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LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER

LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER

Those of you who have followed me on my blogs, know that I love lighthouses. I have a bathroom that is decorated with lighthouses. I have been called the lighthouse lady. I like the symbolism of what they represent. The lighthouse is a strong reminder of God’s light ever vigilant-ever keeping us from danger-ever giving us hope of safety-ever a navigator-ever the symbol of the end of our journey. It also symbolizes that we are to be that light to the world shining brightly for the Lord. The lighthouse was built on solid rock and built to withstand the turbulent storms that swirl around it. Always the bright light warning sailors of the unseen dangers. The keepers of the lighthouse, were very important. They kept that light shining.

Let’s look at five ever present qualities of a lighthouse’s light. But I also want to look at who the keeper of this lighthouse is-you and me and what we are to do to keep that light shining for others to see. Have you ever thought about the keeper of the lighthouse? He or she played an important role.

  1. Ever vigilant. The functioning lighthouses are always on. It is never turned off. The keeper must keep it lit. The first proper lighthouse before technology is the Hook Lighthouse in Ireland, built in the 1600’s. During this time in history, the keeper had to manually keep the coal fire burning. They later went to huge candles, which the keeper had to keep lit. These keepers of the light had to keep watch 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Always on the lookout for that light to go out. We are told in 2 Peter 5:8 “be sober be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We have to be always on guard for the wiles of the devil, who is ever present, trying to put out our light. As that keeper, we have to always be vigilant.
  2. Ever keeping us from danger. The lighthouse is built on strong rock. It is built to resist the turbulent storms that swirl around it. The keeper of the lighthouse must keep the light trimmed and lit. He has to keep the lighthouse functioning. Always repairing-keeping it working to keep sailors away from danger and also the shore from danger of the ships running into it. The keeper must put action into caring for that lighthouse. The lighthouse is a sign of danger ahead. Psalm 18:28-30 reads “For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness, for by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect, the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” God keeps us from danger if we are a keeper, to our light, which is to shine forth from us, to shine to others.
  3. Ever giving us hope of safety. Can you imagine a sailor who has been in some turbulent, dark water for days on end, and the hope that he feels when he sees the lighthouse’s light shining ever turning, ever leading him to safety. God has never promised us that we will not go through “turbulent waters.” In fact, He tells us that we will. Just like a keeper goes inside the lighthouse for his own safety from the storms, we need to depend on the strength, hope and safety that God gives us from our storms in this life. Psalm 119:105 & 130 reads “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” and “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding for the simple.” We have to keep His word in our hearts so that when we don’t feel safe, we can remember and turn to scripture to renew our hope.
  4. Ever a navigator. Navigator means: one who determines accurately, ascertaining one’s position and planning and following a route. God’s light is always shining to lead us on our journey of this life. He is ever searching for those who are lost. He is always showing us the way. In the same way, we who are the keepers of the light, should be a help to navigate others on their journey of this life: when they get lost-when they are looking to their own route instead of the only route-when they are needing us to guide them out of this dark world. Ephesians 5:8-10 reads “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth). Finding out what is acceptable to the Lord and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness…” We must navigate each other to help keep us out of the darkness and always in His light.
  5. Ever the symbol of the end of our journey. When my parents and I came back across the ocean from England in a ship, my mother always said that when she saw land, she knew she had finally come to the end of our journey. She felt joy that she was finally “home.” The light at the top of the lighthouse, shines bright showing sailors that they have finally found land and the end of their journey. We as the keepers of that light, are important. We have to shine for others to see, showing others that there will be an end to their journey on this earth one day. Everyone must die. There will be those who instead of seeing light are only going to see darkness, because of the way they have lived their lives on this earth. It is our responsibility to tell them about Jesus-shining our lights for them. 1 John 1:5-7 reads “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” John 14:1-4 reads “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house, are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And when I go you know, and the way you know.” God has promised us that if we follow His light, that we will have a “place” at the end of our journey on this earth. We as keepers of that light, must show others to that light.

The keepers of the lighthouse, played an important role in keeping the light always going and functional. We have been entrusted as the keepers of His light, to spread that light for others to see. We have to always be vigilant-watchful-keeping the darkness away from ourselves and others. We have to nurture and put action into keeping that light burning to keep others and ourselves from danger. Our lights can show others that there is hope of safety within that light. We must keep His light shining by navigating others to Him. And our lights need to shine brightly to shine the way home at the end of our journey.

