Comparing to Worshipping

      We've been studying John 3 this past week in Bible study.  Wow, what an incredible gift,  this Gospel of John.  Just yesterday one of things I talked about was a lesson God continues to teach me about comparing.  What an incredibly slow (as in snail-like, sluggishly slow) learner I am.  God has to teach me... and then I forget and fall... and He patiently teaches me again.. and again.  And somehow, incredibly, He never gives up on me.  Another example of His amazing grace. This God of ours--He never quits.

       (A friend of mine suggested that I include these thoughts in the blog, so for anybody reading this who is in our Bible study, my apologies--you can just skip this one!)  In John 3:22-30, John the Baptist reminds us all of what it means to refuse to compare and instead to seek only to magnify the name of Christ.  For one remarkable and brief moment in time, the two greatest preachers the world has ever known were on the stage of history together.  What a time that must have been.  John and Jesus were in the same area and were baptizing people when a dispute arose. Some of John’s disciples came to him and told him, “Rabbi, He who was with You across from the Jordan, to whom you bore witness--look He is baptizing, and all are going to Him.”  In other words, “John,” they tell him, “Jesus is diminishing your crowds and stealing your ministry!  What are you gonna do about that!”  

Boy, isn’t that so like us?  The world and our own sinful natures shout at us to COMPARE!   Compare your children.   Compare your spouse.  Compare your house.  Compare your job.  Compare your abilities and talents.  Compare your good deeds.  Compare your behavior.  And comparison is always deadly and destructive!  Because we either come up short and feel discouraged and envious.  Or we feel proud and self-righteous that at least we are waaaaaay better than some other person.  

Nope, we all need to ruthlessly eliminate those thoughts of comparison.  I love what Mother Teresa said about this: “All of our problems come from looking around rather than up.”  Isn’t that so true!  The antidote to comparison is looking to Jesus.  Don’t look to others.  Look to the Savior.  Replace comparing with worshipping.

When those ugly thoughts of comparison began to shout at us in our heads, we need to learn to respond as John the Baptist does in these verses: He reiterates what he’d been saying all along: that he is not the Christ and that “a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven... He must increase, but I must decrease."
      Don’t we all need that reminder--every single thing in our lives is a gift from Him.  How dare we compare when He is the sovereign perfect Gift-giver who knows and loves us infinitely.  Whatever gifts He’s chosen to give us--or withhold from us--well, we can know they are a result of His perfect love and are therefore tailor-made for our ultimate good and His glory.  We need to start thanking Him for what we do have rather than focusing on what we don’t have. 
      I can so well remember one occasion when Janie had been unconscious in the hospital in Greenville for nearly 10 days. She had been totally unconscious since the day of the wreck, and despite the repeated attempts to rouse her, there had been no response.  Then on this one particular evening, an older man was admitted to the ICU in the room right next to Janie. He too had been in a very serious car wreck, and he too was unconscious.  We heard all the familiar sounds we had grown so accustomed to with Janie--the nurses and doctors trying to awaken the patient--shouting “Mr. so and so, wake up!  Mr. so and so, can you hear me?” 

We had heard that repeated time after time with Janie, but so far, nothing.  And then all these complications of fever and infection and lung problems developed for her. It just seemed like it was one obstacle after another. But within just a day or two of his arrival, the man next door to Janie apparently began to regain consciousness.  I heard them shouting, “Do you know your name?  Mr. so and so, you were in a car wreck and you are in the hospital.”  

And I have a terrible confession to make.  My heart began to feel a tinge of that hateful comparison and envy.  “Why couldn’t that be us Lord?  Why couldn’t that be Janie?  We have been here 10 long days, why not Janie?” 
      At that very moment, God brought these and some other verses from John 21 to mind.  I’m thankful to say, God stopped me in my tracks. He truly halted me in mid-thought before that emotion could give birth to ingratitude and envy.  I immediately asked forgiveness and began to pray for that man and to thank God for what He was doing in his life.  And I thanked the Lord for all the ways He had been with us and for us in those past 10 days.  So many miracles He had given us.  So much love He had showered upon us through family and friends.

