Thoughts from my side of the river...
Flowers from God …
Diane, who is a pen friend from Florida, wrote in a mail:
"If we are God's children, we can see all things as coming from Him."
A month ago I got a present from God. When I came to the office and entered my room there was a flower standing on the windowsill. I haven't had any flower there before and didn't know who put it there.
The cleaning lady came in the corridor and I asked her if she had put it there. She smiled and said yes. She had taken the top from a plant in the waiting room and re-planted it in a flower pot. I thanked her and told her it was a very nice surprise.
This doesn't sound too exciting, but it is to me. This cleaning lady had been very silent and looking down most of the time. She had done her work in a quiet way and been kind of invisible to the rest of the staff. Somebody even complained that she didn’t answer when spoken to.
I decided to greet her every morning or whenever we would meet in the corridor. Eventually she started to respond to my small talk and also made some short comments. And now I got a flower and a smile from her. What made my heart also jump with joy was that in the morning when I was driving to work I said something like "… dear God, I would be grateful if you remembered me too". And so he gave me a flower and he used somebody who doesn’t even know that she is a messenger from God.
I know God likes to give flowers because it has happened before. Years ago after doing some grocery shopping I stopped by at a garden center just to walk around and look at all the beautiful flowers. I was feeling very low and it was comforting to wander around. For a moment it would take my mind off some serious problems at the time.
I ended up buying topsoil for my flowerpots and when I stood at the counter the owner put an orchid in my bag. I said:” I didn't pay for an orchid” but he answered "Today is a day for an orchid” and I left with a very beautiful flower. I cried in the car because God had shown me he cared and it was like he wanted to say “Cheer up child; it isn’t as bad as you think and I’m still in control”
So I totally agree with Diane’s sentence. What was it Apostle James wrote again?
“Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”.
James1:17
There is a throne …
On the refrigerator door in my kitchen there is a poster with the Paschal Lamb holding a flag of victory. Underneath the picture it says:
There is a throne and it stands in heaven.
Everything else is small chairs, footstools and taborets
that the mighty men of this world make themselves more or less broad on. ….
It gives a certain perspective to what is heard and seen during a day, don’t you think?
The image of the Lamb of Sacrifice is taken from the Book of Revelation, Rev. 5:12
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and praise!"
Psalms 148 is so refreshing and gives me such joy every time I read it because the focus is on God Almighty.
When men of earthly power declare that God doesn’t exist; when man of earthly power stipulate laws that prohibit the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; when men of earthly power rise up and declare themselves to be like God and claim worship for themselves; then it is such a joy to read psalm 148 and totally agree with the song writer when he says:
Praise The Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens
Praise him in the heights above
Praise him all his angels
Praise him all his heavenly hosts
Praise him sun and moon
Praise him all you shining stars
Praise him you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies
Let them praise the name of the Lord
For he commanded and they were created
He set them in place for ever and ever
He gave a decree that will never pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth
You great sea creatures and all ocean depths
Lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
Stormy winds that do his bidding
You mountains and all hills
Fruit trees and all cedars
Wild animals and all cattle
Small creatures and flying birds
Kings of the earth and all nations
You princes and all rulers on earth
Young men and maidens
Old men and children
Let them praise the name of the Lord
For his name alone is exalted
His splendor is above the earth and the heavens
He has raised up for his people a horn
The praise of all his saints
Of
Praise the Lord.
Eternity in the hearts of men …
The phone rang. On the other end of the line was a voice telling me that an elderly lady had been found dead in her home.
When driving to her house, suited in the countryside beside a small lake and with blue mountains gleaming in the horizon, I kept thinking of the phone call I had to make to her daughter. How do you say in a gentle way that her mother has passed away when the person is hours away and there is no way to filter the words “she is gone”.
