...blessed are those who mourn...

This was something the Lord just dropped into my heart tonight. I have encountered a couple people this week that are walking through a season of mourning. All unconnected and in very different places in life but all are walking through the valley of the shadow.

Tonight it was like the Lord said "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

As I thought about this, I was reminded of my own experience of the perfect comfort of Jesus in a season of mourning. When we encounter death, whether it be death of a loved one, death of a relationship, or death of a dream, it is in that place of deep pain that the Lord is often closest.

Not to say that sometimes we don't go through seasons where it seems that even He is a million miles away. And there is special grace for those times too.

But when our hearts are weakest, His love is strongest. In Psalms it says that He draws near to the broken heart. When we are in that place where it just hurts, I mean really aches deep in the soul and nothing on earth can make that pain stop, Jesus meets us there and promises comfort. And that is where we find the blessing. The blessing is being near to Jesus, leaning on His strong love, not going alone.

Above all, the ultimate comfort will come when Jesus wipes away every tear from our eyes, when He makes all things new, when He sets all things right (Revelation 21:4-8). Until that day, I pray that those I encountered this week, and you if you are in that place, would know the sweet comfort Jesus gives.

waiting seasons...

Life is full of waiting.

Often waiting seems to be a dull and boring thing. Sometimes it's even painful.

But I'm learning that God's idea of waiting is different than ours...big surprise.

I've heard it said that the word wait in Isaiah 40:31 is an active, expectation and anticipation of the Lord's strength.

"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength..."

So I looked it up in the Hebrew and the word is "Qavah"

"to wait for, look for, hope, expect...to wait or look eagerly for..."

I'm in a season of waiting right now and this word for wait is also in a couple Psalms that the Lord has highlighted to me this week.

"And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You." Psalm 39:7

"I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry..." Psalm 40:1

Even though waiting can be more painful than action sometimes it isn't a place of death. Waiting is a place of expectation and hope. It is a place of confidence that our good God will never forget us and this waiting will NOT last forever.

The Father's Love...

Here is the verse that inspired the story I posted a few weeks ago...

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10

Happy Easter!

A story...

My little sister was inspired this week to initiate a short story contest in our house :) This is my contribution.

Bella's Father

Once there was a little girl named Bella. She lived in a cottage with her mother, father and brother, Emilio. Her family had a farm with a garden, a field, a donkey, a cow, two dogs and a fat cat named Bernard. Bella’s father loved her very much. He did many things for her. When she was sick or sad or lonely he comforted her. He made sure she had clothes to wear and food to eat and he always kept her safe. When Bella did bad things he forgave her and gently corrected her. But Bella was a silly little girl and she didn't realize how much her father loved her.

One day she thought to herself, “I must make my father love me more.” So She decided to help around the cottage more. She got up early the next morning to sweep the entire house. She carried the big heavy rugs outside and shook them out. It was hard and all the dirt didn’t quite come out. Her arms were very sore the next morning when she woke up early to water the garden. The buckets were heavy and her feet got very wet. “But I must make father love me more.” she thought.

Every morning she got up early to do some kind of work. Bella’s father and mother thanked her but still she felt she had to do something more. So she decided to be perfectly nice to everyone. She tried to do exactly as her mother told her and didn't yell at Emilio. But sometimes she failed. After all it made her so mad when he pulled Bernard’s tail.

No matter how nice she was though, it didn't seem to change anything. As a final attempt Bella decided to make her father’s favorite cake while her mother was in the garden. But she had never done it alone before. The kitchen was quite a mess by the time the batter was in the pan. She sighed with relief after putting it in the oven. After doing her best to clean up she though she would to pick some wildflowers to give her father. However as she walked down the road, she went further then she thought she had and suddenly the sun was beginning to go down. Bella ran for home. As she came to the door of the cottage she could smell something burning. Upon entering the house she was met by her mother and a very burnt cake. Bella’s heart fell to her shoes. “Oh no, I've ruined everything,” She thought “father mustn't know what I've done.”

So she turned and ran. When she couldn't run anymore she climbed a tree and began to cry. How could she ever face him? She made so many mistakes. How could he ever love her?

