I keep looking at my left hand...

I was dismayed!  One day last month, while getting ready to do our grocery shopping, I suddenly realized my wedding ring wasn't on my finger!  Since I lost a lot of weight, the ring has been loose, but I've always managed to keep it on.  I never took it off...except when obligated to (like at the hospital).  Now I had lost my ring.

I left the house with a naked left hand, the first time since we were married 41 years ago.  (Our anniversary is next week.)  I knew I could have another one made, or buy one, but I wanted the original back!  It has my husband's initials and the date of our wedding engraved inside.  We looked around, but couldn't find it. When we got back from the supermarket, I sat down and hurried off a collective e-mail to everyone on our mailing list, asking them to please pray about my ring.

I said in the e-mail, "My hand feels naked, but not my heart!"  Germán is a loving husband who takes good care of me.  But I remembered that God knew exactly where the ring was, and if I were going to be allowed to have it back, He would bring it to light in His time; if not, then He would help me get over the loss.

Whether I found the ring or not, I knew I could count on an unchangeable and unconditional truth, one I could never lose:  God loves me!  He holds me in His hand, and lets me know that He's "there for me"...always.  This poem says it well:

                                              YOU LOVE ME 

               You love me fiercely -- my defense rests in your hands securely.
               You love me gently -- your caress can always reassure me.

               You love with laughter spilling out contagiously to cheer me!
               You love with your unveiling peace that bids me see You clearly.

               You love with justice, firm and fair...and yet You love with mercy.
               Through challenges your love's a well to ease my thirsty journey.

               You love me with a "still, small voice", when I must hush to hear You...
                or fire-spun dance, when I can shout the joy of being near You!

               You love me as my Shepherd, swift to seek me and restore me.
               Your love it is that begs to share the writing of my story.

               You love with patience when I stall...when pain and grief undo me.
               You love me wordlessly...just hold me while your grace flows through me.

               The myriad ways You love me, Lord, must feed the growing flame
               of gratitude for being my Friend, for loving me by name.
              
                              ***************************************** (Becky Rhon)

Four days ago, we were doing some house-cleaning.  Suddenly my husband called out, "Becky, I have a surprise for you." I rushed up the stairs..."My ring???"  He had found it!  I think he was as excited as I was!  How I thanked God! As soon as I could, I again sat down and wrote a collective e-mail, this time letting everyone know how He had answered all the prayers for my ring.

                                    
Now, during the day, I keep looking at my left hand, reveling in the joy of having my ring back where it belongs!
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Sometimes we let things and circumstances distance us from our Father...and when we realize it and seek His company, I imagine He feels about the same way I did when my ring was found...although to an exponential degree!  He revels in the joy of having us back where we belong:  at His side, in His embrace.

"You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."  (Psalm 16:11)
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Let's keep to that path of life as we walk beside our Lord this week!

"I'll die if they can't come!"

Soon after Debbie left home to start her university studies in the U.S., I wrote in a prayer letter,  "Although Germán and I have what's called an 'empty nest', the house still whispers Dan's and Debbie's names often, and their presence still seems to glow, especially in their rooms."

God was so good to us, providing the means to bring them both home for Christmas year after year. But one year...I thought they wouldn't be able to come, which would have broken my heart.

Germán worked on getting the tickets with our travel agent.  It seemed like we'd get them at a fairly good price.  Then...to my despair...she told him that 1) now the tickets were a lot more expensive, something we didn't know if we could manage; and 2) even worse, there were no tickets available on the date the kids had decided would work with their school schedules, for which there was hardly any leeway.  It was the weekend, and Germán would check in again with the agent on Monday.

I sat down at the computer and wrote my family.  I explained the situation, adding , "I'll die if they can't come!",  and asking them to please pray over the weekend. It was one of the most difficult weekends of my life! The possibility of Dan and Debbie not making it for Christmas was unbearable.

Obviously, I didn't die...so what happened?