                     I came across this poem and wanted to share with you.

“The Lighthouse” by Vicki Hansen

Keeping watch across the bay, the lighthouse tower stands.

It shines so bright so other boats will know where there is land.

The light must never go out, it shines for all to see.

It’s a welcoming beacon to the ships that are passing on the sea.

Now, I’m the lighthouse keeper, and it’s Your light that I send.

I make sure your light shines bright, from now till the very end.

We are the keeper of God’s light. We are strong thru the storms of this life, just like the lighthouse. We stand tall for others to see our light shining in the darkness! I love lighthouses and their beauty, strength, promise of safety and showing hope for the end of the journey. I feel truly blessed to have been given the job of a lighthouse keeper. Aren’t you? Shine brightly for Him!

Till next time!

                                                       Keela

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THE RIGHT WAY

THE RIGHT WAY

In stop and go traffic, I started wondering where all these people are going. What type of lives do they live? Are they children of God or follow their own “religions” of the world? Are they facing a loved one’s death? With all the mass shootings of late, I even wondered if there is someone in all these cars, who has deadly actions in their minds? What way will they take at the next exit? What way are they all going? Have you ever thought those things?

Sometimes, on my way somewhere or on my way home, I just go thru the actions and don’t even think about what road or way to take. It just comes naturally.

Years ago, I planned a lady’s event, called “The Roadmap to Heaven.” I based the day on the verse in John 14:6. In this scripture, Jesus is talking to the disciples telling them He is going away to prepare a place for them. Thomas tells Him they do not know where He is going and how would they know the way. “Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth and life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus was the way to the Father through His death and resurrection. As truth, He is the revelation of God. As life, He is the communication of God to us, leading us to heaven. Jesus and His teachings are our “roadmap” leading us to heaven.

Sometimes in this life, we take detours. We follow signs that lead us the wrong way. We see where this detour leads, looks fun. Proverbs 4:18-19 says “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble.” One road is a path of light, the other of darkness. One leads to promise and the other to a stumbling destruction. We can get into darkness before we know it. I get lost so easily, so I understand this concept. We, as mankind, can get lost from the true and only way, our Lord and Savior. We might take the easiest way, thinking it is the best way to go. But we need to follow the roadmap, (or today our GPS) taking the right turns and not relying on our own directions. 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.” Trusting in God, is a conscience dependence on God to help us navigate through the twists and turns of this life. God’s way is safe and leads us on the right path. If we do not follow the right signs, we can get lost. Proverbs 14:12 reads “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” We might make one choice to make a detour, and end up getting lost in the dark.

Acts 9:2 calls the believers in Jesus, the Way. In this scripture, Saul was “…breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…” He was on the wrong path until he went on the path to Damascus and Jesus talked to him thru “…a light that shone…” Then, Saul, who had been in the darkness, came into God’s marvelous light and spent the rest of his days, working for the Lord. The road was not easy. It was full of “potholes.” But he stayed on the road of light and not darkness.

Jeremiah 10:23 says “O, Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” We have to follow the directions, the way. We cannot depend on ourselves but rather on the promises God has given us if we follow Him and do not take a destructive path.

Isaiah 55:8-9 reads “For My thoughts are not your thoughts. Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts,” God only wants the best for us. He loves us no matter what path we might take. But if we follow His way, the only way, we have the promise of a home in heaven with Him one day.

If we swerve off the path, we can have dire consequences in the darkness. But if we get back on the right one, we have hope through His light.  I love the fact that followers of Jesus in bible times were called “the Way.” They did, and we need to keep following the path that is illuminated by our God. If and when, we do swerve off the right way, we need to get back on the right pathway.  

 I need to be sure I am on that right path. Matthew 7:13-14, tells us that the roadway into destruction is wide. But the way, that leads to life, is a narrow gate. It is easier to follow the crowd. This verse says “…difficult is the way which leads to life…” Our life here on this earth is not easy. It is hard. But God promises us, if we are faithful and stay on that strait path, we will be able to go to heaven; a place of light, of praising our God, of no pain, no hard choices, nothing of this world will be there.

