Philippians 2:2

Recently, I found a devotional plan through my Bible app on the book of Philippians. It is one of my favorite books of the Bible, so I thought I’d give it a try. Today it covered a few verses from chapter 2. I have read this book many times, have lots of verses underlined or highlighted in my Bible and have several verses from Philippians memorized. As I started reading verse 2 however, I stopped. I read it again. Something really stuck out to me. And I had some thoughts on this short verse.

The apostle Paul is the author of the book, and he wrote this while in prison. Verse 2 says, “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Even though Paul is talking to those in Philippi as he writes this, it very well could be the thought God has. Would it/does it not also bring Him joy when His children—Christ-followers, those who say they love Him—get along and live in unity with each other?

Other Bible verses talk about how good it is when us saints are living in harmony with each other and as far as it depends on me/each of us individually, we are to live in harmony with each other. I’m sure it brings a smile to His face when we are doing that! Jesus said the world will know who His disciples are by our love for each other. He didn’t say the world will know who His disciples are if we vote for the right candidate or agree about this or that. But it is how we love each other. And if we are showing love to each other, we will be living in unity with one another. Doesn’t mean we can’t have a difference of opinion (and yes, there are some solid truths we should be in agreement on.) We can express our difference opinion kindly, calmly and in a respectful manner. And if we are treating our fellow Christ followers with love, respect and kindness, I’m thinking that will spill over to other areas of our lives—home, work, family, neighbors, the grocery store, etc. S

Sure, there are going to be things that come up that need to be addressed, things said or done to use that are wrong and will need to be dealt with in a Biblical way. But what an example we can be to a dying, lost, hate-filled world if us Christ followers not just claim to love God, but show it by how we treat our fellow saints. That certainly would be living in a counter-cultural way! How much could we further and expand the Kingdom if we lived in unity , in one accord with each other. How much joy it would bring to our Heavenly Father!

I still have to work on this. It’s not always easy. But I wonder how it would change things if we all strive to bring joy to God by living in love and being in one accord with each other. Dear Lord, help us all to represent You well always but especially in this area.

 

Thankful for messed up plans

 

This morning I left my car windows open a little while I was at work. About 10 minutes before I left the office, the heavens opened, and it rained. At first a nice, gentle rain but then it was a bit more sincere rain. Really? The rain couldn’t have waited 10 more minutes? I wasn’t about to run out to the car, roll up the windows, come back to the office for five minutes and then go back out, getting soaked in the process. So I just resigned myself to the fact that the inside of my car would be wet. And indeed it was. The plan today was to run an errand after work to pick up some meat to cook for dinner. But with how wet I was feeling sitting in my car thanks to a wet car seat, plan B was to just head home and make something else for dinner. Well, that dinner plan fell through, too. So on to the next plan. Instead of chicken and roasted veggies, pancakes with fruit and bacon for dinner.

But, as we were preparing and eating our dinner, we had a national TV weather station on. They were talking about the horrific floods in Texas. There were the updates on how many individuals are confirmed deceased and how many missing. One reporter spoke of ones searching for victims following basically the smell of death to find a deer that did not survive. My heart breaks for the people who lost their lives. My heart breaks for the pets, livestock and other animals that also lost their lives during this event. We saw interviews with survivors. Heard their stories of how terrifying the event was and how fast the raging waters rose. Tears filled my eyes as we listen to survivors talk about seeing vehicles and homes float down the river and the sounds of screams for help. I cannot imagine…I saw first responders and others who are out their helping people in their community recover their deceased loved ones. This is their community, too and this has got to be so hard for them as well.

So, yah. My vehicle got a little wet on the inside. My pant leg was wet from the wet car seat. Dinner wasn’t exactly what I had planned. And even now I’m running a little behind and need to scramble to get working on some time sensitive tasks. The Bible says we are to give thanks always and to rejoice always. Am I happy about how my afternoon/early evening went? Not really. But put it in perspective. I’m thankful. Thankful that I had a car to drive. My agenda for the evening does not include walking along a debris-filled path along a river, searching for lost loved ones and pets. My plans got a bit messed up. But at least my plans don’t involve trying to find a new place to live because mine floated down a raging river.

Thank you, Jesus, for what we have. We have much to give thanks for. We lift up those who have been impacted by these horrible floods the past few days. Give strength to the first responders, volunteers and those doing what they can to help, search, rescue, recover. Thank You, Jesus.

Snapshots of Faith: Twenty-five

 

 

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 37:17-18

Twenty-five. This past May we should have been celebrating the 25^th birthday of our son or daughter. However, there was no birthday get together. No cake. No candles.

In the fall of 1998, we received the happy news that we were going to have a baby! We were over the moon excited. It was fun to plan, discuss possible names and to dream of what he or she would be like, what he or she would grow up to be. We even announced it in our Christmas letter to everyone! The day after we mailed out our Christmas cards those dreams ended with a miscarriage. The end of October 1999 we went through it again. Then came no more pregnancies and medical issues, etc. instead.

Not going to lie. Over the years there’s been plenty of tears shed. Lots of questioning God. Some seasons of quiet or hidden depression—doing my day to day stuff but feeling numb and so much hurt and anger inside. Well meaning people said things that really didn’t help—just caused more hurt. Most days are okay. However, waves of grief have and will hit sometimes out of nowhere. Who knew all these years later there would still be a hurting heart. But the past few years a new round of some sadness will hit—not only will we never be called mom and dad by a child of our own, but we will never have the joy of having grandchildren. There are a few other reasons why the whole not having children or grandchildren has been less than fun to deal with.

 It did take a few years after the 2^nd miscarriage, but I finally got to the point where I could pray and told God that however best He can use me/us—with or without kids—was fine. He just needed to give me the grace and strength needed to get through the hard times.

Over the years I have been asked how I can still say God is good, how can I still believe in Him, how can I still trust Him just based on all of this alone. How can I still praise Him, love Him and not turn my back on Him. There were dark days. There are times it’s a struggle. Our hearts are sad knowing we will never celebrate the birthday of our own children or grandchildren. It’s hard knowing we don’t have children or grandchildren to call on as we get older. But God is good. He is near to the brokenhearted. He holds us fast. He is my source of strength. He is faithful. He is my peace.

I don’t post this to ask for sympathy or pity but to encourage others. Life does not always turn out like we hope it will. Dreams are crushed. Things don’t go the way we want. But as a Christ follower, I can honestly say I would not want to do life without Him! He has been my rock, my hope, my strength. He understands my heartache. I’m thankful for His love, for His grace. If life is hard, cry out to Jesus. Cling to Him. He will see you through.