A Friend in Need

We are not meant to navigate this lifetime journey alone. Our spirits yearn for the satisfaction of sharing our lives with others.

For someone like me, who craves ‘alone’ time, this can be a conundrum. 

While I find solace in peace and quiet, and I know a solitary walk in the woods will recharge my spirit, there are times when my heart aches to share a burden with a friend.

God has placed special people, prayerful people, in my life, in whom I can confide. I honestly believe the prayers of these friends have been life-changing for me. But before I could receive their love, I had to reach out and share my heart.

Being a friend is as important as having a friend. Listening is the best skill we can develop. It’s hard sometimes, to bite my tongue and let the other person finish talking. I want to interject an idea or suggestion. It takes practice, but being a good listener is sometimes the only comfort a friend needs in times of trouble.

Photo courtesy Best Light Photography

I’ve grown to cherish my friendships, and the uplifted feeling I get when I share time with a good friend. When I am having a day when the world seems against me, I remind myself of my friendships, and it soothes my spirit to know that I am loved.

And the truth is, we are never alone. There is One who walks beside us in every step of this lifetime journey. The comfort of knowing that God is near me always blesses my spirit with peace in troubling times.

Even when a friend is not available to talk, I can speak to God and His Spirit sends me comfort. His Presence in my life is a soothing balm. No matter what happens, I am never alone.

I believe we are meant to share our lives with close friends, intimately sharing the joys and concerns of our hearts. But I know God wants to share all of this with us, too. Every problem we share with Him is an opportunity to know His Peace. And the peace that God provides surpasses our ability to understand it. Just savor it, and let it seep deeply into your awareness.

And in turn, when joyful feelings lift our spirits, we should come to God in gratitude for the blessings He provides. Sharing happy times and cherishing our blessings gives us the balance we need in our lives.

In truth, the gift of His Peace in times of difficulty can move us to feel joy, and thus to share our gratitude. This brings us into an endless cycle of connectedness to God. And truthfully, that is what He desires with us, a relationship.

Just as with our friendships here on earth, we give and receive in our relationship with God.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. This saying is so true. Don’t be afraid to share your heart with others. I spent far too much time holding all my troubles inside and trying to weather them alone. As my sweet sister says, “A problem shared is a problem cut in half”, and it’s true! Our burdens are lifted when we share them with a trusted friend.

And remember, God is only a thought away. If we cultivate our friendship with Him daily, just by talking to Him every day, it will be natural for us to turn to Him to share our joys and our sorrows. God is near, and He wants to be the best friend we ever have.  

An Attitude of Gratitude

It’s beginning to simmer. Do you feel it? The start of the holiday season and its hectic demand on our time. Already feeling pulled in three different directions at once, something has to give. Unfortunately what gives is my peace. I need to find it and get it back.

With so much vying for our time, how can we find a moment to cultivate peace? A moment is really all it takes. Just a moment to say thank you, to realize gratefulness in the simplest of things.

Turn on the faucet, and clear, fresh water streams out. Not everyone in the world has this luxury, so be thankful. The frig is so full of food for the holiday that it’s truly crammed. Oh, so much food to be thankful for!

My sons are home and my house is full, even if only for a couple of days. The two middle boys, now young men, still have the job of peeling potatoes for the holiday meal. What joy to have these six foot plus giants in my kitchen, when I remember them hanging on my legs in the days before they cast such a big shadow .

The pressure to make it all perfect has to give way to the joy of the moment. Savor it, for it will soon be gone to yesterday and the moment is gone. Take the time to look each one in the eye, and find out where they truly are in life today. Laugh and joke, and love.

Each day holds hundreds of opportunities to cultivate a grateful heart. Why is it easy to only see what needs fixing and mope or complain about what we can’t have? The best ‘fix’ may be an attitude of gratitude.

Finding opportunities in the everyday to be thankful, truly grateful, focuses attention on the positive instead of belaboring the negative.

As we gather to share hearth and home, and a feast that could feed a small village, I pray that the moments of gratefulness we share as we indulge in our meal and our fellowship will carry into the days that follow.

My prayer is for God to open my eyes to the littlest of gifts, those that might otherwise go unnoticed, and cause me to pause and give thanks for these moments in life. It really is the little things that make up a life of gratitude. And saying thanks is a prayer of praise worthy of our humble hearts.

Blessings to all, in the spirit of the season. May your lives be blessed with fruitfulness, and may you grow in appreciation for the little things that bring joy and appreciation for the moments in which we live.

Sing Your Sorrows Away

Vacation Bible School was in full swing last week at our church. We had almost sixty children participating, along with many youth and adult leaders. Through crafts, singing, Bible stores, games and even snack time, the children learned more about Jesus and how God works in their lives.

This year's theme helped the children learn that God can help them with anything they might need: wisdom, strength, comfort, hope or just the right words to say. They learned that they are forever safe in God's arms, and that they can always trust God for help whenever they need it. 

It has been my special privilege to be the song leader for our VBS during the last three years. I lead the children in singing songs that help teach the Bible verse for the day, including active motions which require lots of energy. 

I share my joy and love of our Lord with the children through my singing, and I draw upon their energy and enthusiasm to keep me going. I've found that this week can be rather exhausting, but very gratifying!

