Father of Compassion

Father of Compassion

I have written and rewritten my note to you this week.  I have added and subtracted things. But it still wasn't working.  I really want you to know the One and only God, the Creator of the entire universe, has compassion for you.  He is the Father of compassion.  He wants to comfort all of your pain. Then you will be able to comfort others.  

I was flowing with words about God's compassion for your struggles with marriage or sickness, with rebellious teens or broken relationships.

But over and over again, I stopped. I have resisted putting my own pain out there.  It is too raw, too much to share yet.

I added some verses and the very touching example of Jesus in John 11:33.

His friend Lazarus has died. Lazarus' sister comes out to meet him and falls at his feet weeping. It says "a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled." In verse 35, he wept.  

Despite my efforts, I still did not feel my writing was complete. I realized yesterday, I was going to have to do it. I needed to share my own story.
So here it goes - completely unedited because I have put this off until the last minute.  It is 4:30 am on Friday.  I try to post by 5 am. It looks like I may be late.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.  

Friends, my heart has been broken. Even when I laugh and do regular “life stuff”, there is an ache in my heart.

Four months ago, my sister/best friend, died suddenly of an aortic dissection. The medical examiner said her aorta just split. She was gone instantly. One moment she and her husband were on the couch deciding which pictures from their South Africa trip they were going to have blown up to put on their walls. The next moment she was on the floor, gone.

There are many things about this I'm sure I will share with you over the next few months. For now, I want you to know God truly is close to the brokenhearted. I have seen it so personally and in so many ways.  He is there to comfort you in the midst of your pain. It does not have to be the heartbreak of a sudden death. He will also help you through the struggles and pain that happens in many, many marriages; through the pain of serious illness, of broken relationships and more.

I witnessed the truth of 2 Corinthians 1:3 & 4 the night my sister died.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, (4) who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

As soon as my husband called his family to tell them the news about my sister, my sister-in-law, Beth, jumped in the car with with my other sister and brother-in-law and drove two hours to be with us.  Beth wanted to get to my mom. She said there is deep pain only a mother who has lost a child can understand. There is a deep knowing and understanding these mothers have for each other.  She describes it as a club you never wanted to join. But, you are thankful for the other members who understand.. Fourteen months before this day, Beth’s heart shattered, when our nephew, her son, Noah, had a break in his mind and took his own life.  Over and over through the last eighteen months, I have witnessed Beth comforting others with the comfort she received from God himself.

Friend, the Father of compassion loves you deeply.  He cares about everything that concerns you.  He is “the God who sees” and knows your pain.  

Whatever has caused an ache in you heart, I'm asking you, please -

Never forget the Truth. God has compassion for you.

You've Got Favor

You’ve Got Favor!

“It is winter in Narnia,” said Mr. Tumnus, “and has been forever so long…. always winter, but never Christmas.”

(The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe)

That is how it feels right now where I live. Though the weather app on my phone says the sun is coming soon, actually the day I will hit publish on this note to you, it feels like this season of cold and gray has dragged on and on and on………and on this year.   

Have you ever had a season in your life like that? Have you faced challenge after challenge and just when you think it is over, the cold and gray come back again?

I have good news my friend, even when the season of gray seems to be dragging on in your life, you have God’s favor.  You have the favor of The King.

Imagine meeting someone royal, like Queen Elizabeth. If you had her “favor”, it would mean she is particularly fond of you. She would enjoy your presence. She would like doing things for you. I know it is hard to imagine. Her grandsons are much less intimidating.

Do you know what is even better? The King of Kings favors you.

As I was thinking about how hard this is to grasp, it reminded me of Joseph from the book of Genesis.  Even if you are not that into the Bible, you may know a version of his story through the Broadway musical or animated film.  

Even when Joseph faced overwhelmingly painful circumstances, he had the favor of God. He was rejected by his ten brothers and sold to be a slave, naked and beaten. I'm sure he was not feeling God's favor at the time.  There are so many times we don't feel it, either.  Though he remained a slave for many years, God had favor on him. This gave him the favor of those in charge of him, first his owner, Potiphar, then the head of the prison.  I'm sure Joseph was not “feeling” God’s favor when Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of hitting on her (that is putting it lightly). He was then sent to prison because of her lies. But even in prison, the favor of God could be seen in the details of his life. Though he remained a prisoner, he ended up being “head inmate”.

