Monthly Archives: August 2012

Cyber-words

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A few years ago, if you’d have asked me what cyber-friendship was, I couldn’t have answered. Now I not only have an answer, I have lots of cyber-friends. All kinds of readers from every corner of the globe have allowed me to become electronically acquainted with them, and I’ve kept a cyber-file of their stories.

Since my book was published [Hope for an Aching Heart, at left], many people have detailed specific help they’ve received from its pages, and the email quoted below is an example that was deeply moving to me.

Bev writes:

I purchased your book from DHP [Discovery House Publishers] recently, in hopes that it would help me get through the crisis I am experiencing in my life right now.

My husband of 37 years left me without warning, to be with another woman.  To say I was devastated would be putting it mildly.  I thought my life was over.  I thought we would spend the rest of our lives together, but it was not to be.  I am having an extremely hard time dealing with this.  I saw your book in a leaflet from RBC.  Knowing that I am going through most of the same feelings, emotions and challenges that a widow would, I thought maybe this book could be of some help.  It’s been amazing!

Ninety-five percent of the book pertains to what I am going through.  I just substitute ‘single woman’ for ‘widow’ and ‘marriage breakdown’ for ‘husband’s death.’  I am finding great comfort and help from this book.  The prayers at the end of each chapter are wonderful and very pertinent.

Perhaps you could mention it in a blog or elsewhere on your site, that it might be a helpful book also for women who are going through a marriage breakdown and divorce, especially if it’s been a sudden event for them.

God bless you!

Sincerely,
Bev

I’m thankful for Bev’s openness and her willingness to share her heartbreaking story (used with her permission), and I want to encourage anyone enduring marriage struggles to take her advice. The reason she’s found hope is that my book is laced with pieces of God’s book, life-changing truth that can supernaturally jump off the page and into our lives, no matter what the situation. His book is “living and powerful.”

What does that mean?

Hebrews 4 tells us the words of Scripture “discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” That isn’t just so it can judge us. It’s also for the purpose of determining what our hearts need so it can help us. Bev found that even though the book was aimed at widows, God met her in her non-widow circumstance because his Word actively discerned her need and then blanketed it with encouragement and love.

I’m thankful for my new cyber-friend Bev and also for the Lord, because I know he’ll never be at a loss for words… not even in cyber-space.

 “The word of God is alive and powerful… It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)

We have no idea.

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Each morning when we wake up, we look at the ceiling above us and run through our plans for that day, even though we have no idea what might unfold. By the time our heads are back on the pillow looking up at the ceiling that night, it may have all panned out differently.

Take today, for example. If my cottage had a revolving door, it would never be still. Louisa left this morning, returning Saturday. That was just about the time Klaus arrived, leaving an hour later. Nelson departs tomorrow, returning Sunday. Hans and family called today to confirm airplane arrivals from England, and Linnea’s family is firming up another visit from Florida. Lars comes and goes from Chicago, and Birgitta and I are in and out daily.

As the front door opens and closes, each arrival and departure is loosely based on our calendars and date books, and all of us have expectations for every day. But what if our plans don’t click quite right? What if something goes wrong?

When Klaus left this afternoon he said, “See you tonight!” but when he arrived, it was with an unidentifiable racket that reverberated through the neighborhood. As he turned into our driveway, the ball joint from his front wheel snapped off the frame of his car, throwing it sideways and bringing him to a screeching stop, metal on asphalt.

When we saw the wheel, it was evident God had prevented a terrible accident. Most of Klaus’ driving is done on roads with a limit of 70 mph. Had the wheel come off at that speed, the car’s response would have been chaotic and catastrophic with him inside. All we could say was, “Wow….”

Scripture tells us God watches over our comings and goings. It doesn’t say he always prevents accidents or brings us to our destination every time, but he does promise to watch, noticing everything that happens to us. And because he uses his great power to affect change, we probably have no idea how many accidents he has averted for us. Tonight he let us identify one of them.

What confuses us is that some accidents God doesn’t prevent. Others he does. We know he has significant reasons for each of his choices, but that can be hard for us to swallow. The disasters he doesn’t prevent impact us heavily, and without understanding the why’s behind them, we bristle with frustration and anger. But it’s important to recognize that many of the accidents he does prevent are unknown to us. We have no idea how many there are, and we don’t give him credit for any of those.

Tonight I do want to give him credit for protecting Klaus and for planning for his wheel to fall off while going 7 mph instead of 70.

Thank you so much, Lord, for today, and for all those other times you protected us when we were unaware.

“The Lord will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8)

 

Happy Birthday!

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While driving home from Sunday brunch, Louisa, Birgitta, Nelson, and I had a conversation about whether or not time exists in heaven, in days, months, or years. Scripture includes several references to time, which then led us to talk of birthdays. Nate’s birth date was last Saturday, and we wondered aloud if annual celebrations have continued in his new community.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “That’s an earthly thing.” (Everybody knows people don’t get old in heaven.)

But Louisa said, “I think the opposite, that birthdays do continue. But maybe instead of celebrating the day you were born, they celebrate the day you began, which is the day you were conceived.”

While we were thinking about that, Birgitta came up with another scenario. “Maybe it’s the day you arrive in heaven. Maybe that’s the date they celebrate.”

Then Nelson added, “You mean a person’s death date.”

“Yes.”

Death date = birth date? Quite possible.

Later in the afternoon we were still pondering our birthday party question. Nephew Andrew said, “Maybe they’re celebrating birthdays linked to the day someone becomes a Christian.” That made sense as we remembered Scripture’s reference to being born again.

Andrew’s wife Kim offered yet another idea. “A birthday party is all about one person, and that much focused attention seems a little selfish for heaven.”

But then Louisa said, “Maybe the only important birthday will be Jesus’. And what date would that be? Probably the day he rose from the dead, which is when spiritual birth dates became available to the rest of us.”

Who knew birthdays could get so complicated?

We didn’t come to any conclusions, but thinking about heaven is something most of us like to do. Sometimes I feel like I have one foot in this world and one in the next, which isn’t a bad way to live. I don’t want to be so heavenly minded I’m no earthly good, but it’s a nice idea to live each day with an awareness that the life around us isn’t all there is. Each of us has a “some day” when this familiar world will recede and eternity will engulf us.

So how do we prepare for that?

We remind ourselves, when trouble comes, that heaven’s trouble-free existence is real and will one day be ours. And when everything is going fine, we marvel that something even better is coming. Then, between the difficult periods and the good times, we speak gratitude to God for planning a spectacular future for us. And while we wait, we practice patience, knowing he’ll transition us when our new home is ready.

I’m not sure about all this birthday business, but I do know one thing: if life in heaven includes any birthday parties, it’s going to sound pretty amazing when legions of angels join in on the “Happy Birthday” song.

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth… into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1:3-4)