Check Out The View From Here!

October 28, 2015October 27, 2015 / morgancreynolds / Leave a comment

I’m a crazy walker. When I go out for a walk, or even when I add in a run, I always look down. What am I looking at? I don’t get it. Am I afraid if I don’t look at my feet they won’t move right? Or is the sidewalk just so beautiful I need to keep my eye on it?

It’s weird.

I tell myself, “Pick your head up! You look goofy. Look up and see the beauty around you. You’re missing out!” Yeah. I will pick my head up…my thoughts center on the beauty in the sky and trees. I get lost in thought—maybe even whisper a little prayer. And, then, “Look at those feet walking. Look at that sidewalk. Yep, they’re still there.”

For goodness sake! I just don’t get it. This is a problem, I do believe. I’m missing out. Even when I have a walking buddy I do it. Before I know it, I’m focusing on the road right in front of me, instead of seeing all that is around me. They have been kind enough to just ignore it!

This has gotten me to thinking.

In life, what am I focusing on?

Am I focusing on the challenges and tough-going I have experienced? Am I looking at the past and wishing circumstances had been different or I had been dealt a better hand?

Where is my focus?

Perhaps I am focusing on how I wish I was different. Different gifting, different temperment, different anything.

Maybe I look at the ways I could have made different choices and would then be on a different and seemingly better path.

Focus.

What is my focus?

Too much introspection can lead to too much self-focusing. Sometimes I just have to get out of my head. It’s good to remember our past and what we have come through. It’s important to remember what we have learned. Gratitude is born out of remembering with grace our journey.

But, we can’t afford to get stuck.

A couple years ago I realized all my conversations were about all the negative things going on in my world. It was my habit. I was good at rehashing the injustices and idiocy I was enduring. My friends were so gracious. They commiserated with me. Even though it had to be like nails on a chalkboard, they loved on me and listened—and endured it!

I finally got tired of hearing myself talk about it. It was getting old. And, I knew it was a problem when I couldn’t think of other things to talk about. It kind of felt like a loser sort of life!

It’s amazing when God starts nudging you in a new direction.

I’m guessing He was tired of hearing all about it too—over and over and over and over—if you get my drift.

I was missing out on all the goodness He was giving. I was missing out on all the beauty and grace He so lavishly supplied. He was fully aware of all the injustice and rejection and hurt. He got it. He saw it and knew how it hurt. The Beautiful One was trying to give me beauty for my ashes. But, it wasn’t going to happen if all I kept focusing on was the pitiful parts. I was going to miss it all. What a tragedy—and He knew it.

I had to quit wallowing around in the ashes!

He spoke to my heart. He opened my eyes to the reality of what I was becoming. It wasn’t the image I wanted. I purposed in my heart I was done reliving it all and talking about it. I was done dwelling on the negative and the pain.

Oh, I remember. I have the scars to show for it. But, I was done allowing it to become my focus and driving force. I was done talking about and rehashing every gory detail of every injustice. I determined that chapter was done. I was moving forward.

You know, it made all the difference in the world in my heart and life.

It wasn’t easy. I had to think of new topics of conversation. I had to live purposefully in the here and now. Yes, I remember. And, at times there is still pain in those scars. But, it doesn’t drive me any longer. I no longer look down and behind but look up and ahead. This new way of thinking and being set me on a new trajectory. It is so much more beautiful here!

Psalm 103 is really great right about now.

It’s too long to post here, but I encourage you to take a couple minutes to read it. It helps in the refocusing.

What do I choose to focus on? Where am I looking?

Am I remembering all of His blessings?

Do I remember that He has healed my family and me and has raised us from our ashes?

Do I recall that He has redeemed me—that He has wrapped me in goodness?

That He makes everything come out right and puts victims back on their feet?

Do I focus on His grace and mercy and keep in mind He doesn’t give us what we deserve, but gives us what we don’t deserve?

Do I relish in His fierce love and His total awareness of me?

