Category: Trusting God

Sometimes life seems upside-down. When we draw closer to God, we begin to learn and trust that He has a plan for us and we can let go of many of life’s anxieties knowing that He has our best interest at heart.

Spider Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
We could learn some valuable lessons from spiders.

Last week, Hurricane Irma deposited a poplar tree onto the front of our house, effectively blocking the entrance. When I was asked to take some pictures for the insurance company a couple of days later, I opened the front door and found a rather elaborate spider web. It ran from the tree to the top of the house. It was perfectly formed and ready for business.

Now, I’m not a huge fan of spiders, but when they are outside where they belong, I can really admire their intricate work. As I examined the web, from a safe distance of course, I thought about how quickly that spider had decided to take the opportunity to set up shop. That tree hadn’t been their 48 hours yet, but there it was.

I also felt a little badly for it that the tree wouldn’t be there for long. A tree service had already been called to remove it and when that happened, all of that hard work would be wasted.

Of course, spiders don’t actually think about things like that. They just do. They build webs and they catch bugs, plain and simple. They don’t worry about spinning in the perfect spot with the ideal traffic flow or about what will happen if their web gets destroyed. They are builders.

I think we might be able to learn something from spiders. How often are we hesitant to share our faith or to do what we know we are called to do, because the timing isn’t right? How often do we ignore those nudges to call, or help, or share, or listen, or speak, or simply act, because the conditions aren’t what we consider ideal?

How often do we forget that the God we serve can make His voice heard and advance His kingdom in any type of circumstance? How often do we miss the opportunity to be a part of it because we don’t deem the situation to be ideal? How many times do we miss blessing others and miss being blessed ourselves in the process?

What would our faith look like if like spiders, we were always ready and willing to get to work, no matter what the situation looks like? What if we weren’t afraid to fail? What if when our plans got knocked down, we just simply dusted ourselves off and rebuilt? What would our world look like if all Christians were willing to act that way?

I think it would be amazing. A spider reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Hummingbird Wisdom

Posted on by Wendy
Some hummingbirds reminded me to always lean into God, especially when the storms come.

Last week in Georgia, in preparation for Hurricane Irma, we were told to secure all of our deck furniture, lawn furniture, outdoor potted plants and anything else that might become a projectile in the raging wind.

We did as we were told well in advance. We even moved our chiminea, which I thought was way too heavy to be an issue, but better safe than sorry.

However, when it came to my hummingbird feeders, I decided to wait until the last minute. I sought advice from my mama who was further south. She and my daddy have like twenty hummingbirds or more every year. She told me she had taken theirs down for the storm.

I kept watching mine and planned on taking them down midday when it was supposed to get bad. I didn’t want them to become missiles. But, we have around ten or twelve this time of year and they are in a feeding frenzy. They have to double their weight in preparation for their flight to Mexico or South America, depending on the bird.

As the hours passed, the number dwindled to four, but still I was hesitant to remove their source of food. What if the ones that remained were behind because they were very young or very elderly? I kept watch and as the wind whipped the trees, the feeders didn’t move much.

I kept telling myself as soon as they stopped coming, I would run out to the deck and remove them.

The storm came and went and the birds never stopped feeding, so I never removed the feeders. By the next day, they were all back. They were all in a frenzy again, dive bombing one another and fussing at each other.

In the days that followed, when people were without power, and trees and limbs were down in our area, I couldn’t stop thinking about those four birds. The wind was whipping. The rain was pouring, but those birds relentlessly continued to feed.

Where were the other ones? Did they just take cover somewhere?

I am reminded of times in our own lives when the storms come and life gets bad. Those are often the times that we become so overwhelmed that we stop our spiritual practices. We stop going to church. We stop meaningful prayer time. We stop reading our Bible. We attempt to take shelter from everything including the One source that can feed us and sustain us.

Four little hummingbirds in a storm reminded me to be vigilant and to always lean into God, especially when the storms come. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Four Blessed Years

Posted on by Wendy
Thanks for four years!

Last week, Graceful Gaines turned four. For the past four years I have written in this space. Each year when it comes time to renew my domain name, I prayerfully ask God if I should continue. My hope has always been that sharing parts of my journey will encourage my readers to reflect upon where they are, where they have been and where they would like to go. My aim is to challenge the people who read these words to actively seek God in the world around them, to walk closer with Jesus and to ultimately reflect Him back to a dark world who desperately needs Him.

In the past four years here, my faith has grown tremendously as well. When I have to write about my faith, I have to consciously think about it. In order to write about prayer, I have to pray a lot.

