Tag: comfort

A Place Called Home

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou13 Comments

Sometimes life can seem random, like there is no rhyme or reason to what happens or when things happen.  I’d like to share memories that still help me when I think of them, to know that I am not alone, that I am loved, and that there is more to life, than just what we see.

What I am about to share next will seem like the opposite of what I just shared—but read on, and you will see what I mean.

My dad had a stroke 5 years before he died; it left my dad without the power of speech.   I remember my son Sean told me that he missed hearing his Papa’s voice, and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to remember what his Papa’s voice sounded like. (Sean didn’t have to be afraid of that—4 years after my dad died, Sean passed.  Sean is hearing his Papa’s voice in heaven.)

Not quite 3 years before my dad died, my youngest child was born.  She was my parents’ youngest grandchild.   When our sweetness was just over 2 years old, we went to visit my parents.  My sweet girl was a busy, busy, busy, 2-year-old, never sitting down, always moving.  On this visit, she climbed up into her Papa’s lap, and stayed there hugging him, for the next 45 minutes.   At the time, I was stupefied as to what was happening.   The next day, my dad had another massive stroke, and spent the next 6 months in the hospital until he died.

I still cry when I remember our precious little girl, crawling up into my dad’s lap and hugging him.  It was the last hug between them.  How did this tiny little girl know this would be the last time, she would be with her Papa?  How did she know to embrace him and the moment?

  I have many questions like that:  How do birds know to fly south for the winter?  How do bears know to hibernate in the winter.  Yes—I know the scientific explanation, but someone had to design the birds to have those homing instincts, and someone had to design bears’ bodies to go into hibernation.

Scripture tells us that God takes care of the birds of the air, and we are worth much more to God.  God loves us; He cares for us.  He has prepared a place for us. 

Every time, I go to a funeral, and see the body, I am reminded once again, that our bodies house our spirits.  When the spirit is gone, the person is gone, even though the body remains.

Sometimes—life seems random, like a big cosmic accident, and then sometimes—something happens—and it reminds us that we are not alone, that we are loved, and that there is a place we are all heading towards—a place I call home.   May we be encouraged!!

Chris August–Starry Night

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou4 Comments

image: Starry Nights by Van Gogh

Lyrics to Starry Night by Chris August

From the birds that sing
In the tallest trees
To the human life
Of you and me
From the desert sands
To the place we stand
He is God of all
He is everything
Whoa

Given my life to the only one
Who makes the moon reflect the sun
Every starry night
That was his design
Given my life to the only son
Who was and is and yet to come
Let the praises ring
Cause he is everything
He is everything

From the autumn leaves
That will ride the breeze
To the faith it takes
To pray and sing
From the painted sky
To my plank filled eye
He is God of all he is everything
Whoa

Given my life to the only one
Who makes the moon reflect the sun
Every starry night
That was his design
Given my life to the only son
Who was and is and yet to come
Let the praises ring
Cause he is everything
Everything

Hallelujah hallelujah
I believe
Whoa
Hallelujah hallelujah
I believe

Given my life to the only one
Who makes the moon reflect the sun
On that starry night
He changed my life
Given it all to the only son who gave me hope when I had none
So let the praises ring
He is everything

Given my life to the only one
Who makes the moon reflect the sun
Every starry night
That was his design
Given my life to the only son
Who was and is and yet to come
Let the angles sing
He is heavenly
So let the praises ring
He is everything

The Silent Scream

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou5 Comments

The Silent Scream

There are times in my life where I just want to scream.  I want to pick something up and throw it against the wall.  It happens unexpectedly—and it is usually related to pain.  The pain of grief.

And….the anger of grief.

I can be going about my day, doing some menial task–like sorting socks–and I will come across one of Sean’s old socks.  The loss of Sean hits me.  It just hits me out of nowhere.  This blinding pain.  And then comes this rage.  And I want to throw something. 

