Category: Watching for God

God is all around us. All we have to do is look for Him. If we seek Him, we will find Him at times in the most unlikely places.

A Time for Everything

Posted on by Wendy
There’s a season for everything and they can all be beautiful.

Yesterday morning, my daily devotional was about the sunrise. It posed the question, that if you had spent your entire life in darkness and finally saw a sunrise, wouldn’t you believe it was a miracle? It went on to point out that, we experience brushes with the miraculous everyday, but we shrug them off because they have become everyday and mundane to us.

I was determined to take those words to heart as I headed off to work. Unfortunately, it was raining, but I kept my eyes peeled. The skies were gray for most of the day and at one point it was pouring, but in the afternoon, it began to clear and the sun came out.

When I walked out of work, it was a gorgeous warm afternoon. I knew I had to take a walk when I got home, even though my to-do list was a mile long.

When I got outside, my heart felt light for the first time in days and I marveled at the fall leaves. It seemed that they had turned colors overnight. How had I missed that little miracle?

As I continued to walk, I really took in all of the different colors and thought about how creative God is. Spring has always been my favorite season. I love to see life and beauty burst forth from what had previously been dormant. But, the leaves around me were just as stunning as the spring flowers are.

As I continued to walk and appreciate the miraculous, and give thanks for it, I felt a truth bubbling up in my heart.

Letting go can be beautiful. Just look at the leaves.

We tend to hold onto so many things we don’t need. My pastor recently said that Americans use two billion square feet for storage in forty thousand storage facilities and that doesn’t even count attics and basements. We used to have megabytes. Then there were gigabytes. Now we have terabytes.

We hold onto a lot of stuff both physically and virtually. We also tend to hold onto a lot of emotional baggage too. But, maybe we should all learn a lesson from the leaves and let some things go. We may find that something beautiful happens.

A seasonal miracle reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Grandparent Grace

Posted on by Wendy
Perhaps some of the purest love we will ever witness is between a grandparent and a grandchild.

A few days ago, a young couple walked into the school office where I work, carrying a precious little baby. They had just arrived in town and wanted to surprise the baby’s grandmother. Well, we all got in on it. We helped them get checked in and kept watch for her. We had them step over to the side out of sight, until we asked her to come into the office.

I don’t know when I have seen such pure joy as the joy I saw on her face. She squealed with excitement as she took her grand baby in her arms and alternated between holding her close and then pulling her away so she could look at her.

There were tears in her eyes and in mine too. She then took her granddaughter to show her other babies, who happen to be second graders who she loves like they are hers.

I replayed that scene in my head over the next couple of days. I have always thought that God gives mamas a taste of His love for us through our children, but when I witness the love a grandmama has for her grandchildren, it really takes it up a notch.

It’s hard to wrap my brain around the concept that God loves us even more than we love our children and grandchildren. It’s truly more than I can fathom, yet I know it’s true and I was so grateful I got to witness that love firsthand the other day. My heart felt truly blessed.

Then yesterday, another coworker came into the office with her phone. She said she had something to show us that she had been desperate to share. On her phone, was an ultrasound picture of a tiny fetus. Her daughter was expecting and she was over the moon.

Here again, was a grandmother who was completely in love with a child who was yet to be born, a child who hasn’t even take her first breath, but is already treasured. I was once again reminded of God’s love for us.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14

There’s so much negativity in our world right now, so much anger and so much hate. We can sometimes wonder where God is. Rest assured, He’s still here. If you need proof, find a grandparent and ask them about their grandchild.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you did too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Warriors Among Us

Posted on by Wendy
I’m thankful for the warriors among us.

Wednesday night, we held our breath as Hurricane Michael headed our way. It had already decimated everything in its path in Florida and Georgia was next. We had seen alerts most of the day and were under a tornado watch until the wee hours of the morning.

I had felt uneasy all day long. The air outside just felt heavy somehow. My daughter was in South Georgia and my parents were in Middle Georgia and both areas were in the hurricane’s crosshairs and out of my reach.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when I got a message on Facebook from a family friend checking in with us and letting me know he was praying for us. He’s a warrior who became family on a mission trip a few years back and he always has a way of letting me know he’s praying for us especially when things feel particularly out of my control.

I immediately felt better.

A little while later, another friend who I met on that same trip, also a warrior who has become family, messaged me to let me know that he too, was praying for our family.

There was definitely some comfort, knowing we were being prayed for, when we didn’t even ask. There are certain situations when it becomes abundantly clear that prayer is the only answer. I was so grateful they had reached out to me. I had no doubt that they were following nudges from God.

