The Details

The other night we were preparing to turn onto the highway and I had an overwhelming sense that we should not. In a quick second I prayed, “Lord, please do not let us get stuck in a traffic jam.” We were headed somewhere important. Somewhere we needed to be on time.

Not two seconds later, right before the light turned green, the person next to me said, “Don’t get on the highway!” She had been looking at her Facebook and saw people posting about the current back-up.

We were able to get out of the turn lane and take another route to our destination. I can’t say what being a few hours late might have done to the plans that evening.

What I can say is that fifteen years ago I might have considered it sheer luck that she happened to look at her phone just then. I can tell you with certainty I wouldn’t have thought to seek God’s help in my traffic affairs.

But today it was such a good reminder that God is in the details. I’m sure you’ve heard the BIGGER stories—the ones that rock your world when you think What could have been? For example, I remember that my sister was originally scheduled to fly out for her overseas trip in middle school on the TWA Flight 800 that ultimately crashed and killed all on board. At some point the plans got switched and they were forced to fly out of a different airport. Some might call that coincidence. I call it the grace of God.

Undoubtedly that rocked our world at the time. Brought our lives to a pause and made us think, Thank God she wasn’t on that plane! But when the consequences aren’t life and death, we sometimes forget to thank God. Or even to notice Him.

Most importantly, what the other night reminded me of is that God wants the details of our lives. He wants me to be praying continuously and in all circumstances, even the small, minute ones (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

Today I have been tired, and when I’m tired, I can easily have a short fuse. While I’ve worked (and more importantly, prayed) hard to improve on this in my life, it is still an easy trap for me to fall into. Today I’ve gotten angry and yelled at my children in a way that doesn’t honor the Lord. I’ve thrown my hands up, snapped at them and done plenty of other childish things (no mom of the year award around here!). I’ve had to seek forgiveness from two five year olds and a three year old for acting in a way that doesn’t glorify Him. God is in the details today, too.

He wants my details.

Even the operating-on-not-a-lot-of-sleep details.

He knows who we are behind the scenes, inside our own heads, in the confines of our homes. And He wants us there too. So instead of praying for a traffic jam, tonight I pray for patience and to be slow to anger. I pray for the details of my heart and that He might use the details of the day to make me more like Him.

So I ask you, dear reader, what details can you trust to God today?

Let Him in.

Contentment

“Neither go back in fear and misgiving to the past, nor in anxiety and forecasting to the future, but lie quiet under His hand, having no will but His.”

(from Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow)

 

The weather this past week was a gift. It smelled like spring—I was careful to breathe deeply—to allow the fresh air to permeate the insides of my body. I wanted it to linger. I relished the blue sky, bike rides, football in the yard, short sleeves, and even a few skinned knees and boo-boos (poor Peyton!).  

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More than anything, however, I relished the way I felt. I told someone on Friday, “I honestly don’t think I’ve felt this well in two years. I feel like a million bucks!”

And I did.

For a moment, I felt like I was the old me again.

As I venture along this journey with MS, I’m learning as I go. I know with certainty the humidity is an energy zapper. It comes in the night and steals the life out of me. But the cold—let’s just say I’ve never given it much weight. I’m discovering it has more power than I thought.

This week of mid-sixties, no humidity and no freezing cold has been such a blessing in the heaviness of Ohio’s winter. It was a perfect reminder of God’s love for us. I don’t think I could possibly have ever appreciated or found so much joy in a week like this before I had MS. Don’t get me wrong—I would have enjoyed it. But I can’t say I would have soaked it in—thanked the God in heaven for an inch of blue sky or a glimpse of sunshine the way I do now.

Last night I listened as the cold returned—the thunder pounded and the wind delivered the bitterness back on our doorstep. Along with it came a certain heaviness in my own body, a jolt back to reality. But I have been challenged recently in terms of CONTENTMENT. This is not a word our culture likes—in fact, it is a word that would bring with it mention of weakness and potential mediocrity. But when we look at life through the lens of Scripture, we see a God who desires us to “give thanks in all circumstances,” to submit to the will of our Father. To TRUST in a God that knows more than we do and loves us more than we could every possibly love Him.

