Satisfaction Found in the Lord Alone

 

Satisfaction and joy in this life can be found in the Lord alone.  It can not be found in fame or in things money can buy.  It can not be found in youth or youthful pursuits, for that will fade with time. Human love can provide joy and satisfaction for a time, but it too will pass in time.  I personally have married, loved, and buried two husbands in my lifetime.

Friends and friendships also provide blessings in our lives, but they too are not permanent.  Friends and family can comfort me, but they can not meet my needs the way the Lord God does through Scripture and through the Holy Spirit's comfort and encouagement.  Friends and family can help me, but they cannot heal me.  Also only the Lord can promise to never leave me or forsake me.  Only the Lord can promise an eternal future with Him.  Only the Lord can provide lasting satisfaction, light, and joy.  

"Truly my soul finds rest  in God; my salvation comes from Him." (Psalm 62:1)  Other people, experiences and even things can be instruments of grace and blessing in our lives for a time, but only the Lord can provide lasting fullfillment and satisfaction.

Catching Our Tears in His Bottle

 

Psalm 56:8 says this in the NIV translation, "Record my misery, list my tears on your scroll-are they not in your record?  The Lord God  is aware of our times of grief and trials. He  is not only aware of these times, but they are noted and recorded in his  record!  The Lord cares that much about us as His children!  

The King James verson of that verse translates that verse saying that the Lord actually catches our tears His bottle.  This is such a beautiful image of the Lord's love and care for His children.  The shortest verse in the Bible says, "Jesus wept." (John 11:35)  In that story in John 11 Jesus' friend,  Lazarus, had died.  His friends and family were sad.  Even though Jesus already knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the grave, He wept.  Jesus cared that much about His friends' emotional pain and grief.  Our loving Lord and Savior loves us and cares about us in the same amazing way!  What a Savior!  

Father's Day

 

Sunday, June 15  is Father's Day in the United States.   Today I want to remember and honor the men who were special in my life and were fathers.  I think of my paternal grandpa who I remember for his kindness and ability to laugh.  I also remember how my grandpa and grandma would always bring full-sized candy bars for each of us children when they came to visit our home.  Although I did get to know my maternal Grandma, I unfortunately never knew my maternal Grandpa.  He passed away when my Mom was only sixteen years old.  I understand, however, that he was a very godly man, that he died from cancer, and that he had a very vivid dream about heaven not long before he passed away.

My own dad was a gentle, godly man.  He exhibited his faith in a quiet but sincere way.  He was also very hard working and cared deeply about his family's well-being.  My first husband, Wayne, and my children's father, exhibited many of these same character traits in his life as well.  That is most likely why I was attracted to him.  Wayne and I were married for over 34 years.  I have  pictures of my dad and Wayne below this paragraph.

Bob was my second husband who I married in July of 2019.  Sadly, he also passed away after only a little over five years of marrige.  I remember him for his ability to make me laugh in the early days and for his love for his children and grandchildren and for mine as well.  I have a picture of him below this paragraph.

Finally, I am thankful for my heavenly Father.  Earthly Fathers will one day pass away.  Our heavenly Father will never leave us, however.  He will be always with us throughout all the days of our lives on this earth and throughout eternity.

Beauty in the Broken

 

There is a certain beauty in experiencing brokenness in our lives.  Kintsugi, a Japanese expression of art expresses that concept beautifully.  In this expression of art a broken piece of pottery  is repaired with gold.  The cracks in the piece of pottery are filled in with gold.  This makes the repaired piece of pottery more beautiful,  exquisite,  and valuable than the original piece of pottery.  The broken piece of pottery repaired by gold surprisingly also becomes more resilient and strong.

So also our lives are often broken and even shattered by life's trials and struggles.  Yet if we submit these things to Lord, He restores us and makes us more beautiful people for His glory.  In His strength we become stronger and more resilient servants of Him. 

 In Job 23:10 in the midst of horrendous trial after trial Job said this concerning the Lord God, "He know where I am going, and when He tests me I will come out as PURE as GOLD.  The Lord God knows what He is doing when He allows trials and testing in our lives.  That is a time to pray, to wait in hope on the Lord, and to trust in Him.

Our Only Hope in Life and Death

 

The Heidelberg Catechism asks this question:  "What is your only hope in life and death?"  The Catechism answer is this:  My only hope in life and death is that I belong to my faithful savior, Jesus Christ."  I don't think as a child I found that catechism question particularly comforting, but as I am getting older I most definitely do find it comforting.

In my life I have lost to death grandparents; both my parents;  a mother in law; a father in law; a dear sister who was younger than me; and two husbands, Wayne in 2011 and Bob in 2024.    I do know what it is like to grieve, and I have also experienced the blessing of the comfort that only the Lord can give.

One day I too will join the Christians that have gone before me.  As the sweet hymn says, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.  In Psalm 139 it also says that all the days ordained for me are already written in the Lord God's book. Why would I not seek to love and serve Him every day?  Why would I not place my hope and trust in Him?

(On the top picture is pictured Wayne's gravestone.  On the botttom is Bob's gravestone.)

Mother's Day Blessings

 

Mother's Day is now over in the United States as of Sunday, May 11.  I hope all of  you Moms had a lovely day.  The Lord God loves Christian mothers and woman in general.  I had a lovely lunch with family and with my grandchildren doing the cooking for the woman in our circle.  Personally, I also received the lovely orchid pictured above, some sweet smelling bar soap, and some lavender flavored tea bags from two of my granddaughters.   I also had a phone call from my Iowa son and text greetings from my two stepdaughters on Mother's Day itself.

A few days before Mother's Day I received a card. and I received these lovely roses from my stepdaughters.  I pictured them on Facebook, but in case you missed them here they are  pictured again:

Then earlier yet I received this Mother's day card from my son who lives in London.  They call their mothers or moms "Mum" there, and they celebreted Mother's day in March.  Here is a picture of the card that I thought you might enjoy seeing:

 I praise the Lord for the blessing of family who show love for us! 

 

Lessons Learned in Spring

 

Spring has been slow in arriving in our state and county this year.  Yet there are subtle signs of spring starting to show.  The minutes of daylight are getting longer each day and some seasonal flowers are beginning to emerge.

Perhaps you are beginning to emerge emotionally from a winter like season of grief or discouragement in your life as well.  Perhaps your grief is slowly emerging from a season of emotional winter to a spring time of joy and peace.  Just as spring is transitional, often reverting to winter like conditions, so perhaps you have reverted at times to periods of deeper grief as well.  Yet you also are experiencing greater  renewed hope and joy.   Perhaps your night of sorrow is slowly developing into a dawn of joy and peace.

Spring  is also a wonderful picture of new life in Christ.  As spring brings new emerging flowers, newly revived green grass, and longer and warmer hours of daylight; so new life in Christ brings new joy and purpose to our lives.  It brings salvation and forgiveness and a personal relationship with Him.  It brings the assurance that the Lord will always guide and protect and that He will never leave us or forsake us,  This new life brings an assurance and peace that we can trust our Lord God, and we can trust the promises He has made in His Word.  If you have not yet accepted this new life in Christ, I pray you will do so; or if you have strayed away for a time from the sweetness of  a relationship with Him, I pray that you will embrace it again.