And what could have developed into despair and a deadly root of bitterness was nipped in the bud, and instead God gave us peace and trust and even, believe it or not, thanksgiving in His plan for us. Once again, our faithful, forgiving, relentless Lord transformed a hospital room into a sanctuary of praise.  Only God can do that with the likes of unfaithful me.  Thank You, Father. 
      I wish I could say I do this every time comparison rears it's ugly head in my thoughts.  Sadly, I don't.  Anytime any of us allow comparison and ingratitude to slip into our lives, it always leads to misery.  But like I said, God doesn't give up on us slow learners, and He's teaching me to take it to Him the moment those thoughts attack and replace comparing with worshipping.  Turning our focus away from ourselves and instead choosing to gaze at the beauty of the Savior... and then rejoicing in His goodness and greatness in your life.  
     He is an endless feast of joy to be savored, and His sweet taste completely demolishes the bitterness of comparison.  "O taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." (Ps.34:8)  Taste Him and see... replace comparison with gratitude, and worship the glorious Savior.  To God be the glory.

Erased and Exchanged

     “Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” (Rom.14:9)

“It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.  When you make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, he shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.  He shall see the travail of His soul and be satisfied.  By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.”  (Isa.53:10-11)

Two of the verses from the other day's Daily Light.  Thank You Father.  Thank You Lord Jesus.  Thank You for bruising Jesus, putting HIm to grief, offering His soul for sin, and bearing our iniquities.  For now you see us, Your seed, Your children bearing Your eternal, abundant life.  

      Thank You for justifying us--justification: “just as if I never sinned.” 

      I think of  Janie and her memory loss.  She has absolutely no memory of the two weeks before the accident.  Nothing.  Nada.  Days and days of her life, completely forgotten.  And a special day--spent laughing and swimming and sharing and having a ball with many of her senior friends at the lake earlier the day of the wreck: gone, erased from her memory.  People tell her about funny things she said and how she wanted to jet ski but didn’t get to and the way she and her buddies jumped back and forth while being pulled from a boat.  A marvelous day of memories--all gone.  

And erased and forgotten just the day before the accident: a college visit to UNC-Chapel Hill with four of her dearest friends.  We moms went too, and I enjoy telling her about what a wonderful day we had--a gorgeous summer day, a really fun tour all over the campus, seeing friends who are now at college there, asking questions about the Journalism School, eating lunch with new friends and old (and all us moms having a big time laughing and sharing)--but again, all vanished from her memory.  

But, of course, there are mundane memories erased, tired memories erased, and, I’m sure, some hard memories erased.  Just all completely vanished and forgotten.  And Janie said all that made her feel “really wierd.  It’s just so strange to have nothing.  Imagine that--no memory at all of all those days and nights spent living and eating and laughing, well, and maybe crying some too.  She feels  real sadness about it--all those wonderful memories of the lake and her last days of summer before her senior year spent with her friends enjoying the goodness of life, and every memory has vanished, probably for good. 

It made me realize what a gift our memories are.  Some things we want and need to forget. Sorrowful, hard, dark, painful memories are best left forgotten--learn from them, sure, but then consign them to the dust heap of history that taught us and grew us but is now thankfully past. One of my favorite quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (that I’ve quoted all my life since I have such a wretched memory): “The ability to forget is an act of grace.”  Amen. I like to quote that when I forgot a friend's name--a frequent occurrence. 

But most memories, the vast overwhelming majority of memories provide us a feast of joy to be eaten and savored over and over again the rest of our lives.  We are never hungry for joy if we can recall the extravagant goodness and grace of God in our lives in the past--all accessed due to the gift that He has given us in our memory banks.  Yet another gift from our relentlessly giving God.  Have we thanked Him?  

