Tag Archives: answers

Sharing the Grief

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Last Friday night on the outskirts of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, a horrific bus crash changed the lives of this community and surrounding areas forever.

Toronto’s Globe and Mail reported fifteen people, including 10 players between the ages of 16 and 21, were killed when a semi-trailer crashed into the Broncos’ bus late on Friday afternoon. As of Monday, 12 people remained in hospital: four in critical condition, four serious and four stable, according to Saskatchewan’s health authority.

There has been an outpouring of grief and support from around the world and I among many shed copious tears for the lives lost, those spared who will face ongoing traumatic healing, and those left behind to grieve the loss of their precious loved ones.

There are those who ask where God is at times like these.

The answer is He is with every single person whose life is touched by this tragic event.

The answer is He shares our grief.

The answer lies in John’s gospel, chapter eleven, verse thirty-five…Jesus wept.

 

Unanswered Questions

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If you hadn’t just recently taken the stairway to heaven I would ask you (over tea at your house) how you became such an interesting conversationalist. You were never at a loss for topics and when you discussed people, nothing was ever gossip, just good informational facts.

I would ask you how you developed your knack for making people feel so comfortable upon first meeting them.

I would ask where you found the patience to knit and crochet all the thousands of things you created over the years; and how fundraising became such an integral part of your talents.

I would ask what was your secret for growing such beautiful orchids and roses, to the delight of neighbors and friends..

There are so many questions left unanswered now that you are no longer here; questions that only you know the answers to.

But since you did recently take the stairway to heaven, Norean, I really have to ask, “What is it like there?” That is really the most unanswered question.

 

Reflections on The Honest Serving Men

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Here are the answers I came up with after reflecting on my existence and applying Rudyard Kipling’s What, Why, When, How, Where and Who questions in September 3rd’s post, The Honest Serving Men.

Who am I?

I am a child of God. “…I have made you and I will carry you…” (Isaiah 46:4) I am also a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, friend…

Why am I here?

I am here to help with earth’s population.  “Be fruitful and multiply…” (Genesis 1:28) My contribution has been five children, fourteen grandchildren, and six (soon to be seven) great-grandchildren. I was given good seed!

What is the purpose of my life?

I am here to serve God and his people.  “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” (Titus 3:14)

Where is my life taking me?

Back to God. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

When will I arrive?

When I die. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” (Psalm 23;4)

How will I know the answers?

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

This was a fun and enlightening exercise for me; I can always find answers in the Bible and this time was no exception.

Comments?

The Honest Serving Men

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The first verse of  Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “I Keep Six Honest Serving Men” goes like this:

I keep six honest serving men

(They taught me all I ever knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who.

This got me to thinking about my own existence and I posed the following questions to myself:

Who am I?

Why am I here?

What is the purpose of my life?

Where is my life taking me?

When will I arrive?

How will I know the answers?

I have given myself the weekend to ponder this and perhaps by Monday I’ll have some answers.  Please feel free to share some input on your own six honest serving men.

I Wish I Could Believe

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The first prayer from the book, Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To is, “God, show me that you exist.” Here is an excerpt from chapter one, I Wish I Could Believe:

Does God exist? Can there be a simpler yet more important question in all the universe? Can there be one that has been the source of more mental anguish and emotional confusion in the history of mankind? It’s ironic that a question that so many people struggle with is also one that can be most easily answered by God when we put it into the form of a prayer. For when we lift our minds and hearts in humility and say to God: “Please show me that you exist…Give me some sign that you are really up there somewhere” he is only too happy to respond–sometimes with a speed that can astound us.

And that’s what happened to me in my twenty-third year. I had been a believer since I was four years old, but as happens with some of us, life gets in the way of our beliefs, causing us to either forget about God altogether or give him very little of our time. I remember going through a very difficult time both physically and spiritually after the birth of my fourth child. One day, I stood stock still in my tiny little kitchen, surrounded by three little ones and a brand new baby, feeling completely overwhelmed. Suddenly, I cried out, “God, where are you? If you exist, please give me a sign!” Shortly afterwards…like about twenty minutes…a knock came to the door. There stood two Jehovah’s Witnesses wanting to talk to me about God. They held up one of their magazines with GOD in bold letters, but I didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the message, and shooed them away, being busy with my family at that precise moment.

