He Will Bandage Our Wounds

Photo by: audreyjm529

My mom fell over the weekend and broke her arm.  It was a bad break which requires surgery.

Her fall got me thinking about humanity's frailty and strength.  It seems to be a contradiction - humans simultaneously being frail and strong at the same time.  Yet it's true.  We fall.  We sometimes break.  But we almost always find the strength to put the pieces back together.

I saw this demonstrated in my mom this weekend.  When she initially fell, she asked for help.  But when help was offered, she declined in favor of picking herself up off the ground.

Then the lyrics of a Shane & Shane song popped into my head - "He will heal us; He will bandage our wounds."  These words are pulled straight from scripture, from Hosea 6.

How profound.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I think it's up to me to fix myself.  When I fall, most of the time I just pick myself up and keep going.  If I've got a scrape, I put a band-aid on it.  If it's deeper, I might have someone look at it to see if it needs stitches.

But turn to Jesus, my Healer?

Scripture says that He will heal us and bandage our wounds.

So why don't we let Him?

When we fall, He offers to heal us and to bandage our wounds.  He extends His hand to pick us up, dust us off, and cleanse us with His healing balm.  He offers us grace and unconditional love.

I don't know about you, but I want Him to heal my wounds.  I long for Him to wrap up my wounds and to feel His healing balm on my skin.  To know that His grace and love are covering me.  All I have to do is cry out for Him when I've fallen.  That may mean putting aside my stubborn pride and asking for Him to reach out His hand.  But, oh how I need His healing touch!

Who do you turn to for healing when you fall?

5AM Wake Up Call

Hello, Monday.  You came very, very early today.

Today started with a 5AM wake up call.  My step-dad called to make sure I was awake.  He knows I'm not a morning person.  He also knows I sleep until the very last minute.  But today I needed to be awake early. 

Why so early, you ask?

On Friday my mom fell and broke her arm.  It is a break which requires surgery, unfortunately.  Today was her follow-up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon.  It was scheduled for 7am, but with the use of only one arm, little things we take for granted take much much longer to do.

Getting dressed.  Brushing teeth.  Fixing hair.  Making coffee.

Yep, it takes twice the time to do all those things.

So I was my mom's extra arm this morning.  I helped her get ready, made her a cup of coffee, and loaded her up in the car to go to her appointment.  Thankfully the appointment didn't last long, just long enough to confirm the necessity of surgery and to schedule it.  We also got to watch a cool little demo of what the surgery will be like.  Then it was back into the car and home.

What's the good in all of this?  I got to spend extra time with my mom.  She's pretty special and I never get to spend enough time with her (even though I live right across the street from her). 

Also, Mom's fall & upcoming surgery remind me that humanity is fragile, yet have such strength and determination.  It's a strange contradiction.  Frailty vs. strength.  But that's how we're made. 

We fall.  We get hurt.  Sometimes we even break. 

With enough strength and determination, we can pick the pieces up and put ourselves back together again.  With His help, perhaps the new version of us will be even more stronger & beautiful than the original.

How has your day been so far?  Have you ever fallen & had to have help putting the pieces back together?

Friends Simply Make Life Better

Mondays are typically long days, and today was no exception.  After such a great weekend, who wants to go back to work or school or whatever?  As much as I enjoy my job, sometimes I would love to just stay home and sleep in.  Especially because I'm a night owl and sleep does not come until late most days.

No such luck today.

And that's OK.

Because today was a good day.

Today is the day the Lord has made & His mercies were brand new for me this morning.  (Check out Psalm 118:24 & Lamentations 3:23)

Instead of feeling exhausted all day long, I had energy to make it through the day.

I laughed.

I got all my work done.

I even had a good attitude while standing in the line at Kmart for 10 minutes because there were only 3 lines open.

Then this evening I got to spend time with my husband, my best friend, and her two girls.  And that made all the difference in the world.

Friends simply make life better.

Monday may have started out a little bit manic, but it ended up being a whole lot of wonderful.  :)


How was your Monday?  Was there something good about your day that you'd like to share?

Transition Can Be A Good Thing

Monday didn't start off that well.  But that's no surprise, is it?

Truth be told, my Monday started off bad because my Sunday ended bad.  I went to bed in pain around 11:30pm or so.  An hour later I sent a text to my husband begging him to bring me a couple of Tylenol.  Thankfully, he did and the 2 little pills worked their magic.  An hour later the pain was subdued and I was asleep.

Then the alarm went off and the rest of my day was chaos.

From 9am - 5pm, the phones rang off the hook and a steady stream of people made their way through our doors to conduct business.  There was also mail, email, and faxes that required my attention.

Oh, and did I mention that we are short-staffed because one of my co-workers quit?

And it's Monday.

One would have thought it was the first of the month rather than the middle.

Nevertheless, there is a positive to be found in the midst of chaos.

Transition can be a good thing.

Today, transition meant learning how to do my job better.  It meant that I had to focus on what I was doing rather than just going through the motions.  It required me to hone my communication skills.  My co-workers and I were forced to work together as a team to ensure that the work got done without killing each other in the process.

This week and the coming weeks will be a continual time of transition.  But I choose to embrace the chaos in order to learn new things, to better myself, and to make my work environment a great place to be.

What was one good thing that happened during your day?  What do you think about transition - is it good or bad?

He Overcame

Poetry is not my thing, but today I was inspired to write.  And this is what came out.

