Into The Tuba...a poem for when you feel inadequate

         
                                                               INTO THE TUBA

                                                     The instruments prepare each part.  
                                                      But see... not all are there.                                                

    Musicians wait for Me to start,
    but there's an empty chair.

         I know...it's mine.  But I'm nervous and...I mean,
         what if I'm all out of tune and tempo and
         throw the others off and
         can't keep up and
                                                               when it's my turn for a solo I mess up and
                                                               everyone notices and
                                                         I stick out like a sore thumb                                         

                                and can't I just go hide somewhere?
                                           I could crawl into the tuba
                                     or under the drums or something
                                     and nobody would miss me
                                                    and...oh, help.          
           

I would miss you.  Here, take My Hand and
Come...I need you in your place.
Here's how you can keep pace: look straight at Me!

                              Look straight at Me, and soon you'll find
                              the "butterflies" have flown.
                             My strength swirls through your solo line-
                             you need not play alone!

                        Remember whose life-passioned art                                                         

                                           you must depend upon.

                                               I lift My Hand...
                            now lift your heart to answer My baton!
                                                          
                  ********************************-Becky Rhon************

When we had been back in Quito for several years, a lovely family came to live in the second house on our property.  They became our very-next-door neighbors.  They had three small children, but since they wanted five, they continued trying to add to their nest.  They were thrilled when she got pregnant, and they were eager, at the end of the nine months, to meet their new child.  The night they went to the hospital for the delivery, I stayed with the kids, and during breakfast we were all excited about seeing the baby.


Then they called...their little new-born had arrived with several serious physical problems.  Later during the day, the children were allowed into the hospital room, and were able to hold their new sibling in their arms and admire him before he slipped away into the arms of Jesus...after only nine hours of life.

 Though no one could grieve as deeply as they did, we came awfully close!  It was a heart-breaking time, one with a lot of feeling down and unsure, puzzled and disoriented.  God held their hearts through it all, and though it left a scar, they know they have a beautiful little boy waiting up in Heaven for them.

They lived here beside us for a couple of years, then bought their own house.  When they drove away for the last time, with all their remaining things,  the kids looked around, confused, and asked their parents, "But...aren't Uncle Germán and Aunt Becky coming with us?" They assumed that we were part-and-parcel of the deal!
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Jesus said, "If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

We may not understand everything that happens to us, but if we remember to keep looking at our divine Conductor, we can continue to play our part in His symphony.  Just keep watching His baton, and let your heart answer Him.

God bless every one of you!

Angel Mail Carrier?

                                                                                                                                      

The four of us were sitting in the living room watching a movie, something we enjoyed doing as a family.  I think it was "Titanic".  We had been comfortably ensconced in front of the TV for a while, when...suddenly I started to cry!

No, it wasn't the movie; we hadn't reached the sad part yet! It was as if something inside of me broke through and tried to get my attention by triggering my tears.  I think it was more likely Someone.  I had no idea why I was crying; hadn't the foggiest notion!  But I felt such an intense need to pray for my sister that I cried out, "Stop the movie!"

"We have to pray for Carol!" After I explained to the rest, we prayed together. Then the "storm" abated, calm descended once again, and we finished the movie with no further interruptions.  But I decided that I would write to my sister later and ask her what had happened at that specific time.

 I wrote her a letter that evening, and Germán mailed it the next day.  This was before the speed of communicating on the internet!  It was going through the normal international mail, which would take from a week to ten days. I calculated how long it would take to get my sister's answer: at least a week before she got my letter, a couple of days for her to write me back, and then at least another week for hers to arrive here. So about two-and-a-half weeks...that was the minimum time within which I could expect her letter.

Imagine our surprise when we got her answer...only a week-and-a-bit later!  WAY before it was logical to expect it.  How had that happened?  I couldn't explain it, except to wonder if maybe an angel had plucked the letters out from the regular mail and deposited them in our mail boxes, so that we would get them right away!                                                                                                             

It turned out that, right about the time I had "mysteriously" started crying and we had prayed for her, my sister and her boys had been in physical danger (from another person). The danger passed, but for that moment, she had definitely needed God's protection!
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Isaiah is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  In chapter 41, it says:  "For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."  (vs. 13)
 
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Have you ever had an experience like this...a prompting to pray for someone urgently?  If so, I'd love to hear about it.

God bless you all!

