The Journey - Courage

We never know how courage will be displayed. It may be a soldier on a battle field, or a fireman who risks his life to save a stranger, a single mother who steps onto a college campus determined to provide a better future for her family. And sometimes it comes in the shape of a twelve-year-old boy who wants to get back to living.

My grandson Ezra is a determined and courageous twelve-year-old.

Many of you know about the horrific ATV accident last March that nearly extinguished Ezra's life. Every time I see him I see a miracle. Along his journey one doctor after another has shared their amazement over his survival and recovery.

The healing continues. Ezra has a long road ahead due to damage to his skull, more surgery, an eye that has been altered, and teeth that need repair. He's been patient and strong, but being side-lined from the sports he loves has been really hard on him. He couldn't wait any longer, and managed to get permission from his doctor to play basketball this fall.

 

This week he had a home game. It was thrilling, for this grandma, to watch him play.

His team had a good day and so did he. They won and Ezra did a great job at rebounding and blocking, and he made a basket.

The most precious thing of all - He played!

After the game, he joined his brother and sister and had dinner with my husband and me. Of course we talked about the game, which was fun, but it was Ezra's account of what happened just before that has me tearful. 

He was afraid. Ezra didn't know what the consequences of an elbow jammed into his face or skull might be. Or what a hard fall on a gym floor might do. He told us, "I just prayed and trusted God to protect me. And I did my best to get the rebounds and fight for the ball."

That's courage. He may only be twelve, but he's walking in faith.

Ezra's one of my heroes. 

Heroes make life richer for the rest of  us. Do you have a hero in your life? 

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie

Quiet Moments With God--Life's Not Fair

"Life's not fair." How often have we heard this statement? Probably more times than we can count. I’ve said it many times. It rolls easily off the tongue. However, when it becomes personal, the glibness of the statement quickly fades.

Well, “life isn’t fair” and I’ve been reintroduced to that reality.

My husband and I moved into our new home just weeks ago, but we won’t be living out our lives here as we’d planned. For those of you who haven’t been following my blog I’ll explain our present situation.

My daughter and her family moved in with my husband and I eighteen months ago. They planned to purchase our family home and Greg and I would live in a new addition. We’ve been building the addition for more than a year. Finally after months of work, it’s finished and we’ve moved in. I love my new house!

However, the downturn in our country’s economy has reached into my life. My son-in-law, Fernest, is a carpenter and in our small community jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate. In an effort to care for his family and to gain an education he’s joined the Army. This is a good decision. My husband and I are proud of him. However, it comes at a cost to all of us. My daughter will live far away and will no longer share a morning cup of coffee with me. My grandchildren won’t be here to make me laugh and offer abundant hugs and kisses. And I won’t spend my retiring years in the home I’ve loved for twenty-eight years.

I’ve shed a lot of tears, but the bottom line is I trust God. He knows the beginning and the end. And no matter the situation I belong to Him. Nothing touches me without His permission. He has a plan for my husband and I, and for our daughter and her family. We are God’s children and He will not abandon us, but will see us through.

So, even when life isn't fair, God is.

Grace and peace to you from God.

Bonnie

Tips For Triumphant Living -- Look for Opportunities

Life offers challenges, some of them daunting. For most of us, our first response is uncertainty or even panic. But what if we changed our view of life's difficulties and saw them as opportunities? That could be life changing.

Instead of asking God to remove the trouble maybe we should seize it, stand up to it, even embrace it. Sometimes gifts come our way that are wrapped in ugly or strange-looking packages. My question is, does that make the gift inside unacceptable or useless? Not necessarily.


When I was hit by a truck and left less than perfect I definitely did not see that as a gift. And if I'm going to be honest, I still have days when I "just don't get it". But when I step away from my own perspective and look at my circumstances from God's eyes I see that hardship has created things in me of lasting value. And even though I sometimes still "don't get it" God has changed my mind about what opportunity can look like. A calamity may just be a chance for something great.

The "calamity" that hit me (literally) in 1991 led me to write. It's been such a great adventure!

I’ve been writing for many years, and I still love it. The catalist that threw me into writing came in an ugly package, but what a precious gift it was. I can’t imagine life without writing. I get to do something I love and make a difference at the same time. How cool is that!

If you're facing challenges, try asking God to help you stand, confront it, and even welcome it as an opportunity. Adversity builds strength and character. It helps grow our faith and teaches us to trust in God.

So no matter where life has you, trust in Him and let your light shine for Him.

Grace and peace to you from God.

Bonnie

Tips for triumphant living--Seek more than a snapshot.

We look at circumstances, weigh choices, consult friends and think we possess wisdom, believing we know what is best. But Isaiah 3:22 says, "Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he."

Whoa! That catches one's attention. I love God's Word, but sometimes I'm unable to rest in it. I search for guidance in all kinds of places, which includes my Bible, my Lord, my friends. And, still, I worry about what I should or shouldn't do. God says I'm to rest in Him. He offers me true peace of mind.

In truth, what good is my knowledge and wisdom when compared to God's? Think about it; He created the entire universe; He spoke it into being. He knows the beginning and the end and everything in between. I have only a snapshot of life, one piece of a very large puzzle. God sees the entire picture. It makes little sense to trust in my own perspective when I can have God's.

Being residents of this world, we often trust in what we feel, what we believe and see. In light of who God is it seems that true wisdom would drive us to Him. He welcomes us; we can approach His throne with confidence and place our burdens at His feet.

God has all the right answers. If we trust in our own views rather than His then we are behaving foolishly and may well pay the consequences. And we need to keep in mind that God loves His children enough to allow those consequences.

He has a better plan. The best plan. Trust Him.

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie

Tips for Triumphant Living -- Choose Life.

When I was eighteen years old, my father was diagnosed with incurable lymphoma. He was a relatively young man. The doctors said he couldn’t be saved. Their prognosis—two years at most, and only if he chose treatment.

He had five children and a wife so his decision was to reach for more moments. Immediately the physicians put him on a punishing course of chemotherapy and radiation.

What I remember is not that he was dying, but that he was living.

His example of courage and his proactive way of tackling each day has stayed
with me. He eagerly grabbed hold of six additional years.

Terminal illness didn’t stop him. He loved to hunt and so he did, spending days alone in his beloved Cascade Mountains. He never missed a day of work, not until the very end. And nearly every night, after working all day, he’d putter around in his shop or put in hours in the vegetable garden. He adored fishing and sailing and whenever there was opportunity he’d sail. Foul weather only made an excursion better.

He made time for his family—taking us camping or on fishing trips. We also enjoyed water skiing, berry picking and a number of other fun excursions. Often he and my mother would dance about the house, all smiles and with love for each other in their eyes.

My dad embraced every moment. And in the six years that he battled I never heard him complain or ask, “Why me?” Instead there was almost always a smile on his face and mischief in his eyes.

I have a picture of my father that was taken on one of his sailing trips. The seas were heavy, just the way he liked them and a tiny bird, needing a place to rest, landed on the tip of his index finger, a refuge in the storm. Someone on the boat took a photo.

That picture is on my office wall. It and the memory of my father, brave and resolute, has been a refuge to me. It is a wonderful reminder that my father had the audacity to believe he could keep living while dying.

His example shouts—LIVE EVERY MOMENT!

Blessings to you from Bonnie.