As I thought of all this, though, and of Janie’s disappointment over completely forgetting two weeks of her life--well, not just forgetting, but losing likely forever those two weeks--God suddenly reminded me: that is what I have done with your sin.  When we ask the Lord Jesus to come into our lives, forgive our sin, and be our Savior, He takes our sin and completely forgets it--no, not just forgets it, He erases it from the divine memory banks.  Gone.  Vanished.   Forever forgotten and forgiven.  Jesus bore our sins at Calvary and with His death, destroyed and deleted them from His divine, perfect memory so that we are justified--just as if we never sinned.  

And in place of our erased sin, the Lord Jesus replaced it in His eternal, divine memory with His righteousness.  Sin erased, righteousness replaced.  Forever.  

What can we say to such a Savior?  There are no words. Simply worship the King who came to seek and to save His lost children.  Thank You for bearing all our iniquities and forever erasing them, Lord Jesus, with Your blood.  And thank You for replacing that forgotten forgiven sin with Your perfect holiness and goodness and grace and love and power and peace and joy and... we could go on and on!   But replacing our brokenness and sin-sick selves with Your Holy Spirit, with infinite, eternal, glorious You.  

Might we never tire of remembering that which He did in fully and forever forgetting and erasing our sin by His blood.  And in remembering, might we rejoice in Him, our Justifier. 

      Sin erased; righteousness replaced--what a glorious exchange.  To God be the glory.

Life to the Full

     What a spectacular weekend at Windy Gap--a Young LIfe camp in the mountains of North Carolina!   A big group of high schoolers from Broughton Young Life went for the weekend to hear God's Word, sing their hearts out, and have a blast in the beauty of God's creation.  Our wonderful, amazing leader, Courtney Lancaster made it possible for Tessa and Janie both to go this weekend by reserving a house for the Jones, the Barkers (equally wonderful--they helped us every step of the way), and us.  I can still remember when Courtney told us way back about 10 days into Janie's ordeal (while she was still unconscious) that she had reserved the house for us just in case we could go.  I thought at the time, "How sweet--but that will never ever happen."  O me of little faith--thank You Father for yet another miracle that Tessa and Janie were able to go and had an unforgettable time with their senior friends and the Lord.  And thank you for everyone helping constantly to make it all happen.
     Our cabin looked out over all the serene, astounding beauty of fall in all it’s glory.  Weeping willow,  trees tinged red and orange, clear blue sky, green grass, and woods.  Just took my breath away. This crummy picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.  How I marveled at God’s creation. I loved gazing outside the big picture window at the extravagance of God's creation assaulting me from every direction. The first part of the day, the beauty was quiet and peaceful--no kids, no noise, just lovely Windy Gap.  I was inside much of the day on saturday working on a lecture for Bible study.  It was wonderful to have that time with the Lord but incredibly hard seeing all that I was missing, and missing the joy of spending the glorious day with everyone.  

But a bit later in the day, I watched as all those high school kids went out and began enjoying that beauty.  Screaming down zip lines, swinging high over the hills in a giant swing (and more screaming), jumping high off the platform and bouncing on the blob  and then waiting for the next person to jump so they could be catapulted off into the air and then into the frigid water (and more screaming).  Flying down the giant slide into the lake (screaming).  Playing golf frisbe and hiking and laughing and terrified but happy on the high ropes course (and you got it: screaming).  Throwing footballs and yelling school cheers.. and just generally having a complete and total blast! 

     How I loved hearing all the screams and laughter and yelling and sounds of kids enjoying the incredible beauty of this remarkable place. And then, of course, there is the joy in club, where kids sing at the top of their lungs and dance and then hear the unadulterated message of the Gospel.  Of  God’s love for them in sending Jesus to die for their sins and be raised to new life so that they could make Him their Savior and enjoy abundant, eternal life.  

I love, truly love, the serene astounding beauty of Windy Gap, but it pales in comparison to loving the way the kids were enjoying and loving and learning and growing and finding, I pray, eternal life, in this place.  

