Rindy's Devotional Tidbits
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The Spiritual Cafe is pleased to share her daily facebook thoughts. It is our hope that her reflections will be a service to you on your spiritual growth journey.
Week Twenty Four Archives
Year 5; Day 163 Going Home
That is mostly all mother-in-law talked about. From the day she moved into assisted living and eventually long term care, her greeting was usually the same; "How long have I got to be here? When can I go home?" It didn't matter that she was in a wheelchair. She believed she would find a way to "do her work". No matter how much you tried to reason with her, the response was the same, "When can I go home?" Her home was her life and no other place would do. Reasoning, logic, facts...none of it mattered. "How long have I got to be here? When can I go home?" She finally got an answer. An answer better than any we could give her. God took her home on June 10th. Not to her home in Victoria. Not to the house built by her husband's hands. Not to a house ill suited to a wheelchair or in need of repair. Not to any home here on earth. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) And her room was ready and waiting. Never again will she need to ask, "When can I go home?" No more heartache or sorrow. No more longing to be somewhere else. There is a place for a panel to be displayed in the inside lid of the coffin. Hers says "Going home." I think an even better one would be "Gone home." For that is what she has done. She is not "going home". She has already "gone home". Even in our grief we can rejoice. Never again will she have to ask, "When can I go home?" Today is Monday. I wouldn't be surprised if she's already found "a bit of work" to do!
That is mostly all mother-in-law talked about. From the day she moved into assisted living and eventually long term care, her greeting was usually the same; "How long have I got to be here? When can I go home?" It didn't matter that she was in a wheelchair. She believed she would find a way to "do her work". No matter how much you tried to reason with her, the response was the same, "When can I go home?" Her home was her life and no other place would do. Reasoning, logic, facts...none of it mattered. "How long have I got to be here? When can I go home?" She finally got an answer. An answer better than any we could give her. God took her home on June 10th. Not to her home in Victoria. Not to the house built by her husband's hands. Not to a house ill suited to a wheelchair or in need of repair. Not to any home here on earth. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) And her room was ready and waiting. Never again will she need to ask, "When can I go home?" No more heartache or sorrow. No more longing to be somewhere else. There is a place for a panel to be displayed in the inside lid of the coffin. Hers says "Going home." I think an even better one would be "Gone home." For that is what she has done. She is not "going home". She has already "gone home". Even in our grief we can rejoice. Never again will she have to ask, "When can I go home?" Today is Monday. I wouldn't be surprised if she's already found "a bit of work" to do!
Year 5; Day 164 Jesus Wept
Yesterday we spent the afternoon and evening at the funeral home. There was a few minutes when I was able to sit off to the side and just observe. Mother-in-law had six children as well as some siblings who stayed in the area. There was a steady stream of friends and relatives who came to give condolences in person. There were hugs, tears, cards, flowers, and clusters of conversation. It was comforting to know that people cared about Mrs. Homer and that they cared about us. And they took the time to express that. When I got home, I reread the story of Lazarus. By the time Jesus arrived, His friend had already passed away and been buried. The family was still grieving. When Jesus saw Lazarus' sister, Mary, and her grief, He was deeply moved. "Jesus wept." (John 11:35) He identified with their grief and wept with them even though He knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He didn't tell them not to cry or to stop sorrowing. We need our time to grieve and we need others to grieve with us. And we also need hope. Jesus said to Lazarus' other sister, Martha, "...I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die..." (John 11:25) Today we will lay to rest an outer shell of a much loved woman. Even as we weep, we are comforted knowing her spirit lives with Christ. Today is Tuesday. I expect that Christ will weep with us today even though mother-in-law is right there with Him. And then He will give us His peace and comfort.
