TENTH ANNIVERSARY

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
For the pattern He has planned.
(Corrie ten Boom)

 Today is this blog's tenth anniversary. I started out with lofty goals in mind, but allowed myself to be derailed by the sudden and unexpected. As a result, I was MIA for a whole year, and it took the following quote scribbled on a crumpled piece of paper to get me back on track.

"Dear  friend, God may send you some valuable gifts wrapped in unattractive paper. But do not worry about the wrappings, for you can be sure that inside He has hidden treasures of love, kindness, and wisdom. If we simply take what He sends and trust Him for the blessings inside, we will learn the meaning of the secrets of His providence, even in times of darkness." (A. B. Simpson)

To me, New Year's Eve 2018 was definitely a gift wrapped in unattractive paper. While others celebrated with toasts and fireworks, I lay in a Cardiac Intensive Care unit, intubated, hooked up to a ventilator, heavily sedated with Propofol and Fentanyl, and suffering from acute congestive heart failure, as well as double pneumonia. Yet, in retrospect, it truly did turn out to be a valuable gift filled with hidden treasures.

While still in the hospital, I felt inspired to write OIL OF MYRRH, a testimony to God's goodness, and the way He worked in my life during what started out as a very dark time. If you would like to read it, you can click on this link for a free download. I pray that it would bless and encourage you.

At the foot of the cross there is mercy and grace. There is forgiveness, healing, and deliverance. This is the place where the slate gets wiped clean and you can have a fresh start. All you have to do is believe it, and receive it.

A SACRIFICE OF TIME

Dear children, let's not merely say
that we love each other; let us show
the truth by our actions.
(1 John 3:18 NLT)

During prayer group this morning, our leader uttered a word she thought might be a message for one of us--sacrifice. No one responded. It definitely didn't feel as though it applied to me. Much later, though, while sitting in my car waiting for the light to change, a memory surfaced from long ago.

I was a camp counselor, and had befriended a special needs girl who worked in the kitchen. One evening she asked me if I would go fishing with her, and I used curfew as an excuse because I didn't want to go. Her response haunts me more today than it did back then. "Everybody is very nice," she said, "but when you need someone to do something with, there's nobody there."

I've always been selfish with my time, and have many regrets about how much of it has been squandered on things that have no lasting value. Sadly, I cannot undo the past, but I can change my priorities going forward. That word, sacrifice, may well have been a message for me after all.