And God woke me this morning with this thought: that is just a taste of how He feels.  He looks down at this remarkable, beautiful, breath-taking creation He has made for His children to enjoy, and it is good.  It surely gives Him great pleasure.  But that pleasure, that joy pales infinitely in comparison to His joy in watching His children find real, eternal, abundant LIfe in His Name. 
     What if these high schoolers came to Windy Gap and just stared at all they have available to do and then just said, "How nice. I think I'll just sit here and look at it from the bus this weekend. I don't need to actually get out and do anything.  I can just sit here and gaze at it and enjoy it from the comfort of the bus."  How terrible!  They would miss it completely and never enjoy even a fraction of the joy and wonder and life changing power of this place.   

God means for us to live, truly Live with a capital “L,” and so many miss it.  They miss life the way God meant for it to be lived, to be enjoyed, to be lived in the joy and power and peace and grace of the One who died to give us true, eternal Life.  Like all those incredible things available to high school kids at Windy Gap, that is what He has available for us in Jesus.  But we have to accept Him as Lord, and then we have to daily surrender and live by His power, His grace, hour by hour.  And if we don’t, we miss everything--life as it was meant to be lived.  And eternity as it was meant to be spent with Him, forever, in joy.  
     Forgive us Father, when we settle for so much less than You have for us in Christ.  All those riches in Christ, and so many accept those pale imitations of real life instead of YOU and all You have for us.  
     Thank You Lord for this place of remarkable beauty.  But thank You far more for sending Your Son so that we might enjoy this life--now and forever--as it was meant to lived and enjoyed to the fullest.  

  Jesus said “I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.”  John 10:10       Thank You for such an indescribable gift, Lord Jesus.  Thank You for Life--and for life to the FULL, because it is filled with Your fullness.  

Divine fullness to enjoy forever.  I wonder if there’s a zip line in heaven?  To God be the glory.

Planting times

     I'm reading a book by Warren Wiersbe right now and thought these practical lessons on suffering were really helpful.  So here they are:

     "1. God has not determined to make us comfortable, but He has determined to make us conformable.  He will put us into the furnace to remove the dross and to make us moldable in His hands.  But keep this in mind: when you are in the furnace, your Father keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat.  He knows just how much we can take.
     2. The battles of life are not easy, but God has given us the equipment we need to succeed.  Each victory prepares us for the next assault.  The race of life is not easy, but as we accept each new challenge, we grow and can accomplish more.
     3.We need patience. The harvest doesn't come immediately.  God doesn't bury us; He plants us.  And He promises that our experience will produce a harvest.
     4. Times of travail can be times of birth.  Today's suffering can mean tomorrow's glory.  God is not accomplishing all His purposes today, nor is He explaining all His plans.  We do not need to give birth to Ben-Oni; we can give birth to a Benjamin. [oops--that is from earlier in Wiersbe's book.  I'll explain in a second.]
     5. The storms of life are frightening, but God can speak to us out of the whirlwind. Even the storms can fulfill His will.
     6. Yield to the pruning knife; it will make us more fruitful.  Accept the cup that the Father gives us.

