Never Forget

 It’s Veteran's Day, a day when we remember and honor those men and women who have served in our nation's military. I'm glad there is a day set aside for this purpose, but I also think it's sad that we don't remember them more often. That we don't think about and honor those men and women, and their families, who sacrifice so much on our behalf. Who pay the price so we don't have to. We must never forget that freedom isn't free, and that many have sacrificed much on our behalf.

Freedom comes at a price. A great price. And not only the freedoms we enjoy as American citizens, but our freedom in Christ as well. May we never forget the great price that our Savior paid that we might be free from sin. May we never forget what it cost Him. May we never take it for granted.

We so often take our freedoms as Americans for granted. Shame on us! And shame on us when we treat our freedom in Christ that casually as well.

May we live this day, and every day, with gratitude for all that is ours in Christ Jesus. May we never forget what it cost.

"For you were bought with a price."  (1 Corinthians 6:20 ESV)

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  For he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."  (Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV)

It’s November!

The calendar says it’s November which, for many, means it’s time to decorate for Christmas. I am not one of those people. I prefer to celebrate holidays one at a time. This is not meant as criticism on my part; it’s simply a matter of personal preference.

In any event, November is something of a mixed bag for me. For these last several years, every time the calendar turns to November, I start to get a little uncomfortable. A little stressed. November brings with it some bad memories. It was in November 2016 that I suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. While I have no memory of that event or of many of the days that followed, I’ve seen the pictures and heard the stories, and I know it is something I never want to repeat. Of course, it is completely unreasonable to think it could happen again simply because it’s November. Even so, November brings it all to the surface.

Despite that, my overwhelming thoughts this month are gratitude. Extreme gratitude. Because November is the month we celebrate a day devoted to giving thanks, and because I have so very much to be thankful for, I want to focus November on gratitude. On counting my blessings. On giving thanks. I don’t want to rush past that to the next holiday, as special as it is.

When I was in the Neuro ICU, my husband was told I might not wake up. He was told that if I did wake up, I would face severe challenges. But God had other plans for me. And today, my reality is very different from that gloomy prediction. I walk without assistance. I can read and write and talk better than anyone ever expected. I still deal with some aftereffects of the stroke, but most are not visible except perhaps to those who know me best.

This month I celebrate that I am a stroke survivor. And it’s all because of God’s amazing grace!

Thinking About Clutter

Typically on Monday mornings my thoughts often turn to clutter. Around here,  Monday mornings have generally been devoted to laundry and decluttering, but since cancer entered our world, all my normal routines are out the window. Here we are on Thursday, and the Monday tasks and the Monday clutter are still here. If you know me at all, you know that clutter drives me crazy! I’m just hoping this week’s clutter doesn’t spill into next week.

Even with all the challenges I’m currently facing in staying ahead of the clutter, it occurs to me that it's much easier to deal with physical clutter, as challenging as that often is, than it is to deal with the stuff that clutters our minds.

Last week I spent some time cleaning out some closets and dresser drawers. I got rid of a lot of stuff that was no longer useful or needed. Worn-out shoes. Clothes that no longer fit. A past-its-prime toothbrush. Stuff that is no longer useful and had become just more clutter.

Sometimes it's a challenge to determine what to hold on to and what to let go. I can't make decisions about what to let go of in your closet. But here are a few ideas about what to hold on to.

Hold on to your memories.

Memories are precious things. If you've been in the position of watching someone you love lose their memory to Alzheimer's, as I have, then you are aware what a treasure the memory is. And having my own stroke-related memory loss, I know that memories are a treasure. We can't hold on to every photograph or ticket stub or souvenir; for most of us, space doesn't permit that. Nor do we want to become so anchored to those memories that we miss life in the present. But we can treasure the memories! Revisit them from time to time. Share them with others. Enjoy them!

I often find myself wishing I knew more about my parents or my grandparents in their early years. Wishing I had asked them more questions. Wishing I had listened more closely to the stories they told. Some day our children may feel the same. Share your memories and the stories of your family history so it can be passed on from generation to generation.

Hold on to relationships.