I will never know where all those people were going, in that traffic that day. But I have control of the choices of which road to take, to be sure I am on that right path. Make sure that others look to you to show them the right way!

Till next time!

                                                       Keela

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RABBIT HOLE


 
The look on the face of the organizer of the ladies’ retreat, will be something I will always remember. Years ago, my mother and I went to an overnight ladies’ retreat where I was one of the speakers. My speech was not until the next day. I was so excited to share the story of my struggles in hopes to touch someone’s heart to know that there is hope, even in the worst times of our lives. By this time, I had published one of my books and asked the organizer if I could set up a card table to offer my book for sale. She said no. So, that was ok. My brother had helped me with an overhead presentation, which I was excited to share. At the time of my speech, I got up and thanked the ladies who had gotten the retreat together and we clapped for them. Then I shared with the audience of ladies, my message. Afterwards, I went back and sat down with my mother and friend. The organizer of the ladies’ retreat got up, looked straight at me and with that memorable look on her face, said “I guess we know who we will NOT ask back to the retreat next year.” I did not think much about it that day. But then a few days later, I wondered if she had been talking to me. I let it go and gave it to God. And forgave the lady for her words and the look on her face. What she said was true though, I was never asked back.
Fast forward, about ten years later. For some reason, I started thinking about that day and the look the lady gave me. I was not upset at her, but started questioning why she had looked and said what she did. By these many years later, I did not have the information of how to contact the organizer. I always want to improve my presentations, so I asked my friend who had met me there if she knew why the organizer would have been upset by what I said or did. She said the only thing she could think of was that I had the ladies clap, recognizing the hard work that it took to get the retreat together. She said the night before, the organizer had mentioned there was to be no clapping. Of course, if I would have remembered that, I would never have asked for applause.
I also, knew the lady who had recommended me and sent her a letter asking if she knew why the organizer would have looked and said what she had. She was kind enough to write back and said, yes, it was because of the clapping. Also, I had mentioned my book once while making a point and my speech did not have enough personal examples. She also said, that maybe I should take some speaking courses at the local community college to help with my nervousness.
I was not upset with her for mentioning those things, but rather what she said sent me down the rabbit hole of loss of confidence. For thirty- six years, every other year, I had spent hours getting ready, organizing, writing and speaking at, ladies’ events, with about a hundred in attendance, which lasted all day. I questioned all the speeches I had given, my ability or right to publish books, all the ladies’ classes in homes and at churches I had taught, the right to send out a blog, my organization skills and maybe all of those years of ladies’ days I had organized, were just a waste and not as well received as I had thought. Maybe, the ladies were thrilled that I had stopped. I have always thought that my God given purpose for my life was to share with other women, to help them through hard times in their lives by my speaking engagements, my blog and my books. God had allowed me to go through those rough years, so that I could give women hope. But maybe, I have just been fooling myself all these years.
Have you ever gone down a rabbit hole like I did? Down into the darkness with no end in sight-only negativity? Stomping on the values and purpose of your life and questioning the years of, what you perceived as God’s purpose, for your life? I, to a certain extent, have always been that way. When a negative comment is made to me, I don’t get upset but rather question my motives and the core of who I am and try to make improvements. This time, I wondered if I had wasted my time, money and effort on what I had done in the past. Disillusioning myself of all those years.
The reason I thought about that day, years ago, was that I wanted to know how to improve myself, to help me to be a better speaker, better Christian woman. But instead, I let myself listen to the darkness of the devil and I sank into that rabbit hole.  After having my rabbit hole of a pity party, I fought my way back to being the positive person that I try hard to be. I started thinking about all the times I had put myself out there and had positive responses. I remembered the time that I had given a speech and started having a coughing fit in the middle of it. Afterwards, a woman and her friend came up to me and told me that she had planned to commit suicide when she got home. But because of something I said in my speech, I gave her hope to keep on living. I knew, God had used me that day, even in my humanness, to give her encouragement that life is worth living. I remembered all the thank you cards, I have gotten through the years for the time and love I had poured into the ladies’ events, I had organized. I remembered a ladies’ event that I was the only speaker. I gave three speeches that day. They had created the entire day around what I was speaking on. The ladies praised and thanked me for coming and many sent cards. I thought of the ladies’ event where between 1000 to 1500 attend. I have been asked to be a vendor of my books in their arena. (Because of covid, events like these had been stopped but are slowly coming back.) I realized that I did not want to listen to anymore of the devils lies that sent me into the tailspin of darkness. I knew my rabbit hole of self-doubt was not how a Christian woman (especially of my age) should be living the rest of her life. I realized I needed to reach up to the light of God and pull myself back into His marvelous light.
