Who Is YOUR Peace? // "I'm being caught."

When Dan left home after graduation from high school, I kept his cards and letters.  Hearing from him, especially when he was on the Marine fleet in the Middle East, was always a wonderful treat.  In one of them he said (approximately) that he would sometimes see his fellow-Marines all stressed out; but when he felt that way, he knew where to go for  peace. If only his shipmates could have even a drop of this peace...


                      I Am Your Peace

         Whisper in my ear, "My peace I leave with you." 

         Jesus, let me hear the words I need from You.
         While in this world, I can't escape its pain
         nor from its troubles run.
         But then You say, "Take heart! I am your peace.
         The world I've overcome."

Carve it on my heart, your covenant of peace.
Lord, it cost so much to sign and seal it for me!
Your nail-torn hands reach out to steady me,
to trace the pledge once more.
And then you say, "Take heart!  I am your peace,
who comes to heal and restore."

                                                
                                                       

Send its soothing waves, the river of your peace.
Pump it through my veins with every heartbeat.  Peace!
Your thoughts of love flow out to feed my soul,
to lift my head up high.
And then You say, "Take heart! I am your peace.
The final victory is mine."

                                           

Forge it in my life, the pathway of your peace.
Mark it clearly, Lord; cut through the thorns and weeds.
Oh, Prince of Peace...sometimes my footsteps fail...
it's so hard to go on.
And then You say, "Take heart!  I am your peace,
the Way that leads you home."

                        Whisper in my ear, "My peace I leave with you."
         *************************************************(lyrics to song by Becky Rhon)***

I've needed that peace desperately at times, and I'm sure you have, too.  Like Dan, I know where to go...to Whom to go.  Do you?  Remember that peace is not the absence of pain or trouble. God's peace comes when He holds us in his arms in the midst of the pain and trouble, and lets us know He's "there for us", ready to save, heal, teach, encourage...

Recently, my daughter and her family were with my sister during a meal, and afterwards their girls, Liliana (5) and Miriam (4), were running around my sister's chair as she tried to "catch" them as they went by.  Miriam got  "imprisoned" in her great-aunt's arms. (That makes her sound ancient!  Carol is only in her 50's.)  When Liliana told her she'd come to her aid and "bust her out", Miriam just stood there, snuggled further into Carol's arms and told her sister, "No! I'm being caught."  She preferred taking a pause in the game and just being hugged.

Jesus loves it when we pause in our day, take a time-out in the game, and just snuggle up to Him, feeling the comfort of His arms of love and grace around us...for as long as we need.  And He'll whisper in our ear, "My peace I leave with you." 
            
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"Debbie, Come back!"

This time we were going to be left with an empty nest.  Six years after Dan, Debbie was finishing up her last year of secondary education, at the same American school from which I, and later Dan, had graduated, here in Quito.  It was a busy year, and she had a lot on her plate.  She was very ill right before the end-of-the-year ceremonies, but managed to make it through, graduating with honors.

Debbie had helped out in the school nurse's office, and says that the two people in this position at that time (Kathy Jo Estes and "Cookie" Callaghan) were part of her inspiration in choosing to study nursing when she started at Azusa Pacific University.  (Cookie, also an MK, was my class-mate from grade school on!  Her daughter Jen became one of Debbie's closest friends.  Kathy Jo and I had raised our kids together in Shell for several years, so she was also an "aunt", and her daughter Dawn was also a special friend.)  Debbie admired and loved these worthy women, and I am grateful for the encouragement they gave my daughter.

I remember how, when Dan left, for some time after, if I saw someone that looked like him or even walked like him, I was liable to break down and cry.  The day he left, I sat in the airport and melted into tears. This time I said goodbye to my precious little girl at home.  (The airport had been remodeled, and one couldn't watch the planes leave from up close anyway.)  She and Germán left the house early in the morning, and later, when I heard her flight take off, I flung myself onto her bed and  sobbed out "Debbie, come back!" again and again...knowing she couldn't.  It hurt so badly!  My baby was leaving home.

Just as I had adapted to the absence of Dan, knowing it to be a necessary part of life, I eventually was able to adapt to Debbie not being around.  But once in a while...like the time I was in the supermarket, bending over a display case...I suddenly heard someone say "Mommy" in a voice that sounded exactly like

Debbie's.  I spun around...and she wasn't there.  It was another girl calling her mother.  I started crying right there in the store.  Germán found me a few moments later and thought someone had hurt me.  He was ready to defend me, whatever happened!  In this case, all he could do was try to comfort me.

One thing that helped me through the transition was knowing that Debbie was going to stay with my sister for the summer, and that when she left for the university, Dan would be there to receive her.  She has always looked up to her big brother, and his encouragement and moral support were such a comfort...to her and to us.  And, of course, we prayed constantly and trusted our Father to protect our children.

We did have the hopeful consolation that God would allow us to bring our kids home every year at Christmas time...and He did!  We were very under-supported, yet "somehow" they were always able to fly down.  In a future post, I'll tell you about an awesome, incredible occasion in which God really astonished us with the loving way He fixed things when we thought the kids weren't going to be able to come.  A miracle!!
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God Himself gave us our two children.  "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him."  (Psalm 127:3)  BUT...we still are subject to the normal processes of life, aren't we?

Like it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; ...a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance..."  As much as we missed our kids, we knew that they had to learn to build their own lives.  We would have done them a serious disservice by trying to keep them tied to us... by not letting them go.

God knows what it's like to be a Father...and have his Son leave.  He understands all that we go through in saying "good-bye" to our children.  So He lets us know many times in his Word that He's ready to put his arms around us and let his Love and Peace seep into our souls. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort."  (II Corinthians 1:3)
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          Missing your children?  Wishing you could see
          them more often?  The Father understands.    
                                                             So do I.....SO
 

A Shaky Reminder...and a Rock-solid Promise!

