So, What's Happening in YOUR Life These Days?

Malachi 4:2 "But to you who fear My name (says the Lord of Hosts), the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves."

I feel like I have been hogging the net-waves lately...mostly writing about our son Matthew and the cancer that has assaulted his body, and all of the emotions surrounding such devastating news.  It has been a roller-coaster month.  Thankfully the good news is that the doctors believe they can wipe it out in the course of about a year's worth of extremely aggressive chemotherapy...which started this past week.  The battle plan is quite rigorous and will definitely take a toll on Matthew's body...but we pray that it will do its work and bring about complete healing.  Time will tell...but we are very confident in the power of God to do the healing...as the verse says above, "The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves."

Interesting terminology.  I love it...and I claim it by faith on behalf of Matthew.  The vision that imagery conjures up in my mind is one of complete health, mighty in strength and vitality; restored in every way to a full, long, and happy life. Wow! Thank you, Jesus, for this picture You have engraved in my heart tonight! I love it.

So, now...back to my original question in the title of this blog!  "What's happening in YOUR life these days?"  I know that many of you have had your own battles to win, challenges to face, and triumphs to celebrate.  There are some of you who also have family members battling serious illnesses, overcoming tragedies, and who may be learning to walk by faith through treacherous terrain.  I appreciate those who, in spite of their own difficult circumstances, have taken the time to share words of encouragement, comfort, and hope for our family. Maybe it isn't in spite of, but because of these experiences you are able to share such wisdom with us.

This reminds me of a young woman whom I had never previously met, who, when she heard of our son (Matthew, again) having surgery to remove a brain tumor (many years ago now), she came to our home the day before his surgery and brought us a cooler filled with all kinds of snacks, beverages and other things that she knew would come in handy for us while we were waiting at the hospital.  I was overwhelmed by her thoughtfulness, especially when I learned that her husband had a malignant brain tumor, and he passed away shortly after that time. In the midst of her trial and tribulation, she reached out to us with the compassion of someone who truly understood what we were going through.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."  II Corinthians 1:3-4

Thank you, Lord, for friends such as these.  They are Your messengers of comfort to us during the difficult times of our lives. May we, in turn, be the same to others as You direct our paths to cross.  In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

What's Your Passion?

If we could go around the "room" and ask each of you what you are passionate about, I bet we would come up with as many different answers as there are people.  Think about this...what is your greatest passion?  Spouse, significant other, children, family notwithstanding...I'm talking about other stuff...like your hobbies, your work, your home, the things you say "you'd just die for"... For some it may be a car, or a vacation in the mountains, or a cruise to the Bahamas, or a ski resort...others may be passionate about a flavor of ice-cream or coffee (Starbucks?), or perhaps a movie or a book you've read that left you breathless and craving more from the same author.  I know many who are passionate about clothes and shoes, or jewelry, or pets, or even... chickens.  My apologies to my new facebook friend with the same name as me...but she is the one who got me thinking about this today...and I do not write this in any way to embarrass or pass judgment on her because I found what she said so very interesting in such a way as to open my mind and eyes to the unique differences in each of us. 

My friend made the statement that "some things are just too horrible to contemplate."  I wasn't too sure to  what she was referring, so I asked.  Her response was that she had a chicken in her bathtub and it wasn't doing too well.  My first reaction, as I envisioned this chicken thrashing around in her bathtub, was actually one of laughing right out loud. It was such a funny picture in my mind that I couldn't begin to grasp the seriousness of her situation.  This is why I am so thankful for the protection of facebook...it gives us a few minutes to hopefully think before we respond in a knee-jerk fashion.  After I composed myself it began to dawn on me that my friend was actually grieving and feeling very sad about this chicken.  You see, she raises chickens and loves them...she connects with them much like I connect with my owls.  They aren't just something to feed, gather their eggs, and later put on the grill for supper...she cares about her chickens. They are special to her, and that's okay.  I need to respect that and understand and try to empathize with her feelings.  I finally came out with a rather lame response, but it was all I could think of..."I am very sorry. I don't know what else to say. I've never known someone with a chicken in their bathtub before.  I will keep you in my thoughts and hope for the best."    A few minutes later she responded, "And just like that, no more chicken in the bathtub, she's gone."  I do feel sad about that.  My friend is grieving for that which she loved. 

See, I never cared much about chickens before...probably because when I was a child I ventured too close into the chicken coop on our farm and was savagely attacked by a very territorial mean old rooster, leaving scars on my legs from his sharp claws and beaks and scars in my mind for the rest of my life. But just because I have been injured by a rooster doesn't mean that I shouldn't sympathize with someone else when they are hurting at the loss of a special chicken...and this can be applied to many other circumstances in life. 

Oftentimes we allow our hurts and prejudices to keep us from caring about others in their time of need.  Or perhaps because we don't feel the same way about a particular subject or haven't suffered the same kind of loss as another person we don't respect their feelings or can't comprehend why they should feel so passionate about something or someone. But we need to try...we ought to remember how others may have comforted us when we were grieving or hurting, even though they may not have completely understood our sorrow or pain...and we need to pass that same compassion on to others during their time of need. Yes, even when they are grieving for a chicken.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."  II Corinthians 1:3-4.

Lord, please help me to be more compassionate with others, just as I would want them to be compassionate with me in my time of need.  Help me to take my eyes off of myself and my personal passions long enough to see others the way YOU see them, and to care for them in the way that YOU would want me to care.  Forgive me, Lord, when I fail to show your love to others. I'm still learning...and I thank you for your patience with me.  Amen.