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AGGRAVATION OR SURRENDER

Have you ever had to surrender to something that has been aggravating in this world? Well, I did today and earlier this week. My dad is living with me. A company comes on Monday and Fridays to help dad to get cleaned up, whatever he wants done in his room and then they fix his meals, clean the bathrooms, dust, vacuum, etc. Which is amazing for me. Well, they did not show up at the usual time of 10am today. Every couple of hours, my dad or I have been calling them to see if they are still coming. It is almost 5pm and someone is supposed to be here soon. Our frustration and aggravation level has been high to say the least. After they were supposed to come this morning, I was going to leave and go do some “shopping therapy.” The later it has gotten in the day, the less likely it has been that I could go. Something important I had to do? No. Something I needed to do? No. Something I wanted to do? Yes. By the time I am typing this, I have surrendered my aggravation to the fact that I can’t go. Was I kept home because I was going to get in wreck or for some other harmful reason (maybe I was going to spend too much money? Ha!)

Also, a couple of days ago, we were at dad’s heart Dr. visit. The Dr. had just finished talking to us and the lights went out. It was pitch black in that room. Dr. quickly opened the door and there was light. The electricity had gone out. The hospital there had a generator but the medical building did not. Since dad is in a wheelchair, guess what, we could not use the elevator. (I was sure to thank God that we had not been in the elevator when the lights had gone out!) So, we were stuck. In fact, stuck for two hours. The nurses were trying to get someone to come help dad get down the stairs. They finally got ahold of the paramedics who had a special chair to get him down those stairs. Of course, that was all an aggravation, but what was even more of an aggravation, was that I was going to take food to our preacher’s family because of a surgery going on in their family. A friend was helping with the meal, so I surrendered my aggravation, and called her. I gave her my garage door opener numbers and told her where everything was in my fridge and on my kitchen table. She had to deliver it by herself, late, but it got to them. What a week full of aggravation which led finally to surrender!!

So, you are thinking that was a hard week, but what does that have to do with God? There are things of this world, we have to surrender to our God. Surrender is actually a gift. We have to realize there is stress and weariness tied to holding onto something too tightly that we think we need to control. Somethings in this complicated world are completely out of our control. We need to change our aggravation, into surrendering our tight control. Surrender leads us to: peace-rest-trust-faith in our God. God lets you rest and take some deep breaths (you can believe, I sure was) and calm our spirits that come with aggravation and our need for control. We just have to surrender that control, when things in this earth try to bring us down.

Years ago, when my daughter was getting married, we thought we had crossed all our T’s and dotted our I’s. 24 hours before the wedding: the photographer called her to say he was not coming-we went to pick up the flowers for the centerpieces, corsages and bouquets, they had mistakenly sold them to someone else and, to top that off, her dad was officiating the service and he was having a hard time breathing that day. Talk about aggravation! (Good thing no one took my blood pressure that day!) My daughter was better than I was at surrendering that aggravation. Ended up, the flowers were delivered and we set up a long table in my living room and family helped us with getting the bouquets, corsages and centerpieces, etc. together the night before-sweet friend took all the pictures day of the wedding and they were amazing and a dear friend went to where my husband was and gave him a breathing treatment so he could make it to the wedding. Wow! What a lesson of surrender that had to be learned that couple of important days!

Psalm 37:23-24 reads “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” The righteous know that when they fall, they are never left lying there; when they stumble, they are never completely forsaken. God’s word is the roadmap for Christians and that if followed and obeyed, that map allows God to order our steps, and that leads to a happier life. There is surrender in that! Proverbs 16:9 reads “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Does that sound similar in your life? We plan something and because of strange things being thrown in our paths by the world, we realize that we need to surrender our lives to God. After all, He is really the one in control. Sometimes, as humans, we forget that.

It is scary to give up control of a situation, isn’t it! When we hold onto aggravation about a situation, before we go to the gospel, we are all about self: self-control, self-protection, self-preserve which are not the best options to a solution. We need to replace that with surrender with knowing: He is worthy, He is true to His promises, He is truth. God is ultimately in control, even thou He has given us freedom to make our own choices. Sometimes, we think God is too busy to see what we are going thru, and we need to hold onto control. We don’t want to surrender all those aggravations of this world to Him. But we must.

