Rain, Rain! Don’t Go Away – You are Welcome in this Day

Oh, the wonderful rain that has come to us in Frisco. Two days in a row means the blistering heat has subsided and I don’t have to water plants and grass. My two fur-pals haven’t been too crazy about it – they don’t like playing or walking in the rain. I've learned not to complain about the heat, the cold or rain, because, here in Texas, it's subject to change daily. We might as well brace ourselves and go with the flow!

Isn't that like our personal "climates", too? One day we are bright with a sunny disposition. Things are going our way -- even the lights are turning green before we get to them. And, another day, it's cloudy, rainy with thunderstorms overtaking us. The thrills of that "shout-hallelujah" victory can be overtaken by that "woe is me" agony of defeat.

But it's inevitable that there will be ups and downs in our lives. And, Lord, have mercy – we have had plenty of ups and downs the last few months, haven’t we? A country music legend, Lynn Anderson, made the song "Rose Garden" famous. The lyrics were: “I beg your pardon. I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there’s got to be a little rain sometime.”

When we read the writings of the Apostle Paul, we might think that he and Lynn Anderson partnered up in writing that song. Paul knew suffering and he wrote to us about it, but he weathered it, because he also knew God’s peace in the suffering. He was talking about a calm that comes because of God's love for us. The calm that comes even when the storm clouds gather. Paul even had the audacity to tell us to "rejoice in our sufferings"! He said in Romans 3:3-5 "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Really? We're supposed to rejoice in our sufferings? Sufferings like being in isolation, having to home school our kids, an illness, a relationship break-up, a divorce, facing bankruptcy, the death of a loved one, wayward children, losing a job or even suffering through this presidential election rancor-- we are supposed to rejoice in those sufferings? God didn't mean for us to celebrate loses or even ignore pain or suffering. No, no, no. Instead, he meant that suffering is a part of life. No matter how many times we complain that life is not fair, Paul wants us to know that suffering (a little rain) is the part of our lives that helps us grow to be hope-filled people of character and determination. That rain gives us hope for tomorrow’s beautiful rose gardens in our lives.

What Lynn Anderson's song doesn't tell us, and what Paul wanted so desperately for us to know, is that God loves us so much that He promised never to leave us alone. The rain comes and suffering comes, but with God, we'll receive patient endurance. And patience leads to character. And character leads to hope. And hope will not disappoint us. That's a mighty fine recipe for pulling us from the darkest of times, to the brightest sunshine times EVER. That's when we'll be singing "Rain, rain – don’t go away – you are welcome in this day!” Because, tomorrow we’ll be singing “I’m walking on sunshine – whoa oh! – and don’t it feel good?"

What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

Yesterday, we had another wonderful sing-a-long at the front yard of Tim and LaDonna Gatlin Johnson. Still assembled in our 6-foot rule spacing, we clapped and sang together to some of the best old hymns. Tim, an incredible pianist, gave us a concert in "Liberace" style!

Most beautiful were the testimonies of God’s amazing grace. Tim touched us with his story of surviving cancer in all of his lymph nodes many years ago. Tim and LaDonna became stronger in their faith and trust in God’s faithfulness more than ever before. What didn’t kill Tim, made him stronger.

I can speak a similar story – through the illnesses of my children, myself, and my husband’s illnesses and passing – I became stronger than I ever thought possible.

Pictured again here is the after-shot of the tornado that my father and mother-in-law went through. What didn’t kill them made them stronger and even greater good did God do through them. That property was sold to a young couple. She saw my blog and commented: “Thanks for sharing the pictures. I especially recognized the after-tornado picture. Since then, that property has been home to over 100 foster children in DHS, home to 7 different family groupings needing a safe place for a season, home to International Bible University, Westport Gathering and our home where we have raised our family including two grandchildren now. So appreciate and love the history your family established here. Love all of you.”

The quote: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" dates back over 100 years ago to Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher. He believed that if one can persevere through the difficult times and trials of life, the end result can often be a strengthening of character and endurance.

But I think it goes back even further. The Apostle Paul explained it well after he and his friends had endured horrible events like being whipped 29 times, beaten with rods, and left for dead after being buried under a pile of rocks: "We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us. We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don't know what to do, but we don't give up. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

The people I respect most have not had easy lives. They are the people who faced adversity and didn't give up. They were transformed by grace. It's really not what doesn’t kill us that makes us stronger, but God’s grace in the face of our struggles that makes us stronger. And through that grace, in the most difficult of times, we find endurance. And in that endurance, we find character. And it is that character that gives us hope.

