Painful Tug

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. - Ecclesiastes 3:1,2

She stands tall, she stands proud. A striking Queen Palm, positioned a little bit too close to our swimming pool (the hot-tub to be exact). Pieces of concrete patio are starting to lift, one sprinkler pipe broken. As much as I cringe with the thought, we simply have to let her go.

My husband and I wrestled with whether or not to save her. But $250 pretty much made the decision for us. Time to get the chainsaw ...

I thought about how God will sometimes have us pull a beautifully planted tree along our spiritual journey, and we find it hard to make any sense out of it. It looks great on the outside, moving gracefully as the wind catches its leaves. Providing shade from the sun and offering a perch for feathered friends. What could be so bad about that?

But oftentimes there are things below the surface, that have potential to cause harm. A tree that provided years of protection will suddenly become dangerous and a detriment to God's pool of Living Water. Is that because the tree has somehow become rotten? No. The tree is still the tree ... but over time it has simply grown too big for the spot in your heart.

What has God asked you to uproot lately? Do you harbor a secret sin? Maybe you find yourself in an unhealthy relationship, and you are starting to see the affects of broken communication. The Lord may be asking you to make a career change - your whole life purpose has taken on a new meaning.

Wherever you are, take heart my friend. If it is time to pull a giant weed in your life, take comfort in knowing that you won't have to pull it alone.

God's Word is full of powerful promises. Take hold of one - and tug.

Watchful

Today's devotion can be found at: http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/devotions/reese_watchful.aspx .

CBN.com published another one for me! Take a peek.

I appreciate everyone who visits this blog, you are a special part of my journey. I write every day, with you in mind.

Thanks for stopping by ...

Straight Path

Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. - Proverbs 4:26,27

To walk in integrity bears a great price. Choosing no to, costs us so much more.

I listened to an amazing sermon yesterday. Halfway across the country, Pastor Doug's voice landed on my heart through my iPod ear buds. It was the final part of a three-part series ... one that will alter my path forever.

The center of his message had to do with following the commands of God's Word -- "to a tee." He illustrated his point through the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. God's command not to eat of the tree got all twisted up through the interjection of the enemy. How often times that happens to me.

Some of the verses he touched on talked about how no unwholesome talk is to come out of your mouth ... if we ask anything in God's name it will be given to us ... God is able to make all grace about to you ... devote yourselves to prayer ...

I felt the Holy Spirit's conviction as I realized how loosely I hold these commands. No unwholesome talk? Did God really say that? Am I really to devote myself to prayer? Did God really say not to eat that piece of fruit?

The enemy is pretty sneaky.

I come to a place in my walk where I am called to rise up and take a stand. The mistakes of others, promises broken and unforgiveness has threatened to poison the one thing that matters most.

My relationship with God.

God's Word is the only solid step we have along this broken path called life. While many opportunities clamour for our attention, the narrow one is our only promise for peace.

Yes, God really did say that He loves you. Open the Bible - it is written and illustrated through Jesus, His Son.

You can bet your life on it.

Walk Free

Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. - Isaiah 50:10b

I was blessed to be able to attend two amazing services yesterday. I witnessed a funeral service for a dear woman who will be terribly missed by her family. And shortly after, I visited a going away service for a man entering the army.

One was a celebration of the end of a person's life, while the other was a celebration of the beginning of great things - yet both held striking similarities.

Tributes were given for both. Family and friends got up and shared stories and expressed deep emotion. Both ceremonies generated a lot of tears. There was something so sacred about being there, sharing the love, sorrow, joy and pain of two families who would be forever changed. My heart ached remembering some of my own pain.

Food and fellowship followed, and I thought about how dark the unknown can appear. Death leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Being commissioned out onto the battlefield does too. Darkness can threaten to strangle even the strongest of hearts.

But where our understanding ends, God's begins. The name of Jesus Christ was proclaimed twice yesterday, bringing hope to hearts that were broken into a million pieces.

He really can be trusted, even in our darkest hour.

Whatever that next step might be for you today ... I charge you with this thought. Walk free. Taking that next step might be difficult, but you can rest knowing that you will never tread alone.

Jesus lives.

