Author: Wendy

Leave It

Posted on by Wendy
We could learn a lot from our furry companions.
We could learn a lot from our furry companions.

My sister and her family brought their dog, Scout, along on their visit south this summer. She’s actually still a puppy, a very big puppy. She’s some kind of lab mix with lots of energy. My sister did some obedience training with her and she learned to use the command, “Leave it,” when Scout is exhibiting undesirable behavior.

It was really kind of fascinating to watch. When Scout would bark when she wasn’t supposed to, my sister would use the command and she would stop and lie down and relax. When she was chewing on something she wasn’t supposed to, the command would make her stop. When she was doing just about anything she wasn’t supposed to be doing, the command worked.

Sometimes, Scout was reluctant to obey and my sister would have to use a sterner tone, but eventually Scout would comply. Dogs, by their very nature, want to please their master.

We could learn a lot from Scout.

I thought about her interactions with my sister long after they headed back north. I thought about how we would all be better off if we were better at listening to the voice of our Master.

How often does His voice simply say, “Leave it?”

When we are anxious and afraid, “Leave it.”

When we are picking up or participating in something we have no business being a part of, “Leave it.”

When we really want to engage in unnecessary arguments or disagreements, “Leave it.”

When we want to hang on to pain and guilt from our past, “Leave it.”

Sometimes His voice is really quiet and sometimes it’s louder, if He really needs to get our attentions, but “Leave it,” seems to apply to most of the earthly situations in which we want to chase and often entangle ourselves.

Because of Jesus and His sacrifice for us, we are all invited to “Leave it,” at the foot of the cross. Whatever “it” is, is redeemable. God has an amazing way of turning ashes and despair into magnificence that we can hardly even recognize.

But, the key comes from obedience. He will not force His will on us. He doesn’t tell us to “Leave it.” He invites us to. When we willingly comply, the peace and rest and joy are beyond anything we can really imagine.

The choice is ours. Are we willing to “Leave it?”

A dog reminded me of the importance of obedience, trust and faith. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

River Wisdom

Posted on by Wendy
You can learn a lot from a river.
You can learn a lot from a river.

On a recent trip with my family, we went tubing on a section of the Chattahoochee River in Helen, Georgia. Notice I said tubing and not rafting. Rafting is fast and kind of wild. It often requires a guide of some sort. You have to wear a life jacket and a helmet. It can be dangerous. That’s a little too much adventure for this gal.

Now, tubing, requires me to sit in an inner tube, with a bottom, and float. That’s it. That’s my idea of an ideal way to spend a few hours on a summer afternoon.

It was kind of crowded and I got separated from my family, so I had a lot of time to reflect. I learned a lot from tubing down that river.

First of all, I had no way to steer, so for the most part, I was at the mercy off the current. When I was getting too close to the bank, I would lean forward and use my arms to frantically paddle back into the main stream.

The banks were kind of scary. There were lots of nooks and crannies for snakes to hide. Every now and then, no matter how hard I tried, I ended up at the banks. Sometimes it was because I was pushed over that way by another tuber. Sometimes it was because the current pushed me that way. Sometimes it was because I wasn’t paying attention.

Whatever the reason, I tried to stay off of the banks. But, sometimes I wound up there.

Life is like that sometimes. No matter how hard we try to stay on course, on the right path, we get knocked off. Sometimes we end up on the banks with the snakes because of our own bad choices. Sometimes we get pushed there by somebody else. Sometimes we end up there through no fault of our own.

But, the beauty of being a Christian is that we never walk alone. We walk with Jesus. Thanks to grace, when we find ourselves on the metaphorical banks, we can pray and paddle and have faith that eventually, we will end up back where we need to be.

The second lesson I learned is that the river was full of people of all ages, shapes, sizes and backgrounds. Yet, we were all headed in the same direction. We often bumped into each other. Sometimes people apologized and smiled and sometimes people acted annoyed. Each reaction was a choice.

We have that same choice in everyday life. If we choose to leave our houses and participate in community of any kind, people will bump into us. Whether they do it on purpose or by accident, our reaction to their action is a choice. We can always choose anger or we can choose to let it go and not to take it personally.

When our eyes are set on God, what people do, no longer matters as much.

The final thing that stayed with me, was the opportunity to help others, is always close. I witnessed a little boy fall off of his tube. He was tethered to his brother and he was wearing a life jacket. He was not in any real danger, but he was panicked.

I had the choice to paddle over and offer help or to float on by. I felt led to help and so I did.