This unparalleled COVID-19 season has been a rough time for so many, but those of us who are resilient in these times will come out stronger than we’ve ever been before. I’m counting on hearing story after story of the determination of those who kept their faith intact and the grace of God that made them stronger, wiser and more grateful than ever before.

Moms! Let it Go and Let it Grow!

I'm sitting at my desk in Radiology at Children's Hospital and hear playing "Let it Go" on the tv monitors in the waiting room. How many times have I heard that song from "Frozen" and from messages I've heard about letting unnecessary stuff go?

But, this day, I'm thinking about Mother's Day and from what I've learned, "What would I tell my 18-year-old self when I first became a young mom?" I would tell her: "You may be new at this but practice makes perfect so LET IT GROW!"

I wasn't athletically inclined. No sports for me. Though I wanted to be "that" girl who stood out and won awards for her team, I didn't even try to go there. But, athleticism kicked in for me many years later when I started running. I learned that God made our bodies in a way that we can't expect to be an athlete with only an "I wish I could" mentality. Years ago, a group of us walked the 5K in honor of my husband who couldn't walk at all. After that, my son's marathon trainer said: "Your son's long, athletic legs came from you! It's time for you to start running!" At first, I thought she was kidding or crazy, but before long I started training. It started with building endurance. Then I was ready to run a mile. The first day I walked and ran, the next day I walked a little faster, and eventually, I could run a mile. Before long, I was ready to run my first 13.5-mile half-marathon.

I wish someone would have told me about endurance in motherhood! It takes endurance, practice, work, consistency, and exhaustion to grow into mothering with wisdom and maturity and grace and gentleness. I found the more I practiced, the stronger I became, step by step, slow and steady, learning, doing, listening to older moms, staying closely knit with the Lord and relying on His Holy Spirit, the better I got.

There is a reason Scripture talks about older women teaching younger women (Titus 2:4-5) to keep on and that's what this older woman is saying to you today, precious moms! You are NOT failing! It takes time and work and sweat and tears. When I say, it gets better, I don’t just mean it gets easier because your kids sleep and are more self-sufficient (although sleep is awesome). It gets better because you get better. You mature. You grow in grace. You are acting out of what you have been given by God. You have been molded and tested, and if you keep on, you will make it. So get your running shoes, pace yourself (oh my goodness, pace yourself), and keep on. You are NOT failing! I'm not saying "Let it go". I am saying "Let it grow!" You're not alone. God is cheering you on and so am I!

James 1:2-4 confirms what God is telling us: "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So LET IT GROW for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

You Are Living Stones

I have a birds-eye view from my office window, of the house being built across the street from me (pictured here). It’s really quite amazing how – just a couple of weeks ago – there was just a vacant lot. It is gradually becoming a home that will soon have happy occupants inside. For the first time, I’ve become keenly aware of the intricate, detailed, precise artistry of the stonemasons. Each rock is random in shape and size, but is actually hand-picked to connect to its neighboring rocks and precisely placed for the forces and elements of nature that will come, yet those stones will withstand the test of time. I took photos of this house, and put together this collage yesterday. You can see the house at the top, the photo at the bottom left is the brilliant stonemason, and the bottom right is the stone cutter. Patience, endurance, and an eye for the layout to be concise – not to mention, their exquisite craftsmanship certainly entitles them to bear the name "Master Artists".

I'm amazed as I think about us, God’s masterpieces, and His plans and purposes for our lives and what all, and who all, He had in mind when He created us. We may feel like random works of art, but, oh no, He had specific "stones" that would be connected to our lives. He had our families in mind; He had our friends in mind; He had those He would want us to influence in mind; He had our generation in mind; He had the future generation in mind. We were hand-picked to connect to people with the knowledge that what we do and who we are, will withstand the test of time……to eternity. My prayer is “Use me, Lord! Please pick me! Oh, great, Chief Cornerstone, may I be one of your “living stones” used as a stepping stone for others to come to You! (I Peter 2:5 “You are living stones…..")

"We are works of art, and we are artists at work."