So I choose to thank God for the light of this past week, for a week of reprieve and rest. And I choose to thank Him for today, for the return of cold weather and a reality check on my body and the reminder of the brokenness of this world.

I pray for a heart of contentment and one of thankfulness to a God who makes the sun shine and the clouds move. I am reminded in the Gospel of Mark: “Even the wind and waves obey him!” (Mark 4:41).

Even the weather is a gentle reminder that as much as I may desire it, I am not the old me. I do have MS and it is the portion the Lord has assigned. While I pray for healing and a cure, I also pray for contentment--to give thanks in what the Lord has given me and to see the ways He has used it to draw myself and others closer to Him. 

Multiple Scars

I read this a few weeks back and simply had to share with you:

The city of Brussels is known for its exquisite lace. In the famous lace shops, there are certain rooms devoted to the spinning of the finest and most delicate patterns. These rooms are altogether dark, except for the light from one tiny window that falls directly upon the pattern. Only one spinner sits in the darkened room in the very place where the narrow stream of light falls upon the threads of his weaving. Lace is always more delicately and beautifully woven when the worker himself is in the dark and only his pattern is in the light.
As God weaves His pattern into the fabric of our lives, sometimes we sit in a “darkened room.” The darkness seems suffocating. We can’t understand what He’s doing and can’t discover any possible good in the darkness. Yet, if we fix our focus on our faithful Weaver, we will someday know that the most exquisite work of all our life was done in those days of darkness. As I look back over my life, my deepest intimacy with Him has come from the dark times. The lessons He has burned into my heart when the black clouds hovered are the ones that have calmed my anxious heart.
Yes, faith is difficult, but our faith pleases our Holy God (Hebrews 11:6), and we do not walk the path alone… . (from Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow)

 

Then this week, a dear friend texted me after reading a post from a few weeks back about the definition of multiple sclerosis.

Multiple means many and sclerosis refers to the scars left on the protective coating after it has been damaged.

(from The Electrifying Story of Multiple Sclerosis)

What she said was somehow so comforting:

“I was just reading your blog and can’t stop thinking what MS means. Multiple Scars…I think of my life and think, wounds start first. Before the scar forms. If the scar never forms, the wound never heals…but it never looks like it used to…
MS is a picture of this. God’s goodness and grace and mercy healing our wounds, changing us forever so we can glorify Him and serve Him and understand more and more… .”

I know that it is at times hard to see God in the darkness--when our wounds are fresh and open. But I pray today that you will see His abundant mercies in the scars—how He brought you out on the other side. Or if you are still in the dark—that you will take comfort in knowing the precious Weaver does not make mistakes. May we remember some of His most beautiful weaving is happening in the dark. Perhaps when we get to the finish line and look back at the beautiful pattern of lace He has weaved for us, we might see the scars are the most exquisite and perfect details of all.

Finding Rest

True confession: I often go back and forth about what I share with you here. Multiple Sclerosis is the platform on which the blog began, and so I feel an obligation, a necessity, to share with you about my health. I believe in 2 Corinthians 1:4 that I might use my trial as an opportunity to comfort others in their trial. But I also confess I am at times ashamed to post about my health. I feel like I’m complaining (which I confess I really do at times!), or that I should only be sharing the good and not the bad, or my most prevalent concern: my trial with MS pales in comparison to others’ trials and so perhaps I simply shouldn’t write at all.

However, I am reminded this week that God has offered this platform for me to write and I cannot know His plans for it. As the name of the blog suggests, I am called to write—especially about my battle with MS--it is an act of obedience.

