Scars.

How do you view the scars on your life? Do see them as ugly imperfections or do you see them as where Jesus was saving your life? Ozias left the hospital with three very noticeable scars. One on each wrist and one on his forehead.  The story of those scars brings tears to my eyes.  In the first few hours of his life outside the womb the doctors were attempting to administer life saving medicine through IV's. Because of his extreme prematurity his veins were incredibly small and kept rupturing under the pressure from the IV.  The medicine that helped control his blood pressure then burned his fragile skin.  When my fingers run across one of his scars it immediately takes me back to "that" room with "that" doctor having "that" conversation that went something like this..... We need to get a good line so that we can continue to give him the medicine that he needs to keep his blood pressure stabilized. The recent attempts to find a vein have been unsuccessful and have caused him to become very stressed. We will let him rest and then find a vein and thread a line directly to his heart to make sure that we have a good way to give him medicine and fluids. Called a PIV line..... That conversation was one of three moments that I can recall being scared during our entire NICU stay. I needed to know were there other options should that line burst? Was that our last hope? The doctor calmly explained that should this PIV line not work, they had two other options to try. It wasn't the doctors words that calmed my deepest fears though. It was after we went back to my hospital room and cried out to God. Please guide the neonatologist's hands to find the right vein. Please make a way for the life saving medicine Lord. In that moment there was a peace that filled the room as we remembered that God was in control. Jesus was in charge of saving his life. We went back to see Ozias a few hours later and he was resting peacefully with a new PIV line placed perfectly. The scars on his tiny body remind me of what God brought him through to be here with us today.

Now take a look at the scars on your own life. Maybe it was the loss of a job, or a relationship. Maybe the death of a dream. Whatever it was that didn't go according to plan and left a wound on you that turned into a scar. Run your fingers over that place and ask God to show you how he was using that very moment in your life. How he didn't abandon you during that time but rather he was busying himself with saving your life. Finding a different way to give you exactly what you needed. Some people see scars as imperfections but really they are reminders to Jesus' healing power.

Paint. Drops.

I have been painting my girls' rooms with the help of my daughter's. There were several times where I had to leave the room to tend to my youngest leaving my daughter alone with a gallon of paint. We were finishing up and happened to see some spots on the carpet. It appeared as though she had tried to clean them up herself. Then afraid to get in trouble she covered them with the drop cloth and acted like nothing happened. How many times in your life have you done this very thing? Ok, maybe not with paint, but how about with some sin pattern in your life? That one that constantly plagues you. You try to clean it up yourself but you can't quite make it go away. It's smears and seems to enlarge no matter how hard you scrub. Or maybe it is a heartbreak that you can't fix. Or a dream so big that fear constantly tries to tell you it will never come true. God never intended for us to do life alone. He wants us to be in relation with other people, to heal us, to help us up after we fall, to remind us of our dreams when we close our eyes out of fear, to clean up our messes, and sometimes just to hold our hands in the dark reminding us we are not alone.  Truth is, all that was needed was a warm, soapy rag and the paint drops washed out of the carpet but left untreated would have ruined the carpet. Find people that you can share your messes with. Seek out those that are willing to help you clean it up. Expose the darkest parts of your heart, those parts you where you act like nothing happened. The parts that are broken beyond repair.  Then let them wash you with the goodness and grace of God.  You just might be surprised by how easily they clean up. And if the heartbreak is too great they will help you make it a beautiful part of you.  #community #mytribe #DarkHallwaysSteadyGrip

Trust.

Trust.

Trust. Noun  1. Assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of someone or something. 2. One in which confidence is placed.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him.

Trust is easy in times of calm.  When the seas look like glass and the breeze is just right.  When your child is healthy and all seems right.  When your spouse is loving and thoughtful and kind.  Sure trusting God that he knows what he is doing in moments like that doesn’t even take an effort on our part.  But let that wind pick up just a little, from a breeze to a sudden gust every now and then.  When your boat rocks a little more than is comfortable to you.   This is when trust becomes a choice.  That news you received from the mechanic’s shop, that your car was going to cost a whole lot more than you thought.  Or that letter that you receive in the mail that tells you of news you didn’t want to know.  Those moments when you curiously wonder what God is up to, do you trust what he is doing?  Is he capable of using that bad news for your good still?  Then what about the heart shattering, gut wrenching, life altering moments that you face?  The moments when the waves seem unending, giving you just enough time to find your balance only to be tossed to the ground again.  The diagnosis you didn’t ever want to receive.  The death of a child.  The loss of a parent.  These kinds of traumatic events that you don’t have a choice but to face.  Hiding won’t help and running won’t stop the pain.  Is God still good in those moments?  Can we still trust that God is working things out?  Truth is either God is completely good or He is not.  Either he can be completely trusted or not trusted at all.  There is no middle ground.  No room to doubt that God is good.  We must forge ahead and trust that He knows what he is doing.  Take a moment and ask God what areas of your life you don’t trust him with.  Then ask for forgiveness for trying to fix something just because you don’t understand his plan or his timing.  God promises will be fulfilled no questions asked.  But do you trust him enough to make them happen even when all hope seems lost?  When the clouds are building in the sky and waves are crashing all around. In the verse above it says that God WORKS.  That is an active verb meaning to bring to pass.  Not God worked.  Be patient in the process. Steady your legs.  The captain knows how to get you safely to shore.  He is working all things together for good.