In our culture, it's all about the stuff. All about how much we can accumulate. All about what kind of car we drive or what kind of house we live or what kind of electronic devices we have. It's all about our technology.

I sat in a doctor's office waiting room a few days ago, and as I looked around, I realized every single person in that waiting room was staring at their phone. There was no conversation. Not even any eye-contact. Just staring at the phone.

Look around at your next family gathering. Are people talking to each other, or are they glued to their electronic devices? We need to make an effort to reverse this trend in our culture! People are important! Let's never lose sight of that.

Relationships matter. And nothing is more important in developing and holding on to our relationships than personal interaction. Texting and tweeting can never take the place of the human voice. Of actual conversation. Of real sentences that are more than 40 characters in length. Of a smile or a hug. Don't let technology rob you of what's most important.

Hold on to Jesus.

Our culture would seek to marginalize or trivialize our Christian faith. Christians in our culture are often viewed as weak or out of touch or not terribly bright. Even so, our relationship with Jesus is the most important of all our relationships. It's a relationship that must be held on to, cherished, and nurtured.

How do we do that? The same way it has always been done. By spending time with Him in prayer (conversation). By spending time with Him in Bible study (getting to know Him). And by fellowship with other believers (church attendance). These are the building blocks of growing our relationship with Jesus and of holding on to that relationship.

A relationship where there is no communication doesn't last long, does it? It's hard to have a relationship with someone you don't know, isn't it? A "lone-ranger" relationship isn't really a relationship, is it?

Know your priorities.

When we're decluttering around the house, we get rid of things that no longer are useful or have value to us. We are able to do this because we understand what does have value.

The same principle holds true in our relationships, particularly as concerns our relationship with the Lord. When we know our values and our priorities, we are more easily able to clear our minds of things that don't line up with those values and priorities. We are able to declutter our minds based on these priorities.

And what is the priority for the Christian?

"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness."  (Matthew 6:33a NASB)

Take action.

I cleaned out my closet. I got rid of the clothes that didn't fit, the purses I never use, the shoes that were worn out.

I cleaned out my bathroom cabinet. I decluttered it by disposing of the empty mascara tubes, the eye shadows I didn't even like, the empty lotion bottles, the worn-out toothbrush.

The same thing needs to happen for you and for me in our thinking. We need to get rid of the clutter.  We need to toss out anything that doesn't line up with our priorities. No matter what the voices of culture would tell us we need to be thinking about or what our opinions should be in order for us to be politically correct, we need to make certain that our thinking is lined up with the plumb line of the Word of God.

Today would be a good day to start doing some decluttering.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus......"  (Hebrews 12:1-2a, NASB, emphasis mine)

In the Waiting Room

 

I’ve spent a lot of time in waiting rooms lately. Hospital waiting rooms. Doctor’s office waiting rooms. It’s one of the realities when your husband has cancer. Sitting. Waiting.

Most of us are not very good at waiting, are we? I would go so far as to say that none of us likes to wait. For anything. We live in a culture of instant everything. We want what we want, and we want it right now. It’s the American way, after all. We have instant access to weather information, news, any question we might have about anything. Instant coffee, instant oatmeal, instant anything. We live in a microwave society.

Even so, we are often called on to wait.

Some waiting is pleasant. A child waiting for Christmas or birthday is impatient, yet excited about what’s coming. We wait with anticipation for flowers to bloom, for the first robin who signals spring, for a baby to be born. We’re excited as we wait for family to arrive for a visit.

But some waiting is not so pleasant. Waiting for the phone call from your doctor about a diagnosis. The aging parents who wait in their loneliness for the phone call or visit from family members, but it never comes. Sitting in the medical office waiting for the procedure and wondering what the outcome will be. Waiting for answers. Waiting to learn next steps. Just waiting.

Waiting can affect us in many different ways.

But for those who belong to Christ Jesus, there is one waiting that leaves us with a sense of great anticipation. Because we know what is coming. We know something much better lies ahead. We know that one day - although we don’t know exactly when - we will be with the Lord Jesus Christ, in His presence, seeing Him face to face for all eternity. But right now we are waiting.

What are we to be doing while we are waiting? The Bible gives us some clear instructions. 

