There Is a Season...

My Source of Help

Bowman's Beach, Sanibel Island, Florida

A little sand between your toes

always takes away your woes.

~unknown

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Note: Although I do love going to the beach to relax, it isn't the sand that takes away my woes. It's this assurance found in God's Word, which I've paraphrased just a bit to help me realize this awesome truth applies to me--as well as to those to whom the words were originally addressed. 

My help comes from the LORD

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow my foot to slip;

He who keeps me will not slumber.

Based on Psalm 121:2,3

Tomorrow

Sunset at Fort Bragg, California
God knows all about tomorrow.
He holds it in His hands.
~unknown

The Greatest Truth

John 3:16 and following

An outstanding Bible scholar was asked, "What is the greatest truth you've discovered in all of your years of studying the Bible?"

Without a moment's hesitation, he said, "Jesus loves me; this I know. For the Bible tells me so."

Indeed! The Bible is filled with assurances that we are loved more than we can imagine. For example, in John 3:16, Jesus affirms the great love He and His Father have for us:

For God so loved the world, 

that He gave His only begotten Son, 

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, 

but have eternal life.

In John 14:21, Jesus gives yet another affirmation of His love and God's love: 

He who has My commandments and keeps them, 

he it is who loves Me; 

and he who loves Me 

shall be loved by My Father, 

and I will love him, 

and will disclose [reveal, manifest] Myself to him.

John 14:21

Brokenness

The LORD is near the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

~Psalm 34:18

Declare!

The heavens declare the glory of God, 

and

the sky proclaims the work of His hands.

~David, in Psalm 19:1

Quiet and Peaceful--Without and Within

I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought.

~Helen Keller

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...make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business...

1 Thessalonians 4:11

Changes

Luminaries Needed

One Internet website invites certain people, usually those whose names are widely recognized, to share (in 500 words or less) some wisdom they'd like to pass on to others. As I reflected on that challenge issued to those referred to as "luminaries," I recalled having attended a local Relay for Life event. As dusk descended that Friday evening, volunteers placed lunch-size paper bags all around the perimeter of the walking track where the event was being held. On each bag was written the name of (1) a person who had battled or was still battling cancer and (2) the person who had purchased the luminary in honor of or in memory of the cancer patient. 

The darker the night became, the brighter the candlelight shone through the bag. As I strolled around the track, I read the names on each bag. I recognized some of them. Several I knew well, including my mother, my mother-in-law, and one of the charter members of the camera club to which I belonged. I thought about how they had inspired me in so many ways. I thought about their courage, their faith, their endurance... Truly, they were (and still are) luminaries in my life!

I recalled that the Bible says there's a noticeable difference in people who are filled with a God-given inner light and in those who are not:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

that you may be blameless and innocent,

children of God

without blemish 

in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation,

among whom you shine as lights in the world, 

holding fast to the word of life... 

Philippians 2:14-16a

I also remembered a song I've known since childhood: This Little Light of Mine by Harry D. Loes. As I sang the words, I recommitted to letting my little light shine. Will you, Dear Reader, do the same? Even a little light is obvious in the darkness.