Month: March 2019

Trusting the Giver

Posted on by Wendy
Anything placed in God’s hands, is always enough.

Last Sunday, during choir practice, we only had two sopranos show up. I don’t read music. I suspect that the fact that I got invited to be in the choir in the first place, had much more to do with my passion for singing than my actual abilities. Not to mention, the choir was really small at the time and they needed more people.

I have always made it known that my sweet spot is standing between two strong sopranos. But, alas, last Sunday, there were just two of us. Thankfully, the lady who did show up is very strong and she reads music. I let out a little sigh of relief.

When we began singing our song for the day, imagine my surprise, when she leaned over and whispered, “I’m following you.” I chuckled as I leaned back over and told her, that we would be going off the cliff together and we would be like “Thelma and Louise.” She got tickled at that remark.

We did okay, the two of us, but I thought about our exchange, long after we finished singing.

I’ve been participating in choir for over five years now, but I’m still very unsure of what I’m doing. I want backup. I want a safety net. Why is it that we are sometimes so hesitant to believe in our abilities when it has to do with serving God?

We go to school and we learn a trade or get a degree, then we go to work everyday. We learn new tasks and a couple of months into it, we are fairly confident. After a couple of years, we can often know enough to train someone else.

Why is our faith walk so different? Why are we afraid to share our faith or teach our faith after spending years in church? We don’t have to be Bible scholars to share the Gospel, yet we tend to hesitate. We always feel like there’s someone who is more qualified than we are.

At what point do we consider ourselves qualified enough? In fact, God has a long history of calling the seemingly unqualified, Abraham, Moses and Esther had all kinds of inadequacies, yet in God’s hands they did great things. What about the little boy with the fishes and loaves? Want to talk about not having enough? But, when he put it in God’s hands, there was more than the crowd could eat.

We have to remember in the end, it’s not about us and the abilities or resources that we have or don’t have; it’s about the God who we serve and when we hand it all over to Him, there’s always plenty.

A friend in the choir reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Recognizing the Signs

Posted on by Wendy
God has a long history of using Creation to communicate with His followers.

A friend of mine recently asked me if I believe in signs. Do I believe that the Creator of heaven and earth and all the creatures in it, can use His creation to communicate with His followers? Not to mention, there’s even a talking donkey in the Bible and God sent ravens to feed Elijah?

I told her yes, without a doubt.

She proceeded to tell me about her mother and grandmother who were driving to a hospital for her grandmother’s knee surgery. It had already been postponed one time and her grandmother is in her eighties. The ladies had refused to come and spend the night with my friend the night before, so they had to leave home at 4:00 AM.

When they got on the road, it was still dark outside. A little ways into their trip, a dove flew right in front of their windshield, close enough where both women could see it. They immediately felt that God was with them and a sense of peace.

The surgery went well and her grandmother is recovering, but that dove left a lasting impression on my friend, so much that she shared with me.

I told her that God often shows Himself to me through hawks. I can take a walk and be diligently praying about something and a hawk will cross my path, so closely that I can’t help, but see it and I’m always filled with His presence.

I was thinking about our conversation last weekend, when I was able to get outside for a rare walk. I was giving thanks for the sun and the warmth and praying for guidance on my next steps in the season I am in. I came to my neighbor’s house with a blue bow on the mailbox. They were outside with their five-year-old daughter and their brand new baby boy. I stopped to talk to them and take a peek at the baby.

He was adorable and I was caught by surprise at my own memories of holding my son that suddenly flooded my thoughts. He will graduate from high school in a couple of months and my nest will be empty.

But, after a few minutes of talking with them, their five-year-old excitedly said, “Look!” and pointed across the street. A big hawk flew from over the neighbor’s house and landed in a tree, right where we could all see it.

I smiled, filled with peace and headed home.

Do I believe God can use whatever means He chooses to communicate with His followers? That’s a hundred percent yes. I just wonder how often we miss it. Thankfully, a five-year-old pointed it out to me. Maybe you needed someone to remind you to look today too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Rainy Day Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
Flowers always require rain to bloom.

Yesterday, as I headed to my car after work, it was raining, again. I dug around my bag and found my umbrella, again. It’s gotten an awful lot of use over the past few months. Sigh. I knew the rain was coming. It had been forecasted, still, I wasn’t happy to see it.

When I was driving to work that morning, I prayed that God would show Himself. It had been a long week and I was bone tired. I was greeted with a spectacular, bright pink sky. It was gorgeous and I was thankful, but as I headed home, the skies were gray once again. I was so tired of the rain.

Yet, as I grumpily drove, I couldn’t help but notice, the daffodils that were blooming all over the side of the road. There were also brightly colored yellow bell bushes along my path. When I turned into my neighborhood, there were tall, white Bradford Pear trees that were covered in blooms.

Creation had definitely begun to awaken from it’s winter slumber and as usual, it was stunning. I had to grudgingly admit that the copious amount of rain had to have played a part in the beauty that I was being blessed with.

A few weeks ago, when the rain was pouring for days on end, spring was nowhere in sight. The entire world was dark and gloomy and I wanted sunshine and rescue from the seemingly endless downpours. It was February and it was dark and cold; spring felt like a very distant hope.

Yet, on the last day of February, I marveled at the beauty the rain had helped to create.

I felt a little heart nudge that reminded me of my morning prayer for God to show Himself. I had prayed and almost immediately, my prayer was answered and I could feel His presence. I love those kinds of moments, immediate gratification, who doesn’t?

But, He was also present in the gray, cold rain. I had to look a little harder to find Him, but He was there. He was there in all of the beautiful spring color, but He was also there before there was any color, preparing for the beauty that He knew was coming.

I couldn’t see it during the rainy weeks in February, but He was at work. He’s always at work. The early spring blooms reminded me that people, just like the earth, require a certain amount of rain to bloom and it’s not always pretty. It’s sometimes messy and uncomfortable.

Faith teaches us that spring always comes, no matter how dark and rainy the winter might be. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