I know, it still does not sound that great. But God was definitely acting in Joseph’s favor when He gave Joseph the gift of interpreting dreams which eventually got him out of prison and into the position as second in command of the entire country of Egypt.  

Genesis 39:19-23  Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her.So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

It was approximately thirteen years from the time Joseph was sold by his brothers until he was second in command.  Despite his many struggles, he ALWAYS had the favor of God.  This is true for you, too.

So, look for God’s favor in your life today.  It often shows up in the little details because God cares about the details of your life.  It can be seen in circumstances we are tempted to call “a coincidence” or “lucky”.  It is not luck, friend. God is particularly fond of you.

Never forget the Truth, you have the favor of the one and only God of the universe.

Because You Can

This article was originally written a decade ago. It speaks of a time frame that absolutely changed my life. As I revised it a little to share with you, I can tell the truths found in this are even more true to me today. Though it is longer than most of my posts, I hope you find it encouraging.

Because You Can

For many years, I would struggle in the month of November finding myself in various stages of discontent or self pity.  Because it was my birthday month, I would struggle with unmet expectations and dissatisfaction  with various circumstances.  But I will never forget the year God gave me a wonderful birthday gift - freedom from the dissatisfaction.  Through a variety of circumstances, I was shown that He had truly “redeemed my life from the pit” (Psalms 103), the self-pity pit.  The funny thing is, I did not realize I suffered from self pity.

Our circumstances had been tough for about three years.  

The first year, there was a six-week span when my mom had heart surgery. My husband lost his sister. Then he had a serious car accident and two emergency room visits.

The second year, we were dealing with my health, extensive medical testing and loss of vision in my right eye for a few months.  

The third year, I started treatment for MS the same day my closest friend from childhood was killed in a car accident.  Six days later my brother almost died. We spent two months traveling back and forth between Columbus, Ohio and the Cleveland Clinic.  My father-in-law also had to have serious heart surgery a few weeks after my brother. 

By June of that year, I had hit a wall.  I was having a serious faith crisis.  To me, a faith crisis was more depressing than any of the circumstances we had faced.  If I could not trust God, who could I trust?  I found it hard to believe that God loved me or that I could trust him.  He was the only one that could have changed any of these circumstances.  He knew they were coming one on top of the other, yet he allowed it.  I had never struggled like I did that June.  There was no other place to go, but I could barely do it.  One day as I was crying out for Him to lift this cloud of distrust and depression from me, I was reminded of Elijah.  In I Kings 19, Elijah was so depressed he wished he was never born.  God sent an angel to feed him and encourage him to get up.  It took the angel more than one try to help him out of that state.  So, I asked God to come get me just like he did Elijah. I knew all the “right” answers.  I knew all the things I “should” do.  But, I could not.    I could not even crawl to God.  He HAD to come get me.

It took a few months for me to realize God had answered my plea. He not only pulled me out of that state of despair but He gave me a joy I would not have known if I had walked a different journey.  

I would not have known that tears are actually a blessing or that you can have an inner joy and peace even when you are mourning or in pain.  I would not have known in my heart as well as my head that God truly can be trusted. He has a good plan for each of us even in the moments we cannot see or understand it.  Most of all I would not have had the joy of embracing today because I can. (I know the Truth of this even more today than I did a decade ago when I originally wrote those words)

A Birthday to Remember

So what happened on my birthday that year?  My husband had to work very late that night.  I was truly fine with that and thankful God had blessed his business. I took my three kids to see the lights at the local zoo.  They really wanted to ice skate for the first time.  What kind of a crazy woman takes an 8, 7 and 3 year old skating for the first time without any assistance?  One who is extremely thankful that she can.  My legs were strong that day. I was able to see their sweet, happy faces.  They were hanging on walls and hanging on me.  But we had a great time.  I saw a family there that went to my church.  Their teenage daughter immediately helped with my three year old so I could skate with the other two. I am sure she had no idea how she was blessing me that evening.  I will always remember on that birthday I ice skated with my children just because I could.

