A Promise Kept

pond1

Let me tell you about the five koi that live at the bottom of this pond.
There is one whose name is Big Red. Then there is Fish Bone, Piano, Pirate and Flame. We have a mutually beneficial relationship. I provide food and shelter for them. They provide peaceful movements and a Sabbath rest for me.

I take good care of them. They are a part of God’s creation he is trusting me with. I take this assignment with serious joy.

I stopped feeding these fish when the temperature dropped below 50 degrees F. They are now snuggled together at the bottom of the pond in a hibernation state.
I had a submersible pump installed to keep a circle of water bubbling and a backup heating ring for severe temperature drops. This is important because carbon dioxide needs to get out of the pond and oxygen needs to get in.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed mechanical failure. The pump was slowing down and the heater wasn’t working at all. The surface of my essential circle began to freeze over. My efforts to break the ice were defeated by the relentless power of the cold temperatures turning the water to ice.

Fearing the worst, I called the man who originally created this pond. To my delight, he told me he would come, bring everything that was needed and do whatever needed to be done. Wondering if this was too good to be true, I asked, “Do you promise?”

He said, “Roselyn, I promise.”

Sometimes I wonder if my spiritual story is like this fishpond.

Jesus said, “The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Some days I wonder if the harshness of life will block this spring and leave my life with a frozen barrier.

Then I remember the Holy Spirit saying He would come, bring everything that is needed and do whatever needs to be done.

Wondering if this is too good to be true, I ask, “Do you promise?”

He says, “Roselyn, I promise.”

pond 2

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For This I Need My Dad

I think we were either in second or third grade. We were the only two girls in our one room grade school. That alone would have created a space for becoming best buddies, but we also loved being together.

We were both the oldest in our family and neither of us had brothers so we did farm work the same as if we had been boys. We also took a real liking to fishing in a small creek that we could get to by crossing what then seemed like a very long field.

The river was tree lined and wonderfully alive. There were places where you could listen to the sound of the rushing water and places where everything was still.

There was one place, kind of bordered by tree roots, where the water was very dark. That was a great place to silently drop your hook, with the worm you had just dug.

The day I am remembering was warm and sunny. We had taken our bicycles to the river. The fish were biting often enough to keep our interest. We were catching trout that, as you might know, have small tight mouths.

trout

Then it happened.

I felt a tug on my line and when I pulled in the fish my whole body shook with terror. The fish’s lips were all curled back making a swollen ring around its mouth.

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I knew I had pulled too hard on the line and caused this fish to suffer.

I threw it into my bicycle basket and with tears streaming down my cheeks peddled home as fast as my legs would go. I needed to find my dad. When I pulled into our driveway I saw that Dad was way out in the far field on the tractor. Stopping for nothing I continued to pedal my bike, now over the rough open field.

Dad saw me and stopped.

Breathlessly I told him that I had ruined the mouth of this fish by pulling too hard on the line.

Dad looked at the fish and said. This is not a trout. This is called a sucker. That is the way its mouth is supposed to look.

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How Does It Know to Celebrate?

flowerI’m looking at this amazing plant. It is getting ready to explode with blossoms. The buds are pushing through the tips of the green leaves.

I don’t see any frenzy in this activity.

I don’t see any competition between the stems.

The plant seems to be at rest as it is being transformed.Maybe it knows that all it needs to do to be ready for Christmas is simply to do what it is designed to do.

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This Really Happened

(Background from this event can be obtained by reading “The Diary of a Cat” posted September 11,2013. It will help you know more about me. My name is Takker and I am Roselyn’s cat.)

Roselyn has a good friend whose daughter is studying to be a veterinarian technician. I can sense that she is really into this line of work. Well, today she came to “practice” some things on me. They call it “practice” even when they have done it for years. Medical doctors for humans say “practice” too. I understand why.

The goal for today was to put me in about 35 positions so that they could draw blood or worse. This first picture is of me being restrained for a “jugular blood draw.” Luckily there was no blood involved, particularly since it would have been mine!
buritto takker
You can see by the expression on my face that I am trying to strike a serene pose. This beautiful student was not hurting me at all. It’s just that I wasn’t able to find any point to it.

This second picture is called scruffing. She later tipped me into what they called a lateral position. I could have just laid on my left side and accomplished the same thing.takker being scruffed

Actually the student and I were both nervous. She is taking her final exams tomorrow and I was afraid she was going to give me a bath. (Thankfully, the bath was not on the list. But, it is on the list for next semester. I have decided, though, that I am not going to worry about it now and spoil my Christmas.)

In the end, I decided to take the high road. I checked out for myself if we had done all the procedures that would be needed for the exam tomorrow. I did this by looking over the instruction manual and making sure we hadn’t missed anything.

takker looking at book

I am confident that my student will get a good grade. And, I think she thought working with me was fun.