There is a song by the name of “I Surrender All” by Judson Wheeler Van Deventer. Here are a few of the words: “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give, I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live…humbly at His feet I bow, worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me Jesus take me now…make me Savior wholly Thine, let me feel the Holy Spirit, truly know that Thou art mine…Lord I give myself to Thee, fill me with Thy love and power, let Thy blessing fall on me…(chorus) I surrender all, I surrender all, all to Thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” That is easier said than done isn’t it. But when we keep our focus on our Savior, life is so much more peaceful and ordered.

Our identity is in Christ thru His shedding His blood on the cross. He surrendered to the plan God had, in order to save us. For us to surrender is to be like Christ. We need to release our hold onto things of this world and anchor them in Christ! If you are carrying a weight, something that is beyond your control, bigger than you can imagine to carry, remember-you are not alone. Jesus will carry you just like He carried that heavy cross. When we surrender, we exchange our worry and anxiety for His peace and His power. When we hold onto aggravation which is beyond our control, we become bogged down with worldly troubles.

We need to save ourselves aggravation, and remember who is ultimately in control. Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Jesus never changes, He is never too busy for us. We can be sure of His grace and mercy. We can be assured if we give up our control, Jesus will take over for us. When we do that, we can find peace!

Surrendering instead of giving in to aggravation, is so much better on us (and our blood pressure.) Most things of this life, are not worth the aggravation and stress. In surrender we can find so much peace and happiness in life! Aggravation on the other hand robs us of so much time on this earth that we should be using for service to Him. We can either go throughout our lives with our fists clenched or we can go thru our lives with our fists wide open surrendering our lives to God! Give it to Him! That is the ultimate type of surrender we have the power to give. We have to put our minds back in focus to God, when the things of this life hit! Surrendering to God is what He wants us to do and our lives will be more peaceful in our souls. Sure, there are struggles every day, but keep focus on God. He is the only true way. He is Who we are to surrender our entire life in service, to Him.

Aggravation or surrender. Which do you choose today?

Till next time!                            

                                                  Keela

VENDING MACHINE

I thought about kicking it. I tried to shake the heavy machine. I started to get angry at that machine. I had been at the hospital with my dad and I just wanted that bag of Cheetos to get me by till I could leave and go home. I don’t try to get something out of a vending machine very often. How many times have you tried to get something out of a vending machine and it gets stuck? It can’t give you your money back. Sometimes, it won’t work no matter what we do.

Sometimes we think of God as that vending machine. Always ready to give us what we want. Always there when we think we need something. But when God supposedly does not give us that want, that we pray for, we get angry at Him. We ask why is God not listening to me. Does He not care? Then we realize that, just like that vending machine that we have not been to in a while, we have not gone to God in prayer for a while. Shouldn’t He be happy that we are finally praying to Him and He will give us what we want?

Well, God does not work like that. He does not give us what we think we want sometimes. Philippians 4:19 tells us “And my God shall supply all your needaccording to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  Did you notice that word need?Whatever we have prayed for, may not be the best for our future. C.S. Lewis says “Whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want.” Garth Brooks has a song called “Unanswered Prayers.” Some of the words are: “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers, remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs, that just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care, some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Unanswered prayers are a gift for our future.

God knows what our future will be. He loves us and wants the best for us. ‘We pray for what we see as the best possible option in the moment, but the reality is that our vision is limited to what we know today and so often there is so much more that we couldn’t possibly know yet still out there. We simply don’t have all the information to be able to see that there is a much bigger and better option for us and we just don’t see it yet. And when that is the case, God withholds giving us what we asked for so that He will be able to give us that bigger and better option He wants us to have.’ (taken from an article by Amy Rees Anderson)

When we were going to lose our home to foreclosure, I spent a lot of time on my knees praying for God to not let that happen. But we ended up losing our home after all. I could not understand why, after praying so hard, that God did not answer that prayer! A few years later, when my husband had trouble walking without losing his breath, I realized that God had answered that prayer. It was a raised ranch and had thirteen steps to get into and out of the house. After he passed away, I would have had the burden and stress of trying to sell that house. The house had a lot of things that needed fixed. I did not have much money at the time, even though I was working two to three jobs. We would have had trouble selling that home. Our boys had their own lives and it would mean a lot of sacrifice on their part to do the labor to fix what they could. God answered those tearful prayers, just not in the way I wanted! But in the best way that I needed them answered!