"Touch the Hem"...a song of hope, for inner wholeness

                              Touch the Hem
                                                                                                             

         If I could only reach out and touch the hem,
         reach out and touch the hem of Jesus' robe;
         if I could only reach out and touch Him,
         I know that His power would heal my soul.

                 I feel like the woman in the crowd,
                 pushing to see which way to go,
                 knowing that even if Jesus never looked her way,
                 still His great virtue could flow down,
                 tapping the lifeline of His power;
                 so, keeping her eyes on Him, repeatedly she'd say,

                                  If I could only reach out and touch the hem,
                                  reach out and touch the hem of Jesus' robe;
                                  if I could only reach out and touch Him,
                                  I know that His power would heal my soul...                 
                                                                                                                                    

                         breaking the fetters of my fear,
                        draining the poison of my pride,
changing my muddled moods to vision clean and clear;

        

bruises from times I've fallen hard,
scars from the breaking of my heart,
and all of my bleeding battle wounds would feel His tears.
                                                

                   And all of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of my life               

                   would start to fall into place;
    and all of the dreams that drove me from reality
    would fade when I saw His face.

And all of my poems' unfinished verse,
with lines that never rhymed,
He'd change into a tribute to His glory.
And all of my songs that lost their chords,
and ended out of tune,
He'd use to write an "ode to joy".
                                                                                       

I can do more than reach out and touch the hem,
more than just touch the hem of Jesus' robe.
I can come freely, reach out and run to Him,
and know that His love and power will heal my soul.

I'll live with His love and power inside my soul!

   ************** (song lyrics by Becky Rhon)*************


Unlike the woman in the crowd, we don't have to push and shove to try to get to Jesus.  He's waiting for each of us with open arms!  I wrote this song 24 years ago, but its words still bring comfort.  I hope they do for you, too. 

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"Tomorrow's Sun"...a poem for a dark Today

Fast-forward for a few moments, from 20 years ago...to now.

 I'd like to share with you a trial that our family is going through, particularly our son Dan...about whom I've been writing.  He's been having migraines, and had an MRI done.  It was a big surprise when they found something that looks like a tumor in his brain.  They did a biopsy, and the results are still not certain.  The first assessment was that it's a low-grade tumor (not aggressive, and very slow-growing), which has a better prognosis.  In cases like these, it is often enough to just do the resection, so that additional chemotherapy, etc., isn't required.  Part of the sample was also sent to outside experts, and their first reaction was that it did not look like tumor tissue.  (Although, that doesn't mean it's not!)

Dan and his lovely wife KC, with their three children, were gearing up for a big move, relocating from Washington state to San Antonio, TX, so it was a hard time for this to come to light.  As I write this, they are in the middle of the long trip, and Dan continues pretty much as if nothing was wrong!!!  He's a strong and determined person, and I can't imagine him not putting up a fight against this invader...whatever it turns out to be.
        
 Not long after getting the news, I wrote this poem, not only for Dan and KC, but for all of us who are lifting them up before God, and cheering them on.  (You can imagine how KC is feeling!  Dan is only 39.  They've been married for only 12 years.)  But also, I'm sharing this poem so that if any of you who are reading this find yourself in a difficult, dark time, you will hopefully be encouraged, too.

    Tomorrow's Sun

Easy it is in light to bless
your love with a grateful voice.
But when pain pulls the blinds down around my nest,
then praising's a harder choice.

  
               So dark it may be around this place
               that I cannot see the way.                                                                            

               But I don't have to see to trust your Grace,
               or to fall to my knees and pray.

              Delayed though the daybreak seems right now,
              as if night will never be done,
              in the shadow You eagerly show me how
              to run towards tomorrow's Sun!
                                                                                                                       ***** -Becky Rhon *****


"Tomorrow's sun" has already begun to shine!  One day, right before I started reading one of my devotionals, I asked God to please give me something that would speak specifically to Dan's situation.  Only a few seconds later...there it was!  I was amazed!
 
          "When He heard this, Jesus said, 'This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for                         God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.'"  (John 11:4)

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Then more good news! Dan and KC, for the first time, had decided to apply for housing on the military base, but the waiting list is very long, and could take many months to get around to them.  Imagine how surprised they were when they were offered a four-bedroom house almost immediately.  It's a great scenario for them:  it's close to Dan's work and his medical care, there's a swimming pool only a block away, and there are lots of kids around, so Noe, Micah and Eli won't have trouble finding friends to play with.  KC enjoys meeting new Army wives, and usually develops a ministry with those who are interested in studying the Bible.
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Tomorrow's SUN...towards which we are running!  Look at it in the light of Malachi 4:2:

         "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.  And  you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall."