When I entered the house I was greeted by the cat. He never was far away from the mistress of the house and he used to observe my movements whenever I visited. He sensed something wasn’t right when he was put outside with food and water not permitted to lie down beside the lady as he used to. (… and the answer to your question is: a neighbor gave him a new home)
I walked into the bedroom and there she was in her bed with her hands folded over her chest. Death had obviously tip-toed while she was sleeping and had already set its marks and as I stood by her bedside I felt the same as I would feel for a tiny baby; so fragile and so different from the lady I had chatted with many times during the summer.
There was no way to postpone the phone call and so I dialed the number. The conversation that followed was between one woman crying and one trying to comfort. But words are hard how soft ever spoken and they are not enough to ease the pain for the one who receives such a message. A woman of high social standard, position and control looses control for a moment and is brought back into the state of a child that has lost its direction and the word “fragile” enters my mind again.
More phone calls were made, arrangements were taken, and the lady was carried from her house by strangers and I locked the door behind her for the last time. A strange feeling followed me the rest of the day as if it was a mistake and I would see her again the next week.
Some time ago, through the internet, I read a whole different story from a country far away from my part of the world; involving a young man with his whole life ahead of him; as it seems.
I don’t know anything about this man except for what has been said about him in the media. He gets praise and criticism, often from the same source, and many have their firm opinion about his looks, how he conducts himself and everybody seem to know him although I’m sure nobody does. From what is told he grew up under ordinary circumstances but is now a man of fame and fortune. He is an actor, who has made successful appearances in dramas on TV and film, and he is also a businessman and one of the biggest stock-holders in his part of the world, which gives him the opportunity to buy whatever pleases his eyes, and yet … he is also fragile.
In a moment when his body refuses to cooperate with his ambitions and his “around the clock” work, he has to be admitted to a hospital in order to get some new strength. After a week he stands smiling in a press conference promoting his new book and I wonder what is taking place behind that bright smile and tired eyes. All attention is directed towards him and I can tell he is really focused to hold everything together in that moment. Later in an interview he says that although he has everything something is missing. And so he gives some examples of what he is lacking but words from Jesus to another young man in another time comes to my mind. A young man who asked how to achieve just one more thing … eternal life.
This is two different faiths of life but the anonymous old lady and the rich and famous young man have more in common than we might think..
My "encounter" with them brought these Bible verses to mind.
The word of God says in Ecclesiastes 12
… Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say “I find no pleasure in them …Remember him before the silver cord is severed or the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
or the wheel broken at the well
and the dust returns to the ground it came from
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
… and in Psalm 139 King David is aware of the fact that
… all the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be…
… and so Moses, the mighty man of God prays in Psalm 90
… teach us to number our days aright
that we may gain a heart of wisdom …
Why?
… Ecclesiastes 3 says:
…God has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men …
… “Eternity in the hearts of men” …God is the giver of the spirit and he has filled our spirits with a longing for - HIM. And nothing can replace that longing for HIM. Not a righteous life depending on my own actions of hard work and well behavior; not millions of dollars to secure the future; not tradition and good heritage; not rituals and self-made philosophy; or whatever can be imagined as a substitute for the only true meaning of life; Jesus. I haven’t by this said that there is something wrong with being rich and famous, being a good person and living a long life as a good citizen but the main question is this;
… if Jesus is a stranger to any of us, we have missed it all.
You may be a decent person who pay taxes and go to sleep with a satisfied conscience but without Jesus you are not holy and how do you then enter into heaven? …
Only by accepting what Jesus has already done on the cross. Accept his goodness and turn away from your own actions and turn to his. Stand before God in the name of Jesus instead of your own. If you think it sounds too easy I assure you that nothing about the cross was easy. The blood was real and the price paid was enormous. And the real name for it all is: GRACE
Jesus is the only answer to the emptiness in our souls. Nothing but the blood of Jesus will ever cover the blemishes of our lives that we try so hard to cover up and nothing but Jesus can fill the emptiness that we face without him, if we dare take a look at our lives in a moment of truth. Without Jesus; without his saving arms around our lives; without him – we have missed it all.
