31 Days of Restoration: FAITH

I’m really bad at keeping plants alive; try as I might, when it comes to plants, I just don’t have the midas touch.  Sometimes I’ll be walking around a store and a beautiful plant catches my eye and I tell myself, as I’m approaching the checkout counter, this time it’s going to be different.  I’m going to take good care of my plant.  I’m not going to forget to water it – ever!  I’m going to turn over the soil.  I’m going to nurture my plant and talk to it so it will grow.   My intentions are good, but my follow through, not so much….And sadly once again, I’m stuck with a dead plant.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.   James 2: 14-26

Faith is like a plant – if we want it to flourish, we must do the work required.  Water is to a plant what the word of God is to faith – it’s food and the best way to sustain our faith!  When we feed our spirit the word of God, we are in fact feeding and growing our faith.   The moments when I’m knee-deep in an issue and fearing that it’s not going to work out, I have to remind myself that there have been other times when I’ve been here and God saw me through; I have to remind myself to turn it over (that’s the soil) to God and He will work it out!  Most importantly, I am a witness that my faith flourishes when I nurture it.  For me, that means building my relationship with God.  I imagine that some people think it’s crazy to talk to a plant.  And those same people likely think it’s crazy to talk to God.  I talk to God in my car ALOT.  I talk to God when I’m walking around in the store.  I talk to God all throughout the day – it’s my follow-through; my way of ensuring a flourishing faith.

PRAYER OF RESTORATION:  Inspire in me, O Lord, a brand new faith!  A faith that flourishes like a simple, potted plant develops into a beautiful, healthy tree.  When I’m lacking in faith, God, remind me that I have everything I need to grow my faith bigger and stronger.  Amen

The Children Who Could Fly.

Five Minute Friday: Fly

Fly by the seat of your pants today and WRITE for 5 minutes. Get in your quiet space, grab your journal and pen and write what's in your spirit. Post your masterpiece here and don't forget to share the love with the artist who linked up before you.  One love :)  Peace & Blessings and happy Friday!

One day,

in a place where there is

Life After Breath,

they will run-

without a thought in their mind,

without a care in their spirit,

without a fear in in their heart;

they will run,

wild & free.

           

Like a 747

gliding down the runway

slowly gathering momentum,

then

faster 

and 

faster,

heart pounding,

while deep,belly-laughter tickles the

soul 

with 

unspeakable

  joy....

They run.

And after all of that running,

with the strength of Sampson

in their legs,

they will rise up

     FREE.

Free from frowns and frustration,

Free from the splints, braces and chairs

that once bound them….

Free

 to take a gallant leap forward,

spread their wings 

and

fly.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31

* loosely based on The People Who Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton

Strong Faith!

We've come this far by faith,

leaning on the Lord,

trusting in His holy word,

He’s never failed me yet.

Oh, can’t turn around,

we've come this far by faith.

Lyrics by Carlton Pearson

I was cleaning out Malachi’s bedroom closet the other day when I ran across a home video; it was a video diary that my family and I made twelve years ago entitled, A Day in the Life of Malachi.  We created the video for a fundraiser benefit for Malachi; our friends and family graciously planned a fundraiser event on our behalf to assist our family in purchasing a mini-van to transport Malachi, his nurse and all of his life-saving equipment to medical appointments and family outings. The video was our way of sharing with our friends and family our unique challenges and the impact of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) on our family life.  Seeing that video again was awe-inspiring for me; it reminded me of how far we've come as a family and how far we've come in our faith.   

My two boys are 16 and 14 now, but in the video, they were just little guys – Joshua was 4 and Malachi was 2.  As I watched the video, I reflected on our family’s journey.   I remember our rocky beginning – the shocking details of the diagnosis, the fragility of Malachi’s life, having to learn his life-sustaining care, the constant influx of nurses in and out of our home and the search to purchase a home so that we could bring Malachi home from the hospital.  The doctors’ prognosis for Malachi was two years of life.  TWO YEARS OF LIFE!  It all seemed surreal.  We were devastated – and scared.  Scared of the responsibility of his care and scared that the burden would tear our family apart.   Our feelings were as fragile as our faith; we experienced emotional highs and lows as we learned how to replace the fear and doubt with love and faith.   Prior to that moment, we thought we knew what it meant to be faith-filled, but our faith hadn't truly been tested.  That was in the beginning…

 As time marched on, the burden of Malachi’s care intensified and how we practiced our faith intensified as well.  Malachi triumphed over medical trials and we began to share his story and testimony to anyone who would listen!  We ministered to other couples who were facing similar struggles with their ill child.  We focused on the good parts of our life rather than our woes and limitations and encouraged others to stand in that grace as well.   As I watched the video, I smiled and marveled at the resilience of my family.  Together, we weathered many storms, but those storms didn't overtake us because we were standing on a solid foundation that God was with us through it all, no matter what.

Medical science predicted that Malachi would not live past the age of two and now he is an endearing, bossy little teenager!  Due to the severity of Malachi’s diagnosis, the odds were stacked against my marriage and my family remaining intact, however, today we remain an intact family.   The naysayers would have you believe that the challenges my family endured would cause us to be bitter and broken.   But for the grace of our loving and sovereign God, we are more resilient and faith-filled than ever before!  Indeed, we've come this far – a mighty long way, by faith.   We started out with mustard seed faith and over trials and time, God grew our faith BIGGER.   You can’t see that transition in our home video, but then again, faith is not about seeing, it is a knowing.  

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Hebrews 11:1

God, the Sovereign King!

