The Ricker household swelled with its usual Saturday morning activities until~ BANG! Something hit the window. Running outside, we saw the small bird lying lifelessly. My husband picked him up and set him on his feet, and the bird remained frozen upright, eyes half-closed like he was unconscious. “Phillip.” That’s what the boys called him. We’d never seen another quite like him. We stood bent over, taking turns praying for Phillip with the laying on of hands. Quite a sight, I’m sure. And still, the little guy never flinched. “God cares about Phillip,” I said. Matthew 10:29, 30 came to …
Everything Happens For A Reason?
“How can it be possible that everything happens for a reason? Some things are too painful!” Has a hurting friend ever said this? How did you respond? [box] “In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:15[/box] As Christians, our hope isn’t based on feelings and circumstances; it’s based on God’s character, Sovereignty, and unshakable love. The bright Jewel of heaven went through hell for us. Why? Because He’s all about redeeming our broken places. Look How …
Ok, God, I’m Listening
Prayer with a friend stopped short when I received a call from the school secretary saying, “Justin was in an accident during gym class.” Racing for the soccer ball in a one-on-one game against time, my eleven-year old collided heads with another boy. Arriving at the nurse’s office, my son lay flopped on her bench with an icepack to the back of his head, eyes glazed. The doctor said he suffered a concussion. A CT scan showed a fracture to his temporal bone, the part of his skull behind the ear. My pastor’s words rang in my spirit, dangling with …
Redeeming Sensitivity
Susan Delaney was mad at herself. After a misunderstanding with her coworker, she willed her voice and face to stay intact. But she lost the battle. As she stood in his office, her eyes misted and her lips quivered. With no turning back, she wondered, will he understand? In light of his knowledge about her current stress, she guessed yes. When she first got the job, Dan reminded her of a father-like figure. A whole lot better than her father, actually. “Are you trying to manipulate me?” The question jolted her, cutting deeper. She last heard it from the lips …
Prayers for the Undeserving
[box] “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 [/box] As I have loved you. You must love one another. Quite the request, Lord. It was in your heart all along, wasn’t it? “Love my people. Do unto others. Feed my lambs.” It’s a breeze to love you, Lord, so perfect and kind. But people? Even the best pastors, leaders, teachers, people who know better… They fail. You want me to love them with complete, sacrificial love? Pray for those who hurt me? Forgive them deeply …
A Time To Die?
Leaves litter the ground, reminding me how seasons bleed, one into the next, as quick as a blink, while God waits for us to catch new vision. I kick back on the swing, crunching my feet in fresh crisps of color as I mull over memories of my dear Aunt Shirley. How strange I can’t call her anymore. As sudden as a Minnesota temperature drop, her brain aneurism leaves my own brain reeling. I crumble squeeze a bright orange leaf, blink away pictures of us splashing together at her cottage, of us wizening from sun and water, coming out smelling …
Why Would God Allow This?
I wasn’t prepared for the phone call. Jay, a friend I hadn’t talked to since high school, had just heard that an innocent little girl in town was raped and murdered…
“Where’s your God in this? Why didn’t He do something?”
God Never Wastes Pain
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROz6m7DP5oc[/youtube] Whatever you’re going through, Christ sees the purpose beyond your here and now. In 2005 He arranged my friendship with a young wife and mother who was dying of stage four lung cancer. Chantale invited me into her world for regular visits. I was nervous because I didn’t know what to say, but God reminded me of my gift to write poetry. When Chantale said it brought her peace, I kept writing these home and hospice-delivered gifts. What started as poetry in obscurity has become a faith-building gift book. Because God never wastes pain, A Friend in the Storm …
Pregnant with Empathy
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Isaiah 53:3 Hundreds of years B.C., the prophet Isaiah predicted Christ’s gruesome suffering. Unlike Christ, we humans rarely choose pain. We flee from it. Mothers accept pain to produce children, but have you ever noticed pain doesn’t stop then? Physical pain turns emotional when our beloved children make poor and costly decisions according to their “free will.” Jesus was pregnant with this type of pain as He gazed over the city, crying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to …
Divine Presence
In whirlwinds of confusion when cold questions press you tight, ask Me close and I will hold you by a love surpassing sight. You’re my treasure, bright with promise, and I live to see you reign. As we cross this bridge together, I will lead you through your pain.
When Life Falls Apart
Struck by dread and endless questions, in the thick of instant night, tears and fears consume me empty, shred my grit to stick the fight.