     One quick explanation: when Jacob and his family were moving from Bethel, his beloved wife Rachel went into childbirth.  It was a terribly difficult labor. "As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni [son of my trouble].  But his father named him Benjamin [son of my right hand]." (Gen. 35:16-18)  Jacob gave his baby a new name that would remind him not of his mother's death and sorrow but of his father's love and joy in him.  As Wiersbe commented on this: "In our experiences of travail, we need to trust God and dare to believe that the results will be triumph and not sorrow, no matter how much we may hurt.  The tribe of Benjamin became a noble people in Israel and gave the nation her first king.  They also gave the world the apostle Paul."
     Isn't that just so like God?  He takes our suffering and redeems it and uses it for purposes far beyond what we could ever imagine.  He truly does bring good out of even the dregs of despair.  He give us compassion and strength.  He gives us the ability to minister to others in ways far deeper and truer than we'd ever have otherwise.  He gives us hope and gratitude and depth.  And when we look to Him and trust His plans and purposes, He enables us to grow and blossom--because He "doesn't bury us; He plants us. And He promises that our experience will produce a harvest."  How I love that!  Like the seed in the ground--planted, not buried, to produce the harvest of beauty in the future.
     So today, if you are suffering in anyway, might you remember God is not burying, He is planting... and preparing to produce a harvest.  Keep trusting.  He is working... even when we cannot see... like the silent seed, planted deep in the soil, waiting, waiting to burst forth in glory.
     Never forget: the tomb is empty.  And we follow a betrayed, suffered, tortured, crucified, planted in a tomb... and RISEN IN GLORY SAVIOR.   We can trust Him in our own hard planting times... 'cause the glory is coming.  To God be the glory.

Annoyances... to praise

     It's early morning (my favorite time of day--thank You Lord for the peace and the still predawn darkness).  I just sat down with a big mug of hot tea (again, thank You Lord), my Bible (thanks again, Father), and two warm, soft, beautiful prayer blanket/shawls dear friends made for us during Janie's hospitalization (Okay, this is how we should live, isn't it, Lord? "Always giving thanks to God" Eph.3:20--so thank you thank you thank you--for friends, for prayer, for prayer blankets, for warmth on a cool morning, for quiet in my home... well, and for my home and for all the noise and activity that evidences the people that I love and makes me appreciate quiet!)
     Okay, where on earth was I?  Do they make ADD medicine for adults?
     Well, it's funny, here is what I was going to write before God interrupted me and reminded me to be thankful to the Giver of all good gifts: Just as I happily sat down in the wonderful dark stillness with my steaming mug of tea, my Bible open, and my hands on the computer keys, the dryer buzzed to let me know the clothes in the dryer were ready.  And I don't mean like a little delicate, ladylike buzz.  We're talking BUZZED BUZZED BUZZED--ear splitting, Rambo-like, insistent, annoying (to quote an oft-used phrase by my children... that and "random"--what is the deal with the word "random?"  As in "that 'random' girl"--something I despise hearing from anyone's lips. Nobody is random!  We are all made in God's image, created and loved and cherished by our Father whose love for each and every person was so immense, He made a plan way back at the dawn of time to redeem His dearly beloved children by sending His Son to die for them.  No one is random--not by the Redeemer!)
     O mercy, just commit me.  Where was I again?  Somehow, God seems to be reminding me how ridiculous our annoyances truly are in light of His greatness.  Because what I was going to say, was that the insistent BUZZ of the dryer reflected those annoyances and little problems in my life that can so quickly deflect and discourage me and get me off track from keeping God front and center in my life.   How many times has God taught us something in church or Bible study, and an hour later, we completely forget His Word and His presence when someone cuts us off on the highway or our child forgets something at school again (not that this has ever happened at our house) or we look at our to-do list from yesterday and realize we forgot to do the items we starred three times.  Sigh.  It's the little foxes that spoil the vine.
     Forgive us Father.  And the antidote, God just reminded silly, forgetful me, is praise and thanksgiving.  Turn those "annoyances" or little fox problems into vehicles to remind ourselves to be grateful.  Thank you that I can stand up and walk to the dryer.   Thank You that we are no longer in the hospital, and I'm home to put clothes in the dryer.  Thank You we have clothes to put in the dryer.  Thank You we have a dryer.  Thank You for the priceless beyond measure people in my life whose clothes I am drying.  Thank You that You are a God who never quits on us even when we allow little problems to get us irritated or downhearted.  And thank You for problems, Lord, as they drive us to You in dependence and need--the very best place to be. And thank You that those problems are the pathways for You to intervene in our lives and display Your power and Your glory.
     So, the dryer has stopped buzzing, the tea is gone, and it's just God and me (well, and Moses, of course) enjoying the peace and smiling at the greatness and goodness of an Almighty Lord who would sit and visit with His grateful child.  Thank You, Abba.  Let's go out and live this day together, all to Your glory and all by Your grace.
     Might you do the same.  He's with you even in the annoyances--let's makes them reminders to give Him praise.  To God be the glory.

