Category: Trusting God

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 🙂

 

On a recent trip to the Georgia coast, my family visited a sea turtle hospital. I had never given these beautiful creatures very much thought until the year before on a family vacation in Florida, we got to witness a sea turtle release. Three turtles had been rehabbed and were being returned to the sea.

It was an amazing experience, so naturally, when we learned that there was a sea turtle hospital that was open to visitors, we were all interested.

It was sad to find so many turtles who had been injured by the negligence of humanity, but inspiring to see all of the people working with them with the goal to return them back to the Atlantic Ocean to live long productive lives.

They were doing a surgery on one when we arrived and a volunteer explained that its flipper had been so damaged that they were having to amputate it. My eyes filled with tears at the news and I asked her if it would spend the remainder of its life in captivity, keeping in mind that some live over 150 years.

She explained to me that there would be a long rehab for the turtle, but that they can learn to compensate and live just fine in the wild, just like a three-legged dog does. I was shocked. How was that possible?

She went on to explain that they would put special weights on it and move it to larger and larger tanks to help it get stronger before finally setting it free.

Now, there’s no way that poor turtle has any idea what’s in store for her or the fact that the people who keep manhandling  her only want what’s best for her. They want her to be free again, but they want her to be strong and ready first.

I have thought a lot about that turtle upon my return home and the many others at that facility. As I was taking a walk yesterday, I came across a different kind of turtle attempting to cross the road. My heart went out to it as I was reminded of those sea turtles.

I knew it had very little chance of crossing successfully. It would surely get hit by a car. But, I also noted the sharp claws on its feet and I was reluctant to pick it up. So, I gently moved it across the road with my foot. It was terrified and drew up into its shell. It had no way of knowing I was trying to save its life.

As I came back by to check on it, I found it still tightly in its shell and I wished I had a way of communicating that I was only working for its best. For all it knew, I was some giant, kicking it around.

I continued to think about that turtle and the sea turtles as I finished my walk and how people can learn a lot from them.

We sometimes find ourselves getting kicked off of the path we are on, the one we think is best, but perhaps God is moving us out of the way of danger, like I did with the land turtle.

We also sometimes find ourselves getting mauled somehow by people, like the sea turtles and we end up on the sidelines for what seems like forever until we are ready to swim again. But perhaps God is using that time to grow us stronger and better equipped for the future, even though it may not seem like it at the time.

The turtles reminded me that we can trust that God is at work, even when all seems lost, even when we don’t understand. We are loved and treasured and He has a plan.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding today too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Last week on our family vacation, during and early evening at a pier, we observed a huge ship which seemed to be coming right towards the dock. We weren’t standing on the pier at the time, but dozens of people were. They were fishing and talking and laughing, seemingly unconcerned with the giant ship headed right towards them.

My family watched in nervous amazement as the ship stayed on its course. Didn’t these people remember what happened with that cruise ship in Greece a few years back where the captain ran it aground?

There were so many sandbars in our area and the waters seemed so shallow. Was the captain of this ship awake? Was he impaired? I even sent some photos to my mama so she could show them to my daddy, who was a Navy man.

Weren’t those people on the docks the least bit worried about their safety? They didn’t appear to be. Then, at the last minute, (or so it seemed to me), it turned.

Of course, the people on the pier had seen these ships many times. They weren’t concerned because they knew from years of experience, that there would be no collision. The experienced captain of the ship knew exactly where the deep waters were and he knew exactly when and where to steer his ship to safety.

But, we didn’t know that.

As we continued to watch the ginormous ship head away from the pier, it seemed to get perilously close to a shrimp boat returning from a day of shrimping. We couldn’t see the smaller boat very well and we wondered if the captain of the big one could. Were the people on the shrimp boat worried about their safety?

We anxiously watched as the big vessel appeared to narrowly miss the smaller one.

When I returned home and looked at my pictures, I marveled at the details on the shrimp boat. I noticed the nets and all of the seagulls surrounding it hoping for a scrap. I saw that it even had a name. I couldn’t see all of that from a distance, but my zoom lens could.

I thought about that big ship for days afterwards. I thought about how it looked like it would crash into the pier, into those people, causing a disaster, but it didn’t. I thought about how it looked like it would collide with the shrimp boat causing tragedy, but it didn’t.

I thought about how faith teaches us that when tragedy seems imminent, like a huge ship headed straight for us, that we can trust that God has us covered, time and time again. We don’t need to worry or even flinch.

I thought about how even though I couldn’t see the details on the shrimp boat, they were there, which made me consider that God sees all of the details of our lives, every little one, with a giant zoom lens. He is completely aware of where we are and where we are going and it matters to Him.

Jesus said, “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:30-31

Having faith in difficult times can be hard. When we feel like a giant ship is headed straight for us, we wonder if God hears our prayers or even cares.

The answer is yes. He knows. He hears. He loves us. He cares.

Whatever your giant ship is, fear not. He’s got this. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

When my hubby and I bought our house, there were holly bushes growing on each side of our driveway. They are evergreen and require very little maintenance and the deer won’t eat them, so we were happy to have them there. But, as the years passed, they got bigger and bigger and really needed trimming.

Problem was, that since they were so big, the idea of trimming them without cutting ourselves to pieces on the sharp leaves, became a task we kept pushing to the end of our list of things to do. So, the holly bushes continued to grow unchecked until we had issues with them scratching our car doors if we got too close when backing out of our driveway.

The time had come, like it or not, for them to be cut back. I researched on how and when to cut them. They are supposed to be close to impossible to kill, so on a Saturday, we cut them back, way back, and the entire family had the scratches to prove it.

They were really ugly when we finished, very little green left at all, but we knew they would come back stronger than ever.

But, weeks went by and they showed no signs of life. We had some much needed rain and still, nothing, just dead looking stalks.

I examined them every few days and could find no growth. Had we accidentally killed them?

Finally, over six weeks after we cut them, new life appeared. I was jubilant.

I thought about the new growth on that holly bush for several days and every time I checked on it again, there was even more. The holly reminded me how we sometimes want something so badly that we pray and we pray about it.

As time passes, we sometimes begin to lose hope and believe that whatever we are praying about is dead. It can range from anything to a relationship to a dream of some kind. But, perhaps we are too quick to give up hope.

Perhaps, like this holly, even though it appeared dead, there is work going on, on the inside and at just the right moment, the new growth is ready to burst forth.

As I thought about it, I was reminded that butterflies go through the same kind of phenomenon. Who would believe that inside an ugly gray cocoon, that rare beauty will emerge? A creature that crawled on its belly becomes a creature that can fly.

But, it takes time. Transformation takes time.

The good news is that God is incredibly patient with us in our impatience, and even in our lack of faith. But, if we keep praying and learn to wait on His timing, He can create something magnificent out of the ashes.

Growth can burst forth in areas that we had given up as dead, just like my holly bush.

Sometimes I need reminding, perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