“MEMORIES MADE IN THE MOUNTAINS STAY IN OUR HEARTS FOREVER!”

A MOUNTAIN OF TRUTH

by Debbie Allen

“We have to embrace the conflict God has put into our story. Oftentimes, the scenes that we want to skip produces the endings we all love to see.” –Toby Mac–

When I first pondered these words penned by Christian singer, Toby Mac; I’d just faced an unwanted, and very unexpected eye surgery. A major surgery which ended with my doctor injecting a gas bubble inside my right eye to help stabilize the eye from the inside out, while it healed. For the next two and a half months, I peered at my world through a murky brown bubble.  In addition, my doctor also issued a very stern warning to ‘not change altitudes at all; or I risked the possibility of the bubble expanding…exploding…and taking my eye along with it!’ Believe me… that warning was more than enough to scare me into strict compliance!

When God ushered this unwanted conflict into my life, I have to confess, ‘embracing it’ was not even listed on my post-surgery to-do list. Especially when I considered the level of acceptance the word ‘embrace’ was truly asking of me.  Webster’s 1928 Dictionary defines the word, ‘embrace’ this way:

“To seize eagerly; to lay hold on; to receive or take with willingness that which is offered.”

As a frail human being, none of these words describes what was going on in my heart when God placed this mountain before me; but as a child of God, I knew not to focus on the size of the conflict I faced…but to dwell instead on the size of my God, and His ability to strengthen and uphold me as I learned to climb mountains I never planned on ever climbing… with Strength I never knew I had in me!

 Perhaps ‘embracing conflict’ describes, for a child of God, the simple act of putting on our God-Sized thinking; and letting God be God!

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  ‘Embracing conflict’ describes for a child of God, the simple act of putting on our God-Sized thinking; and letting God be God!

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By the time that infamous bubble in my eye shrank down to nothing, and my restrictions to travel were lifted; my husband and I were more than eager to get out of town and see some new scenery. Pagosa Springs has always been one of our most favorite fall getaways… so we packed up our things and headed straight for it! Six hours later, we were standing in the midst of the beauty of a city whose name actually means, healing waters.  What a perfect way to end a season of healing in my own life!

I was thankful to have the ‘medical mountain’ I’d just finished climbing behind me now. My heart was awed by the early morning beauty of the mountains surrounding me in Pagosa Springs that first morning. Looking out on those steadfast and immoveable creations; I heard God’s still, small Whispers inside of me…reminding my own heart of His Presence there in the midst of them.  “My Mountains…” I heard Him speak.

Smiling at the thought of it, I whispered back to Him, “Yes, Lord…these truly are Your mountains; beautiful in every way.”

Then, almost as if He illuminated my own thoughts and words concerning His mountains; something else occurred to me.  It’s so much easier to physically stand before God’s Mountains in creation and thank Him for their beauty; than it is to be grateful in our spirits for the seemingly immoveable mountains He places in front of us throughout our lives. Humanly speaking, our first response to spiritual mountains set before us, is to look-away or want to run-away; anticipating only the pain and difficulty that always accompanies them.  Much like the ominous clouds I saw shrouding the mountaintops of Pagosa, our own vision too, can become clouded; preventing the eyes of our hearts from being able to see the hidden beauty that awaits us on the mountaintops we’re laboring so hard to reach. The same kind of beauty that I’m so quick to thank Him for in the physical realm…and yet so reluctant to show Him gratitude for in the spiritual realm.

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“Sometimes God wraps His Glory in hard circumstances, or obstacles, or painful difficulties, and it just never occurs to us that within those life-shaking events is a blessing in disguise.”

–Anne Graham Lotz—

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The rugged and indescribable beauty of Pagosa’s Peaks undoubtedly, stood before me as God’s silent reflections of His Splendor, Magnificence and Wisdom; but they also pointed my heart towards the unseen treasures that await us… when we learn to embrace the conflict/mountains God has written into each of our stories.  Like those mountains…God’s Love for His children is Steadfast and Enduring. They stand as Visible reminders of God’s Faithfulness, and His willingness to give us His Strength in those moments when we feel more like spineless worms inching our way up an endless mountain. Even in those moments when we feel like we’re failing Him…He will never fail us. Time and time again, He’s taught my heart that the climb itself will come to an end one day…but the story of the climb lives on forever; touching, inspiring, and changing the hearts of all those who hear about it! The story of your mountain and the way you embraced it…may just be the inspiration someone else needs to hear, in order to make it up their own mountain in life!

I believe with all my heart that God’s Mountains stand in all their majesty, as heaven’s own earthly reflections of Who God is before us…and who we are not.  You and I are nothing like mountains.  We are fragile, lowly, weak human beings, planted here on earth for only a short time. Frail describes us well. We are here today, then withered or gone tomorrow. God is an Immovable, Solid Rock. He is Eternal, Ever-Present, Powerful, High and Lifted-Up!

When you consider the majesty of those physical mountains surrounding Pagosa Springs, alongside the spiritual mountains God places before us in life—it’s vital to remember that every mountain is set before us by God’s design, and for His Purposes. Beyond the sheer wonder and beauty of them all…they stand before us as His Mountains of Truth; every one of them reflecting the beautiful reality of our Creator God, standing before us, reminding our hearts that His Constant Faithfulness and Steadfast Love for us, will always be Bigger than any mountain we will ever encounter in our life.  And for that our hearts should be forever grateful!

When my husband and I left Pagosa Springs three days later, my journal was 10 pages deeper than the day we arrived.  All of the thoughts written on those pages, flowed from the two original words I heard God Whisper down into to my heart on that first morning, “My Mountains.”

 Though I couldn’t imagine there could be anything more left to say about ‘His Mountains,’ God drew my full attention to them once more.  Rounding the last curve before exiting the city of Pagosa Springs, my eyes were drawn to a particular mountain. It wasn’t high and lifted-up like the lush green mountains surrounding it. It wasn’t even beautiful.  Unimpressed, I labeled it barren. But if it hadn’t been barren…I never would’ve been able to spot what God so clearly had waiting there for me to see. It was the shadow of a Giant Hand holding fast to that barren mountain! Oddly enough, the Hand was a Right Hand, as well. The verse that flooded my mind as I looked with awe at that Giant Hand was this:

“Do not yield to fear, for I am always near. Never turn your gaze from Me, for I am your Faithful God. I will infuse you with My Strength and help you in every situation. I will hold you firmly with My Victorious Right Hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Having almost just turned my eyes away from that grey mountain because it was so barren; these words spoke deeply and so, so personally to my heart. I recognized that Giant Hand to be God’s Hand! His tangible and very visible reminder that even when the mountains we face in life appear so barren…when we choose to ‘embrace’ even the barren scenes God’s writing into our life, seeing them through eyes of faith; His Promised Presence, Strength, and Victorious Right Hand will be found right there in the midst of it!

Truly, this was an undeniable Mountain of Truth set before me! Such Powerful Words from God’s Own Heart to mine, spoken alongside an even more Powerful Image on a remote mountainside in Pagosa Springs. Only my God could’ve planned out this modern-day miracle so perfectly!  And I am still rendered speechless when I think about it…except to express my own High Praises to the Lord in this season of Thanksgiving, singing out with a grateful heart to Him, along with the psalmist:

“Your Power and Goodness, Lord, reach to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things.”

(Psalm 71:19a)

“I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.”

(Psalm 9:1)

HEART TRAPPINGS PRAYER:

Dearest Heavenly Father…As we step into another Season of Thanksgiving, may our hearts be filled with thoughts of Your Beauty and Grace…the Countless Blessings and the Constant Love that You so richly bestow on us every day; just because You Love us. Help us to broaden and beautify our dim, human perspectives when it comes to seeing Your Hand faithfully at work in the midst of every mountain we stand before in our life; both physically and spiritually. Teach our frail hearts how to embrace the conflict You write into our stories, knowing that sometimes You are in the process of turning our barren places into the unforeseen miracles that deepen our hearts to Your Love for the rest of our lives! We love You, Lord.

In Jesus Name…Amen

“And fasten your

thoughts

on every glorious

work of God,

praising Him

always!”

