Archive for seasons
Mercies in Disguise: Finding God in Your Trials
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Seasons of trials and troubles, pain and suffering, disappointments and dying dreams can leave all of us with more questions than answers. We find ourselves unable to box our theological answers as neatly as before. We wrestle with questions like, “Where are you, God?” “Why have you deserted me?” “Are you real, God?” In our trials, we reach for our false strengths and we find that they were only illusions.
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The Day My Clothes Spoke to Me
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A new year. A new opportunity. A new day. A new beginning. Ah, the inspiration of it!
I spent part of New Year’s Eve cleaning out my clothes’ closet. I took everything out of my closet and laid the stuff in stacks around my room. Then I began. Toss. Keep. Give away. Store in a different place. Reorganize. Somehow the arrival of the New Year beckoned me to start over again. To think in new ways. To look for new strategies.
Magazine articles about decluttering and organization called to me.
I was in a ruthless mood. If I didn’t love it, it went no matter how much I wondered if it might come back into style in a year or if it might fit me better later.
The process became spiritual.
I picked up a blouse. I thought of my mother and her changing memory. The blouse represented a shopping trip we’d had. I felt saddened and a deeper realization of my time with her changing as she ages.
A dress touched my memory of days gone by and folks I love who I don’t really see anymore. Tears filled my eyes as I allowed the memory to fill my heart.
Another outfit took me back to a season of my life. Ah, those were good days.
The blouse I would wear for my anniversary this week. More smiles.
Ah, there was that item that needs hemming and one that needs a button.
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Surviving Your Winter Season
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I am yearning for springtime and yet just outside my window, snow blankets my world. It’s been a very unusual winter for those of us who live in northwest Alabama. I’ve lost count of how many ‘snows’ we have had this year. We normally don’t have ANY snow and can sometimes go several years without snow, but this year we’ve been covered again and again with beautiful, thick and heavy blankets of white.
As I sit and take in the beauty, I also find my heart longing for warmth, for the earth to thaw and yield sprouting daffodils and budding crepe myrtles. Springtime often arrives early here, and I am living with the anticipation that it could be any day now. But then again, in my mind, I regretfully acknowledge that if the tender signs of springtime burst forth too soon, winter will likely once again roar its bitter voice and destroy the early promises of spring.
Yet I find it hard to wait. Impatience stirs within me, but the seasons are out of my control.
So it often is in our lives. Winter comes without our invitation and brings death, or so it appears. The leaves that were once green and then later ablaze with autumn colors, fall away and leave nakedness. All visible signs of life disappear. The horizon of our lives looks barren and colorless.
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Dealing with Temptation
Posted by: | CommentsThe Scripture tells us that "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." Then it says that Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights.
We know as we look back to this occasion that Jesus was about to begin his earthly ministry. Can we draw the conclusion that we might also face seasons of temptation before we are released into new levels of ministry?
The final temptation was a temptation for Jesus to receive power and glory if he would fall down and worship the devil. It came right on the heels of two other powerful temptations. Yes, temptations. Hebrews records for us that Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, yet he never succumbed to the temptations. He never sinned.
So imagine Jesus after forty days and forty nights of fasting. Tired. Lonely. Hungry. And here comes a third temptation.
Power and glory belong to Jesus. They are rightfully his. Yet Satan tried to get Jesus to receive what was rightfully his by short cutting God’s plan. "Just do it the easy way. You can have the glory and power now. Just worship me."
This wasn’t a new song and dance for Satan. He was kicked out of heaven for the same issue.
Jesus answered the temptation by saying "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."
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A Time to Embrace
Posted by: | CommentsTo everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
…A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
Ecclesiastes 3
Ever tried to hug someone and felt their refusal to accept your embrace? Perhaps they stiffened up or went limp or distanced themselves and you knew that for whatever reason, they were not okay with your embrace.
It’s not always easy to embrace. Embracing involves risk and implies willing acceptance, whether another person, an idea, a view, yourself, your circumstances, or maybe your history. Usually our refusal to embrace has more to do with our own selves and our own heart than with whatever or whomever we refuse to embrace.
As of late, I’ve been thinking about how at times it has not been easy for me to embrace myself. I’ve been finding that my ability to love others and embrace them is dependent upon my ability to embrace myself.
Sometimes when we who are followers of Christ begin to understand that the Word says we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus, we forget that Jesus also said we are to love ourselves as we love others. And to be able to accept both of those truths at the same time seems impossible. So we try to choose one or the other of the truths and find ourselves off balance.
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