Anyway, we left on a good note. becky and takker

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It’s REAL Now

I have known for a few months that the wheels have been set in motion for me to administer my Aunt’s living trust. We have met with her attorney and I understand that my designated role is irrevocable. I have accepted this responsibility and am determined to execute with care.

I opened an account at my bank. The account was in my Aunt’s name with me as the trustee. The account has its own tax number. Her assets have been sold and a check for their value was sent in her name to me. With the power vested in me I deposited the check.

But today, it all became real. Today I received a pack of checks with her name as the owner and my name as the trustee. Today I can spend the money.

Today, this responsibility, that carries some weight because of all the legality, is beginning to feel like a joy. I am remembering all the fun times I had with my Aunt. I remember how she loved me as a child and always enjoyed doing something special with me when we were together.

I want to read her will carefully, check again with her attorney, and carry out the desire of her heart. I am delighted as I think of the joy that her beneficiaries will experience when they get the check from her that I sign.

The analogy is so obvious that it hardly needs to be mentioned. But, somehow, this experience of being a trustee is illuminating for me the risk God took when He trusted me with His Holy Spirit.

God trusts me to spend in His Name. I have the power to execute His will and watch as His beneficiaries are surprised with joy.It’s REAL now.

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Eee-Yah-Kee

This word/sound came to my mind today and stirred memories. I couldn’t remember if it actually had a meaning or if my sister and I had only attributed a meaning to it when we were children. Out of curiosity I typed it into a web site and was surprised to find it.

The sound Eee-Yah-Kee comes from the Lassie show of the 1950’s. The two boys, who were Lassie’s human friends, would call it out to each other. It was a form of recognition; it was the assurance that they were there for each other. Somehow, it meant everything would be OK because they were together. They also said it when one left for another state.  In that scene it was kind of a goodbye that acknowledged physical separation but kept the souls intact.

Back in those days my little sister and I would watch our small black and white TV and become absorbed in the story of Lassie. We must have somehow recognized the essence of the word Eee-Yah-kee because it became a code between us.

During these years when our parents struggled I would say this “word” to my sister and write her letters with it as the signature. I wanted her to know that we would be OK. I wanted her to recognize that she was not alone. I didn’t want her to be scared. I was the older sister and I would be there for her.

Is the heart of Eee-Yah-Kee simply a personal code that strengthened two sisters back in the days of black and white TV or can we wring meaning from it today?

Why do I want to write about it in Silverstrands: faith through aging eyes?

Am I longing to hear someone say this “word” to me?

Am I looking for someone that needs to hear it from me?

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Our Special Guests

We invited two special guests for Thanksgiving dinner. These guests are two brothers who are always eager to come to our home and lift things that are too heavy for my aging husband. And, I reluctantly add, too heavy for my own aging self.

These twin brothers love our Lord Jesus Christ. Their eternal home is secure. Day to day, they experience uncertainty as they are once again unemployed and once again waiting for their home to be sold on a short sale.

Here are some quotes from our dinner conversation:

Roselyn: “Thank you so much for coming. It would have been sad to be alone on Thanksgiving.”

Guest response (usually in unison): “That’s no problem. It’s OK.”

Roselyn: “I hope you don’t tell anyone at church that we bought the food at a grocery store and all I did was heat it up.”

Guests (emphatically): “NO, You don’t need to worry about that. All we’re going to say is that Roselyn is a really good cook.”   (laughter).

Guests: “Our mother got up at 4 AM and made everything from scratch.”                   (Mother died 17 years ago.)

Guests: (to my husband who was moving slowly due to back pain) “That turkey is going to make you feel young again.” 

(to me): “I don’t believe you are 70.” Together they agreed I looked 49. They considered the number and firmly agreed!

When we got to that familiar place in a holiday meal where one’s eyes are bigger than one’s stomach:

Guest: “I am not going to waste this. There are too many hungry people in the world.”

Roselyn: “I’ll get you a zip-lock bag so you can take it home. We have a lot of food left. Would you like to take some of that home?”

Guests: “ That would be no problem. We brought containers in our car JUST IN CASE!!”

Today I am going to feast with my Heavenly Father. I am going to eat all I can but I’m going to bring some take home containers with me JUST IN CASE!!

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When “Thankful” Is a Choice

I am awakened this morning by the strong purr and gentle paw of my cat, Takker. I am reminded that he was given to me as a gift ten years ago today. He has been and is a source of pure joy. Thankfulness is a natural response.

I turn on the wake up music I have selected for my alarm. As I “soak” I am reminded that I am His and He is mine. His ability to encounter my spirit is stronger than my inability to encounter Him. Thankfulness is a natural response.

When I turn to intercession I remember the stories I have been a part of this week.

There is the mother that doesn’t know where her daughter is. She knows she has no money.