(Phil. 4:8b-9 TPT)

“Device-ive Living”

by Debbie Allen

In this day and age, we don’t have to look too far to see that we are living in a divided nation. Once, we proclaimed the beauty of the freedom we walked-in, our hearts acknowledging God’s Truths and His Glory in the ways we lived-out our lives in our homes, as well as how we walked and talked before others, including our God in Heaven. We knew and understood the depth of what it means to stand united as, “One Nation under God, indivisible…with Liberty and Justice for all.”  Now…from sea to shining sea, not only is the Nation of America divided on multiple levels, but we as a people are extremely divided… right down to our hearts, minds, and spirits.

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“Now, from sea to shining sea, not only is the Nation of America divided on multiple levels,

but we as a people are extremely divided… right down to our hearts, minds, and spirits.”

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 God created each of us with the purpose of making a difference in this world.  From birth on, every human being enters into this life fully equipped and divinely wired so that we might touch and change our world and the people around us for good, and in a way that makes God Himself ‘Look Bigger.’ A way that reflects His Truth and Ways back into the world. But as I sat in the car on the way to breakfast one morning, inching along in the heavy traffic on a busy highway… I saw the world’s all-about-me ways in full force all around us.  Road rage, driver’s flipping each other off, horns blaring, cars crossing multiple lanes in spite of double-yellow, warning lines painted on the road; and countless accidents waiting-to-happen due to the carelessness of drivers, whose eyes were more focused on their cell phones than the road up ahead of them. It seemed that the drivers in vehicles all around us had a different set of rules to drive by.  Rules of their own…rules reflecting the exact opposite of what the signs and lines painted all along the highway were guiding them to do.  Common courtesy and common sense were both out the window…and with them, the safety, security, and order that comes with driving down a highway strictly, governed by the rules of the road we were once taught to adhere to…or else suffer the consequences.

There was a period of time in history when people chose to become their own authorities in their lives. Without any regard for the lives and security of those around them, everyone acted according to their own opinions of what was right and wrong. The Bible documents this period of time in the book of Judges:

“There was no king in Israel in those days, and every man did what he thought was right.”

(Judges 21:25 LAB)

The results of living in this time period in Israel ended in unmatched mass chaos…and it would be foolish for us to think it will be any different for those of us living in our own culture.  Too many in this day and age are looking only to satisfy their own selfish agendas for living life…instead of seeking the morals, standards, truths and convictions that God designed and knows will provide for, and sustain us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually throughout our lives. Well known author and pastor Tony Evans puts it this way:

“The Lord calls people to submit to His Agenda, not to attempt to honor Him with their agendas.”

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“The Lord calls people to submit to His Agenda, not to attempt to honor Him with their agendas.”

–Tony Evans–

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Whatever goals and accomplishments we’ve scribbled down for ourselves on our own human agendas in life…should never supersede the Perfect Agenda of our All-Knowing, All-Loving God…Who, in His Wisdom, created each of us on purpose and with a purpose; already knowing what’s best for us concerning every facet of our lives, and the ways we were designed to live them out before the eyes of a watching-world!

All of us were ‘made in the image of God’…but only those who choose to walk the path of His Grace and Forgiveness, become His children; those He asks to carry His Light (Jesus) out into the ever-growing darkness of this present world. To be His Light Bearer means embracing God’s Wisdom…not our own. To be constantly searching for, inquiring after, and walking-in the ways of unwavering faith; trusting God, no matter what paths He sets before us in life. Leading with a Perfect Heart and Genuine Love, God calls every one of His children to be faithful, obedient followers who trust their Father to lead them into all the right places…and in all the right ways. Throughout our entire lives, God honors this level of whole-hearted trust in Him; with the Promise of His Presence walking beside us… Providing, Guiding, and Protecting us without fail.

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“God Leads with a Perfect Heart and Genuine Love. He calls all His children to be faithful, obedient followers, who trust their Father to lead them into all the right places…and in all the right ways.“

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But…the lawlessness and reckless behavior I observed all along that stretch of highway that morning on the way to breakfast, reflected anything BUT wholehearted trust. We are fast becoming a culture that shuns the very thought of anyone or anything telling us how to live our lives…or even drive our cars. We love the idea of complete independence; and yet, so easily allow our cell phones to imprison our thinking patterns and influence our behavior; every waking moment of the day.  It seems to me our cell phones have become our god…NOT the Living God, but one driven by Artificial Intelligence. Think about it.  Our cell phones are currently one of the greatest obsessions of this age. They allow us a way to connect and communicate to others without being there…to meet face-to-face without being face-to-face. We give and receive hundreds of directives to guide us through our day.  We have come to heavily depend on our devices to help us find our way in this world and to unknown places and limitless destinations, all using Artificial Intelligence to do so. No one dares to make eye contact anymore because all eyes are focused on a scrolling screen. Even our emotions are being replaced by the use of 3,782 man-made emojis available to us now in 2024; instead of enjoying a personal conversation, sharing between hearts through the five senses God originally equipped us with, in order to help us cultivate and deepen the personal relationships we come to know throughout our lives.

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“Our cell phones have become our god…NOT the Living God, but one driven by Artificial Intelligence.”

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Though I know there is an endless amount of good that can also stream from the devices that are such a huge part of our everyday lives…the ways we immerse ourselves in this device-ive lifestyle our culture so intensely embraces; must be entered into with caution and wisdom. God never intended for Google or A.I. to be the all-knowing, ever-present sources we retreat to when we have questions and doubts…or just need to hear another’s voice speak into our life’s circumstances. The sound of God’s own Voice was always meant to fill that void in our lives. I can’t even imagine trading away the gift of being able to hear the Personal and Tender Whispers of my God deep down inside of me…for the man-made, compassion-deprived, robotic sounds of A.I.’s voice passing over my ears. It would be like being offered a huge slice of the deepest, darkest, richest chocolate cake ever made…and then settling instead for a turnip!

My ride to breakfast that morning on that chaotic stretch of highway, still stands out in my mind as a warning. It was a clear indication to my heart of the reality of mounting chaos, blatant lawlessness, and encroaching darkness that is fast consuming us as the divided people and nation we have become. Instead of making God ‘look Bigger’ before others by choosing His Ways, Truths, and Morals for living our lives…our culture is attempting to remove God and His Ways completely from society. Though ridiculous…that thought weighed heavy on me as we exited the highway for breakfast. But not for long. I looked up into that blue October sky to see a gigantuous Cross formed out of a cloud and a jet stream. The beauty of it stretched out over that chaotic highway, presenting itself to me in that moment as God’s timely and very personal Message for a culture so deeply immersed in following its own selfish ways. The Message that came with it was this:

And God said to His people:

“Stand at the crossroads.

Now, consider your ways

And ask for the ancient paths.

Which is God’s way?

Walk on His Path, and you’ll enjoy

A resting place for yourselves…

But they said, ‘WE WILL NOT.

THAT’S NOT THE PATH WE WANT.’”

(Jeremiah 6:16 TPT)

How frightening it is to think that any nation in history would ever speak those last haunting words to the God and Creator of all things! Knowing that history never fails to repeat itself, I pray we choose to seek to become the nation and people who learn to consider our selfish ways…and turn to repent and embrace the Wisdom of our God in our lives and nation before it is too late. Will you pray with me?

HEART TRAPPINGS PRAYER:

Our Father in Heaven… Thank you for Loving all of your creations; both the ‘chocolate cake lovers’ as well as those who ‘settle for turnips’ in this life. Your Cross stood so high in the sky that day to me, like the Hands on a Cosmic Clock…warning us that time is running out in this world. Yet, You will not force anyone to choose Your ‘Ancient Paths’…but for those who do, it’s the difference between spending eternal life with You in Heaven and spending eternal life without You in Hell. The hearts of those who love You are depending on You.  You are everything we need. Help to keep us walking in Your Wisdom, and steadfast in Your Ways. Forgive our sins, as both a people and a nation.  “Love us, God, with all You’ve got—that’s what we’re depending on! For our hearts shall rejoice in You, because we trust in Your Holy Name” (Psalm 33:21-22).

In Jesus Name we pray…AMEN.

“But the Eyes of the Lord

are watching over those

who fear Him, who rely upon

His Steady Love. Only He can

help us; He Protects us like

a Shield.”