I wonder how often I miss that call. How often I’m I focused on my own journey, my own plans and miss the call to help others. That day, I was quiet and watchful. How many times am I self-consumed?

I left that river a little wiser. I was reminded of the importance of faith, focus, and loving our neighbors. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Amazing Power of Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
Christians should always remember the powerful weapon we have in prayer.
Christians should always remember the powerful weapon we have in prayer.

On July the 4th, my family invited my sister and her kids, and my mom, over to our house. The plan was for us to head out around 6:30 to a park in town where there was music and food, including ice cream, and then a fireworks show.

We were all excited. Who doesn’t love fireworks? We had been loading up our cars for a while. There were several coolers to pack and we kept going back into the house for “one more thing.” Then there was the discussion of who was going to ride where. My young nephews always want my teenage son to ride in their car.

Needless to say, we were running later than we planned.

At last, we were ready to go, when my hubby grabbed my arm and pointed at the house across the street. He said that something was wrong with our neighbor. He had seen her throw her arms into the air and run back towards her house. I thought he was overreacting.

Then her car came tearing out of her driveway and she turned around erratically and flew back into her driveway. I became worried at that point. She’s a widow and she’s older. She’s very careful with all that she does. Something wasn’t right.

I began running toward her house. As I reached her car, she rolled down her window and yelled that there was a snake in her driveway and she went flying back out again.

She was trying to run over it with her car. Unfortunately, she missed it. I could see it. It was a very large copperhead, around three feet long and very wide. Apparently, she had hit it at one point, because it was stunned, but not dead. I yelled for my hubby to get a hoe from our house and he killed the snake.

At this point my own kids had come over to see what the commotion was. Then my mom and my sister and her kids came over to see the large, dead copperhead.

My sweet neighbor was very grateful. We were all a little nervous at the fact that the very large snake was in her driveway, right next to were she walks her puppy everyday. Had the snake stalked her puppy?

After my hubby removed the snake from her driveway, we said our goodbyes and were on our way, a little later than planned, but with quite a story.

It wasn’t until later, that my daughter shared with me that our neighbor told her that she got in her car after she saw that snake and prayed that God would help her and that when we came, we were an answer to her prayer.

My eyes filled with tears. I’m a big believer in the power of prayer and I share those thoughts with my children often. Yet, I’m always amazed at how God steps in and shows Himself through other people, helping to grow my children’s faith a little at the time.

If we had left our house five minutes earlier, we wouldn’t have been able to help my neighbor and she would have been in danger, but God knew that she would need our help and I’ve no doubt, each “one little thing,” was by design, His design.

I am reminded at how perfect His timing is, even when we don’t understand and I stand in awe, as always, by the power of prayer. A snake reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Peace in the Thunder

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes peace like a river requires faith in the thunder.
Sometimes peace like a river requires faith in the thunder.

On a recent tubing trip with my family, we were delayed on a bus, by a thunderstorm. For over an hour, the storm raged and then let up. We were told to get off the bus and then right back on, two different times. There were people who demanded to be taken back to their cars and the driver obliged.

We waited patiently.

At last, the rain stopped. The sun came out and we got the all clear.

I got my tube and dashed to the water as quickly as I could, hoping for some space between me and some of the loud occupants of the bus. I floated for a few minutes, so grateful that we had waited out the storm.

We had followed the rules. We had been patient and the cool, refreshing water was our reward. Yes, we had passed whatever test that had been placed before us and we were in for smooth sailing. All of the tubers around me were laughing and enjoying themselves.

Life seemed just about perfect for a time.

When I had floated for fifteen minutes or so, a booming thunder-clap pierced the air. Now, everybody knows that you get out of the water, the minute you hear thunder. My mama always made us get out of the pool immediately when we heard thunder and just a week before, my sister and I had made our own kids do the same.

The problem was, I was in the middle of a river on a tube. Where was I going to go? Under a tree? There were no good options, so I prayed.

I prayed that God would keep me and my family safe as we were in the worst possible place to be during a thunderstorm. We had followed all of the rules. We had waited patiently. Why were we being subjected to danger?

Life sometimes turns out that way. We sometimes find ourselves in danger of some sort that we did nothing to cause.

But, as I said my prayer, I was filled with peace. I mean seriously, if God was ready to call me home, there wasn’t much I could do about it. I had in fact, followed the rules. I hadn’t acted foolishly. Was there anything that could possibly be gained by my worry?

The answer of course, was “no.” My life is always in God’s hands; being on a river on a tube, with thunder, just happened to make that fact incredibly clear at that moment.

