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Gaining Empathy
I walked into the large gym with great trepidation. I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t know where to sit or what to do. I didn’t like feeling so lost, but that had been common in recent days. My quiet nature didn’t help either as it made it daunting to try to start conversations with staff I didn’t know. I had been thrust into a large public school after teaching for years in a small private Christian school where I knew everybody. Everything was overwhelming – the number of staff to get to know, all the new procedures, and many other new requirements. All I wanted to do was feel like…
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Pressing On in the Process
As I check my computer for recent medical test results, I am in shock. I look at the document and then look again, hoping that I am not seeing what I am seeing. I thought I was prepared. I have known for years that I have genetic risk factors from both my parents for conditions that are life changing. I also have known that there are things I could do to be preventative – or so I thought. Yet all my planning, prepping, and clean living have not been enough. Being diagnosed with both prediabetes and osteoporosis has shaken me right through the core. I watched both my parents suffer…
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God’s Amazing Plan
The Christmas story of the birth of Jesus Christ is no random sequence of events. Each intricate piece of this account was planned from the beginning of time. Our loving Heavenly Father set all things in motion, knowing from the start that we would need a Saviour from our sins. Every character in the Christmas story was carefully chosen to spread the wonderful Gospel message. This eclectic group of people came together, as Scripture foretold, to herald the birth of our Saviour. Firstly, there are Jesus’ earthly parents. Mary would have been a teenage girl at the time of Jesus’ birth but God chose her to carry His Son, knowing…
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Seeing is Believing
Some Scriptural accounts are just so humorous. I love that the Bible shows us real people living real lives. It is comforting to know that I’m not the only one who messes up or gets confused. One biblical account that makes me smile is that of Rhoda. She is a servant girl in the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. She enters the historical picture at the time the apostle Peter is imprisoned by King Herod for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Members of the early church were praying for Peter’s release and many of them were doing so at the house…
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Untangling the Web of Worry and Fear
The roads are icy and the snow falls steadily. As I make my long commute to work in these difficult conditions, I am tense and worried. In my mind myriads of different scenarios play out – none of them good. Winter driving brings out my worst fears. I am not sure when the fearful mindset began, but I know it gains momentum with these kinds of stressful times. Often, I long for the carefree days of childhood where anxiousness seemed unreachable. Now, worry frequently is my close companion, even when I know it shouldn’t be. Worrisome thoughts tangle our brains, sending off messages that we need to be overly concerned…
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God Knows What We Need
It’s amazing how much God knows I need something, even when I am not quite sure of it myself. Our loving Heavenly Father often gently reminds me of what I require to nurture my faith. I can’t recount the number of times that I have come across a Scripture passage in an unusual place – like a sticky note tacked inside a notebook, in a hymn or song I listen to, or in a piece of Christian fiction I am reading – only to find it absolutely applicable to what I am facing today. Recently I came across this passage: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,…
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How the Past Can Help Shape Our Future
Have you ever had a memory haunt you? Some days it seems that out of the blue, something from my past comes back to intrude on my present. Unfortunately, it’s not usually the happy memories that intercede in my day. It’s those past moments, when life was troubled in some way, that come back to interfere with my thought processes for the day. Those memories often can deflate my day and get me dwelling on that which is not helpful for my well-being. Something that encourages me in times like these is a quote from Corrie ten Boom, someone who endured incredible atrocities in her life experiences: “This is what…
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Being a Huldah
Huldah is a prophetess who lived in Jerusalem at the time of King Josiah in Old Testament times. Josiah was one of only a few God-fearing kings in Judah. At this time of history, the high priest had discovered the Book of the Law, written by Moses, which had been lost for many years. King Josiah asks his leaders to go inquire of the Lord for himself and his people. Josiah knows the Lord is angry for His people turning away from Him. The king wants God’s guidance for himself and the people he governs. The king’s advisors seek out Huldah, a prophetess. The message Huldah gives the king’s men…
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When God Feels Far Away
A mother sits with her dying daughter and wonders if God really knows her pain and suffering. A young man loses a job for which he worked so hard. Why did God let that happen? Let’s face it friends – I could give you example after example of times when we wonder where God is at the moment. Sometimes it feels like we are in a canoe, frantically paddling trying to catch up to where we perceive God is at. When life hurts, it is easy to feel that our Heavenly Father has abandoned us. When life throws us curve balls and things don’t turn out the way we think…
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The Benefits of a Generous Spirit
To anyone else this pair of scissors in my sewing room looks much like any other. They are part of the cadre of tools I have to make the sewing process easier. Yet, they are not just any pair of scissors. They represent my mother’s generous spirit and giving heart. My mother never had a great deal of money. For many decades she used the same pair of scissors to sew a variety of garments, quilts, and household items – both for our family and for others. When I was in high school, she finally had extra funds and purchased a new pair for herself. I remember how happy she…
