Land of the Living

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased four sympathy cards for four different families who had lost loved ones.  There’s something a little unnerving and very sad about buying four sympathy cards in the same day.  As I stood there reading the verses in the cards, I wondered how those overly repeated words could possibly have any meaning at such a difficult time in these families’ lives.  Still, I hoped the thoughts and prayers being tucked inside the card would bring some form of comfort to their broken hearts.

That same week, we said goodbye to a family friend who was an elder in our church and first and foremost, a dear man of God.  Earlier this spring, I attended the memorial service for a fourteen year old girl.  Several friends have lost parents and other loved ones in recent months, while others are battling cancer and other illnesses.  And one thing I’ve noticed is that age doesn’t make a difference, ethnic background doesn’t play a part, and socioeconomic status is not a variable either.  No one is immune to death any more than they are immune to life.

Ecclesiastes 3:2 (NIV) says, there is “a time to be born and a time to die.”  As Christians, the Bible tells us that we do not have to grieve as those who have no hope (I Thessalonians 4:13 NIV).  Instead, we should rejoice because the end of our life on this earth is the beginning of something far greater.  For if we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, this world is just a waiting room, a temporary resting place, on our journey to our eternal home.  While some people may regard Earth as paradise, others do not find that it fits this description.

My dad often tells a profound story he heard on the radio broadcast of Dr. J. Allen Blair.  A man had lived for the Lord all of his life and was lying upon his death bed.  One of his friends sitting beside him said, “‘Farewell, brother.  I shall never see you again in the land of the living.’”  The dying man said, “‘You will see me again in the land of the living, for I am leaving the land of the dying.’”  You see, this man knew that this world is not a permanent dwelling place.  He knew there was something better waiting on the other side.

In the meantime, we need to enjoy life.  We need to embrace our family more, tell them we love them more, and spend time with them more.  We need to live more fully, laugh more heartily, and love more deeply.  I can tell you from experience, you will never regret an extra kind word spoken.  You will never be able to take too many photographs of someone dear to you.  And you will never feel like you spent too much time with someone you love.  Cherish life and never let a day go by without thanking God for another sunrise, another memory, another breath.

Live life like you are on a trip to somewhere you’ve never been but have always dreamed of going.  Don’t let the trials you face in life steal your joy.  The life we live down here may be full of heartache, sorrow, and despair.  But where we are going is full of jubilation and peace forevermore.  God’s Word tells us that we cannot comprehend what God has in store for us.  It is truly beyond the limits of our imagination.  And one day, when we have fought the good fight and finished our race, we will step through those gates of pearl and enter into the presence of the Lord God Almighty.  This, my friend, is when we will finally realize that we have been living in the land of the dying.  But we’re going to the land with no tears, no pain, and no death.  That’s Heaven.  That’s the Land of the Living.

In Christ’s Love,

Jennifer

Cracked Eggs

When was the last time you cracked an egg?  Perhaps it was just this morning as you were making breakfast.  Maybe it was this past Easter when you cracked open the first boiled egg that you so carefully decorated with your children.  Or maybe you haven’t cracked an egg since the summer camp where you and your fellow campers participated in an egg toss.  Eggs are a wonderful example of God’s delicate handiwork.  From delicious meals to newborn chicks, eggs end hunger and give birth to new life.  But what good is an egg until it’s cracked?

An egg’s shell is such an intricate container, bearing the perfect size and shape to maintain the egg or chick inside in its proper position and climate.  While this shell serves its purpose well, it is extraordinarily fragile.  The tiniest tap on the shell can result in a crack.  The egg whites start to trickle out.  Soon the egg yolk flows out in one continuous motion.  Soon all that is left is an empty shell, cracked and broken.

In reality, you and I are a lot like this egg.  We have this outer shell that often serves as a shield from physical, emotional, or mental heartache.  Yet this wall that we put up is extremely delicate, just like an egg shell.  Many times, one bit of news can seemingly cause our shell to crack, or even the whole world around us to crumble.

The loss of a loved one, the ending of a marriage through divorce, the suffering of a child who is battling a life-threatening disease, the burden of possible bankruptcy…all of these things can cause our life to go into a tailspin.  When our life takes an unplanned turn such as these, this is the moment our shell is compromised.

Inevitably, the shell cracks.  Everything within us vanishes, leaving us feeling alone, frightened, and empty, just like the remains of a cracked egg.  The raw emotions we have held in for so long begin to ooze their way out of this shell that we have hid in for so long.  But it is only once the shell is cracked that people realize who we really are inside.  They finally get to see the real person who has been hiding in a broken shell.

