Wednesday, December 19, 2018

"it's not supposed to be this way....."

a well known Christian author just recently released a book with this title, or at least something similar...

wasn't quite sure what she was talking about but just saw a picture of her and her husband renewing their wedding vows...so, I now know that her " not supposed to be this way" had to do with her marriage falling apart..

see, when I went through my marriage breaking up and the following years, I often called the hard stuff the "not-supposed-to-be-that-way" moments"

those, I knew it very soon into the whole ordeal were not just limited to the moment of impact. the moment I received the email that my husband was not going to come back. that he had decided to leave us forever, a week before Christmas.
they weren't going to be limited to me lying on the floor screaming ( I did compare it to a deer that had been hit ) and the agony it was to tell the kids... the Christmas I am not sure how we survived and the long hard weeks following the casual dismissal of a lifelong covenant...

no, they are not limited to any of this, in fact, they are still going on.
two weddings of my daughters made that very clear indeed.

it's just not supposed to be that way.

it's a true statement.

This is what Jesus said in Mark 10:2-10

And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”  He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”  They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”  And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.  But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’  ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

so, no, it's not supposed to be that way.

neither is it supposed to be that way that we hate a brother in our heart.
or that we impatiently make a hurtful remark
or think of ourselves above others...

the first "not-supposed-to-be-like-that-way" moment happened in the garden.
when Eve took the fruit.
when Adam didn't stop her but instead went along.
the rest, as they say is history.....

the good news is, that at the fullness of time God did indeed send the solution that He had planned before the beginning of time to earth.
the beloved Son, the Darling of Heaven, in the form of a baby, entered this world..
He came to lay down His life, the spotless lamb, wrapped in swaddling cloths as to not get any blemish on Him, sinless, and therefore able to atone for our sins once and for all, He was crushed for our sake.
He rose again and defeated death, so everyone who believes in Him can be free ..
free to have a relationship with God,
free to sin no more
free from fear
free from Satan's condemnation.....


I saw that this famous author's marriage was restored, new vows were whispered, promises made.
I am rejoicing with her and her family. God is indeed good.

for me, not that outcome.
no restoration of the marriage.
no miracle.

and yet, He did restore the years the locusts have eaten, He did use for good what was intended for evil, He got the glory and I got the good...

because one of the main lessons I learned was this:
my hope is in Him.
not in my miraculously restored circumstance.
not even in my children not being hurt and affected by this sin, over and over again.

no.
in Him.

in the meantime He has even restored some of the circumstances in wonderful ways.
scars, for sure, moments, for sure, but He, who is my hope,
He is always there.
He never disappoints
He never leaves or forsakes.

so.
how "not-supposed-to-be-that-way" are the "not-supposed-to-be-that-way"moments and trials and various griefs???

is He not sovereign over all of them?
have they not been orchestrated informed by His purposeful goodness???

I think so.

so I rejoice, even though I might be enduring trials of many kinds, since my momentary and light afflictions are achieving for me an eternal glory that FAR outweighs them all.

God is most glorified in us,
when we are most satisfied in Him

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Monday, December 10, 2018

a new creation. the old has passed away

a month or so ago my Highschool Graduating class had their 35 Year Reunion ( oh my goodness , I am OLD )
anyways, since this obviously is happening in Germany, I, once again, decided not to go :)

yesterday pictures were posted in a Dropbox so everyone could see them.

at first I didn't even recognize most of the "middle aged German people" ;)
it made me think.



I never felt I belonged or fit in, and don't get me wrong, I was well enough liked and ok ( at least that's what I remember )
yet I have not had any meaningful, if any at all, interaction with any of them, since the year we graduated and no desire whatsoever to make the trip to reconnect

nothing to do with the nice people over there... but most likely everything with me

sitting in church with a dear friend Sunday afternoon, taking part in the Celebration of Life of a sweet lady from my church, hearing all the wonderful things that were shared...
a life lived well representing Christ to her family, friends and Church family I once again marveled at how good God has been to me and how deeply in love I am with Him..

I have always been the black sheep, the odd one out in my family... I did feel that somehow I did not fit in with my surroundings..

when God through Jesus opened my eyes to who He is and who I am in Him and what His plan and purpose for my life really is, all this changed.

the sanctuary was filled with people whose lives had been touched by this wonderful woman of God and it made me think that between my new home of 3 1/2 half years in Michigan and my family of Christ in Canada I have also been blessed to have been woven into this colourful and special fabric of the family God has given me...

sharing what is the most important thing in our lives, our relationship with Christ makes for a deep connection like no other,  and this is a wonderful truth

outward differences like nationality, upbringing, economical status, age, race or anything like that is just not that important at all..

I am amazed over and over again how God so expertly connects us, how we support and encourage  and get supported and encouraged..

stirring one another up to a life of godliness is one magnificent purpose to have been given.
equipped with specific spiritual gifts He places us strategically where we can bless the most.

from walking alongside a hurting sister helping her work through a crisis to babysitting some little children, so the parents can go Christmas shopping... coming together as a group to celebrate a life lived well for Jesus and organizing women's events, taking flowers to a sick neighbour and spending hours praying for all those the Lord has put into one's life...

then, together we can reach out to those who are struggling in the world and with the compassion of Christ we can offer to them the hope that we have....
I must say I feel rich, richer than I ever thought I could be.

reflecting on yesterday's ceremony again I am hoping that when I have passed on to be in the presence of my Lord forever mine will also be a celebration of who He has been in and through me and He alone will get the glory!

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,  you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2: 4-5

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works
Hebrews 10:24

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5: 17-20