A Tribute to my Grandma

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

I wrote part of this letter before my grandma (affectionately called "Granny") passed away on March 24th--twenty-seven days before her 90th birthday. I came back and edited this letter a few days after. Perhaps it will give you a glimpse into her relationship with my family.  Her spiritual state was uncertain, but I do hope that I will be able to spend eternity with her. 

Dear Granny,

I have been blessed to have you throughout 18 years of my life. Though you are gone now, I will always treasure the times we had together, and I will always remember how much you loved us. Thank you for being such a wonderful grandmother to my sisters and me.

You were always a part of our life. There are so many memories I cherish, and I’m sure I will forget some of the small details eventually, but in this letter (that I started before you passed away), I will attempt to put into words some of the special times we had together.  

I remember when I was very young visiting your apartment. I always loved coming to visit you and I was especially fascinated by the lock on the front entrance door—it was exactly my height.

I remember when you lived in the house in Arbor Crescent with Opa [her husband]. We’d knock on the door and Opa would answer, and we would look past him to see you sitting on the couch knitting. We’d come over and hug you and you’d call us your “three little angels”.

I loved to come and sleep over with you when I was growing up. You took me for walks to the park or just around the block, and on trips to the dollar stores to buy things to take back to our family. I remember how you and Opa would set up the couch so I could sleep on it—and I would fall asleep to the bubbling fish tank.

I remember (on one of our trips to the malls) having my purse stolen in Wal-Mart. You searched the whole store, parking lot, and car with me to see if we could find it. I got tired pretty quickly and I remember asking you if your feet hurt, but you said “no”. You kept looking until we were sure it was gone for good, even though I had lost hope a while back. I remember how special it was to come over because you’d let us watch TV. And in the evening after dinner, you and Opa and I played Rummy-O together after supper and we enjoyed many laughs.

You loved to host amazing meals for family get-togethers. Cooking was something you enjoyed, and it was extra special because you did it with love. You were always worried that there wasn’t enough food—after practically every single serving dish in the house had been filled. You taught me how to make pasta sauce on one of my stays at your house, and I still make it like that to this day, even though it doesn’t taste nearly as good. You taught me how to make bread in the bread maker, too—a skill much needed and still used. You also came over once and taught us how to make homemade pasta. And then Hannah and I wrote about the experience and entered it in the Island Grandparent magazine.  

You loved to knit, and I remember you teaching me how to knit. I never did master pearl knitting, but I do still have my 1^st pair of knitting needles that you gave me. You knitted two previous blankets for me which I still have and love. In your last months in the senior residence and then later in my aunt and uncle’s home, you began knitting baby blankets for my sisters and me. Sadly, this was a project that you weren’t able to finish.  But you often mentioned us getting married, and that you would love to see your great-grandchildren.  

When you first moved to the Origin [the senior’s residence], you were disappointed that you couldn’t cook as you used to. And even though you couldn’t bake for us, you’d save the cookies and hot chocolate packages from the downstairs dining center so we could have them when we came to visit. You also loved our music, and would often try to set up performances at the Origin so others could hear us.

You were always unselfish and giving. You never complained intentionally. I remember Opa often telling you to sit down more, because you were always working. Even when you moved from the senior’s residence and spent time with us, you were always trying to clean the house for us—and after a while we had to say that you were only allowed to fold laundry. When you moved to my aunt and uncle's house you continued to bless us. You gave us gifts and took us shopping when you could. We enjoyed having you at our house, too, Granny. You liked to sit and knit or just talk with us when we took a break from school.

I know there is so much more that I haven’t included, but I wanted to thank you for all you have done of us. Your influence on my sister’s and my life has been huge. I always admired your self-sacrificial love and hard-working spirit. I am sure there will be many events in the future that I would have loved to share with you, but I’m thankful for the wonderful years you shared with us. You are very special and much loved, Granny. I love you.

Your granddaughter,

Kaleigh Rose 

James 4:14-Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 

In Christ,

Kaleigh

When God's Plans Are Not Ours...

                                                      

               Proverbs 16:1 "We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer."



When we think of being in the Lord's will, we usually think of His plan for our lives. We consider that before  we were even born, God had our lives mapped out. He decided how we were going to look, if we would graduate from high school, if we were going to go on to college and pursue a degree, and He even decided who we would marry and how many children we would have. When we think of the depth of His love and His careful planning for our lives, we realize just how wonderful it is to have a great God Who is in charge of our earthly lives. Proverbs 16:3: "Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed". 

There is no need to worry, God knows our every thought, our every desire, our every need. And He meets every one of them. Whether He meets them the way that we want Him to, is not guaranteed. But since He knows what the "road" looks like up ahead, we need to trust His "road map" for our lives. Proverbs 16:9 "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. Whatever He has planned for us, we can be sure that He is in complete control of whatever happens.

Psalm 139:7-12:

"(7)I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from Your presence! 
(8) If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there. 
(9) If I ride the wings of the morning,
 if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 
(10) even there Your hand will guide me,
and Your strength will support me. 
(11) I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night-- 
(12) but even in darkness I cannot hide from You.
To You the night shines as bright as day. 
Darkness and light are the same to You."


