Prodigal Mom

Have you heard the call of the Heavenly Father as He asks you to join Him in prayer for the young ones?  Maybe you are a Mom of a Prodigal yourself? 



I have walked that road, and I know the varying levels of pain and love that are felt inside of a Mother’s heart.  When my oldest child became a teenager, I resisted the efforts of those in our church who wanted to label him as a “perfect example” to all of the younger ones there.  I knew how the pressures of those labels create a false pedestal that we humans simply cannot attain to.  I prayed and tried to warn against those labels.  I even asked those in our church to pray for my son as he was entering his older teen years, to pray that He would be strengthened only in God.  Some of the women there told me to stop worrying, that he was a great kid, and he would do just fine. 

Moms, please don’t ignore those promptings in your spirit when God calls you to pray.

God was preparing me for the many hard days and years ahead for both of my sons.  He was calling me to a season of deep prayer and intercession.  Thankfully, He sent a few close friends who were also walking with prodigals of their own.  He knew that we could not walk the path alone, and so HE brought us together to share the load of praying, even when the church had seemed to fail us. 

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,  let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:19-23 

I am blessed today to be part of the team at my friend Anna Smit's site, Beloved Prodigal.  Please come join me there to read more of my story by clicking here.

 I am linking today with:  

Debbie Kitterman, #TuneInThursday 
Barbie Swihart, #Glimpses 

Shade for our Souls

The hot tropical sun baked every pore of my exposed skin. How thankful I was to my Vietnamese daughter-in-law's family for their insistence that I wear some kind of long sleeves.  

Six years ago I was in Vietnam, riding past the rice paddies on my first motorbike excursion. The young nephew who had been assigned to drive while I held on (not too tightly, I hoped) behind him, was very gracious to this American Grandma.

How much hotter could it get, I wondered? The day already felt like I was in a sauna, and I had thought the breeze of the driving might be refreshing. Obviously I had never experienced this kind of baking sun, exposed in the open landscape! I longed for some kind of relief from the fiery heat, as we rode.  And it was then that the verse from my morning's reading became more real to me than it had ever been:

"The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night."

Psalm 121:5-6 



I spoke the verse again and again, until I felt the very Presence of God covering me with His safety, speaking to my burning soul that He would be my true shade.




Is there a place of safety from the burning heat, from the searing of our souls,
that we are meant to share?




We find our friend, Jayber Crow, in such a place for this week's portion over at Michele Morin's site

Living Our Days,

where she has invited us to join in an online book study of Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry.


Jayber, the "bachelor barber," has begun to see himself as a true member of the community, when World War 2 sets in. Having been denied a place of service himself, because of a medical difficulty, he yet found himself saying:


"I was learning what I had meant when I decided that I would share the fate of Port William. I had not gone off to war, but the wounds and deaths of Port William boys were happening in Port William. They were happening to me. I was involved; I was being changed."

Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow: A Novel (Port William) (p. 147). Counterpoint. Kindle Edition. 

Jayber had begun to experience what a true community feels like: what one person walks through does overflow onto the others within that community. 

As Jayber became more comfortable in his own shop, there were many nights after business was completed, that he lingered in his own barber chair (how cozy that must have been, in the days before our nice "Lazy-Boy" recliners!) finding it a comfortable spot for reading and relaxing. Often times if another lone soul was out wandering the streets, they might find themselves drawn to the cozy feeling of the empty barbershop themselves, knowing that a listening ear was waiting for them there.


In those awful years of the War, when the searing hot pain of grief became overwhelming, one father wandered in and just sat quietly. From within that peaceful setting, he shared about a dream of his lost son that had awakened a fresh pouring of grief:


 "He told me this in a voice as steady and even as if it were only another day’s news, and then he said, 'All I could do was hug him and cry.' And then I could no longer sit in that tall chair. I had to come down. I came down and went over and sat beside Mat. If he had cried, I would have. We both could have, but we didn’t. We sat together for a long time and said not a word. After a while, though the grief did not go away from us, it grew quiet. What had seemed a storm wailing through the entire darkness seemed to come in at last and lie down."

Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow: A Novel (Port William) (pp. 149-150). Counterpoint. Kindle Edition.




And the tears that could not be shed by them, were shed by me. This "Shade of God's Presence" is the one constant thing we can offer to those who dwell in community with us. We may not always have a wise word. We might not even be able to serve or help in the way that we wish we could.


But our Lord
Who offers us the True Shade
Of His Presence

Asks us to extend that Shade
To invite others in
Who are burning
in pain and grief.

We can sit with each other
And know
That our restless souls
Only find rest in HIM.

I have found such shade and safety

with ones who have

sat with me.

If there is a burning in your soul,

please let me pray with you,

and join you 

in your own place of pain.

The Community of our Lord,

The Body of Christ,

has a beautiful shade

that is meant to be shared.

 

 Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry, can be found at Amazon,
by clicking here.



I am linking today with:
Suzie Eller, #LiveFreeThursday 
Barbie Swihart, #Glimpses 

The Invitations

Birthdays come no matter how we feel.  Young and energetic, or weary and worn-out, those years add up!  And while we know we should be thankful for every breath that comes our way, if we would be honest, I think each one of us has had a year or two when we just weren't sure HOW to feel about an upcoming Birthday.

Such was the case for me this summer, as my next Birthday was looming before me.  

Where had this past year gone? 

How could it be time for another Birthday already? 

What direction would I, or should I be moving?

I must admit that I have felt a little like a ship without a mooring, as this journey through chronic illness has kept shifting the pathway in front of me. So when my dear blogging friend, Ifeoma Samuel, for whom I had offered a small bit of editing assistance, let me know the date that the book would be released, I felt a surging of encouragement in my soul:

The release date is today, my Birthday. 

