Empty and Alone

Have you felt empty and alone while surrounded by a group of people? Perhaps coworkers, friends, or family?

Although the Lord filled our emptiness with hope when we accepted His gift of salvation, we may experience struggles. A child led astray. A relationship gone bad. The life-threatening illness or death of a loved one. Many circumstances take us to places of weariness where our hearts become empty. We feel alone. We may think, “No one understands my suffering. How can they? They’re not me.”

During these times, it’s often difficult to turn to the only One who can help—the One who loves us with His perfect love. The Lord should be our first place to turn, but often He’s our last.

My third pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Devastated, I mourned for weeks. Women who shared that they too lost their babies didn’t bring me comfort or relief. Only the Lord brought peace. But several weeks passed before I allowed Him to minister to me. 

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed (Psalm 34:17-18 NLT).

When I first called out to the Lord, they were cries of frustration. “Why did this happen to me?” And cries of guilt. “What did I do to cause this?” When I turned from frustration and guilt to faith and trust in God, He comforted me. 

The Lord understands our feelings and our emptiness. He experienced abandonment, physical and emotional pain, and He endured the cross. Is there a greater anguish to suffer?

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depth of the earth (Psalm 71:20 NLT).

Take comfort in Christ and turn to Him first. Allow Him to heal your emptiness and restore you to life.

If you have received the gift of eternal life and hold on to the truth of God’s Word, your reward will outweigh the troubles and heartache of this world. 

My prayer for you today comes from Romans 15:13.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit (NLT). Amen.

Thankful in All

A few weeks ago, I posted on Facebook about our faulty hot water heater. We endured twelve days of cold showers. “Lord,” I said, “Are you preparing us for another short-term mission trip?” If so, my husband and youngest daughter passed. I cheated. I showered in cold water but washed my hair in the kitchen sink with water I heated on the stove.

My husband took a different approach. Instead of a mission trip, he looked at the situation as a blessing. Hubby insisted there were four benefits to not having hot water.

• We saved money. Our shower time decreased. We wanted out of the frigid water as quickly as possible.

• If we flushed the toilet while another family member was bathing, the water temperature in the shower did not fluctuate.

• When we came out of the shower, a blast of cold air did not smack into our bodies because our bodies were already cold.

• Most important, we learned to appreciate the blessing of hot water and not take it for granted.

I agree with his assessment. My shower time decreased by half, no obvious change in water temperature, and cool room air on a cold body wasn’t as noticeable as cool air on a warm body.

Not only is hot water a blessing, clean water is a gift. We rarely recognize how blessed we are until we go without something for a few days. Heating water on the stove was a minor inconvenience as we waited for parts to arrive but doable. I tried not to complain and stay thankful for water even if it was cold. Many people in developing countries would rejoice if they had clean water.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT).

I’m thankful for hot, warm, and cold water. And I’m grateful I belong to Christ Jesus.

What are you thankful for today?

Mischievous Enjoyment

Adoption is nothing new to our family. Our youngest daughter is Cambodian by birth and American through adoption.

We adopted again four weeks ago. This time a ten-month-old rescue kitten. Our former cat passed away last August. I thought she’d be our last. But my longing for another feline grew, and my loving husband granted my wish.

Our kitten joined our family as Risa—a Spanish word for laughter. Our daughter hoped for a different name. We discussed several. One of her suggestions was to name our new kitten, Cat.

I wrote about Risa joining our family in June’s quarterly newsletter that goes out to my email subscribers. I asked, “What’s your favorite name for a cat? Any suggestions for ours?” I didn’t mention my daughter’s desire to name our kitty, Cat.

A friend sent me a text. “Paka (pah-kuh) is cat in Swahili. I like that.”

The family agreed, and we made our daughter happy. Our kitten is named Cat—just in a different language. Risa became Paka. I sometimes call her Pakapoo.

She’s sweet, crazy, funny, lovable, and mischievous. She tolerates our dog but will need more time to become friends. Paka loves to help me research at my computer, throw her catnip mouse into the air and catch it, and chase a laser light. She follows me around like a toddler. You know those times when you can’t use the bathroom alone? Yep! She’s there pawing the door.

Paka is now a member of our family, and she brings us much enjoyment. As followers of Christ, God is pleased to adopt us into His family too.

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (Ephesians 1:5).

I’ve included a few pictures of my Paka. Did I mention she’s mischievous? Decide for yourself.

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What's Inside?

What’s better than a Dove dark chocolate for a pick-me-up in the afternoon? One of my favorite treats. I sat at my desk at work ready to eat two pieces. If you’re familiar with Dove chocolates, you know each piece has a quote or saying inside the wrapper. I opened the first one and read this quote by Molly B. from Kansas. “Throw kindness around like confetti!” I glanced up when my supervisor walked by, and I threw the second piece of chocolate to him. What could be kinder than to share my coveted chocolate?

Another quote inside a wrapper I opened this past week said, “You are never too old, and it is never too late.” Since I plan to retire soon, I love this statement. Never too late to start something new. Thank you, Lauren P. of Wyoming. I have a few new items on my retirement to-do list I hope to accomplish.

Not every saying inside a wrapper shares a person’s name such as this one. “Don’t talk about it, just be about it.” We often talk of what we hope to do but don’t put action to our words. Life happens. We put our dreams on hold. Maybe we should combine this quote with the previous one. Pursue those dreams and try something new.

What are your thoughts on this statement inside a wrapper with no author to credit? “Everyone has a happy ending. If you’re not happy, it’s not the end.”

Does this quote disturb you as it does me? Will everyone have a happy ending? Those who haven’t received the gift of Jesus Christ? Those who miss heaven? No happy ending for them.

More important than what’s inside a candy wrapper is who’s inside your heart.

Have you accepted Christ into your life? It doesn’t happen because you’ve heard of Him or go to church. You can know Him in your heart and share a relationship with Him.

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved (Romans 10:9-10).

I hope you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead. I pray you are a follower of Christ and growing in your relationship with Him. 

If you want a happy ending, I trust you will receive Christ.

What or who’s inside your heart today?