I looked back on my life and the things I had done and instead of thinking of all of them as negative, I started thinking of them as positive. I remembered who God says that I am: chosen-redeemed-fearfully and wonderfully made-unique-victor instead of victim-valuable-one of a kind-accepted-daughter of the King. Nothing is more powerful than what we say to ourselves. If we hear enough negativity from yourself or others, you begin to believe it and succumb to the lies of the devil, who wants to keep you in a rabbit hole of darkness. You become a follower of the devil in the darkness instead of in God who is light!
You are asking yourself, why is she telling this story. Why put myself out there raw and fresh with doubts. It had taken me many years to build my self -confidence up to be able to put myself out there in the first place and then in a matter of minutes, I dug myself into that hole of lack of self-confidence. Did you recognize the word in that last sentence, that was wrong for a Christian woman to feel? That word is-SELF. It is not about MY abilities or how great of a job I do or do not do. It is about God and the confidence we get through Him and the faith that God will continue to be with us, if it is in His will for our purpose. I started praying and reading scripture.
Philippians 1:6 “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.” God never puts inside your heart to do something and then not give you the ability or ways to achieve it. We are to have our trust and faith in God. I turned to my mothers’ favorite verse in the Bible. Ephesians 3:20-21. “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. Amen.” We cannot even begin to imagine what God can do thru us when we realize that He is in control and guides our steps, if we obey His laws. We have to have confidence that we, through God’s help, can do things we cannot even image doing! That is God confidence, not self-confidence.
Our confidence is built up through previous experience. Times when God has shown us the way and given us the words to accomplish according to our God given purpose. A confident person is merely a realist who understands his or her own ability, thru God. Proverbs 3:5-6, 26 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… For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.” Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:12 “…a door was opened to me by the Lord…” Paul’s confidence was not in himself. After all, Paul had killed Christians before he was called by the Lord. How could anyone believe him? The only way was that God would guide his steps, give him confidence and open doors for him, even though Paul had many discouragements (2 Corinthians 1:8).
So, what have I learned? The resurrection of Jesus provides the key throughout life that confidence is based not on OURSELVES or OUR abilities but on God who can raise the dead and give us the capacity to face adversity and our fears. Our confidence lies in the fact that God is God and if it is His will, it will happen. Our relationship with God hinges on the fact that one day, if we have been faithful, we will see God in heaven when our time on this earth is over. If I stayed in that rabbit hole, of lack of confidence, God could not work with and through me to fulfill His purpose for the rest of my life.
I am thankful for the feedback these ladies gave me. I reacted in the wrong way by falling into the dark hole of self-doubt. I will look into some college classes, even at the age of 66. I have learned to remember the requests by the organizer of ladies’ days and keep those out of my speech and actions. I am assured I have helped women walk closer to God through the years. They have told me, either by the physical or mental help I have given them that there is hope, even in the midst of adversity. I have helped them to: take one more step-live one more minute-remember they are a daughter of the one and only King-to have courage-help them to see with God, anything is possible.
Are there any opportunities out there for me to share my story either by getting up in front and sharing what I have gone through, share my thoughts in this blog or through the pages of another book? Only God knows. But I do have confidence in Him that if I am to share my story to others in the future, that God will open those doors for me. I just have to take the first step and have confidence that through God, all things are possible! He will give me the words and heart felt message that woman need to hear.
Rabbit holes! It is dark down there. It is painful down there. It makes you think things that are not true. Don’t stay down there or you will have let the devil win. Dig your way out. Don’t listen to the negativity that the devil feeds you and reach out and find God’s light! I did! Thank you, God!
Till next time!
                                                       Keela
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ROARING LION

