Beauty from Ashes - A Continual Process

 & worship is part of my journey again... Two blog posts ago, I shared about not being able to "see for forest for the trees."  Progress is a journey, so I bring hope in this post.  I may not see the forest, but I can see a wooded area.  The desert is a long hot, ugly hike, but the trees give shade and rest.  My brother knew a lot about hiking!  He was on a journey to hike the AT a chunk at a time.  He found his peace in the forest.  And now I can see that in this inexpressible loss, hope is no longer just a mirage, there is water... Two years ago when I fell in love with the song Oceans, by Hillsong United, I knew I had been in deep waters  (Psalm 42:7) before and God had carried me. I knew I would soon be letting go of one to Honduras, and two nearing college. I knew I had a lot to learn. I felt confident that God had given this song to me at that time to point me back to the truth that He is always with me. Be strong and ...

So I said in my last post that "I can't see the trees." It's true.  And you can't just snap your fingers and be teleported to the other side of grief.  I've only written a few times this year, but when I write, I don't hold back.  In my case, grief is about my brother taking his life at age of 47, and losing a dear friend to cancer a few months later.  Its true what's been said, you can't go around it, you must go through it.   But I have a Great Shepherd leading me through the desert.  This is not about pulling yourself of by your own boot straps, or faking joy, or mustering up the "right" feelings.  It's about truth transcending our feelings, and being OK with both, truth and feelings.  It's about being real. There is a movement in suicide awareness called Project Semicolon.  It is to signify to suicide survivors and those who are pressing on with mental illness to keep going.  Do not put a period on your story, ther...

Sometimes we really can't see the forest for the trees.  Still devastated one year later.  If you are devastated, there is not a time table, no judgement.  I hesitate to write much these days.  It is a time to be quiet.  But I am writing for those who think they should be further along in grieving their loss.  May you be encouraged. My brother took his life just over a year ago.  I am just barely beginning to process the loss of this precious man and all he meant to me and to so many.  It has taken me a year just to face the tragedy of the loss.  So many stages in grieving.  This is not a self-indulgent post, but one of benefiting from other people sharing. I want to urge you (us) to press on.  Keep seeking God.  That's where I am,  because I have hope and truth.  John 17:17 says,  "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."  I believe this to be true, and so I will stick closely t...

It has been a quiet year of blogging.  If I write at all, it has always been for the hurting.  I am not expert, just a sojourner sharing what God lays on my heart.  This is my sweet sis and my brother.  We will carry on and share God's light.  That is what Joel would've wanted, that's what God wants. I keep having this thought that seems like its a nudge from God to write.  And I keep telling God I have nothing to write.  As you know its been a hard year, and 2017 does not mark the end of the year for me.  March 17 will be one year since my brother took his life. The new year verse that popped up on my Bible app was Isaiah 43:19, "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." The moment I read this verse I sent it to my immediate family, hoping to show that mom is not in the dry wasteland, and God is doing a ne...

Illumination and light are words that I am attracted to in the Bible...John 1:5 "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." But to those who are grieving, you are not alone, and I do not offer simple answers.  There are none.  I am just walking with you.  Lets press on. In my study group this week we have been encouraged to choose a verse from the Sermon on the Mount to meditate on and memorize. I chose Matthew 6:22-23.  "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" The context of this verse is more about "seeing" things (STUFF) you desire in order to make you happy.  But I immediately interpreted it as "seeing" THOUGHTS, WORDS.  Thinking about Jesus and His Word to illuminate my mind, and to replace dark thoughts.  I ...

To my precious family, it is OK not to read this.  I love you.  And it's OK to not be OK. It's been a 6 month season to be quiet.   I will continue to be quiet.   But I will take  a moment  to share that God is indescribably close to the broken hearted.  Many of you are walking through  an intense season of suffering right now.  You are not alone. Psalm 34:18 says, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." That is what I know today.  That is a  truth  that I have been clinging to, but that is not always what it feels like.  I'm sharing today because we all have faced suffering, or are in the throws of suffering now, and sometimes we need to know that someone understands what it feels like, when the unimaginable happens. I hesitate to write because I'm still grieving, learning, and  respecting the grief of my loved ones  in the tragic loss of my brother in Marc...

You know, when you go through stuff yourself it stinks, until later when you look back and you see God was holding you all the time. You begin to see how he was weaving a story in your life that would eventually be an encouragement to others. You end up loving those opportunities like no other, because what could be more joyful then bringing hope to someone especially when you know what that kind of despair feels like. It's a completely different thing when it's your kids. You know the truth, you know that God loves them more than you ever could, and you know that walking these ropes is strengthening them for an amazing call on their lives.   Well, I have no excuse. But I'll be honest, it can make me feel angry. I never felt angry with my own struggles, ever!  But the "mama bear" thing comes out in you when it's your babies, even if they are grown.  And as much as I know God is holding them, in my flesh I absolutely hate it, and it absolutely make...