Hope in Drought

 ^{Luke 13: 6-9
6} Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. ⁷ So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
   ⁸ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

There are times in life when we feel like we aren't accomplishing much for the Lord. Maybe we feel we don't even know what we are supposed to be doing to serve the Lord. We can pray and pray and seemingly receive no answer and so feel discouraged and heavily burdened. As a mom, often stuck at home with six small kids, this isn't a hard place to find myself. I know my service to the Lord begins with my care for my family and that's a good thing. But it's sometimes not a very fulfilling job. You don't get a thank you very often. You don't see results quickly and the day to day can get pretty mundane. It's not hard to try to look outside of where I've been placed to see if anything else might fulfill me and pretty soon my days are filled with activities and assignments that end up stressing more than fulfilling. 
  Jesus is reminding me, and you, that he takes care of us in those times where we feel a lack of productivity. He is not willing to cut us down quickly but instead, fills us, prunes us, and feeds us, so that we might produce fruit for his kingdom. He is patient and tends to us with utmost care and tenderness so that instead of feeling discouraged or weighed down with worries we can experience hope and anticipation in a time of drought. In those places in our lives, he is not leaving us alone or making us figure it out under our own power; he is spending more time with us than ever, molding and shaping us to produce the fruit he intended us to produce. 
  When we feel discouraged or heavily burdened we can lift those confidently to the Lord, knowing he is able and willing to take it from us. For he has promised his yoke is easy and his burden is light and we should carry his burden, not the world's. We need to be willing to allow the pruning and molding, surrendering all that we can't handle, which is everything. And when we humble ourselves and surrender, then he is made strong and will do wonderful things in our lives. 
    And when we feel as though he isn't hearing our cries for help, we need to stop and look closer. If we cry out to him that we feel alone and then a friend calls to chat, he has just answered that prayer. If we cry out that we feel burdened by things of this world and then read his word and he gives you a verse like this: Luke12: ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well, realize he just answered that prayer. They may seem like small answers and won't necessarily solve everything all at once, but he's reminding us that he loves us and hears us and is working something in our lives for his glory and good. So, trust him whether your days are light and filled with joy or difficult and filled with worry, because in trusting we acknowledge that he is stronger and greater and knows better. And by doing that we can allow him to dig around us and fertilize us, preparing us for bearing fruit sometime in the near future.
 

If You Give a Kid a Spring Day

If you give a kid a spring day, they will want a bike to go with it. So, they will rummage around in the garage and take out every wheeled thing (minus the van). They will ride up and down the streets. Riding to the top of the hill they will see the weeds they used to hike around in before there was snow. So they will drop their bikes somewhere in the neighborhood to be collected later and head into the weeds. Wandering around in the weeds will make them remember all the snow that used to cover everything. Remembering the snow will remind them that it has melted leaving huge puddles. So, they will come inside to shed their tennis shoes and don their rain boots. They will head back outside to jump in the puddles until they are soaked from head to toe and laughing happily together. Laughing and having this much fun will remind them of how fun it is to swing. Now that the swings are no longer frozen to the ground and have been rehung they will quickly head over to the swingset. All four big kids will hop on a swing and get as high as they can all at the same time, causing the beam to sway and bow as they laugh and enjoy the butterflies in their stomachs. Getting butterflies in their stomachs will remind them of how much fun it is to ride their bikes as fast as they can down the hill so they will quickly run through the house dropping rain boots and putting on tennis shoes and head out the front once again. They will make sure to take a different wheeled item from the yard because they all need to be ridden in one day. Riding as hard and fast as they can down the hill with the wind blowing in their faces will make them forget completely that they were ever stuck inside for five long months waiting for this perfect spring day.
     And that's what happens when you give a kid a spring day.

Provision

These last couple of months have been very difficult financially for us. We used up our savings in January to help pay for our mortgage. We've always used savings as a sort of second income, drawing from it each month to make it by. Well we had some unexpected expenses and found ourselves a couple months short, before the tax return would come in.
   As we pondered this issue and realized there was no possible way to make that amount of money before our next payment in February was due, we started to pray. Not just simple prayers, but heartfelt cries to God. We found scripture promising he would take care of us and meditated on that as we prayed. Each moment of my day was filled with quiet prayers, asking God to provide just what we need. We also asked a few close friends to pray with us, knowing they would lift us up to Him.
    Within a week of praying we received a monetary gift, more than half of what we would need for February. A week later we received another, the exact amount left that we needed! I was on my knees when that check came, crying, laughing, and praising Him from whom all blessings flow. My kids wondered if I'd gone off the deep end. "You okay, Mama?" "Don't worry", I told them, "Mama's happy not sad, these are happy tears."
   I called Andrew to tell him what happened and he was completely speechless. We were in awe of God's greatness. He, who made the heavens and the earth and everything on the earth, cared enough about our little problem to show up big time and provide in a great way! He cared so much he provided down to the very last dollar.
   As we praised him and thanked him, we continued to pray for our March payment. Once again we were short, but this time it was a different sort of prayer. I wasn't crying out to God in my fear and nervousness, my stress level high and constantly wondering what was going to happen. This time I prayed with a sense of contentment and assurance. I knew, just knew, that He would do it again. Maybe not the same way, but I had complete confidence in my Lord. In fact, I often just said, "Thank you for providing what we need for March" even though he hadn't yet done anything.
   Although I knew he would give us exactly what we needed, I was still surprised when yet another anonymous gift came to us. Half of our March payment! What a great God we serve! And just this week, we received the last half that we needed.
   Not once did we have to borrow or ask others for money. Not once did we have to get behind on payments! Our God did exactly what He is so good at doing. He took care of those who love him!
   These last two months haven't been easy. Our emotions and our doubts have at times taken over. But standing in this place, looking back, I can say it was well worth the trial. Our faith has been dramatically deepened, not because of anything we did, but all because of our great God and his works!
   Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I recently started reading a book called "How to Really Love Your Child". I only made it through the first chapter before I had to stop and pray. I didn't want to just read this book like many others I've read and then forget the content shortly after. I wanted to really let it sink in, absorb, so I could make it useable. So, I just asked the Lord to help me really show love to my kids.
   We know we love our kids. We probably say "I love you" everyday. But do we really show that we love them. Do they know without a doubt that we love them no matter what they do, no matter how they act, no matter how bad they mess up? This is my hearts desire. That my six children would know they are loved unconditionally and I know I need the Lord's help to accomplish that.
   Well, the morning after this prayer we sat down for school as we do most mornings. And, as often happens, I got frustrated with my boys. I don't remember what it was about but I do remember snapping at them. The other children were in the room, coloring and playing. As I snapped at the boys, Olivia raised her head from her coloring page and sweetly said, "Mom, you're not supposed to yell at the boys."
   She had no idea I'd prayed to the Lord to help me show love to my kids. She also had no idea the impact she made on me. I know in that moment the Lord spoke to me through a little six year old girl. One who often causes me more frustration than the other five combined! She struck a chord in me with that simple sentence. I had to stop and apologize to the boys and thank her for reminding me to show love to my kids.
    I won't remember what made me angry. I won't even remember what I said, but I will always remember my little girl speaking words of wisdom to me in a moment when they were desperately needed.
   Thank you, Lord, for your gift of intuition and unquestioning faith to young children. And thank you for answering my prayer so quickly and fully!
    On this "love" holiday, don't just say, "I love you", show it. Happy Valentine's Day!