How about remembering His love is eternal–forever and always?

It brings into proper perspective the flaws of this world. No scheme of man will ever take me from His hand. I am His. Why so downcast oh, dear soul? Look up to the hills from which comes your help!

Change your focus! It’s beautiful up here!

Who Do You Think You Are?

September 23, 2015September 22, 2015 / morgancreynolds / 2 Comments

Years ago, I was a speaker for a session at a women’s retreat. This was some time ago—15 years or so. I was young and inexperienced at a lot of things. But, I was excited for the opportunity to share with the women at this retreat.

I was not the main retreat speaker, but an “after lunch session” speaker. You can probably see where this is going. It was hard. I was losing them. I could feel it—I sensed it. I saw it on their faces. I was not the dynamic speaker that the main speaker was. She reached them in a way I wasn’t able. She had a story I didn’t have. As I stood there watching their faces, lunch settling in and the food coma descending, I felt my words bouncing off the walls. I became more and more discouraged. I felt more and more like a failure the longer I went.

On the drive home, I beat myself up. I was a failure. What made me think I could ever be a public speaker? Why did I ever think I could do something so amazing? I was a dud. How foolish I must have looked! I decided right then and there I would NEVER do THAT again. EVER. My speaking circuit career was going to be short lived. One and done!

I’m not sure whether those ladies got anything out of my talk or not, but indeed, I kept that promise to myself. For several years, I refused to ever give public speaking another go. I cloaked it in “it really isn’t my season for public speaking.” And, honestly, the opportunities dried up. I believe me telling God I would never do that again, even when I felt cautioned against saying it, spoke something into my life.

Slowly, over the last couple of years, I have occasionally allowed myself to stand up and try it again….always against my better judgement. I look at all those years I could have used to grow my skills and talent, but didn’t. How much more seasoned might I be? I certainly would have gained some great wisdom and experiences.

Have you ever done this to yourself? Have you ever had a supposed failure and shut yourself down from ever stepping out to try again? I didn’t receive criticism from anybody but myself. I was my harshest and cruelest critic. I allowed insecurity to set up camp and shut down opportunities for my life.

Do you let insecurity settle in and define who are or what you do? Do you define yourself by what you do? How about what you know, or maybe, don’t know? What about what you have or don’t have? It’s a crazy problem I see all around. And further, how are we supposed to keep our Littles from spiraling into this mindset when we can’t seem to untangle ourselves from this giant knotted mess ourselves? We have to do better!

After doing some research on this topic of self-image, I have learned a few lessons I think will challenge me before I get into another situation like the story above (because, it’s probably going to happen in some way, some where again!). I will be better equipped to handle the self accusation that will come hurdling against my heart.

First, our deepest longing is for unconditional love. We have this hole in which only unconditional love can fill. The only place unconditional love comes from is Christ. People try. But, really, Christ is the only source of unconditional love. We have to know our place in that love. We have to receive this love that requires no performance on our part.

Second, we have to know who we are in Christ. He has to be our Center. Everything else flows from that. Every part of our self has to come from that Center. It will effect every area of our life. If we are living in insecurity, we are focusing on ourselves and not on Christ.

Third, I have to speak aloud who I am in Christ. I have to hear myself. You know, we believe more of what we hear ourselves say than what anybody else says. I have to stop speaking the negative story lines and words about myself. It really isn’t anybody else’s job to prop me up every day. I have to encourage myself in Christ.

Fourth, I am not what I do, what I have, what I know, or any lack thereof. I am everything in Christ—nothing in myself—but everything in Christ! I must get my focus off of myself and onto who I am in Christ. If I look at any of those things, I will only have a false sense of security or an unfortunate sense of insecurity.

So, the sure-fire cure for the insecure heart is this—knowing Christ’s unconditional love. It is the cure for the aching heart and the strained mind. Life has a way of clobbering the daring right out of our heart, if we let it. Stepping out with courage requires a heart settled on this amazing, unconditional love.

