Promises Made, Promises Relied On

Attribution Unavailable

As it happens so often, I stumbled upon the verses from Isaiah found in Chapter 35, verses 1-10.

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.

It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense;
He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue
of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall
waters break out, and streams in the desert.

And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land
springs of water; in the habitation of dragons, where each lay,
shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called
the Way of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it,
but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon;
it shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion
with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(emphasis mine)

 Instantly, I was reminded of my sister-in-law who died some years ago after a struggle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.  These verses and a song our choir sang at the time, based on these verses, gave me great comfort that upon entering Heaven she would be able to walk and talk again, her body would be restored, and she would rise up and praise our God.

Funny that I've not often thought of these words in Isaiah nor the song lyrics. . . .

UNTIL this weekend.
We were visiting my husband's brother and his wife.
Bob's brother suffers from a rare and serious form of dementia,
which has stolen the core of his being from us. 

His eyes show little light or recognition.
His tongue and lips have been quieted
except for a rare word here and there.
His body doesn't cooperate the way it has before,
and he sits or lays most of every day,
unable to move under his own strength.

The words from Isaiah and from this song have once again spoken to me.  I am reminded that one day my husband's brother will be able to sing, speak, see with recognition, and walk as He becomes one with our God in Heaven.  It is hard not to be sad as we watch him slip away so quickly from us.   

BUT God's promises are true and on them I rely.  I pray the same trust and reliance on Him for you.

Five Minute Friday: Have I Got a Story to Tell!

It's Friday morning and time to meet up with Lisa-Jo Baker -- Tales of a Gypsy Mama, who spreads a feast before us consisting of a challenge:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

Today's word is STORY, and here's my best five minutes . . . .

READY, SET, GO!


How many times has someone said to you, "Have I got a STORY to tell!"

And you're reaction may have been, "Oh, no, here we go again!"

But think about it -- we've all got stories to tell.  We just don't always preface our stories with such an announcement.

As I thought about Lisa-Jo's word for today, I began to think about my story.  Well, actually that would be STORIES!

There are my mamahood stories.  Then my single parenting stories after the divorce stories.

My stories about working as a legal secretary for some 30 plus years.  Oh, all the soccer, T-ball, swimming, football stories.

And the stories of finding Mr. Right and marrying him, and now the stories of our glorious almost 31 years together.  In between all of that, the stories of our children's marriages, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren.

That's a lot of stories!

But there's one story so much more important than all of these . . . . it's the story of a loving Father who looked down on His creation and saw people who needed Him and His loving grace.  The Father who gave us His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our salvation.

Now, that's a STORY!

STOP!

Attribution

Simply Sunday -- Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV)

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait

quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

~~ Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV)

Moment's Reflection:

The sign in the above photo could spell "no hope" for most people.  Yet over the past six days we have watched as my husband's brother was taken to ER and then hospitalized, and ultimately transferred to a nursing facility. The words "nursing home" could have caused us to feel beyond hope.

Do we give up hope simply because life has changed for Bob's brother and his wife?  Not at all!  Hope still abides if we only believe in our Lord.  These verses confirm that promise.  Our hope has only changed:  instead of prayers for healing we now pray for comfortable days and good care, instead of seeing our brother struggle to walk we see him confined to a wheelchair, instead of continuing to be in his home he has been moved to a different home.  These things have changed.  Our hope still rests in the Lord to comfort all of us as transitions and changes settle in.

Prayer:

Father, we ask that you continue to watch over our family and especially our brother.  Help him maintain that sense of calm we saw yesterday when we had to come home.  Let him know that you are sitting beside him each and every day.  Please keep your hand on his caregivers that their touch and care will be compassionate and loving.  In the name of your Son, I pray.

Sharing with Diedra at
 

Visiting Barbie at Fresh Brewed Sundays

 

 

Photo credit:  Jodi Green

What A Gift!

For God so loved the world

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* * *

God loved the world, not just you and me, the whole world,

and He still does and always will, no matter what.

* * *

that he gave his one and only Son,

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* * *

He gave us a gift, not just any gift --

He gave His one and only Son, Jesus, to

bleed and die on a cross.

* * *

  

  that whoever believes in him

* * *

"Whoever" is anyone -- you, me, the boy who bags your
groceries, the woman who styles your hair,
the homeless, the jobless -- who believes His promises
through faith and willingly accepts God's love.

* * *

 shall not perish but have eternal life.

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 * * * 
 And through the added gift of eternal life,
salvation is ours -- His promise to us
through His Son.

John 3:16 (NIV)

Let us give thanks again and again for this extraordinary gift of sacrifice and love.