Inside my head, I scream.  I call it the silent scream.

Sometimes, I come across a photo that I don’t usually see of Sean, (we have photos all around the house of Sean, and I’m used to seeing them–they don’t surprise me or hurt me anymore), but sometimes, I’ll unexpectedly see a photo of him—and it is like a hit in the stomach, and inside my head, I silently scream.

It’s funny—I’ve heard about the five stages of grief, as though once you’re through a stage, you are done with it.  That hasn’t been my experience.  Grief still has the power to knock me down.  Grief still has the power to elicit anger inside of me.  A pure instinctive reaction—-that says, “no, this can’t be my reality.  This beloved son of mine, can’t be gone.”  And when I have to acknowledge once again that he is gone, I just want to wail and scream.

Why am I writing this?  Well, I suppose because I want other people who are in pain, to know they aren’t alone.

After Sean died, I would try to find blogs or pieces written by others who had lost a child.  It helped me to have someone to identify with.  However, after awhile, the ones I read–they didn’t talk about the pain anymore.  Perhaps they thought they needed to put on a brave face and go on.  

However, the people who didn’t deny the pain, who would refer to it—those were the people I appreciated.  They are the ones who helped me the most.

I think our society is uncomfortable with pain.  I think we are uncomfortable with suffering.  I think we like to deny its existence and pretend it is not there.  It is too big for us.  It is too hopeless for us.

It is NOT too big for God.  It is NOT too hopeless for God.   This is what I have found—over, and over and over again.   God is with me in the pain.  God is with me in the suffering.  

Here’s what I wish for each of you reading this—that in your pain and in your suffering—that you would experience the reality that God is with you as well.  And I pray that in that reality–we would experience God in a way we never would have otherwise.  

May We Be Encouraged!!

The Prodigal Child

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou8 Comments

I love the story in the Bible of the prodigal son.  It shows a loving and forgiving father.  It shows a son returning to the father.  This is a story that gives hope to so many parents who have their own prodigal child situation.  Some parents have children who are estranged from them.  Some parents have children who have walked away from God.  Some parents have children who have gotten involved in drugs and/or alcohol.  That is why I’m sharing this video of a woman named Lin as she tells us her own Prodigal Son story.

The son, named Chad, was estranged from his parents for 20 years.  He was involved with drugs, was homeless, and went to jail for a period of time.   He was filled with anger and bitterness towards his parents and would not speak to them at all.

The mother, Lin, talks about how God kept giving her encouragement during that time.  She prayed for her son faithfully.  Romans 8: 28 and Philippians 1:6  were two of the verses that she claimed when she prayed for her son.   

“God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28

.”For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

Lin claimed these verses because she knew her son had made a decision for Christ when he was young. She believed that God would complete the work began in him, and that God would use everything, bad and good, for good in her son’s life. Her son did come back to the Lord, and to the family, answering so many prayers on his behalf.

In closing the video, Lin encourages other parents by saying that God loves our prodigal children more than we do.  She tells us we can be confident that God is going to do a good work, and bring it to completion.  Now that’s “Good News”!!

So—Let’s Be Encouraged!!

My Valentine’s Day Gift, (written 3 years ago)

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou12 Comments

Recently, I was communicating with another mom who lost her son, and I asked her if she frequently dreamed about her son. It reminded me of a dream I had about Sean 3 years ago. I actually wrote a blog about this dream and I sent the blog to her, but I thought I would share it again–as it reminded me of the importance of mothering–even in the smallest of moments–and I want to encourage you moms–that all the things you do, the kissing of the boo-boos, blowing noses, changing diapers, it all matters, love always matters.

Last night I received a gift.  I got to live a few moments of being Sean’s mom again.  I know it was a dream.  I very seldom have dreams where I see Sean.  I can remember less than a handful in the past 6 ½ years.   Each dream when I see my son is a gift.  Even if I dreamed of Sean every night, it would be a gift, but I might not be a functioning human being, if that were the case, as each dream is so emotional and carries a price.

