Faith Archives - Page 17 of 28

October 18, 2012 by Karin 2 Comments

Forgiveness… follow suit (#18)

PROMISE #18 ~ FORGIVENESS

Truckload full. Tummies hungry. Tired eyes.

Late afternoon… nearing the end of a busy day. Just the beginning of the 5 o’clock somewhere moments.

Mom, can we stop and get a treat?

Pleeeease!

Frustration in this mama soul rears its head. An attempt at taming this tongue.

No, we need to get home.

Baby needs to get to bed and your little sister doesn’t feel good.

Determination… full force… from this generally agreeable, gentle-spirited, gem of a girl.

Persistence.

Pleeeease Mom!

My tongue losing its restraints… loosening the reigns… allowing a sword’s slice.

No!

And on and on and on… the battle ensues.

Fellow passengers grumbling, weary, wanting the ride to end.

Now, I know the root of the battle is hunger, weariness… the need for rest.

Truck load… unloads.

Piling into the house of kids, bags, books, banter.

This worn child scurries to her room. Tears free-flowing in solitude.

Mama feeds bellies, calms the boisterous… now, off to discipline.

Mom, I’m so sorry I acted that way.

I nod, repeating the words right back to her. Wild tongue reigned in again.

You know, we all do that sometimes.

You are forgiven.

I am sorry, too.

Thinking the deal is sealed, mama squeezing love into this young soul… and off to carry on with mama tasks.

Not so much. Not done.

Mama, I’m really sorry…

Red-eyed and puffy she comes to me again.

I am just so sorry for acting that way. I know better.

I wrap arms around in attempt to press out the remorse… allowing room for the new. Filling the hole with love. With learning.

Mama, please help me forgive myself.

There it is. Right there. The thing that holds us back too many times. The thing that keeps us from filling our gaping wounds with His love, His forgiveness, His redemption.

We just can’t… won’t… forgive ourselves.

We hang on, with ragged heart, ripe wounds, plain old refusal. Refusal to give it to Him… and even more… refusal to accept His forgiveness. All this… by refusing to forgive ourselves.

You know what, my sweetie?

I forgive you.

More importantly… God forgives you.

Every time you ask for it. Every. Time.

Giving a regretful heart to the Healer. Not the easiest thing to do… not without revisiting it again and again.

An encouraging hug for my little one’s soul…

If God forgives you… for everything…

and He wants you to be more like Him…

shouldn’t we follow His example?

Follow suit with Him. Clear the river flow of Holy water… to run freely once again.

The child eyes… new again.

PROMISE #18 ~ God forgives us.

Acts 10:43

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

October 17, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

Supervision required (#17)

PROMISE #17 ~ PROTECTION

Sitting in the waiting place.

Baby on my hip. Toddler squealing circles around my legs. Blue-eyed boy dashing from corner to corner.

The waiting place for moms and dads of all sorts and sizes, watching children jump, twirl, leap, flip, somersault… a general running amuck in gymnastics bliss.

Watching through the picture window ~ the best kind of reality TV ~ watching the young ones explode like lava from a temperamental volcano. Oh, to have that kind of energy again…

Mama! A sign! Over there.

It’s so funny!

NO ONE IS ALLOWED ON EQUIPMENT WITHOUT SUPERVISION

I smile at my exuberant gymnast, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

You get it? “SUPER” vision?! Like Superman!

They are making a joke! Like anyone has “SUPER” vision…

She squeals away, leaping through the air… reminding me of how badly I really need to work-out more.

Now, she knows Superman well… many thanks to copper-topped 3-year-old sister. I don’t know too many three-year-olds with true affection for Superman (and I mean the Christopher Reeve one… episodes I, II, and III. Over and over and over again). Superman is well-known in our household.

The thought brings me to much-needed laughter this hour of the day.

Super vision.

No one is allowed on the equipment without it.

As is the case it with many, perhaps all, of us walking in the faith… spiritual attack surfaces from time to time. Always at the most inopportune time. Always attacking in the soft, white, underbelly… the most vulnerable of our hidden places. Spiritual attack can render the soul… wounded.

In desperate need of supervision.

Just as I am struggling through a day of it… my little one points me to a sign. One that reminds me that we are not alone. We are under Supervision. The only SUPER vision that matters in the end… and in the beginning… and in the middle.

Not one of us is left on this equipment here… without Super… vision.

PROMISE #17 ~ God is our protection.

Psalm 5:11-12

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

October 16, 2012 by Karin 2 Comments

Feeling Wrecked? (#16)

PROMISE #16 ~ GOOD (for those who love Him)

Feeling wrecked?

A little broken? Slightly cracked? Discouraged? A bit more than rusty?

Feel like you could use a tow?

Like all the running and racing and trying… is getting you nowhere?

I do.

I’m pretty tired at the moment. Staring at a screen, thinking of God’s promises… wondering why I chose to pursue them… day after day… for 31 days straight.

I did know, of course, that I would find 31 and so many more. I did know it would be a challenge to sit and focus for a piece of time every day. I did know that… probably, somewhere in the middle of the journey… I would get worn, frustrated, just a little bit wrecked.

I prayed that when this time came… He would push me right on through.

please give me the extra adrenaline to race to the finish

Legs numb, knees wobbly, heart stretched.

Well, no surprise, He just answered.

His repetition, His prompting, His words through an encourager… hook right up to my beaten frame… and pull.

(by the way, Mater lives… and in our ‘hood)

He allows my back wheels to spin… to feel the journey beneath me…

while He takes the burden ~ and steers.

Propped, pulled, and placed… right here.

For a much-needed tune-up.

