How do you handle stress?  Are you one to simply smile, bow your head and say, “Here you go, Lord. Thank you, it’s yours.”  Do you begin to over think what is causing the stress?  Trying to come at it from every angle, analyze and determine your own best course of action?  Perhaps you do both! You give it to God, then sit around and do the analyzing anyhow.  Handling stress is work in progress and God starts with fruit!

To be in the midst of God’s great love is truly amazing.  There is a peace and contentment that we are privileged to walk in.  The challenge is to stay there when things “heat up” in life- stress is a heat up issue we encounter.  God knows we are going to live through some stressful situations, he knows we are going to be confused and lost in many things throughout our maze of life.  He prepares our hearts and minds for such things, if we truly allow him to.

God reveals to us in the book of Galatians just how we are called to live- Galatians 5:22-26

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

We are called to live by and be filled with the fruit of the Spirit.  As we practice ‘living’ this daily, it becomes easier to handle the stresses that come our way. I am not sure we always remember how every aspect of our relationship with the Lord truly is internal.  It is very personal. He is living in us, we are a new creation in Him- the new is what is inside.  When we choose to follow Jesus, our appearance isn’t new- our abs don’t suddenly flatten and become perfectly sculpted, our hair isn’t free of gray or frizz.  No! Our new creation is all within- in our heart, our mind and our souls! When we invite the Holy Spirit to live in us, we should be prepared for the unthinkable in change!

When stress arrives, we slowly learn to take a deep breath, to shower the situation with love, kindness, gentleness and (slight cringe) self control. Our first reaction is to pray- to talk to God about our stress, and how best to handle it.  The more we chat with him, the less stressed we are!  God never promised that you won’t see hardships along your journey, but he does promise to be with you through it all, to guide your every step, and love you as you maneuver through the rocky terrain. 

I could hear the ticking of a clock, and I heard a fly buzzing around somewhere.  I couldn’t move.  I was struggling to breathe.  Without knowing the next move, I simply collapsed.  On my knees, I slumped over and knew nothing would be the same.

Behind me was a door to a hospital room.  In the bed of that hospital room, was my oldest son. I had reached a moment in time that I was certain of two things- God was right there in that hallway with me, and I had to tell God something that broke my heart-“If you have to take my son now, I will let him go.” The nurses walked around me, they were at a loss.  They had no words.  They just gave me my space and my time kneeling in a hospital hallway, with respect.

I called my dearest friend, who lovingly cried with me.  I only remember one thing she said, “I’m so sorry, I love you.” Her tears, shed with me, were comfort.  At that point, I stood up, and I walked back into George’s room.  He was beyond ill, he was tired, and he looked at me and said, “I’m so glad this happened to me and not my brothers or sister.”  I couldn’t control the flowing fountain of love from my eyes. My boy was my inspiration, my life.  I had George at a very young age, and we grew up together. I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

As he became violently ill that night, and was fighting through his flesh eating bacteria, sometimes screaming in agony, all I could do was grab my bible and we just read about Jesus, specifically, the crucifixion. I didn’t pick it, it picked us.  We then prayed, and I slept on a little cot next to my 16 year old son, and we held hands over the edge of the bed.  As he pushed his morphine button, I cringed, and wished it was me, night after night. His organs were shutting down, he had jaundice and all color was washed away from his tanned skin. At this point George was in quarantine, and no visitors were allowed other than immediate family. I felt very alone without the constant visits of our prayer warrior church family. I prayed hard, I prayed continually, and I never gave up hope!

Three weeks later, the doctors had no answers, as they shook their heads. My son not only survived, he kept his leg.  He not only kept his leg, he walked out of the hospital after the doctors said he'd be in a wheelchair for months. The form of flesh eating bacteria he had affected maybe one person a year, my son was the miracle.  At one of the post op visits during George’s 6 months of home care, his doctor said, “I didn’t think you were going to make it”.  His nurse said, “I really thought George would be gone when I came back after my weekend.”  When I told them, it was in God’s hands, it was about faith, and believing in the impossible, they didn’t question it, they completely agreed.

I talk about surrender all the time.  I talk about handing it over to God.  There was never a moment, nor has there been since, that I surrendered everything, as in that moment.  We can’t ever experience life until we have died.  I completely understand that today.  We can’t ever comprehend faith until we have truly accepted the unseen, the unknown and the unanswered.

This journey of ours is meant to be forever.  There is no end, until we are home. Our limits have no boundaries, we aren’t meant to sit in little boxes of safety, surrounded by nets.  The extent of our boundaries in God, are limitless- because when we choose Him, they become His boundaries.  We become his, and he is ours.  We can’t just kneel and give a problem to God, we kneel and give ourselves to God.  All to Him, we will surrender. 

(A picture of my son, George, today with his fiancee, Janelle!)

Devasted…Defeated…Depressed… Determined…Disciplined…DEVOTED

What a walk!  We started where it all begins following an overwhelming, painful and often traumatic event.  We made our way down the path of healing, one step at a time. To complete our journey, let’s talk about being a tool that will help us through difficult situations of any kind-Devoted.

This week I read a heartwarming story of a gentleman who recently lost his wife of 76 years.  He was speechless following her passing, until he looked up at his daughter and said, “She’s gone.” Fifteen hours later, the gentleman followed his wife in passing.  Though it is a very beautiful story, my mind was filled with the idea of how he couldn’t live without his bride, not even another day.