In this particular dream, we were at an event at church.   It was an event for the children.   A bunch of younger boys were laying on the floor, listening to a story.  All of a sudden there was a tussle, and I looked down in the crowd of boys and saw my son Sean, who was only 7 or 8 in the dream.  He had just got wacked in the face, and his nose was bleeding.  He was trying valiantly not to cry.

While yelling at the boys to stop, and glaring at them, I reached down, grabbed Sean, comforted him with a hug, and started dealing with his bleeding nose.

In other words – I got to mother him.   For those few moments in time when I was dreaming, I got to be Sean’s mom once again.

Now it seems that all my children—are ages, where it isn’t simple to be a mom.  Gone are the days of hugs and kisses that solve almost every problem.   I don’t always know what to do.  I spend a lot of time praying and asking for wisdom, then coming to the conclusion that for most of my children, my role now is to just love and let go.   So much harder to do than it sounds.

If Sean were here on this earth, he would be 22 years old, probably getting ready to graduate from college.   I can picture what he would look like in my mind’s eye, how he would have grown and matured.  When I look at my oldest son, and my youngest daughter—I see glimmers of Sean.  I see glimmers of him, in my nephew.  I see his wonderful spirit in my grandson.  How grateful I am for the real moments that have come my way of getting to hug and comfort children again through my grandchildren and great nieces and nephews.

In my dream, Sean was 7 or 8.  Young enough to hug and comfort, young enough to mother.

It’s funny—in real life, there were so many moments for mothering—for hugs and kisses and let’s put a bandage on that, that they all kind of run together into one vague memory.

Now I have a memory—it is not a real one—but it represents one of the many, many memories that is now less than distinct.  

That is a gift, to now have a memory of mothering Sean, that I can savor, and which my broken heart can hold fast . So, thank you God.  Happy Valentine’s To me!!

Eternal Love

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou6 Comments

I was in the hospital last week, for five days.  And–I had a blast.  I chatted with the nurses and the staff, finding out their stories, laughing and laughing with them.  It was a rare social occasion for me.  

On the other hand, my family has been very anxious over my health–we’ve had to face my mortality.  My daughters cried, my husband was tight faced, my boys were tender.

You see, once death has visited your family, you know–it can visit again.  You always know that–but last week was a slap in the face reminder of that.

I have found myself thinking of the words of the Apostle Paul, found in Phillipians 1: 21-25

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.  But if I live, I can do even more fruitful work for Christ, So I really don’t know which is better.  I am torn between two desires: I long to go to be with Christ, which would be even better for me.    But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.  Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive, so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.”

I started out the week, wondering if I was going to die, and being actually kind of excited about it–about going to be with Jesus.  But as the week progressed, and I came face to face with the pain my death would inflict upon my family–  I found myself having conversations with the Lord like this,  “Lord, I would like to go home to be with You, but I think it would be better for my family if I stayed, however, You know best–You can see the future, I can’t, so Your will be done.”

As of now–His will is that I live, and stay to be with my family–but I wanted to share with you why I am so sure that I am going to go and be with the Lord when I die.  

I am sure because my eternal life does not depend on me–and how good I am–my eternal life depends on Jesus–and how good He is.  

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”   2 Corinthiians 5:21

What does that mean?  It means in Jesus–an exchange was made—when Jesus died He took my sin and your sin and everyone’s sin, (He could do this because He was God in Human flesh–so with His one death, He could take all our sins upon HImself),  and in exchange He gave us His righteousness.  So now God sees all who are in Christ as righteous.  Isn’t that amazing–God sees us as righteous–because He gave us His righteousness.