                         And Psalm 84:11 says:  "For the Lord God is a sun and shield."
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Be encouraged!!  The Sun that rises with healing in its wings is shining for everyone who runs towards it!

Christmas in October!

At least we only had to wait six months to see Dan again! He finished a semester of college, and we couldn't wait to go to the airport to pick him up in December.  We knew that, once he us left this time, it would most likely be only a once-a-year occasion. But after he finished the school year, he and a good friend of his decided to enlist in the U.S. Marines! They would be starting Boot Camp in November (I think), so the two of them planned to come down here to Ecuador for a couple of weeks in October, knowing that they wouldn't have a Christmas vacation at all.                                                                       

We started counting the days. We decided that since Dan wouldn't be able to come in December, we would have an early Christmas!  We borrowed an artificial tree from some friends and had it ready.  I started playing Christmas music. (Dan's friend left a week before he did, so that we four could have a family time.)  As much as possible, we did everything we usually did at Christmas.                                                        

Christmas in October!  It was fun, and the having of it was a great help when December came around...after all, we'd already had Christmas together, the four of us!  So it wasn't as difficult to be without Dan then.

One of the many things for which we're grateful to God  is that once our children left home to pursue their education, we were able to get them down here to spend Christmas together virtually every year (whether in December or not!)  in spite of our very low financial support.  Somehow, the money always could be found.  God had truly given us "the desires of our heart"!
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I can't imagine how missionaries in earlier generations, particularly those who served in places like China or India, managed to say good-bye to their children for several years at a time!  Back when there were no airplanes, and travel overseas was just that...over the seas, on a ship...it took too long, and was too expensive to have the family all together very often.  Once the kids were past where their parents could teach them, they headed to the home country for their education. I'm SOOO glad God let me be born in these times instead of those! 

But sometimes I wonder...could I give up seeing my children (and now my grandchildren) as often as I do (which is still only once or twice a year - a lot less than most of you see yours!) if by doing so, someone else came to know Jesus?  He's never asked that of me yet (praise be!)...but if He did?  I think I probably could.  I bet you could, too.  But what about this:

    Years ago, in Australia, an elderly missionary who had worked for a long time in the Far East told us  about something that happened in their school...and I have never forgotten it.  One night they were surrounded by military forces, and were in danger of their lives.  They were on the terrace roof and, as believers, were praying and encouraging each other, knowing that they might be facing their death.  One young girl had moved away from the group a bit, and was crying.  The others tried to comfort her, to help her be strong in spite of her fear.  But she answered that she wasn't afraid!  She was crying because, she said, "I am not worthy to die for my Lord!"  
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Makes one think, doesn't it?  Thanks for joining me!  See you next time.

                                                                     

"No, don't bring more people to our church", said a pastor.

Weird, isn't it?  I don't know what was wrong with him, but something was!!  It was as if he put up a sign on the church:  

One of Germán's brothers and his family had been in contact with some people who were interested in studying the Bible and learning about God, and they talked to their pastor about taking them to church.  But the pastor said he didn't want any more people; he had enough as it was!  (It wasn't a very big church at all, so what was his problem?  I believe he just wasn't interested in the added responsibility.)

So they decided to start a home meeting.  The interested people could come to their home, and they'd have a weekly service.  Then they asked the pastor to at least help them out with some Bibles.  No, he wasn't going to help with that, either.  They were on their own.  

Along with most pastors, we see one of the functions of the church as that of being a lighthouse, shining God's Light for those souls who seek, desiring to find and know Him. I think this was the first time I had ever heard of any pastor who didn't hold that view!

After my brother-in-law's family had proceeded a few weeks with the home group, they realized they needed someone with more Biblical preparation, so they asked Germán if he would come  to the meetings to give the sermons.  This eventually grew into what is now Nueva Creación Church.  This was in about 1993 or 1994 - can't remember exactly.  The church has never been very large, has had its periods of lower attendance or higher attendance, and has had its ups and downs.  But many people have come to know Jesus as their Savior through this ministry! 

We have never had a building of our own, either.  We have always met in borrowed or rented locales.  It's a poor church, and simply can't afford to build.  BUT...everyone whom God leads to its doors is welcomed; no one is turned away. And if someone needs a Bible, we'll see that he gets one!
                 
