Even When Nothing is Wrong
Looking down at my phone, I noticed a message from my son.
At work, I quickly texted him back and asked two things.
“Can I call you back?”
“Is everything ok?”
His response was sweet, but made me reflect on something beyond a mother / son conversation.
“Yea, can a boy not call his mama without something being wrong ?”
First, if you are the parent of an adult child, you know any communication is welcome.
It could be asking to watch the dog or asking how to make an appointment.
We want to be included in as much of our children’s lives as they will allow.
And that is the way it is with our God.
We don’t have to just call out to Him when something is wrong.
He wants to be a part of our everyday lives.
As much as we will allow.
The joy and pain.
The extraordinary and the mundane.
Our smallest worries to our biggest celebrations.
Every. Single. Thing.
My momma heart is always full any time my children call.
And I am always ready to listen.
Friends, you have a Father who is always willing to listen to you when you call.
Even when nothing is wrong.
“When you call on me and come to me in prayer, I will listen to your every word. If you reach out to me, you will find me when you search for me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:12-13 TPT
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Unchanging
The drive was breathtaking.
Shades of orange, red and gold burst forth from the line of trees.
Fall is my favorite time of year.
My husband and I will be married 28 years this month.
But October is also when we lost both of our fathers.
A time of year that has held some of the most wonderful and the most difficult moments in my life.
How ironic it is to witness such beauty while remembering such pain.
A reminder that we will all experience good times and bad.
Love and loss.
Joy and sorrow.
But as the leaves change colors, I am also reminded of the promise that there is One who never changes.
The One who has been by my side in every season.
The One who is with you in every season, too.
Friends, His love for us never changes.
My prayer is that as you start this week, you hold onto that promise.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 ESV
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Focus
Sometimes it’s hard to turn off the thoughts in our minds that steam roll ahead at full speed before they completely derail our whole day.
And even with my praise music on and the beautiful beach scene in front of me on the treadmill, my thoughts were already on a collision course this morning.
Not the way I intended to start my day.
But I could not shift my focus, even after a mile and a half.
So I told my husband I would meet him in the car and went to open my Bible app.
Meditating on His Word is far better than stewing in our own.
Thinking about the best, not the worst.
Taking in the beauty around me.
Listing things to be thankful for.
My day had started spending time with my husband.
Him stopping to get me coffee and check my tire pressure before leaving on a trip this afternoon.
It’s easy to lose sight about what’s in front of us when we’re caught up in our own thoughts.
Friends, I don’t know how your day began.
But if you are starting your day off on shaky ground like me, pause and meditate on this verse.
Focus on the good in front of you.
Even if it’s a hot cup of coffee.
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into His most excellent harmonies.”
Philippians 4:8-9 MSG
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A Single Path
As I came around the corner, I could see there was only a single lane open ahead.
Cars needed to wait to proceed until they saw the flaggers switch their sign from “Stop” to “Slow.”
What struck me about this was not the wait, but the communication it took between the two flaggers to ensure the safety of drivers coming from both directions.
And their own safety .
The plan called for constant communication.
Without it, disaster was likely.
Our God has a beautiful future planned for us.
There is a single path that leads us home: Jesus.
But that road is never a straight line.
It is filled with times that could cause us to crash.
Staying in constant communication with our Heavenly Father gives us direction for the ups and downs that make up our journey.
He gives us signs to stop and wait or to slow down.
God’s timing is perfect.
His plan is for His children to arrive safely home.
Wherever you are on your journey, my prayer is that you seek Him for direction today.
Until we all arrive safely home.
“Here’s what YAHWEH says to you: “I know all about the marvelous destiny I have in store for you, a future planned out in detail. My intention is not to harm you but to surround you with peace and prosperity and to give you a beautiful future, glistening with hope. When you call on me and come to me in prayer, I will listen to your every word. If you reach out to me, you will find me when you search for me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 TPT
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In the Morning
Somedays we wake up excited about what the new day will bring our way.
Others, we wake up exhausted before we even get out of bed.
But His love for us is never exhausted.
Each morning greets us with His new mercies.
Before you get out of bed and have your coffee or tea, may He fill your cup with His hope and love.
Friends, whatever kind of morning you are having, His portion is enough to carry you through today.
Blessings in heaps!
“YAHWEH’s tender mercies have no end, and the kindness of his endless love is never exhausted. New, fresh mercies greet me with every sunrise. So wonderfully great is Your faithfulness! I tell my soul, “YAHWEH is my abundant portion. I need nothing more. So, I will put all my hope in Him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24 TPT
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A Clear View
It was hard to see out the window of my husband’s car this morning.