(Psalms 33:18, 20b LAB)

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“The Shield Around Me“

by Debbie Allen

Over seven years ago now, God called me into an unexpected and unwanted journey, involving my right eye.  April 16, 2017, marked the day the light went out of that eye, due to a torn and separated retina. Darkness rushed into the place where I’d known only light all of my life. No rhyme… no reason…no warning. I woke up one morning and was helpless to change my circumstances on my own.   The only thing I could see were the Fingerprints of God, all over an unexpected season in my life.  And if I’m honest…every day up until now.

So often in life, I’ve found that God uses the darkness we encounter in our life’s journey to birth something greater in His children. My eye was no exception. As one circumstance led to another, I was being pointed by God, to a Retina Specialist/Surgeon who believed she could put light back into my eye.   Two days after meeting her, she performed major surgery on my eye; restoring the light inside of it…and sending me down a new pathway in my life; one I would never have chosen for myself. A pathway, that only God knew would bring Him more Glory than my former way of seeing things ever could have.

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“God uses the darkness we encounter in our life’s journey

to birth something greater in His children.”

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Once the inside of your eye unravels, even after being repaired, the chances of it unraveling again remain high. This in mind, Dr. Dee felt it necessary to perform an additional major surgery on my eye only a month later; just to be on the safe side.  She placed what is known as a buckle, or a shield, around the entire outside of my eyeball. This shield holds my retina firmly in place.  It’s my added protection against having to live in darkness again.  It helps to keep everything from coming apart…including me. 

Spiritually, I believe that the shield around my eye also speaks of an even Greater Shield surrounding my entire life. The physical shield protecting my eye, is my ever-present daily reminder to my heart of the Lord…Whose Everlasting Arms are wrapped tight around me…holding me, keeping me from coming apart at the seams even when things look their darkest. Through all the wavering high and low pressures continuously plaguing my eye; and the rigorous mountains and valleys I’ve walked through in my life over these last seven years now; only once did the enemy’s intrusive whispers cause me to question or doubt the strength of the physical shield placed around my eye…or the trustworthiness of my Faithful God. God continues to tell me over and over again in His Word: “I am your Protecting Shield.” (Deuteronomy 33:27a NLT). I believe this truth with all my heart. Even so…one day recently, something changed inside my eye again.

A seven- year struggle to regulate high pressure in my eye suddenly reversed. Now the pressure in my right eye was so low it was no longer measurable. No pressure in my eye; brought with it, not darkness, but a dusk-level of dim light to try and see my world through. On top of this, Dr. Dee reversed a decision that she’d “…done every surgery on my eye that she could do.” Unable to visibly detect what was wrong with my eye; she now stood in front of me saying, “I’m going to have to do exploratory surgery on your eye.”  She speculated that “the shield around my eye was broken, might need to be removed, or had a hole in it, and was pressing down into the white part of my eye causing an abrasion, leakage of fluid, and infection.”  Watching me squirm in my chair at the thought of what just transpired, Dr. Dee put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. She looked me square in the eye, and told me straightforward, “This is something new with your eye…we are on a new journey now!”  Leaving the exam room that day, Dr. Dee’s last words still echoed in my thoughts.  Though she intended that little word ‘we’ as a reference to ‘her and I’…deep inside of me I already knew that it was God who was telling my heart personally that He and I… ‘We’ are on a New Journey now!”

I felt a little like the ancient Israelites, who had only a moment’s notice to pack-up all their things to journey across the desert whenever they saw God (in the form of a Pillar of Cloud) moving ahead of them; leading them towards their next unknown destination. Two days later, I packed-up all my things and followed God’s lead to the Surgical Center for another major eye surgery. Like the Israelites, I’d learned one step at a time, that I could trust God fully with my life…even when being led to unknown places.

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“Let the dawning day bring me revelation of Your Tender, Unfailing Love.”

(Psalms 143:8 TPT)

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The day of surgery, my husband and I left the house just as the sun was coming up.  In the first light of the day, I felt God reminding me of His Presence going before me; especially when we passed a giant billboard beside the highway, displaying a giant JESUS all across it. My heart had to smile! For the verse I read in my Bible before we even left the house was this:

“Let the dawning day bring me revelation of Your Tender, Unfailing Love” (Psalms 143:8).

Just an accident? Maybe a coincidence? Not a chance!  When I was being prepped for surgery, the nurse who was assigned to me, entered the room like warm sunshine. Brimming from ear to ear, she introduced herself as being “the one who would be taking good care of me’, and assured me, ‘I was in good hands.’ But when she revealed to me that her name was, ‘Dawn,’ and told me “I’ll be praying for you!” as they wheeled me out for surgery…I knew God was just showing me once more, that He really was Present and going before me in this new journey. By the light of two ‘Dawns’ I encountered in this one morning…I believe my God was actively revealing ‘His Tender, Unfailing Love’ to my heart, in His Own undeniable and miraculous ways!

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“As we trust, we rejoice with an uncontained joy flowing from YAHWEH!”

(Psalm 33:21 TPT)

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On this side of another major surgery again, I can tell you that Dr. Dee did find a small tear in the white part of my eye and successfully repaired it.  The hole was on the backside of my eye just beyond the shield…so I emerged from the surgery with my eye’s shield still fully intact!  Why is that so important to me?  Over the past seven years, that shield has become for my heart, a tangible reminder of God’s Presence and Protection in my life.  Though it can’t be seen when you look at me, I know it’s a very real presence inside of me, and it surrounds my eye, securely holding things together that might otherwise fall apart.

On a grander scale, life itself is a lot like that unpredictable, right eye of mine. At any given moment it has the potential of coming apart at the seams when we least expect it.  Suddenly, and without warning, our whole life can shift and fall apart. A health crisis, strained relationships, an unexpected death, to mental and emotional trauma or anxiety and depression…and the list goes on.  Yes, there are doctors, counselors, pastors; and even friends and family available to us that can help ‘put’ us back together.  But much like my eye after the first surgery; the risk of falling apart again remains high unless something more permanent is done.  Humanity’s hands are capable of working small miracles when it comes to ‘putting us back together’, but God’s Hands are the only Hands truly capable of ‘holding us together,’ and ‘keeping us from falling apart.’ when seasons of struggle or life-altering circumstances descend upon us.

One of the greatest life-lessons God has taught me through my own personal encounters with blindness, and all the other unimaginable traumas that followed concerning my right eye, is that God Himself is our life’s Shield, wrapped-around all of our life’s broken pieces.  He’s the Ever-Present Help our spirits cry out for in our deepest, darkest times of need. Never will He ever fail to supply us with the abundant Grace needed to empower our hearts to keep moving forward and keep following our God…even when He’s leading us on a journey through the desert… to unknown places. Keep holding onto Him…knowing without a doubt…He’s Holding onto you. He is the Ever-Present Shield surrounding us in life; giving us the hope that the eyes of our frail hearts need to see more clearly: “ALL things really do HOLD TOGETHER IN HIM” (Colossians 1:17).

Oh Lord…You are the One Who Heals our blindness in this life. You are also our Greatest Remedy for the loss of vision and darkness that continues to plague our world, when it comes to seeing the Truth and Glory of Your Presence all around us.  You remain Faithful to Care for your children even in all our darkness; never leaving us to journey alone in the desert places we are called to face in this life. Please… Pour Your Light into our deepest darkness. Give us peace where worry and brokenness prevail. Allow us joy even though pain overtakes us. Grant us Your Strength to endure and grow from every journey You pre-destined us to walk beside You on, even in desert places. “You alone, Lord… are our Radiant Hope, and we trust in You with all of our heart. May “Your Wraparound Presence (Shield) will Strengthen us” (Ps. 33:20 TPT). 
“When we live our lives in the Shadow of God Most High, our Secret Hiding Place, we will always be shielded from harm.”
(Psalm 91:9 TPT)

In Jesus Name we pray, AMEN.

  

“Seas Life’s Moments“

by Debbie Allen

While sifting through the comments on my blog awhile back, I came across one remark which had absolutely nothing to do with anything I’d written on my post.  Truthfully, I’m not even sure she read the story. For some strange reason, I held off pushing the delete permanently button; allowing this person’s words to wash over my heart again and again. I marveled that a total stranger’s words, randomly shared on a blog she accidentally stumbled upon because she just “…had to share her story with someone”, could connect so deeply in my heart.  I sensed God’s Fingerprints all over this!

