Five Minute Friday: Stay Strong

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A few months after my son was born, I remember visiting my aunt and uncle.  The conversation revolved around my younger cousin’s recent automobile accident.  Thankfully she was not seriously injured.  My aunt was upset at how the other person in the accident treated her daughter.  Not with empathy or concern for her health but with anger and judgement. 

The teaching moment for me as a new parent was – you will do anything to protect your child and stand up for them when they cannot.  At the time I looked at this little boy in my arms and thought of all of the ways he could get into trouble, and believe me he has, but in that moment the belief that I could be strong and protect him was not giving me assurance that I could. 

You see at the time I did not have a strong faith walk and was attempting to do all of this on my own.  Of course, as a young mother I could not see how I would be able to be strong for my son but with God’s help I could. 

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.  1 Corinthians 1:25

That little boy recently turned 22 and he has had many bumps and bruises along the way.  Thankfully by the time he turned ten I turned many of my concerns over to God and allowed him be my strength and not rely on my own will power to get through. 

Praying that you can look to God for help, so you can lean on him when you need strength.  For when you are weak, he is strong. 

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Five Minute Friday: In the Middle

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Isn’t it a great feeling when things are going well, the plans you made are unfolding just as you laid them out, no glitches, no one asking you to do something when you are walking out the door, everything is blissful and on time. 

What about when things are not going the way you planned? You are in the middle of the storm; the waves are crashing around you.  Your mother is in the hospital and you are not sure she is going to make it, your child is sick again and not sure what is causing it, you lost your job and not sure when you will be able to secure a new one and will it pay the bills?

Believe it or not we were made to go through the middle.  Most times I want to skip the middle and get to the end where we are all happy and things are going smoothly but that is not how life plays out.  God made us for hard things, even if it is not where we want to be.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.  Habakkuk 3:19

 Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. Isaiah 4:5-6

He never promised us that we would live free from trials but he does promise to be with us through them.  So, walk through the storm with your head held high, looking up, and he will direct you out of the storm.  He will walk with you on that narrow path, to the mountaintop where you are at peace in your soul.  Thank God even while walking through the middle, no matter where we are he is there too, and that is enough. 

Five Minute Friday: Permission to Grieve

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We have permission to grieve, the past year, for all of the things we lost.  Time with family and friends, warm hugs and the sparkle in a friend’s eye when she sees you for the first time in almost a year.  Laughing over a meal, feeling that joy and connection that you can only obtain when in the presence of someone you truly love. 

We have permission to grieve the loss of a relationship, which could not traverse the chasm of political and social disparity.  The time spent in deep conversation about hopes and dreams for the future, for the love of our Savior and spreading love and the message on our hearts. 

We have permission to grieve and stand in solidarity with our African American and Asian American friends who have had a lifetime of violence and deleterious exploits this year.  We can weep with them, listen to their grief, and put an arm around them in love. 

God gave us emotions as a beautiful gift, to experience joys and love but with that comes sadness and sorrow.  We have permission to feel and hold both at the same time.

Jesus wept for his friends Lazarus and his sister Mary.  You have permission by our creator to feel those feelings of grief and cry, knowing He is there with you weeping, and He gives us hope that there will be joy again soon. 

When Jesus saw her weeping, …he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  “Where have you laid him?” he asked.  “Come and see, Lord,” Jesus wept.  John 11:33-35

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

Five Minute Friday: Redeemable

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In the middle of creating my next blog post my daughter announces, “Mom, you won’t believe how much money I saved on this skateboard using a promo code!”  My next question was, when did you decide to get a skateboard and are you also purchasing a helmet, wrist, and knee pads too?  Of course, she did but as a Mom it is my duty to ask. 

Promotional codes have taken the place of physical coupons on line.  I remember when you could only redeem a coupon by brining it into the store and presenting to the cashier at the time of purchase.  There were times when I could not redeem the coupon since it required me to buy two of the same items. 

When I hear the word redeem it takes my mind to whom has redeemed me. The questions swirl around in my head am I worthy of being redeemed?  We have been saved by grace through faith, which is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8. That gift is not one I would ever want to return.  It is one that I am thankful I can redeem for the rest of my earthly life.  For when I fail all I need to do is go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness and it is granted.  

The things of this world will come and go but our eternal salvation has been bought and paid for by Jesus.  During this Lenten season let us not forget the sacrifice Jesus gave which grants us full redemption and eternal salvation. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17

Five Minute Friday: My Green Garden

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Last year, along with most of the world, I started a raised bed garden.  This was new to me; I never planted a garden.  Our raised garden bed is located in the back of our property, on the flat part of the hill, and honestly, I didn’t realize it was there until we were in the house for about six months. 

Since we have bunnies and chipmunks, that live in our yard, I decided not to go with green leaf lettuce and reduce the temptation.  The planting consisted of just peppers, green jalapeno, green sweet, and banana peppers. 

It amazes me how a seed germinates, puts down roots and sprouts.  With some water, sunshine, and a little time it starts to sprout little green stalks.  It makes me think of the relationship we have with God, with time, energy, and being in the word, our relationship flourishes.  Like the little green plant that burgeons from the fertile soil. 

This reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed.  “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”  Matthew 13:31-32

The best part of growing my garden, beyond the obvious fruits of my labor, was the time I got to spend with my 21-year-old son.  Since we did not have a hose that could reach out to the garden bed, every other day, like clockwork, my son and I would haul huge buckets of water, up to the garden to water it.  The conversations we had about his day and what was going on in the garden grew our relationship.  What a special unexpected gift that I received as part of my new garden.  I will miss those chats this year as he is graduating college in May and will be moving out of state.  I pray that you can grow your garden in addition to your relationships and you too can enjoy the fruits of your labor.