"Most Wanted" at the Marriott!

The Marriott Hotel in Quito went into alert mode.  Someone was missing!  Family members - especially the husband - searched high and low.  Not finding the missing person, they enlisted the help of the security staff, complete with a plan worked out to communicate, and re-group in the lobby when successful.

Meanwhile...I had gone into the underground parking lot (after using the bathroom), to get into our van - where others would be waiting for me. (Members of the extended Rhon/Ron family had met for the luscious Marriott Saturday-morning brunch, and were in the process of leaving.)  

I didn't see our van anywhere.  I waited for a while.  Maybe they'd gone to pick someone up and would come back.  Nothing.  I started walking back and forth to the several entrances...ending up in tears.  I was all alone.  Where were they?

Finally, after an eternity (maybe about 20 - 30 minutes), I heard "Becky!!!"  I rushed toward the sound of my husband's voice.  We fell into each others arms - he was almost in tears himself!  "Where were you?"  "I thought you had left me behind!"...

And then..."Becky...we weren't parked on this floor!"  Germán, as he desperately searched for me, finally thought that maybe I had gone one level too low.  And I had. The floors were identical, so I didn't realize. (Later we were able to laugh about my being on the "most-wanted list!"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 *************************************

God doesn't give up looking for us, either, when we need to be found.

"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I Myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.'" (Ezekiel 34:11)

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  (Luke 19:10)
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And we shouldn't give up looking for and seeking God.  He WILL be found. He won't hide from us (on a different floor!).  We just have to do it in the right spirit:

"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek for Me with all your heart."  (Jeremiah 29:13)

"The humble will see their God at work and be glad.  Let all who seek God's help be encouraged."  (Psalm 69:32)
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                      Jesus, thank You for your so-familiar, yet so-heartening words:
                        "Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; 
                               knock and the door will be opened to you."  (Matthew 7:7)

Truman, Titus and Trump

I recently read that when President Truman was in Mexico once, he went to see the fiery, active volcano Paricutín.  His Mexican counterpart (Alemán) asked him what he thought of it.  Truman answered, "It's quite a volcano, but it's nothing compared to the one I'm sitting on in Washington!"
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Truman's analogy fits in today, doesn't it?  Over half of the Americans are still shocked at the election results.  Some are out protesting.  Others are blowing off steam in their homes and with their friends, and on the internet.  How can a man of such questionable morals and ethics become our head of state?  Others might ask, what is more important, the guy's personal morality or his policies for the country?  (Not that Trump explained any of his in enough detail.)

There are arguments on both sides...I guess.  My daughter Debbie was talking with her girls about the candidates, explaining (in a way appropriate for a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old) first about their negative points.  Then Liliana asked, "And what are the good things about Trump?"  Uh....that was a hard one to answer!  (I told her that if she thinks of anything, please let me know!)
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But you know, in the face of upheaval and our misgivings about the future of America, I've found that our best balance comes from turning to the One who can "trump Trump"!  Are we asking this question: "But now, Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in You."  (Psalm 39:7) Listen to what He tells us through the psalmist:

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man...than to trust in princes."  (Psalm 118:8-9)

"Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his rest, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods."  (Psalm 40:4)

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7)

"In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.  What can mortal man do to me?"  (Psalm 56:4)

"My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock...my fortress, I will never be shaken.  Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;  my hope comes from Him."  (Psalm 62:1,2,5)
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So let's not forget Who our ultimate HOPE is, the One in Whom we must ultimately put all our trust...especially when we don't know yet if we can trust the one who will be our president.  When asked what he thought about accepting Trump's election, one person said, "We have no choice." That's true. But we DO have a choice as to how we act and speak and live after this blow.  Heaping more fuel of our own (insults, verbal explosions, threats, etc.)  just pulls us down to the same level as Trump and his followers. What can we do and say to calm...to encourage...to remind others where our Hope lies:  with the One who can, as I said before, "trump Trump"?  Let's let Him work, and trust Him.  He knows all about it.
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Were you wondering about "Titus"?  He received a letter from St. Paul that's in the Bible, and in which he is counselled, "Remind people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility to all men."  (Titus 3:1-2)

                              As difficult as it might be, it's the best thing we can do!

"Broken I was born..." A Poem

Are you feeling "broken"?   Have you tried and tried to fix yourself, without much success?

Have you forgotten that there's Someone who understands every emotion that's swirling around inside you?

To our brokenness, pain, trials, confusion...did He not say  "Peace, peace to those far and near...And I will heal them.'" ? (Isaiah 57:19)

Share this poem with me.  You may find in it echoes of your struggles...and reminders of our Hope.


                                         
                Broken I Was Born
     
       I wanted to feel whole,
       instead of cracked and marred;
       feel smooth and clean and clear,
       instead of scratched and scarred.

                 I glued, I patched, I spliced
                 to keep the pieces braced,
                 I tried to shore them up,
                 and hoped they'd stay in place.

                           But everything I did
                           turned out to be in vain.
                           Broken I was born,
                           and broken I remained.

                                     New cracks and dents appeared,
                                     so I still strove and strained...
                                     but broken I was born...
                                     still broken I remained.

                                                            *******
                                             Then You were by my side!
                                              I turned to see your Face,
                                              and felt your healing warmth
                                              melt me in your embrace.

                                               It poured into my soul,
                                               finding each damaged place.
                                              Thus mends your Mercy, Lord;
                                               thus flows amazing Grace!

                                               And now I look toward Heaven!
                                               I'll be made new...and then,
                                               perfected, safe beside You,
                                               I'll never break again!
                                                                                                            -Becky Rhon
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Who better to make us whole than the One who knows we were born broken, lived with our brokenness, and died to bring us eternal peace?

"A man of suffering, and familiar with pain...Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering...He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by his wounds we are healed."  (Isaiah 53:3-5)

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                                                What overwhelming Love!
                                                What unsurpassed Hope!