Journey with the Lord Part 3

The next season of my life was the most beautiful. Being married to John. If you go to the Podcast section of this site, you can hear the story of how we met and our miraculous wedding by listening to "Mall Order Bride, A True Cinderella Story."

That was just the beginning of living a life in which my husband loved me as God loves me. He loved me just as I am and always encouraged me to be my best self and to do everything as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.") I had never experienced anything like that, and I can tell you that there is nothing better. John loved my children in the same way and was able to show them what Godly love looked like in daily living. I was so blessed that God gave me a husband who was so surrendered to God, that he was capable of loving me as well as everyone he met, the way God loves us all.

Of course, having a blended family, presented its challenges, but through it all, God was with us, helping us every step of the way. In Ecclesiastes 4:12, Scripture says, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken." The three strand cord described our marriage: John, myself, and the Lord, holding us together.

Having God as the centerpiece of our marriage set the tone for our relationship and life together. I learned so much from John about loving God and loving others. He sought the Lord in all that he did, so I learned how to do that. He encouraged me to always check the attitude of my heart to see if my motivation for doing something was out of love for another. He always said, "The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy. If one of those components is missing in your life, draw close to God to find out why."

John brought joy and laughter into my life. Once, we read a book called, "Men are Like Waffles and Women are Like Spaghetti". It was fun to read. The basic concept was that men are pretty single minded and tend to put things in categories, so that when they talk about something, they stay on topic. Women, on the other hand, tend to be more like spaghetti, with their thoughts intertwining with each other, so that if they start to talk about something, it reminds them of other things that are related, so they might go off in another direction during a conversation. Without realizing the differences between men and women, that could be frustrating, but understanding this concept eliminates the frustration. John and I would often switch places: sometimes I was waffles and he was spaghetti and then the opposite. Those conversations usually brought some laughter to a situation.

We were blessed with 26 years together. One of the other benefits of being in a Godly marriage like ours is that we each were able to be our authentic selves. We had no prescribed roles that we had to live up to. We worked together and helped each other in whatever way was needed. (Read my Sept. 20, 2022 and Oct. 11, 2022 posts in lessons learned "Completer or Competer" for more on this topic.)

An example of working in our strengths came through our work. After the first year of our marriage, John became the sole provider for our family. He was a painting contractor and even though he suffered from back pain, he worked through it and never complained. I worked with him for seven years after my business closed. As we got older, I could see that, although John never said anything about it, working in such a physically challenging career was becoming more difficult.

I really wanted to be John's best helpmate, but knew that I could never do a painting job by myself, and I was getting older as well. So, I prayed about how God would help me be John's best helpmate, and He answered my prayer by giving me the opportunity to return to school and get a job as a school guidance counselor. (You can read more about this in my March 28, 2023 post "God's Provision" in the testimonies section). With John's unfailing support, I was able to get my master's degree and work at something I loved. This also freed John from having to paint to earn a living. Now he could do what he did best: minister to people everywhere he went. We were both working in our strengths, happy, doing what God created us to do. Praise the Lord!

To be continued May 9, 2023

Where Does the Rainbow End?

Did you ever wonder where the rainbow ends? I often have, but one day the Lord showed me when I most needed a sign from Him. In Genesis, God speaks about the rainbow being a symbol of the covenant that He made with Noah to never destroy the earth again with a flood. So to me, the rainbow reminds me of God's promises and faithfulness.

Ten years ago in May, I received a call that no mother or father ever wants to hear. My youngest daughter who lives about an hour from us was in a horrific car accident. She was leaving home to pick up her four year old daughter from preschool. To leave her neighborhood, there were two exits. One had no light and one had a traffic light. Since she had to cross several lanes to turn left, she chose to exit by the light, the safer route.

She was the first in line at a red light. When the light turned green, she looked both ways and proceeded forward. An old steel truck, going at least 60 miles an hour, ran through the red light and hit her car at the driver's side door! The door was crashed in so that where she was sitting, there were about only four to six inches between the door and the center console.

Immediately, the Lord sent people to try to help her. One was an off duty EMT. Somehow my daughter had the presence of mind to tell them to call her husband and gave the phone number. A neighbor, who had been right behind her called her husband repeatedly until he was able to answer the phone. He called us and we went immediately to stay with our granddaughter and pray. My oldest daughter is a nurse and had been a volunteer fire fighter, so was trained in treating trauma patients. She called off work and headed to the hospital.

Because of her background, she was able to go into the emergency room to assist the doctor and to be with her sister. My oldest daughter is anointed to bring peace to those types of situations, and she was able to bring peace to her sister and brother-in-law during this horrific time.