Yesterday we spent the afternoon and evening at the funeral home. There was a few minutes when I was able to sit off to the side and just observe. Mother-in-law had six children as well as some siblings who stayed in the area. There was a steady stream of friends and relatives who came to give condolences in person. There were hugs, tears, cards, flowers, and clusters of conversation. It was comforting to know that people cared about Mrs. Homer and that they cared about us. And they took the time to express that. When I got home, I reread the story of Lazarus. By the time Jesus arrived, His friend had already passed away and been buried. The family was still grieving. When Jesus saw Lazarus' sister, Mary, and her grief, He was deeply moved. "Jesus wept." (John 11:35) He identified with their grief and wept with them even though He knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He didn't tell them not to cry or to stop sorrowing. We need our time to grieve and we need others to grieve with us. And we also need hope. Jesus said to Lazarus' other sister, Martha, "...I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die..." (John 11:25) Today we will lay to rest an outer shell of a much loved woman. Even as we weep, we are comforted knowing her spirit lives with Christ. Today is Tuesday. I expect that Christ will weep with us today even though mother-in-law is right there with Him. And then He will give us His peace and comfort.
Year 5; Day 165 A Purpose and a Confidence
What does a person do who does not have their hope and faith in Christ? Who does not have a familiarity with God's Word? Who does not have a relationship with God through Christ? I do not know. I do not ever want to know. Yesterday we laid mother-in-law to rest. Many family members were able to participate in the service. She would have been so pleased as she loved her family very much. Pastor spoke on Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." That verse is our purpose and our confidence. To live for Christ. To represent Him. To become more like Him. To grow in relationship with Him. Is that my/our purpose...it should be. Am I living for Christ? Would that be a verse that would represent my life...she lived for Christ? I want that to be my reality. "...to die is gain." Pastor emphasized how that is our confidence and our hope. We mostly view death as loss but the apostle Paul says just the opposite..."to die is gain." What do we gain? We gain eternal life. In a breath we literally cross the line from finite to infinite...eternity becomes ours to experience. We gain Christ. Jesus gave us that hope as He spoke to the thief from the cross, "...today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) I cannot imagine what it will be like to actually be with Christ. What else do we gain? We gain the rewards of our time on Earth completed, the race finished. No more tears. No more grief and sorrow. No more pain. We gain healing, peace, and relief. Even as we sorrowed in saying good-bye to our loved one, there is that assurance, that confidence, and that hope that "...to die is gain." Today is Wednesday. I am comforted.
What does a person do who does not have their hope and faith in Christ? Who does not have a familiarity with God's Word? Who does not have a relationship with God through Christ? I do not know. I do not ever want to know. Yesterday we laid mother-in-law to rest. Many family members were able to participate in the service. She would have been so pleased as she loved her family very much. Pastor spoke on Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." That verse is our purpose and our confidence. To live for Christ. To represent Him. To become more like Him. To grow in relationship with Him. Is that my/our purpose...it should be. Am I living for Christ? Would that be a verse that would represent my life...she lived for Christ? I want that to be my reality. "...to die is gain." Pastor emphasized how that is our confidence and our hope. We mostly view death as loss but the apostle Paul says just the opposite..."to die is gain." What do we gain? We gain eternal life. In a breath we literally cross the line from finite to infinite...eternity becomes ours to experience. We gain Christ. Jesus gave us that hope as He spoke to the thief from the cross, "...today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) I cannot imagine what it will be like to actually be with Christ. What else do we gain? We gain the rewards of our time on Earth completed, the race finished. No more tears. No more grief and sorrow. No more pain. We gain healing, peace, and relief. Even as we sorrowed in saying good-bye to our loved one, there is that assurance, that confidence, and that hope that "...to die is gain." Today is Wednesday. I am comforted.
Year 5; Day 166 Press On
While in the States, I travelled on a road that rippled up and down as it travelled ahead. Only on the tops of the ripples could you see ahead...some better than others. When I returned to Newfoundland, we had about an hour and a half journey from the airport to home. There is one view (among many) that I love. The road stretches out like an undulating, grey ribbon but instead of seeing just the tops of the rises, the view is of the dips and rises on a continual incline. You can not only see that the road is up and down but that you are also moving forward and up. From the bottom, the end of the view stretches out long and gradually higher. When I saw this particular stretch of road, I thought back to the other view that was much shorter in perspective. Sometimes we only see what is in front of us and often that isn't much. We don't have a consistent long view but we get glimpses and so we plod on. But other times we get a better view. Not only a sense of moving forward but also upward. For that is what we are doing if we are followers of Christ. Our lives should have a sense of moving ahead in Him but also upwards to our final destination...with Him in heaven. Then we can say along with the apostle Paul, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13,14) Today is Thursday. Are we pressing heavenward?
