Tag: faith

christian, christian blog, family, Fear, hope, theater

Hope from the Wings

fromthewings6

It has been awhile since I’ve scraped time together to write.
When I had the time I didn’t feel like it.

I couldn’t. I’m not usually one to spread my feelings all over social media and I was afraid I would go too far. Those of you who follow me on other platforms know I asked for prayer on one of them and for some of you that was a tell that something was really wrong.

It was. It is.

I’m not going to go into the details, because the story is not mine to tell.
What I will tell you is that I received news that was heartbreaking to me. It was news that was shocking, and surprising. I had no idea it was coming and no idea what to do with the news or how to handle it.

I literally screamed out to God for about 24 hours. My oldest daughter told me to put one foot in front of the other. I told her I couldn’t. She said, “Yes, you can. Just do it and don’t let Satan rob you of the joy you have built with Overshadowed.” (We were in the middle of camp when I found out.)
Somehow I opened the door to the car and started walking into the building. Somehow when I stepped into the building I stopped crying. I have no idea how…except God.

I somehow managed to make it through that day. (I might have hid in the balcony for part of it) At least I made it without making too much of a spectacle of myself. You see, this story really isn’t about me and I didn’t want to make it about me… and yet…the pain I felt was crushing. And in some strange way,  it is my story. Now, before I confuse you too much, I’ll move on.

I haven’t lost my faith, but I felt dead inside. Maybe I still do a little. I told my husband, that I lost hope. I don’t know how to pray. I just call out to God, by calling on His name. I know that the Holy Spirit will make intercession for me without me having to say any words. My friends have prayed over me and I feel the prayers like Aarron holding Moses’ arms up in the wilderness. Thank you.
All of you. You will never know how much you mean to me.

How does one go on when they are having trouble hoping?

1) Have friends pray for you.
2) Don’t shut yourself off from friends. Make sure they know that you might not want to talk or explain things…or maybe you do…but their job is to distract you or comfort you or just be there.
3) Write BIble verses that contain hope so that everywhere you look you can see them.

Here are a few of mine that my friends sent me:
Jeremiah 31:25
“For I have satiated the weary soul and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

John 14:1
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

Psalm 126:5
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

Psalm 100:5
The Lord is Good. His mercy is everlasting and His truth endureth to all generations.”

For days people sent me BIble verses and I devoured them.

I NEEDED them in front of me.

Friends also sent me music. This is one of my new favorites.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtvQNzPHn-w

One more really special blessing from God.
On the day I found this news out I was at camp. I waited until I thought all the campers had gone until I reentered the building. (I was a crying mess) But, several of the campers were still there. Three of them literally threw their arms around me and started to pray for me.  It gave me strength and a huge blessing that I will never forget.

Thank you, God, for your faithfulness. Thank you for showing your love to me through your people.

Thank you all for being patient with me as I pour all of this out for you, the reader, without any explanation of what has been going on in my life.

Perhaps one day, someone will need hope to cling too and the verses will be their lifeline.

Hopefully, I will now be back on a regular writing path and that next week I will be back to normal…at least I will try to act that way!

Thank you for praying for me!

Until next time…this is just me…talking to you…from the wings…

Reba

 

One last thought: Corrie Ten Boom said, “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.”

Hope.

christian, christian blog, hope, theater

The Hope of Spring

fromthewings6

Yes, it is supposed to be Spring. Yes, the temperature is 41 degrees outside right now.

We have a thing in our house. We get past Decemember and start thinking about going somewhere warm in January or February for a couple of weeks. After we get back  from that trip Chuck starts to say that we only have to make it one more month and then we’ve made it through another winter.

For some reason that statement always bothers me. I know that every year it snows it April. I know that we have to make it more than one month. Winter isn’t over and somehow that false hope makes the last month or so of winter almost intolerable for me.

There are days of warm sunshine….days of hope, but some days I feel like the weather is just teasing  me–making me enjoy the hope of spring only to shower me with hail and snow the week after.

There is something about the cloudy, dreary, windy days in the spring that seem so much more dismal than the same type of day in the fall.

And there you have it….I stuggle with faith and hope in the season of spring.

Some people aren’t like that. They realize that into every season some rain must fall and they take the warm days and cherish them. They know that the warm is eventually coming.

Others  see the winter as endless and depressing.

Is there a possibility that our spiritual life is like that as well?

Sometimes we are in the slough of despond and other times our faith is so strong that we know God will bring the next season.

