Month: July 2016

America, The Beautiful

by Katharine Lee Bates – 1913

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion’d stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

I have been exploring the beautiful countryside God has landed us in over the last several weeks.  Our country is truly gorgeous…  As I ran Thursday, I saw lush forests over mounded hills.  I saw field after field with ripe hay waving in the wind.  I thought about (and sang) “America the Beautiful” and wept for our country and the darkness that has begun to prevail in our cities and our peoples. All things are possible in the Lord….. and He counsels us not to despair in the face of impossible odds, but to praise and worship Him in all things.  The downward spiral of the United States over the last couple of years – the increase in violence, in depravity, in our failure to protect our children from the manipulation of really bad people (gender changes funded by our government for 6 year olds is one of them!) has brought me to tears. God uses even the really awful things that happen to bring about great good for those who love Him.  Our only hope is in Him.  I am praying that He will show up in a mighty way to bring about the change only He can do – however and whatever that might be.

Yesterday, I explored the Capital Forest (south of Olympia).  The picture above is from a ridge high above the valley floor.  I was so aware of His presence with me and was blessed with His peace… yes, even joy.  The road up was unrelentingly steep – up and up and up.  I saw dual hawks soaring over the ridge I was on… and Mt. Rainier far in the background.  I am so blessed to have this season of rest – a time of unexpected down time and quiet after the past couple of months of upheaval. (Isaiah 40:28-31).

 

It has been a time of adversity for both Ben and me.  God has been with us all the way through all of the craziness that has gone on in the past month, but it has been really, really difficult and disorienting at times. Praising the Lord — He has given me back my joy and peace in Him.

A few months ago, we made an strong offer on a beautiful farm which was exactly what we had wanted. The offer should have been enthusiastically accepted – but was not. We believe that God’s plan for us did not include buying a home at this time, and we are waiting on Him for direction about what He would have us do.

There have been some times during and since the move when I have been incredibly overwhelmed. The move went differently than expected…. I had agreed that the movers would do the furniture prep on Wednesday, and then come to move us on Thursday. They came Wednesday morning and announced that the house would be completely emptied into the trucks that day, and then they would meet us at the storage unit in Centralia on Thursday. Basically, we were 90-95% packed (but the important stuff — our bedroom, closet, toiletries, the last of the kitchen — weren’t packed). They swooped in and before I knew it (I was occupied packing the kitchen) they had emptied our bedroom and closet into unlabeled boxes. I’ve been struggling to figure out where some of the important stuff of life is….

Ben had a couple of mishaps the week of our move, and my purse was stolen from the front of the RV a week ago (with my phone, id, credit cards etc.) We are pulling everything back together, but it has been a challenge. God has been teaching me/us some tough (but necessary!) lessons.

Over a year ago, I began praying that the Lord would equip me for what He has coming for me/us, and He is answering that prayer — and it looks so different than I anticipated! I had been depending on Ben to handle some of the chores I did not want to handle here. God showed me that I need to learn to handle the stuff of life myself so that if anything happened I could know what to do. Great lesson and wake-up call.

It has been very difficult. However, I know God is good, and I KNOW His plans for me are good — He promises to prosper me and not to harm me (Jeremiah 29:11). He also promises never to leave me or forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6) — and He has been with me in all of this. He has restored my joy and my peace… and His presence is very, very real. I am so grateful. He has also shown me how incredibly blessed I am. He has supplied our needs in abundance. He has also given me areas of wonderful beauty to run in only a little over a mile away where I cross over the Chehalis River (He leads me beside still waters and restores my soul – Psalm 23), and where I wind my way through beautiful fields of hay and hills heavily forested and lush. He gives me such joy and reveals Himself in the glories of His creation. I am so very blessed.

God has been closing the door on anything I have planned and tried to do up in the metro area. I tried to go for a hair appointment with the stylist I have been with for 20 years last week (and gave myself plenty of time to traverse the 90 miles between here and there!), but He closed that door as it was impossible to get there because of traffic.  The Lord has been showing me that I need to begin to build my/our home here — to begin investing in our new church family, to build relationships with those He is bringing into my life, to be His ambassador here in the RV park and to those He puts in my path.  We don’t know what He has in store for us…. and we know that He only reveals the 6 inches right in front of our toes!  As I see it, my job is to love Him, to love those He puts around me, and to trust Him fully in all things and in every circumstance I find myself in.  Praising Jesus that He is with me in all things, and that He promises never to give me more than I can bear without a way out (1 Cor. 10:13).  The Lord is good….  and He has us in His strong arms and is carrying us through.  His alone is the victory, and He is and will be the ultimate Victor!!!!