A young, single mom, living on the California coast went on to explain how she’d taken her four-year-old daughter, Emmy, for a walk on the beach that day earlier. As they strolled along, kicking up loose sand with bare toes; Mom picked up a shell lying on the beach nearby.  Reminded of her own childhood, she showed it to Emmy.  Mom explained to her how God had hidden the sounds of the ocean’s crashing waves down inside of the shell.  Delighted, Emmy reached for the shell and pressed it up against her ear.  Just as quickly, Emmy dropped the beautiful shell, screaming and holding her ear, crying out, “Ouchy!  Ouchy!”

Puzzled by her daughter’s reaction to what promised only to be a beautiful, Mother-Daughter moment on the beach, Mom picked up the shell again.  Cautiously, she examined it, soon discovering a disgruntled sand crab, the size of a quarter, hiding down inside of it!  Mom laughed until she cried while Emmy just continued to cry!  What had begun as only the shell of a past experience for Mom, ended for little Emmy as a very crabby beginning to her day on the beach!

Every new day holds its own promises for each of us.  Sometimes, without warning, those bright promises can turn into questions and speculations that number the grains of sand on the seashore. Life is a lot like this mother and daughter’s walk on the California beach that day.  One moment you can be walking in the sands of time, content with the promise of the familiar and the beautiful up ahead of you; and the next you are crying out in pain, wincing from the unexpected…or the unwanted.

Though this mom couldn’t foresee what little Emmy never expected…the same is not true of us in our own life. You see, we walk with a God Who Sees our life before we encounter it; even those unexpected things hidden in the darkness.

“He [God] changes times and seasons, He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.” (Daniel 2)

We walk through the sands of Time with the God who promises His children this:

“I have created you and cared for you since you were born. I will be your God throughout all your lifetime…”  “I will carry you along and be your Savior.” (Isaiah 46)

What better promises than these are there for the moments, days, weeks, and years up ahead of us?  After all, we know Who holds our hands…Who Directs our hearts… and Who Lights our darkness. Now, let’s just choose to let Him do it… while we kick some sand, walking with Jesus along our own beaches, blanketed with the Sands of Time.

HEART TRAPPINGS:

Have you ever seen the Fingerprints of God in your own life?  Where, in your own life, have you encountered people, stories, or circumstances so unusually placed, perfectly timed, or profoundly simple, they captured your attention long enough to change your heart’s thinking forever?  What will be your response the next time you encounter the un-expected in the middle of your life’s beautiful?  Whose Beach are you walking on?  Whose Hand are you holding?  Whose Light is lighting your way?

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, countless times I’ve walked the Sands of Time with You. Too often, I confess that when my hopes have been dashed, plans abruptly changed, the un-expected tramples me, or death snatches a loved one away; I am prone to behave more like little Emmy on the beach with her mom.  I turn loose of Your Hand and run away from You, crying and wincing in pain.  Help me realize I have turned loose of the only Hand that can Help me…the Only Eyes I can trust to Guide me…and the only Light I have in my darkness.  Thank You for seeing my life even before I encounter it.  Teach me to trust You more and to Seas the Moments I spend with You in the Sands of this Life!

“The beauty of the rose

lasts for a moment

but its memory can

last for a lifetime!

–unknown–

A Trail of Roses…

by Debbie Allen

Ever since I can remember, my heart has always been drawn to roses. Perhaps this fascination stems from my mother having shared with me as a child, that a vase of pink roses was the very first gift I ever received; after she brought me into this world. As a little girl, mom further cemented in my mind just how special roses are; the day she took me by the hand and showed me a couple of those same little rosebuds from the hospital; still pressed between two pages in my baby book.  Though much too fragile for me to touch, just seeing a lock of my baby hair taped beside its faded, pink petals stirred something inside my heart that day…something I wouldn’t understand or even be aware of until decades later.

That stirring process deepened every time my grandma asked me to work alongside her in her rose garden.  One day after she and I finished trimming-up all of her rose bushes, she stood watching me struggle to arrange a few loose pink buds and roses in a vase on her kitchen table. Questioning my own 7-year-old flower arranging skills, I turned and asked her, “Grandma, does this look ok?”

Without hesitation, she stooped down, pulling my face into hers; and with the world’s biggest grin, she responded, “They are just like you, my little Rosebud…perfect and beautiful!”  Standing there blushing, all I could think to do in that moment was to hug…hug…hug her; for even at the tender age of seven, I’d come to know and understand just how treasured a little rosebud could be in this world; and now I’d become one of them!

Though my grandma has long-since passed away, her endearing nickname for me remains a precious gift to my heart. Even today, when I’m working out in my own rose garden; I still hear the faint whispers of her voice calling me her little “Rosebud.”  That memory continues to warm my heart.  It was no accident that day when God allowed the nickname, “Rosebud” to fall from my grandma’s lips down into my heart.  I believe my Creator…the One Who ordered all the steps of my life and wrote them each down in His Book; already knew my life was destined to be repeatedly shaped and defined by the rose over and over again.

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The Rose exposes in its own beautiful ways; the tenderness of God’s Love for us.

“…the earth is filled with His tender Love.”

Psalms 33:5b lab

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Glancing back over my life since that time, it’s not hard for me to see that a growing trail of roses has been gathering behind me since birth. Not only were there my birthdays, holidays, school dances…my piano recitals, baptism, and graduation; but dating, love, marriage, and eventually the joyous births of my own three boys. Even with all of these, there were still countless other significant events and seasons in my life from childhood on; all marked somehow by the presence and beauty of roses.

  In more recent years, the rose itself even became the defining moment of my life! By the time I reached 60-years-old, the thought of getting a tattoo began resonating in my head. This was anything but a typical direction for me to be thinking in. I was more a tea-and-roses sort of girl…not an ink-and-tatts rebel.  But, with much prayer, God inspired me to blend these two opposing ideas together beautifully. I designed a wrist tattoo of a little pink rose; bearing the words “I AM His…” and the numbers “1:17” inscribed above it. My desire was two-fold. I wanted first, to convey to the world around me that “I am a child of God’s.”  The number’s 1:17 are significant because they represent my life’s chosen verse: Colossians 1:17, which reminds my heart daily of this truth: “All things hold together in Him.”

For the next three years after this, every morning when I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was that pink rose tattooed on my wrist.  It became for me an ever-present reminder to my heart, that I am precious and chosen by God…and that whatever else my day might hold; my God would hold me together no… matter… what. I believed these words with all my heart; or so I thought.  Then, one Saturday morning, I woke up half-blind in my right eye without warning. By the end of the next day, Easter Sunday, my vision was gone in that eye!  By the time I woke up on Monday morning, even focusing both eyes on my rose tattoo; I could only see half of the rose, and just two of the three words visible above it.  I whispered those two words softly to myself, “I AM.”  Though terrified by the thought of what was happening to my vision, I recognized there was something even more profound transpiring with my perspective.  Seeing ‘I AM’ standing alone and knowing it to be the Name of God; I began to see it differently, in my unexpected darkness. This was God’s Signature across my life in this moment. His lavish way of deepening me to the reality and intensity of what it is to bear His Name on my wrist; and to be called ‘His’.  I believed my Father was deepening me… telling His child, in this unwanted, unfathomable, and deeply personal way:

“Trust in Who ‘I AM’, and rely on Me,”

“I AM” … there were those words again. The words tattooed only skin-deep across my wrist for the last three years, were now descending deeper into the depths of my heart; spoken and planted there by my Father.  There was no question what my part was to be in this unwanted story. My role was to ‘trust and rely’ on the One Who “holds all things together” …including me.

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“If you are walking in darkness, without one ray of light,

trust in the Lord and rely on your God.”

Isaiah 50:10 ESV

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Seven years and three major eye surgeries later now, this child of His can tell you with all of her heart, that My Father did indeed, ‘hold me together’. Not only physically and emotionally…but spiritually, too. When the retina inside my eye unraveled that day…in my human frailty, I could’ve followed suit.  But my God, Whose Purposes far exceeded mine, chose to use my blindness to help me see Him more clearly.  Ironic as this sounds, the little pink rose on my wrist, the one I had tattooed there to draw the world’s attention to me, and my relationship with my God; was never intended by God to point me out to anyone. Only to point me back to Him…the Great “I AM.” The One and Only Answer to all… that I am not.

