Springtime

In honor of April, I wrote a rhyme I call, Springtime.

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The sun is shining,

I’m happy and blessed.

Except for the pollen,

My nose is a mess.

My eyes are itching,

I can barely breathe.

Oh yeah, it’s springtime,

May I borrow your sleeve?

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I don’t wipe my nose on sleeves. Gross. Just needed a word to rhyme. Tissue wouldn’t work!

The Bible mentions springtime too. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land (Song of Songs 2:11-12, NIV).

What do you enjoy most about spring?

Planting seeds? New life? Growth? Flowers? Warm days? Birds singing? Peaceful evenings?

Spring is my favorite season. Forty-five years ago, during spring, I realized my need for the Lord. My life felt empty and useless; I longed for hope, joy, and peace. I needed rescued.

The Lord planted a seed in my heart the day I picked up a Bible in a hotel room I shared with a friend. She’d gone off with her boyfriend. I stayed behind and enjoyed a pity party. I don’t remember what I prayed that day, but I recall reading Psalm 23. The only scripture I remembered from my church days a few years earlier.

Two months later, I visited a small church near my home. New life entered my weary soul. Jesus became real. A relationship began and continues. Loneliness and emptiness disappeared. Love, joy, and hope took their place.

As I grew in my knowledge of the Lord, His Word chipped away at my rough edges. The ones I turned over to Him. I held on to some. Those needed more time. He’s still at work.

When we allow God to do in us what only He can do, we become like a beautiful, flowering garden full of warmth. He puts a joyful song in our hearts, holds us in His loving arms, and covers us with His peace.

When springtime arrives, my thoughts turn to the Lord and how He gave me new life in Him.

Please share what you enjoy most about spring!

Let Go and Forgive

Why is forgiving others so hard? It’s what the Lord asks us to do in His Word. But the hurt is real. The pain is deep. Are we able to let go and truly forgive?

According to the Bible we are. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Col. 3:13).

Forgiveness is our choice. We either forgive from our heart or hang on to our bitterness and resentment which often leads to anger, hatred, and sickness.

Many times over the years someone has hurt me. A friend’s snide remark, deceitfulness on the job, a supervisor who thought I was incompetent, and a friend who pushed me away are a few of the times when I needed to forgive. These events were painful, and forgiveness did not come easily. I prayed and asked the Lord to soften my heart so I could forgive. I asked Him to allow me to see these people through His eyes of love.

When we hold on to unforgiveness, we make it an idol in our lives. It can become more important than God and honoring His Word. We feed it by justifying we have every right because it hurts. But does holding on to it ease the pain or fuel it? Our unwillingness to forgive keeps our past alive, and the bondage of bitterness can destroy us and our testimony for the Lord.

The Bible says, Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). One truth is that forgiving others sets us free!

When we forgive, we release the painful emotions that rob us of our joy. We let go of our past, the hurt and anger, so we can move forward in healing, faith, and love.

Whether our pain came through abandonment, betrayal, rejection, or abuse forgiving those responsible will bring healing to our hurting hearts. Forgiving those who have hurt us brings freedom!

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Eph. 4:31-32).

Adapted from my previously published post at www.beyondfirst.org. Used by permission.

Insults Bring Blessings

If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 1 Peter 4:14 NLT

Have you been insulted because you follow Christ? I’d only been a believer for two weeks when criticism met me for the first time. Someone invited me to a bridal shower for a friend. With my gift in hand, I walked to her front door on a warm July day. The door stood open, and I heard my friend’s voice. “She must be bad if she needs to go to church two or three times a week.” Out of my old friend group, I knew their discussion focused on me. Hard to walk up those remaining steps and through the front door.

She didn’t understand. As a child of God, I was no longer bad. The blood of Christ covered me, and I had become a new creation. Clean in the eyes of my Lord.

As a baby Christian, I didn’t have a comeback. No idea of what to say. Every eye stared at me when I entered the house. I felt uneasy. I made them uncomfortable too. Not surprising when I read the above verse. They were uncomfortable because the glorious Spirit of God rested upon me as a new child of God.

Afterward, I realized I needed a new friend group. Friends who supported me in my walk with Christ. Had I stayed with the old group, they may have tried to pull me back into my old ways. Why go backwards? I’d found a new beginning. A better way to live. 

My church provided me with a warm and welcoming group of young people and adults who loved me, taught me, and wanted the best for me in my new life. Their support and encouragement gave me the stability and strength I needed and a rich foundation in Christ. That same group is where I met my husband, Kenn.

God has blessed me in so many ways throughout the years. His glorious Spirt resting upon me is one of those blessings.

Childhood Memories

Nettle Lake in northwest Ohio holds many favorite memories from my childhood. Friends owned a cottage and invited our family every summer to join them.

My cousin and I discovered the reason for its name early in life. One summer, we put our exploratory skills to use and spied a field of tall weeds. A maze of fun awaited us. Within moments, we bolted out and screamed our way back to the cabin. We found ourselves in the grasp of stinging nettles—plants with sharp hairs on their leaves that inject the skin and make it itchy.

In the early years, we had no running water in the cottage. We carried a flashlight to the outhouse at night. That was frightening enough without my two older brothers’ pranks. After a few years, our friends added water and an inside toilet.

Within a year or two, while I was using the commode, the toilet’s faucet exploded. Water came shooting out. Scared me to pieces. I did what any twelve-year-old girl would do. Screamed and sprinted out of the bathroom. I hope I remembered to pull up my pants. A repressed memory. To this day, I’m not fond of toilets. Although, they come in handy. Porta potties are worse.

Something I loved to do was climb into the rowboat and row to a small channel. Most often, three of us took turns rowing. On our expeditions, we carried along a fish net to catch turtles. We rowed through water lilies and observed in awe the blue herons soaring overhead. Now and then, a motorboat passed by and disturbed our tranquility. In the channel, croaking frogs entertained us. While one person rowed another held the net. Ready and waiting. We searched for turtle heads popping out of the water. We usually collected slimy seaweed when we scooped the turtles into our net. Often, we returned to the cottage with ten or more crawling along the bottom of the aluminum boat. Their tiny claws squeaking across the metal and scratching our bare feet.

On one trip to the canal we caught a snapping turtle. We were young but knew not to let him into our boat. We liked our toes. 

The turtles joined us at the top of the sloped back yard. Here, we raced them. We meandered alongside our favorites and cheered them on as they ventured down the hill and escaped into the lake. We repeated the full adventure the next day.

My favorite memory on a rainy day took place at the kitchen table. Our families played card games and ate chocolate cake covered with chocolate icing and walnuts on top. Yum!

Spending quality time with family and friends creates fond memories, forms strong bonds, and brings us joy. Nettle Lake will always hold a special place in my heart.

What memory from childhood is significant to you?