After what felt like hours she heard someone on the road. But because it was growing dark she couldn’t see that it was her father until he was beside her. He reached up his hands and said “Come down my love; lets go home.”

Bella was confused. “You still want me?”

Her father smiled, still holding out his arms, he said “Oh yes.”

She reached out her arms and fell into His. She wanted to ask but was afraid to. Finally when her father had carried her home she got the courage “Do you still love me?” Her father squeezed her tight and said “oh yes.”

As he carried her the last couple steps to the house he said “There is nothing you could do to make me love you more.”

And Bella suddenly knew he didn’t love her because of all she could do, because she did things right or even did things for him. He loved her because she was his. And she loved him too.

The End

Clouds and Mountains

I've been doing a lot of reading the past couple months. One of the books that has encouraged me the most is a devotional compilation of writings by Amy Carmichael.

{Brief Bio: Amy Carmichael was one of the pioneers of the modern missions movement and spent a large portion of her life in India rescuing and caring for children. But the last 15 years of her life she spent bedridden as a result of an injury that never healed correctly. Rather than return home to Ireland, she stayed in India with the people she loved and there she wrote some of the most encouraging and challenging pieces of literature I have ever read.}

There have been many encouraging chapters but one of my favorites was titled "Clouds". She shares about an evening when she watched the clouds come in, covering the mountains and sky. In this simple moment she was reminded of the comforting fact that the mountains and stars remained even though covered from sight by clouds. In the same way, God and the truth about Him is not changed by the clouds of our circumstances or emotions. She wrote this:

"Our feelings do not affect God's facts. They may blow up, like clouds, and cover the eternal things that we do most truly believe. We may not see the shining of the promises - but still they shine! And the strength of the hills that is His also, is not for one moment less because of our human weakness." *

I was struck one day with the revelation that God is just as good now in the hard times as He was when everything seemed to be going so well.

How thankful I am for the unchanging nature of our God!

*From: I Come Quietly to Meet You; Devotional readings arranged by David Hazard

Ch. 17 pg 66

a bend in the road...

So it has been nearly three months since I have written on my blog...it seems that my poor blog is doomed to these long periods of neglect now and then :)

Life has changed a lot in those three months. More than I ever expected it to...there was a bend in the road on my journey that I didn't see coming. It is a very long story and it isn't really blog material but to put it simply I'm in a place where I don't know what is next. I don't know what God is doing. I don't know what He is going to do next. Most days I feel like I don't know much of anything. But...

...I know that He is God...that He is good...that He is faithful...

I know that is kind of a "Duh" statement but I've had my moments of doubts. And those things are a big deal to hold onto when you don't have anything else to hold on to. The awesome thing about TRUTH is that it DOESN'T CHANGE with the circumstances. These things that I know, Job knew them too. Because of these truths He said:

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away...blessed be the name of the Lord"

(Job 1:21)

Jeremiah was another man that saw incredible suffering and devastation yet because He knew truth He wrote this:

"This I recall to mind, therefore I have HOPE.

The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

for His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness"

(Lamatations 3:21-23)

Even though I don't understand circumstances and I'm walking through a valley...I know that God is good and faithful...even when I don't feel it. God's loving kindness has yet to fail me...so I'm living one day at a time with great hope and expectation for what is around the corner that I just can't see yet.

The Changing of Seasons...

Yes it is time once again for change in my life.

The past month has been a busy one. Our time has been filled with classes and homework as well as lots of time with people. Several teachers have invited our team to their homes for delicious deserts, words of wisdom, and encouraging times of prayer. As we finish our time as college students we feel filled up and ready to take on the world :)

This last week was our last as students at Bethany College of Missions! It has been an incredible three years of seeking God, building relationships and growing into the calling God has on each of our lives. We have gone deep in our relationship with God. He has blessed us with life long friendships and supporters. And we have been equipped to reach the nations with His life changing message. I am so blessed and thankful that the Lord lead me to this place for this time of training. Bethany will always be a second home and place close to my heart.

I will be leaving tomorrow morning bright and early to return to my hometown in Michigan. So good-bye Bethany...