WOW!  Something just happened that reminded me of an event from 1987, when we were still living in

Shell, on the edge of Ecuador's eastern jungles.

EARTHQUAKE!! A few minutes ago (this is August 12th), our house here in Quito shook with force for about 10 seconds, then took another 10 seconds or so to wind down and finally stop its shaking. As I'm writing this, I've felt three weaker aftershocks.  (Many more have registered on the seismographs, but haven't been strong enough to feel.) Last Friday there was a short tremor, too...and it had been quite a while since we last felt one.

Ecuador sits on serious fault lines...tremors are a part of life.  In this country's

history there have been some incredibly devastating ones, like that of August 1949, when the town of Pelileo was reduced to rubble.  (See picture.)

Our house here in Quito, like many, was built with quake-resistant foundations, chains that allow the house to sway without coming apart.  (Or something like that!)  So when it starts to shake, we go into "alert mode", but usually don't stop what we're doing, or even bother to get up from wherever we're sitting or laying...until we see if it's worth getting up for!  After all, it could go either way! And no matter how good the "anti-seismic" measures are, a really, really hard earthquake could still level everything!

Our children had instructions for whenever they felt a quake at night.  They were to grab a pair of shoes and a blanket and come to us.  If the tremor was intense enough, we might have to go outside, where it was cold, and nocturnal creepy-crawlies might get stepped on.

On March 5, 1987, in Shell, our house shook violently enough that I almost lost my balance walking!  It shook at a little before 9:00 p.m. (6.1 on the Richter), and then again at 11:10 p.m. (6.9 on the Richter).  The kids were awake for the first one, and obediently got their shoes and blankets.  I think they may have slept through the second one, in spite of its intensity!  It wasn't necessary to go outside.

Over the next few days, we were shocked at how much havoc the earthquake had wreaked:  1000 people dead, and around one billion dollars in damage.  Also, 70 kms. of the oil pipe lines were destroyed.  But the majority of the deaths  and damage was not caused by the quake itself, but by the mudslides that it triggered. I remember hearing that many people just disappeared under the waves of mud.  
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Even when we don't live in an earthquake zone, our life can go through emotional and spiritual "tremors", when everything seems to waver, and the lack of equilibrium, or the repeated "aftershocks" in our hearts, minds and souls threaten our balance. Sadness, hopes dashed, disappointments, rejection, upheaval, bereavement...many things can shake us up, and can be more traumatic than geological earthquakes.  But we who have given our lives into God's hands can go into "alert mode" and trust in that ready-made place of stability and strength we can stand on...as we're reminded in the words to this song:

                           Jesus Turns My Sorrow

                    //Jesus changes sadness to praise,
                    lifting up my soul with His Grace.
                    He will turn my sorrow into a song.//      

            

                    Even though I tremble on the Rock,
                    the Rock will never tremble under me!
                    So even in my weakness, I'm strong.
                    Jesus turns my sorrow into a song.

                    //Jesus changed despair into hope,
                    lifting up my head, once bowed low.
                   Then He turned my sorrow into a song.//

                    He promises to comfort those who mourn,
                    and promises His healing to the heart that's torn.
                    So even in my weakness, I'm strong.
                    Jesus turns my sorrow into a song.
                                                                                   --Becky Rhon
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God Himself assures us:  " 'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you."  (Isaiah 54:10)

The psalmist treasured this promise, and declared it time-and-again in his songs.

"The Lord is my rock,  my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."  (Psalm 18:2)

And a prayer He is always ready to answer: "Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go." (Psalm 71:3
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                          No matter what happens, we are safe in His arms! 
                  

Running out of time...

After Dan graduated from high school, we were glad to have at least one of our kids still with us for six more years. (And, thankfully, Dan was able to come pretty much every Christmas.)  But soon it was 1998, and time for Debbie to start her last year of high school.  Our "empty nest" was almost here.

Dan was already studying at Azusa Pacific University (after his four years in the U.S. Marines), and was so helpful to his little sister. (He has been, and is, a kind and thoughtful big brother.)  Many people think they can't go to college because it costs so much, but Dan had done research and found many sources of grants and loans available.  Debbie filled out forms, hoping for acceptance into the same college where Dan was, and concentrated on getting financial aid.         

The school year drew closer and closer to its end...and Debbie still hadn't heard if she'd been approved for the grants and loans she had asked for.  She was getting more and more worried, and near tears, as she said to me one day that her money just wasn't coming in.  Grade-wise there was no problem (both she and Dan had been inducted into the National Honor Society), but she needed the money!  She should have heard one way or the other.  Did it mean she wasn't going to get the help she needed?  She was running out of time!

Seeing her so downcast that night, I went to her room and hugged her as  I prayed, "Please, Lord, Debbie needs to know if she's going to get the necessary financial help. Will You please make the answers arrive sometime within this week?"  (It was a Monday.)  I wasn't giving God deadlines...just asking for comfort for my baby.       

                                                               

The next afternoon, Debbie came home from school and sat down at the computer again.  Pretty soon I heard her shout, "I got my money!"  Her financial aid applications had been all figured out and approved...and she got the news less than 24 hours after we prayed! I think God had a big grin on His face as He watched His (and my) little girl express her delight!

I'm so glad we had Internet by then.  Imagine the ordeal of waiting for all of this paperwork to go back and forth through regular mail! *****************************************************************

Philippians 4:6,7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Once again, we were able to say with the poet-king, "You have granted {us} the desire of {our} heart and have not withheld the requests of {our} lips."  (Psalm 21:2)

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May each one of you know God's peace...which transcends all understanding...in your heart today!