Consider these instructions:

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV)

“….Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25 NASB)

This is not an extensive list, of course, but you get the idea.

For now, we wait. But there is coming a day…….And what a day that will be!

What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see;

When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace.

When He takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land

What a day, glorious day that will be.

- Jim Hill

Through

Perhaps one of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture is The Twenty-Third Psalm. We learn it as children. We hear it read at funerals. Even people who don't regularly attend church or who don't spend a lot of time in the Bible have heard of this Psalm.

One of my favorite verses in that Psalm is the fourth verse which says "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."  

This is a verse I often find myself thinking about. And as I have been thinking about that verse recently, a few words have stood out to me. Even though. Through. With me.

"Even though" is an expression of certainty. This tells me not to be surprised when tough times come. It tells me they will come. But in spite of the tough times.......no matter what happens.....even though.......there is no reason to fear. The certainty is that tough times will come. The certainty is also that I don't face them alone.

"With me". I'm not alone. No matter what happens. "Thou art with me." What a comfort! Even though tough times come, even though I may feel alone, I'm not! Over and over through the Scriptures this truth rings true!

Matthew 28:20....."I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

2 Chronicles 16:9....."The eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the whole earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His."

Psalm 3:3......"But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory and the One who lifts my head."

But I think my favorite word in this verse is the word "through". "Through" tells me that no matter what valley I may be in or what the difficulty is, it isn't permanent! I won't be in this tough time forever, because this verse tells me that I walk through the valley. I don't walk into it to stay! And that, my friends, brings me great comfort!

The "into" comes later, in the last verse of the Psalm, when "I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6b).

Until then, whatever I'm walking through is part of the "all things" that are working together for my good and His glory (see Romans 8:28-29). So I walk through the valley with my eyes fixed on Jesus, not on my circumstances, because Jesus is with me. As He promised He would be. Even in the valley.


"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB, emphasis mine) 

In Everything

“In everything give thanks."  (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB)

In everything. In all things. However, you want to phrase it...

No exceptions. There are none of those phrases we want to add to the end of the verse.

It doesn't say in everything except.......

Except when my back hurts. Or my knee hurts. Or whichever part hurts today.

Except covid.

Except when I lose my job.

Except when I run out of money.

Except politicians. Or government-run health care. Or when I don't like election results.

Except when my friend or my spouse or my son or my daughter or my best friend hurts my feelings.

Except any of the other things you might be able to think of. There are no clarifying phrases at the end of that sentence.

And it doesn’t say except cancer.

I originally wrote this post in 2013. Today I should also add "except strokes". I originally wrote this post before having a stroke had ever entered my mind. Actually, today I would say "even when you have a stroke", because this verse is one of the verses that got me through stroke recover.

And this verse is getting me through my husband’s cancer.

In everything. 

Everything means everything.

It's pretty clear.

Note that the verse doesn't say anything about feeling thankful. This is not about an emotional response to circumstances. The verse says to give thanks. That involves the will. A deliberate choice to give thanks, not because I feel like it but in spite of the fact that sometimes I don't.

Give thanks. In everything.

Today might be a good day to start.

"It may not be well with my circumstances, but it is well with my soul.” (Jennifer Rothchild)

"In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."                           (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB) 

The Gift of October

 

 

I say this every year when October rolls around - October is a gift. And my first post every October seems to follow this theme, so here we go again!

A few years ago, I took this photo while standing in our driveway. We don't live in the mountains of Western North Carolina anymore, and there isn't this much color yet on leaves where we live now here in the Upstate of South Carolina. But colors like this are part of the reason I love October! Perhaps it's the same for you as well.

October is the month of red and gold and orange leaves.

Of pumpkins and apples.

Of fall festivals.

Of cool mornings and warm afternoons.

Of leaves falling.

For those who live here in the South, October is a welcome respite from the extreme heat we experienced all summer, and even through September.

For those who live further north, October extends the beauty of summer a little longer before the winter months of snow and ice and extreme cold.

October is a gift! Let's enjoy every moment of it, and give thanks to the Giver of all things for such a wonderful gift as October!

"O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever."  (Psalm 106:1 ESV)