m here to tell you that it hasn’t been easy!  I did have my surgery and so far, they are saying it was successful…but recovery has been slower than what I would choose.  There have been days when I felt like I was on the edge of a cliff and the Lord was whispering in my ear, “Do you trust me LuAnn?  Even in this recovery…do you trust me?”  I found myself answering Him with the words, “Yes, Lord.  I will trust you…without any buts.”  But if I’m honest…some of those times those words were said with gritted teeth 

 

I love the verses in Psalm 5:1-3 which say, “O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning.  Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you.  Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.  Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”  I find it amazing that the King of Kings wants to hear my requests (yes, even when I am groaning) and then I am to wait expectantly.  Because once I have fervently prayed to Him, I am to wait…believing that He will work all things for His good and His glory…and in His timing.  

 

Well, I still wish I could sign up for Heavenly+…but since I can’t…I’ll keep working on waiting, praying and believing.  My answers may not come in 48 hours…but whenever they show up…I’ll know they are perfect for me and won’t need to be returned!

Monday Morning Memo: Once Again...Miracles

Since I am currently recuperating from surgery, I hope you will allow me to re-share this devotional with you today (as if you have a choice!).  I so appreciated all your prayers for me this past week.  Surgery went as planned and we are hopeful that it will have a positive impact on my health.  

 

I first shared this devotional with you in 2021…but I realized that I have acquired new readers since then who haven’t read about this miraculous event.  And if you are like me…since it’s been five years…even if you read it the first time, you may have forgotten it.  So, sit back and relax…and be reminded that we serve a God of miracles! 

 

Oh, how I dreaded the appointment.  I had prayed for good news…but honestly, I didn’t think we would get it.  I guess I lacked faith…I really didn’t think deep down that God would answer my prayers and the prayers of so many.

 

Let me give you the Reader’s Digest version to that which I’m referring.  Seven and a half weeks ago, my 93-year-old mother-in-law fell and shattered her ankle.  It was bad…really bad.  Surgery was performed and because of Covid restrictions, I was the only one who would get the report from the doctor.  He explained to me that he had to “build” her an ankle…there really wasn’t much left of her natural one.  And to make it worse, she has Multiple Myeloma, making her bones extremely soft, which didn’t help his prognosis.  

 

He told me that she wouldn’t be able to put any weight on that foot for at least 2-3 months and it could easily be much longer.  I then asked the million-dollar question, “Will she ever walk again?”.  He lowered his head, took a deep breath, and replied, “Maybe”.  I remember just sitting there for a few moments after he walked away…thinking how hard this would be on Mom.  She would hate not being able to get around on her own and be confined to a wheelchair.  We were all in for a long road ahead.

 

Three weeks after her surgery, we returned for her first check-up.  The doctor showed us the x-ray so we could see the screws and plates that were now a part of her anatomy.  Once again, he explained that she had a long recovery ahead and brought up again the fact that her bones were so soft.  He told us to return in a month for another x-ray and to see how much healing had occurred.  He said he would re-evaluate at that time whether she could start putting any weight on that foot…but he didn’t hold out much hope.

 

For the next four weeks we prayed.  Many of you prayed, for which we can never thank you enough.  I personally prayed that the next set of x-rays would amaze her doctor…that he would be surprised at how much healing had occurred.  But again…as much as I wanted this to be the case…my faith was weak in believing it would really happen.

 

That appointment was last Wednesday and that was the one I was dreading.  Mom was convinced that he would tell her she could start putting weight on her foot and I thought she was in for a big disappointment.  All day long I tried to think of what I would say to her after we met with the doctor…what words I would use to encourage her and to help her not to be discouraged.  I wished that someone else could take her for that appointment…because I just couldn’t bring myself to watch her be so devastated when she didn’t get the news she so desperately wanted to hear.

 

The x-ray was taken and we waited to meet with the doctor to get the results.  He walked in the room and we exchanged some small talk and then the conversation went like this:

 

Dr: “Well, the ankle looks good…I think she can start wearing a shoe on that foot.”

 

Me: “Great, so does that mean she can start putting a little weight on it?”

 

Dr: “No, that means she can start walking.  Her ankle is completely healed.”

 

Let me interject at this point…because I was now in complete shock.  I know my mouth was wide open and my eyes had to be like saucers.

 

Me: “What do you mean by being completely healed?”

 

Dr: “Look at this x-ray.  Four weeks ago, you can clearly see where the break was.  On today’s x-ray, we can’t even see the break at all.  Her ankle looks normal…it is completely healed.  She doesn’t even need to come back to see me.  She can resume walking because her ankle is healed.”

 

By this point, tears were rolling down my cheeks.  My first words were “Praise the Lord!” and then I told the doctor that many people had been praying and that I believed Mom was healed because of those prayers and this was a miracle.  The doctor totally agreed.  He said the amount of healing that occurred in her ankle in four weeks was not normal…that it had to be a result of prayer.

 

I’ve wondered at times why we don’t see miracles today like they witnessed in Biblical times…well I’m here to tell you…I’ve now witnessed a modern-day one!  We feel humbled and blessed beyond measure that God touched Mom in such a powerful way.  And believe it or not…this isn’t the first miracle for Mom.  When she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma seven years ago, they said she had two…maybe three years left on this earth…but of course she has proved them wrong.  

 

I don’t know what or who you are praying for today…but I’m here to remind you that we serve an all-powerful God who is still in the miracle business.  Keep praying.  Keep believing.  Keep trusting.  Keep putting your faith in the God who can and will do far more than you can even imagine.  He alone is worthy of our praise and we give Him ALL the glory for the great things He has done!

 

“He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.”

Job 5:9