Hope

 I love benedictions and blessings, especially those in the Bible, don’t you? Recently, I read the one Paul penned to the Christians living in Rome centuries ago and realized it’s one we need. Many people lack hope these days. Some feel so hopeless that they take their own lives, or at least wish they could die and be done with all the struggles and sufferings. Others are not that depressed, yet still long for brighter days.

I’m asking God to confer upon you that blessing of hope, with its accompanying joy and peace. Whether you like the words recorded in older translations of the Bible or those in newer versions, may you allow the ancient yet relevant words to remind you that trusting in God will give you hope in the midst of the darkest of days.

May God Bless Us

Thank the Lord!

As another woman and I waited for the elevator, I smiled at her and said, “I hope your morning is off to a great start!”

Her pleasant expression became even more so. Her entire countenance radiated joy and gladness as she said, “The Good Lawd woke me up this morning!”

“And,” I replied, “aren’t we thankful He did?”

“Honey,” she said, “as soon as I open my eyes, I begin to thank Him for letting me live through the night and for letting me see another day!”

“We don’t always recognize how blessed we are, do we?”

“I know that’s right,” she said, nodding vigorously.

That’s all the time we had to talk, since we only rode the elevator down one floor. But in that brief time, we praised our Lord for His goodness to us, and I was reminded that praise doesn’t have to be complicated or lengthy. Even a few seconds of sincere praise and thanksgiving honors our Lord and encourages others along life’s journey.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget none of His benefits.

~David, Psalm 103:1-2, New American Standard Bible

Blessed Is He...

yellow hibiscus bloom, Calgary Zoo, 2015

Thank You, God!

Thank You for the world so sweet.

Thank You for the food we eat.

Thank You for the birds that sing.

Thank You, God, for everything.

~Unknown

Clean Heart, Clean Speech

Ripe Figs

People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Can you pick olives from a fig tree or figs from a grapevine? No, and you can't draw water from a salty pool.

~James 3: 7-12, New Living Translation

But the words you speak come from the heart...

~Jesus in Matthew 15:18

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

~David in Psalm 51:10

Note: The heart refers to the whole inner man (the soul, mind, spirit, will) that makes a person what he is (a conscious, intelligent, responsible being). 

Spend Wisely!

A friend gave me the following quote, which she'd typed on a 3 x 5" card. After I'd finished reading it, I said, "I love this! Thank you for sharing it with me."

This is the beginning of a new day. 

God has given me this day to use as I will. 

I can waste it or use it for good, 

but what I do is important 

because I am exchanging a day of my life for it!

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, 

leaving in its place something I have traded for it.

I want it to be gain and not loss, 

good and not evil, 

success and not failure

in order that I shall not regret 

the price that I have paid for it.

~Author Unknown

As a result of reading and re-reading those words, I'm trying to make better decisions in regard to time management. I ask myself questions such as these: Is this the best use of my time right now? Is it worth thirty minutes (etc.) of my LIFE? In the grand scheme of things, is this activity/task truly important? Will it bless someone else? Will it honor my Lord? Just because I've always done this (or that), does it mean I should continue doing it? Am I too busy?

As I make hundreds of decisions each day (as you do), I pray this prayer:

"Lord, teach me to use wisely 

all the time You've given me."

(See Psalm 90:12.) 

Another daily prayer of my heart is based on these words in a song written by Ira B. Wilson, 1909: 

Make me a blessing,

Make me a blessing,

Out of my life,

May Jesus shine; 

Make me a blessing, 

O Savior, I pray,

Make me a blessing to someone today.

I love those words so much that I often sing them (as well as all the verses in that song) as I'm driving here and there for they express the desire of my heart and help keep me focused on doing the things that truly are important. I do not want to come to the end of my life and regret how I spent the precious moments God gave me.

Slipping Away

One evening, with my camera in hand, I stepped out onto the balcony of the condo where we (my husband and I, along with two of our grandsons) were spending a week at the beach.

“I almost missed the sunset,” I said to my husband when he joined me a minute or so later.

