The Missing Gift

If you read my post "Will My Kitten Go To Heaven?", then you recognize the cutie in this photo.  Gracie Lou.  She has now been missing for 6 days.

She had been with us a mere 6 months, but in that short time, I had become smitten.  I even gave up on perfectly clean floors and a hairless rug.  I have dozens of pictures of her sleeping in the funniest positions.  I miss waking up and giving her a morning "rub down", then watching her play with her toys.  I miss her popping up in the window to let us know she wants in.  I even miss her immediately wanting back out to go chase some unsuspecting bird or mouse.  But mostly, I miss stroking her soft fur and hearing that purr, while she tolerated me holding her like a baby. Ha!

Yes, I know she is just a cat.  I am, after all, the last person I thought would be crying over losing a pet.  But here I am.  I have cried tears over my Gracie.  I have asked God the why question (why did He give me the kitten as a gift and then take her away or allow her to be taken, depending on your theology).  And I have landed solidly on:

²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Job 1:20-22

Whether it be a very special kitten, parent, spouse, child or friend...loss beckons to know why.  Why would a loving God allow such pain and sorrow?  Why love at all, if it only ends in loss?  Why follow God, if this is the way He treats His servants/friends?  WHY?!

I can't give you a satisfactory answer, other than we live in a fallen world.  Any attempt falls short, of comfort, in the moment of pain.  In the here and now, so much doesn't make sense and never will.  What allows me to align with Job is faith and hope.  Faith in a faithful God.  A God who IS love and works for our eternal good. (1 John 4:8, Romans 8:28)  Hope in the promise of perfection to come.  A time when pain and sorrow are no more. (Revelation 21:4)  I believe that God's Word is true and His ways higher than mine.  I believe that He rewards those who seek Him.  I believe because of Jesus, who came, died and rose again to redeem and restore. (Isaiah 61) 

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

Romans 8:18-21

I don't know what eternity with God will be like, but I know it will be great.  David declared "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11)  Amen!

The Empty Jar

My friend Penny posted this on her Facebook page.  I liked the idea, so I found an empty jar.  Then I cut colored paper into slips on which to write the good things, because who doesn't want a little color in life?   I put a little twist on it though. 

I am recording the ways God is evident in my life; the good that He brings me.  We sometimes wonder if He is there, especially in the hard times.  So, I want to record reminders of all the ways He shows up.  He can be seen in the simple and the complex; the small and the big things of life.

A few of the things I have included are:  Finding a parakeet nest at the beach (it was really cool!), sending a note to a friend and having her reply that it was perfect timing and content, an opportunity to use my gifts in women's ministry and reading the right Bible study lesson on the right day.

The last one needs more explanation.  It was January 9th.  It would have been my mother-in-love's 70th birthday.  I was missing her and on the edge with my emotions.  When I opened the lesson for that day, the selected scripture was 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, "¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus."  God knew I would need some encouragement that day.  HOPE!

There is more; the story does not end here.  But that will have to wait for another day, another post.  My question to you is:

  What's in your jar?

Journey to Healing - The Next Chapter

2016 found me once again asking for a doctors help.  This time at the Cleveland Clinic.  Due to my husbands surgery, earlier in the year, our deductible was met.  So, it seemed a good time for a colonoscopy.  Okay, is there ever a good time for a colonoscopy?  Not really.  I did, however, want to find out if there was a physical reason for the pain in my lower right abdomen.  And, as no local doctor would do it, to Cleveland I went.

I had three different tests run.  They all came back normal.  Great!  Wait a minute...what about the redundant colon and colonic inertia Mayo diagnosed me with?  According to Dr. Shen there was no sign of them.  Halleluiah!  The first of October I was prayed over during a healing service and God healed me!  That is good news.

The not so good news, depending how you look at it, is that my bacterial overgrowth is still a problem.  So, God left me a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7).  I am okay with that.  He, indeed, will give me the grace I need to manage.  There is a diet that works and I will be healthier because of it. 

So, I enter 2017 with a goal to do the hard work necessary for my health.  A new chapter of living well, maybe not perfectly but intentionally.  I pray that this year will find you living well too.  Happy New Year!!