I didn’t post much this past week because of my health and because I have been struggling with what to share. However, I recently read a brief devotional in my Our Daily Bread pamphlet that helped me better understand how and what to share about this past week:

In All Circumstances

In our suburb we complain about the constant power outages. They can hit three times in a week and last up to twenty four hours, plunging the neighborhood into darkness. The inconvenience is hard to bear when we cannot use basic household appliances.

            Our Christian neighbor often asks, “Is this also something to thank God for?” She is referring to 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We always say, “Yes, of course, we thank God in all things.” But the half-hearted manner in which we say it is contradicted by our grumbling every time the power goes off.

            One day, however, our belief in thanking God in all circumstances took on a new meaning. I returned from work to find our neighbor visibly shaken as she cried, “Thank Jesus the power was off. My house would have burned down, and my family would have perished!”

            A refuse-collection truck had hit the electricity pole in front of her house and brought down the high-tension cables right over several houses. Had there been power in the cables, fatalities would have been likely.

            The difficult circumstances we face can make it hard to say, “Thanks, Lord.” We can be thankful to our God who sees in every situation an opportunity for us to trust Him—whether or not we see His purpose.

 MS is my daily trial. It’s my reality, and I dare not compare it with anyone else’s daily struggles. However, I can share with you my walk through this valley—the real and the ugly parts of my inner (and outward) fallen humanity. But as this article suggests, I can also share with you the ways I can give thanks in my circumstances. The ways I can choose to see God using my MS for His Glory. So at the bottom of this post, I will reflect on this past week and the ways I can choose to thank God in all circumstances.

***

This week has been an eventful one at the Allerding household. I had a rather impromptu doctor’s appointment with the neurologist last Monday. Two weeks ago, when I was in for my infusion, I lamented of the ongoing fatigue that has attacked me for so long now. “I’m so tired” can’t possibly explain the way I feel. It’s a tired that doesn’t go away with good sleep. It’s like carrying around a dumbbell all day or getting superglue on your skin—it’s heavy—impossible to peel away at times. It’s life-altering. 

I read an article recently that suggests “Upwards of 80% of people with MS experience unusual fatigue, with over half ranking it one of their most troubling symptoms, according to the Society’s MS Information Sourcebook. It’s complex, with many possible contributing factors, and it’s invisible, which makes for huge human problems…” (Tackling Fatigue by Heather Boerner and Bridget Murray Law).

As I sat and talked with the nurse and some of the other patients, they lamented of similar symptoms and urged me to schedule an appointment: “There are medications that could help you with energy,” they encouraged me. “Just talk to them.”

So I did.

It was an encouraging appointment overall—one that at minimum helped me better understand Multiple Sclerosis. She encouraged me with the reminder that I am on THE BEST drug there is for MS. The Tysabri is a disease-modifying drug, which means it is meant to keep new lesions from forming in my brain. One of my biggest questions has been whether or not “pushing through” all this fatigue is ultimately going to harm me down the road. What she said was incredibly helpful and encouraging: “As long as no new lesions are forming in your brain, pushing through will not hurt you any more than it will the normal person walking down the street.”

The key is whether or not I have any new lesions. They feel confident the Tysabri is working, but we will do a repeat MRI in a few months to confirm--no new lesions would be the best news I’ve had in two years, and it would mean my MS is being held at bay.

What she also explained, however, is that while the Tysabri infusion is hopefully holding the MS from progressing it is not going to cover any of the symptoms I already have: my hands, legs, fatigue…. With the fatigue being such an ongoing battle we decided to try a “wakefulness-promoting agent” typically used for treating narcolepsy. A pill. A little less than one week in, I can report that this past week has been a very real struggle amidst the larger battle against MS. The supposed solution has created more bad than good.

While I felt at times I had more energy, I now could not sleep at night. I was not only being attacked by fatigue from my MS but also by insomnia, leaving me up most mornings from 2am on. While I didn’t realize it at the time, due to the new medication I began to feel tightness in my chest, nervousness, anxiety, mood swings, shortness of breath, dry mouth. Three nights ago, during my “wakefulness,” I realized my feet and legs were numb and tingling (also a potential side effect I wasn’t aware of). This was something I hadn’t felt in two years, since the initial attacks when I was first diagnosed.