Too often, most of us don’t take time to recognize some of the most significant moments of our lives. Those Divinely timed moments are meant to help define and shape us into who God designed us to be.  For me, those significant moments came in the form of a trail of roses winding behind me throughout my entire life. I’ve learned to see this winding trail of roses in my heart, as God wrapping His Grace around me in every stage and changing season of my life. Now, as I look back over the memories of the roses planted there, I see roses that taught me how treasured a little ‘Rosebud’ could be in this life. I still hear my grandma’s whispers here. But now I know that even her whispers were meant to point my heart towards a Love much greater than even my grandma’s. They were pointing me to the God Who Loves me and calls me His Own.

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“Roses don’t just talk about God’s Beauty…they show it!”

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Every rose is somehow a reflection of God’s Love. Looking back over my own trail of roses, I see evidence of God’s Grace at every twist and turn. There are reflections of peace and love, joy and celebration, growth and flourishing, passion and gratitude, wonder and awe, and beauty unspeakable.  But… like the rose itself, there are thorns there, too.   Portions of my trail were darkened at times, by unwanted trauma and despair, sorrow and fear, pain and disappointment, sickness, and even death. In these places, I cried out more than once, “No rose could ever survive here!”

 But by the time I reached the other side of those thorns; I discovered I was wrong. Every time I dared to turn and look a little deeper at those thorns… I saw the most beautiful Rose ever… planted right in the midst of what my own heart deemed too broken, and too barren to sustain life.  It was the Rose of Sharon…Jesus, Himself! He was the Beauty in these despairing places.  His Beauty and His Presence were planted there to bring me rescue, redemption, and restoration.  Given the choice, I would’ve bypassed these thorny places; yet… at the same time, my spirit was strangely drawn here by the Presence of this Rose of Sharon, time and time again.  Though weariness often prevented me from seeing thorny places as anything but shadows and brokenness… my surrendered heart soon taught me to perceive them as the Sacred Place He’d chosen to shed His Light into my darkness. To kneel beside Him in these unwanted places is where I saw my faith was expanded and my Hope enlarged. Here…I experienced an undeserved exchange.  I received His Joy for all my tears… and His Wholeness for all my broken pieces.  

Every rose planted along this Grace-Laced, trail of roses still growing behind me; has somehow brought me closer to His Heart. But it’s my Rose of Sharon I still cling to the tightest.  His Beauty and Presence always come with the Promise of life and new beginnings; especially when we are called to walk in thorny places. Jesus is the One Whose timely Whispers brush up against His rosebuds in earthly gardens, and their tender petals begin to unfold, grow, and finally bloom in full. Likewise…the only Hope any ‘Rosebud’ on earth has of finding life, maturing, and flourishing in this world; lies in hearing and responding to the Tender Rushes of His Whispers against the petals of our own hearts.  For His Whispers are His Beautiful reminders of just how treasured a little ‘Rosebud’ can be in this world…and in the next!

“God will always guide you where to go and what to do.

He will fill you with refreshment even when you are in a dry and difficult place.

 He will continually restore strength to you, so you will flourish like a well-watered garden…”

–Isaiah 55:11 TPT–

Father in Heaven, thank you for filling this earth and our hearts with the Tenderness and Beauty of Your Great Love! Help us, Lord, to live making every day our love-gift back to You! You’ve spoken every day since I was born, through the Rose to my own heart. You taught me how treasured a Rosebud can be in this life. Through my own trail of roses…You’ve wrapped all the times and seasons of my life in Your Grace. Youve spoken to my heart of Beauty and Pain…Petals and Thorns…and of Sunshine and Shadow. You are in every season you call Your children to walk through. May we not just see thorns in the hard times; but dare to look deeper and see our own ‘ Rose of Sharon’ planted there in the midst of our brokenness. And like the Rose…enable us to hear and then respond to the brushes of Your Whispers against the petals of our own hearts; so that we may find at the end of all the thorns, we too, have blossomed and bloomed for Your Glory!

IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY…AMEN

“God has a bigger vision for

our friendships than we can

ever begin to understand.”

–Angela Sackett –

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The Glory of Friendship

by Debbie Allen

There is a divine beauty to be found in that moment when we first discover the gift of friendship has come our way in life. Instantly, two hearts can feel at home in each other’s presence. Even though they may have just met, they already feel like old friends. Ralph Waldo Emerson put this another way: “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”

Nearly a lifetime ago now, just such a friend stepped into my life. The first few moments of what was to become a life-long friendship, began in the hallway of the Baptist Church we attended with our families.   My best friend, whose name was also Debbie, and I were both young mothers still in our twenties, at the time.  After church one Sunday, Debbie and I decided just a smile-in-passing wasn’t enough anymore, so we stopped to chat face-to-face. Conversation flowed comfortably between us from the beginning. The only thing that was uncomfortable as we stood across from each other that day in the hallway was me. I couldn’t imagine Debbie seeing me as anything but a giant olive standing on two toothpicks! You see, I was v-e-r-y pregnant with my youngest son at the time. Of course, that was anything but true from Debbie’s perspective! She eventually shared with me that what she’d really seen that day when she looked across at me was… ‘the friend she’d been praying for so long for God to bring into her life.’

 You can imagine how very humbled this ‘olive standing on two toothpicks’ felt in that moment! SO humbled…but at the same time SO very grateful; for I, too, received a gift that day! The gift of true friendship which I still treasure, now over forty years later!

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“A friend loves at all times.”

Proverbs 17:17

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Debbie’s always been a true friend to me; the kind of friend whose footprints will remain imprinted in my heart for all eternity.  She and I have shared so many precious times together. At one point, we were seen so often together, we were dubbed by others as, “The Debbies”. Our response? “Two-gether is always better!” No one ever argued the truth of that!

Whether Debbie and I were away on a church women’s retreat, sharing coffee and chat at our favorite Starbucks, or sipping on a glass of cabernet while doing crafts in her basement, the camaraderie only grew sweeter and the friendship deeper because of those times we chose to pass sitting in each other’s presence.  Eventually, our friendship expanded to include our husbands and children.  In our younger years, our families camped, hiked and canoed together, times too numerous to count.  Debbie and I still reminisce fondly over all the memorable weekend getaways she and I planned and spent with our Hubbies.  There were also the seasonal concerts we attended, and the family sleepovers we participated in on New Year’s Eve for many years. Such occasions provided us the perfect back drop for engaging in an all-night game of Pinochle or Texas Hold ’em! And last but not least…there were the good old days of the Backyard BBQ’s and Bubinga Nights that will never be forgotten! Bubinga was a very special telescope Debbie’s husband, Bruce, designed and built by hand. He spent so many hours and such late nights working beside Bubinga; that Debbie came to refer to this ‘thing of great beauty’ as ‘the mistress.’ Of course…we all understood Debbie was just kidding. And yet… somehow Bubinga ended up in pieces; stashed between the bedroom closet and the farthest corner of the garage.  Perhaps Bubinga’s silent message to the world in all of this is, ‘Some friendships are meant to be, and some are not. LOL!

In all seriousness, friendship is not to be taken lightly in this life.  All friendships are built on a certain level of love, devotion and trust, but I consider Debbie and I’s friendship unique, in that it was also founded on the wings of prayer. God was and still is at the heart of our friendship. Because of that, the time we share together…whether in seasons of great blessing or in great sorrow, the bond of friendship is both deepened and heightened by God’s Greater Love present between us.

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“A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.”

Proverbs 7:9

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Finding a true friend who’s willing to take time out of their own life, to strengthen you with their presence and prayers, bless you with their love and devotion, and faithfully, encourage your heart with fresh hope and inspiration; is a rare and beautiful gift. Ecclesiastes 6:14 speaks of such a friend as being “a great treasure.”

 Through this legacy of friendship Debbie and I have shared down through the years, God has taught me that true friendship magnifies God’s Heart in so many ways. Friendship is about just ‘being with’ someone who allows you to be yourself in their presence; and they love you anyway. Over time, they become our most trusted confidants, and the prayer warriors our hearts can count on, to drop to their knees at a moment’s notice and struggle alongside of us in every season and through every storm of our life. We always have the freedom to laugh or cry and sometimes both, in the trusted presence of a true friend. Friends are always a phone call or text away, and never fail to step in and act as the timely voice of wisdom when our hearts are hurting the most.

