Mid-Week Message - God Knows

"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit or stand.  When far away you know my every thought.  You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.  Every moment you know where I am.  You know what I'm going to say before I even say it.  You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head."  Psalm 139:1-5 (TLB)  

Have you ever wished you could read minds?  How much easier would communication be if we never had to wonder what the people around us were thinking?  The problem with it would be that we would know even the negative thoughts and be privy to things we would really rather not know.  Would it help our relationships or harm them if we always knew what was on another's mind?  

Good communication is of utmost importance with those that we are close to.  Marriage especially is deeply effected when the partners are negligent in sharing their thoughts and feelings.  It causes distance and misunderstandings when they are attempting to figure out on their own what is going through the mind and heart of their mate.  Counselors stay busy trying to unravel issues that could have been avoided with adequate communication.  

Another relationship that suffers is the one between parents and children. Especially when my daughter was a teenager, I longed for her to talk to me and tell me what she was thinking.  I would know she was struggling with something but I had no idea what.  It was frustrating because I loved her and wanted to help her through her difficult times but I had no idea what to say or do.  No matter how deeply we care for another person we will never be able to be as close to them as we wish to be because we do not have the ability to truly know their mind and heart.  We know only what they choose to share.  

Psalm 139 says that the Lord has examined our hearts and knows our thoughts.  His love for us is so great that when He created us he reserved for Himself the ability to know our every thought and feeling.  He knows what we think and feel and all the reasons why.  He knows what we are going to say before the words are ever uttered.  If He desires to be that close to us, what should our response be?  

Personally, I want Him to be honored by my thoughts.  I want Him to find a clean heart and honorable attitudes.  My desire is for Him to find love, sincerity, gratitude and humility when He draws near.  I want Him to know that His Word is sacred to me and that I seek to keep it.  I want Him to know that when I speak, the words will be honest and praise-filled.  Simply put, I want to be as close to Him as He desires to be close to me.  If I concentrate on fulfilling these desires then my relationships with others will be improved as well.  

Life happens to each of us daily and I realize it isn't always easy to keep the lines of communication open.  However, if we start with our relationship with the Lord, realizing that He has this intimacy with each of us and learn to share openly with Him, He will assist us in our relationships with our mates, children, friends, co-workers, etc.  I wish everyone a blessed and peaceful week.

Mid-Week Message - Loss of a Friend

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”  John 13:34-35 (MSG)

Her name was Deborah.  I would never have met her if my mother's health had not declined to the point that she was falling regularly.  After Mom had been hospitalized for two days for"failure to thrive" which had been decided upon by the emergency room doctor, we were told by the hospitalist that they could not keep her for that reason and she would be discharged.  My father was beside himself with worry because taking her home meant more middle of the night falls and visits by the fire department and EMT's to pick her up and check her over for any injury.  So (and if you know me this won't surprise you) I refused to take her home which did not please the doctor trying to discharge her.  Because of my refusal, however, he got her into an in-patient rehab program to help her gain strength. And her roommate just happened to be Deborah.  

Deborah was a fifty something year old black Apostolic preacher.  The first time I met her she was lying in her bed watching football, which she loved, with her Bible, which she loved even more, open upon her lap.  As Dad chatted with Mom, I struck up a conversation with Deborah.  She was more than eager to tell me about her grandchildren and to produce pictures of them from her purse. Most of all though, she wanted to know if I loved the Lord.  I found out that she was in the rehab because she had a massive stroke.  One that should have killed her instantly but didn't.  She had to learn to walk again but her speech was fine and she had no paralysis.  She was a living miracle!  I can't remember all we talked about but when it was time to leave and Mom was telling us what we needed to bring her during our next visit, I asked Deborah if there was anything she needed.  She was dumbfounded that I would ask but when I assured her I was serious, she meekly asked for some socks because she couldn't get her feet warm.