It made me wonder if I should do a better job at letting people know that I’m praying for them. I think we can sometimes forget how powerful that spiritual connection can be. There are times when I feel called to pray for someone, but I rarely tell them.

Maybe they need to hear it. It certainly gave me some peace.

Thankfully we suffered no damage overnight, but the next morning, I still hadn’t heard from my daughter. I received a text from another warrior from that same mission trip to tell me she was praying for us and asking how we were. I thanked her and told her we were fine, but I hadn’t heard from my daughter. She reached out to her as well and I’ve no doubt, continued to pray.

It was a few hours later when she finally checked in. The weather had kept her awake, so she had slept in, but all was well.

I marveled all day at the power of prayer and the peace we can get from it. I stand amazed at the people who God puts in our paths for such a time as this. He always has a plan.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Blessed Reassurance

Posted on by Wendy
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

I had the day off on Monday and I was determined to get outside and go for a walk. My regular cardio routine has become irregular at best, due to some painting projects, an injured tendon and quite frankly, the oppressive heat that has refused to let up.

As I sat at my kitchen table drinking my coffee, (Who in their right mind would take a morning walk before coffee?), I noticed how dark it was outside. I knew I should go as early as possible, because of the heat, but I just didn’t want to go out under an overcast sky.

Something nudged me to wait.

When the sun finally peeked through the clouds, and I went to get my running shoes, it was 9:00. I strapped my cell phone that I’ve been lugging around to record every step I take, securely around my arm. I knew I had probably waited too late, but I was determined to go anyway.

I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped outside. It was cooler than it had been the past few days and there was a breeze. I was thankful I had waited for the light and I was reminded that it’s always going to be warmer when we seek to walk in the light.

As I walked along, I found myself praying for some wonder, for God to show His presence. The past week had been a long one filled with bad news, not for me personally, but for some friends and extended family. I felt like my prayers had become a long list of cries for intervention and comfort. My heart felt heavy.

But, as I walked and felt the cool breeze on my face, I felt thankful, thankful to be alive and to be outside and away from a desk and as I was giving thanks, a hawk flew across my path and landed on a tree branch right in front of me. I stopped and wondered if it would remain there while I took a picture. I doubted it.

I never exercise with a phone. I find them cumbersome, but I had mine because of the step counting, work contest. I carefully took it off my arm, expecting it to fly away any minute. It didn’t. I tried to zoom and then I moved closer and walked to the other side of the tree to get a better shot. The hawk never moved. He kept his eyes on me, but stayed put until I finished and walked away.

I marveled at God’s faithfulness and His timing. If I would have gone earlier, I would have missed the encounter. If I wasn’t counting my steps, not only would I not have been able to get a picture, but I wouldn’t have been been amazed at the hawk’s patience with my photo attempts.

My heart was much lighter as I continued to give thanks. My circumstances hadn’t changed, but I had been reassured of His presence, His timing, His plan and most importantly, His love.

Perhaps you needed some reassurance today too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

A Call to Share the Light

Posted on by Wendy
“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

On Monday, I wrote a post, called “The Rear View Mirror Illusion,” about struggling with thoughts about my best years being behind me instead of in front of me. I wrote about how we can get pulled into looking into the rear view mirror and long for those days gone by, because time has a way of whitewashing the past.

I had that post on my mind for two full days before I actually typed it out. I usually keep a notebook close by to jot down ideas that may present themselves at any given moment.

I feel like God reveals Himself to me all of the time and more often than not, I probably miss it and so I try to keep a look out and take notes.

But, that morning, that prayer, that sunrise, and that rainbow, just wouldn’t leave me alone. God often speaks to me in a whisper, but I felt like that day, He was using a megaphone and the need to write it down and share it, just wouldn’t go away.

So, Sunday morning, even though I was out of town, even though I was working on something else, even though I was visiting with my Mama, I powered up my laptop and told my story.

I don’t know why I was surprised that I got more likes, comments and shares on that post than I’ve had in a long time. It was something a lot of people clearly needed to read. It resonated with them. It offered some encouragement to some struggling hearts and reminded them that God is still listening, still working, and still in control.

The response to the post, reminds me of how important it is to share with others, both our trials and triumphs on this faith journey.

It’s so easy to just plaster on a smile and say that everything is fine, but this side of Eternity, will always be littered with obstacles and pitfalls. There are valley moments along with the mountaintop moments. It takes both to grow our faith.

And there are times when we will feel a quiet, insistent, nudge to reach out to someone with encouragement. Sometimes we have no idea why. Sometimes we are busy doing something else. That post reminded me to make the call; send the text; extend the invitation, because God is still in the business of using His people to share His light with a world that at times, can be very dark.

