The Hibiscus Lesson

I have to stay busy.  For me as a stay-at-home mom this sometimes means rearranging the house or digging up the yard.  One day in mid-Spring I noticed that the two hibiscus bushes in the front yard were crowding the flower bed.  Determined to fix the situation, I promptly found the shovel.  I dug the bushes out of the ground and replanted them in the sparse flower bed in the backyard.  I had no prior knowledge that hibiscus HATE to be relocated! After planting them, I watched as every leaf fell to the ground.  After two weeks of shedding their leaves, they appeared to be two shriveled twigs, stuck in the ground.  It was at this point in their ugliness I was tempted to admit defeat, pull them up, and put them in the trash--out of sight!  I have transplanted plants before with success and thought these would be no different. These were a FAIL! I decided to wait thinking that perhaps it was the shock of the move that made them react this way.  I put off pulling them up and gave them another two weeks of ugliness. Everyday I would resist the urge to give up on them.

It finally happened. All of a sudden a change took place. After the fourth week I noticed the stems of the plant were looking green.  There were no leaves or blossoms, but the bushes were showing signs of life.  Under their thin scaly bark there was evidence that there was still hope.  A month later, I felt like I had witnessed a miracle!  The hibiscus bushes were and still are blooming. Not only are they blooming, they have more blooms on their stems than any of the plants in the yard.  I was so glad I decided to give them more time.  If I had given up on them, the miracle would never have happened.  In life it is often the same way.  We get frustrated that life isn't working out according to our plans. We may pour love and time into relationships that seem dead. Sometimes life itself is one big disappointment to us.  However, if we remember that God is in control of our lives, we can have FAITH to believe that good can come out of our bleak, barren situations.  Don't give up!

Remember Habakkuk 3:17 KJV states "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength and he will make my feet like hinds' feet and he will make me to walk upon mine high places..."

Just because we don't see the miracle right now doesn't mean it won't happen.  We need faith for every season of our lives.  Faith to endure. Faith to wait for the fruit of our prayers. Faith to know that God has us in the palm of His hand and that He won't let us go.  He will give us the desires of our heart in HIS season. Just like the hibiscus plant, when all seems lost, there will be a season of restoration. Life will bloom again.  --JJ

A Cure for Shadows by Jennifer Jones

A Cure for Shadows  by Jennifer Jones

shadow:

Bing Dictionary

shad·ow

 [ sháddō ]   darkened shape of something in light: a darkened shape on a surface that falls behind somebody or something blocking the light

1. darkness: relative darkness in a place that is being screened or blocked off from direct sunlight

Synonyms: shade, silhouette, outline, dark, darkness, gloom, gloominess, dusk, dimness

 

In Florida it is not uncommon to enjoy a pristine, blue-skied summer day, only to have it interrupted by a layer of rain clouds.  Life can be similar. Have you ever felt like you were living under a shadow? I have. Just last week I experienced a cloud of fear casting it's menacing shade over my life. My daughter Sadie sat next to me listless, fighting an unknown virus.  Partially dehydrated, she was refusing food and drink.  I finally made an appointment with the doctor, after hoping and praying that she would recover on her own.  As I entered the doctor's office, I expected to be loaded up with prescriptions for antibiotics and sent home.  When the doctor requested blood tests, sonograms, and x-rays, I became anxious and worried. Yes, I was praying through it all. Yes, I was trusting God that everything was going to be alright.  Yes, I have faith! However,  I am also HUMAN.  I couldn't help but think ...what if she was seriously ill? Shadows of doubt threatened to block my faith.

 

Dark shadows occasionally creep into our lives.  The Bible records that Job and David experienced the "the shadow of death." (Job 16:16, Psalm 23:4)  Shadows can be grief, loss of relationships, hopelessness, sickness, depression and loneliness, to name a few. Life is filled with potential shadows and we all experience them.

Good News! I found a cure for Life's SHADOWS.

The antidote is... God's SHADOW. 

Psalm 91: 1

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the SHADOW of the Almighty."

 

Psalm 36:7

"How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the SHADOW of thy wings."

 

Psalm 57:1

"...yea, in the SHADOW of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpast."

 

Psalm 63:7

"Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the SHADOW of thy wings will I rejoice."

 

Isaiah 25:4

"For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm a SHADOW from the heat..."

 

Isaiah 51:16

"For I have put my words in thy mouth and I have covered thee in the SHADOW of mine hand..."

 

I started thinking about God's shadow.  The powerful protective shadow of the Almighty gave me comfort.  The protection under the everlasting arms of God Almighty, is the cure for the shadows of life.  He is the antidote for loneliness, grief, suffering, doubt, fear, and heartache.  His shadow removes all other shadows. In the presence of His shadow is peace, and help. 

 

My shadows of doubt left when I started trusting in the shadow of God.  My daughter Sadie was diagnosed with a virus. However, she is undergoing other tests for abnormal glucose levels.  I am determined to trust in the shadow of Jesus.  He is the cure for the shadow's of life.