He overcame

     my grief

          my sorrow

               my pain

He overcame

     my disbelief

          my doubt

               my disdain

He overcame

    my sin

         my shame

              my chains

The inspiration came while listening to Jeremy Camp's song "Overcome" on Pandora.  As his song proclaims, "Savior, worthy of honor & glory. Worthy of all our praise.  You overcame!  Jesus, awesome in power forever.  Awesome & great is Your name.  You overcame!"

Thank you, Jesus!

The Ants Go Marching One by One

 

Another Monday has (almost) come and gone.  It will soon be over.  Thank goodness!

Honestly, this Monday hasn't been too awful.  It was less crazy than most Mondays.  It started off fairly well.  I even got up early!

Soon, however, I had pangs of regret for staying up until two in the morning.  I don't really regret staying up because I finished an incredible book (Mortal by Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee).  It was the getting up early I regret.  Yeah, that's it.  ;)

Not only did I regret the lack of sleep, but today I just didn't feel the greatest.  My ear hurt and I felt kinda "blah" all day.

Then I read a tweet that someone from People of the Second Chance re-tweeted that reminded me that today is #NoQuitMonday!  That 140 character message reminded me that I can get through the day.  

But then I came home and saw a BAZILLION ants crawling all over my kitchen counter!  Really?!  God knows I HATE ants.  If you want to see me have a breakdown, put ants all over my kitchen counter.  *sigh*

Mondays suck.

Ants are not the end of the world.  I cleaned the counter, did my dishes, and made dinner.  I survived the ant apocalypse.

My positive for the day?  Hanging out with my mom for a couple of hours.  And watching the Bachelorette.  :)

Mondays suck, but one can always find something positive in the day.  What was your positive for today?

Do you have a blog?  Join me in the Manic Monday Challenge!  Every Monday write a blog post about your day including at least ONE positive thing that happened.  Then come back here & link your post!

Show Me the Scars

As followers of Jesus, I think we've got it set in our minds that it is not OK to question our faith.  (In fact, I wrote about this topic a few weeks ago.)  I also think we believe that we have to have faith like Abraham, Noah, or Peter.  You know, the type of faith that's unwavering.  Like Abraham moving to a foreign land he'd never seen.  Or building a boat like Noah even when he had never seen rain.  Or walking on water like Peter.  No big deal, right?!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am not like any of these guys!  Yes, I've had my moments where my faith has been sure and strong.  I've trusted God when He said move to India for 5 months.  I had faith that He would provide the finances and make sure I stayed healthy.  My faith never waivered when He called me into full-time missions for 6 years.


But, to be honest, I am much more like Thomas - the doubting disciple.  You know what?  I'm OK with that, for the most part.  You know what else?  Jesus is too.

After Jesus' death and resurrection, He appears to His disciples.  Except Thomas wasn't there, so he didn't believe the disciples when they told him they'd seen Jesus.  In fact, he said he wouldn't believe unless Jesus showed him the scars.  A week later, Jesus appears to His disciples again, and this time Thomas was present.  Jesus comes to Thomas and says, "see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side."

You see, Jesus isn't afraid of our questions and our doubt.  He's OK with us wanting to see and touch.  Like Thomas, when we reach out and touch Him, we believe.  When we ask questions, we grow closer to Jesus.

Here's the challenge, though - Jesus tells Thomas to "stop doubting and believe."  As we grow and mature in our relationship with Jesus, one day there will undoubtedly come a time when He tells us the same thing.  Stop doubting and believe. 

Are you like Thomas?  Has Jesus ever said to you, "stop doubting and believe"?

You've Been Set Free

July 4th, 2012.

Today we celebrate our independence.  We join together as family and friends to commemorate the birth of our great nation.  As we gather around picnic tables and enjoy fireworks later this evening, we remember those who sacrificed to give us our freedom.

We celebrate.  We commemorate.  We remember.

We celebrate freedom.  Freedom affords us many rights.  The right to vote, to work, to educate, to play.  We have the right to act or to abstain from action. Freedom allows us to do, say, think, and feel however we choose (within the confines of the law, of course).  We have the right to worship, serve, and love God.  

Today we celebrate.  

Tomorrow we will take freedom for granted.  


We will forget that freedom isn't free, nor will it ever be.  


Not only do we do this as a nation, but we also do this as followers of Jesus.  We forget that our freedom came with a price.  That the freedom we have from sin, from evil, from hate, from lies, from death came in the form of a cross and a crown of thorns.  

Galatians 5:1 reminds us, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."


Freedom is, according to Merriam-Webster, the liberation of slavery or restraint from the power of another. As believers, we are liberated - set free - from whatever it is that has held us captive for so long.  Whatever it is, the chains have been broke, and we are FREE.


Today we celebrate freedom.


Tomorrow we will not forget.


We will remember the price that was paid for our freedom.  We will remember the sacrifice that was made.  We will live our lives to continue to make this world a better place for future generations.  We will no longer be held captive as slaves to the things of the world or the sins that so easily entangle.


"If the Son has set you free, you will be free indeed!" John 8:36


When tomorrow comes, will you remember that you have been set free?

Holy Hail!

Yup.  It's Monday.  Again.

It's also the first of the month.

And we had a hail storm yesterday.

Yup, manic Monday at its best.  :)

Work was crazy, to say the least.  The phones were ringing off the hook.  There were construction workers in and out of the office finishing up a project.  There were a constant stream of people coming through the front door.

The bright side?  FREE lunch from one of my favorite new places - The Lunch Box!

Oh, and being super duper crazy busy today just made the day go by so much faster.  

You see, there's ALWAYS a bright side to Manic Monday.  You just have to find it.  

What's the bright side from your day?