I know insecurity is settling in for a nice, long stay when I am constantly comparing myself to others, I’m easily offended or can’t take criticism well. So, I have to actively fight the monster with this powerful truth. I am unconditionally loved by the Creator of the universe. He created me. I am not perfect and that is okay. He loves me anyway. I will not focus on me, but on the one Who created me. He is my Center and all parts of my life will come from that place. Because He is my center, I can stand strong in who I am in Him. That is more than enough.

I will open my arms and heart to new adventures. I will rest in the knowledge that I am enough in Him. Aren’t you ready for that less-pressured way of living, too?

We Can Do Hard Things

September 16, 2015September 15, 2015 / morgancreynolds / Leave a comment

You never know what you can do until you have to do it.

I used to never really consider myself strong. I use to doubt my endurance for hard things. I would think of certain scenarios and think there was no way I could ever endure something like that! I was young and life had not been truly hard.

Have you ever thought like this? It’s possible I’m a lone bird on this one. I get stuck in my head quite a bit. But, on the off chance you have ever wondered how you’re going to make it, or do THAT, or what if, then maybe this is for you.

One of my very favorite sayings floating around lately is a hefty reminder. And, you better hang on for it!

“We can do hard things.”

I’m not really sure how this fits into today’s culture. For the most part, we are busy entertaining and indulging ourselves and avoiding uncomfortableness at all costs. I try to avoid stress and anxiety. I know my margins and am pretty good at trying hard to not cross them.

So, in today’s “first world problem” culture, the hard, ugly, messy, costly, inconvenient and uncomfortable are usually avoided like the . If it is out of the carefully crafted comfort zone we have so strategically arranged, it must not be for me. Check. Not going there.

But, what about the gift of inconvenience? What about the gift of hard?

I’ve had the privilege of knowing women who have done hard. My mom did hard for over 10 years as she was the primary caregiver for my sweet father as he slowly withered away. I’ve watched my mothers-in-law take care of grandchildren as their own and nurse a dying bitter man with grace and patience. I’ve seen women pick up family and home and move across the world and endure hardship in order to rescue children and women from slavery. There are all kinds of hard.

We can do hard things.

In fact, life is more rewarding and satisfying if we do hard. Perpetually taking the easy road and always choosing the easy leads to comatose living. If that is even considered living.

Sometimes, we really have no choice. The hard is shoved at us with the force of a tsunami, and we have to swallow it and keep afloat. Our world is shoved into another realm and we must adjust our course or be obliterated. Sometimes, it seems we have had more than our fair share of hard and inconvenient. It appears all we do is hard. I’ve been there.

We can do hard things.

I have a beautiful passage of Scripture you need to hear! Psalm 16:5-6 goes like this:

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

You may be wondering how I’m going to take this verse and make it work to convince you that, yes, you can do hard things. Well, here it is. I have had a very long season…years even…of doing very hard things. In fact, it came like the waves of the ocean. I often felt as if I was going to drown from the unrelenting surge of hard. Life looked bleak and it was breaking me. The years of pounding had me convinced this would never end. This seemingly had become the course of my life. I was constantly looking over my shoulder waiting for the next wave. Not a hope-filled, joyful journey by any stretch. I anticipated lack instead of abundance. I waited for darkness more than light. I expected drought instead of blessing.

Now, on the other side of the hard, I realize I have learned some valuable lessons.

1. I am stronger than I ever thought I was.

2. The hard doesn’t last forever.

3. I can’t do it on my own, but with Christ and friends, I can do anything.

4. Christ sees it all, and……now, look back at Psalm 16:5-6.

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”

The beauty and grace I never thought I would ever see again, has indeed, come. He never left me. And, in fact, He holds my inheritance and the borders of my life are stretched to beautiful places. Life isn’t perfect. Not everything works right all the time. Not everything has been fully restored. But, I anticipate in due time, all things will be made right.