In Matthew 16 and Mark 8 Jesus says to his disciples:
… whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world; yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with his holy angels.
In Mark 10 it says that Jesus looked at the young man and loved him. “One thing you lack” Jesus said. Go sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come follow me”
If the one thing I lack is Jesus; I’m afraid I lack it all. And whatever you and I must do in order to be able to follow him I have to tell you: it is worth it. AND it is a comfort that while we struggle with the decision, to follow him, he still loves us. In his pleading to us to follow, there is no judgment or resentment. He tells us our story honest and gentle and he always remain trustworthy and true to us in his advice to simply follow him.
Paul reminds the reader in 1Cor. 15 about what is most important
“ Now brothers; I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time … and last of all he appeared to me also as to one abnormally born for I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called apostle; because I persecuted the church of God. But by the GRACE of God I am what I am and his GRACE to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the GRACE of God that was with me. Whether then it was I or they; this is what we preach and this is what you believed”
About death he has also some comforting word in 1 Thess. 4
“… Brother we don’t want to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
When God created man from dust he made a choice to insert something from himself into that form called man. He chose to insert the seed of choice. It is a divine seed and the Creator also chose to LOVE his creation, a creation that is able to love him back. But the choice is ours.
“Nevertheless”
This entry is extracted from “Journey Through the Gospel of John”; a weekly devotional from Marchiano Ministries, written by Sally Herman, who has given permission to publish it on His Heart For You. It meant a lot to me and I hope it will encourage you, dear reader. ~ Ida
There is a menagerie of words that can be used to express human pain of every kind. Words such as affliction, anguish, anxiety, beatings, distresses, fightings, labors, perils, persecutions, sorrows, stripes, sufferings, tears, tragedy, tumults, weakness, despair---in which all snap and snarl at describing such inconsolable anguish that any kind of comfort seems out of reach and unimaginable. Yet, in the midst of the most pain-filled experience there is this one word:
“Nevertheless”
"Nevertheless, God, who comforted those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus..."
II Corinthians 7: 6-7
Sometimes, “Nevertheless” comes in at the right time to heal by a mere human touch.
A dad sent his little daughter up to bed and then heard her whimpering and crying. He went upstairs to check on her.
"What's the matter, darling?"
"Daddy, I'm scared in here alone."
"But you're not alone," he explained. "Jesus is right here with you." This small child thought about this for awhile and replied, "I know, but I want somebody with skin on their face."
How many times have we felt the same way in the midst of our own personal anguish and great fear? How many times has just holding someone's hand brought a tsunami of great relief?
Human touch never scolds the grieving widow for her grief or dismisses her pain lightly. Human touch would never tell the hurting in the midst of their pain that they do not hurt, nor do they have a right to hurt.
Wordless in the face of someone's tragic pain?
We do have one thing to say...”Nevertheless, we are here.” We are the Spirit of God with skin on our face.
Just after returning from South Africa there is such a great sense of ... 'what did I really give in the midst of such hurt, pain, horrific sufferings and daily anguish that really made a difference?' Oh, Lord... they need so much! What was the purpose of going to South Africa if there was as much pain upon leaving---as there was in the coming?
Well...
I was given peace yesterday. Called-out to a tragic scene of great impact and great human suffering, my patient was a very tiny 80 yr. old woman who was suffering a massive heart attack from the stress of the accident. Her EKG on my monitor showed me her heart was 'breaking'. And, there was nothing I could possibly do to stop her pain. No amount of drugs and procedures that I had tucked inside my skill level would bring relief to her crushing chest pain. I could only perform palliative care and hold her hand while transporting her to a cardiac catheterization lab as quickly as possible. She would surely die, otherwise.
