Tag: Guest Bloggers

An Update From Laura

What Do You See?
What Do You See?

How strong is your Faith? How deep is your Hope? Three weeks ago we read Laura’s story about Lung cancer and surrender. If you are looking for strength, or simply want to see it in action, read this update, directly from Laura:

1 Kings 18:41-45

And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again”, seven times. And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.” And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.

This morning I am in Nashville preparing to go downtown and receive my first TDM-1 infusion. I am filled with mixed emotions. At 10:45 I will receive a drug I did not seek because I did not even know about it; in a hospital that I did not know existed; from a doctor that I had never heard of until two or three weeks ago. It is extremely evident to me that the Lord has brought me to this place. I have no doubt that this is the Lord’s plan for me. And so the verse that keeps running through my head is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

And yet, part of me enters into this new phase of treatment with a guarded heart. I have been seeking God’s mercy for healing for over three years now and thus far His answer has always been, “Not yet.” And that’s what reminded me of the passage from 1 Kings above.

This passage does not tell us much about the servant, but I feel like I can relate to him. If he was Elijah’s servant, he had seen first hand the greatness of the Lord. There was no doubt in his mind that Elijah was God’s prophet. I am sure he trusted Elijah. He probably found joy in obeying Elijah. But don’t you know that on that sixth time of going up the mountain and looking toward the sea that the servant had to be getting a little tired? I am sure he was frustrated. I am sure he was starting to doubt. I am sure he was wondering why Elijah’s timing was so off. It is easy to become tired and frustrated when you are continually looking for something that you cannot find.

But then, on the seventh time, when the servant climbed to the top of the mountain, there it was. Not a storm. Not great darkness. Not a multitude of clouds. No lightening. No thunder. Just a little could the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea. And from that tiny cloud came great rain.

Today, in this treatment, by God’s grace, I see a little cloud the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea. Please pray that God will choose to transform it into great rains of His mercy.

For His Glory,

Laura

So here’s my small challenge, “Can we take God’s Grace to work today, does it belong there?”

Grandma’s Hands

Huh?
Huh?

GRANDMA’S HANDS

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn’t move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.

When I sat down beside her she didn’t acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking,” she said in a clear voice strong.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,” I explained to her.

“Have you ever looked at your hands,” she asked.. “I mean really looked at your hands?”

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

“Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

“They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.

“They have been dirty, scraped and raw , swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.

“They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn’t understand

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

“These hands are the mark of where I’ve been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.”

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma’s hands and led her home.

When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.

— Author Unknown

Grandma had a stellar career.