There is something about going through hard and inconvenient, instead of caving and crumbling. There are lessons we learn and strength we gain. Strength begets strength. By not choosing the easiest, or bypassing the hard, a rock hard strength develops within you. One. Choice. At. A. Time.

Every time we choose to do hard, we choose strength. Each time we don’t give up, we choose spiritual fortitude. And, it is just amazing to see where we are taken in Christ through the journey. As we come out through the suffocating, restricting and confining alleyways of the hard, we come upon the wide open vistas of grace and hope that stretch out before us. We see it is both beautiful and breathtaking! Oh, the light and stunning grace! He knows us and gives us beauty for ashes. Yes, we may lose much, but the inheritance promises to be worth the journey!

Disappointment

September 2, 2015 / morgancreynolds / Leave a comment

Disappointment.

Who isn’t familiar with it? It’s a part of life.

Walking through disappointment with kids will wrench your gut and wring you out. As a mom, I know life happens. There is no way to protect them from disappointment and do them justice. In those hard moments, there is so much wisdom to be poured into these sensitive hearts.

I really love those moments of teaching our young ones to process pain and disappointment in a healthy way. I certainly don’t love the circumstances that bring the pain, though. But, what shallow and weak human beings they will be if I don’t shepherd them through their difficulties.

Today was such a day. Another disappointing report crushed a young heart. I could see it–a beautiful face fighting hard to hold back the tears. A heart full of dreams and faith. Lots of believing and praying childlike prayers. It was in that moment I had to close my mouth and say a prayer. I prayed for the right words to ignite a fire of faith. My first thought was, “Lord, what do I say to another disappointing report? What are you going to do about this?”

I know all too well these times come. We don’t hear the answer we want to hear, we are passed by for what we deserve, people don’t live up to our expectations and wound us, or there is another delay in our answer. And, we ask, “What am I supposed to do about this? Where are you, God?”

Here are 3 thoughts to help us through these moments:

God sees and knows.
He never leaves us or forsakes us.
God works all things out for our good.

I absolutely believe God sees and knows all that is going on in our lives. I know He never leaves us or forsakes us. I know for a fact He works all things out for our good. I know these three things to be true in my life.

We have walked through some incredibly severe and trying situations as a family and I remember sensing God speak to me that He had seen it all and knows it all. What a comfort that was to me! Just hearing that affirmation of love still brings hope to my heart. You know what that means? He had never left me and He truly understands my pain like no other. He would vindicate and heal the wounds in His good time.

I told my disappointed one yesterday that God does not always answer in the fashion in which we envision in our minds. Our small box of plans can’t even begin to hold the answer He has for our situations. And further, if our disappointment and need hasn’t been answered just yet and we’re still breathing, then the answer is still on the way!

Big lessons for a young one. Better to learn and solidify your faith at a young age and know for yourself this great big God of the universe than have to wait until your older and have no clue who He is! Yes, I would love for this life to be smoother sailing, with more positive reports, but, I know He is with us even in those moments.

He is walking through it all with us.

By the way, lots of love and hugs help, too! God isn’t shocked or offended by our pain and questions. Take some time to grieve and process the loss or disappointment. Talk it out and then move forward. By the end, a little ice cream hit the spot! There are no callous “stop crying and suck it up” talks in this house. But, we are learning to not wallow in our pain. Eventually, we were able to laugh a little and hug it out!

So, what disappointment have you swallowed lately? It is sure to come. But, you can stand strong when you remember this: He sees and knows; He certainly hasn’t left me; And, I know good is on the way—it may not look exactly how I planned, but His perfect plan is at work in my life.

Hey….maybe you should even have a little mint chocolate chip ice cream to top it off!

Would you like to read more about this wonderful journey through this one beautiful life? Sign up to receive a post delivered straight to your inbox each week. I would love to have you join me on this journey of hope! Here’s to a great week!

Do I Have To?

June 15, 2015June 14, 2015 / morgancreynolds / 2 Comments

I have experience.