 

Sure enough, the sun, looking like a huge, orange, beach ball, seemed only a few inches about the horizon line. I worked quickly to try to capture a really good picture of the scene. I changed settings on my camera, selected different focus points, zoomed in and out with my lens, placed the sun in various places within the viewfinder’s frame, and moved to different places along the narrow balcony, hoping all the while to make a photo that would capture at least a little bit of the grandeur my eyes were seeing. 

In less than six minutes after I’d stepped onto the balcony, the sun had slipped below the horizon, seeming to have disappeared in the blue-gray waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It appeared to have submerged into the depths of the ocean, never to return.

As I reflected on that, I thought about how so many things in life seem to slip away so quickly, just like the setting sun. Although the sun had been visible since early morn, it had slowly been making its way toward the horizon line. No one paid much attention to its progress, due to being involved with activities of the day: traveling, working, shopping, swimming, shelling, etc. Perhaps a relatively low percentage of folks paid any attention to the setting of the sun, since that wonder takes place each day. But I did.

As I watched the changes brought about by the setting of the sun, I thought about recent things that had slipped away: A friend’s dad had slipped into eternity last Tuesday. That day had been coming ever nearer for 96 years. But on Tuesday, he slipped away from this life. Another example: a friend  fell in the pasture while she was taking care of her horses and broke her back. Her busy life slipped away, at least temporarily. Whether our blessings disappear ever so gradually or in the blink of an eye, they do slip away. Loved ones. Good health. Jobs. Finances. Opportunities. Abilities….

Therefore, let’s cherish the abundant blessings we have each day, always aware that they, like the setting sun, are slipping away. Some, unlike the sun, won’t return.  

(c) 2012 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. To request permission to use, please send an e-mail to johnniegaskillATgmailDOT.com

Blessings in Every Trial

For over two months now, I’ve been experiencing round-the-clock nausea. While my doctor has no definitive answer, yet, as to why, he has told me I do have gastritis and esophagitis, which he attributes to acid reflux. He wants me to have more diagnostic tests to find out for sure what’s really causing the problem.

In the meantime, I continue to feel miserable. I am sick of being sick! Increasingly, I’m giving up activities, like photography, that I used to engage in because bending over, even slightly, produces more nausea.

One weekend, when the nausea was particularly bad, I spent all day Saturday propped up on the couch, trying to stay as still as possible. I watched a photography CD that inspired me so much that I played it again and again, longing for the images I take to convey the beauty and wonder of the Creator’s work.

Sunday, I felt just a tad better, so I spent most of the day at my computer, which didn’t require much bending (other than when I got up and down). Although I couldn’t go outside in the spring-like weather and photograph the daffodils, I spent many pleasant hours designing 3.5 x 5-inch note cards.

To create them, I used photos I’d taken some time ago. By late afternoon, I had several designs that I really liked. One of the last ones I created (shown here) had a pastel pink background (that was actually a close-up of a camellia bloom I’d taken weeks ago).

As I worked with that quote—changing the font size and color, creating a border for it, etc.—I realized God had indeed given me “a blessing in each trial,” several blessings, in fact! For example, if I hadn’t been too sick to do other things, I probably wouldn’t have designed the note cards. And the persons to whom they would have been sent (whether by me and/or by those who purchased the cards) would have missed out on much-needed encouragement.

Another blessing I’ve received during this trial has been “a faithful friend to share” it. Actually, I have many friends who are concerned about me and are praying, as I am, that I will soon be well. Although none of my friends can make the nausea go away, their support helps me endure it.

As I reflect on this current problem, I realize anew that others I’ve encountered have also contained blessings of some sort. Initially, some were not obvious, but as I look back on various trials I’ve been through, I can see God-given blessings in each one.

That’s why I remind myself often of Romans 8:28: “God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Although the “things” themselves aren’t necessarily “good” (my nausea, for example), God takes all difficulties and distresses and extracts blessings from them. I do not understand how He does it, only that He does!

©2010 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill