Dear God, A Candle in the Wind

Dear God,

Our family has been so busy the last few weeks with numerous activities that the days just seem to overflow from one, to the next. I can hardly believe that Spencer will be leaving one week from tomorrow! My dear child will be leaving to do Your work, and prayerfully win new souls into the kingdom of heaven. I await with great anticipation as the days lead up to this momentous occasion. I can already see that Cooper is watching and waiting in the wings, for an opportunity to present itself for him someday soon. I have always tried to instill into my children, that our lives are not our own….we are here for a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify our God, and tell others of Your precious gift that came with  great sacrifice.

I have had to deal with health issues the last several weeks, that have left me in pain, and exhausted. I never want to use my own problems to be an excuse, for not continuing in the work that I truly feel, You have inspired me to do. I have been so blessed with wonderful responses from my letters to You. I never knew that my moments of prayers and thoughts, could bless others for Your glory. I am humbled by this, Lord. I only want to serve my Master, and pray that I make the right choices, and let my light shine for You. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine! Matthew 5: 16, “Let your light shine before men.”

I am reminded of the song, that tells of a candle in the wind. I believe that we all are candles. Some of us are giant pillars, that glow and light up the entire room on a dark and stormy night. Others are the birthday candles, small and seemingly insignificant, until we require them for the most special moments in life. Those that are lit for celebrations and memories. Others, are perhaps those with a fragrant aroma, the ones that automatically send your senses to a time or memory that that scent induced. You feel good just being around them, and enjoy it’s illumination for hours at a time. Then there are those who are as a candle in the wind. Their wick is ignited with Your salvation, and it burns strong and bright in the beginning. But, when taken out into the world, or as, into the wind, it stands little chance of survival. The world and the wind, blow in all directions, attempting to extinguish the light that we are meant  to carry with us always.  It will require our diligence to keep our candle lit. Our lives will soon revolve around trying to avoid the breeze and the drafts that come into our lives and try to blow out our most precious possession.

Only when we truly give our hearts, minds, and souls, to You Father, can we truly understand just what a remarkable gift we have obtained. Our lights may be blown out at an early stage of our relationship with You. Perhaps we guard it, ever so carefully for many years, then allow the world to extinguish the burning flame that we endeared. It is the true test of man, that we guard our light, for Your glory. It takes great faith to go out into the world and dare Satan to try to put out the light that the almighty has lit for our eternal path. Psalms 119:105, “ Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light for my path.”

I pray that my candle is strong for all prevailing winds. That I will not falter or fall down into the storms that dare to extinguish my commitment for my King. Guard me Jesus, and keep me from the windy temptations that drift from day to day, and threaten to cast me into darkness. I want to be a light for Your glory, and teach my children that only through You, do we truly shine.  Isiah 2:5 says, ” Let us walk in the light of the Lord.“

“The validity of Your testimony reads in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

May my light shine for all the world to see. May my faith allow my candle to remain, even…in…the…wind,

 

Gina

Dear God, All Roads Lead to Home

Dear God,

As high anxiety is weighted against excitement around our house, I still feel the knowledge that you are in control. With Spencer’s trip to Costa Rica only a few short weeks away, I feel my motherly bond even more closely tugging at my heart than usual. Spence was able to finish his typhoid capsules with only mild discomfort. The many shots went well too. I suppose that my biggest concern to date, is for the safely of my child while he is so many miles away from me. I know that there is no place on our planet or even within our atmosphere, that You are not in total control and will be keeping an eagles eye view of my beloved.

To soothe some of the discomfort from the typhoid medicine the other night, I decided that we could take his mind off of it better by watching something on television. We turned on Animal Planet, and wouldn’t You know it……the show was titled “Killer Croc’s of Costa Rica“!!!!  Well, I had to laugh at the irony of it. If the malaria, rabies, hepatitis, dengue fever or typhoid didn’t get him…..there were always the deadly crocodiles!  We did look at each other and laugh, but decided to watch it anyway. We even recorded it so that when we have his BonVoyage party, others can see just where he’ll be going to serve his purpose for You and win souls for the heavenly kingdom.

I am still struggling with trying to pull my estranged family members together for this event. Oh, how I would love for it to be like the olden days when we would sit around laughing and telling jokes about one another. It seems with the deaths of mother and father, that we have all taken such different roads in life. Some have taken the higher road, some remain to stand firm on their foot paths, but I only want to follow the trail that takes me on the road to home. Not just any home, but the assurance of a home with my Heavenly Father. A road that only shows Your desires for my family. It may not be an easy life for us, but it’s one that I will endure and enjoy until it brings me straight to You alone.

