Prodigal: Yeah, but you gotta shoot straight with me!
Me: Lol….very funny!
This is from the book Just Enough Light for the Step I’m on by Stormie Omartian.
More and more, God is teaching me to trust Him for every step I take. He constantly calls me to stretch beyond what’s comfortable. To walk through new territory when I would rather stay with the familiar. To face difficult physical, mental, and emotional challenges. To do things I know I can’t achieve by myself without His power. Each time something is required of me that I’m certain I am unable to accomplish in my own strength, I see a picture of just one or two steps being illuminated, while those before and after are engulfed in darkness and cannot be seen. This describes my walk with God. I trust Him for each day of life, grateful for every breath, determined to look for the blessing in the moment, no matter what the circumstances. I follow His lead–even when I can’t see where I’m going, even when it scares me to do so—because deep within my spirit I know that these simple steps of faith are preparing me for eternity.
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me. Micah 7:8
Prodigal: I am looking for my list. It is as well hidden as Grannie’s snuffbox though.
Me: I hope you find it!
This is from the book Finding Peace for Your Heart by Stormie Omartian
Because deliverance is ongoing and done in layers, total deliverance never happens overnight. God is the only one who knows which layer should come off first and when it should happen. In other words, a person may not find total deliverance from a painful eating disorder today, but might be delivered from unforgiveness toward a parent. God always wants you to be delivered from something right now. No matter how He does it or how long it takes, you must trust that His timing is perfect. He knows when you’re ready for the next step. It may not be exactly the way you want it at the moment, but there is always deliverance available to us anytime we make ourselves available to it. We must sustain a spirit of grateful dependence upon Him and be willing to say as David did,
You are my God.
My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies. (Psalm 31:14-15)
This comes from the book Winning Your Daily Spiritual Battles by Linda Evans Shepherd
Dear Lord, Forgive me for cowering in fear while the giants in my life taunt me. I thank you that I can put on your name and face these giants. I not only put on your name but also call on your name to cancel the assignments of these giants. Nail these assignments to the cross, erasing them from my life. I ask you, Lord; to give me victory through the power of the name and the blood of Jesus and through the empowerment of God’s Holy Spirit. Amen.
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. Ephesians 6:15 NLT
Sometime around 1950, missionaries named Egert and Hattie Dyk went to work at Tseltal, an Indian village near Santo Domingo. All but one resident eventually became a Christian, but since there was much persecution from neighbors, the entire village packed up, walked for a day, and established a Christian community in the new place. The Dyks eventually left this settlement, but they heard about what transpired later from the missionary who took their place.
It seems that a man named Domingo Hernandez lived near this area and hated his Christian neighbors. He was determined to burn their settlement and slaughter all its inhabitants. Late one night he organized his fellow villagers, prepared pitch-pine torches and canoes and led them stealthily down the hill and across the river.
But before they had a chance to attack, they saw a bright light shining through the windows of every home in the Christian village. Then a strange luster shone over the entire area.
Domingo Hernandez and his men were so frightened that they turned and scrambled down the hill, plunged into the river, swam across and ran, soaking wet, the half-mile to their homes.
The next morning, as the women from Hernandez’s village were washing their clothes in the river, they called across to the Christian women on the other side. “What were those strange lights in your huts last night?” they asked.
“What lights?” the Christian women replied. “We had no lights burning. We were all asleep.”
Colossians 4:2
Continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving
Me: Sometimes we think that nobody sees what we do.
Prodigal: I feel like that sometimes.
Me: That is not true.
I was cold. The old farmhouse had no central heat and there was a hole barely covered in the living room wall. All I had was several space heaters in each room. I was questioning what had I done. It was Christmas. I had agreed to give my mom a couple of days break from taking care of my grandmother. A year earlier my grandmother had a stroke and was paralyzed on one side. She could not be alone for more than a couple of hours.
My mother was taking care of her with almost no support. She had moved into my grandmother’s house full time. She would drive an hour to visit my dad and back to her home as often as she could. I knew it was all very draining on my mom and that she needed a break. I informed her that I would give her a break and take care of my Grandmother as a Christmas present.
That began two very long days. I quickly realized that feeding, changing, cleaning up bowls movements and moving my grandmother was very hard work. I also knew in my heart that I was not that good at being a caregiver. It did not seem to be natural to me, like I have seen it with others.
My full-time profession is a mental health therapist. I know how to support others. The support I give though is all verbal, mental and not anything physical. I had never had to give in such a physical aspect. I struggled. I grew frustrated at times and had to walk away. My grandmother would call me in the middle of the night, day, and afternoon. I had the demands of another person completely dependent on me.
It did not take but a couple of hours to realize how much my mother was going through and how hard caregiving is.
The part that really got to me though, was the relationship my mother and grandmother had. My mother had been a daddy’s girl and he had already passed away years before. My grandmother had an addiction to alcohol and pills until she had the stroke. When my grandmother was drunk or high, she would become mean. She was mean to everyone. She would take it out on whoever was around.
This created strain in her relationships. She seemed to be mean mostly to my mother. My grandmother had two other children. Her son had died from cirrhosis of the liver already years before. Her other daughter refused to take care of her. My mom really had little help.
My mother did this with little complaint. She just got up and did what she had to do, day after day. What kind of person would give up their home to care for others, would give up comfort, give up time, and give up sleep?
This was the definition of a real caregiver. This was something that really is not seen that often. I know that she is not the only one who is really doing an expectational job of caregiving. I know some of you are doing that also.
Why are you giving yourself so completely? I think love is the answer.
How about when it is hard and nobody thanks you? How do you do that?
Some of you are frustrated. Some are fighting with relatives over care. Some are never appreciated. Some may be caring for someone who has been mean to you before or because of illness can be mean to you now. Some are afraid of what life will be like when this is all over.
Others are barely sleeping, or having time for friends. The caregiving has created isolation for you and you also feel drained in your own health.
I just want to say that…..
Your Love is Noticed.
Your long days are noticed.
Your long nights are noticed.
Your frustrations are noticed.
Your fears are noticed.
Your loneliness is noticed.
Remember your Love is noticed.
Maybe you wonder if it is worth it, but I am here to encourage you that even if no one else notices, I notice, and GOD notices. Thank you, caregivers. Thank you for caring. Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for making a difference in someone’s life. Thank you for showing us how human beings should be with each other. Thank you for showing love and not just saying it.
Romans 6:3-4
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We are buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that , just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Me: I don’t know if I am going to be able to put this quilt together.
Prodigal: Sometimes it is ok to admit that.
This is from the book Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard, Phil Hodges, and Phyllis Hendry
Minister and author Norman Vincent Peale often sad the toughest test of self-esteem is bowing your head, admitting to God that you fall short of perfection, and accepting Jesus as your Savior. Norman told Ken that at times people would say to him, “Christianity is for weaklings.” Norman said when that happened, he would reply, “That’s furthest from the truth. The human EGO does not want to admit any weakness.” Moving from self-confidence to God-grounded confidence takes a big person and an even bigger, loving God.
Sometimes to make things right we need to admit our weakness. Swallow your pride. Don’t worry about what others think, and tell the truth. It is then that the Lord will start working.
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
