A Trodden Way

Merry Christmas to you all!  This is the time of year when cards and letters fill my mailbox and I actually enjoy going to get the mail!  Thank you all for sending your best wishes to us and filling us in on the happenings of your precious lives!

This year has been very hectic but very lovely too! I thought that a month or two of respite after my graduation a year ago  would be nice… hmmm, oh well maybe another year!  This year later on would be dubbed “the year of events”, with a smile and a sigh of course.

My graduation was the start of the whole shabang, then Olivia’s graduation came and soon on the heels of that fun event was the official opening of The Jonathan Project (a Biblical Counseling Ministry) click here for the website, then off to Lauren’s bridal shower (my house is too small for one of those) and then the big day for Ike and Lauren. How lovely they were and how joyous to have so many of our friends and family at our sides!

 That took us through eight months, but the Lord did not stop there!  Then came the adjustment of Olivia being home full time and helping her settle into a routine that was not school, but not being a couch potato either.  She will begin volunteering at the YMCA soon for a few days a week.  We are hoping this will turn into a small part time job in the near future.  Charles and I traveled to SC for our first national conference for Biblical counseling, what an amazing blessing that was.  A true soaking in of God’s Truth and a desire to be used by Him in the lives of others was reignited.

Soon after that Charles’s oldest, Zach, moved to FL, into ”the pad” to be more specific.  He is enrolled at Daytona State College for the spring and currently looking for part time employment. Then little Miss Miria turned the big ONE!  What a cutie she is!   Her parents (Josh and Megan) are working hard to eventually have a home to call their own.

Where is Brenton in all of this you might ask?  Well, maybe hunting when he’s not working! Seriously, with all of the changes in our lives and the ups and downs that go with them, Charles and I have felt that Brenton has been the one to hold ”steadfastness”  as the banner of truth all year long.  He is a steady force in the family.  His presense brings cohesiveness, clarity and calm to each situation.  Wow, what a really cool eldest he is!

Visits with my sisters and Charles’s, as well as my mom, have been sprinkled throughout. Although it has been a tough year for Mom she remains true to her spirit of “boot strap~ pick yourself up and keep moving” mentality.  She will begin her third round of chemo next week, but says she will not continue if the side effects leave her as debilitated as the last round.  Please keep her in your prayers!  Her girls and son love her dearly and want to have as much time with her as the Lord allows.

The verse I chose to share this year in my cards to all of you is packed with applications for the heart that is open.  “Then the sheperds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told them.” Luke 2:20 Dear friends and family what a blessing we have to hear and hold the very words of God and to in faith act on them as He wills us to.  What a challenge it is to turn our hearts away from our busy lives and sometimes our very own self-focused mentality, to glorify Him and praise Him with all of our hearts.  To declare to others as we “return” to the busy~ness of life ALL that He has allowed us to see and to hear ….as it was told to us.  God speaks to us and tells us of His mighty love, of the provision for us as sinners in need of a Savior, of His Holy Spirit which comforts and teaches us exactly how to glorify Him.  To whom is He asking you to declare His glory?  Will you sing praises to Him of all he has done, as He said He would?  May God bless you and keep you as you endeavor to declare His glory!

Today is December 7th, a day which has gone down in infamy, as one of our former president’s prophesied it would. However, that was 68 years ago today, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Forty years ago today I was a nine year old little girl, one sibling of five, that lost her father. It is still sad to think of my dad and the memories of childhood and adulthood that have been missed with him due to his departure from this earth.
What I do remember is his laugh, his love of fishing, his bringing home the family’s first TV, his love of NASCAR, his tatoo , his holding my baby sister when she came home from the hospital, his strong hands, his watching football on Saturdays, and taking us to church on Sundays, and the Christmas he bought every one of us bicycles . I also remember each one of us loving him like crazy in our own way.
It has been a joy to introduce my children to their grandfather via these memories and photographs that mom has lovingly divided among us. He has been missed but not forgotten!

A week ago I was shuffling, sorting and yes, even shredding, old papers that I thought I no longer have a need for.  Some were old financial documents, others of a much more personal nature.  By personal I mean truly personal, not just personal facts.  Among these were notes or letters from friends, family and even a few acquaintances.  Re-reading the sentiments of those I consider close to me was encouraging and affirming.

It is always fulfilling to be reminded of some one’s love for us, even if that person and us are not as close as we used to be.  Or, maybe we are close but life has gotten in the way.  Different paths, different circumstances, sometimes very different responses to life’s similar circumstances.

While I was basking in the love, I came across a not so lovely group of papers. My hand impulsively moved  in the direction of that shredder!  Just as instantly, I realized I was being challenged. I paused for several seconds and realized I was questioning my own genuineness as well as the sincerity of others. 

 I was questioning Providence’s perfect power and love. Hmmm, this event seemed familiar to me.  Almost like a da ja vue, but not quite so vague like :”did this really happen?”  But more of: “I know I have done this before” and then in that pausing, like we all do in a da ja vue it came to me.  The good and the bad, sorting through life’s issues, this is what we do.  We hold on to some and let go of others.  How sad that we immediately want to hang on to the good and throw out the bad as if it never happened at all. 

I love Providence.  I suppose it’s instinctive to try to forget the bad or painful moments of our lives, but they are just as important to us in our sanctification process as the good or positive moments are.  Even the reminders of those times/people can help us to see the hand of Providence and how it has moved to our good and His glory!  This is one of the mysterious ways of God.  Instead of being fearful of this these days I am learning to embrace the mystery as an adventure.

Ah ha!  I have “been there done that”! The last time I was tempted to get rid of those reminders of painful experiences I came across this Scripture:  Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

“Consider the work of God:  For who can make straight what He has made crooked?  In the day of prosperity be joyful.  But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other.”

What perfect peace comes from knowing that God is in control of the good the bad and the ugly…He is working through it all to our good and His glory for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)  So the next time you’re tempted to run away from or even shred those reminders of the painful moments/persons in your life consider this “surely God has appointed the one as well as the other”.