As a result of all of this—no sleep, the anxiety from the medication, the fear of the numbness in my feet and legs—I had a panic attack in the middle of the night, something I’ve never experienced before—Would I be able to walk? What was happening to me? God, how could you let this happen?? All of this from a pill I’ve only been taking for a week.  

Needless to say, I called Monday and told them I was going off the drug. I already feel more like myself again.

I wanted it to be easy: Here’s the pill. Here’s more energy. Problem solved. But clearly that is not the road I am on. We will eventually try something else for energy but for now, we will take a break.

I appreciate your prayers, dear reader, as we try to navigate these new roads—not just for myself but for the incredible husband, family, and close friends who help me through and watch the struggle most closely. I pray for that repeat MRI—that there will be no new lesions.

I confess I do not like this battle.

I can also tell you I believe there is a God in heaven who has entrusted it to me. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, His Word tells me to “give thanks in all circumstances….” Here are some of the ways I can be thankful over the past week:

·         I know He is drawing me closer to Him. In my “wakefulness” both in the day and in the night, I used that time either to pray or repeat Scripture in my mind. I am thankful for the opportunity to pray for the precious people on my heart those nights. I may never know but that He kept me awake those nights to be praying for something or someone specific.… .

·         I give thanks for the Oak Clinic—for a place only a few minutes up the road that specializes in Multiple Sclerosis!

·         I give thanks for the developments in MS treatments—that I am able to be on a disease-modifying drug like Tysabri.

·         I give thanks for the bold reminder this past week that I am not in control. That my flesh is weak. That God is the “blessed controller of all things.” (1 Timothy 6:15)

·         I give thanks for the opportunity to rely on Him and Him alone.

Ultimately, I give thanks that this ongoing fatigue—the wakefulness, the sleepless nights have my mind focused on rest. Please, God, I beg. Help me find rest.

Of this Truth I am convinced: I will find my rest in Him.

 

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

Psalm 62:5

Multiple Sclerosis

I've been thinking lately that I am so grateful for the dear people that take the time to read this blog. And I thought it might be worth sharing a little more about the platform God has given me to do this in the first place.

If you look to the top of the blog, you might be reminded of John 9 and the blind man. You might be reminded that for me, there is a God in heaven who saw it fit to allow me to have a disease called Multiple Sclerosis, commonly known as MS, so that "the works of God might be displayed in me."

I remember growing up that my mom had a friend with MS. I can remember the way my mom talked about MS--it made certain activities a challenge at times, her friend was encouraged to stay active, although that was at times difficult to do. I remember thinking I didn't ever want to have MS.

But that was all I knew. MS is a tricky disease. It is never the exact same for any two people. There is currently no cure.

I confess that the day I went in and was told there was a good chance I had MS the doctor told me not to look it up. "Do NOT research this on the internet," he commanded. "Go nowhere other than The National MS Society website. Nothing else is reliable." 

I remember in the waiting room that I Googled it and saw the word "blindness." I remember that it took me months even to go to The National MS Society website after that. I allowed the doctors and neurologists to explain it to me. Just in the last 6 months have I begun to do more of my own, careful research.

I still know that I do not want to have MS. But the fact is that God entrusted it to me, and so I want to take the opportunity to share a little about MS in a few posts for you, dear reader. I will quote mostly from the The National MS Society as well as a wonderful little book written by the wife of the generous founder of the clinic where I am treated for my MS--a place that specializes only in Multiple Sclerosis--a place I call a miracle.

So...let's start at the very beginning...

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

From nationalmssociety.org:

"In multiple sclerosis (MS), damage to the myelin coating around the nerve fibers in the central nervous system (CNS) and to the nerve fibers themselves interferes with the transmission of nerve signals between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body. Disrupted nerve signals cause the symptoms of MS, which vary from one person to another and over time for any given individual, depending on where and when the damage occurs."

"Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves an immune-mediated process in which an abnormal response of the body’s immune system is directed against the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. The exact antigen — or target that the immune cells are sensitized to attack — remains unknown, which is why MS is considered by many experts to be "immune-mediated" rather than "autoimmune."

  • Within the CNS, the immune system attacks myelin — the fatty substance that surrounds and insulates the nerve fibers — as well as the nerve fibers themselves.
  • The damaged myelin forms scar tissue (sclerosis), which gives the disease its name.
  • When any part of the myelin sheath or nerve fiber is damaged or destroyed, nerve impulses traveling to and from the brain and spinal cord are distorted or interrupted, producing a wide variety of symptoms.
  • The disease is thought to be triggered in a genetically susceptible individual by a combination of one or more environmental factors.
  • People with MS typically experience one of four disease courses, which can be mild, moderate or severe."

 Multiple means many and sclerosis refers to the scars left on the protective coating after it has been damaged.

(from The Electrifying Story of Multiple Sclerosis)

Share

This morning I was struck by Deuteronomy 6:7:

6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 

When I picked up the boys from school, it came to mind again. So I got their attention and told them with all the gusto I could muster that God loves them. I told them again what I have told them so many times: That Jesus came and died for us and that if we believe in Him, we can live forever with Him in heaven.

I told them that heaven is better than anything we could ever imagine--better than Disney World, better than ten ice cream cones in a row... . I wanted them to desire heaven the way I do--to look forward to it with all of their hearts.

And there was a moment of silence, and then Cameron said, "Well, in The Secret Life of Pets there is this sandwich, and it really stinks...." And the conversation headed off in another direction altogether. 

It was a gentle reminder that I am called to share the gospel, I am called to live a life worthy of the calling I have received (Eph. 4:1). I am called to teach God's word to my children and to do it "diligently." 

But I am not God. 

I think of the sweet conversations I've had with Cameron about his faith--about the love of Jesus. And I think of his love for God's Word already and I pray for his heart. I am reminded that Deuteronomy 6:7 is talking about a lifestyle, a mission, not a one time event.

What an incredibly important (and daily--sometimes minute by minute) mission. 

 

 

 

Satisfied

Heard this at church on Sunday. It's been on repeat ever since...

Satisfied in You (Psalm 42) -- The Sing Team

I have lost my appetite
And a flood is welling up behind my eyes
So I eat the tears I cry
And if that were not enough
They know just the words to cut and tear and prod
When they ask me “Whereʼs your God?”

Why are you downcast, oh my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
I can remember when you showed your face to me

As a deer pants for water, so my soul thirsts for you
And when I survey Your splendor, You so faithfully renew
Like a bed of rest for my fainting flesh

When Iʼm looking at the ground
Itʼs an inbred feedback loop that drags me down
So itʼs time to lift my brow
And remember better days
When I loved to worship you and learn your ways
Singing sweetest songs of praise

Let my sighs give way to songs that sing about your faithfulness
Let my pain reveal your glory as my only real rest
Let my losses show me all I truly have is you

So when Iʼm drowning out at sea
And all your breakers and your waves crash down on me
Iʼll recall your safety scheme
Youʼre the one who made the waves
And your Son went out to suffer in my place
And to show me that Iʼm safe

Why am I down?
Why so disturbed?
I am satisfied in you

I AM SATISFIED IN YOU

 

Humbled

I felt compelled to pray and ask God to humble me this week. This is a scary thing to do, I confess—not one I do often. But something I felt I needed. Sometimes we just need to be on the lookout for the hand of God or else it passes us by like another car on a busy highway.

Here are a few of the ways the Lord humbled me this week:

1)      Creation: On Wednesday I commented to Brian that it seemed as though we hadn’t seen the sun in days.  Ohio winters can sometimes be cold and gray for days on end—it’s like hiding under a blanket, biding your time in the darkness, knowing you need a breath of fresh air but having to wait for someone to seek you out before the cover can be lifted.