“And the testimony is this, God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has eternal life, he who does not have the Son, does not have eternal life.  I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you Have eternal life.” 1 John 5:11-13

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”  John 17:3

When I first read and studied these scriptures–things started to click for me.  First–God has given—that is in the past tense—God has already given us eternal life–because when we trusted Jesus to be our Savior–we began a relationship with God the Father, and with Jesus, God’s Son–and that is what eternal life is–it is a relationship with God—that goes on past this life into eternity.

Then I read the reason why this scripture was written—so that we would KNOW we have eternal life—not hope, not dream of, not work for—we may KNOW it!!

God wants us to know that He loves us, and nothing—not even death will separate us from the love He has for us.  He wants us to know that He has redeemed us.  He has bought us with a great price–the price of Jesus’ death—so that we may have life with Him eternally.  I use the word, “may have”, because we each individually need to receive this gift from God.  We receive this gift by faith, but prayer is a way to express that faith.  I think I said something like this to God:  “Lord Jesus I need You.  Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins.  Please come into my life and make me the person You want me to be.  Thank You for giving me a relationship with you–thank You for giving me eternal life.”

Jesus tells us in Hebrews 13:5  “….I will never leave you nor forsake you.”   So once Jesus enters our life, He will never leave, and Jesus doesn’t lie.

Our God loves us with an everlasting love!!!   How can we not be excited about being with this God face to face!!  I know that someday, we will all die, but death can be something we don’t have to fear, in fact it can be something we eagerly anticipate–as Jesus awaits us!!   However, we each have a purpose here in this world–and for now–I hope that purpose of loving others and pointing the way to Jesus will bring us all joy here on this earth.

May We Be Encouraged!!

Recommendation

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou5 Comments

This past year, many people have been suggesting that I watch the series:  The Chosen.  However, I grew up watching movies about Jesus–and while they were good, I thought this would be just one more like the others.

Recently, my mom started telling me to watch, “The Chosen.”  I don’t know if your mom is anything like mine, but my mom will suggest something, and then she will ask, “So, have you started watching “The Chosen”?  What do you think of it? “    In other words, she will follow through on her suggestion until her suggestion gets implemented, LOL,–so I started to watch, “The Chosen”.

I was pleasantly surprised.  It is not at all, like any show or movie I have ever watched about Jesus.  There is humor in it, but serious moments–great story lines–great character development.  This is really, really good.

Mostly, I love the character of Jesus.  I love ‘seeing’ the actor bring out the qualities that Jesus actually has: His grace, His truth, His kindness.His humanness, His divinity.

When I first heard Jesus say to me, “Follow Me”,  I was filled with wonder, and overwhelmed by His personal love for me.  As time went on, some of that wonder faded.  Life is hard.  I have grown tired.

This show, “The Chosen”–is reminding me of the days of my first love.  It is reminding me of the wonder of those days.

So I am recommending to all of you to watch the Series, “The Chosen.”  Apparently, people have been giving to Angel Studios, so that anyone, anywhere can watch this series for free. **What a wonderful thing.  God’s love is the only thing I know that is free–although it costs Him, His Son to make it available to all of us.  How fitting that the series that brings us this Good News–should also be free. Click here to go to Angel Studios to watch this and other things for free.

May we be encouraged!!

**. (f you already stream from Amazon Prime and Netflix–you can find, “The Chosen” series on them as well.)

Access

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou2 Comments

 Access

Access—to the powers that be—very few of us have it–or do we?

When my husband and I were first married, I observed that whenever he would call his dad, (his dad owned his own law firm in Boston, MA), his calls were put right through—-every single time.

However, when we visited the law office, I heard his assistants take message after message, and very few people got right through to my father-in-law.

My mom is a pretty popular gal–and she has many friends, and so much family.  This past year, she has been battling cancer.  I have noticed that whenever one of my siblings or myself wants to spend time with her—she has all the time in the world for us—-we are a part of her inner circle.  However, she tires easily, and so limits her time spent with others.