While in the States, I travelled on a road that rippled up and down as it travelled ahead. Only on the tops of the ripples could you see ahead...some better than others. When I returned to Newfoundland, we had about an hour and a half journey from the airport to home. There is one view (among many) that I love. The road stretches out like an undulating, grey ribbon but instead of seeing just the tops of the rises, the view is of the dips and rises on a continual incline. You can not only see that the road is up and down but that you are also moving forward and up. From the bottom, the end of the view stretches out long and gradually higher. When I saw this particular stretch of road, I thought back to the other view that was much shorter in perspective. Sometimes we only see what is in front of us and often that isn't much. We don't have a consistent long view but we get glimpses and so we plod on. But other times we get a better view. Not only a sense of moving forward but also upward. For that is what we are doing if we are followers of Christ. Our lives should have a sense of moving ahead in Him but also upwards to our final destination...with Him in heaven. Then we can say along with the apostle Paul, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13,14) Today is Thursday. Are we pressing heavenward?
Year 5; Day 167 Pressing Heavenward
As soon as I finished my post yesterday, I knew I had today's. I ended yesterday with a question, "Are we pressing heavenward?" Immediately I had the question go through my mind, "Well, what does that mean...to press heavenward?" The apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:14, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." My first reaction is that pressing heavenward is a direction with a destination. To press heavenward is to move toward heaven. How do I do that? Like Paul says, "...heavenward in Christ Jesus." I cannot move heavenward without Christ. His substitutional sacrifice on the cross makes it possible for each of us to have a personal relationship. Christ died and rose again so we could have fellowship and communion and interaction with God the Father, through Christ the Son. As we grow in Christ and become more like Him, we are moving heavenward. And we become more like Christ through the reading and applying of God's Word with the help of the Holy Spirit. I also think our mindset helps us to press heavenward. We need to live with an eternal perspective. We will give an accounting for all we say and do. Nothing is hidden from God. Not the obvious. And not the deepest secret or the most hidden motive. Divine justice will be dispensed with eternal consequences. In light of that, our life's motto should be, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31) Pressing heavenward should not be an occasional thought or act but our everyday way of living. Pressing heavenward is who we are and what we do...or it should be. Today is Friday. Do we live each day pressing heavenward?
As soon as I finished my post yesterday, I knew I had today's. I ended yesterday with a question, "Are we pressing heavenward?" Immediately I had the question go through my mind, "Well, what does that mean...to press heavenward?" The apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:14, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." My first reaction is that pressing heavenward is a direction with a destination. To press heavenward is to move toward heaven. How do I do that? Like Paul says, "...heavenward in Christ Jesus." I cannot move heavenward without Christ. His substitutional sacrifice on the cross makes it possible for each of us to have a personal relationship. Christ died and rose again so we could have fellowship and communion and interaction with God the Father, through Christ the Son. As we grow in Christ and become more like Him, we are moving heavenward. And we become more like Christ through the reading and applying of God's Word with the help of the Holy Spirit. I also think our mindset helps us to press heavenward. We need to live with an eternal perspective. We will give an accounting for all we say and do. Nothing is hidden from God. Not the obvious. And not the deepest secret or the most hidden motive. Divine justice will be dispensed with eternal consequences. In light of that, our life's motto should be, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31) Pressing heavenward should not be an occasional thought or act but our everyday way of living. Pressing heavenward is who we are and what we do...or it should be. Today is Friday. Do we live each day pressing heavenward?
Year 5; Day 168 Why Am I Here?