When Germán got home Monday afternoon, his news astounded me.  He told me that he and the agent had been reviewing all the ticket possibilities on the computer, and there were still no openings.  Then suddenly, right before their eyes, TWO  - exactly two - cancellations appeared on the screen!  (What would we have done if it had been only one?)  That wasn't all:  the seats "just happened" to be for exactly the day we needed...AND at the cheaper price!  The agent snapped up the two tickets for us  immediately.  Our kids would be coming home!

God would have had every right to say to me, "Oh, ye of little faith!"  Years later, I am still amazed and flooded with gratitude when I remember.  It was simply too incredible to be just a coincidence.

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"I will sing of the love of the Lord forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.  I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that You established your faithfulness in heaven itself....O Lord God Almighty, who is like You?  You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds You."  (Psalm 89: 1,2,8)

"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on your works and consider all your mighty deeds."  (Psalm 77:11,12)

You might say that these verses sum up the purpose of my blog.  As I write,  I "sing" and "declare" and "remember" how God has blessed us... protected us... led us...taught us...tried us... given us reason after reason for praising Him.  Have you been remembering how He has blessed you?  

Mushroom in the sky!

God must have had a lot of fun creating what would become Ecuador.  There is beautiful scenery, breath-taking snow-capped mountains, and a world-famous wildlife population.

We have enjoyed the diversity and splendor of Nature, but this country sits in the "Ring of Fire", and we have also seen her dark side...like in the earthquakes I wrote about several posts ago, or...THIS:

On a bright, clear day around the beginning of October of 1999, Pichincha re-awoke completely and spewed this magnificent mushroom into the air.   We live at the foot of the volcano, so it was practically in our backyard!  It's last eruption had occurred around 1859 (historical records don't always match up exactly), when, with its attendant earthquakes, the city of Quito was almost destroyed. 

It was sort of exciting! We never get snowfall here in the city proper; the closest we come is the occasional hail-storm, which paints the ground a brilliant white for a few hours...until it all melts.  Now we had something falling from the sky!!  Of course, being volcanic ash, it wasn't  the kind of stuff one could go out and make "ash-angels" in!  Everyone had to wear a surgical mask (or its equivalent) when outside, to avoid breathing in the ash.  It covered our driveway to the great depth of...about half an inch!

School was suspended all over the city until the air was considered OK to breathe in, and it was recommended that everyone stay indoors as much as possible, particularly those with a history of respiratory problems. Houses all over the city had duct tape X's (or the equivalent) on their windows, since there were earth tremors keeping the ash emissions company. People stocked up on groceries and bottled water...just in case Pichincha really got mad and decided to bury the city again.  (In the early 1660's, the volcano erupted and covered Quito with about a foot of ash.  Of course, Quito was a lot smaller back then, but still...)

Pichincha has more than one peak, and the one with the crater is tilted away from the city, so the lava boiled its way down the other side...thank God! Only two people died, and over 100 were injured, but mainly from things like falling off their roofs as they were trying to clear the super-heavy volcanic ash before it piled up high enough to break through!

The mountain continued to "cough" and "burp" off-and-on over the next few months.  At times we had to cancel activities because the ash-fall was heavier.  Our kids came down for Christmas, and they just barely squeaked into the airport before it was closed because of reduced visibility.  
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Although I doubt you'd find the word "volcano" in the Bible, there are  what seem to be descriptions of their activity, like in Psalm 97:5, which says "The mountains melt like wax before the Lord...".  I wonder if the Children of Israel, out in the wilderness, thought at first that they might be experiencing a volcanic eruption.

 Exodus 19:18 says, "Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently..."  (Exodus 19:18)  I'd say they probably (even if not right away) realized that the mountain acted like that only "because the Lord descended on it".  (If it had been a volcanic episode, it seems to me that Moses wouldn't have been able to ascend to the top of it to meet God.  He'd have burned to death or suffocated in the ash and smoke!)

Natural disasters can come on us unannounced, (as well as unnatural ones!) but there's not a single one that can negate the words from God's compassionate heart: "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."  (Isaiah 54:10)  (I know, I used this verse in the post about earthquakes.  Isn't is awesome?)
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God's awesome!!  Besides getting our kids in just before the airport closed, He performed an out-and-out God-move to get them here, one of those things that are too cool to be just a coincidence.  I'll tell you about it next time!

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!