And don’t we want to be a part of that?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Rear View Mirror Illusion

Posted on by Wendy
Someone else took the time to snap a photo of that beautiful rainbow.

One day last week, I was driving to work, deep down into my bones, weary. It had been a long stressful week both at work and at home and I was running late. While none of these issues were serious in the big picture, I’ll have to admit that I sometimes live in the moment.

I allow my daily annoyances and stresses to completely cloud my vision and the big picture gets lost. My current situation takes over my thoughts and I can find myself feeling like I’m drowning.

This day was one of those days.

I usually find the remedy to these counterproductive thoughts in prayer. I was certainly praying that morning. I glanced in my rear-view mirror and saw the most gorgeous pink clouds behind me. When I looked ahead, the sky in front of me was gray. The sun hadn’t touched it yet.

I sighed as I asked God why sometimes life looks like all of the best times are behind us.

If we are honest, I think we all probably do that from time-to-time. Don’t we? We look at where we are and we look at where we’ve been and we remember the good old days and we wish we could go back. We wonder if we will ever be that happy again.

We forget that time has a way of filtering the bad stuff out of our memories and we remember the good. Why else would anyone with a toddler ever want a second child? Those stresses are so real and hard at the time, the tantrums and defiance, the potty training, but the joy we get from that toddler crowds out the stress and we eventually forget.

I prayed for peace, strength and reassurance, during the rest of my short drive.

When I turned onto the road where I work, the sky was beautiful and bright. It was full of pink clouds and when I pulled into my parking lot, my soul felt lighter. I thanked God for the sign. I took a deep breath as I went racing toward the door, when a voice behind me called out. She wanted to chat and I was late and a little annoyed at the interference.

I politely slowed down and chatted with her. Then she stopped and pointed out the rainbow over the building. It was so faint; you could hardly see it, but it was there and I was amazed as I fought tears.

No, the best days were not behind me and yes, God was there and still listening, still present and still very involved and yes, He was still in the business of answering the prayers of His children who cry out to Him.

I really needed reminding that day. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Choir Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
We should always be open to both sharing with others and receiving from others, the gift of wisdom that comes from living.

A few weeks ago, we were practicing a new choir song. I don’t read music. I sing what I hear, but I have learned which notes mean to go higher or lower, even if I don’t know exactly how much higher or lower. But, sometimes the music looks like complete chaos to me.

There will be three different rows of notes and different parts and then the sopranos will switch up with the altos or we will join in with the men, and I find myself completely lost. This was one of those times.

At some point, I leaned over to my choir buddy to my right and made some comment about being clueless. She’s been reading music her entire life. She gently reached over and took my song book out of my hands. She took my pencil and she made notes. She drew arrows and wrote in short directions. It only took her a couple of minutes.

She handed it back and asked me if that helped. It did and I was ever so grateful. She took a foreign language of sorts, and translated it into something I could understand.

I thought about the exchange long after practice was over. I thought about how at one time in my life, I would have never even asked for help. I probably would have just faked it somehow. If I’m honest, I probably would have been insulted that she took my book and actually wrote in it.

But, the older I get, the more humble I become. Pride is often not a useful emotion and rarely a productive one among God’s people. My friend heard me ask for help and she swiftly provided it. She has way more knowledge about music than I ever will. Why would I not be grateful for the lifeline?

She reminded me that we should all be reaching out to those around us who are struggling with something that we may have unique wisdom about. It could be how to survive a rough season with a difficult child, or a rough patch in a marriage, or a season of sickness, or financial issues. Sometimes our wisdom may involve matters of the Church or the Bible.

Every morning that we wake up, we should hear the little whisper that God is not done with us yet. We can begin each day with wide open eyes to not only reach out to others, but to be ready to receive as well.

A choir practice reminded me not to miss the many opportunities to share our wisdom with other people who are on this journey we call life. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Tree Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
Even thought the seasons change, our hope doesn’t have to.

My mama and daddy just went to the North Carolina mountains for a week, with some cousins. They had a ball and Mama sent me some pictures of their beautiful surroundings. I’ll have to admit, it was breathtaking. I love the beach and the mountains equally. I feel closest to God in those places.

When I surround myself in the sphere of His creation, I can’t help but to feel His presence and hear His voice.

As I was looking at some of the pictures, I thought about how they would be even more spectacular in a month or so, when the leaves start turning colors, with bright oranges, yellows, and reds.

Then, I began to think that the trees have no idea that something even more beautiful is coming. They are content with the green. Yet, in the dead of winter, when they are completely bare, that green looks like the prettiest color ever.