The Bible often tells us not to worry or to be afraid. “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

The rest of my float was uneventful and quiet. There was no more thunder and the sun continued to shine.

I thought about that thunder in the days that followed. I thought about how I was initially struck with fear and how prayer had filled me with peace. I thought about how my life truly is in God’s hands and that His plan for me is always good.

The same is true for you. A loud clap of thunder reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Waiting on the Bus

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes we have to have faith that God has us where we are at this moment for a reason.
Sometimes we have to have faith that God has us where we are at this moment for a reason.

My family and I went tubing recently in Helen, Georgia. There’s a stretch of the Chattahoochee River that runs through that little town that is a tuber’s paradise. It’s kind of like a lazy river that God made.

We have been many times through the years. When our kids were little, my hubby would tether one to his tube and I would tether one to mine. This was an impromptu trip and we were all excited. There aren’t many outdoor activities to comfortably do in Georgia in July and tubing is one.

When we arrived, the line was unbelievably long, but we waited patiently. We knew it would be worth it. When we loaded the bus to be transported to the drop off, it began to rain which was no biggie, but then it began to thunder.

Thunder and water don’t mix. Surely the storm would pass quickly.

We waited on the bus for an hour, some of us more patiently than others. Twice we were told to get off, that the storm had passed and twice, it began thundering again and we had to get back on the bus.

There was lots of complaining. The bus was hot and very crowded and kind of smelly, but it gave us shelter and safety. There were people who had exited the river and were standing underneath trees with there tubes. Trees are not a good place to be under, during a thunderstorm.

I was thankful for our hot, crowded bus.

There were some teens on-board who insisted on getting off. They were unwilling to wait out the storm.

But, the storm did eventually pass, as they always do and we were allowed to exit the bus and enter the river.

I thought about that hot, crowded bus as I floated down the cool, refreshing river. I thought about how I would have liked to have been anywhere else at the time, but I also thought about the safety that it provided.

I was reminded of times in my life where I felt like I was confined in a certain place or space when all I wanted to do was to move forward. I thought about how I would spend hours in prayer, pleading with God to move me out of an uncomfortable situation and into something more refreshing and rewarding.

If I’m honest, I have to admit that there have been times that I was like the group of teens who got off the bus before the storm had passed and I insisted on my own way and timing, instead of waiting on God’s. That never turned out very well.

Years of walking with Jesus have taught me that God’s timing is very different that my own. There are times when I’m called to wait in an uncomfortable, cramped, hot space, like that bus. But, like that bus, God has me in that space for a reason, sometimes for my safety. Sometimes there may be storm going on with dangers that I am unaware of, but He knows.

That’s where faith comes in.

I have also learned that when I wait on God to open the door, instead of forcing it open my own way, the ride and the wait are always worth it.

A thunderstorm and a bus reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

New Chapters

Posted on by Wendy
As our faith grows, we know that Jesus always has our hand, no matter the season.
As our faith grows, we know that Jesus always has our hand, no matter the season.

This is my first post in a month. July was eventful for me, to say the least. My sister came to visit with her three kids, all under the age of eight. We celebrated the 4th of July. My son went to band camp. We had my daughter’s senior pictures taken. We celebrated her seventeenth birthday and I went back to work full-time.

It’s been a roller coaster ride.

For the past seventeen years, I have been a stay-at-home mother and wife. I have been a substitute teacher for the past eight, but that was a very flexible gig.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I prayed without ceasing, that God would make a way for me to be at home full-time with her. It was something that I desperately wanted to do, but was impossible on paper.

But, as I would learn personally, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

My hubby was offered a new job that paid better and we took a leap of faith. My sweet mother-in-law dropped by from time-to-time with diapers and meals for our freezer. She continued to do so all the way through my son’s birth too. She never told me when she was coming, but she always came with her arms full and she always took us out to lunch and paid for my kids to ride the merry-go-round.

My mama brought diapers too, and formula, and baby clothes. She often took my little ones for the weekend so my hubby and I could have some alone time.

Things were tight, but life was good. God had indeed, provided.

God began to work on me and my faith. I began to read my Bible regularly. I began to teach a Sunday school class. I began to get involved with and then lead Vacation Bible School. I became involved in my kids’ youth group and eventually went on a mission trip with them and then another.

But, when they both started high school, I began to feel called to do something else. I prayed again without ceasing, about the next step. I applied for many different jobs and got more than a few rejections, but my faith had grown to the point that I knew God would let me know what the next chapter would be.