It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized that I had closed the door on what was probably God’s sign to me that he does exist. “Was that my sign?” I wondered. Maybe yes, maybe no, but to this day I firmly believe that it was a very quickly answered prayer. “Yes, Patricia, I am here.”

Tomorrow: Why Should I Get Involved? … God, Make Me an Instrument

Before They Call

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Yesterday I wrote about seeing God, and that we’d been told that no one has ever seen Him.

Today I found out where I had heard (or seen) that phrase.

1 John 4:12 says No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (NIV)

Is it any wonder I saw God on Saturday? Love was everywhere that day!

Today’s title is from Isaiah 65:24

Until tomorrow….or whenever   🙂

Unlikely Interview

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I found this on the Internet on August 31, 2001 and liked it so much, added it to my collection of quotes, prayers, poems and special writings. This seems like a good time and place to share it.

I dreamed that I had an interview with God. “So, you would like to interview me?” God asked. “If you have the time” I said. God smiled. “My time is eternity…what questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you the most about human kind?” God answered “That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then use their money to restore their health. That by thinking about the future they forget the present thus live in neither present nor future. That they live as though they will never die as though they never lived.”

God’s hand took mine and we were silent for awhile and then I asked, “As a parent what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?”

“To learn they cannot make anyone love them, all they can do is let themselves be loved. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. To learn it only takes a few seconds to open up profound wounds in those we love and takes a few years to heal them. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn there are people who love them dearly but simply do not yet know how to show their feelings. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently. To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another but they must also forgive themselves.

“Thank you for your time” I said “Is there anything else you want your child to know?”

God smiled and said “Just know that I am here….always.”

What would you like to ask God?

 

 

 

Mysterious Ways

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Faith is a gift from God. Is it a supernatural gift? I believe everything about God is supernatural, and this brief modified excerpt from my book, My Precious Life, will explain why I believe that.

In 1977, a banner heralding the message, I’ve found it! You can find it too! had been hanging in my seventeen-year-old son’s room for several weeks. Dann had left the poster behind when he went to live with his dad. I often wondered what it meant, but didn’t give it too much thought until one evening, Kelly, who was ten, and had taken over his brother’s room asked, “Mom, what does that sign mean?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “but somehow I’ll find out.”

Just then the phone rang. It was a soft-spoken woman who asked me a question.

“Have you seen a sign around with the message, ‘I’ve found it, you can find it too’?”

The hairs stood up on my arms and my body began to tingle. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Yes,” I replied, “I have.”

“Do you know what it means?” she asked.

“No,” I admitted, as the tingling sensation increased.

The woman explained that it was a message from several inter-denominational churches, encouraging people to come to God. Her message was uplifting, and at the end of it, my caller asked permission to pray with me.

It was a simple prayer to renew my faith, and ended with an invitation to attend the church she was representing. Her name was Mrs. Williams. She thanked me for listening, and said I was the first positive response after the many calls she had made that night. I told her of the conversation Kelly and I had shared just moments before her call.

“God does work in mysterious ways,” she responded.

Well, yes he does, I thought to myself as I went back to answer Kelly’s question about the meaning of the poster.

Thinking back on that particular evening, Isaiah 65:24 comes to mind: Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.

I just love His mysterious ways!

 

 

 

 

What Would You Do?

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You are having a dinner party. You have invited friends, family, acquaintances; and you have invited Jesus as the guest of honor.

Well, upon hearing this, many of the guests begin making their regrets. A party of fifty-odd is now whittled down to a mere half dozen or so people. My question is this.

Do you say, “I’m sorry, Jesus, there are some people who don’t know you, or understand you, or where you are coming from, and I can’t afford to ruffle their feathers–would you mind taking a rain check?”

Or do you graciously accept the sudden declines, and enjoy the company of your Guest of Honor, along with those who are delighted to accept the invitation because He is the guest of honor?

I would enjoy the dinner party if Jesus was the only guest!

What would you do?