Even as I write these words, I can’t help but see the Goodness of God’s Heart woven throughout the gift of True Friendship.  Every aspect of it points us to God’s Unconditional Love and His Abundant Grace. If I look a little deeper, I see the glory of friendship as two-fold. From my own experience I’ve come to look upon this gift as both a rare treasure and a great reward.

 A rare treasure, in that as we walk side by side in a true friendship before others, we become God’s earthly reminders to a hurting world that we don’t have to walk through life alone. There is Someone Who Loves us for who we are, no matter what. 

God also intended the gift of friends to be a great reward to you. When you feel the warmth of a friend’s arms around your shoulders, hear the voice of encouragement in your ears, or sense the strength that rises when a friend comes alongside you in your pain; your heart can know without doubt… that it is the very Presence of God Loving you through the gift of that friend He gave to you!  And that has to be the Greatest Reward that any true friend could ever receive on earth!

“The Faithfulness of God’s Love is the very Source of Love

that sustains and nourishes every true friendship.”

–D. Allen–

Dearest Lord, the treasure of true friendship on this earth is one of Your greatest gifts to us. Please help us to walk wisely within them, and to see friendships as the blessings you meant them to be to us. Thank you for the joy they bring us, for the prayers they pray with us, for the shelters they become to us, and for the encouragement they offer our hearts in every season. I praise You Jesus, for being our Greatest Friend in this life; and for the Faithfulness of Your Love, which is the very Source of Love that sustains and nourishes our truest friendships on earth. May our friendships continue pointing others to the One Who Loves them most in this broken world we live in. Your Friendship is our Greatest Treasure and our Highest Reward both now and forevermore! In Jesus Name…Amen

“Between every

two pines

is a doorway to

a new world.”

–John Muir–

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Frenzy in the Forest

by Debbie Allen

As a young girl, I remember spending nearly every weekend up at our family’s rustic, cabin during the summer months. My brothers and I loved it! Life was so different up there. For many years it was our home away from home on the weekends. Up at the cabin, my parents were far more relaxed. Even the dirt that seemed to follow us everywhere we went, didn’t seem to bother them.  It was almost as if my mom and dad expected us kids to get dirty. So, we did! We relished the idea of spitting watermelon seeds on the ground, wading in the muddy creek with our shoes still on, and playing for hours, taunting the campfire flames with our sticks; all without consequences.   Though many decades have passed since that time, my heart remains a treasure trove of precious memories linked to both my childhood and those carefree, cabin days. In many ways, those cabin memories and the experiences connected to them, have helped to lay the groundwork for how I chose to live my life out all these years! Let me show you what I mean.

It was early morning at the cabin, over 60 years ago.  While mom and dad were cleaning up after breakfast, I watched my brothers, Danny and Doug, removing a log panel on the frontside of the cabin. It was what we called, the secret door. It covered a hidden storage space.  A few hundred cobwebs later, they retrieved the old wooden ‘Red Flyer’ wagon from within that deep, darkness. Towing the wagon behind us, all three of us raced up the hill to our favorite spot, planning to ride it back down the mountainside! That wagon was the closest thing to flying we ever experienced as kids…even when the ride came to a crashing halt at the bottom of the mountain. Though the flight always came with turbulence, it proved exhilarating too, in spite of all our crash site injuries.

Most of the time, we’d spend half-days flying down that mountainside, but not on this particular day.  My dad’s cousins from Arizona, Weldon and Juanita, and their little girl, Elizabeth; were visiting for the day.  That meant all the men and boys were going to be hiking the wagon trail and exploring the remnants of a miner’s camp, on one side of the cabin property, while 5-year-old Lizzy and I spent our time wandering in and out of the forest trees on the other side of the cabin. My mom and Juanita just planned to sip campfire coffee all day long at the picnic table, while catching-up with each other. It sounded like the perfect plan for all of us…until it wasn’t.

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“IN THE WOODS WE RETURN TO REASON AND FAITH.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson–

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You see…Lizzy and I, and her baby doll, really did wander in and out of the forest trees for the rest of that morning. We were so busy laughing and talking, playing and gathering pinecones to make her dolly a forest bed to sleep in; I didn’t notice the cabin was no longer in my sights. Realizing nothing in our surroundings looked familiar to me anymore, my heart raced to the tune of my dad’s warnings to my brothers and I, whenever we played out in the forest.

“If you can’t see the cabin, then you know you’ve gone too far.”  

Up until now, I’d always abided by that rule.

“We’d better be heading back to the cabin, now.” I suggested to Lizzie, not wanting to scare her.  One of us shaking in our boots was enough.

Slipping her hand in mine, I picked a direction I thought was right and we started walking. But the trees grew thicker and thicker, and the pathway steeper. Every step I took led me to believe I was still going in the wrong direction.

Stopping to rest, I felt Lizzie’s eyes on me.

“It’s going to be ok, Lizzie.” I said with a forced smile.

My expression must’ve contradicted my words to her, because the next thing I watched Lizzie do was to pat her dolly’s back as if consoling her. 

“Shh-h-h, its ok, baby.” she whispered, “We’re just a little lost.”

I swallowed hard at Lizzie’s words. Hearing her say the word ‘lost’ out loud somehow made the reality of our situation too painfully real. What if we never get back? I thought to myself.

“You’re right, Lizzie…we are lost.” I admitted.  “And I’m not sure which way to go.”

I expected to see crocodile tears welling up in her blue eyes by now.  Even I was trying hard to blink tears back.  But the next thing I knew, Lizzie was wrapping one of my hands around hers, and the other around her dolly’s hand. She followed suit.  Soon, we’d formed what I now know to be a prayer circle, right there in the midst of all our forest frenzy. Our heads bowed; I opened my mouth to pray but Lizzie had already said it all for both of us. 

“Dear God…we’re just a little lost, so please send us a little help?  Amen.”

The forest was so hushed in that moment you could’ve heard a butterfly land on a wildflower.  But not for long. After Lizzie’s ‘amen’, that changed.  Something belted out a squawk so obnoxious, it startled us both to our feet. I felt Lizzie trembling, so I covered her ears and pulled her closer.  I just wanted whatever it was to go away…but it continued squawking even louder. And to that horrendous melody, the ‘squawker’ added chattering and screaming! Finally, still holding onto Lizzie, I spun completely around to find a giant, Blue Jay glowering down at me from one of the highest treetops on the mountainside!   Though I was deathly, afraid of birds, I somehow found it in me to glare right back at him. It seemed as long as I did so, he remained quiet.  In the silence of that ‘little-girl vs winged-beast’ stare down; I was able to capture the distant rumbles of a motorcycle growing closer. By the time its rumbles turned into roars, I knew the motorcycle passed us by, somewhere way up above our heads. While watching the Blue Jay fly off in the direction of the fading motorcycle sounds, something occurred to me. The road my dad drove me up here on must be up above us! All we had to do was climb up the mountainside to get to the road… and then follow the road back to where the cabin driveway intersected with it!

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“HE WILL SHOW THEM THE PATH THEY SHOULD CHOOSE.”

Psalm 25: 12b NLT

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With tremendous effort, Lizzie and I and her dolly did hike up the mountainside to the road that day.  I carried Lizzie a good portion of the way, so by the time we reached the cabin driveway it was a welcome sight. Though our young brows were drenched, our stomachs growling, and our lips parched, our hearts were filled with joy. Lizzie wriggled down out of my arms, and her feet hit the ground running at the sight of the cabin.  I wasn’t too far behind her! If the big-word, hallelujah, would’ve been a part of my little-girl vocabulary back then; the sounds of me shouting it throughout the forest would’ve far surpassed even the Blue Jay’s squawking that day! In much the same way Lizzie prayed for us earlier in the middle of our forest frenzy; this little girl with wisdom far beyond her years, again spoke enough for both of us. For the entire length of the driveway, Lizzie bolted towards our mothers’ open arms, shouting at the top of her lungs, “I been found… I been found!”

 My pounding heart could do nothing in that moment but fully agree with her; for I too… had been found.  By a squawking Blue Jay, planted on a branch and meant to draw my eyes upward…a roaring motorcycle, whose timely arrival pointed out to me the road home…and my God, Whose Hand of Love and Faithfulness I’ve been able to trace throughout many similar experiences, my whole life long.