Lots of it. Some of it has come with kicking and screaming, but I have experience, nonetheless. “What experience?” you may ask.

Well, it is …..

stick-to-it-ativeness.

Yeah. It’s not as beautiful as it sounds. Trust me. Everyone has one of two tendencies. That is to fight or flee. And, actually, I am by nature a flee-er. Many times the option of “flight” seems pretty alright to me. So, honestly, I don’t come by this naturally.

But, I am married to….you guessed it! A fighter.

No, not a fighter, as in, he can’t get along with people and stirs up conflict. He is the kind that won’t run from a battle. He knows what is needed and will fight to see it happen. He’s not a quitter. His philosophy is, “I may not be smarter or more talented than others, but I can certainly outlast anybody!” Um, clearly, this has made for some great fun over the years.

I like comfort. I don’t like to go through the stretching and retching part of life. I like for everyone to like me. I want no hardships and certainly no sacrificing. I want dreams and projects to flow smoothly. I really don’t want conflict, hate it in fact. I certainly don’t want to be judged or misjudged. I like for the tasks I set my hand to to flow without hiccups or roadblocks of any sort. I want everyone to agree with me and my opinions. And, I certainly do NOT need or want rejection.

It hurts. The hard stuff hurts.

Life tends to bring along those moments when we must choose.

There isn’t any way around it. Someone or something intrudes into your dream or boundaries. Something important is at stake. The life or death of it depends on whether you stay and fight or run and flee. Maybe it’s your family, a child, a dream, or a way of life. Maybe it’s your calling or vocation. Perhaps it is fighting injustice or standing up for what or who is right. Whatever it is, you will have to choose.

Either way, everything hangs in the balance.

I’ll give you 3 examples from my life. Perhaps you can relate.

First of all, my husband and I started a new church back in 1994. We were young. We were inexperienced and truthfully didn’t have a clue as to what we had joined up for. We were still trying to figure out who we were at the tender age of 24. We had seen great success stories and figured we could pull off something just like those. It took 7 years to reach the goal of 100 people. It took even longer to acquire our own facility. We worked hard. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of hard work and sacrifice. We barely survived on the meager salary.

About the third or fourth year in, I was done. We had faced apparent failure on many levels. I wanted to quit so badly! My husband? Oh, yes, I know he did. But, we didn’t leave that congregation until 2008. He would pacify me by telling me to just give him until May. If things didn’t turn around by May, we would think about going somewhere else. Well, he knew that once winter was over in Iowa, things always look better at some level, come May. I figured him out, finally, about the third year of being told that. I’m slow.

Second story. In 2008, our family moved to Virginia to our second congregation. This seemed as if our dreams were answered in one fell swoop. Not long after moving here, it seemed as if we had stepped into a nightmare. This was a very different hard than our Iowa challenge. We faced intense obstacles, setbacks, reversals, personal attacks, rejection, strife, and twisted plots. The personal and professional price has been high. This church was in deep crisis and they weren’t in the mood to be helped. So many times I could have been packing boxes on a moment’s notice. All my husband needed to do was give me the word. I was more than done!

Final story. The first three years in Virginia seemed like they were from hell. We took a huge financial hit when the real estate bubble burst and we needed to sell our house and move to Virginia. Then, my son came to us and told us he had been sexually abused for three years by an authority figure. Then, my other child was diagnosed with a serious medical condition after months of intense, unexplained pain and slow debilitation. Then, my father passed away after battling Alzheimers for 13 years. This all happened within the first three years after moving to Virginia. There were moments during those very difficult years I began to question the presence of God in my life. I wasn’t so sure He could be trusted.

Here’s the deal.

At any given point in my life, I desperately wanted to throw in the towel. The pain felt greater than the reward. And, yes, there have been some serious sacrifices made that only God will be able to make right. But, we didn’t quit. There were no magic formulas or bribes to hold us steady. The only promise we had to go on was God would see us through. It might be painful, it might look ugly, but we would make it if we just didn’t quit. “Those who quit remember the ordeal. Those who endure remember the adventure.” That has become a life value of sorts.