Something I would remedy once we returned home with some Windex.
Even the sun looked a little distorted through the window.
I love when God speaks in the most unexpected ways.
Sometimes the way I see God is not clear because I see Him through human eyes.
Even the way I look at the Son can seem distorted when seeing Him from a clouded world view.
It is hard to fathom the great love our Father has for us when we consider the limits placed on us as humans.
But His love for us is limitless.
God wants us to look through the eyes of our hearts.
He wants His children to know the inheritance that is theirs and the power that they hold within them.
His immeasurable love for us and the sacrifice that came through the cross seems impossible to imagine.
But for those who believe, for those who see through the eyes of their hearts, we trust that all things are possible through Him.
There is nothing that is over our heads that is not under His feet.
Not our mistakes or failures.
Not the challenges our loved ones face.
Not our finances or health.
He is over it all.
My prayer today is that the eyes of your heart are opened and that you can see clearly the hope that yours through Him.
And that you know without a doubt that you are loved beyond measure.
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.”
Ephesians 1:18-23 NIV
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In Need of Water
As I turned toward the window, a glimpse of brown leaves caught my eye.
I had forgotten to water the plants this week, along with about a dozen other things that didn’t get done.
If I am being honest, I was feeling a bit like those plants this morning .
In need of water.
The Living Water.
How easy it is to get caught up in the busyness of what the world throws at us that forget we need to go to the well.
To nourish our souls.
To be still.
To give us life.
After giving the plants a much needed drink, I sat down to give pause and thank to the One who gives daily reminders that we need Him.
Though His Word.
And even through a dying plant.
May you pause and nourish your soul today.
Blessings in heaps!
“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14 ESV
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Like a Child
It doesn’t matter how old I get.
The sight of a merry go round instantly brings me back to my childhood.
From choosing my horse to listening to the organ music,
I am magically turned back into a little girl.Even though there was no real destination on the carousel, the journey on that ride felt like you were in another world.
Maybe it was the childlike wonder of it all.
There is a destination that requires that same childlike thinking.
Heaven.
God tells us in His word that whoever humbles himself to become like a child will enter His gates.
That doesn’t mean we have to become children again, but become like a child.
Teachable.
Humble.
Full of awe and wonder.
As adults, it’s easy to believe we know what’s best.
That we know better than God.
As we grow into adults, we change our way of thinking.
It’s easy to drift from that childlike faith.
But no matter how old we get, our Heavenly Father reminds us we are all children.
His children.
My prayer for you today is that you see Him with the awe and wonder of a child.
“Jesus called a little one to his side and said to them, “Learn this well: Unless you dramatically change your way of thinking and become teachable like a little child, you will never be able to enter in. Whoever continually humbles himself to become like this little child is the greatest one in heaven’s kingdom realm.”
Matthew 18:2-4 TPT
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The Beauty Ahead
Right lane closed ahead.
I was too far now to turn around and find another route.
Going through the construction zone was the only option.
What was being built would eventually make getting to my final destination easier.
But for now, it looked like everything had been torn apart.
And then there was the wait.
Before my thoughts could allow me to become upset with the extra time tacked onto my schedule, out of the corner of my eye I saw a butterfly.
A beautiful sight among all the concrete and machinery.
An incredible reminder that we can find beauty even when the path is not easy.
Maybe we are being rerouted or rebuilt.
The time might be longer than expected.
But regardless of the path, we can always find beauty as God leads us along the way.
Going through the construction zones in our lives won’t last forever.
But the beauty ahead that we can’t see now will.
Until then, I am grateful for the reminders that He provides that there is beauty right where we are.
We just need to look for it.
“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16, 18 MSG
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His Promises
I did not need to look out the window to know it was raining.
The sound of the water furiously hitting the ground made it abundantly clear.
The thought of going outside was less than appealing.
Almost as if the rain had rinsed away my motivation.
But life keeps moving forward, storms or not.
Similar to when the storms of life hit, I would much rather curl up inside and put the world on hold.
Sometimes it’s easy to believe when the storms come, that God has forgotten us.
But He sends us reminders that He has not forgotten us or His promise to His people.
As I emerged outside when the rain had finally stopped, there was a full and vibrant rainbow greeting me.
A sign of His promises and His presence.
Friends, I don’t know what storm you are facing today.
You might think that God has forgotten you and that the storm will never end.
But take heart.
He is with you always, rain or shine.
You are never alone.
“And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
Genesis 9:12-13 NIV
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