  

"Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.'"

John 4:10 

The very first invitation that Ifeoma shared in her book, 

"The Invitations: 21 Hearty Devotions for your Soul" 
 was the offer that Jesus put forth to the Woman at the Well. You might have read here, about my own travels with that very woman, about the years of portraying her through a drama with my family. If you did, then you know how this particular passage holds such deep meaning for me. So when Ifeoma closed the first chapter with this prayer, I felt the Lord speaking it personally over me:

 "Lord Jesus, the road looks rough and uncertain. Strengthen me for the journey ahead. The world is in despair, but in you, Jesus, there is hope eternal. The world is a dark and lonely place, but in you is the Light. Flood me with your water of refreshing, and let my soul bask in the beauty of your glory in Jesus name. Amen"

SAMUEL, IFEOMA. THE INVITATIONS: 21 Hearty Devotions For Your Soul. (Kindle Locations 178-180). Purposeful and Meaningful. Kindle Edition. 



His Words are eternal, my friend. When He invited that woman to drink of the water that He would give, she could not have known how many people down through the ages would find the refreshing that only HE could bring.


And when "the Spirit and the Bride say come" they are still speaking to you and to me, today, just as much as they were speaking to the Apostle John who penned those words so many years ago.


"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life."
Revelation 22:17 


 
We tend to think that what we are facing today is worse than any other time in history. Perhaps we are, as Jesus, Himself, told us that evil would increase, as the day of HIS returning draws near.


But there is ONE who has not changed,
ONE who still offers us
INVITATIONS
to draw nearer to His heart.


The ONE who chose the date
of my Birth,
And the ONE who knows the number
of my days,
Sees the days for you, too, my friend.
He has so much 
Life 
and so much
Refreshing
for each of us.


Ifeoma has been used by the Lord to speak these invitations so beautifully, again, to us today. I would encourage you to read along with her, and hear in a new setting, 21 Invitations that our Lord has offered through His Word.

His calling still echoes to us 
as He invites us 
to come and be fed by Him.

 "The Invitations: 21 Hearty Devotions for your Soul," by Ifeoma Samuel

is available now at Amazon
by clicking here. 

I am linking today with these great bloggers:

Barbie Swihart #Glimpses

 Jennifer Dukes Lee, #TellHisStory

Meg Weyerbacher, #TeaAndWordTuesday 

Revival

"And then an old woman I knew as Aunt Cordie gathered me up without asking and sat down in the rocking chair and held me and let me cry. She had on a coarse black sweater over a black dress that reached to her shoetops and a black hat with little white and blue flowers on it there in the dead of winter. I can remember how she seemed to be trying to enclose me entirely in her arms. 'God love his heart!' she said. 'Othy, we’re going to take him home.'"

Thus begins a new chapter in the life of little Jonah Crow, or Jayber as we will later know him.  Today is the start of the fall book study with my friend Michele Morin! Join me for lively discussion over at her site: MicheleMorin.wordpress.com, 

 where we are reading Wendell Berry's book, Jayber Crow. The rich character descriptions in this fictional memoir-type story drew me in from page one.  But even as the small town setting reminded me of my own little village in Wisconsin, it was the memory of how someone stepped in to hold a little grieving boy that touched my heart so deeply this week. Little Jayber had suddenly lost both of his parents, and when he wasn't even sure how to process his grieving, along came an older aunt who stepped in and swooped him up.  


Aren't we all needing to be picked up and gathered close during the hard times of our lives?

On days when the foundation beneath my own feet feels like a swinging bridge, I find myself grasping for good words--hopeful words that speak a lifeline to a stronger way of living. This past weekend I joined in for a simple journaling and crafting time on Instagram at #septgluebookparty17 (thank you for your inspiration Gayl Wright.) It's a way to make a collage, by following a simple prompt to look for pictures and words from magazines or artwork that can fit together to express the thought.  When the first prompt was "favorite fall colors," I happily picked colors and images and words that leaped off the page for me.  When I was finished with my own page, though, I was surprised at the message before me:

Revival?

Could this be a word

of hope

pointing to a

renewed

strength

coming to my life?

Eagerly I began the new week, and wearily I collapsed

yet again.  When I read the words of little

Jayber Crow, I heard my own 

Life-Giver

calling me to climb into His lap.

He was indeed speaking 

REVIVAL

but not in the way 

I had first envisioned.

My weary frame revolted

And squirmed at the thought of

Required rest again

Why now? I cried when

I thought Revival was the word.

                                       

Revive these legs! I envisioned

Strength required when I looked

Ahead to fuller days

Why not? I cried when

I thought Revival was the word.

 

Revive these arms! I hungered

Work to be restored as

Plans could be fulfilled

Why not? I cried when

I thought Revival was the word.

 

Revive this frame! I sought

Fresh energy covering for

Tasks laid long aside

Why not? I cried when

I thought Revival was the word.

 

Revive this heart! He gave

New Love for God alone in

Father’s heart to mine

Why here? I cried when

He spoke Revival over me.

 

Yes here, Yes now,

Taste and See

Rest in this Love

Let ME hold you

And speak Revival over you.

--bg

 "His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;

the Lord delights in those who fear him,
    who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Psalm 147:10-11 NIV 

Revival? Oh, yes, He is reviving my heart. 

He delights to bring new hope

of His unfailing love.

If you are interested in finding a copy of the book, and reading along for the discussion, you can find a copy of the book here:

Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry  

I am linking this week with these great bloggers:

Suzie Eller, #LiveFreeThursday 

Debbie Kitterman, #TuneInThursday 
Barbie Swihart, #Glimpses 
Meg Weyerbacher, #TeaAndWordTuesday