Inevitably, an egg is useless unless it is broken. You cannot eat an egg unless the shell is broken.  Despite the many comedy routines depicting the “baker” mixing whole eggs into the batter, you can’t bake with an egg that is still in its shell.  Even a chick that is growing inside of an egg eventually breaks out of the shell.  The shell simply serves as a vessel to ingeniously hold the contents inside.  But this shell only holds these contents for a season.  Without first cracking the shell, the egg is essentially useless in its unbroken state.

Similarly, you and I live in another type of shell.  The only question is whether or not you live in a broken or unbroken shell.  Do you hold all of your emotions inside, hoping no one will see the “real you?”  Has there been a time when you said you were “okay,” even though the pain and grief were nearly too much to bear?  Personally, I have been there.  I know what it’s like to live inside of a shell, afraid to let your emotions spill through the cracks.  Let me tell you that you cannot truly enjoy life, constantly trying to patch up the cracks.

I want to encourage you to break out of your shell.  Don’t worry about whether or not the egg yolk and whites spill out.  Allow others to see the real gift that lies inside of you.  Just like a little baby chick hatching from its shell, you can also blossom into a beautiful miracle.  God can take you out of your shell and give you the life you have always dreamed of living.  He’s a specialist when it comes to taking what’s broken and making it whole.  Don’t hide in your shell any longer; embrace a new life with Christ!

In Christ’s Love,

Jennifer

Changing Leaves

On this first day of October, I woke up to find a crisp, cool breeze outside, something quite uncommon in this part of the world. Living in Florida, we do not generally have a significant change of seasons, yet I have grown to notice the subtle changes that occur at this time of the year. For instance, the warming nature of a friends’ status update on Facebook concerning a pot of chili she has simmering on the stove in celebration of the fall weather coming on. Or the beauty of the increasing number of pumpkins, scarecrows, and mums displayed on every corner. Everywhere I look, I see the transition from summer colors to fall ones. And you know what? The leaves aren’t the only things that are changing.

Just like the changing leaves, our lives change each season, each month, each week, and each day of our lives. Some of these changes are welcome, much like the refreshing nature of the cooler weather in the fall or the birth of a new infant. But other changes are undesired, such as the failing health of a friend or loved one or added stress from a new job. Even so, we do not have control over these situations. We cannot change the future no more than we can change the past. But we can pray for God’s strength and peace to help us get through every difficulty we encounter.

Recently, I have had several close family members and friends face critical medical conditions. Just today, I found out that one dear friend may be battling cancer and another may be going into assisted living. Another has doctors trying to figure what is causing their discomfort, and still another is being asked to try a fairly new medication to see if it will help them. Several others are facing various trials in their lives as well. None of them expected to have their health change so drastically, but their physical condition changed nonetheless. Still, they must ask God for strength and healing, holding on to the joy that still exists all around them, despite the unwelcome change in their lives.

Personally, I have seen change in my own life as well, some welcome and some otherwise. Being blessed with my first trip to Europe this summer was a very welcome change from our usual summer routine. This was a change that filled my heart with joy and provided me with an epic adventure that I will always cherish in my heart. On the other side of the coin, there was one change three years ago that caused my heart to break in two. Losing my mom was a very unwanted, tragic change. There are still days when I cannot believe that she is not here with me. I cannot comprehend why this happened. I only know that it did and there is nothing I can do about it.

Both of these changes came like a gust of autumn wind, but what a difference between the two. Even so, I know that God is always with me. He was with me as I made my way to the top of the Eiffel Tower, just like He was with me when I sang at my mom’s funeral. You see, He wants to be a part of every aspect of my life, from the most amazing joys to the darkest sorrows. He walks with me in good times and bad. And He wants to do the same for you. All you have to do is ask.

Much like the brilliantly colored leaves that fall to the ground, the changes we experience in life will never be distinctly alike. Some of changes will be pleasant ones that we wish would last forever and others will bring with them an unpleasantness that seems unbearable. No matter what type of change you are going through, God will walk through the valley with you. He will hold your hand. He will carry you all the way. While this world may be racked to the core with change, there is one thing that will never, ever change. Remember that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV). Put your trust in Jesus. Don’t let the unwelcome changes in life get you down. Instead, step outside in the crisp, fall air. Listen to the rustle of the wind blowing gently through the trees. Spend some time alone with God in prayer in the midst of the changing leaves.

In Christ’s Love,
Jennifer

Stuck in the Sunset

When I was a teenager, I wrote a song titled, “There’s Sunshine Awaiting You.”  The moment I finished writing the song, I knew that God himself had given me the lyrics.  Why?  Because the song had a message that transcended the limits of my understanding at this period of my life.  You see, the first verse talks about a mother who has lost her child.  While I have known people who have gone through this same trial, I have not personally experienced this sort of tragic loss firsthand.  Still, God knew that my Mom was the one who needed to hear the lyrics to this song at this exact moment in her life.  She was the first one who heard the song, and the first one who cried as she listened.  I immediately knew that God had a hand in this one.  Little did I know then that this song would one day hold a more significant meaning to me personally.  More than a decade later, I would find myself stuck in the sunset.