When hard times come, and they will, God assures us He is right by our side helping us and working for us, whether we see it or not. This is beyond our understanding. Philippians 4:6-7 reads “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Our part of God’s plan is to pray with thanksgiving and tell God what is in your heart. God’s part is to answer, according to His purpose for our lives and what is best for us. We can’t, in our human minds, understand why that answer is no and we can’t understand how praying to God can give us peace in that answer.

Did I really need those Cheetos that day? No, of course not, they are not good for me. I just wanted them anyway. Did getting upset at that vending machine help the situation? Of course not. If I would have kicked it, I would have hurt my toe. If I would have tried to shake the heavy machine, I would have hurt my back. How important were those Cheetos really? Were they a need or a want?

Now, I don’t want you, when you finish reading this blog, to think I am comparing a vending machine to God! Of course not! But what I am trying to say is-just because we want something that looks good to us in this life, it does not mean that we really need it. God only gives us what is the best for our lives-what is according to the plans He has for our purpose-for what we need to serve Him-what will help another. Jeremiah 29:11-14 reads “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you says the Lord…”

Pray with all your heart. Talk to God about what is troubling you. Ask God to help you through a tough time. Talk to God when you think a want you have is a need. Go to Him at any time, any place, any situation and trust in the fact that whatever the answer is, that God is for us and not against us.

Vending machine. Who would have thought, that day I thought I needed those Cheetos in that big vending machine, that I would think of an application for our everyday lives! (My mind works in strange ways sometimes!)

When you ask God for something, try to think, is it a need or a want and then trust in His answer!

Till next time!

                                                                    Keela

INSECURITY TRAP OF COMPARISON

I have been in this comparison trap of insecurity. Have you? I compare myself to: other women who seem to have it “all together;” to speakers at conventions and tell myself that I will never be able to measure up to their abilities; to couples who are my age and the reality that I have been a widow for almost 15 years and I will never have those adventures they are able to go on; to other authors and don’t understand why their books sell millions and mine sit in the cabinet; to those women who are on the magazine covers that tell us that others are younger, prettier, healthier, skinnier. I know that you compare yourself to some of these things and you have your own insecurity traps that try to bring you down with your comparison, that cause you to not fulfill the actual purposes that God has given for your life. Why do we do that to ourselves? It only impacts our lives negatively, brings heartache, affects our prayer life, our confidence, our contentment, our service and we lack the ability to have a fruitful life.

The Bible is full of insecure people. One example is King Saul in 1 Samuel. Chapter 9 verse 2 says speaking of Sauls father, Kish, “And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” So, in other words, he was a hunk! Saul became jealous of David in 1 Samuel 18. When David came back from killing Philistines, the women danced and sang around him. Saul compared himself to David. This caused Saul to become depressed and even to the point of trying to throw a spear at David to kill him. This insecure trap of comparison sent Saul into a downward spiral of mistakes and ended up with him losing his kingship.

This trap overtakes every part of our lives. We can have pride and jealousy to the point of becoming focused on all the negativity, instead of focusing on what God has actually given us to do while we are here on this earth. Have you ever thought about this? Insecurity comes when we don’t believe what God says about us. If our identity is secured to people and what we feel about them or their measurements about us, then we are putting this world before God. The things of this earth do not matter and are untrue. The things God has told us about ourselves does matter and are the only truth! Proverbs 3:5-6 reads “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Verse 26 of that same chapter says, “For the Lord will be your confidence.” When we turn our focus from God and become insecure because of what we perceive others to be, we are comparing ourselves to earthly beings. Proverbs 4:25-27 reads, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you, ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.” In other words, stay in our lane. Stay in the lane God has purposed for us while we were still in our mother’s womb. Don’t distract yourself and let yourself go down that rocky earthly path.

In Mark 12:42-44, we read of Jesus at the temple. He saw the rich giving much to the treasury. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, which only equaled a couple of cents. She did not look at the rich and think, wow, I can’t give that much. I might as well go on home. No. She gave what she could, possibly all she had. She did not compare herself with the rich. She did what she could. That is what God expects us to do. Do what we can. We all can’t be preachers, elders, speakers or authors. Serve the Lord with all that WE have within us. This widow knew she was loved by God. She knew she did not have earthly riches or possessions. But that did not stop her from doing what she could. Jesus saw her worth. Jesus saw her obedience and service. Jesus saw that the widows two little coins mattered as much, as those who could give much more.

