Tried by Fire

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!"  That is a phrase I have heard all my life, but I never followed those directions.  I was always in the belief that I was able to handle anything, no matter how much heat...until the last couple of years.  From cancer to difficult situations at work...death of parents to beginning to watch my children stretch their wings and fly.  Stress began to gradually build and build and build until I thought I would either explode or implode, but God had a different plan.

As I have looked over the last 10 years of my life I have seen where God was trying me by fire.  He placed me in the situation of watching over my aging parents; through major health problems with tricky living arrangements, very young children, and living month to month, pay check to pay check, barely.  He then readjusted life and I quickly found myself, burying my mother, parenting my father and children, and trying to work a full-time job as a special education teacher.  Talk about trial by fire...  I was trying to balance children in pre-school and daycare, elementary children with homework and outside activities, a full-time job teaching special education students and being Department Head, monitoring my dad's living arrangements and medicals appointments, teaching music with 1st and 2nd graders at church, singing in the choir and playing handbells.

Life continued in this fast pace of life for a few more baking years, until one summer day, God readjusted life again and I found myself standing over my father-in-law's grave and then a year later, over my own father's grave.  At long last, I thought life would finally settle down and I would be able to breathe that cool refreshing air that our kitchens fill up with after the oven has been turned off and the heat of the stove has dissipated.

Then was once again, God readjusted the heat in the kitchen and I found myself fighting for my life with cancer.  But God is gracious under fire; He provided Jesus to be in the massive fire with Shadraq, Meshack, and Abendigo when they needed Him.  God provided me, with just the right diet to give me the health to fight the cancer.  Four months before I was diagnosed, I found out I was allergic to rice, corn and glutens.  The diet put me in the perfect health and weight to fight the cancer.  What an amazing God we serve!

Life finally settled down for about half a year, then I felt like every burner on the stove had been turned up to high and the oven was sitting on 5000 degrees F.  Jonathan went off to college, Mark was diagnosed with Parkinson's, three extreme behavior students moved into my case load, I quit my job due to extreme stress that no one should have to deal with without any help, and my mother-in-law was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  Somehow in the midst of this overwhelming heat, God has supplied me with the most incredibly made hot pads to help me handle each of these problems.  He has given me days of cooling peace, an euphoric feeling that everything is going to be all right, and patience to wait upon Him to help me pull all of this out of the oven and see what He has created as a blessing.

We don't always understand why we have to go through the test of fire until we come out on the other side a stronger person in Christ and to the Glory of God.  As I await this delectable creation that God is putting together through the test of fire, I will be sitting in the kitchen, with baited breath, waiting.

Reflections on a Miracle

The sun filters through my blinds as it sinks down on this crystal clear fall day.  It is a day of peaceful reflection.  A day of praise that God sustains us in the most difficult of circumstances.

Last night the last of the 33 Chilean miners was brought to the surface, alive and healthy looking, considering the ordeal that they have faced for the last 69 days.  They said that they faced the devil and they faced God, and God won.  God was so good to provide minds from all over the world that could work together to find a solution that would bring every single miner to the surface.

God has given these men a second chance, just like He gives us a second chance.  We are all born sinners and live our selfish lives, which begin  from birth, to decay to sin. God sent His son to be nailed to a cross and bear all our sins.  God turned His back, as Jesus hung on the cross, and allowed Satin to take Jesus through every sin that we had or ever could commit, just so we could be saved from those sins.  When we reach out to God, just like those miners, He assures us that He has provided a way to be raised out of the depths of sin, that we are buried in.  All we have to do is say yes to His invitation of accepting Jesus as our personal Savior, and we are instantly raised out of the deep pit.

What keeps you from reaching up and taking God's hand and letting Him raise you up out of the deep mine in your life?

The Beauty of a Christian Facing Death

I visited one of my favorite aunts today.  She is very sick and as of today, was placed in hospice.  My aunt has been one of the strongest Christian ladies I have ever known.  She has handled life's twist and turns with grace, peace and an assurance that only God can bless a soul with.

My aunt sat in her hospital bed this morning, though in great pain, very frail, and no hair, she had one of the most beautiful, brightest smiles on her face, every time someone walked into her room.   She braved the pain, so that she could visit for a few minutes with every person that crossed her threshold, before asking for medication that would ultimately put her to sleep for hours.  She listened quietly as the hospice group explained what they do to make the transition from our world to eternity easier; often with her eyes closed.  Make no mistake, though, she was alert and listening.  Every time a question was asked that she thought she should answer, she would speak up, or she would ask questions herself.  There was a calmness and peacefulness about her as she listened to how her last days on this earth would play out.

This strong graceful woman knows where she is going when she passes from this life.  She has the kind of assurance that knowing God on a personal level can give.  Although she desires to remain on this earth with her family, she is eagerly awaiting the day that she will meet God and Jesus face to face.  The day that she will once again be with her family who has gone on before her.

This special lady, my aunt, has a great sense of humor, yet she is quiet and humble.  God will enjoy having one more very precious soul in Heaven, one day very soon.

I will miss my aunt, but I am so glad that God gave me the privilege of knowing her and learning from her.