He provides the fuel, the oil, and becomes the engine again. Just after I let go of this wheel I am clinging to so tightly.

It really is all about the journey… and the destination.

Worth every minute… potholes and all.

Are you in a place that could use a tow and a tune up?

PROMISE #16 ~ God promises good for those who love Him.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

October 15, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

Just asking… (#15)

PROMISE #14 ~ BLESSINGS FOR BELIEVING THE UNSEEN

So, am I covered?

We all want to know this… in one way or another. In one place or another. In one situation or another.

Am I good to go? Do I need to do anything else? Have I fulfilled the requirements?

Am I allowed in?

This question pursued me when I was younger. No matter the situation, the school, the class, the party, the group, the occasion… I wanted to know.

Am I accepted?

So often we struggle with this acceptance issue. Sometimes we care, sometimes we do not, sometimes we wish we didn’t, sometimes we pretend we don’t.

Do I have what it takes to be here?

I took this thinking straight to Him at one point on this journey.

Do I belong with You? Have I made too many mistakes? Have I blown you off too many times? Have I doubted you too much? Disregarded Your instructions? Your advice? Even… doubted Your existence one too many times?

Have you ever thought, Mama…

What if He had never been?

What if He’s not really there?

My blue-eyed boy, the one just at the edge of the age of awareness we parents stiff-arm as long as we can. The age when they start to think, really think, for themselves. Delving into thoughts of truth, lie, reality, fantasy…

What if, Mom?

My heart smiles inside… knowing that He has gone steps in front of me… preparing me for the questions.

I’ve thought that, too, kiddo.

As a kid, I lay in bed at night, and wondered…

What if there is nothing else out there? What if we are it? The end?

What if He’s there, but I don’t ever get to see Him? Meet Him?

What if I never get to understand what all of this is about?

My sweetie grins. A relieved calm in his eyes.

I’m not that different after all.

It’s ok to ask.

I can ask… and still be accepted. By you, by them… by Him.

I don’t have all the answers. God gives me glimpses when I need them. When I need to gently prod the questioner along. Encourage the fight… the chase… the seeking… the truth.

He drips the wisdom to this soul… on an “as needed” basis… like an IV providing fluid to a weak, parched body. Strengthening this soul… and the next… one drip at a time. Knowing the overflow would only bloat to the point of shutdown. Just enough to absorb into the soul and settle. Sink in. Build.

Then, the question…

How do I get there?

With Him?

Will He take me?

Oh, this one I know. I know this one so well. I have wrestled with this and in the wrestling He claims victory. He opens my eyes and provides clarity, reassurance, promise.

It’s one thing.

Believe.

Believe it. Believe Him. Tell Him. He’s got it from there.

Accepted. Sealed. Redeemed. Done.

So, the questioner. The questioning. The questions… corner stones and bricks… building the foundation of this life with Him, for Him… growing the faith.

My eyes go to my young one…

The questioning is good… it is normal…

Just remember to go to Him for the answers.

Remember to listen after you ask.

He will answer.

Just listen.

PROMISE #15 ~ God promises blessings to those who believe the unseen.

John 20:27-29

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.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

October 14, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

Sitting on the fence (#14)

PROMISE #14 ~ HE IS THE ROCK

Sitting on the fence.

It’s a great way to see one side… and the other. It’s a nice place to be. Safely undecided. Above the radar.

I can see the black pavement on one side. Smooth for the most part, a few potholes, a blur of masses mingling in and out of life’s messes.

Sitting on the fence. It’s pretty safe here. If I just hold still.

The other side of the fence…the green pasture. It beckons. But, what if the grass gnarls under the blistering sun? What if I go to the field and there is no one to greet me there? What if I jump from my fence into the dewy grass… only to find I am alone and the field does not hold all that it promises.

I glance back to the pavement. I know the pavement. It is not particularly fulfilling. It is not filled with immeasurable joy. It is a bit humdrum. Safe. Comfortable. But, there has to be more. Is it possible that the answer might lie on the other side?

I have spent much of my life on the fence. It has been said that no decision is a NO decision.

Is it perhaps time to say YES?

Yes to invisible promises… yes to gentle nudging… yes to a new place, a new direction, a new life.

What if I just say yes? What if I leap, no matter how my soul trembles? What if I jump from this safe fence that sits above indecision, clinging to fear of rejection, safe in the arms of obscurity? What if I just jump?

I glimpse at the outlined souls in the field… arm in arm. Strength in numbers. The ones who have boldly gone there, beyond the fence, beyond the doubt… no matter the cost. I recognize a few of the faces, some are not yet known to me… though they appear familiar ~ a family resemblance. The smiles I know… an enveloping warmth… they draw me in, beckoning me… encouraging me. This is what those in the field do… they do this for one another… they do this for ones lost on the pavement. They call… I see sisters (and I thank God for them ~ you know who you are…), brothers… waiting. Building the tribe… the family… strength in service to Him.

The truth is… the fence is temporary. Eventually it will rot away… fade into a distant memory. Passage of time will swallow the fence… and I will find myself here. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Missing the adventure… the journey.

The truth is… when the fence disappears, when there is no longer a divide… there will be only One place. One place of Life. The rest will all fade away…

The truth is… He has held true to every promise from the birth of promise itself. The field awaits. The ground is sure… The Rock is solid.

The fence is no place to stay.

Are you sitting on the fence?

What is keeping you there?

Will you take the leap of faith? Just say…

Yes

PROMISE #14 ~ God is the rock.

Psalm 62:1-3

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down – this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

Forgiveness… follow suit (#18)

Supervision required (#17)

Feeling Wrecked? (#16)

Just asking… (#15)

Sitting on the fence (#14)

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