ROARING LION

“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober. Be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:6-11

That set of verses tells me the devil is on the prowl for who he can snare into his evil web of deceit and lies. He is moving and searching today.

The last few months, have shown us this in a huge tragic, painful, senseless way. Mass shootings at: a mall-a grocery store-at an elementary school-at a church-in a subway-a hospital. The number of mass shootings is climbing close to 300 since the first of this year. And there are so many other evil things that happen every day because of his deception. The war crimes of an evil leader who is trying to banish and bring a country to its knees, by senseless killings of women, children and the aged. This evil leader is hiding behind the weapons of war.

How can we possibly make sense of all this? The truth is-we can’t. In our country of the USA, our very forefathers and founders of our country built it on their faith in God. How could we have come so far from what was the glue that held our country together.

Why has God allowed these things to happen? I can honestly say, I have no idea! But what I do know is that God loves all of us and He even loves those who have made the choices and allowed the devil to come into their hearts and hold them captive into the belief that they are doing the right thing. But in reality, they are doing the devils work for him. Is this all a punishment to us, to our country? The only way it is a punishment is when people turn their backs on God and have let the devil take up residency in their hearts.

The devil can get into our hearts and minds so quickly, even at times we don’t realize it. There are times that I am praying and all of a sudden, I realize that I am thinking about what I need to get at the grocery store, instead of the words I am praying to God. The devil sees an opportunity, even a little window of time, and he devours our mind, taking our focus off God. 

We are told in Matthew 5:45 “…He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” So where is God in all this? The other day, I was helping some friends of our family, moving my dad’s furniture into his new assisted living apartment. The clouds threatened rain the entire time. We were so blessed to get his furniture in and out of the truck before it started to rain. When I finally left to head home, it was absolutely drenching rain. I was exhausted and just wanted to get home. Of course, I did not have my umbrella. On the way to my car, I got sopping wet! I think if someone could have squeezed me, I would have left quite a huge puddle. My wet hair was even dripping into my face. I started to grumble because I was so tired and wet. Have you ever gotten drenched like that? This verse in Matthew, tells me that even though I am trying to live my best life following God, I am still going to get “dumped on.” I am still going to be enticed by the devil to turn my life away from God, because he is always pacing, just waiting for a hard time in my life. He devours us even at the slightest hint that we are weak and enticed to turn our backs on God. When I realized that I was grumbling, I remembered that it had not rained when my dad’s things were being moved in and out. I instead thanked God! I even thanked God that I had been sweating and now the rain had cooled my body down.

Going back to the verse we started with, look at the words I have underlined in those verses and let’s see how we can fight our way from the devil and rather towards God.

  1. HUMBLE “the personal quality of being free from arrogance and pride” Psalm 10:4 “the wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts.”  The person who is full of pride, relies on himself and his power instead of relying on God in every situation. The humble realize it is not all about themselves but rather all about God.
  2. CASTING “to throw forward, as the thoughts, with a view to some determined goal” 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”  This earthly world is hard, discouraging and painful. This earthly world has the devil walking back and forth, just waiting to ensnare us. But if we stop relying on our own solutions to the pain and cast our pain forward to God to handle for us, He will help us maneuver through the trials. We need to go to Him first instead of ourselves.
  3. SOBER “characterized by self-control, seriousness, sound moral judgment, in one’s right mind” Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” The devil is all about us loosing control of morality. He wants us to do the things that are morally wrong. Through the ages, the devil has worked the same way. Sure, there are new inventions. There is more media presence than ever before. The devil gets our eyes full of sin, and all morality goes out the window.
  4. VIGILANT “watchful, wide-awake, alert” Colossians 4:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night…”  One of these days God is going to have enough. He is going to come to get those who are obedient and faithful and take us to our final home with Him. We need to be ready. But He will also bring judgment upon those who have been all about self and disobedient.
  5. RESIST “to exert oneself so as to counteract or defeat” James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” When the devil throws temptation our way, he will have no choice but to go away, because we have become one of God’s warriors here on earth.
  6. STEADFAST “patient endurance, reliable, faithful, true to the end” Hebrews 6:19 “this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” The verses before this tell us that God keeps His promises because He does not lie and God is all powerful. It is hard to be patient. Do you have trouble with that too? But if we are patient and faithful to the end of time or life, whichever comes first, God will take us home with Him to heaven.

Did you notice that all these words require an action on our part? We have to put on the armor of God (read Ephesians 6:10-20). The devil will always try to pull us away from the hope God has given us. He sent His Son to die on a cross for us who are sinners, to give us this hope. He is true to His promises. The devil has only promised us an eternity with him if we succumb to his lies.