There are many giftings we don’t possess. There are quite a few things we do well; there have been many mistakes along the way, too. But one thing which doesn’t require talent or gifting is something we do have—“outlast-attude”. We can outlast just about anything.

You have to dig deep. You have to stare your giant in the face and stare it down. It’s not easy. But, find the grit and the depth of character to outlast anything life throws your way. Needless to say, I’m thankful my Honey had enough hutzpah for the both of us!

Your whole life and legacy depend on it. Everyone who follows after you, depend on it. It’s not just about you anyway. It never has been.

What Are You Looking At?

May 18, 2015May 17, 2015 / morgancreynolds / 4 Comments

I’ve been thinking about today’s blog.

I wasn’t sure the direction I wanted to go…until now. I don’t know, call it writer’s block. I never really want to write a post without some kind of inspired direction. I had several seemingly disjointed thoughts rolling through my mind and couldn’t bring them into any cohesive thought, until now.

I’ll let you in on my analytical brain’s journey.

My first thought from the week:

My personality doesn’t do well with conflict. For the most part, I think most people do not do well with conflict. However, I do know there are some who seem to enjoy it…get a kick out of it. But, that’s not me. It causes me a level of anxiety that sits in the pit of my stomach. Generally, I deal with conflict by avoiding the person with whom I am having conflict. Not the best tactic, I know, but that is my default mode. As I am growing, I am learning not all conflict resolution has to be traumatic and disastrous. I am making baby steps toward handling conflict that results in positive and life-giving ends.

My second thought from the week:

I don’t like to complain about being in ministry. There are many great rewards, opportunities and joy. However, it’s not easy at times. In fact, there are unique challenges, disappointments and pain other professionals don’t experience, much less their spouses and families.

I’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum. Christians don’t always act like Christians. And, honestly, that can be a disappointment. But, on the flip side, Christians have been living, breathing fleshed-out hands of God in my life. In some congregations, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. In fact, keeping in mind I don’t do well with conflict, there was a time during a very difficult season, attending church was too painful and I would have to leave the worship service because of severe anxiety. Sadly, for a while, it didn’t feel like a safe place for me.

I wasn’t even the “personal” target for attacks. My husband, mainly, and occasionally one of my children were the focus of the attacks. It seems people forget their responsibility as Christians in a body of believers. When someone decides to “take on” an issue in the church, they often forget the collateral damage that is done. When issues are addressed in a toxic way, many hearts lie wounded in their wake. It’s not just the leader affected, but his wife and children as well. God reminded me “He sees it all and knows it all.” He will make right the wrongs.

My third thought from the week:

This is the greatest of all from the week!! As I was walking the circle in my neighborhood, I took notice of the beautiful spring blooming around me. It was such a beautiful day! As I was trying to reign in all my thoughts and see what kind of coherent message I could bring from it all, it hit me straight on. I realized my rambling thoughts were coming together!

Nature yells out the very existence and hope of God. It was screaming out to me a message I needed to be reminded of! The joy and hope I sensed in that moment caught my attention. As I was looking at the yellow-flowered weeds in the field near my house, I got it! I remembered a verse I had come across the day before reading through some journaling I had done last year. Psalm 27:13, 14. Yes! It was all clear now. The seemingly random thoughts were coming together to form one powerful thought!

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Life is messy. Stuff happens. People disappoint….some over and over again. People don’t act as they should and many times we are hurt by others’ selfishness. But, life is also very beautiful. Or at least it can be. It depends, though. And frankly, it depends on you and me. I’ve experienced enough toxicity to last me my lifetime. Life can require responses or decisions from me I feel are unfair at times.

I just choose over and over not to focus my attention on that.

Maybe, right now you see harshness or injustice. Perhaps you are experiencing a motherload of inconvenience and disappointment.

But, if you quit in this one snapshot of a moment, you will never see the finished portrait.