 As I picked up my little boys from kindergarten, I sat in the pick-up line and watched as the clouds raced swiftly across the sky, allowing the sun to play peek-a-boo with the earth below. His Creation never fails to amaze me—the intricacy of a snowflake, the changing colors of a tree in fall, a spider’s web. But this day it was the light. Just the light. That I had said just that morning, “We haven’t seen the sun in days.”

And there it was.

Thank you, Lord.

2)      A great win on the basketball court. Such joy and thankfulness.

3)      A frustrating defeat on the basketball court. Don’t think too highly of myself.

4)       An article someone sent my way: Someone sent me an article on chronic fatigue. MS takes many forms—one of the challenges is that it manifests differently in each individual. While many mark MS by its visible, physical markers like issues with walking, mine currently manifests primarily in the invisible, in particular fatigue.

This psychologist muses on a year of chronic fatigue, and I confess that at times I fear mine might be a lifetime of it (although I’m certain mine is not as constant or severe as he describes). This article came at a time when I needed to know I am not alone.

One part that hit home, in particular about always having been able to just push through without consequence, reads like this…

“Fatigue messes with identity. For 50 years I have done what I wanted to. I have been able to push (even over-extend) my body with little seeming consequences. Fatigue, on the other hand changes how you see yourself and how you relate to your loved ones. Once used to being the one to do things for others, you become the helped. When you feel 80 but you think you should feel like 50, it begins to change your sense of yourself and your place in life. At times I wondered if my career was about to be over. If you make your identity what you can do, fatigue will soon remind you that such an identity is certainly fragile and soon lost.” (from Musings of a Christian Psychologist: A Year of Living with (chronic) Fatigue)

5)      Friendship: This week I experienced so many sweet encouragements from various friends. One dear friend was at a Christian conference and sent me this text message of encouragement…

 “What we learned today—it is an honor to be trusted with pain, and it is to be cherished…because suffering always precedes multiplication. Praying you can learn to see MS as a true honor and high calling from the Lord (because I know that’s not the normal human reaction to it). And that we can rejoice because He has overcome. But before we can take heart that He overcomes, we will have trial in this world. “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world!”

6)      Sleeplessness: Many nights I do not sleep well, and I find myself wide awake praying. Praying. Sometimes for hours. I saw a friend this week and she asked me if I was sleeping any better. I told her sometimes I think to myself, Really, God? Do you really need me up praying right now? Wouldn’t I be worth so much more rested in the morning?

And what she said was so humbling: “Man, He really has you in a state of dependence.”

What mercy.

***

What I learned this week as the Lord humbled me in so many gentle and sometimes challenging ways: “But as for me, it is good to be near God.” Psalm 73:28

Dream Big

Several months ago Charlotte sat on my lap at the doctor's office looking out the window. I heard her gasp and point across the street at an outdoor basketball court where two boys were playing a game of one on one. She was aghast. 

"Mom!" she cried. "Boys don't play basketball!"

I smiled both on the inside and out. All she's ever known is girls on the court. Can you tell her mama is a coach?

You go, girl. 

As my favorite Disney commercial says, "DREAM BIG, PRINCESS!"

A New Year!

As I stop for a moment to reflect on this past year, I think of so many blessings, of hardships and hopes, and longings for the New Year.

I think of my nephew and the miracle it was to spend a Christmas with a cancer-free Kaden. I think of our sweet friend, Patty, and spending an unexpected Christmas without her.

I think of both life and death. And this morning at church, a visiting pastor touched on this thought, as well. He spoke of the “inevitability of death” for each and every one of us.

It reminded me of a short video by Francis Chan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF_x8dsvb_4). Take the time to watch it—only 5 minutes! He uses a rope to illustrate our limited time on this earth versus that of eternity.