So, what can we do? Is there any hope for us in this sinful world? Satan lies telling us one thing but our God tells us the truth.

Satan tells you; you are broken. God says you are healed.

Satan says you are a nobody. God says you are His child.

Satan says you have no hope. God says there is still an empty tomb.

Satan says you were a mistake. God says I made you in My image.

Satan says come with me to hell. God says follow me to eternal life.

Sometime, turn your Bible to Romans 12:9-21 and read how God wants us to live our lives. Some of the key words in those verses are: “love…serving…hospitality…bless and do not curse…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The devil is not the only one who looks and is looking for us. I am also calmed by the verse in Psalm 53:2 that tells us that God is always watching over us, no matter what and we have to look for Him in every situation. “God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand who seek God.” God is also moving and searching.

In this time of history, we are seeing and feeling in our hearts all the horrible acts that sinful people have decided to do, because of their trust in evil. Don’t loose hope in our God. He is right beside those who sin has hurt, and holding their hands letting them know there is something much better that this life.

Don’t give into sin. Keep moving forward, one step at a time. Stay faithful. Stay away from the lies the devil tells you. God who does not lie has given us the promise of eternal life. I will close with one of my favorite verses in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 7:14. The key word in this scripture is “if.”

“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Till next time.

                                       Keela

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OUR TEARS IN HIS BOTTLE

OUR TEARS IN HIS BOTTLE

OUR TEARS IN HIS BOTTLE

The tv screen suddenly became blurry, as tears ran down my cheeks. I was watching a Hallmark movie (of course). The main characters’ deceased mother had grown up in England. When she realized she was dying, she had given a friend a ticket to England, to give her daughter on a certain birthday. She wanted her daughter to see where she had grown up. She had grown up on a particular farm, which had become a bed and breakfast. She had set up with them to give the daughter a room there. The scene I was crying about was, the daughter was standing on a cliff overlooking the same land and sea that the mother had looked at so many years before. Of course, that would make some of us to cry, but there is a special reason this story hit me so hard.

I was born in England. My mother and I had talked so often about going to England and “walking” in the same shoes that she and dad had walked so many years ago. My dad was in the air force and was stationed there for four years. I was three when we came back, on an ocean liner, to America. So, I don’t have any memories of those years. How I have wished I would have been there long enough to talk with that English brogue! My mother left this earth six years ago. We never got that chance to go to England together. (Just typing that brought tears to my eyes and grief to my heart.)

So, what does grief have to do with that? Well, I started thinking that there are so many types of grief. The different types of grief make us feel differently about each one and we grieve differently. I am going to list some here and I am sure you could add more that have filled your heart with sadness. I have lost my grandparents, my husband, my mother, beloved pet and close friends. Each one of them have touched my sad heart in a different way. Each one of them brought pain in my heart. But because of the special type of relationship, I had with them, when I see, hear, touch or smell something, my senses bring thoughts of them specifically to my heart. For example: when I saw this particular movie, it moved me to tears and what I had lost without my mother. My husband loved Boy Scouts and was so involved with helping the boys with their goals; going so far as to train leaders and was scoutmaster of about one hundred boys. He was at camp with both of our boys and helped them to attain their Eagle rank. He was also a chaplain, at camp, after our boys had achieved that goal. Any time I hear about Boy Scouts, I think of him and how much time and love he had put into it and grieve for those boys who did not have a chance to be touched by him. I think you get the idea.

But have you ever thought that there are other ways we grieve, other than when a loved one passes away? Times when our heart breaks into a thousand pieces! I will list a few here, some that I have experienced, and see if any of them have made you feel like the pain is so great that it will break your heart. Grief over loss of: your job-your home to foreclosure-a special dream-your aging process losing your youth-sitting in a lonely nursing home realizing your children and grandchildren are living their lives without you-your physical health-grief of what could have been-child leaving home-a family member who has left the Lord-years that have been lost because of an addiction-a person’s confidence in themselves-realization of weight gain. And there are so many others I could list here. You have your own loss in your life that you grieve over.