There is the person who is so exhausted from failed medical answers to pain that she just can’t fight anymore.

There is the widow, who smiles weakly as she listens to families tell of their Thanksgiving plans, knowing that even if she is with people she will be alone.

My list could be long, but so could yours. These are the stories where “Thankful” becomes a choice.

Today I am thankful that God knows where the lost daughter is and that He is with her.

Today I am thankful that if the suffering one gives up the fight, underneath are the everlasting arms. She can only fall into the nail scarred hands of Jesus.

Today I am thankful that the journey this widow is on will lead her into the awareness that God, Himself, is revealing Himself as her husband.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “On earth as it is in heaven.”

Today I choose to pray from heaven. I reach into heaven and bring praise, thanksgiving and worship. I leave lostness, pain, tears and loneliness here because they are not found in heaven.

Today, in the places where my heart does not choose the stories I am seeing, I am choosing to be thankful.

My wakeup song repeats, “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.”

“He has never failed me yet and He won’t start now.”

When thankfulness is a choice…

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Pastoral Prayer for Thanksgiving Worship Service

“Be joyful always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ.”

The God we are worshipping today is the Loving Father Who welcomes His children. Today our Father wants us to come home, to His heart, for Thanksgiving.

He has His eye on you, right now, and is excited that you are here. We talk to Him with joy and confidence because we know our Father loves to hear our voice, has something to say to us and is interested in what we have to say.

Some of us could rattle on all day and still not have mentioned everything we are thankful for.

For others of us, we want to be thankful, but our lives are in a season of sadness.

Let me risk saying this… If we can think of nothing else to be thankful for we can be thankful that God wants to enter into a conversation with us.

We call it prayer.

I will lead us. When I pause, it will be for you to listen quietly to God or quietly tell him what is on your heart.

If at any time during the prayer you want to stand up as a way of declaring this is true for me, then do that.

At the end I will say Amen, but it won’t be the end of our chance to talk to God. He will be listening for our voice all day.

Pray with me.

Father, We want to begin by thanking you that because of Jesus we can claim a family relationship with you. You are our Father, we are your children, and today we want to say Thank You. 

Thank you that you are a Father Who waits for us children to come home, loves to hear our voices and loves for us to have time with you. We want to tell you right now that we are thankful that Jesus died and rose again so we can run to you with the freedom of a loved child. 

We thank you that we are welcome to bring our friends home for Thanksgiving. We want to name those who we long to introduce to you and ask that by your Holy Spirit they will choose to accept your invitation to become family. 

Thank you that we can never bring anything to you that is too hard for you. You have power over our fears, our finances, our health, and our relationships. We bring to you now the things that concern us and ask you to help us release these things to you. 

We pray that you would open our eyes so that we can see your involvement in our lives, open our ears so we can hear your voice and open our hearts so that we can love.  May our lives be so stunning that people will say, “Look at how those ordinary people love each other. The only explanation can be that they have been with Jesus”. Bring to mind one unexpected act of love that we can do today that will cause our family and friends to recognize you. 

We thank you that you are a promise keeping God. We thank you that you finish what you start. That you who have begun a good work in us and in those we love will not give up. Thank you that you are waiting at the front door of your home, your heart, waiting to run to us and welcome us home for thanksgiving.

We acknowledge that all of this is true because of the Love of our Heavenly Father, the rescuing work of Jesus and the empowering of the Holy Spirit.  

We say, Amen, now, but this is not the end of our prayer. Thank you that you will be listening for our voice all day. Remind us, though the day, to talk to you and listen for you. May you, most Holy God have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day because your family is home and your house is filled with unity and joy.

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The Power of “Thank You” Prayers

I have met a small group of people whose prayers create in me a hunger to know God better. They pray with intimacy, intensity, and confidence. They know Who they are talking to and they know who they are in relationship to Him.

Because we are each a unique creation we have a unique relationship with our Creator. We gain insight into these intimate relationships by listening to each other pray.  At the same time, we are set free to offer our own authentic prayers that will, by design, be different in style and expression.

Having said that, I have been captivated recently by the prayers of a friend who usually starts her prayer with a strong “Thank you.”  As she articulates the things she is thanking for, I recognize a confidence that God has indeed done each of the things that she mentions.

I wonder if I tend to offer these same prayers by starting them with the word, “Please.”  I, by contrast, am asking God to do something. She is thanking Him because He did something.

How does God’s finished work on the cross inform our prayers?

Is it possible to pray from the wrong side of the cross? By this I mean, praying the way we would if we were still waiting for the Messiah? In so doing, are we asking Him to do things He has already done?

This Thanksgiving, I want to edit my own prayers and look for ways to acknowledge His finished work.

Thank you, Jesus for ______________________. If I thank Him before I see the answer I am praying in faith.

Holy Spirit, come and teach me to pray.

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