In the years following our initial meeting, we stayed connected through phone calls and letters.  She loved to write and get letters!  When my Dad passed away, and then my Mom, she was heartbroken.  She loved them though she only knew them from the rehab facility and through me.  And, God bless her sweet heart, she loved me.  She also felt like I was a part of her family so she felt comfortable letting me know when she was short on money or needed Bibles for her prison ministry.  I was glad to help her out as I could.  My husband and I had our ministry at the retirement facility and the money donated to us was used to help people in need, so we helped her.  At first she only asked occasionally, but later she asked in every letter and every phone call.  

When we moved to Georgia, we no longer had our ministry, therefore we had no donations and were unable to assist Deborah financially.  I felt so awful for having to say no each time, that eventually I let her letters and calls go unanswered and, after a time, they stopped coming.  She had always said she was afraid she would run me off and though I promised her I would never let that happen, I did.  

I tell you this because one night when she was on my mind  I "googled" her.  Sadly, I found that she passed away.  She passed without me telling her how much I loved her and allowing her any other chances to love me. I let my fear of telling her I couldn't send her money take away the last times that I would have a chance to tell her how much I appreciated her.  She always said I was her angel and she was very sincere.  And she was always so grateful when we helped her.  She really had next to nothing and her health kept her isolated in her home.  

Friendships are gifts. Some last forever, some eventually dissolve because of distance or as a result of friends growing apart, some are very toxic and need to be ended, but others, like this one, end for reasons that could be alleviated with honesty and communication.  The two greatest commandments, according to Jesus, are to love God and to love each other.  We only have a limited time to love each other on this earth and we have no way of knowing when that time will end.  I know she is in Heaven now and knows the greatest love of all and one day I will get to see her again, ask her forgiveness and hug her for eternity.  

Mid-Week Message - He Knows Our Thoughts

"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit or stand.  When far away you know my every thought.  You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.  Every moment you know where I am.  You know what I'm going to say before I even say it.  You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head."  Psalm 139:1-5 (TLB)  

Have you ever wished you could read minds?  How much easier would communication be if we never had to wonder what the people around us were thinking?  The problem with it would be that we would know even the negative thoughts and be privy to things we would really rather not know.  Would it help our relationships or harm them if we always knew what was on another's mind?  

Good communication is of utmost importance with those that we are close to.  Marriage especially is deeply effected when the partners are negligent in sharing their thoughts and feelings.  It causes distance and misunderstandings when they are attempting to figure out on their own what is going through the mind and heart of their mate.  Counselors stay busy trying to unravel issues that could have been avoided with adequate communication.  

Another relationship that suffers is the one between parents and children. Especially when my daughter was a teenager, I longed for her to talk to me and tell me what she was thinking.  I would know she was struggling with something but I had no idea what.  It was frustrating because I loved her and wanted to help her through her difficult times but I had no idea what to say or do.  No matter how deeply we care for another person we will never be able to be as close to them as we wish to be because we do not have the ability to truly know their mind and heart.  We know only what they choose to share.  

Psalm 139 says that the Lord has examined our hearts and knows our thoughts.  His love for us is so great that when He created us he reserved for Himself the ability to know our every thought and feeling.  He knows what we think and feel and all the reasons why.  He knows what we are going to say before the words are ever uttered.  If He desires to be that close to us, what should our response be?  

Personally, I want Him to be honored by my thoughts.  I want Him to find a clean heart and honorable attitudes.  My desire is for Him to find love, sincerity, gratitude and humility when He draws near.  I want Him to know that His Word is sacred to me and that I seek to keep it.  I want Him to know that when I speak, the words will be honest and praise-filled.  Simply put, I want to be as close to Him as He desires to be close to me.  If I concentrate on fulfilling these desires then my relationships with others will be improved as well.  

Life happens to each of us daily and I realize it isn't always easy to keep the lines of communication open.  However, if we start with our relationship with the Lord, realizing that He has this intimacy with each of us and learn to share openly with Him, He will assist us in our relationships with our mates, children, friends, co-workers, etc.  I wish everyone a blessed and peaceful week.