I pray for Spencer’s trip right now, Lord. I pray for his safety, his health and seizures with migraines, and his tolerance for such a different climate, with a diverse culture. I pray that You will use him for Your glory and that his trip will be a beginning to the road of fulfillment to the long road that he must travel to be a missionary.  His heart is guided by Your word and he understands the risks and the rewards that will come with taking this trip to Central America. I also ask that each and every other student that follows this path, will commit their deeds and their trust to the Almighty above. For even if only ONE soul would find the knowledge of the saving grace that Your mercy offers, then this trip is labeled as a complete success.

Give us the endurance that is required, I pray. Give the strength to accept the unknowing that will come, and I ask for the peace for myself, that my child will not be without me, but closely watched by his Heavenly Father from above.  I pray that my dear child will return home to me safely, and more spiritually enriched by this journey. For in my heart, I know that all roads lead to home.

Awaiting the journey of a lifetime,

Gina

Dear God, The Titanic Soul

Dear God,

When the world’s unsinkable ship plummeted to the bottom of the sea, it drew fascination and questions for the masses, that was well fueled by the media. This beautiful cruise vessel, titled “The Titanic”,was a floating four-star hotel, and was to be the creation of the century. I have read that the upper echelon was the target for the passenger list. Those whose fortunes had made them known as the social elite of their respected communities, and welcomed great stature as honoured guests among this historic maiden voyage. I suppose that the greatest fascination came with it’s boastful claim. This was to be the voyage of a lifetime, to travel on the first “unsinkable” shipping vessel. The state cabins were adorned as beautifully as any had ever seen before. The fixtures of gold and leaded crystal. Fine bed linens, velvet curtains, fine bone china and silver for the exotic and expensive meals that were prepared and served by formal dressed waiters. Each guest must have felt that they were quite pampered and honored to be given this amazing opportunity.

In the beginning of time, Adam and Eve were actually given similar honors. They were the first to enjoy the Garden of Eden. They were given the opportunity to enjoy the most beautiful of every living thing that was a part of Your Divine Creation. Your best was given and the most exquisite detail was seen by their eyes alone. They were even given the opportunity to walk among the Garden with their Almighty. To enjoy the peace that came with a personal relationship with You alone. They walked with the most prestigious man that every walked this earth or the heavenly realms.

As the passengers rubbed elbows with those who were considered highly admired and upscale business men, they must have felt impenetrable, as though nothing could hurt them. They must have thought that they were cruising on the most stable and majestic voyage that history could partake in. But…..we now know, that nothing of this world obtains that adequate amount of strength. That nothing earthly is that equipped to deny the inevitable when disaster strikes. Or, in the case of the Titanic, an iceberg. To think that a piece of ice- was the beginning of the end for all of those fated individuals that night. So many who lost their precious lives in a moment of unbelief. I have read that in order to not panic the passengers, the musicians were ordered to continue playing, in order to calm the people as they made mass exodus to the few lifeboats that were on board. We now know that no amount of music, money, or prestige would help those who soul would be cast into the freezing waters on that lonely night. As so today, nothing will save our lives, if we choose to wait for the redemption of our precious souls to commit to You, Jesus.

For Adam and Eve, their lovely home of beauty, also had but one proverbial twist. They were not to touch, or eat of the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It would seem to them in the beginning, that this is their maiden voyage into life’s paradise. A beauty of brilliant floral designs, and animals, and waterfalls that defy the imagination. So how could one little tree be so tempting, that it caused the downfall of all mankind? I believe that just as the Titanic boast of sailing against all odds, and Adam and Eve’s belief that nothing could separate them from their Master and Creator, that this is what they should have feared the most. For the Soul that can be lost by anyone and everyone. By the elite whose wealth that night did not matter in those frightful hours. By the businessmen who could buy whatever their hearts desired, but could not purchase escape for their dying souls as they drifted,  shivering in the icy waters. Just as the lives of Your first couple to walk this earth, made one mistake, but it certainly cost them everything.

I suppose that this could be referred to as the Titanic Soul. The mindset that we are untouchable and unsinkable. That no matter what others may say, they believe that they will not falter or drown, when this world is at it’s breaking point and You have decided to put a final end to the world’s harsh reality of wickedness.

It is now part of prolific historical fact, that the “unsinkable”, did in fact sink.So it is with a heavy heart that the unsaved must realize that this world will not stand forever. That there is so much more than the tangible that we see and feel here everyday. There will come a day with no more suffering. There will come a day when the status of man will be reversed. The last will be first..and the first will be last. Those who have given up the tangibles that this materialistic world offers, so that they can serve You, will know what it is like to live in a mansion on a hill. Far better than any beauty that the Titanic could have offered to the wealthy.

I pray for the Titanic Soul. I pray that those who are too proud to come to Your saving knowledge now, will recall how history proved that nothing is completely safe, nothing…but God alone.

My faith is unsinkable…for now and forevermore,

Gina