As Thanksgiving approached a week later, we were changing plans daily because my brother’s condition had taken a turn for the worse. I left Wednesday for the Cleveland Clinic in a rush.  My brother and my mom were both having a rough day. Nothing was happening the way we anticipated. Thursday (Thanksgiving) was another tough day for my brother.  The doctor gave us a variety of scenarios that could happen the following day.  But on Thanksgiving, he not only had an infection and some pending serious possibilities but they had to put in an NG tube (It pumps your stomach content out through your nose.  It is as painful as it sounds).  In the meantime my husband found out as he was driving our three kids to his sister’s for Thanksgiving, she had a very sick child.  He turned around an hour into the drive and had no idea what he was going to do with the kids on this holiday, especially with mom out of town. All these circumstances could have sent me into some type of pity party. But God is good.  He changes our hearts and teaches us to have joy in all circumstances.  My husband took my kids to our local grocery store to pick out whatever they wanted.  They chose hot dogs, potato chips and soda.  The kids thought it was hilarious.  He even pulled out a new Wii game that we had purchased for a Christmas present. They all had a great time together.  My mom and I went to a Latino restaurant in the warehouse district in Cleveland.  As our waiter told us the specials, including a traditional Turkey dinner, I decided on the goat.  Why eat goat for Thanksgiving?  Why not?!  I have never had it. I decided “today I can”.  Much like my birthday, it is a Thanksgiving I will never forget.  The next day the kids and I returned to Kroger with a list that would allow them to make dinner.  It certainly was not a Food Network special.  It included Stove Top, mashed potatoes from a bag and other prepared foods.  But, we had a great time.  My oldest son said it was his best Thanksgiving ever.  He was absolutely right. 

 
As I reflect on all that I have to be thankful for, my heart is overwhelmed.  Since that very important birthday, I have found myself dancing in the living room with my kids, because we can ( Ok - They are all teens now so “mom dancing” is forbidden in their presence) reading even more, because I can; and counting the tiniest blessings daily because God has opened the eyes of my heart in a new way, so that I can.

If you are going through a hard time yourself, just ask God to come get you.  I promise, and more importantly, He promises that He will.
Matt 6:25 Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes.  

Shine! Shine! Shine!

Shine! Shine! Shine!









There is nothing like sunshine. Anyone from the Midwest can tell you, it is a source of great joy when it follows a series of gray winter days or extended spring showers.

(I wanted to say, "It is a ray of light". But that is exactly my point).

 Light makes us feel better. It is comforting. It shows us what is around us and exposes things for what they truly are. It makes us feel warmth. It makes a child feel safe. Light changes the atmosphere. 

So, of course, that reminds me of you.  You are light, my friend. All of those things I just mentioned - changing the atmosphere, warmth, comfort, etc. ..... that's you.  If you have asked Christ to be a part of your life, you shine. 

Did you ever notice, the first recorded words of God are "Let there be light"? Clearly, light is important. It is essential for all life.  Jesus was called "the light of all mankind" in John 1:4- also, essential to experience true life.  

Then, in the famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:14, Jesus tells his followers, "You are the light of the world." He goes on to tell them not to hide but to shine 😀. (I may have paraphrased that a bit).

Do you understand your importance? 

1. God's first words to us, "light" 
2. Jesus, "light" 
3. YOU, "light"

All three are light. All three are essential.  

Being light is not dependent on how you feel.  It's just who you are. 

Just as the sun is still shining even if you can only see clouds above you, you are still light even if you think something is blocking your radiance.



This cute little girl is light, just like YOU,
even if she does not realize it. 

I know this is hard to grasp on days when you are feeling defeated. But, we are still light, even if our emotions or behavior are the gray clouds blocking us from seeing it.  We are still light, no matter what others say about us.  

If you investigate the lives of Martin Luther or Mother Teresa, you will find that even these amazing world changers struggled to see there own light and both had great bouts of discouragement.

Please listen, my precious friend, there is only One who can tell you who you truly are. There is only One who helps you understand this truth.  You cannot listen to any other "voice" except the One who loves you more than you can imagine. The One who made you light.  

I'm really glad you are meeting me here today because two lights are brighter than one.  

I'm not going to suggest you "do" anything. 

Just "be".  

You already are light.  

I'm just praying  that you will remember the Truth of who you really are. 

Never forget the truth - You are the light of the world. 

Sent from my iPad