Jael in Judges 4, is only mentioned once in the Bible. Deborah who was a prophet and judge, was very evident in this chapter also. To make this explanation short, I will tell it this way. Sisera was a bad guy who Deborah knows needs to be killed. He went into tent of Jael to rest. Jael ended up hammering a tent peg into his temple, which of course killed him. Jael was a nomad wife of Heber. She knew how to use a hammer and use a tent peg. So, she used what she had and used what she knew to fulfill her purpose. She didn’t think, ‘I am not as good as Deborah. I can’t do what she can do.’ No. She did what her purpose was given by God. The scripture says, “And the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger…” as a result of her service.

I have felt that those who “are out there” doing their talents and purposes and are so visible to others, are worth more to our God. But that is so far from the truth. God wants us to do our best-with what we have-with what our God given abilities are. Whether we are scrubbing the bathroom floors at the church building, preparing the communion, organizing the bulletin, or preaching every service, we have to do it with all of our hearts in service to our God. Whether we are caring for those kiddos at home, working on a computer in an office or doing a very visible “in your face” job, you are loved by God and fulfilling your God given service. Don’t compare yourself to others. We are worth as much as we feel another is and so much more than we believe!

In the beginning of time, God created man and woman of value, because we are made in the image of the Trinity. In Jeremiah 31, God tells us that “I have loved you with an everlasting love…” Isaiah 49 tells us that God has “…inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” Romans 5:8 tells us that God gave His only Son, while we were still sinners, because He loves us so much and we are His. The chapter in Proverbs 31, tells women the value we are to Him.

Instead of falling into the insecurity trap of comparison and looking to others of this world for verification of who we are, look to God who created us. Realize that when we compare others to ourselves, we are falling into selfishness, because we want to be like them. God made us all for a purpose. God gave each and every one of us a gift to further His kingdom. Look to God and not this world.

Feeling insecure. We all do it. We all fall into that trap of comparison. God does not compare us to others. He loves each and every one of us and only wants the best for our lives.

Instead of comparing, be a cheerleader and a champion for others. See their service and be thankful for it instead of focusing on what you don’t feel like you can do or be. Get off your media devises when you realize you are focusing on the negative instead of the positive and comparing yourself to them. Philippians 2:4 tells us “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Be thankful for what and who you are instead of falling into the insecurity trap of comparison. It is truly a waste of time! It may not be our God given job to feed the 5000 like Jesus did, but it might be our job to be like the little boy who brought the loaves and fishes! (Matthew 14)

Till next time!                                  Keela

(My dad has now been living with me for a month. Some days are a struggle, but we are going to figure it out. However many years either one of us have on this earth, we will strive to make them the best we can!)

FOLLOW ME

FOLLOW HIM

Matthew 4:18-22 says “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, their father mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”

In these scriptures, we see Jesus calling Peter and Andrew (who were brothers), and James and John (who were also brothers.) Peter and Andrew were fishing. James and John were mending their nets. Fishing was their occupation. How they fed their families. How they were able to live their daily lives. Jesus tells them to “Follow Me.” The verses tell us that both sets of brothers immediately followed Him. We know that in Luke 4:38-39, that Peter had a mother-in-law, meaning that he was married. Jesus heals her when she is sick. We are not told if Peter’s brother, Andrew was married. We see that James and John were working with their father. Did they know where they were going? No. Did they know what they were going to be doing? No. Did they rely on Jesus to take care of them and their families? Yes. Jesus tells them that He “will make you fishers of men.” Do you think they totally understood what that meant? No. But, the point is that they trusted Jesus, so much that they did what He asked of them. Jesus uses the term “fishers of men,” because, like in a lot of His ministry, Jesus used terms the people would understand.

Would we be able to leave our families, leave our worldly occupation, leave immediately to follow our Lord? Can we leave the things in the world that pull us to them, instead of doing what God needs and wants us to do? We want to say yes. But would we? What pulls us away from meeting with fellow Christians to worship service? What pulls us away from serving others? Who, in the world, convinces us that we need to work harder and longer at our job? Who convinces us to take that one more drink, because it is just one more? Who or what in the world convinces us that we are not important or needed in this world and the best thing is to commit suicide? Or who or what causes us to be so depressed that we just loose interest in everything and fall into that deep abyss of feeling like you are not worth any love. This causes us to pull inwardly and loose interest in anything in the world, or more importantly, in service to the Lord? Can we do away with these obstacles and immediately follow Jesus and be a servant for Him?