We all wonder if we can make a difference in the world. We all wonder if it’s possible to share Jesus with others. Most of us feel ill equipped to do so. After all, most of us aren’t Bible scholars or preachers, right?

As I write this, my tiny little corner of the internet has had 32,696 views. By social media standards, that’s not a lot. But, I think it’s a start. I will never know how many of those page views may plant a seed. I will never know how many of those seeds will sprout.

Faith doesn’t work that way. I am simply called to plant and you are too. It may be in a completely different capacity than what I do. Your calling is completely unique to you, but you are called. We all are.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog. Thanks for the comments. Thanks for the Facebook likes and thanks for the shares. Thanks for encouraging me as I prayerfully try to encourage you.

Graceful Gaines has been an amazing blessing to me and I pray it has been a blessing to you too. I hope it continues to bless us and help us to glorify the awesome God we serve.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

A Call to Collective Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
Prayer may be the only thing than can deliver us.

Last week I sat with my eyes glued to my computer screen, scrolling through pictures of the devastation left in Texas by Hurricane Harvey. I mourned for the victims. I prayed for them and I was incredibly moved by all of the kindness and compassion that has poured out all over the country.

While our nation was reeling from that disaster, Hurricane Irma formed and she is even bigger and meaner than Harvey. She is also heading towards my state. My daughter’s college has cancelled classes for the rest of the week and asked the students who were able to, to evacuate.

While I looked at the pictures of the damage that Irma had already caused in the Caribbean, Hurricane Jose formed right behind her into another sizable hurricane.

While my eyes and thoughts were focused on the ocean, another story caught my attention. Several western states are on fire. There are National Parks that have been threatened. Homes have been lost and thousands of acres have been burned in fires that have been impossible to control. The states of Washington, Oregon, Montana and California are in flames.

As I contemplated all of the devastation and what it means, a Bible verse kept running through my head. “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

It occurred to me that perhaps now more than ever, we need to be a nation of prayer. Instead of focusing on all that divides us, maybe we should focus on the God that unites us and has continuously blessed us since the very beginning.

We often talk about being one nation under God. Perhaps it’s time to get on our knees and humbly seek Him and His will. We know that nothing is impossible with God. Maybe we should truly live like we believe it. Prayer works.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Hurricane Wisdom

Posted on by Wendy
There’s a peace that comes from knowing that God can calm the storms.

I received an anxious text yesterday from my daughter who is attending college in South Georgia. She said that Irma is heading straight for them.

While we are all still glued to the television and reeling from all of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, in Texas, a new hurricane has been busy forming and growing. Hurricane Irma is already stronger and bigger than Harvey was and is marching towards the United States.

I texted her back that she had plenty of time before Irma makes landfall and it may not even strike her area. She texted back that they were watching the path on television and that it was headed for the Georgia coast.

I pulled it up on my computer and looked at the models. The hurricane’s path depends largely on what’s going on with the jet stream when it collides with it. It could go into the Gulf of Mexico. It could hit South Florida. It could hit Savannah or the Carolinas. There’s no way to know at this point.

As I continued to read the article, there was an interview with a lifelong Florida resident. The wisdom of her words really struck me. She said that she doesn’t worry about these things too much. She said that she had water. She had her music and she prayed.

If any people in the entire US are hurricane veterans, it would be the Floridians. Their state has been slammed by hurricanes more than any other. They know what to do. They know when to evacuate. They know when to stand fast. They know how to rebuild. I suspect many know very well how to pray.

They have learned all of these skills from experience.

My own child was raised much closer to the North Georgia Mountains than the coast. Hurricanes are for the most part, a foreign concept. She doesn’t have the benefit of the experience of the woman who was interviewed from Florida.

I thought about that lady long after I read her quote. I thought about how our lives are often overrun with hurricane types of situations. Sometimes it’s just those outside bands of wind and rain. Sometimes it’s the flooding. Sometimes it’s the full force of the hurricane and sometimes, there’s another one that follows closely behind, like Irma.

But, when we live out our faith and keep our eyes focused on Jesus, we know we will survive. We can even get to the point where we can say that we don’t worry about it too much; we just pray. But, that kind of faith takes years of walking with Jesus and knowing that He will sustain us.

Deep, enduring faith takes time, but it’s worth it. The peace that comes from knowing that we worship the God who can calm any storm, is absolutely priceless.

A hurricane reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Praying for Texas

Posted on by Wendy
This picture was too good not to share.