If you quit now, you won’t see the would-be, finished, beautiful product.

Our hope and joy lie in God and our trust in Him. Such beauty and grace resides in Him. He promises to show us His goodness in this lifetime. So, focus your attention on what you WANT to see. Stop focusing on the unfinished business; focus on the promised beauty.

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

The Whole Of It

February 16, 2015February 15, 2015 / morgancreynolds / 1 Comment

…..May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!!

There is something that calls to me from this Scripture. You will find it in I Thessalonians 5:23-24. This world has a way of pulling us into a million pieces. Start with responsibilities, toss in a few wounds, mix in unmet expectations, throw in some disappointment and there you have it! I would never say life is all bad. But, stuff happens, and there ya go!

As a mom, one of the most important things is to see your children whole and happy—living to the fullest. When you see one of those cubs struggling to stay afloat, your instincts kicks into gear. I’m sure you are familiar with “Mother Bear” syndrome. I’m really familiar with it!

I do believe I lived in Mother Bear mode for about 3 years. There’s not a thing that can be said to a woman in full-on MB. Those cubs are the treasures and the way I see it, it’s our responsibility (with my honey) to get them from start to adulthood in one relatively good, solid piece. They need to be someone people can stand to be with and do something good with the space they take up. They need to pursue their passions and dreams and be all they can be.

So, when life starts getting in the way and you see your treasures fracturing and losing their handhold, MB mode is on high alert! My prayers for my hurting child were for him to be whole…. nothing missing and nothing broken in his life. I didn’t want the pain and anguish he experienced at the hand of someone so incredibly selfish to derail and destroy greatness within. I prayed and prayed for the wholeness which was rightfully his.

I remember God spoke to my heart that “he had seen it all” and my child and family would be healed and whole. He cared even more than I did. I wrote it down. I clung to that promise as my lifeline. That was over 2 years ago. I haven’t forgotten.

But, there have been times I have felt that the progress just was not good enough. It wasn’t a complete enough healing. I remember telling God during a particular season this wasn’t going to be good enough. Next try, please. I’m not sure what God thought about that. But, I felt I was exercising my faith. I knew God told me the broken parts would be healed….this wasn’t healed, as I understood healing! It certainly was a start, but I was believing for wholeness. There was a pain and hurt so deep that only God could touch it. But, I believed. I hid that promise in my heart.

I’ve watched him on this journey. Huge steps forward and some hiccups along the way. He wants it just as much as we do for him. It takes time and is a long journey that is neither easy nor enjoyable. But the strength of his spirit is inspiring and one of a true fighter; he will not be labeled a victim. For all of us, we want quick, easy answers and solutions to the pain and loss. We know such answers won’t come. But, I haven’t stopped believing!

Now, here we are. Three years later, great ground has been covered, healing has taken place, much learning and growing has been experienced. And, I am still watching and listening. God is answering and doing what he said he would do.

I just had an incredible conversation with my boy. He experienced God in a powerful way during his university’s chapel service a couple of weeks ago. He isn’t one to share his personal pain on a constant basis and has a list in his heart he knew intimately….hurt and pain he had just assumed would always be there. He was coping. God said, “That’s not good enough.” God promised…..and he is delivering. God came in that moment….even when my boy wasn’t looking for it. He met him there and brought more healing and hope to the hidden and private pain. He talked of joy like he hadn’t experienced in years. Oh! How a mama’s heart is healed by hearing such things.

When God promises something, he delivers. Our timetable is rarely correct. He doesn’t work on Human Standard Time. When he promises he will make you whole, putting together body, mind and soul, that is what he intends to do. I haven’t given up. It comes out of nowhere, looking different than I expect. But, oh my!

A few days before my son’s extraordinary moment with God, God sent a reminder to me of this very verse. I took note. He gently reminded me and turned my head toward him. I knew. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, he came and amazed us once again.

He’s just cool like that.

Amberly reynolds

sweet sage lane

disappointment