In this new year, I hope to have a renewed sense of urgency. We don’t know what’s around the corner—but eternity is coming. No matter what.  Have you asked Jesus to be Lord of your life? Have you told your neighbor about the love of Christ—about the cross?

It does matter. The red part of the rope is but a vapor, but the white goes on and on and on and on… .

I pray for you, dear reader, that this New Year will be one where you seek the Lord in all you do and seek to share the hope of the cross with all those you know.

The Good Shepherd

'Tis the season to be....

Jolly?

Giving?

Happy?

I pray often for people in my life to see Christ in all the details of their day--in the little things. I have been thinking recently that this is the perfect season to look for Christ in the details! The kids received the following message attached to a candy cane (one of those Christmas details, I suppose), and I wanted to share it with you here!

'Tis the season...to remember Jesus' birth, death and resurrection. 

The Candy Cane Story

"A candy maker wanted to make a candy that would be a witness for his Savior, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. The white symbolizes the Virgin Birth (Is. 7:14; Luke 1:26-35) and the sinless nature of Jesus (1 John 3:5). The hardness of the candy symbolizes the Solid Rock (1 Cor. 10:4), the foundation of the Church (Mt. 16:18), and the firmness of the promises of God (Ps. 18:30-32). The candy maker made the candy into the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior (John 3:16-17), and a symbol to represent the staff of the Good Shepherd (John 10:14). The candy maker decided to stain it with red stripes, representing the stripes Jesus received prior to His crucifixion (Mark 15:15-20) for our healing (Is. 53:5). The large red stripe represents the shedding of His blood on the cross for our salvation (Rom. 5:9; Eph. 1:7)." 

from SCRIPTURE CANDY, Inc. (www.scripturecandy.com)

 

He loves me...

Do you remember the scene in The Little Mermaid where Ariel plucks the petals off the flower one by one, imaging Prince Eric in her mind: "He loves me. He  loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not... He loves me!" Even now, 25 years later, I can hear her voice crescendo with hope when she stops on, "He loves me!"

I heard a message recently by one of our pastors' wives on Romans 8:31-39 where she reflected on our tendency to do this very same thing with the Lord. When good things are happening: He loves me. When we are faced with trials: He loves me not. 

But this is not how our great God operates. In all things, God loves us. When we place our faith in Christ, we surrender to and recognize this great love: "For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). 

The good news is this: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" God uses our trials to transform us, and we must not mistake this for His absence or His unwillingness to love us. 

So I thank God today that my assurance rests in Him and not in me, that even in the desert I am loved, that I don't have to pick the petals off the flower: He loves me; He loves me not.

He loves me.

Nothing--no nothing--can separate us from the love of Christ!

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-39

 

 

Need

"I need oil," said an ancient monk, so he planted an olive sapling. "Lord," he prayed, "it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and swell. Send gentle showers." And the Lord sent gentle showers. "Lord," prayed the monk, "my tree needs sun. Send sun. I pray thee." And the sun shone, gilding the dripping clouds. "Now frost, my Lord, to brace its tissues," cried the monk. And behold, the little tree stood sparkling with frost, but at evening it died.

Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, and told his strange experience. "I, too, planted a little tree," he said, "and see! It thrives well. But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me. I laid no condition. I fixed not ways or means. 'Lord, send what it needs,' I prayed, 'storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. Thou hast made it and Thou dost know.'"

from Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow

PRAYERS FOR KADEN

I wanted to give a quick update on Mr. Kaden and ask us all to return to our knees tonight as he heads back in for a routine MRI following the end of his treatment. 

May we pray for the Lord's continued hand in all of it, for His abundant mercies and a totally clear MRI. We pray that Kaden will never have cancer again and for his little heart and his salvation. We pray desperately for Jen and Tim as they anticipate the results. May we pray this verse over them:

TRUST in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I thank you for your prayers and pray that they will continue to cover this little boy for a long time to come.