While I was visiting Mom and Dad, a group of square dancers came to entertain the residents. Mom and I were sitting in the activities room waiting for them to begin when she said she thought Dad would enjoy them too. So I went and got him and he sat by Mom. After about a minute, Dad turned to Mom and asked, "Why am I here?" The dancers hadn't started yet and as quick as that, Dad forgot what he came to see. We laughed as I told him why he was there. I have thought several times about that incident. It was funny but also sad. To not know why you are somewhere. I wonder if God feels like that with us...sad because so often we forget why we are here. As I pondered that question from a bigger perspective, two thoughts came to mind. The first is that God created us to have fellowship with Him. When you are Love, you need someone to love. And so He created us for the enjoyment of relationship. God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Sin broke that relationship. God then spent the rest of history making a way to restore that fellowship...first through animal sacrifices and then through the ultimate sacrifice of his Son, Jesus. The second reason that came to mind as to why we are here is so we can share that message of restoration back to fellowship with God through Christ with others. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ...And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) And that is why we are here...to have a relationship with God and to tell others they can too. Today is Saturday. Do you know why you are here?
While I was visiting Mom and Dad, a group of square dancers came to entertain the residents. Mom and I were sitting in the activities room waiting for them to begin when she said she thought Dad would enjoy them too. So I went and got him and he sat by Mom. After about a minute, Dad turned to Mom and asked, "Why am I here?" The dancers hadn't started yet and as quick as that, Dad forgot what he came to see. We laughed as I told him why he was there. I have thought several times about that incident. It was funny but also sad. To not know why you are somewhere. I wonder if God feels like that with us...sad because so often we forget why we are here. As I pondered that question from a bigger perspective, two thoughts came to mind. The first is that God created us to have fellowship with Him. When you are Love, you need someone to love. And so He created us for the enjoyment of relationship. God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Sin broke that relationship. God then spent the rest of history making a way to restore that fellowship...first through animal sacrifices and then through the ultimate sacrifice of his Son, Jesus. The second reason that came to mind as to why we are here is so we can share that message of restoration back to fellowship with God through Christ with others. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ...And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) And that is why we are here...to have a relationship with God and to tell others they can too. Today is Saturday. Do you know why you are here?
Year 5; Day 169 Father's Day
I am one of the blessed when it comes to fathers. Mine is still alive. He was a good one. He still knows my name. I called him yesterday. We laughed and chatted and he looped around at least three times with, "I am doing well. The food is wonderful but us old folks don't need so much. The worst thing is my memory. I can tell I have slipped a notch." I don't mind hearing his repeats because it is still his voice. Who knows whether I will get to say, "Happy Father's Day," next year. I also know this can be a sad and/or painful time for some. A beloved husband or father may be gone and it still hurts. Some sorrows may get tucked away...but they never go away. This would be one. And some people may never have known their father or wished they didn't. The word "father" is associated with a lot of pain and hurt. No matter our earthly fathers...good, bad, or indifferent...we have a heavenly Father. "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) Our very capacity to love comes from God. We are created in His image and "...God is love..." (4:16) He loved us first and even if our earthly fathers did or didn't, God loves us with an unfailing, unending, faithful love. We can trust that to be true. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us..." (4:16) I know and rely on my dad's love. I also know there will come a time when he won't be there. We have and can have an eternal constant...the love of our heavenly Father. Today is Sunday. I am so very thankful for another Father's Day with my dad and even more thankful for the love of my heavenly Father. And they both deserve to be told so.
I am one of the blessed when it comes to fathers. Mine is still alive. He was a good one. He still knows my name. I called him yesterday. We laughed and chatted and he looped around at least three times with, "I am doing well. The food is wonderful but us old folks don't need so much. The worst thing is my memory. I can tell I have slipped a notch." I don't mind hearing his repeats because it is still his voice. Who knows whether I will get to say, "Happy Father's Day," next year. I also know this can be a sad and/or painful time for some. A beloved husband or father may be gone and it still hurts. Some sorrows may get tucked away...but they never go away. This would be one. And some people may never have known their father or wished they didn't. The word "father" is associated with a lot of pain and hurt. No matter our earthly fathers...good, bad, or indifferent...we have a heavenly Father. "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) Our very capacity to love comes from God. We are created in His image and "...God is love..." (4:16) He loved us first and even if our earthly fathers did or didn't, God loves us with an unfailing, unending, faithful love. We can trust that to be true. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us..." (4:16) I know and rely on my dad's love. I also know there will come a time when he won't be there. We have and can have an eternal constant...the love of our heavenly Father. Today is Sunday. I am so very thankful for another Father's Day with my dad and even more thankful for the love of my heavenly Father. And they both deserve to be told so.