I started this blog because I wanted to share with the world my family’s stories of growing in faith in the midst of our trials.  I never once considered the fact that there could be moments when I  or my family would be in the midst of a trial and my faith would be tested; times when the valley would swallow me up whole and I would feel  like I couldn’t breathe, much less write.  THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS.  But the Lord spoke to me and He said:

                

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

                                I trust HIM to lead me and supply all that I  need.                    

                He makes me lie down I green pastures,

                                HE will provide rest in the valley.

                He leads me beside quiet waters,

                He restores my soul.

                                The LORD will provide tranquil, still moments in the midst of the madness and send me

                                a fresh anointing for my spirit.

                He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

                                I can trust HIM above anyone else to steer me in the right direction;
                                HE is all-powerful!

                Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

                                Although danger and the enemy lurk in the background,

                I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

                                I walk in the assurance that He walks beside me.

                Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

                                You have placed a hedge of protection all around me.

                You prepare a table before me

                In the presence of my enemies,

                                My LORD will boldly confront the enemy.

                You anoint my head with oil,

                                I have your blessing.

                My cup overflows.

                                I have more than I need.

                Surely goodness and love will follow me all of the days of my life,

                                HE has promised me an abundant life.

                And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

                                Because I am a child of the MOST High God, I have life in Eternity with my Father.

                                                                                               Psalm 23

I took a baby step toward recovering my faith today and in that moment I realized that as much as I want to place my faith in my family to be and do the right thing, God wants for me to place my faith in Him to do His will.  For the spirit of man is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Question of the Day:  Think of a time when you were in the midst of pain and you were afraid that the outcome wouldn’t work in your favor of your family’s favor.  What allowed you to trust God anyhow?

A Perfect Storm

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4: 35-39

 We are currently in the midst of the greatest storm our eyes have ever seen:  Hurricane Sandy.  Reports say that the East coast of the United States has been devastated with damage from fallen trees, gusts of winds at 90 miles per hour, power outages and over flooding.  Folks have had to evacuate their homes and seek refuge elsewhere.  As I watch the news coverage of the storm on my television and witness reactions through social media, I’m struck by the captivating hold Hurricane Sandy has on we, her prey; her presence and power has virtually caused everyone to stand at attention.  I’m noticing the messages constructed in the news media and in social media as well; messages about pulling together as a nation and making sure that our neighbors around us have survival supplies such as water, blankets, flashlight, etc...  It’s a message that covertly illustrates God’s greatest commandment, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27 

But getting back to Hurricane Sandy’s commanding force reminds me of another passage in scripture:

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 
Mark 4: 35-39

We all have storms in our lives; times when something of a catastrophic nature has taken center stage and wreaked havoc in our lives.  A moment when our light has gone out and we are flooded with grief and sorrow; we are tumbling in the wind and desperate for refuge from our storm.  A couple of years ago, I was in a storm of that magnitude.  Malachi had received and I.V. infusion of a medicine to strengthen his bone density.  He had never had an infusion of any kind before, nor had he ever had this particular medicine.  After the infusion was administered, we were discharged home for recovery.  Hours later, Malachi had an adverse reaction to the medicine - he crashed, big time!  He was lethargic and tachycardic (elevated heart rate).  His heart rate had gone as high as 230!  My heart rate sky rocketed too!  I had never seen Malachi so out of it before. Although his ability to move his body is severely limited, I saw no muscle movement from him whatsoever and that frightened me.  Additionally, with his heart rate so high, we weren’t able to feed him, so he had to have I.V. fluids. It was a gloomy storm and I was scared.  The doctor that administered the infusion was of no help to me whatsoever.  He couldn’t understand why Malachi was having the reaction to the medicine. According to his literature, his reaction was “abnormal” and so he wasn’t sure how to treat.  To make matters worse, the doctor shared with me that he had never administered the medicine to a child before! Malachi’s primary doctor admitted Malachi to the ICU (intensive care unit) for “observation.”  In essence, we had to wait out that storm.  I will tell you that that was one of the longest and most painful periods of my life.  It was a major struggle for me NOT to be in my head playing out “what if” scenarios. I cried and prayed my way through that storm.

There is no storm in our life that can match the omnipotent power of God! When we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, we know that He is shelter in the storm; He is our safe place to run to.    Instead of being fixated on Hurricane Sandy and the magnitude of her destruction, I choose to be fixated on God and what He will do in this moment in my life.  Yes, I am choosing to make this current storm personal in the same way that the storm with the infusion was personal.  God did some miraculous things in my life during that time and I am expecting Him to do awesome things during this current storm!  For one, I couldn’t look to the doctors for answers – they didn’t have them!  I learned to look to God in the storm.   Second, my husband, Maurice, encouraged me to play back all of the moments when Malachi overcame sickness and beat the odds; he encouraged me to stand in faith instead of fear. You see, I was afraid of what I was seeing and what I was imagining so much so that I was literally making myself sick.   Fear will make you sick because fear is a stance of weakness; we cower when we are afraid.  Faith will make you strong because faith is a stance of strength; we stand tall and confident when we stand in faith.  And finally, I am looking forward to what God will speak in this storm.  The scripture said that He told the waves to “Quiet!  Be still!”  And then He spoke directly to His disciples. It was personal.  That let me know that when we bring our storms to God, He takes it personally.  Yes, we are currently witnessing a great storm in Hurricane Sandy, but we serve the GREATEST GOD!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY:  What are you anticipating God to do in your life during this storm?