But, even when they are bare, the work of growing, still goes on beneath the surface. There’s even beauty in the bareness because the stars in the sky, become even brighter. They aren’t obscured by the leaves.

The pictures stayed on my mind all week as I felt a little nudge reminding me that our lives can be a lot like those trees.

When things are green and we are growing fast and everything is going right, we sometimes can’t imagine that God has something better for us. We get content. We settle. Sometimes we stop listening and get complacent.

The green season is probably where we spend most of our time.

Then, there are seasons when something wonderful happens, our lives are filled with brilliant colors and mountain top moments, like births, weddings, new houses or new jobs. While those may tend to be our favorite seasons, they typically don’t last for very long.

Then there’s the bare seasons, when our comfortable reality seems to drop and disappear. It may look like we have nothing left and hope can get lost. But, just like the trees, when they are bare, these are the times, when heaven shines the brightest. These are the seasons when we depend on God the most.

These can be the seasons that grow our faith the most, because when we cry out to God and seek Him, He will answer. He will restore our hope and hold our hand as we journey into a new season, one even more beautiful than we ever imagined.

My mama’s mountain pictures reminded me that on this side of Eternity, we all go through different seasons, easy ones, beautiful ones and hard ones and that none of them last forever. Whatever season you may find yourself in today, remember, as a child of God, you never walk alone. A new season is coming.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too. Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Reaching for Jesus

Posted on by Wendy
When we get back on the right path, heaven cheers.

A couple of weeks ago, my hubby and I attended a bike race. They actually close the streets off in downtown Athens and the competitors race through the streets. There are events that take place all day long, but the final two events are the women’s race and the men’s race.

Both are backed by sponsors and the top finishers get national ranking. It’s amazing to see them pedal by. They go so fast that you can feel the wind on your face. Unfortunately, that speed also results in some bad injuries when they crash.

We witnessed just that very thing, when we arrived. Two cyclists in the women’s race had gotten tangled up. They were both on the ground for a while. At one point, one of them got up and the crowd cheered. The other one was on the ground a lot longer.

An emergency vehicle had pulled onto the scene to assist. There was a period of time where she wasn’t moving at all. Then, she sat up and everyone cheered. A few minutes went by and she stood and everyone cheered. At last, she walked to the vehicle and everyone cheered again. And when she rode away, everyone was still cheering.

We stayed until the end of the women’s race and we watched about half of the men’s race before we headed home. But, the injured cyclist stayed on my mind.

I kept thinking about how the crowd cheered her on at each little step of progress until she finally was able to get up and off of the road to where help waited for her.

I thought about how often we get tangled up in our own lives, sometimes with the wrong people and sometimes with the wrong decisions. There are times when those decisions or people knock us off of our feet and take us all the way down to the ground.

Sometimes we lie there in excruciating pain and wonder if we will ever have the strength to get back up.

But, if we reach for Jesus, He always reaches back and helps to pull us back on our feet and with each step of progress, heaven cheers because as long as we are walking towards God, each step is blessed, not matter how tiny it may seem to us at the time.

A bicycle race reminded me that as long as we reach for Jesus, we can always get back up, not matter how horrific the fall may feel. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Miraculous Living

Posted on by Wendy
We can choose to see everything as a miracle.

I recently read the last verse in the Gospel of John. I’ve read it before, but this time it really made me think. “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them was written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25

Ponder that thought for a moment. Apparently John just gave us the highlights and those were pretty phenomenal. Just imagine all of the lives Jesus touched while here on earth. Imagine all of the lives that were forever changed. The Gospels tell us some amazing accounts. But, there were more. With Jesus, there always is.

As I was thinking about John’s words, I came across a quote from Einstein that said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.” Since scientists seem to really enjoy trying to disprove that there is a God, I found that particularly interesting.

One quote was from the spiritual realm and one was from one of the smartest scientists who ever lived. Both point directly to God. As people of faith, we are called to see God in everything and even when we can’t see Him, we are called to know that He is present. That’s what faith is.

The Book of Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were condemned for.” Hebrews 11:1-2

We sometimes still get condemned for it. Don’t we? Just turn on the news and there’s usually a story of some kind of clash between people of faith and modern, progressive thought. But, Scripture reminds us that the struggle is not new, nor will it end until Jesus comes back.

There will always be a struggle between good and evil on this side of eternity.

But, until then, we can take comfort that God is with us and we can choose to live as if everything is a miracle. We can seek God in every situation and if we do so with open hearts, He will show Himself. Sometimes He’s right there, in neon lights too big to miss and sometimes we can’t see Him until some times has passed, but He’s always there, always at work.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