As she wreathed on my stretcher back and forth in excruciating chest pain, I was aware of this one thing: when I would give her high doses of pain medication---her pain would march on; however, when I would gently held her hand under all the wires and machinery---she lay quiet. It was in those heavy moments the Lord spoke clearly to me.
He said, "Sally, many times you try to ease human suffering through proper words, procedures, policies, theology, and attending conference after conference seeking the newest methods for relieving human suffering---when, all I want you to do is....BE THERE.”
Nevertheless, I am here with you…Nevertheless, we are here, together..
Sometimes, that is all that matters.
As I left my beautiful elderly patient in the care of the cardiac surgical team, she grabbed my hand and said, "Thank you for being here...Thanks for holding onto my hand…"
In the light of healing and fixing what was wrong, I did nothing. In the scope of the vast needs of South Africa and the stories I witnessed and heard--I did nothing. But yet, if Titus brought comfort to the sufferings of the Apostle Paul by only just being there then just maybe, that is enough.
Nevertheless--maybe God calls us just to be there.
When we have exhausted all our own knowledge to help others---maybe that is where God wants us to be.
Maybe, we look more like God wearing skin when we are just there holding onto a hurting someone's hand.
Nevertheless, be there.
Let's all be ready and not afraid to respond to human suffering even in our own weaknesses and shortcomings. Let it always be said:
“Nevertheless, we were there.”
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“In which we now stand . . .”
I started to read Romans a while back and stopped to “rest” in Chapter 5 for various reasons.
One reason is that the word of God has been silent for a long time and in Chapter 5, it finally “came alive” again so I wanted to remain in it and dwell on it for as long as it took to anchor it in my innermost me.
Therefore, I would like to share a "picture" from Verse 2 of Romans Chapter 5. However, this is somewhat dangerous because what I “saw” might be just for me so that I could get a deeper understanding of what I was reading. Yet, I will take that chance in hopes that some of you might “see” what I “saw”.
Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into the grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Now follow me as I paint this “picture”:
I am walking along a road in the countryside. It’s a place dressed in its finest summer raiment. As I walk along, I reach a gate that leads into a deeper pasture with trees and extensive fields. I open the gate and, as I walk through the gate, I realize I have stepped into something. I look down and realize that I am standing in . . . GRACE.
When I look around, I see that GRACE is everywhere. There isn’t one inch that isn’t covered with GRACE. I am actually stuck in GRACE. I turn around and see a person leaning on the gate, looking at my surprised appearance and me. He does not speak but looks at me and I just know who the gate actually is and why I am stuck in GRACE.
Well … I sent this to my friend, Carol, and Carol was kind enough to add to my thoughts:
“As for the gate, I believe this explains it…”No man comes unto the Father but through the Son.” What you saw in the scenery sounds so beautiful and peaceful, a resting place. You said, “I was stuck in grace” yet you were also able to turn and see the person leaning on the gate. The grace became a support to your wish to move about. And no matter if you had chosen to move forward, from side to side, or even if you chose to turn back and run to the gate I believe the grace would have expanded and you would still be in that saving grace never to go beyond our “gate keeper" Yeshua.”
Yes, GRACE is a resting place, a support, and lifesaving state to be “stuck” in and it is all because of Jesus. The Apostle Paul is saying, “in which we now stand” in contrast to where he had been standing before. He had lived an irreproachable life according to the Law, he had kept his life clean according to his tradition and he was zealous for God. Yet when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, there was a revelation inside Paul; there was something else going on. He was fighting the GRACE itself. Paul needed to get new eyes; he needed to know about the gate and enter through it into GRACE no matter how well he had lived his life according to his beliefs.
I would say that the life of Apostle Paul took a more difficult but wonderful turn. He was just as zealous for God as before but with a different perspective. He no longer had to achieve righteousness by his own works but could live a righteous life through faith in Jesus; and, in this faith, he had a hope far better than before. He could rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Moreover, so can I. I tend to forget that. Rejoicing does not come easy to me and I think that is why the Holy Spirit pointed out GRACE to me in this way. I needed the reminder.