It brings me such joy to see their sweet smiles. Their faces light up as they sing, and I see innocence in their eyes and the promise of all their tomorrows. Sometimes I almost lose my place in the song as I look out at their sweet faces. There is such honesty in their sweet demeanor, and I am honored to be leading them.

Sometime later they might recognize me in the parking lot or the hallway at church, and I feel a connection with them that will hopefully last for a lifetime. When the children see me in the in church leading the singing during worship or singing with the choir, they remember me from our fun times during VBS, and I think it may help them to feel a connection to the grown-up service and a sense of belonging. 

The songs we sing are joyful and full of energy, and they offer a lesson to me, too. I may be having a difficult day, and feel weary as I get up in front of the group; but then the words of the song reach my own heart and I remember that God is with me, too, and will help me to get through any struggles that I face. Soon my worries are forgotten as I sing to those smiling little faces and share the joy I know through God's love.

Joy through living, and especially through singing, is what keeps me going through challenging times. And no matter what the difficult days bring, if I can remember just to sing, my mood lifts immediately and my focus is turned elsewhere.

It isn’t always easy to do. If I am feeling particularly blue, singing is not the first thing I think of to help. But when I remember what a healing balm singing is to my soul, I make the choice to try to sing. 

Most often, I will sing a familiar hymn or contemporary Christian song. At first, I think it can be almost mechanical, but soon the lyrics guide my thoughts right to where they need to be: with God. His healing grace carries me through my difficult days, and His love touches my heart with His mercy.

Today the children sang in worship, and shared two of their fun VBS songs. At the end, the entire congregation joined them in singing the last verse of Kum ba yah. It was a really special moment for everyone.

This has been a wonderful week with the children, full of joys; and also a difficult and challenging week as I endured some personal sorrows, but music has carried me through, along with the prayers of my sweet sisters and brothers in Christ. Sharing music during worship today continued to be the healing balm I needed, and many others in the congregation as well.

We sang Laura Story's "Blessings" during worship today, and as people's hearts heard the words, there were a few tears shed. Tears are good. They are healing, too.

I will leave you with a song by Addison Road called "Hope Now" which always reminds me that God is my help; and no matter the storm, I need only to turn my thoughts - and my song - to Him.

Blessings to you all, my friends.

Subscribers may click on Hope to find to view the video on my blog site. Thanks!

Where Do I Turn?

We lift prayers for family members who are traveling a difficult road of life. We pray for healing and comfort for those who are ill or recovering from surgery or another trauma. 

When I pray for others, I ask for God’s presence to be near the person in need. God’s all-powerful presence is calming and peaceful for me, so I pray for others to feel the calming peace of knowing God is near to them, too.

Each time we face a trial, we have a choice. I know not long ago my reaction to a stressful situation would have been to completely stress out. I would feel frustrated and out of control, totally unsure of what to do. Now I have a new tactic. I pray.

Turning to God in the midst of my stress is very calming. I wish I could say I always remember to do this right away, but I am still learning! Each day is a new opportunity to try a different way of dealing with the challenges our lives bring. For me, turning to God releases some of my burden. I envision leaning on Him for support, encouragement and direction. My thoughts become clearer, and I look for solutions instead of focusing on the problem.

I have also learned that my emotions are information. Very important information. I used to be afraid of my strong emotions, and I held them inside instead of releasing them. Now if I feel sad, or confused, I try to figure out why. Sometimes it’s good to just let it out (privately if possible). Go ahead and cry or be angry and yell at the wind. Then, when the emotions have subsided, it is easier to see more clearly. Examine where the emotion came from, what caused it and what can be done to remedy the situation.

We are given emotions and nerves to sense our world. Another great tool is our intuition, or instinct. We have come to rely on our material world for all of our needs, but there is a part of us that can sense beyond tactile or other sensory perception. 

All animals are born with instinct to survive. We have protected ourselves in our safe little worlds and don’t often use our instincts anymore. But they are still there. 

Sometimes we have an instinctual feeling about a person or situation, and we need to trust the feeling and listen to that tiny voice. It can be difficult with the noise and busyness of our lives. But if you practice trusting your intuition, you will find it to be a helpful tool to use in navigating your way through this life.

So where do I turn? I learn a lot about myself and how to deal with a situation by understanding my reaction to it. When I am overwhelmed, which is frequently, I turn to my Savior for peace and direction. Most of the time I am sustained with the comfort that acknowledging Him brings me. Knowing that He is always near is a great comfort. His peace calms my spirit so that I can find a direction to resolve the situation. 

God’s Spirit lives in us, when we make our hearts welcoming to His presence. This is achieved through relationship with Him and through striving for right living. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. We can never be. But we can strive to live our lives according to His principles, learning and growing in our understanding of ourselves and our place in this world.  Through His love, we can learn of His perfect peace. 

Please enjoy this video of Laura Story's thought-provoking song, "Blessings". I have had the priviledge of sharing the message of this song through singing it with my sweet sisters in Christ in our trio at church. Laura has faced incredible trials in her life, through her husband's illness, and this song was born out of her experience of praying her way through that trial.