 

So when the shadow's of life threaten to overcome you, remember to trust in the shadow of Almighty God.

 

It's a Blessing to Be a Blessing-- by Emily Warren (Pocket Miracles Author: Lois Jones)

Some miracles involve God interacting with us on a personal level.  Sometimes we are the miracle for someone else.

Emily Warren, my niece, found a wallet on the pavement in the parking lot, while shopping one evening. She looked for information in the wallet so that she could contact the owner.  She found that it belonged to a Brazilian family evidently on vacation.  There was no address to send the wallet back to either local or Brazilian.  Emily thought about her options. She could turn the wallet over to the police, security, take it into a store to find it's owner, or call credit card companies. 

An hour and forty-five minutes later with no results she called her pastor for advice and he advised her to call mall security.  She called the Winter Garden Village mall security office and gave them her number to claim their lost wallet.  A few minutes later she received a call from the owner of the missing wallet.  She met the family along with mall security. The missing wallet was received with tears and hugs.  The Brazilian tourist saw the kindness of a Christian American girl, as he viewed all the contents still intact in his wallet. His credit cards, pre-paid American Express cards and two-thousand dollars cash as well as his travel documents were all there. He gave her a generous award for her honesty, but the greater reward was that God's glory was seen through Emily. She became someone's miracle.

Mother's Day Miracle

 

Yesterday, Mothers Day 2013 I was reminded of the goodness of God.  I started the day with the words to the song To God Be The Glory (by Andre Crouch) cascading through my mind.  How can I say "Thanks" God? How can I tell YOU how much you mean to me?  I know I've told this story before, but I am so thankful for what God did, I must share it again...

I was married in the late summer of 1992.  My husband and I had enjoyed a blissful first year of marriage.  We were ready to start a family as we celebrated the second year of our marriage.  Little did I know it wasn't going to be that easy.  I was told by my gynecologist to relax, I would have kids, no problem.  The second year of our marriage turned into the third and then fourth year of infertility. Four years seems like a short time, looking back, but to me it truly was 1,460 days.

My yearning to have a child was so intense.  Extended family members had their hands full caring for their darling children.  My hands were empty.  I know how Hannah, in the Bible, must have felt as she knelt before God and Eli that day with her soundless petition.  Her heart must have felt like it was being squeezed out of her chest.  I dreaded Mother's Day.  I would sit on the church pew trying to force the lump in my throat not to turn into tears.  Every year became more difficult.  It went from bad to worse.

As the ushers passed out flowers, they always passed me by, "You're not a mom, yet!," They'd joke. 
I started taking clomid and other fertility drugs.  These drugs affected my emotions and did nothing for my situation.  Well meaning friends could not feel the depths of my hurt.  I remember locking myself in a bathroom stall and weeping, after a well meaning friend said, "No babies yet?"  No. Babies. Yet.  My situation began to feel impossible. Fertility charts lined my wall, thermometer by my bed...negative pregnancy tests, over and over again. "Has God forgotten me," I wondered. "How could people have abortions, or give their children up for adoption?" I couldn't understand. At one point in our struggle my husband and I considered adopting twins, but the adoption never worked out. 

Then the miracle happened! Mother's Day 16 years ago...the Pastor of our church called me to come forward and stand in front of the altar.  This was very uncomfortable, and I was feeling more like Hannah by the minute.  He began prophesying that my husband and I would have a baby--that I would be expecting by this time the following year. 

It came to pass the way he said. I was expecting by the next Mother's Day and in November I gave birth to Sarah Elisabeth.  Elisabeth means Oath of God.  Sarah was my promised baby and a testimony to me that God keeps HIS PROMISES.  Sarah has been such a blessing in our lives.  I dedicated her to God. God is faithful!  She will be going on her first missions trip this year to Puerto Rico to visit an orphanage and be a part of the Youth On Missions Team.  God didn't stop there but blessed us with two more daughters.  I also know the heartache of losing a baby, for I had a miscarriage in between the birth of Savannah and Sadie. In spite of the struggle, and loss, God has filled my cup to overflowing!

This story is not meant to seek sympathy from you, but for you to realize how AWESOME and AMAZING God is.  God wants to receive Glory in our lives. It is through our stories of heartache and pain, He gets GLORY!  The situations you go through in this life are opportunities for God to work and get GLORY. The trials of our faith make us realize the Rock of Ages is our anchor of hope.  Everyday we need to realize the closeness of our friend Jesus. We need to know that there is a God who really cares about our smallest need or biggest problem.  There are some things we go through in life that press us to the point where we lack understanding, and start relying on His GRACE! This testimony is for you to know that God cares for you! When your hurt goes so deep that all you can do is move your lips in a cry of desperation, you can know that someday it will produce a song... To God be the GLORY!!!

 

Psalm 113:9 " He maketh the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children, Praise the Lord."