When I fetched the newspaper today, I noticed a piece of paper at the bottom of the mailbox. I did not have my glasses on and, had it not been for the color, I would have missed it. It was red and shaped in the form of a heart. There was something handwritten on it but I could not read it until I came inside to put on my glasses. It said:
When you realize how incredibly
much God loves you
you cannot do otherwise
than live your life
spreading that love.
I have no idea who wrote it or even when it might have been placed in the mailbox. Yet, as I look at it now on my desk, I realize that I have yet to fathom the full depth of “incredibly much” and all the wonder and GRACE that comes along with the love of God.
Ida Heldt
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“Survival Kit”
I found an article written by pastor Ulf Ekman on his blog ( http://ulfekman.nu/ only in Swedish) and here are some excerpts I would like to pass on to you. In building “holy habits” this could be a helpful start (and a help to fight a bad conscience). These are practical advices given by a man who, in my opinion, has a shepherd’s heart for his sheep and his words can be trusted.
Ida
…We have different habits, temperaments, and ways of doing things. What will function in the long run must be adjusted to your personality. At the same time, we cannot just follow feelings and impulses, but slowly and firmly build holy habits...
…We must be disciplined without falling into the pit of legalism. Legalism kills joy. It is important to know that the devotional life is not “spiritual gymnastics” or a “diet” you have to endure alone without Jesus. He stands there every morning, longing to talk with us…
1) When you wake up: Say “Jesus”. Repeat his name as you step out of bed.
2) When you have turned off the alarm clock; reach for the Bible and read at once 2 Bible verses (not more)…this we all can do.
3) Pray silently with tongues on your way to the shower. It makes your “inner self” praise Jesus instead of meditating on the concerns of the day. (If you have an issue with “tongues” use your own language; my remark.)
4) Include in your breakfast prayer the events of your schedule for the day, so you will hand over the whole day into the hands of the Lord.
5) Try to have a 10 minute prayer and Bible reading time before you rush off to work.
6) Take a small pocket New Testament with you. Read it whenever you can; on the bus, when you have a break at work, etc.
7) Try to read through the Bible every other year. During the alternate year, try to study one book of the Bible more carefully.
8) Pray for the food and bless each meal, thanking God for what you receive.
9) Pray short, specific silent prayers for special events at work and for certain people.
10) Try to pray in the evening and if you like to read in bed, end your day with the Bible so that you go to sleep with a word from God.
11) Repeat the name of Jesus until you fall asleep.
12) Don’t begin all new steps at the same time. Try what works for you. Don’t lose heart if it doesn’t work the first time. You will see that your day more and more becomes surrounded by God’s presence. Prayer is wonderful because Jesus is wonderful."
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“I Am Confident of This …” …that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:6) These past weeks have been hectic for the farmers in our area. As soon as the fields dried up they started their work from dusk to dawn. I have passed them mornings and nights and seen the changes and eventually they have made the final sowing and the fields lay there waiting for the seeds to grow. As a former farmer I know how endless it seems; looking out on the field with dry, hard ploughed furrows and knowing all the works that has to be done in order to achieve the harvest in the fall. At first it is a rather bumpy ride over the field but after several rounds with the harrow the surface gets smoother and finally you have a field ready for the sowing machine. After the sowing machine you have to use a roller to make the seed stay in the ground and at the same time you flatten the ground even more to make it easier for the man handling the harvester. And I was thinking about you and me as Christians and the “fields” of our hearts worked on by the Holy Spirit. What “fields” is He plowing, harrowing and sowing in your life? What does it look like when He ponders over your heart? Are there stones, weeds, hardened and dry land? I think you get the picture and what I want you to consider is this -- don’t think for one moment that He will let any "field" of your heart stay unaltered and left alone. There is a sign put down in the soil of your heart where it says: “Work in progress.” Ida * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“God became a father to a fatherless”.