When I was a little girl, my two little brothers were born prematurely and passed away as infants.  I am almost certain that this is why the first verse of my song touched my Mom’s heart in such a special way.  As I sang the song repeatedly over the years, and even recorded it on my very first cassette, I was so humbled to see that it was ministering to people on so many levels.  I enjoyed singing it, I thought the soundtrack was beautiful, and I knew the lyrics were anointed.  Still, I could not personally identify with the lyrics of the song, having never been through such a dark time in my life.  I had always been the one to smile, no matter what.  I could always see a glimpse of sunshine, even behind the darkest storm cloud.  Truth be told, I had not yet seen the darkest storm cloud at this time in my life.

I had witnessed the death of more close friends and loved ones than most people I knew had even been to funerals.  Brothers, grandfathers, a grandmother, aunts, uncles, and other friends and relatives…so many loved ones going on to be with the Lord.  But, even in the midst of the loss we experienced, my Mom, Dad, and I remained a close-knit Christian family.  No matter what happened around us, we knew that the three of us would love and support each other through sunshine and rain.  We were like the Three Musketeers.  And I had faith that God would always keep us together, no matter what storms brewed overhead.  On August 2, 2008, the darkest storm of my life came upon me as suddenly as a tornado can flatten an entire town.  There was no warning, there were no goodbyes, and there was nothing my Dad or I could do to silence the violent storm.

Since that tragic night, God has spoken to my heart on several occasions.  I still don’t have all of the answers.  I don’t understand why my Mom is not nearby, waiting to read the next entry of my blog, a blog she never had the opportunity to read.  And cannot tell you why my Dad and I are not living in this house as a family of five, my Mom and younger brothers still with us.  What I do know is that God has a perfect plan for our lives.  He walks with me in the sunshine and in the sunset.  He holds my hand, whether I am climbing mountains, traversing a rocky terrain, or wading through a raging river.  Psalm 23:4 (NIV) says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  I will not be afraid of what tomorrow may bring because I know that God will comfort me in all of my tomorrows.  He gives me His perfect peace and He shines forth His light, even though the sun has set.  And I know He will continue to bring forth the vibrant sunshine in my life once again, in His timing.

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to sing at my home church on Mother’s Day.  For many singers, I am sure this would not be a problem.  For me, it is another story.  The moment I was asked, a red flag shot up.  I thought, no…no, I can’t do that.  I can happily sing any other Sunday, but not that one.  I think the pastor must have seen the look in my eyes similar to a deer caught in the headlights, and he quickly asked if it would be too difficult for me.  I’ll be honest with you.  My first response would have been, yes, it would be virtually impossible for me to sing on Mother’s Day.  And I am sure the pastor would have accepted this, and asked me to sing at another time.  Yet, something tugged at my heart and immediately, I knew that this was something I must do.

As I told the pastor that I would sing, I pondered the song that I would share on this day on which we honor our mothers.  So, I thought about what I would sing if my Mom could be in the congregation on this special occasion.  And of course, the answer was simple.  I would sing, “There’s Sunshine Awaiting You.”  Now, I had not sung this song since my Mom’s funeral.  So, I quickly began seeking God for a different answer other than the one I knew He had given.  I mean, I couldn’t sing on Mother’s Day, much less sing this song.  Have you ever had one of those moments when you thought, what is God thinking?  Well, this was one of those moments for me.  Since I was asked to sing, I have run through the song twice.  The first time I ran through the song, I heard the lyrics in a new light.  My song was ministering to me.  I realized that I had been stuck in the sunset.  And that is why I need to sing this song.  Sure, when I stand up on the platform on that particular Sunday, I will likely blubber as I introduce the song and I am sure pitch will have a new meaning when I reach the song’s end.  But, sometimes serving the Lord isn’t about eloquent speech or perfect pitch.  Sometimes it’s simply about answer His call, no matter how difficult it seems.

Even when we’re stuck in the sunset, we have the assurance that there is sunshine awaiting us.  Although it may seem unbearable at times, we need to be faithful to the One who created us.  He will bring us to a place of rest, away from the storms of life that overwhelm us.  The lyrics of my song speak about seeing a sunset that seems forever, and how difficult it is to face grief and pain.  This sunset that you find yourself in may seem long-lasting, but it is not forever.  When you reach the lowest, darkest valley, God will bring you to your knees.  When you cannot go on one more mile, God will carry you through each and every storm.  If you find yourself stuck in the sunset, rest assured that there’s sunshine awaiting you.

In Christ’s Love,
Jennifer