So what is my point here?   My point is that in the same way that my husband had immediate access to his dad, and I have access to my mom, because we are their children—whoever is a child of God–has access to Him as well.

Scripture tells us—that whoever receives Jesus–to them He gives the right to become children of God.  Scripture also tells us that God adopts us as His children, and He goes further than that–placing His Spirit into our very beings–making us new creatures in Him.  We now are partakers in His very nature!

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:16.  

We are God’s kids!!  We have access to Him.  If we call out to Him–we get right through.  He is never too busy for us.  

Aren’t those amazing thoughts to dwell upon?  He will never stop fighting for us, even when we can’t fight for ourselves.   God is our Dad!!!   Think about that!!  The One who created the heavens and the earth, has created new lives within us, and calls us His Own!!

May those thoughts encourage us today!!

Riley Clemmons – Fighting For Me (Piano Version)

Thankful

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou6 Comments

This week I had to go to the Dentist for a cleaning.  While there, and chatting with some other ladies, I was asked how many children I have.  I responded with, I have five, but one is in heaven.   This opened up the conversation–where I heard another lady tell me she had a child in heaven also, and then others started telling their tragic stories—an eleven year old killed while hunting, a car accident, a disease.   

Why am I recounting this—because tomorrow is Thanksgiving—the day we as individuals, communities, and a nation, give Thanks to God.   It is the time we recognise that God is God—the giver of our blessings, the giver of our lives–but is He also the giver of our trials, and the taker of life?    If so, why would we want to thank Him for that?   

Why would I want to thank Him for taking my son?   Why would others want to thank HIm for their trials, their diseases, the loved ones He has taken?  Why?

Wouldn’t we want to avoid this God, who can take from us our health, our loved ones, our very lives?

That is what many do.  They avoid God—thinking by doing this–that maybe He will forget about them—and they can avoid the pain of life.

Many wonder—how do I get on the good side of this God–so that I will receive good things from HIm?

Others say—it is not God doing these things to us—it is us doing these things to us—-we kill each other, we sinned in the first place–and this brought sin into the world—so now we have diseases, accidents and earthquakes and hurricanes and tornadoes.   God isn’t responsible for those things—we are responsible.

But what does God say?   He tells us quite clearly that He is sovereign over the affairs of men. He tells us that He is on the throne.   He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.   Yet He also tells us that He has given us free will.  We can choose to sin.  He allows us the consequences of our sin.  If we point a gun at someone else and pull the trigger and shoot–the other person will be shot.  The other person will pay the price for our choice.  

If we choose to drive recklessly, others may pay the price of our choice.  

This King of Kings, and this Lord of Lords—chose to reveal Himself to us—by coming down from heaven, being born of a Virgin, becoming a baby, living life as a humble carpenter, having a three year ministry, where he healed people with diseases, healed the lepers, healed the blind, set people walking again—-He touched the suffering and the downtrodden—-and then He died for us, and as He did so—He forgave those who crucified Him, saying they did not know what they were doing.

Jesus showed us a God who loves us, all of us–deeply—a God who suffers with us—a God who heals us—and He heals not just our bodies—He heals our souls.

He deals with our sin condition—-when He was crucified on the cross—He crucified all our sin on the cross.  We can now experience freedom from choosing to sin. When He rose from the dead, He showed us a God who has power over death—and that He will raise us after death as well.

We are not condemned by Him.  We are not judged by Him.  We are forgiven.

We are forgiven.

We have been given life—for all eternity with Him.  The One who loves us.  The One whose scars show us His heart for us. Our great, powerful God—is humble, gentle and loving. He is near to the brokenhearted. He is near to me. He is near to you.

But He will not force Himself upon us. We each need to choose Him. He says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.”… Rev. 3:20 Each person has a choice to make—will they let Him in? Will they open the door of their life and let Him in?

I let God in—and so…..

I am thankful!!  I am thankful!!  I am thankful to our God!!

May you be encouraged—during this season of thankfulness.