There should have been another article by now; but no article; just a big silence. Starting on one . . . deleting . . . starting again . . . giving up.
Then . . . I’m looking for an address, kept somewhere in an e-mail; searching and searching and realizing it is gone; but I stumble over a letter that dates from years ago and while reading it again I realize; there it is; the writing for His Heart For You. So, I send an e-mail to the author of the letter and ask permission to share extracts from it with you readers. I receive a “Yes” and it opens up another article. I hope that it will encourage and bless you, as it has been a blessing to me.
God blessed me with this wise Jewish lady and good friend years ago because God already knew back then that I would need her wisdom in the future, when life would be tough.
“Dear Ida,
Finding the words to respond to you about your father compared to our God has been difficult. I’m not a professional when it comes to understanding the complexity of the parent/child relationship. I do believe, from what you’ve expressed, that your father did indeed break your spirit. That can be so devastating. Probably the scar that lingers from this is a sense of shame. A person has a hard time lifting their head and feels as low as their spirit. God never intended this to happen in any one of His children’s lives. I remember what we learned in a Hebrew class that left me with an impression of our Creator that expresses how God is filled with love.
There were only two times in the history of the world that God turned his face away from anything on earth. When you understand the Hebrew description of the account of the second day of creation, it is so much more than God commanding the waters to separate. God actually ripped apart water from water. Life was ripped from life. It is understood that God did not look upon this because it was too painful and that was the only day during the creation that He did not declare it to be good. This is so we can know that He does experience pain. And then He turned away as Yeshua had to bear all our sins and pay the ultimate sentence that gave us freedom. Once again, He couldn’t look upon the separation that had to occur between himself and Yeshua in order for the Work to be complete. Again, life was ripped from life. He can’t point His finger at your faults. Yeshua carried them by His power on His body and as He was crucified and dying His lifeblood ran out of Him covering your faults, sins and my faults and sins. Can’t you imagine the love that must have prompted Him to defend us, to “stay” our sentence of eternal separation from Him? He not only pardoned our sins He said, “I’m the lifter of your head.”
There is no shame and He is not disgusted with you in what you feel is a lack of faith. Every time those feelings arise, remember that the evil one comes at us from every angle he can and he’ll strike right at our heart. Yeshua came to not only save man but to bring peace in our midst. The evil one brings doubt and confusion and a false sense of isolation. There isn’t one trial we confront in life that we face alone. I know that God has a way to fix a broken spirit. Put a chair by your bed.
A young Jewish man who really doubted God existed told one of the greatest stories I heard years ago. So, he sarcastically plunks down a chair by his bed and said, “O.K. God, if you really exist come sit in this chair!” Night after night, he would go through this ritual. Night after night, something began to happen. The Holy Spirit began softening his spirit and opening his heart. The young Jewish man began talking to God in that chair in the dark of the following nights. He not only came to believe in Hashem (The Most High God) he began to question Yeshua and could He have been the Messiah. And yes, the answers came as he studied and kept on talking to that chair! If we ask God to come that close and do anything we ask - - He does!
Psalm 86:15, But you, Oh Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Isaiah 49:22, See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders . . . Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed. Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce? But this is what the Lord says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.”
In my mid-twenties, I was suffering from a broken spirit. I did the only thing I knew worked. My prayers were hitting the ceiling. My Jewish acquaintance had taught me a great lesson. I, too, put a chair by my bed and boy, did I say a lot of “How could You have . . . ?” “Why did You let . . . ?” “Where were You . . . ?” Lovingly, patiently and faithfully He listened and became my Papa. I never felt my Dad loved, cherished or even liked me as a child so you see I could be healed of a broken spirit and ‘God became a father to a fatherless’. Love, Carol"
There is a Heavenly Father watching over you and loving you even when anything or anyone tells you differently.
Dear Reader, May God bless you and keep you from all evil.
Ida
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