Letting Go

     My husband Jeff and I took our oldest son, Kyle, to college this past weekend.  Although he is a sophomore transfer student at Texas A & M, somehow this was different than when Kyle went to college as a freshman.  His first year was spent at a university only 25 minutes away and we saw him every weekend.  Now, we may only see him at major holidays and when we are able to go visit him in College Station.  I believe it is different this time and will perhaps be different forever.

     Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” – As I thought about the years of Kyle’s childhood, I wondered if I did train him in the ways of the Lord.  I was his third and fourth grade Sunday school teacher and led him in an evening Bible class when he was in 5^th grade.  When he became a “youth” at church, I encouraged him to participate in youth activities and Bible studies and worked as a small group leader at one of the retreats he attended.  My husband and I also sponsored him on a Chrysalis retreat, the high school version of the “Walk to Emmaus” and my husband taught him how to handle his money the way the Bible teaches.  I hope that as parents, my husband and I have displayed Christian behavior through our words, actions and activities.  Did we train Kyle up in the way he should go?  I think we did, and now it’s time to let go.  Our job now is to pray for him, be there when he needs us and pay for his college education! 

     One of the things I am praying for is that our son will make some friends.  Today, I spoke with Kyle and he told me that an old high school friend from his first high school in San Antonio came into the store that he works at in College Station.  Kyle said he always liked this young man and that they will now communicate through Facebook.  Through this and many other things that have happened since Kyle was accepted at Texas A & M, I realized that Kyle is truly in God’s hands now and that God is taking care of him.

     I believe one of the most awesome responsibilities we have as Christians is to raise our children.  We are the first glimpse they have of Christ and many times, if we aren’t consistent in our own spiritual walk, our children will not embrace our faith.  It is heart-wrenching to watch a child reject Christ but it’s never too late for them to return to their faith roots.  Even if our child has already left the home, we can start today to model Christian behavior.  We can be honest with them about our past shortcomings but then share with them how the Lord has turned our lives around.  We can pray for our child’s heart to be softened and for them to have a real encounter with the risen Christ.  God’s light can reach across many miles, straight into the hearts of our children.  We may have missed the opportunity to truly “train our children in the way they should go” but there’s another verse we can claim in Joel 2:25,26 that states, “I will restore to you the years the Locusts have eaten…”  Pray for restoration in your life and your children’s lives and know that God is faithful! 

My Kitchen Table

     Ever since I rededicated my life to Christ in 1993, I’ve spent my quiet time with God at the kitchen table.  When we lived in Connecticut, I studied his Word at the kitchen table, the kitchen table represented my place of solitude in San Antonio and now here in Flower Mound, even though I now have a desk in our bedroom, I sit writing this devotion at our kitchen table.  There is something about the light that beams into the breakfast area.  The windows surrounding the kitchen table usually provide the best view of God’s beautiful handiwork.  The kitchen table is where I greet the Lord in the morning and many times, spend time with him in the afternoon.

     I can remember that our view from the kitchen table in San Antonio needed some “sprucing up” so one day my husband and I bought two Crepe Myrtle trees and planted them outside the window so I could see them blossom.  It seemed as my faith grew, so did the Crepe Myrtles.  They were a daily reminder to me of the splendor of God’s creation and every spring, I anticipated their pink blooms.      

     When we found out we were moving from San Antonio to Flower Mound, I went through many emotions about leaving my home town.   I would miss my extended family members, my wonderful friends, the church we attended and lastly, I knew I would miss the now, more mature, Crepe Myrtles for in a way they were symbolic of my spiritual journey.

     When we bought our house in Flower Mound, the trees and spring flowers had not yet bloomed so I did not know the surprise that awaited me on moving weekend in late May.  As we drove up to our new neighborhood, I was awestruck as the streets were lined with Crepe Myrtles while our yard was colorfully landscaped with numerous Crepe Myrtles in the front and backyards.  For me, it was God’s way of reconfirming that our move was his will and that our lives and spiritual walk would blossom even more through this move.  Four years later, I still anticipate the Crepe Myrtle’s blooms each season and as I look back, I am thankful for God’s reassurance during a very difficult time.

The Greatest Commandment

About seven years ago, I was studying Deuteronomy in my Old Testament seminary class where we came across these famous Biblical words known as the “Shema” in the Jewish culture.  For the Jews, the words are an affirmation of Judaism and a declaration of faith in God:

“Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.   Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

My professor noted these words are also in the New Testament. When Jesus is asked by an expert in the law to name the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:36,37 he replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  My professor reminded us to pay careful attention to what is written in red letters!   I thought, if God saw these words as important enough to write them on the doorframes of your houses and if Jesus thought it was the greatest commandment, then I needed to find a plaque with these words on them to post in my own home to remind me daily of how I am to love God.

For two years I searched for some kind of plaque to post over the doorframe of my house.  I looked at every Christian book store I came across and even checked for it on line, but was never able to come up with anything.  I asked a local Christian gift shop owner to see if she could find anything like this and she came back empty, saying, “It simply doesn’t exist.”  However, she had a thought.  One of her vendors in Louisiana made custom plaques and was looking for something new so she passed this option by the vendor who loved the idea and created a beautiful plaque with the Shema on it.  The first one ever produced is sitting above my door.

What does it mean to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength?”  I believe you can compare it to the time you fell in love with your spouse.  You wanted to spend all your time with them.  Your thoughts were focused on them.  You could not wait to see them.  You wanted to learn everything about them so you studied them!  God wants us to feel the same way about Him.  He wants our hearts to belong to Him.  He wants us to spend time with him every day in Bible study and in prayer.  He wants our thoughts to be centered on him.  He desires that we yearn for Him.  In Isaiah 54:5, scripture even tells us that God is our husband:  “For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.”

Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength?  I know I want to, but I believe I’ve failed God many times in this area.  I am distracted by other things that pull me away from the place I should be resting in.  Many times, I simply pray, “Lord, help me to love you more.”  The beauty about God is that through his strength we can keep the greatest commandment and through our commitment to love Him with all our heart, our lives will be forever changed.

Where Can You Find God? The Answer May Surprise You!

     How do you know when God is speaking to you?  For me, I know that when I get multiple messages on the same subject, I need to pay attention.  This week, through three different readings, the Lord spoke to me on the same subject, “praise.”  I have always realized the importance of praising God, but I will confess I am a closet “praiser.”  I am not one to raise my hands in church toward the heavens nor am I one to vocally shout “Praise God!” when there is an answered prayer.  Although I love Christian hymns and music, I am not prone to singing at the top of my lungs in honor of the Lord.  However, I do praise God at home on bended knee every day and I love to listen to Christian contemporary music inside my home while I’m cleaning the house.  I praise Him for His creation as I admire his handiwork outside my kitchen window. But is it enough?

     What I realized is that I did not see the bigger picture concerning praise.  When we praise God, we draw Him nearer to us.  Psalm 22:3 in the King James Version states, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”  God lives in our praises!   According to Nancy Leigh DeMoss in her book, “A Place of Quiet Rest,” praising the Lord is a cure for spiritual dryness.  When David was fleeing from King Saul, he was fearful for his life, hiding out in caves, hungry and thirsty, but in Psalm 63:1-5 he praises God despite his circumstances: 

“O God, you are my God.  I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.  Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live.  I will lift up my hands and call on your name.”

     As I read this, I realized that if God seems distant at any time, I can find Him by praising him!  When we bless the Lord through our words, raise our hands in praise to the Lord or sing to the Lord, it’s an invitation to God to fill us and to inhabit our praises. 

     This concept reminded me of an experience 16 years ago.  I was driving in my car from Stratford, Connecticut to Boston, Massachusetts when I popped in a tape by singer Rod Stewart.  The song, “Have I Told You Lately” came on.  As I listened to the words. I thought, “Wow, that is a very spiritual song and I began to sing it at the top of my lungs over and over to God:  “Have I told you lately that I love you?  Have I told you there’s no one else above you?  Fill my heart with gladness, take away all my sadness.  Ease my troubles; that’s what you do.”

     What happened after that day was amazing!  Almost everywhere I went, the song “Have I Told You Lately” played.  It played when I was at the grocery store.  It played when I was at the drug store.  It played at the restaurants I went to.  I’ll admit, it was a little spooky but I realized God was playing the song back to me.  My praises had brought him very near, so close that I could almost touch Him.  To this day, this song will play at key times when I am struggling with an issue.  It is God’s and my song!

     For me, the message is, I need to get back to the business of praising God.  I had become lax in it and because of that, spiritually dry at times.  Remember the words of Psalm 43:5:

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.

Praise God!  He is worthy to be praised!

Standing in the Gap

My son, Kyle, is now a proud Texas A & M Aggie.  It was a long process getting there because, despite good grades, he was not accepted into A & M out of high school.  I think I was more disappointed than he was because I knew how much he wanted to attend Texas A & M, but when we talked about it, Kyle comforted me by saying, “Mom I prayed that if I was supposed to go to Texas A & M that it would happen.  If I wasn’t supposed to go, I prayed that God would close the door.”  Well, for at least his freshman year, God closed the door and Kyle attended another university.

During this past year, one of the prayers I prayed for my son was for his college future.  I knew he would apply again to Texas A & M, so I asked that the Lord would make it clear where Kyle was supposed to finish out his college education.  If it was Texas A & M, I asked God to make it abundantly clear.  Last week, I received a text message from Kyle right before my Bible study.  The group I lead saw me well up with tears of joy as I read God’s answer to our prayer for Kyle.  He had been accepted into Texas A & M! This week, we made a day trip to College Station, secured an apartment for him and purchased some furniture. That same day, Kyle found out he had a job in College Station!  My husband, Kyle and I all agreed that the timing belonged to the Lord and that because the timing was now right, everything fell into place.

In Ezekiel, intercessory prayer like this is referred to as “standing in the gap.”  Unfortunately, in Ezekiel 22:30, God was looking for a man to stand in the gap for Israel by praying for Israel’s repentance of sins and salvation but he could find no one who was willing to do this.  There was no one who interceded on behalf of their people or their country and the Lord was disappointed.

Intercessory prayer has become an important aspect of my life over the past few years.  I pray daily for others but every couple of weeks, my prayer partner Donna and I get on our knees and “stand in the gap” for our family, friends, church, country and ourselves.  We have seen amazing answers to specific prayers.  Work situations have changed for the better, marriages have improved and we’ve seen God work in our children and in our own lives.  An article I read on intercessory prayer stated that through our prayers, we might be literally breaking down the “gates of hell” in someone’s life.  My accountability group prayed regularly for a nephew of one of our group members who was addicted to drugs.  He has now overcome his habit and is a Christ follower.  Our prayers are that powerful!

James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God.”  It’s important to take the time to ask.  The answer will not always be “yes” but if we don’t take the time to pray, we can’t expect any answer whatsoever. Are you willing to “stand in the gap” for those close to you?  Are you willing to be the one to cry out to God on behalf of another?  God is looking for someone to do that so lives and situations can be transformed through the power of prayer.