He did. I learned of a position as a bookkeeper at a local elementary school. I interviewed and was offered the job right away. I started a couple of weeks later.

It would be dishonest to say that it’s been easy beginning my new chapter. It’s been exciting and fun doing something new and I’ve met some fabulous people, who I know will become good friends. But, there have been tears too. It’s been exhausting and when my daughter told me she really missed me being at home, I cried myself to sleep.

A Bible study I have been participating in, (which I’m sure is no coincidence), has focused on Ecclesiastes. “For everything there is a season;…. a time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:4

But, the study also pointed out that on this side of heaven, the seasons often overlap. We can celebrate a Christmas, but mourn that a loved one is no longer with us. We can be thrilled that a child is starting kindergarten, or high school, or going off to college, or getting married, but be sad that our life with them will never be quite the same. We can take a new job, but desperately miss our friends from the old one.

That’s the tension that we live with here on earth. My tender heart is learning to embrace both the laughter and the tears in this season. I can be thankful and sad at the same time. I can be happy and mourn. One is not exclusive of the other and Jesus has my hand, all the way through.

A dear friend asked me if I would continue to write here on Gracefulgaines. My answer was yes. I’m still seeking God in the world around me even though my world is changing, because God never changes.

I’m still hoping to be a reflection of Him here in this space and provide a ray of light to someone who may need it. As long as I’m breathing, God is still at work in me. He is in you too, no matter where you are in your story. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Family Time

Posted on by Wendy

My sister and her family are coming to Georgia all the way from New Jersey for a few weeks. I am going to take the opportunity to enjoy her and her three little ones as much as possible. When they visit, there is very little downtime, which I have to have, to write on Graceful Gaines, so I won’t be posting for a few weeks. I pray that you all have a fabulous 4th of July and that you actively seek to see God in the world around you. Hope to see you back here soon.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Master of Preparation

Posted on by Wendy
Prep work may be boring, but it's so very necessary.
Prep work may be boring, but it’s so very necessary.

Last week on our Salkehatchie mission trip, when it the time came to paint Miss Annie’s house, we had to do some prep work. Her front porch was screened and if we didn’t cover the screen with some sort of protection, the brand new paint would have dripped on it and ruined it.

Our best intentions would have caused damage.

Some of the teens got a little impatient with all of the taping and cutting and hanging. It took some time. They just wanted to paint, but those of us who were older and hopefully wiser, insisted that we get the porch covered before we painted. I am happy to report that not one drop of paint got on her screen.

Our painting prep project reminds me about the massive amount of prep work that went into the entire experience last week. I have thought about all of our lunches and dinners that our director Amy, set up for us through different churches, and one town hall. I have thought of the many hands that prepared each meal for complete strangers, simply because we were helping members of their community, members many of them didn’t even know.

I have thought about our breakfast angels who got up at the crack of dawn every morning to prepare and serve us breakfast with a smile. They had to plan for a week’s worth of breakfasts for a lot of people. We wouldn’t have been very productive if they hadn’t done all of the work way ahead of time. A pop tart wouldn’t have kept tummies full for very long. Those ladies did a bunch of prep work.

I have thought of the site leaders who had to plan in advance for the materials we needed to work on the homes. They had them delivered to the work site so we were ready to go on Monday morning. Because of the prep work, the teams were able to immediately get to work and bonds and relationships were quickly formed.

I have thought about the Holy Spirit at work and how each person there was either personally convicted to come or their parents had been convicted to send them. There were a few who didn’t come by choice and didn’t really want to be there. But, by Friday, each one of them said they would be back the next year.

God knew where they needed to be and He prepared their hearts along the way, for something magnificent. They didn’t miss it.

I have thought about my own family and our convoluted story of how we ended up there and how God was preparing three years ago, for my entire family to attend this year.

Our Salkehatchie trip literally takes my breath away when I think about all of the prep work God did through so many people, to make it happen.

Ephesians 2:10 keeps coming to mind. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

God is definitely the Master of preparation. He really does have a plan. I can’t wait to see what He will do next year.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Witnessing Everyday Miracles

Posted on by Wendy
We often pass over everyday miracles because we fail to look closely.
We often miss everyday miracles because we fail to look closely.

On Thursday of our mission trip, our work site finished up. It was early. There are normally small tasks to do until the very last minute. But, this year, we got it done early. Our site leader shook his head and said it was a first for him in his many years, like twenty-plus, in working at Salkehatchie camps.

The two men with big trucks and trailers had a discussion of whether or not they should go ahead and pull their trailers out or wait until the next day when we returned to place our cross in the yard. They went back and forth, but eventually decided to go ahead and break everything down and pull them out.