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“HOW SATISFYING TO TURN FROM OUR OWN LIMITATIONS…TO THE GOD WHO HAS NONE.”

–A.W. Tozer–

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Dearest Father, Lord, and Savior…how deeply intimate and far reaching is Your Love. Yours is an endless Love that is beyond measurement.  It transcends our human understanding…and yet, it’s simple enough for a little child to grasp.  The little girl inside of me still cries out to you, “Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow…” for you are still Faithful to do so in every one of my life’s circumstances. “You are the hope of everyone on earth…” “You formed the mountains by Your Power…” “We stand in awe of Your Wonders.”  “From where the sun rises to where the sun sets, You inspire shouts of joy!” (Psalm 25:5b,6a,8b).  Lord, continue to show us the paths You choose for us and supply the strength and wisdom we need to walk on them in a manner that brings Your Name Glory!

IN JESUS NAME…AMEN

“Love recognizes no barriers.

It jumps hurdles, leaps fences,

penetrates walls to arrive at its

destination full of Hope.”

–Maya Angelou–

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Relentless Pursuit

by Debbie Allen

Spring has long been thought of as a season of new beginnings. Birds are singing again, bees are buzzing, and sleepy-eyed bears stumble from caverns of darkness into warm sunshine after long winter naps. The once cold, and lifeless soils of a season gone by now teem with the tiny, green shoots of newborn daffodils, crocus, and tulips.  Trees mysteriously, unveil both buds and fragrant blossoms, bursting forth on barren branches as a reminder to our winter-dulled senses of the coming beauty this new season holds!  Though it’s true these thoughts all lay at the heart of the Story of Spring, there is something much deeper and more profound than you can imagine still pressed between its pages. if we thumb through the story too quickly, our hearts are apt to miss it.

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“The Lover of Our Souls knows what thrills our hearts and speaks to our souls.”

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Many years ago, when I was still dating my husband, Jim, Spring came and almost went unnoticed. The world was in bloom all around me but, I was too preoccupied to dote on its beauty.  I was a busy twenty-year-old, working full-time as a checker in the same grocery store where I met Jim.  At the time, I was also living in an apartment located extremely close to a set of railroad tracks.  The rent price was right, or my roommate and I would’ve chosen very differently. The novelty of living by those railroad tracks wore off quickly every time the train whistle blew at midnight, and the intense vibrations from the train going by, sent the knick-knacks on my windowsill crashing to the floor.  As it ended up, the good that came from living next to those train tracks far outweighed these nuisances! 

One night, I returned home from work to find a beautiful bunch of Spring flowers in a vase on the kitchen table. 

My roommate explained, “Your sweetheart brought them to you…or should I say, he ran them to you!”

 Seeing my puzzled expression, she went on to explain that Jim, with flowers in hand, ran the train tracks stretching between his house and my apartment that night, just to bring me flowers! He intended to surprise me before he went away on a trip to California for a week. I called him every night he was gone to thank him for those beautiful flowers! Though I regretted missing him that night, the fragrance and beauty of those flowers became a lingering reminder of his sweet presence in my life.  They pointed me to the kind of man Jim was, and to the special love we shared. No one had ever done anything like that for me before.  As I stood out on the balcony that evening, looking down on those railroad tracks, I could only envision Jim running towards me with those flowers in his hand. My heart beat faster just thinking about it. There was something beyond special about being pursued in that way…and I’ve never forgotten it. 

That Spring season in my young life made an indelible mark on my heart. Not only did God provide me a beautiful picture of the heart of the man I was going to marry; He allowed my heart to see the image of Jim, running down those tracks toward me with flowers in his hand, as a stunning reflection of the way the Lord Himself pursues each of our hearts with His Love.   Intentionally…Faithfully…and Relentlessly!

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“With knowledge of God’s Love pursuing us every moment of every day of our life; why would we choose to run in any other direction but towards Him?”

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Not a Spring has passed since this time that I don’t look out my kitchen bay window and see the bold, bright colors of returning wildflowers, and the fragrant, pastel blossoms of the plum tree branches, as anything less than the flowers God is holding in His Hand…while He’s running towards my heart every Spring. They are the fragrant reminders of His Love and Sweet Presence in my life. The Lord’s Love for us is the greatest reason I can think of for calling Spring, ‘The Season of Love.’

Nothing on earth compares to being relentlessly pursued by the Lover of our souls.  Through every facet of beauty planted inside the Spring season, I sense God enticing our hearts to experience for ourselves the depth of Love He feels towards us. Much like the bouquet of flowers Jim surprised me with so many years ago; every petal and blossom of Spring expresses in its own way, the Lord’s desire to ‘be with us’ all the days of our lives. Every Fragrance is a sweet reminder of the Eternal Love He offers us, until His return.  With knowledge of such a Great Love pursuing us every moment of every day of our life; why would we choose to run in any other direction but towards Him? That’s a question each of us must answer for ourselves.  What will be your response, when you look down the tracks of your life and see the Lover of your soul running towards you, Flowers in Hand, in Pursuit of your heart?

“Your unfailing love is better than life itself…”

(Psalm 63:3 NIV)

HEART TRAPPINGS PRAYER: Father, my heart is so thankful You are the Lover of my soul. As the beauty of Spring surrounds us, enable our winter-dulled senses to see You truly are the Beauty found in the midst of every fold and flower in this season!  King David cried out more than once, “Your Love is better than life!”  Spring echoes this same cry in its own way at every turn. There is not one corner of creation that isn’t somehow a reflection of Your living Hope, Love, and Faithfulness.  As You did for my own heart years ago, grant each one of us a fresh vision of Your Intentional…Faithful…and Relentless Love, always in Pursuit of our hearts!  We love You beyond words, Lord.

IN JESUS NAME…AMEN

Love’s Portrait

by Debbie Allen

It’s often been said, “Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”  That ‘someone’ for my parents, Norm and Shirley Hutton, was the gift of ‘each other.’  They began their lives together as high school sweethearts, who fell in love and married soon after they graduated. For nearly 70 years, they walked together; side-by-side and fingers entwined, as each other’s soul mates, best friends, and lovers.  Sadly, the beautiful love story they shared over a lifetime was cut short this past year, when my mom passed away in December after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.   Over time, Mom and Dad became each other’s ‘everything.’  That’s why it’s not surprising to find my dad’s eyes pointed toward heaven occasionally, in search of her. No doubt, he sees my mom standing on Heaven’s Stairway looking back at him; their hearts both agreeing that if they could’ve lived their lives on earth all over again, they’d have done it sooner…so they could’ve loved each other longer.

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“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”

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 Not long ago, Dad and I sat sorting pictures to be used in my mom’s memorial service.  In all our digging, I ran across a heart-shaped pillow I’d made them for their 50^th wedding anniversary celebration.  On one side of that satin pillow was mom’s graduation picture, and on the other side, my dad’s. What a stunning couple they were! And what beautiful memories awaited them at that point in their life. As I ran my fingers over the heart-shaped lace, framing my mom’s young face, I found it hard to look upon that pillow as anything less than a portrait of love.  A precious reminder to me of the timeline so many of us walked with my mom throughout her life.  So many of those good times reflected the richness of who she and my dad were; especially when they were together. One memory in particular, stands out above the rest.

About six years ago, my mom was recuperating from pneumonia, and my dad ended up in the hospital with a septic gall bladder.  He nearly died from all the complications that followed. Recovery from it all was slow.  By the time Dad returned home from the hospital, there were many health restrictions placed upon him; and multiple visits to be made by home-care nurses and physical therapists. In addition, I made daily trips to their house, monitoring and recording his vitals on a chart. Because I was such a stickler about Dad doing everything the nurses told him to do, he lovingly, nicknamed me ‘Nurse Ratchet.’  One day, while I was busy doing all the things I was supposed to do for him, Dad was just as busy doing everything the therapist and nurses asked him not to do.  Eating fatty foods that aggravated his gall bladder, drinking juices that worked against his blood thinners, and walking about the room without his oxygen or walker anywhere in sight!  Frustrated, I felt Nurse Ratchet clawing her way up to the surface of me; more than anxious to deliver an impromptu health and safety lecture, geared for the elderly who hear…but do not listen!  My tongue, a willing springboard for Nurse Ratchet’s stern words at this point; was unexpectedly silenced. Nurse Ratchet was disarmed in a split second by the familiar touch of a Hand on my shoulder. It was Jesus’ Hand.

