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.

Daffodil Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
The days may be dark now, but spring is coming.

I am not a fan of winter. I don’t like cold weather. I typically have no energy in January and February. All I really want to do is sleep. One year, I was so winter tired, I had my thyroid checked because I knew I must have had a physical issue. My thyroid was fine. I’m just not a winter person.

Everything in nature appears dead during the winter. Add in all of the rain we tend to get and the world becomes downright dreary. I am well aware that the rain is good in the long run. I am also aware that winter is part of the seasons that God put into place from the very beginning.

Winter has a purpose even if I don’t enjoy it.

One day this week I was driving into work, running a little late and annoyed at the gray skies above. We were expecting rain for the remainder of the week.

I had been praying that God would show Himself in a way I could reflect back to others. When I arrived,  I took a different path than I normally take when I came upon a patch of daffodils. They looked so bright and cheerful against the gloom. They pointed almost defiantly to better days ahead and even though I was running late, I stopped to take a picture.

I’ll have to admit my spirit felt a little lighter as I said a prayer of thanks for the God wink.

At lunch, for the first time in days, the sun was out and it was warm and so I took a walk through campus. I was delighted to see a tree full of pink blooms standing out against all the other bare trees. As I continued on my way, I caught small glimpses here and there of the coming spring.

In some cases I had to seek them out, but each time I saw one, I felt encouraged. This dark season would not last forever.

The rain is supposed to move back in tonight and last for another couple of days. This weekend’s forecast calls for more cold weather. Winter is not done with us yet, but it won’t last forever.

In life, our winter seasons never last forever either. Even during our darkest times, there are always glimpses of hope if we dare to look hard enough for them. If we seek, we shall find.

God is always with us even when it appears that He is not. Spring will always come. A patch of daffodils reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Trusting God with Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

 

As someone who enjoys writing, I try to keep a notebook close by most of the time. I never know when a phrase or conversation might inspire me and I know if I don’t jot inspirations down immediately, I will likely lose them.

I have often read about people keeping prayer journals, but I have never really done that. I try to talk to God all day long about even trivial things and it would simply be too time consuming to write it all down.

But, for some reason, I was led to write down a prayer on New Years’ Day 2020. It was a prayer of hopes and dreams for the future. Both of my kiddos were in college and I felt I was at a bit of a crossroads regarding my next chapter.

Keep in mind that we had never even heard of Covid 19 before March of 2020.

I was flipping through one of my old notebooks and I found that prayer. I was a little stunned as I read through it.

God has been amazingly faithful and answered those prayers in so many unexpected and beautiful ways. When I look at that written prayer on the other side of Covid, I find it particularly timely. I recently listened to a sermon about how God holds time. He is never surprised by what is coming. That’s why Biblical prophecy is always correct.

When I was led in 2020 to write down a prayer, the Holy Spirit was at work. I had no way of knowing then that seeds were being planted in my heart, but God knew. God knew about the chaotic chapter that was about to come for all of humanity and He got busy on changing my focus way before I even knew it needed to be changed.

Finding that prayer reminded me that God is always listening and always working. He is also always planting. We get to choose whether or not we are receptive to the seeds. Do we provide fertile hearts and souls? Are we open to His plans? Are we brave enough to trust that they are better than our own?

Finding that prayer was like finding an old black and white photo. It lets me compare where I was to where I am and it fills my heart with both hope and joy. Writing prayers down allows us to look back and see how very faithful God is in our lives. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an Awesome Day!

Wendy 🙂

Reading the Bible Expectantly

Posted on by Wendy
When we read the Bible expectantly, beautiful things can happen.

I recently heard a pastor speak about how we read the Bible. He asked if we read it because we are supposed to or do we read it because we want to draw closer to God. He suggested that most of us do both and admitted to doing so himself. He then challenged us to start reading it expectantly. He said if we want God to communicate with us, we need to intentionally read His word, not just skim over it to check a box.

I was intrigued by this concept. What does expectantly look like? When I pray about something or for someone, do I expect an answer?  Are both my heart and hands open for the blessings I hope for?

As I pondered the idea of expectantly, I decided to start keeping a pen and paper handy when I read my morning devotion. If I am reading expectantly, then I would think I would receive information worth writing down.

I was not disappointed.

I took a few days and wrote down the verses that spoke to me. I had been praying about some life changes and my focus word for the year is trust. As I read back over what I wrote, here’s what I found.

“See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

He (Jesus) replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

I just had to smile as I read what I had written and then I felt a little convicted. A little nudge reminded me that trust wasn’t just meant for think of when making future plans.