We have to put all these worldly things away and remember who is the most important and only One we can trust. Psalm 118:8 says “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” We have to follow His words and be so intrenched in His word, the Bible, that we immediately know what we need to do in any situation, always putting Him first. Serve even when you don’t feel like it. Turn our backs on things in this world that lead us away from God. Stop listening to those “voices” inside our heads that tell us we are of no value to anyone, including being a follower of Jesus and in our service for Him.

We have to step out in faith, because God has created us in His image, loved us so much that He gave His only Son on the horrific cross for us. We have been created for a purpose, even when we cannot see that. We have to turn our backs on the things of this world and follow Him. It is hard to see what purpose we have been created for. Maybe you are older and you still don’t see your God given purpose. I feel no matter what age we are that we have a God given purpose. Sometimes, even having many different purposes throughout our life on this earth. Someone said, “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.” We are told in Philippians 1:5-6 “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” If we trust and continue to serve Him in obedience, He will help us to realize our purpose (or purposes) and He will help us to fulfil them! Also, in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” and in verse 19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And verses that were my mother’s favorite, Ephesians 2:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.” Neither God’s love nor His power is limited by human imagination or understanding.

The world, our family, may think we are crazy. We may make them mad and they turn against us. We know what God wants us to do. It doesn’t make sense and we don’t know how to do it. But we have to have faith and trust in Him. Well, when do we know that it is time to immediately follow Him, to fulfill one of our purposes for Him? Ask yourself, is it backed up by God’s word-will it make us more like Jesus-will it strengthen our relationship to God-is it in service to God or to ourselves? Many years ago, there was a man in southern Missouri, who thought God had actually talked to him for the purpose of killing himself. He had his body put in a freezer and then after a certain number of years he was to be thawed out and come back to life. My husband and I drove by and saw the freezer truck he was supposedly frozen in. I don’t know why he had such a crazy idea or what god he was following, but guess what! After that certain number of years, he was thawed and was still dead. They buried him. Doing that, had no Bible verses backing up this act. Was this act for God’s glory or his? I am sure when he originally killed himself, he had a rude “awakening” that he was not following the one and only God, don’t you?

So, what am I saying? God does not directly talk to us today. But He does put in our path ways that we can serve our purpose. I was checking out in the grocery line one day behind a woman buying some baby items. She ended up not having enough money to pay for everything. I helped her pay for what she needed for her baby. I could have ignored that “pushing” from God. But it was for His glory not mine. It was a way I could serve, be a light for Him and be an example of immediately being a follower of His.

One of the points of the verses we started with is that we are to put God first. If we do that-keep our focus on Him-follow and trust Him even when it doesn’t make sense-follow His lead-follow His word in obedience-do all for His glory-immediately rise up and serve Him; then the path and purpose we are living for will be exemplified in our lives.

Follow Him in all you do and think! And remember, Joshua 1:9 says “…Be strong of good courage; do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” What an amazing promise through the ages! Trust in God and immediately follow Him!

(I am taking a little break, for about a month, to six weeks. My dad is moving in with me on May 26^th. This will be a huge change for him and for me. I need to focus on getting him settled and into some type of schedule. Before Thanksgiving last year, I was stressed and worried about this decision. Instead of giving this decision to God, I tried to “fix it” myself. But that was not working for my benefit or my dads. I then gave it and trusted it, to God and His plans for me and my dad. I immediately found peace. I know that if God leads me to it, He will lead me through it. Things have “fallen into place” and we feel this is the best option for my dad at this time. Say some prayers for him and me that we can follow this new path, God has given us. To Him be the glory!)

Till next time!

                                                                     Keela

SCARS OF THE HEART

SCARS OF THE HEART

Psalm 147:3 “He (the Lord) heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

When I was in grade school, I fell off the merry-go-round. At that time, there was gravel all around the playground equipment. (I know you young mothers, just shrieked, WHAT!) When I fell, I skinned up my knee and it was bleeding. A friend helped me to the nurse’s office. (Not sure if there was an adult on the playground or not. WHAT!) Anyway, my mother took me to the doctor and I had to have stitches. To this day, even after almost 60 years, I have a big scar where I fell and got stitches. I am sure you have experienced something like that either thru an accident or surgery. Those are scars we can see. Scars that keep reminding us of something that happened long ago. Sometimes we want to keep picking at those scars-keep looking at them and wondering why this has happened to me. We keep looking at the pain and forgetting the power in the healing.