Get Back Up

Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. - Psalm 119:133

I fell down yesterday - hard. Something I thought was healed years ago snuck up on me. And like a kid riding a skateboard for the first time, I went from trying a really neat trick to landing flat on my back.

The bumps and bruises of sin covered me, and it seemed like the harder I tried to get up, the harder I fell. Again, and again.

Guilt piled itself on like a bucket of tar. "I know better, why am I here - AGAIN?"

As I kneeled before the Father today, afraid to show my face, unable to lift my eyes, I confessed the mess I found myself in. He agreed with each one of my offenses.

Then I heard something amazing in my spirit, breaking the chains of condemnation ... Your sin could never be greater than my forgiveness and love. Believe in what was accomplished on that cross. Live it, receive it, breathe it, proclaim it.

Sin no longer reigns in my life, Jesus does. It's power was broken the moment Jesus submitted to brokenness.

He saved my life.

True Ministry

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. - 1 Corinthians 1:3-5

I've got a chicken pox scar on my right forearm, just below my elbow. I was about six when the ailment visited our neighborhood on Third Street. All of the kids in the neighborhood ended up getting them. Better early than late, I guess.

I have other scars too. Right next to my right knuckle sits a scar I got while riding my new ten speed bike. I never drove over a garden hose again. Then there is the scar on my right shin, making it's appearance when I accidentally stepped into a hole that held a sprinkler head. Ouch.

These injuries are vivid, memorable - not something I would choose to revisit - but definitely a part of my story. I think about the scars I incurred later in life, such as surgical scars ... and let's not forget the team of emotional scars I've picked up along the way.

I once read that if a wound does not properly heal, that it will never turn into a scar. Staying open, bloody, painful and sore. When it comes to our emotional wounds, they can stick around for decades if they haven't been properly cared for.

It is not easy dressing some of those wounds. Nobody likes pain, but pain is a part of the healing process. In order to get past some of the garbage, we often times have to wade knee deep through it.

While some of the emotional wounds of my past make their way to the surface every now and then (carrying what feels like an incurable ache) if I take those hurts to God He promises to have a remedy.

As painful as each of those circumstances were, I would not change them for the world. The are a part of who I am, a part of my story. And by God's grace, I can use my scars to help somebody else who is suffering the same kind of injury - ministry at its purest.

What kind of scars do you hold? Do you loath them, or have you learned to embrace the ugly things?

God's work in the world is so much higher than anything we can wrap our minds around. The scars on Jesus' hands and feet tell me a lot about our pain.

It brings Him glory.

Stuff

If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! - Ecclesiastes 4:10

Stuff. We've all got it. Trickling down the stairs, clogging up the lint screen of our dryers. Dust bunnys challenge the feather-duster, threatening to take over. The ring around the bathtub fights back with determination. Piles of unwanted items stack themselves into the garage, awaiting that spring garage sale. Keeping a home tidy requires our daily attention.

It is the same with our heart.

I sat with a friend last night, discussing the ins and outs of some of my "stuff." Negative tapes that have played for years, insecurities about my outward appearance that reflect depravity within. The expectations I put on others, hoping they will fill a void that only God can fill. It was a pretty long laundry list.

Twenty-three years into recovery, my dear friend was willing to extend a hand to help this tender soul who was just beginning. As we chatted over apple turnover, I realized something. I had a choice. I could continue to be overwhelmed by the mess on the stairs of my heart, or I could ask God to help me begin tidying things up.

I'm tired of trying to clean this mess up all by myself. I've reached a point in my life where my face has found the carpet. I need God's help.

Later, as I drove back to home, buildings and trees stood against golden light created the most amazing silhouette. The view was breathtaking. My heart was captured even more by the view inside of my soul. A new lie had been exposed during this conversation with my friend - one I have held onto for years.

But the ugly old thing, the lie that has caused me terrible turmoil for months, even years, suddenly looked amazing against the backdrop of God's light. New hope surfaced, giving this weary traveler just enough fuel to keep trecking.

We need each other. Who can you reach out to today? Who can you ask for help from? Don't try to clean up the mess all by yourself. It can be terribly overwhelming, and it's not much fun.

One of the greatest gifts God gives us is friendship.

Find one. Be one.