A couple of weeks earlier, I was driving to work in the rain. The rain quickly turned into a flash flood. It was dark and each time I drove through standing water, it would splash all the way up to my windows. I drove to work at a snail’s pace in a white knuckled panic and I was in tears when I arrived, so very thankful for my safety.

Thinking back on the experience, I now wonder if I was ever truly in danger. The God I trust with my future is the same God who kept me safe in that particular storm and the same God who has held me close during all the storms I have weathered. That thought filled me with a deep sense of peace.

Reading the Bible expectantly reminded me to trust that God holds me close yesterday, today and tomorrow. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Choosing to See Through the Lens of Thankfulness

Posted on by Wendy
When we take the time to look, we usually find that blessings flow freely.

As Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are living through historic levels of inflation and economic uncertainty. Last year, we were still living with the multi-year threat of a seemingly never-ending international pandemic. Some people were still afraid to travel. Social media was still overrun with arguments about wearing masks or not and I won’t even mention the ongoing political arguments.

Many families chose not to gather and break bread over fear or anger or both.

Fear and anger are great dividers.

We all hoped this year would be better. While the pandemic threat has subsided for most, flu is running rampant and now, so is inflation.

The country is just as divided on how to fix the economy as we were on how to handle the pandemic.

At street level, there’s a lot to complain about and the situation looks rather hopeless, yet those of us who hold dual citizenship with heaven and earth are called to take a different view. We are called to remember that life on earth will always be a mix of calm and chaos and if we spend our days longing for better ones, then we will always miss the many blessings that are daily rained down upon us.

We are called to remember that we are travelers here and our King is not the least bit concerned about the economy or the flu.

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, people of faith, have the opportunity to show a dark world what Christian living is supposed to look like. We can live and act in such a way that draws others to Jesus. That includes our social media presence.

The Bible says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18

We can choose to share our blessings with others both physically and virtually. We can choose to share Jesus.

We are called to love one another. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

While fear and anger are great dividers, the fruit of the Holy Spirit fills us with powerful tools of reconciliation like peace, patience, joy, love kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

Jesus’ last supper with His disciples reminds me of the importance of breaking bread together. Thanksgiving reminds me that despite what the world tells us, there is always much to be thankful for. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Autumn Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
The oak tree in fall reminds us to walk at our own pace. God’s timing is always perfect.

As I was walking through campus last week, I couldn’t help but to admire the beautiful fall trees. There were tall tees and short trees, old ones and young ones, all participating in the stunning fall art show. The leaves ranged from tiny to huge and the colors were all over the spectrum. There were reds, yellows and oranges. Some of the trees were almost bare, having dropped their leaves early. Then, I passed by an oak, that was still mostly green and hadn’t really started to drop its leaves at all.

I marveled a moment at the mighty oak. I doubted that it really mattered to it what the other trees were doing, and whether it was ahead or behind in the seasonal show. When the time comes, it too, will play its brilliant part.

I immediately thought about one of my students who I had spoken with earlier in the week. She told me that all of her roommates and everyone she knew, had it together, knew exactly what they wanted to do and were going to graduate early. She felt that she was behind. I gently pointed out to her that in real life, there is no behind; we are all figuring it out at our own pace and we will all get there.

I also reminded her that social media is just about all, make-believe. Everyone’s life looks perfect on Instagram. She acknowledged the truth in that statement as we made a plan for her next semester.

I often wonder what it is about humanity that makes us determined to compare ourselves to each other. I don’t think there is anything that can kill peace and joy more quickly than comparison, but we tend to be suckers for punishment.

One walk out in creation can remind us that God loves variety. He has His own timing and it is always good. The trees are all sizes and shapes, just like we are. They bloom at different times. Some trees are evergreen and don’t drop their leaves at all and the ones that do, drop them at their own pace and it is good.

There would be nothing magical about the fall if the leaves all fell in the same week or if they were all the same color. The season is beautiful because every tree is different, just the way God intended.

The fall season reminds me to appreciate where I am in life and that comparison is really about questioning God’s plans and His timing for us. The Bible tells us they are always good. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Lessons from a Scuppernong Vine

Posted on by Wendy
We never know what kinds of fruit may come from the seeds we plant.

Last weekend, my hubby, my mama, and I decided to take a look at some old scuppernong vines that my grandmother planted over fifty years ago. They were a complete overgrown mess. They hadn’t been touched or tended in at least twenty years. The original trellis was on the ground.

Trees had grown up around the trellis and the vines received very little sun. Briars had grown up into the vines along with both sweet gum and pine trees.