Last weekend, Hurricane Harvey, one of the most destructive hurricanes in American history, came ashore in Texas. The destruction has been devastating. It’s almost impossible to fathom what some of those Harvey victims have been through, yet the Texans’ response to the disaster may have the power to unite us all.

Texas is a notoriously red state and has always done things a little differently than the other forty-nine states, something most Texans are proud of. Houston, one of the hardest hit regions of the state, is a spot of blue, with a mayor who is a democrat.

In the political climate that we have been living in since the last election, one would expect that Texans would be at each other’s throats, blaming each other and the federal government for their woes. If you would have watched a newscast a week earlier, you might have thought that Texans would use this opportunity to show what racists they truly are.

The media would have us believe that we are so divided as a country that all the we care about these days is fighting with each other. We are divided on religion, politics and race. We are divided on whether old statues should stand or be torn down. The casual observer would think that there’s very little great about America anymore, that we care more about our personal opinions and feelings than anything else.

Yet, when an unimaginable disaster struck, the state of Texas became a shining light of hope for all Americans. No one has shown the slightest concern over skin color or political affiliation. What they have shown is an unending supply of compassion for each other. People have turned out in everything from fishing boats, to canoes, to kayaks and dune buggies. Their desire to help one another has been nothing short of amazing.

In Dallas, people waited in line over half an hour just to donate supplies to the victims, people they would never even meet.

The pictures being shared on social media make me both sad and proud. There’s even a “Pray for Texas” banner on Facebook. Turns out we can use social media for God’s purposes as well as destructive purposes.

And the Texans’ response to their disaster has inspired the rest of the country to act as well. My tiny little town in Georgia, is sending a truck load of supplies and most of the rest of the country is acting as well.

There’s an old song that goes, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” It seems to me that Hurricane Harvey has started a fire no one could have dreamed of, but I pray that it spreads. I pray it encourages all Americans to do the right thing and help one another, to stop spreading hate on social media and start spreading prayer.

Who knows? This country could have a great revival. Let’s all pray for Texas and watch what happens.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Eclipse Musings

Posted on by Wendy
God is light.

Working at a local elementary school, I have been completely covered with eclipse mania. We are dismissing our students thirty minutes late today so they can view the entire eclipse with their classes, wearing safety glasses purchased from NASA.

Our phones have steadily rung with eclipse questions from parents. Many children are staying home for the day and many others are checking out early.

One report said millions of people are traveling by the thousands to get a better view of the eclipse. Blairsville, Georgia, a mountain town with total population of 23,000 is expecting anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 visitors.

The event has been dubbed the Great American Eclipse and these people are being called Eclipse Chasers.

Personally, I really can’t understand the hype. Several prominent preachers have come out and said that the eclipse is not a good sign for the United States. They believe it’s a warning from God. Some say it’s a sign of end times drawing close.

When I looked in the Bible, I couldn’t find a single instance of God blotting out the sun, being interpreted as a good thing. The Bible says that He is light. “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

Where does that leave Christians? How do we interpret this eclipse? Should we even try?

As I pondered the significance of it, the answer I kept coming up with was prayer. We can certainly pray for wisdom regarding the entire ordeal. We can pray for the safety of the throngs of people who are determined to travel to see it. We can pray for the safety of the millions of people who have decided to look directly at the sun without the correct protective equipment.

But, perhaps most importantly, we can pray that God uses this enormous celestial event to turn our hearts and minds back to Him. Think of the impact that could be made if every one of those Eclipse Chasers were to pray collectively for peace in our nation. Think of the impact on the entire world if everyone prayed for revival.

Only time will tell what this day means, if anything significant at all. But, prayer is a weapon that we are always equipped with, no matter the circumstances. I plan on using it a lot today. Perhaps you’d like to join me.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy

Finding Peace Where We Are

Posted on by Wendy
We are called to walk with Jesus, not to run ahead.

This past summer, my family attended a mission trip. We helped to repair houses for some people who desperately needed help. We spent an entire week with other Christians.

We ate every meal with other Christians and publicly prayed before we ate. We openly talked about Jesus throughout all of our days. We wore crosses around our necks. We visited different churches for our meals and those people shared Christ with us.

We sang about Jesus each night and talked about seeing Him during the day. It was definitely a mountaintop week.

Then, we returned home. My hubby and I returned to work. Our lives got back to normal. Don’t get me wrong; our normal is perfectly fine, but when you spend a week doing God’s work alongside God’s people, normal just seems, I don’t know, kind of pointless. Shouldn’t I be doing more?

I was walking and praying about my frustration when I heard a hawk calling out. He was very close, but I couldn’t see him. I had been running and walking at a very fast pace as I looked for him. I slowed down and I heard him again. This time he was behind me.

