|
These have been challenging days. John's mind continues to decline and it seems that I am recognizing less and less of the man who captured my heart thirteen years ago. I had a trusted respite caregiver here last Tuesday and so I drove away from the house to run a few errands and visit a dear friend in the hospital. As I turned the corner from my street, I saw something that arrested my attention and I was so blessed by the sight that I pulled over to the side of the road and sat silently to watch. There was a strong, steady rain falling and a man was out at the edge of his yard planting flowers! "I've never seen a man planting flowers in the rain," I marveled to myself. I have reflected over this picture for a few days, asking myself why it touched me so deeply. Was it the tender heart of a man who would so lovingly, carefully plant flowers even as he himself got drenched? Was it the care he was taking as he placed each stem in the ground and filled in good soil all around?
I'm not sure. I just knew it was speaking to my heart. My days are so still, so hushed now, that I hope I am learning again to listen to the Voice of the Master who speaks to me through the small things. I opened my email this morning and went straight to the prophetic devotional sent out each day by Marsha Burns (Faith Tabernacle of Kremmling). She wrote, "Breakthrough for you will come as a trickling stream instead of a roaring river. Your proverbial mantra will be : slow and steady, slow and steady. Take life as it comes; you cannot rush it. There are lessons to be learned that will be of great benefit in moving forward." Slow and steady, slow and steady! This does indeed describe my days now. The days are all the same as I get John's meals and medications and find him good worship music to bless his soul. I watch him go through the stacks and stacks of old family photographs over and over, one day after another. A trickling stream instead of a roaring river. "There are lessons to be learned that will be of great benefit in moving forward," Marsha writes. It makes me think about the swirling chaos, the angry unrest, the violence of wars and the upheaval of the weather around the globe, and ponder how very sheltered and peaceful I feel in my little yellow house with the porch swing and the vegetable garden. Is this the lesson that will be of great benefit? Is Father teaching me to be like His Son in the boat amidst the great storm? Like the man planting flowers in the rain? I think this will be of great benefit to us as we learn to quiet our hearts and minds and keep our gaze upon Eternity. Slow and steady, a trickling stream...Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (take life as it comes!) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we FIX OUR EYES NOT ON WHAT IS SEEN, BUT WHAT IS UNSEEN. FOR WHAT IS SEEN IS TEMPORARY, BUT WHAT IS UNSEEN IS ETERNAL. ( 2 Cor. 4:16-18)
0 Comments
REPOST FROM JUNE 6, 2012
This post is even more relevant today. Ecclesiastes 12: Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”-- 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; 3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; 4 when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; 5 when men are afraid of heights and of terror in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home , and mourners go about the streets. 6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. I paused here to ponder those verses. Clearly the Teacher who wrote these verses (Solomon) is prophesying about a time at the end of the age, when there is terror in the streets, when food is scarce, and not even water can be found at the springs. He sees a time when the earth is returning to dust and gold and silver can no longer "save" us. In fact, this phrase "the silver cord is severed" spoke to me of the "silver lining," or that sweet surrounding of God's love and provision over His creation. In those days the doors are closed, and I thought of the passage in Isaiah 26, when God's people are told to "go into your rooms, close the doors, and hide yourselves for a little while" as God's wrath passes over. Yet even in the midst of these dark and gloomy verses, the phrase "when the almond tree blossoms" bursts forth in surprising, unexpected delight! The almond tree is usually symbolic for Yahovah's authority and sovereignty, just as Aaron's staff that budded with almond blossoms, right in the midst of Israel's slavery in Egypt! "I am still here on the Throne," our Elohim is saying, "and you must not be in fear in these days, but you must be doing what I have called you to do." "Tell me more, then, Father. What have you called me to do?" He summed it up in verse 13: 13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Suddenly my question regarding whether or not to sell some investments seemed terribly unimportant. Even though I know our Father wants to be involved in every area of our lives, watching over every step we take, there comes a time when He desires that we would take a step back and look at the bigger picture. "Fear God and keep His commandments." This is the conclusion of the matter, this is the whole purpose of our lives! To "fear" Him is to have a great awe and reverence for the Creator of the Universe, loving Him with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds and all our strength. To keep His commandments is to walk in His ways - not our own - which brings life in abundance! Will the stock market crash again? Undoubtedly. The golden bowl will be broken, the sound of grinding will cease, and the sun and moon will turn to darkness. But the Light of our God will burn ever brighter, and the sons of God - those who have held to the testimony of Yeshua and kept His commandments - will shine ever brighter. In fact, as we are told in Daniel 12:3, Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness shall shine like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end..." |
AuthorKelly Ferrari Mills 
SubscribeArchives
November 2024
|