The entire situation looked irredeemable. Could there possibly be any life in the middle of that dead mess?

My Daddy, who was working on another project, looked over the fence at us and said, “Lois planted those. They were the sweetest, golden berries you ever tasted.”

Could my grandmother’s planting work still be viable after all these years of neglect?

We began to search for life among the rubble.

My hubby noticed right away that there were scuppernong vines climbing the surrounding trees. Vines have to come from a root. We started cutting and tossing.

To our happy surprise, when we cleared the debris from the top, we found many mother vines rooted deeply in the ground. When we snipped a little closer to the roots, we could see they were very much alive.

We marked them with pink flag tape and began cutting and tossing everything that hindered their growth. My hubby grabbed a chainsaw and took down some trees that were blocking the sun.

It was a lot of hard work as we searched, cut, raked, and hauled. We all had scratches from the briars, but in the end, we had the promise of a fruitful life restored.

The following day, Mama woke with the desire to check on the other vines my grandmother had planted. These were the bigger ones where we often found the most fruit when I was a kid. Again, we found the same situation. There were brambles, briars and trees, but when we cut and removed what wasn’t supposed to be there, we found plenty of living, rooted vines. Delighted, we tagged them as well.

We will soon put in new trellises with strong cables to support those old, but living vines. We will install some type of watering system and we will wait and hope.

As children of God, we are all in the planting business. Sometimes we get to see what we plant on this side of Eternity and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes what we plant lives long after we are gone, but, that is not for us to decide. All we can do, is plant as much as we can while we are here and trust God to do the rest.

Some old scuppernong vines reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy

Unexpected Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
“In the morning Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3

As I was driving to work yesterday, I was giving thanks for the rain. We have desperately needed it and although it was no fun to drive in, I was determined to be thankful. As I drove, I prayed for inspiration for a blog post.

I know that God is always at work in my life and I often get glimpses of His handiwork, both in big and small ways. However, sometimes He moves in ways that are very personal either to me or my family and I don’t feel free to share those stories with the world at large, so I prayed for what the Holy Spirit might want me to share.

I sat down at my desk at 7:30. At 7:46, I received a picture text from my Mama. It was the tiniest leaf on a stick, but this wasn’t a random stick.

A few weeks earlier, we decided to try to root a pear tree that my grandmother planted over fifty years ago. It’s still producing some fabulously sweet and juicy pears, but it’s very old and not very healthy. We don’t know how much longer we will have that tree that has such a special place in the hearts our family.

I did some research on how to successfully graft a pear and it’s apparently one of the more difficult trees to graft. We needed warming mats and domes and all types of implements that we didn’t have and we didn’t really have the time to get. The days were getting shorter and if we were going to try it, we needed to get it done.

We took eight cuttings and put them in red solo cups. Our domes were Ziploc bags. My Daddy, our farmer in residence, who can grow just about anything, directed us to put them in windows all over the house and he and Mama were in charge of keeping an eye on them.

A few weeks passed and nothing happened. They spritzed them with water a couple of times. Last weekend, just a few days ago, there was still no sign of life, se we continued to wait.

Then, yesterday morning, I prayed for inspiration and less than half an hour later, my Mama texted a picture of proof of life. A leaf had appeared. The cutting was alive.

I sat in my office grinning as my eyes filled with tears, overwhelmed with gratitude. I offered up a prayer of thanks both for the signs of new life and for a God who answers prayers in the most unexpected ways.

I’ve learned on this journey, that when we walk with God, we should always expect the unexpected. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Giving Thanks for Intervening Grace

Posted on by Wendy
Seeing miraculous intervention should remind us of the countless unseen times that God intervenes on our behalf.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving into work. I was traveling on a different path than was normal for me because I had to pick up coffee boxes for visiting employers who were interviewing our students. I was tired. It had been a long week, but it was all good things. My school had hosted a career fair the day before and the interviews were spillover.

I was happy that things were back to normal for our students after two years of slogging through Covid regulations. They were getting in person career fairs and interviews, but it had kept me planning and moving non-stop and I was exhausted.

The road I was traveling on was busy, even at 7:00 in the morning. It wasn’t quite light outside and the cars out on the road raced from stop light to stop light, changing lanes to get around a bus or a slower vehicle.

I was thankful I didn’t travel this road everyday. There was way too much traffic for me. It was like a Frogger game playing out in real time.

As we approached what felt like the 100th traffic light, there was only one car in front of me and I happily realized I was going to catch a green one.

Then I saw the girl on a scooter sailing across the crosswalk with her blond ponytail flying behind her obviously trying to beat the light and it immediately occurred to me that the car in front of me was not going to stop. She hit her and the girl flew off of her scooter onto the pavement.