When I turned around and slowly walked past a place I had already been, there he sat in a tree at my eye level. I stopped and He just sat there looking at me as if he had waited for me to find him. We stared at each other for a few minutes before he finally flew away.

I marveled at my encounter as I walked, not ran, home, and a thought formed deep inside my heart.

God has put me in this place at this moment for a specific reason. I don’t have to know or understand the what or the why of it. If I live my days focused on Jesus, nothing I do is pointless. When I try to run ahead, I miss seeing Him, just like I missed that hawk. But, when I slow down and seek Him, I mean really seek Him, He will always show Himself and let me know where I need to be.

I might feel like I’m more productive on the mountain top than I am simply walking along the beaten path, but if I trust Him and obey His call, I realize that in the end, that’s not for me to determine. That realization brings me great peace.

Perhaps you needed some peace today too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

God Was There

Posted on by Wendy
Well before the girls posed for a picture on this couch, God was there.

Last weekend, my hubby and I drove our daughter to college. Just like the day she was born, it was exciting and painful. Just like the day she was born, a new chapter began as another one came to a close, and just like the day she was born, God was there.

It was a tough week leading up to it, bittersweet in so many ways. But, God has given me so much comfort in this journey. He led her to three roommates who are strong in their faith and He made a way for her to get to know them and become friends with them before they moved in.

And as an extra blessing to this mama, He allowed me to spend some time with their mamas, who happen to be very strong, Godly women. I’ve always believed that you can tell a lot about a girl from meeting her mama.

As moving day progressed, I received texts of prayers an encouragement from some of the people I work with. I’ve only been at my job for a little over a year, and two of the people who sent prayers have only been there a couple of months. Yes, God was there.

All day long, we received well wishes on Facebook. We even got some from our Salkehatchie mission family. But, on the way home, one of those women, who means the world to my daughter, messaged me privately to tell me that she was covering me in prayer too and reminded me that when you raise a child to love the Lord; you can’t ask for anything better, as you send her out on her own. Yes, God was there, just as He has always been, especially for loving mamas.

He was there when Moses’ mama placed her baby in a basket and into His hands. He was there when Hannah dedicated Samuel to Him to raise. He was there with Mary in a stable in Bethlehem and He was there again when she stood at the cross.

The entire experience has reminded me that there are seasons in our lives that are just plain hard, for whatever reason, but when we really look around us, those of us with faith, can see God everywhere. While He doesn’t remove the season, He sends us help and extra blessings in countless ways. I am reminded that I never walk alone and neither does my daughter. You never walk alone either.

Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

The Walls of Alexandria

Posted on by Wendy
These walls mean a lot to people who know what they represent.

My family just took a tour of some of the places used in the filming of the television show, “The Walking Dead.” Personally, I’m not a fan of the show. In fact, I’ve never even seen an episode. My hubby swears that there are all kinds of deeper meaning in all that transpires. But, I can’t past the zombies and the gore.

However, my hubby and daughter just love it and the tour was a gift for my daughter’s birthday, so my son and I went along for the ride.

When we arrived in the darling little town of Senoia, which is the town of Woodbury on the show, the man who checked us in informed us that they had actually been filming in town for the past several nights before, and that if we walked to the edge of town, we could see the Walls of Alexandria.

My daughter lit up like a candle and we headed that way. When we got there she and my hubby were very impressed. There were tourists and tour groups everywhere taking pictures of the Walls of Alexandria.

I too, took pictures, but quite frankly, I didn’t get what all of the fuss was about. They were tall metal walls. There was nothing at all aesthetically appealing about them. What was the big deal?

My hubby explained later that those walls protected everyone within them. There was a self-sustaining city inside those walls and they also kept the zombies out.

The walls were a big deal to the people who followed the show.

As I was later looking through my pictures, I came across those walls. I thought about how there are times when we work very hard to create something that people on the outside just don’t get.

Maybe it’s creating a family life that brings us joy or carving out a time of quiet to talk to God. Maybe it’s a scheduled date night with our spouse or maybe it’s losing a little weight or eating a little better. Maybe it’s learning to trust that God has a plan for us. It could be just about anything.

To those on the outside, our hard work may not look like much. Like me with the Walls of Alexandria, they don’t know our story. But, we have a God who does. Jesus follows our story with all of our struggles and triumphs and He cheers for us when we make progress in our journey towards Him.

He always looks past the gore of the messes we make. He gets us and He loves us.

The Walls of Alexandria reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