We can never get away from His love, His power, His might. His grace is constant, His words never lie. We have nothing to fear and nothing to hide from where our futures are concerned. There is nothing up ahead that is too great to face with the Shepherd walking by our side. An example I often like to use, is when we see that hill and don't know what is on the other side. Between every two hills is a valley; a dip or trial period. When it seems that we get over one problem (the hill), we have nothing but a valley to walk through. Sometimes, it's a small valley--like losing a test; but sometimes, it's a large space between the two hills--such as the loss of a loved one. And getting from point A to point B is enough of a challenge to make us wonder where God is. Where did He go and why did He just leave us walking this rocky path alone?

But He's always there. Just as you can't see the wind, you know it's there. There are billions of stars never seen by man; but we know they're out there. We may have never seen our hearts or our brains; but we know we have them. If the wind, stars, hearts, and brains have never been seen, and yet we believe they are all there, why is it so hard to believe that the Creator of these things does not exist when He Himself is not visible to us?

No matter how well we think we have our futures planned out, it's God who decides the outcome. Proverbs 16:33 "We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall."

God is in control; whether we are aware of His guiding hand and presence or not. What we can know for certain about the future, is that whatever outcomes He has planned ahead, He planned them for our own good. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Don't be discouraged, my friend. What we can't see, God sees. And what we don't know, He knew even before the creation of the world.

"Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." ~Isaiah 40:26

Blessings on your walk with our Lord and Savior this day,

Anna

Devotional

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 

I have not fallen off the face of the earth, even if I haven't posted anything for over a month now. But I'm now a college sophomore (as of March 7th), so that may tell you something about where I've been.

A "regular" post will be coming eventually, but I will share with you a devotional from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, for now. I have been reading through this book semi-regularly over the past several months, and it has been incredible how applicable these readings have been. I pray this one will encourage you as well.

Have You Felt the Hurt of the Lord? (March 2nd)

"Jesus said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me?" John 21:17

     Have you felt the hurt of the Lord to the uncovered quick, the place where the real sensitiveness of your life is lodged? The devil never hurts there, neither sin nor human affection hurts there, nothing goes through to that place but the word of God. "Peter was grieved because Jesus said unto him the third time...." He was awakening to the fact that in the real true centre of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus, and he began to see what the patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest strand of delusion left in Peter's mind, he never could be deluded again. There was no room for passionate utterance, no room for exhilaration or sentiment. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he said--"Lord, Thou knowest all things." Peter began to see how much he did love Jesus; but he did not say--"Look at this or that to confirm it." Peter was beginning to discover to himself how much he did love the Lord, that there was no one in heaven above or upon earth beneath beside Jesus Christ; but he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord came. The Lord's questions always reveal me to myself. 
     The patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the right time. Rarely, but probably once, He will get us into a corner where He will hurt us with His undeviating questions, and we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than any profession can ever show. 



God bless you all!

In Christ,
Kaleigh

In Whom Can One Trust?

          Isaiah 26:4 "Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength."


Here in America, our coins have an inscription that reads: "In God We Trust". It does not say "In the Government We Trust", for a specific reason. Governments are run by fallible men; whereas as Christians, we put our hope and trust in a Sovereign God. As the above verse says: "Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH,....is everlasting strength". When we rely on Christ for our every need, He supplies our hearts and minds with strength to keep going. Psalm 26:14 points out that "...He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD". In most cases, I believe, waiting and trusting go hand in hand. To wait, one must trust that the outcomes will be for God's glory. And to trust in Someone, we must sometimes wait for an outcome.

2 Corinthians 3:4-5 says: "And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,...". We can not master our tasks on our own strength. We can not rely on our own wisdom to help us get through a test. We can not guarantee that we will wake in the morning. Only by the grace of God, can we get through life without worrying what is behind every bend or what lies before us over the next hill. Valleys will always be the lowest spots in our lives, but sometimes, the most valuable lessons can be learned by walking through them. The beauty in the tragedy of walking through it though, is that we do not walk alone. We have Someone who will walk with us if we only trust Him. As a familiar verse says in Psalm 23:4 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." Clinging to Christ while we're either in the midst of trouble or when life is going very well, is a constant need. It's something that we must constantly do in order that we don't slip and fall on the way.

The reason that I chose this picture of the winding river for this blog post was as an illustration. You might even remember the song "As the Deer" lyrics which are the following:

"As the deer panteth for the water
    So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
    And I long to worship You"

Just as the deer longs for the cool water to quench its physical thirst, so we lean on God to quench our Spiritual thirst. By trusting that He knows best for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11-13), can we fully be at peace about our jobs, our family problems, school, and other issues. Proverbs 3:5-6 can sum everything in this blog post: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths". When we acknowledge that we can not simply breathe or wake in the morning without God's hand of blessing, He will direct our next steps. When we cry out to Him for direction in our lives, He will come to our aid. If you "Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5), God's saying that when we make our first desire to serve Him whatever the situation and to commit our beings to His care, He will be there with a road map. God gives us His word; our road map. When we have hundreds of choices to make and ask for guidance, He promises to give us an answer. He never promises that he'll always say "Yes!", as He can see ahead; we can't. This is why we put our trust in Him and not in our own understanding. He's had the answers since the beginning of time.  

I'd like to sum up my thoughts with this thought: The world tries to make it easy for us to believe in our own strength and talents, but we must work extra hard to put our trust in God as to resist that lie.

Psalm 84:12 "O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!"

God bless,
Julianna