Let me give an example of one of these types of loss’ that I have experienced. The other day I saw an older couple holding hands walking down my street. They were slow, of course, but even after all their years together, they still could walk together and hold hands. I will never have that. Seeing them brought that fact and grief back into my heart. The last ten years of my husbands’ life, were painful for him, physically and mentally and he changed.  During those years, he suffered a deep depression for two years, 24-7. He spent a lot of time in the hospital with congestive heart failure and other physical issues. I feel the pain in my heart for our daughter who was in her teenage years and he was not always there for her, to spend time with her, to go to her games or other activities. I am sure that is a grief she will always have in her heart. I became a widow at 54. My husband and my plans for our future, when he retired, was that we would get a camper and go all over the United States, as he preached to small congregations who could not afford a preacher. Those plans were crushed. That sends grief anew into my heart. He never got to do that and I could not be by his side as he spread the gospel.

The Bible speaks a lot about some of the different types of grief. Here are a few. Job said “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, and my calamity laid with it on the scales! For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea…” (Job 6:1-3) “Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be grief.” (Proverbs 14:13) “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…” (Isaiah was talking about Jesus chapter 53:3) “And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” (Genesis 6:6) “Jesus wept. Then the Jews said see how He loved him!” (when Lazarus died in John 11:35)

There are some who have so much pain in their hearts that they feel suicide is the only choice. Some whose hearts are so full of grief that they are stuck there, not able to find happiness in this world and not able to fulfill their God given purpose. I have a friend who is stuck in her past and she is constantly grieving over things that happened thirty years ago.

 I know that was a lot of negativities. So, let’s talk about how we can make it through those hard times. I am not saying it is not ok to grieve. Not at all. The verses above show that even our God, Lord and Savior grieved. People grieve in different ways. Don’t judge someone of how they are handling their grief. There is not a time limit on grief. What I am saying is when you are in those moments of grief, you need to realize that you still have a future-you still have a life that you need to shine your light for the Lord-how can you fulfill your God given purpose if you are stuck in your past. As time goes by, you will still have that grief in your heart, feeling that pain; but you will learn how to go forward into your future.

Wouldn’t it be amazing that when we had that overwhelming feeling of grief, that we could just flip a switch in our hearts to get away from that pain? Let me share how I have made it through those times when grief seems to overwhelm my life. I am not saying this is how you can get peace with your grief, but rather I am giving you an example of how I have found peace. I am saying that you CAN find peace once you have experienced grief. While watching that movie, my tears flowed. I tried to find a positive in that grief. My mother and dad took a lot of pictures from England. My mother put those pictures in a book and wrote under each one where it was and some of them, she shared my reaction to them. So, when and if, I get to experience my birthplace, I will have a small glimpse into what my mother saw and felt. When I see something about the Boy Scouts, that pain hits my heart, reminding me of my husband. I steer my mind to thoughts of him and that love he had for those boys and the many people, who he touched. After I saw that older couple walking holding hands, I turned to God’s word. I turned to passages that help me remember that, if I continue to serve Him, that I will see my husband, my mother and others who have left this earth, one day when I die. That gives me hope! I have also realized that when those debilitating times of grief come, that if I turn around and help someone in need, it helps that raw pain to lessen. Maybe you can help someone by, sending a card-calling a person who is older and needs a boost because they feel lonely and hopeless-making a meal and take to a struggling family. During my rough years when my husband was sick, a friend always sent me a gas card to help. So many things a person can do to help others. Also, it helps to talk to a close friend. Somehow just saying the grief out loud helps to start heal those feelings.

 Look up in your Bible, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Those verses have helped me to realize part of my purpose on this earth. The grievous times I have suffered have helped me to be able to share my heartaches and pain to others showing there is hope in their future and in the Lord. To go on, putting one foot in front of the other. That is the reason for the two books I have published and hope to publish in the future, and thus the reason for this blog.

We were created by God and He gave us the human emotion of grief. That tells me that we will grieve. But it also makes me realize that God is good and He can help us to come out of that grief to be able to shine our lights for Him! God loves us so much. “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle.” (Psalm 56:8)

Finally, I hope this helps someone. We all have had so many types of grief. Each person’s grief is different and in how they deal with those feelings. Although those pains of grief will visit us over and over, God will help you use those painful feelings for His glory and put our tears in His bottle of comfort!

Till next time!

                                             Keela