Handsboro Inspiration

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"Gentle Reminder"

"The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it." Psalm 24:1

Hurricane Katrina played havoc with our church, and in the midst of clean-up efforts four volunteers from the Salvation Army stopped by and offered to pray with us. We gathered about thirty workers, including my three young grandchildren, formed a circle, held hands and began the prayer by singing Jesus Loves Me. As we prayed, the sanctuary began to feel warm.
My shoulders felt especially warm. Later that afternoon I asked my seven year old granddaughters and nine year old grandson if they had felt the warmth. It took a minute before one of them answered and said, "Mimi, maybe God was hugging you."
As I struggled to make sense of the pain, sorrow and devastation caused by the storm I was given a gentle reminder that the earth is the Lord's and all those who live in it are indeed His children. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.
Look for and celebrate God's gentle reminders.

Prayer:

Lord,
Often we forgot that we are not alone in our struggles. Thank you for all the gentle reminders you send our way. Amen

Norma Loposser, who is Spiritual Leadership Developer of the Presbyterian Women, Presbytery of Mississippi, wrote the above devotional that was published in the July-September 2006 issue of These Days, the Devotional guide magazine for the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The Voice of God

Is it possible for God speak to people in our time? I think it is. He speaks to different people in different ways. To most of us, what God tells us comes in quiet moments through prayer and meditation and during times when we are alone and allow Him to come us. What we have to remember is that God works in His time, not ours. Usually when God sends a message to us, it comes as a feeling we get, or knowledge that something seems right. We sense a direction in which to go, or we feel a need to accomplish something. The message may be subtle at times, although it can be strong at other times. We can know that when we get His message, we feel a sense of peace.
We don't hear Him as we hear a human voice. That is, most of us don't. In modern times, we don't see burning bushes that speak to us, nor do we have words inscribed into a tablet in front of our eyes. Angels don't appear before us with a message from God, although I'm not saying it is impossible.
I've never heard God's actual voice. Some years back, when I was going through a divorce after my husband decided that he no longer wanted to be married, I begged God to talk to me and give me answers. I was desperate for Him to tell me why He didn't keep my marriage from ending and my husband from leaving. Over and over I asked, and as many times I got no answer. I was so desperate with despair that this went on for several years. I reasoned that He created marriage to last until death did us part, so why did He allow divorce to happen?!! I told God that we had said vows before Him, and I thought that God should be doing His part to make those vows last. Desperately needing an answer because nothing seemed to come to me, I used to say, "God, please, just open up my head and put your answer inside."
One day, when I was completely desolate and at the end of my wits, I found myself alone, crying in a little chapel, pleading with God for help. I had fallen apart emotionally, and didn't see anywhere I could go from there. I desperately needed to know the "whys" of what at the time seemed to me to be the end of my life as I knew it.
While sitting in a pew and sobbing my heart out, I suddenly got my answer. It came to me as clear as a bell. It was as if God had actually opened my head and poured in the answer, for I certainly didn't hear Him speak out loud. Nevertheless, He did speak to me clearly. He said, "I didn't bring him back because that is not what is best for you." It was as if the heavens had opened up and rained down the words upon me. I'll never forget the impact the sudden revelation of God's answer.
The feeling that came upon me was overwhelming. I knew that God had spoken to me as if I had actually heard His voice. As I looked upwards, a feeling of awe washed over me as rest of the room seemed to fade away.
That day was a turning point for me. It still took a long time for me to grieve the loss of a twenty-eight year marriage and for my pain to heal, but from then on, I understood why God had allowed it to happen. That marriage would never have been one in which I could live a spiritual life and experience a true marriage that consists of unconditional love, support and understanding.
I certainly would have never thought at the time that my husband wasn't the best thing for me, so the answer didn't come from anywhere inside me. All that I had been able to do was beg God to bring him back. I couldn't see what was best for me, or what my life's destiny was to be because I was hurting so badly. God knew all along, and shared it with me in my darkest moment. Never before, and never since, have I had such a profound experience.
Maybe God doesn't make His revelations that profound to all people, but He does give us answers. If we listen, He will guide us in the direction He thinks we should go. We need to always keep our faith and know that He will always be here to guide us.
Why did it take so long for God to enlighten me as to why it was happening? I believe that I was in such denial that I wasn't ready to face the actuality of the divorce. We have to be ready to accept God's will.

Power in Prayer Chains

(A Prayer Testimonial)

Recently, my son was diagnosed with something called ICSC (or CSC- same thing).
Basically, there was a leakage in his eye causing fluid to build up. The cause is unknown. Over a period of five years, his eyesight has grown worse. Sometimes that condition goes away on its own, but this time he didn't. An opthalmologist who diagnosed it referred him to an eye specialist. It has already caused irreversable damage to the retina.
My son is in nursing school having decided to change careers at the age of 37. He had to borrow money to live on and for school because once enrolled in a condensed intensive course for nursing school, he would not be able to work and maintain his coursework and grades. Basically, he is living on a shoestring and has student insurance that helps in an emergency but woldn't cover the hospital procedure if it were necessary. Of course, I told him that we would provide him whatever money he needed to get the proper and recommended treatment.

The specialist said that he needed to have a procedure immediately or he might face the possilility of losing sight in the bad eye, and the good eye was beginning to show signs of the disease, also. He was severly stressed over the situation, knowing that he didn't have money for the procedures, the insurance wouldn't cover it, and he could not miss classes or clinicals or he might not graduate.
There was only a 15% chance that a less expensive procedure in the surgeon's office would find and stop the leakage. He would need an expensive angiogram for it, plus the cost of the procedure. If the office procedure didn't work, he would have to go into the hospital for an overnight stay and have what he said was a horrid procedure that might have very bad results and maybe even then not fix the problem, He would have to miss too many class and clinic days, stay in the darkness for four more days, and it would cost a fortune.
Needless to say, I was worried out of my mind. I decided to reach out to all of my friends and family, plus my church family, and ask them to pray for him. I got many e-mails back from people who said they are praying for him and sending my request on to other prayer groups. I said prayers all times of the day.
He had the procedure a few days ago and called me after his angiogramto say that it turned out that he is in the 15% who could have the less expensive and less dangerous procedure/surgery in the surgeon's office.
My son, who at present doesn't pray, and may not even believe in God, was happy that so many people had prayed for him, and admitted that maybe the prayers worked. I know that they did. It was so heartwarming to know that so many people had prayed for him, and I do believe that God answered their prayers.
He is to have the office procedure in two days, and the damage already done may not reverse itself, but at least his sight will not get worse.

I'll try to update this later when we know how his eyes fared after the fluid has been reabsorbed by his body, probably several months from now.

"For I know the plans I have made for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29: 11

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