Well, we also have scars that we cannot see. Scars of the heart. I recently was blessed to be part of a convention of over a thousand women, as a vendor talking about and selling my books. It is several hours away, but I and precious friends make the trek every year because it gives us a much-needed boost of encouragement. There are speakers-a comedian-an acappella singing group and all group singing (have you ever been a part of over a thousand women singing together in one place? All I can say is wow!). Of course, I want to sell my books but the main reason I continue to go as a vendor is, because of the reaction from the women who come to my booth to hear what my books are about and my testimony. I can usually tell when I am touching someone’s scars in their heart. I ask them if I can come give them a hug. They start telling me of their hardships and pain through tears. I am able, with God given help, to help them to realize that they are not alone. I am able to show them, there are others who understand their deep pain that have caused those scars in their hearts. I let them know, there are others who also keep picking at their scars, holding onto their pain. I want to let them know there is hope in the only true healer of their scars of the heart, Jesus! Then, I pray with them while hugging them.

There is so much pain in this world! So many types of scars. Some scars I have heard from women were because of: abuse as a child-parents who only cared about themselves and left their kids to fend for themselves-depression and thinking of suicide-verbal and physical abuse from a husband-marriage ending in divorce-effects from drug and/or alcohol-happenings beyond a person’s control-cancer and other illnesses-some trials and pain they have done to themselves-reckless words that cannot ever be taken back-grief over a lost loved one-and so many other trials of this life that have left embedded scars in their minds and hearts. Through tears, one mother told me about her daughter, who had two small children. Her daughter’s husband had chosen to “sooth his scared heart” through alcohol and drugs. He had recently committed suicide. Here was a mother’s precious heart that had been scarred because of choices another person had made and was grieving for her daughter’s forever scarred heart. I talked to a woman who was in depression and was seeking help for her forever scarred heart. Another woman told me she had been a caregiver of five family members, all in a row, until they passed away, one by one. Years ago, my husband preached at small churches who could not afford a preacher. He told me of an older woman (she was actually my age at the time), who, through tears, confessed to him of a scar of her heart that she had “picked at” for many years. She had an abortion as a teenager. She had never told anyone. By her confessing and talking to my husband, she was freed from that painful scar through the healing power of God’s forgiveness. She still had that scar, but instead of picking and reliving it day after day, she was able to learn from it and find healing. Where there is painful wounds and hopelessness-forgiveness mends and heals.

I want you to think about Jesus while He was here on earth. Think of all the scars He had, mentally and physically. Think of when He was headed to the cross: the crown of thorns on His Head-He was whipped with a whip that had metal on it that caused deep pain and scarring-nails, about the size of the nails used to build a railroad track, hammered into His hands and feet. Why did He do that? The answer is for all of us! Read Isaiah 53. No room to, of course to type the entire chapter, but wow, it tells us of some of the sorrow and scarring He received. Here is just a small sample: “He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…He was wounded…He was bruised…stripes…oppressed…He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” What was the reason for those painful scars?1Peter 2:24 says “…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed.” He wentthrough that for me, for you, for everyone!

I have had many, many scars throughout my life. Visible ones and ones no one can see. That is true of all of us, if we would just admit it. Instead of asking the why for the pain, we need to ask God to help us to see what we need to learn from this painful opportunity, in this moment of time. Our scars are in the past as a place of reference and not a place that we take residence.

Psalm 34:17-18 “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”

Behind every scar, is an untold story of suffering. People have asked me why I share my heart scars, why put myself through the remembrance of that pain. 2Corinthians 1:3-4 is the reason. “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.”

We have to share our scars to help others and bring glory to our God. As you do that to help others, you receive healing! You never know who needs your testimony to help heal their heart of their scars. That healing comes through the knowledge of God and His healing power. God places people in our paths who need our help and encouragement. That is what I pray weeks before I make the trip to the conference: for God to lead the women who need to hear my story to my booth and that God will give me the right words to help heal their scars and help them to stop picking at those painful scars.

Showing our brokenness, is a bridge to helping others to heal. It is a better help than pretending wholeness, which is a lie. Don’t be ashamed of your scars! They are proof of God’s healing power.

None of us want painful scars. But this life is full of pain and heartache. Reach out to others who are looking for healing. Guide them to professionals who can help them and let them know there is a way to healing, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! To God be the glory!

Till next time!                                           Keela