As a bonus, they dropped them off at the church and took the entire crew out for milkshakes. We were all thrilled. Later, after we got showers and got ready to go to dinner, a storm rolled in. We were thankful that we weren’t caught out in it and didn’t think too much of it, initially.

Right before we left the church to go to dinner, our homeowner, Miss Annie, called our camp director, going on and on, about how lucky we were that we had pulled our trailers out. Apparently, the storm that came through at her house had taken down a huge limb right where one of our trailers had been parked and the wind had turned over our porta potty.

On our drive to dinner, I shared the information with the group of teens in my car. The younger ones riding in the back, weren’t particularly impressed. But, the eighteen- year- old, riding in the front with me, who was a veteran of Salkehatchie, and had helped out for years, got quiet a minute and grinned as the news sunk in.

He told me that in all of his years helping that he had never known a crew to pack up and pull out trailers on a Thursday and asked me wasn’t it amazing how God was at work?

I was amazed myself and also amazed at the wisdom of this teenager, but then, when we have our kids do God’s work regularly, then I suppose, we shouldn’t be surprised when they recognize Him at work too.

We stopped by the work site after dinner to see the limb. The tree had actually split and the trailer that had been underneath it all week, that was full of tools and already scheduled to work at another Salkehatchie camp in a couple of weeks, would have without a doubt, been crushed.

But, God had a plan for that trailer and its contents and for the family who I am sure desperately needs it in a couple of weeks, and so He intervened.

After seeing it, I think my doubters in the backseat were convinced as well. Miss Annie was also amazed at the protection God had provided. She told us that she knew that God was working for us.

I am still filled with awe at the miracle we got to witness. I’m so incredibly grateful that God chose to show His face in that way, to a bunch of teens, still fairly new on their faith journey, so much so, that I wanted to share it with you too.

I pray that you are amazed and moved as we were.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The View from Our Knees

Posted on by Wendy
It's amazing the difference that a group of Christians can make in someone's life in five days.
It’s amazing the difference that a group of Christians can make in someone’s life in only five days.

On a recent mission trip that my family attended, we toured two houses in need of repair. My daughter and I felt drawn to one and my hubby and son felt drawn to the other. This, as it turns out, was not by accident.

This was my hubby’s and son’s first trip to a Salkehatchie mission camp and they were not particularly excited about it in the beginning. My daughter and I had talked about it regularly since the year before. Our experience had filled us with such passion for returning and helping others that we found it difficult to contain it.

It’s kind of like when people first come to know Christ and they can’t stop talking about their newfound faith. Those of us who have walked with Jesus for a long time, can find ourselves getting annoyed, if we’re not careful about it.

My hubby and son were growing a little weary of hearing about our mountain top experiences and about the amazing group of faithful servants who we not only worked with, but had come to think of as family.

I prayed all year that God would provide a way for us to return this year and that the men in my family would be as moved and inspired as my daughter and I had been.

Well, you know what they say: “When you pray for rain, you better get an umbrella….”

Orlando, the homeowner, on the work site that my hubby and son were on, had spina bifida and had spent his entire life using arm crutches. He had inherited his house from his parents, but it was badly in need of repair.

It was very dark inside. The carpet was decades old. The kitchen was a loss. There wasn’t a working toilet in the house and the house was covered in years of grime.

Orlando had been waiting for help for years and he was clearly depressed. He didn’t have much to say at all, when our group came through the first time.

But, although he thought he had been forgotten, God was at work.

In the span of five days, his life was changed. A crew came in and scrubbed everything from walls, to floors, to furniture. A new toilet and vanity were placed in his bathroom. He got a washer and dryer and new floors. His counter tops were replaced and walls were painted. He got new carpet.

My hubby headed up the carpet crew and got to spend a lot of time with Orlando. He was incredibly touched by his story. He was moved by the way that Orlando brightened up each day. He was amazed at the way Orlando took more and more pride in his home as the week went on. He was thrilled when Orlando accepted the cross necklace that he offered him.

At the end of the week, each person who attended and worked, was asked to stand up and share with everyone a symbol that demonstrated how God had shown Himself that week.

When my hubby shared his, he began by saying that he had spent the entire week on his knees, dealing with carpet. While on his knees, he saw God in every staple and every tack strip. In short, while on his knees, he saw God everywhere he looked, including in Orlando’s newfound smile.

I don’t think he could have said it any better. Perhaps we should all try it. He’s already talking about going back next year.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