A Brand New Day

Greetings Everybody,
Let's start with a wee little Question and Answer session, shall we?

Question: How did my Aunt suddenly become my Sister?

Answer:  She was recently baptized into Christ!

Earlier today I called her because my dad told me that she had been baptized. 

She does not live in the same town that I live in, or else I would have gone to see her and hug on her for a while.

Truth-Being-Told...We have not spent much time together.

It's complicated to try to express why, but sometimes families just drift apart.

Yet, I have wonderful childhood memories of her. 

And then... there is giant time gap in which I only saw her for a few minutes at graveside family funerals. 

That giant time gap is so hard to fathom.

I'm a Grandmother now, and its been quite a few years since I was in elementary school.

I keep asking myself "How in the world did this much time go by without us being in touch with each other???" 

Upon reflection, I think that today was the first in depth conversation that I have had with her in my whole life.  

It was wonderful.

She was filled with joy.

We talked about the days leading up to her decision to be baptized, and about the involvement of a neighbor and of my very own dad.

And the entire conversation centered around topics having to do with God and Jesus.

She told me that she has spent alot of years knowing who God Was but not actually KNOWING GOD!
And she expressed the idea that she had wasted so much time.

So I visited with her about a phrase used in Scripture...and that phrase is "at just the right time".

We see it in Romans 5:6-8
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

There is another phrase that is similar to that and is also found in scripture..."in the fullness of time".

Galatians 4:4-5
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

The reason that I shared that concept(about time)with her 
is to put her heart at ease. 

But she was already ahead of me on that. 

She knows that her sins were washed away 
and that it's a brand new day.

And so my Sweet Aunt is now my Sister in Christ.

In celebration of that, I am sharing a little photograph with her on this blog and with all of you who may read this post.

I share this to remind her to claim 1 John 1:7 and to remember to Seek The Light!
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Linda, may every day of the rest of your life be "A Brand New Day!" 

And may you continue to do as Mark 12:30 says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

This was taken while sitting on a ferry heading toward Maui at Sunrise.

The boat was smack-dab in the middle between 3 islands: Molokai, Maui and Lanai.

You can see the tail end of Molokai on the left and start of Maui on the right, but Lanai doesn't show up on this photograph. 

Blessings to you Linda...

and to each of you who may read this post.

In Him,

Grace

It Has Been In God's Hands...All Along

Greetings Everybody,
Got a photo for you to take a look at.
I took this picture a few years ago on the Island of Molokai.

The Mountains in the background are covered in rainclouds.
And the rainclouds were rolling in to where we were.


This is such a soft and lovely landscape and it is one of my favorites photo's.


Everything is muted.
Everything is peaceful.
Tranquility!


The day I took this shot, it didn't take long for the rain to catch up with us.
In fact, right afterwards I had to put my camera away so it wouldn't get wet.


I can close my eyes and see the scene just as it was that day.
But before I lose all track of time in a Hawaiian Daydream, let me bring you to the reason I showed you the picture.


Now if you recall, I mentioned at the start of this entry that the photo was taken on Molokai, which is one of the Hawaiian Islands.


And if you recall, those islands were born of volcanic activity under the sea.  
They literally rose up out of the Pacific Ocean
...courtesy of a significant geographical bit of underwater power called The Ring of Fire.


Before those islands were what we see today, we would NOT have wanted to be in that area. 


It would have been a place of Turbulence with a capital T.
Lots of pressure and clash and instability...not to mention the red hot molten lava.


Still...when all that molten lava cooled...and enough time passed...the scene above appeared. It just took us a while to find it lol.


Time has a way of changing everything.


And I suspect that somewhere in this post is the kernel of a great message for us all that goes like this:


Even during the times of my life when there is  
Turbulence with a capital T.
Times with lots of pressure and clash and instability...or when tempers flow like red hot molten lava...


We need to remember that each situation is in God's Hands.
And it has BEEN in God's Hands...All Along.


He makes all things beautiful in HIS time.
All we have to do is wait and watch.
Scripture tells us that if we seek, we will find.


"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you."
Matthew 7:7


I believe that if we intently seek His Peace and Tranquility we will find it...even in the midst of our own Turbulence.


In Him,
Grace

We Were Never Designed To Live In Isolation

Greetings,

There is a picture that I just added on the right hand side of this blog.

It is black & white and shows the path to an ancient Hawaiian holy place on the island of Molokai.

This path was the path for barren women.

It was a trail of sadness for those who could not conceive.

Walking this path was lonely and stigmatizing.

But walking this path indicated that there was hope in your heart.

This is only one of many such paths on our planet.

We now understand that Ancient Tribal People would go on a quest on such paths...looking for something important in their lives.

This particular path is rather steep in places.

It is lonely.

It is desolate.

It is narrow and built for only one person to tread at at time.

No one could walk by your side as you made this journey.

It was a solo venture...as all truly soulful quests are.

Sometimes Modern Day People go on metaphorical quests too.

We forage on, uphill, and alone...looking for something important in our lives.

Though we can draw strength from such quests, WE WERE NEVER DESIGNED to live in isolation.

We need people.

We need family.

We need friends.

WE NEED GOD!

I hope that this month brings you happy times with your family and friends.

I hope that you get to spend time with Your "TRIBE".

I hope your priorities are all sorted.

I hope that Christmas is not about spending money, but about enjoying HOPE.


We ALL need HOPE!

May Family and Friends surround you.

And I want you to remember that you are NOT alone, whatever your quest.

Hebrews 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

God, is always with us.


In Him,
Grace