My youngest daughter's femur (thigh bone) was crushed. Without God's protection and provision, I don't know that she would have ever been able to walk or use her leg again. But God provided just the right surgeon who was able to pin and wire her thigh bone together. At the time, he said that he had never seen such a bad break. I thank God for giving him the wisdom and supernatural ability to put her leg back together and for God's healing presence completing the healing.

During her recovery and rehab, I moved to her house to be able to spend time with her during the day and make dinner for her family at night. I was very concerned for her. John and I were praying for her total recovery.

One night, I was driving to the rehab, to visit her. There were no cars on the road. It had been raining and now it was drizzling. I looked to my right side and saw a rainbow. I wondered where the rainbow ended. When I turned back to look at the road, I saw that the rainbow ended on the hood of my car! It stayed there for about twenty seconds: long enough for me to realize that through this miraculous event, God was showing me that my daughter would be alright. God had His hand upon her and she would be healed and walk again. Today she has full use of her leg. Praise the Lord! I am so grateful for His love, protection, provision and healing presence in our lives.

Journey With The Lord Part 2

Music also ministers to me. At the beginning of my journey, I was introduced to Christian music and one of my favorite songs, which I still sing to this day, is "God Will Make a Way." As I went through seemingly impossible circumstances, God did and continues to make a way for me.

As I reflect, one of the exciting things I remember, is that as I was ready for the next step, God would send another person to me with another word to hang onto. For example, I was very concerned about my girls, and one day at church, someone told me Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I embraced that Scripture and realized that God loves my kids more than I ever could, and if He has a plan for me, He has a plan for each of them, so I can trust that He will fulfill His plans in each of their lives, and I didn't need to worry anymore. God has them in His hands. Praise the Lord!

Why was this happening? Why was God sending these people into my life? Why was I believing them? I think part of it was that I was down to nothing. I was desperate. This prepared my heart to listen and have hope in the Lord. In Jeremiah 29:13 and Matthew 7:7, the Bible says basically, you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart and soul.

I was at a workshop once, and the speaker said that in our journey with the Lord, He wants us to move from A-Z, but we are not ready. As we are ready, He moves us forward. So, we might move from A-C, then back to B, up to D, then back to C. As we are ready, God will move us forward. We show our readiness when we seek Him with all our hearts, and when we are open to receive His direction, i.e. we are teachable. Sometimes our pride or our own independence get in the way, but when we choose to seek Him as we would seek a hidden treasure(Proverbs 2:1-8), we will find Him and be blessed.

One example of someone going the extra mile to seek Jesus is Zacchaeus, in Luke 19:4. He was a tax collector who had taken advantage of people. He was very short, but really wanted to see Jesus. So he made the extra effort to climb up a tree to see Him. Jesus noticed his extra effort and dined with Zacchaeus and his family that night. As a result, Zacchaeus repented of his sins, repaid those he had cheated and sought to live his life for the Lord. How about you? Are you desperate enough to climb a tree (figuratively)? Are you making an extra effort to seek the Lord? If not, it is never too late to start.

Each person that came into my life encouraged me with Scripture. Each time, my faith was increased because I could feel God's peace or see Him at work in my life. So I began to hunger for more. I went to Bible study, read my Bible, journaled about my journey so that I could see when I was growing or stagnating, went to church, and fellowshipped with Christians. I was seeking Him with all my heart and soul and God has never disappointed me. I continue on that pathway. I continue to seek the Lord and marvel at what He does in me and through me to touch others.

As you reflect on your life, think about the people God has brought into your life to encourage you and give you hope in Him. As you think about all He has done for you, your faith will be strengthened for the future. Give thanks for all those who have helped you on your path and ask God to use you to help others as they navigate the trials of this life. Sometimes the smallest kindness shown to another can be lifechanging for them.

In Psalm 37:3-5, Scripture says, "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it." What a great promise! As we delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts.

In Matthew 6:33, Scripture says, "But seek first the kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Similar to this Scripture, one day, as I was driving, I sensed the Lord telling me that if I would put Him first in my life, He would put everything in order. I thought, "WOW! If I put God first in my life, He will put everything in order!" I thought that was I great deal for me. I give God myself, with all my flaws and frailties and He, the Creator of the universe, gives me everything I need! I didn't have to think too hard about that proposal. I said, "Absolutely! Lord, I give You my life and seek to keep you first above all things always." I made the commitment and have been blessed beyond measure in the good times and in the hard times. God is faithful. Please give Him a try.

To be continued on May 2, 2023.