I sat alone in my car, stunned and repeatedly uttered the only words that would come out, “My God, My God,” as tears filled my eyes.

Miraculously, she jumped right back up. A pedestrian came out of nowhere to assist. The driver who hit her got out to check on her, but she waved both of them away and walked off with her scooter.

The driver who hit her returned to her car. The light turned green again and we all drove away.

I was shaken to the core for the rest of the day. The girl on the scooter was someone’s beloved child and she had been spared. The woman who hit her had been spared of a lifetime of guilt if there had been a different outcome.

I had no words for the horror and despair I felt in that moment. I just called out to God and I’ve no doubt the Holy Spirit intervened.

Romans 8:26 tells us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

Never before had that verse held more meaning for me.

I felt a deep reminder of the graciousness of God deep within my soul. That day, I saw Him intervene and for that I am so very thankful, but He intervenes for us constantly in ways we never see and perhaps the unseen intervention deserves even more thanks.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Ruth Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
When we listen daily for God’s whispers and follow His nudges, we are often rewarded in ways beyond our imagination.

I’ve recently been reading through the book of Ruth. It’s one of those books of the Bible that doesn’t come up that much. Seas don’t get parted. Manna doesn’t miraculously fall from Heaven. God doesn’t speak in a booming voice, but He’s there just the same and I suppose that’s why it appeals to me so much.

Ruth is a foreigner, a Moabite girl, who marries a Hebrew boy. He and his brother, mama and daddy are foreigners living in her land. They moved there to escape a famine. The daddy dies and within ten years both of the sons die too. The mama is left alone with her two daughters-in-law. She decides to go back home to Bethlehem, (yes that Bethlehem), and tells the two young women to return home to their fathers. One goes, but one, Ruth, refuses.

She speaks words to her grieving  mother-in-law which go on to become some of the most quoted in the Bible.

“But Ruth replied, Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16

Her oath to a God she barely knew, would seal her fate.

There’s something called prevenient grace and it’s a term that means that God is pulling all sinners towards Him and providing for us before we even know who He is. That grace is always at work as it was with young Ruth.

Her husband was dead and she didn’t know the first thing about Bethlehem, yet she felt drawn to her mother-in-law and to her God.

Big miraculous moments always make the headlines as well they should. When God moves in huge ways that we can’t miss, we tend to take notice. But, the truth is, He most often moves in nudges and whispers. Ruth felt some kind of nudge to stay with Naomi. After arriving in Bethlehem, she felt the need to go and gather grain for food for them.

God led with a nudge and Ruth followed every time and in the end, He sent her a new husband, Boaz, and due to her obedient listening, our sweet Ruth, a widowed foreigner, got to be in the direct bloodline of Jesus. Ruth had a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse and Jesse was the father of King David.

The seemingly helpless, hopeless and lost, put into God’s hands, can always be redeemed. Ruth reminds me that God is always at work and even when all we can do is take one tiny step at a time, when we walk with Him, He will always provide and quite often, in ways completely beyond our imagination.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Rainy Day Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
As people of faith, we never walk alone.

One day last week, the school where I work, hosted a welcome back event to kick off the fall semester. We engaged the Chick-fil-A truck and our school mascot. We invited all of the students as well as our faculty and staff. It was a beautiful day and we had a big turn out.

For about an hour, it was an ideal event.

Then the clouds quickly moved in and we heard a loud thunder clap. In almost no time, the rain came down in buckets and most people scattered. We took down the tables and chairs and moved inside. The sweet Chick-fil-A people brought us all of the remainder of our sandwiches in warming bags.

The event was effectively over an hour earlier than advertised.

When I went back outside to see if we had missed anything, there were two disappointed girls walking slowly towards the now empty area where all of the fun had been. They were wearing raincoats and looked a little shocked. I asked them if they had come for the event. They said they had been walking our way when it began to rain, but they were so close that they just kept walking.

The only thing they saw was an empty lot, but I knew there was more.

I told them there were plenty of sandwiches and drinks left inside the building and I invited them in. It was a joy to see them light up at the news.

There were other students inside who welcomed them. They were excited to learn they hadn’t missed it after all and they sat down and ate.

I thought about those two late arrivals long after I went home and changed into dry clothes. I thought about how often we give up on something because we think we missed our chance. How often was what we were looking for just right around the corner?

Rain is a guarantee on this side of eternity, but as people of faith, we never walk alone. God walks with us and He sends us people along the way to point us to shelter when we need it and sometimes He sends us blessings when we least expect it. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