Jesus doesn’t want to live without you, not even another day! In fact, he wants you to understand that you are going to go through many things.  Our Lord suffered so many things.  He was rejected and he was beaten, a man that came to love, to show the way. He taught so many, forgave the sinners, healed the sick, and raised the dead. Still, in the end, he was killed on a cross. As he rose, our world was changed forever.  He made it possible for every single person that believes in Him to be forgiven, to be set free and to live in peace.

While we can’t help but feel the pain of betrayal, or whatever source you are hurting from, we can make sure that in everything, including our pain, God remains at the center of our world. Stay completely devoted to Him, as we fall in absolute surrender.  The fact is, this life has none of the promises that come from Christ alone. People look for those promises in a relationship or circumstance, and when they don’t find what they are looking for, they fall to pieces, or search for it in other things- money, material possessions, food, sex, companionship-however, what is being looked for won’t be found anywhere, but in the arms and love of Jesus Christ.

Healing will come. Just as he healed the paralyzed man, or the bleeding woman and he raised Lazarus, and in his final moments, he healed the man on the cross, reassuring him that he was heading to heaven, He will heal you! When we turn our lives to Him daily, everything will change.  We aren’t promised perfection- we are promised to always have him by our side.  It’s quite easy to follow Jesus when things are going good, staying devoted to Him in the midst of those trials really shows our  character, determination and allows our discipline to be exercised!

John 14:1- “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me”

Trust in God. Trust in Jesus.  Even in that moment when trust means nothing to you, you can trust in your Heavenly Father and His Risen Son!  Stay devoted, pray continually, when you are down, look up! Be joyful, be at peace in Him- your God! Healing is a process of growing- of reflection and reminding of just who you are; who you are called to be-A precious, forgiven, wanted, redeemed and loved child of God!

Discipline enters our lives from day one.  An infant teaches themselves how to get food, how to get a diaper changed and how to get mommy’s attention! Mommy and Daddy get disciplined the moment their baby enters the world! Loud cry- change diaper, softer cry- I want you to hold me, VERY loud angry cry- feed me now!  Discipline is very much a give and receive technique. Discipline is about training one in an effort to follow rules, to obey.

Following an emotional or traumatic event, we have many feelings relating to our situation and perhaps the person that is involved in the pain you are beginning to overcome. I’ve often heard many who’ve been hurt, be consumed with the hope that their perpetrator will ‘learn a lesson’.  Perhaps they will, but if you are interested in moving forward, the last thing you should worry about is the lesson the other person, hopefully, learns.  What matters now, should be, understanding the lesson YOU will learn. 

The bible speaks to the healing heart in the following verses, among the many-

Romans 8:28-And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose.

Philippians 4:6-8- Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It is by the everlasting love and power of our great God, that indeed, all things will be worked out for our good. If we can rest in that verse, then it is a step to let go and let God- and fully hold on to the concept of being filled with peace as we calmly present our heart, our requests of healing to our amazing creator. I realize this is very difficult for some.  We all know what faith is-confidant of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see! You already lost control the moment you were broken by circumstance. Typically, the first thing we want to do is regain that control. Control is always an illusion.  Let God be in control, and you just rest in Him.  You can’t wrestle with peace, because what God has in store for you is beyond your understanding, and it is up to you to embrace this as another of His marvelous gifts for you. 

I began this devotional in prayer, and thought that the 5^th D-‘Discipline’ -would be about accepting God’s lesson for you in your most painful experience.  True, God can send down His discipline at any time- little life lessons along the way- we are supposed to learn, carry it with us, and, hopefully, not repeat(obey).  What God laid on my heart, and what is the greater reminder, is the fact that it takes a broken person to make the choice to discipline ourselves, to accept God’s word.  Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior- this never ends- we are forever His! We are covered by the grace of God, we are made whole by the love of one who gave His life so that we might live.  If we can’t discipline ourselves to honestly live this out every day, under any circumstance and in every situation, then we are missing part of God’s blessing on our lives.  I’m sure that’s not something you want to be missing!  

I have struggled with depression my entire life.  The circumstances of my childhood left me scarred with fear, resentment and a void where the love of a father should be.  As the battle wagered on through the years, I became less hopeless, less angry, less scared and began to focus in on the advantages of having a relationship with Jesus Christ- a new found love I discovered at the age of 23.

The more I spoke with Jesus, the more I realized that within the skin of this body was a temple, His temple.  I realized my heart was where he dwells.  I realized my mind was where His love took hold- so that I would no longer feel the ravaged pieces of my past plot together to assert their power.

Slowly, with each passing, year, month, day, moment- I came to understand just how strong I was because He was strong in me.  I became DETERMINED- the next ‘D’ in our path to healing.  Have you ever watched a child focused in on a specific task?  Picture a 3 year old with one of those toys where you push your shape block through the matching hole. The child hears nothing else, sees nothing else.  They twist and turn that block, trying with all their might to get it to fit into that hole. It may take a very long time in 3 year old world to do this, and when they do, it is a HUGE accomplishment. No time is wasted however, as they pick up the next one, and start that tedious task again.

Once you find yourself on that path to healing that allows you to breathe again, to stop crying long enough to look past your pain and focus on God, you will need to be that focused.  You will need to pick out one of those painful pieces, and fit it into the matching box marked ‘healed’.  You will need to stay connected to God, like an antennae used to be to our TVs!  Eventually, this isn’t even an issue.  The closer you are to Him, the healthier you feel- physically, emotionally, and spiritually!  Determination requires a one track mind, and that track is, now, right on your path to healing!

Exodus 15:2-3

“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.”

If Moses could sing those words, so can we!  Be determined to heal, to praise God, to trust him to be your defense.  Determine today to believe HE is your warrior and your salvation!