Maybe you are in a time now where you just can’t see the end of the journey you are on. Maybe you feel the hail beating down on you and the wind blowing you so hard that you find it difficult to keep your footing. Perhaps you have stopped trusting in God and started to try to take matters into your own hands–trying to control what you can. And just like we hope that spring is coming-you hope that things are going to get better.

And when it doesn’t–the pain becomes unbearable. You decide maybe it is better not to feel, not to hope, not to believe.

When things get tough, when faith grows weak, when God seems far away…what should you do?

Press On. Lean in to God. Search His word for His promises. Pray.

Don’t Quit.

Watch for all the ways God answers prayers. Celebrate the baby steps!

Don’t hide away, but surround yourself with God’s word and friends that will encourage you through the days.

For I promise you….Spring is coming.  It is okay to hope. Even when you don’t see signs of spring God promises us that He is in control and He is working.

Psalms 104:19 – “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.”

Isaiah 55:10–11  “For as the rain cometh down, And the snow from heaven, And returneth not thither, But watereth the earth, And maketh it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, But it shall accomplish that which I please, And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Daniel 2:21 – “And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:”

Ecclesiastes 3:1  “To everything there is a season.”

Today I’m going to go outside and lift my eyes towards heaven. I’m going to remember all the things God has done for me and all the things I have seen Him do for others. And if I have to wear my coat for a few more weeks…it’s okay. It will make the warmth even better when I get to enjoy it!

Do you struggle with any of the seasons? I would love to hear about it!

.

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christian, communication, entertainment, intermission, theater

Is Your Voice Being Silenced?

fromthewings6

Next week we open “The Trip to Bountiful” for the second time. As we stepped back into the theater to begin our rehearsals we discussed all the ways we have changed in the past 5 months. Some good. Some bad. Some really, really bad.

One of the terrible wastes of time I have added to my daily routine is how much time I have been spending on social media. Again, some good and some bad. At first, I was seeking information on Covid. I was frightened and worried and I watched the numbers of cases and deaths rise. I couldn’t get enough information.

Next, I became bored. I played games. I tried to learn a few new things. I played more games. I constantly checked all of my social media platforms hoping to have some sort of interaction with another human.

Then, I started noticing the message my phone sent me every week. You might know the one? “Your screen time is up 7% this week for an average daily total of 5 hours a day.”

“Excuse me, what? I wasted 5 hours of my day doing…..nothing???”

Well, it kept me from going crazy….I guess. I guess I have a problem. I am an addict.

Now we add the next level of concern to this problem….or epidemic.

This week Netflix released a new documentary. It is called The Social Dilemma. To be honest, I haven’t watched it yet. It is on our agenda to watch Sunday night. (Chuck and I have documentary Sundays. It is our new thing to try to not run out of stuff to watch. It might not work. Stay tuned.)

This new documentary is supposed to have interviews with the main people who have created all the hot social media platforms. I know it comes as no surprised to you, but these platforms are designed to compel us to spend as much time as possible on these platforms. And willingly we do it.

My husband once said to me, “The second you got an IPHONE you gave them the permission to track you.” By now we all know that there is a little truth to that. We search for directions and receipts and entertainment choices. With each search they discover and collect a little more knowledge. We are willingly allowing this to happen.

Now, let me tell you what compelled me to write this.

I follow a blog. BeautyBeyondBones https://beautybeyondbones.com Honestly, if you have never read anything by her, please do so. I so admire that she has the guts to speak out for her faith and is so convicting to me. She is definitely my favorite blogger. I find myself constantly thinking, “What has happened to me that I don’t have the courage to speak like she does?”

This past week she wrote, “WE are the Product.” In it she discussed the documentary that I mentioned, but here is where my jaw dropped. I quote: “So…with social media now being a main source of news for people…what happens when the gatekeeper of information is literally in the business of manipulation?” Caralyn then sites that she had written something on Thursday, called A Tale of Two Political Nuns. That post was a beautifully written pro-life article. She says that she received an email on Thursday from Facebook saying that the post was rejected for violating “community standards.”

People. Friends. Since when does it make me not part of a community if I don’t believe in abortion???

She then goes on to explain that this is the fourth time Facebook has censored her articles.

So now I ask you, do we have something to fear that we are allowing so much of our time to be sucked away by companies that are against the very things we are for?

I am not sure if I’m more concerned about my data being manipulated or my voice being ignored but I do think I’m alarmed.

I will be watching the documentary on Sunday. I’m sure my eyes will be open even more. Until then, make sure your voice is not silenced.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this! Please leave a comment, follow and share!

Until next time….let’s keep talking!