Feeling His Presence beside me and knowing Nurse Ratchet’s ways were not His Ways; I felt compelled to watch what I’d deemed as unwanted chaos in front of me; with a new set of eyes.  Speechless, I saw my dad pull the oxygen tubing off of his own face again.  But this time he hobbled a few steps closer to Mom. With clumsy fingers, he secured the halo under her nose, rounded it up over each of her ears, bringing it down to a point beneath her chin.  Ironically enough, my eyes were drawn to the undeniable heart-shape the oxygen halo formed, laying against the contours of mom’s face.   

“There you go, my love…” Dad told her, “…you need this air worse than I do.”

Kissing Mom on the top of her head, his final instructions came to her in a loving whisper.  “Now… just breathe.”

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“You gave me life itself, and incredible Love.  You watched and guarded every breath I took…”

(Job 10:12 MSG)

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That moment took my breath away! So often, God hides His Beauty right in the midst of our everyday struggles. Somehow, our struggles deepen us to His Presence and often leave us with the memory of an experience we carry around in our hearts for the rest of our lives.  Even now, the tenderness of this scene between Mom and Dad that day still brings fresh tears. It wrecks me spiritually, when I think of just how great a Love was on display before me that day. With His Hand resting on my shoulder, Jesus used this moment in my parents’ love story to reflect to my heart the Greatest Love Story there ever was or ever will be! Jesus’ Love Story.  A picture of God’s One-and-Only Son giving-up His Own Breath for us; the day He died on the cross for all our sins. His is the greatest story of True Love and Sacrifice our hearts will ever encounter.  He has already chosen you to be His own.  Will you not respond by choosing His Love Story for your own?  Allow the soft Whispers of the One Who Loves you most, to resonate deep in your soul. Hear His Voice reminding you, “Just Breathe…for not only are you My Love, you are My Life.”    My heart knows well, there is no greater Portrait of Love than this! 

 

                             

Dearest Heavenly Father, thank you for the beautiful portrait of love You gave me through my parent’s own love story. I will carry this priceless gift in my heart for the rest of my life. It continually points me to Your own Portrait of True Love.  Only Your Love is big enough to fuel our hearts for the many difficulties we are promised to encounter in this life. Stand by us, Lord, in those times.  Steer us clear of the endless counterfeit loves that lie in our paths every day. Tune our ears to hear Your Voice beckoning our spirits to, “Just Breathe…” for there is beauty in even our struggles.  Sustain us with Your True Love and may our hearts find comfort in this great truth:   

 “True Love bears all, endures all, and triumphs in the end!”

IN JESUS NAME…AMEN

The Great Unraveling

by Debbie Allen

“Beautiful things come together one stitch at a time.”

 My Junior High, Home Economics teacher, Ms. Dee, repeated this catchy phrase to my 8^th grade sewing class every morning for an entire semester. Yes…every single day that classroom swelled with the groans and sighs of teenagers, cringing at the dreaded sounds of those words filtering through our ears one more time. Despite constant opposition, Ms. Dee continued sowing her repetitious jingle into our minds, hoping that someday it might take root in our hearts.   But, our restless, teenaged, know-it-all ways, prevented most of us from grasping what Ms. Dee was determined to instill in each of us. Her simple, sewing truth:

‘If we took our time, followed all her tried-and-true guidelines and instructions… if we pressed-on one stitch at a time; then the end result always guaranteed us something beautiful in hand.’

A few students caught on to the beauty of her teaching; and sailed through their sewing projects to the finish line. Others of us, however, learned a brand-new lesson the hard way: ‘If we strayed, we paid!’

I, unfortunately, was one of those students who strayed, and paid.  Though it was anything but typical for me to behave in such a manner; the thought of falling behind on my sewing project and nearing the deadline for its completion, pressured me into thinking I had no choice but, to take things into my own hands.  I ignored the teachings of the sewing truth and replaced it with my only solution.  Cutting corners.  So much for Ms. Dee’s one-stitch-at-a-time theory. I stayed after school every night and went in early every morning, sewing fast and furious all the way! If sewing machines had tailpipes, mine would’ve been smoking! Needing to save time, I skipped over most of Ms. Dee’s guidelines, including tying knots in all the loose ends I’d cut; in every section being sewn together.

“After all,” I thought to myself, “who’s going to see it on the underside anyway?”

At the end of my marathon sewing sessions, I turned the jumper I’d made in to Ms. Dee on time; more than glad to be done with it!

The very next day, Ms. Dee called me up to her desk and told me I’d received an “A” on my jumper. I r-e-a-l-l-y couldn’t believe it; in light of the shady sewing tactics, I’d defaulted to.  I breathed a sigh of relief; thinking I’d gotten away with my bad choices and figured life would go back to normal.  That’s when I heard Ms. Dee make an unexpected announcement to our class. Every word of it filled me with dread and kept me tossing and turning every night for the rest of that week. 

“Class…as a reward for all your hard work, each of you are going to have an opportunity to model the piece of clothing you made for yourselves; in the auditorium, before your classmates and parents; at the first Junior High School Fashion Show ever!”

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“Beautiful things come together one-stitch-at-a-time …but, when you stray you pay.”

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The day of the fashion show, the words that pursued our class for an entire semester were now displayed on a banner stretched across the length of the stage: “Beautiful things come together one-stitch-at a-time.”

Most of the students who walked out and stood under those words, did so with great pride and a clear conscience. I felt as though I should’ve been standing under a banner all my own. One that read: “When You Stray, You Pay!”

Hearing Mrs. Dee call my name at the fashion show, I walked out onto the auditorium stage mortified; convinced that any minute all the loose threads I’d cut and left untied throughout my jumper were going to unravel and fall to pieces on the stage floor, while the whole world watched!  I flattened my boney, elbows so tightly down against my dress to help hold it together, my ribs hurt for two days afterwards!  It wasn’t the reward I was looking for.

The greatest reward I received at the Fashion Show that day wasn’t the applause or even the fact that the unraveling pieces of my jumper didn’t fall from my limbs after all. No…as I stood, trembling, beneath Ms. Dee’s sewing truth, my know-it-all, teenage heart finally grasped the reality of the dire consequences that are guaranteed to follow; when you replace truth meant for your own good; with your own misguided ways of thinking.

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“God’s ‘Banner of Truth’ remains hanging over us, regardless of the choices we choose to make.”

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 After the fashion show that day, I scurried home and hung that infamous jumper, front-and-center in my closet; where it remained for many years. I left it turned inside-out; as a visual reminder to my heart of the day of The Great Unraveling…not only for a dress but, for a young teenage girl.

Though this story wasn’t one of my finest moments in life, I share it with you because it still speaks volumes about how each of us are called to live our lives before our Heavenly Father. We are given the opportunity to walk one-step-at-a-time, drawing our instruction and directions from God’s Word. If we let Him teach us, His Word instills Wisdom in our minds—acting as a lamplight to guide us on the pathways of our life. His Banner of Truth hangs over all of us, regardless of our choices. 

This world is our stage and the way we walk beneath His Banner of Truth matters more than you can ever imagine.  There will come a day when God calls your name, Will you walk out and stand beneath His Banner of Truth with unbridled joy, knowing His Word lives inside of you, and your faithfulness to model His Son on earth are His Greatest Joy?    Or will you be the self-guided one filled with regret, who traded away God’s Wisdom for folly, and modeled your own mis-guided ways before a watching world? And when your life came apart at the seams, you realized far too late:

“When you stray from God’s Truth and Guidelines for living life… you pay with your own soul for all Eternity!”

Heavenly Father Above, forgive us for bending Your beautiful Truths and for exchanging them for our own ways. Our world is full of Truth Benders. But, when the untied threads of our earthly lives begin to unravel—we feel the error of our own ways.  Our feeble hearts pound and our spirits reel at the thought of having made so many wrong choices in life, even though deep down, we knew better. Lord, hear our desperate cries.  Strengthen our hearts and keep us from yielding to the world’s mis-guided ways of thinking. Enable Your children to stand strong in this next year, under Your ‘Banner of Truth’. For we are not capable of piecing our own lives back together without Your Truth…Your Wisdom…and Your Perfect Guidance!   We Love You, LORD! IN JESUS NAME…AMEN