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Jesus said it: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."  (Matthew 7:7)  We can do that with all confidence, because He also said:  "whoever comes to Me I will never drive away."  (John 6:37)

Maybe we should ask Him to help us have a similar attitude.  How many times do we avoid helping others, listening to others?  We might even turn them away.  Now, there are sometimes very good reasons - we can't "be there" for everyone!  But sometimes it's just that we don't feel like it...or are tired...or don't really care all that much about a particular person...or it seems like too much of an effort...  

I think we should ask God to give us discernment  regarding whom to reach out to...and then pay attention to Him, so that when HE sends someone He wants us to help, we don't end up like that pastor and think, "I don't want to be bothered.  Let him/her go somewhere else."
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I hope from the bottom of my heart that YOU know from personal experience what it's like to "knock" and have The Door "opened to you".  If you haven't, remember...He never drives anyone away!
 
God bless you!  See you next time.

So hard to let him go...TO DAN, a poem

(Thank you for taking a detour in The Journey with us, as I shared the last four posts about my mother and her passing away, going to be with Jesus and our father.)

Let's go back to Quito in the '90's, to the time when we had to say a difficult goodbye.  During our famous three years in Dallas, Dan had finished through 11th grade, so he went into 12th here in Quito, graduating from the Alliance Academy, as all my siblings and I had done.  He planned his future moves, and we watched the necessary separation start to evolve.  He had to go on to build a life of his own, but our home would feel disoriented for a long time.  I cried when his plane took off as he left for the States.  In the next few weeks, every time I saw someone in the distance who looked like Dan, or walked like him, I got tears in my eyes.  Debbie missed him sorely, a fact that surprised her now-seventh-grade friends.  (There's a six-year age gap between Dan and Debbie.)  They thought she'd be thrilled to have her big brother out of the picture!  Maybe some siblings are that way, but not these two.

This was before the advent of Skype and at a time when e-mail was rather primitive, to say the least. For e-mails, one had to write out the messages one wanted, and only then try to connect to the internet so that the messages would leave!  We usually had a long list of phone numbers that would make this connection, and if one was busy, you went on to the next..or the next...until you finally succeeded. (And if someone else in the house picked up the phone before you were done, it broke the connection and you had to start all over again!) WiFi was still a long way away! Besides, not everyone had computers back then, much less e-mail service.  We depended a lot on regular snail mail.  How we longed for Christmas to come, so that Dan could come home to us!

One great advantage to having our kids so far apart in age was that the "empty nest" didn't have to happen so abruptly.  Our son left, but we still had our daughter for six more years!  Some time after Dan left, I wrote this poem.  (His middle name is Isaac, hence the reference to "Laughter".) Rereading it now, twenty years later, having watched Dan forge his way into maturity, with a solid profession, a lovely wife, three beautiful children...it still seems relevant.            
 

                                                   TO DAN

                                   You came to us, our Laughter-boy,
                                    a promised anthem, starry toy
                                    that spilled into our parent-time
                                    your eager rhythm, restless rhyme.

                                    You grew with us, our Laughter-son,
                                    and helped our family foursome run
                                    up hills, down valleys - highs and lows -
                                    our hands outreached to hold us close.

                                   They say you left, our Laughter-child,
                                    and yet you're with us all the while.
                                   We sometimes watch, sometimes take part -
                                   your Maker's mesmerizing art

                                   that spins your day and weaves your tale,
                                   that bids you land, and then set sail.
                                   We're here for you, with heart unfurled,
                                   as now you learn to face the world

                                   with prophet-eyes that seek the whole,
                                   with poet's strength and dancer's soul,
                                   as life is whirled from soft ballet
                                   to breathless break-dance ricochet,

                                   from rousing rock to lullaby,
                                   from joyful shout to angry cry,
                                   from table scraps to cake and cream,
                                   from nightmare's ghost to Eden's dream...

                                  You'll dance them all, my Son, and we
                                   will love you through each act and scene.
                                   Our footsteps wait...and with yours blend
                                   to join His Dance that has no end.
                                                                                                 -Becky Rhon

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If a mother can be so torn inside saying goodbye to her son, even knowing that she'll see him some months later at Christmas...but also knowing that, in addition to good times,  he would go through tough times and problems - because that's how life is learned,  I can't even begin to imagine how God the Father felt when He sent his Son away!  He knew He'd see his Son again, but He also knew He had to undergo difficult and cruel things...because that's how Life could be gained for us.  Amazing love!

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Thanks for joining me!  See you next time.  God bless you.