Resting

     Don't know if you can quite see this picture because of the shadows, but this is our dear old black lab, Moses.  Resting.  Yes, Moses has cornered the market on resting.  And his favorite position for resting is in the sun--warms those old bones, I suppose, and don't we all need that!  Here's Moses, finding just a nice little patch of sunshine flowing in through one of the dining room windows, so he's found his sweet spot.  And life is very good.
     Moses' other favorite spot to rest is at the feet of any member of our family.  Wherever we are sitting, well, that's where he wants to be.  And at his advanced age and with his creaky, achy joints, getting up and moving is quite the effort--but if we move, he'll generally move too--and then immediately collapse down to the, you guessed it,  resting position.  Just as an example, when our son decided to watch a football game on the floor,  here's who joined him:

     You can learn an awful lot from a dog.
     Like what it means to rest.  And to rest in love, to rest with those with we love, and most importantly to rest with the Lord that we love.  To slow down, to really listen, to remember, to thank, to rejoice, to pray, and to be revived and restored.
     I just read some words from a woman named Emily Freeman who talked about being quiet.  One thing she wrote really struck me: "The urgent bursts into the room, dramatic and demanding.  The important whispers, steading and waiting."  Isn't that so true--we tend to rush through out lives--hurrying, trying desperately to cram it all in, worrying about everything that needs to be accomplished and all that is being left undone, fretting over so many little things.  What a terrible way to lurch through life, harried and frazzled and constantly on edge.
     Ever striving, but never slowing.  Ever rushing, but never resting.  And therefore missing so much daily joy that God pours out over our lives, like an everflowing waterfall of His grace and goodness.  And we just miss it in our haste and busyness and anxiousness.
   You know, all those "little" things that worry us and keep us up at night--I used to thing they were such big, enormous problems, and now I see them for what they truly are: small and inconsequential challenges to allow us to either fret ourselves to death or rely on our Almighty God.  Each a tiny opportunity to see Him work rather than worry ourselves.  Help us Lord in those "little" daily challenge/opportunites!
     And the best way we can gain that proper perspective on our challenge/opportunities is to daily spend some time quietly resting in Him.  Doing the important, rather than the urgent.  Even while the laundry or the emails or the project screams at us--NOW, do me right now!!  Hurry, worry!--we choose to say NO.  And turn to the important that is steady and waiting for us--spend time with those we love, chatting, laughing, sharing.  Pull out our Bibles and read.  Reflect on His Words.  Reflect on His goodness and grace to us this very day.  The pink that painted the sky last night at sunset.  The sweet old dog sitting at our feet.  The phone call from our sister or our friend.  The taste of chocolate cake (o yes, always that!).  The gift of a favorite song at church.  The hilarious thing your child said.  The ability to take that next deep breathe.  The fresh, cool air of fall.  The Word of God, ever new.  The gift of eternal, abundant life.  And grace--o the riches of the utterly undeserved, unbelievable grace of God.
     If we don't slow down, we won't see it.  We won't reflect and remember and then rejoice.  I love how Ann Voskamp put it: "Joy--it's always a function of gratitude.  And gratitude is always a function of perspective.  If we are going to change our lives, what we're going to have to change is the way we see."
     And I don't know about you, but I can't see much if I'm zooming down the highway at 70 miles per hour.  I have to slooooow down.  I have to choose to be quiet and rest and reflect and then see.  Because the Father loves to show His children His love when they come, like Moses, and rest at His feet.
     Just for the record, I'm pretty lousy at this resting stuff. But, by the grace of God, I'm determined to try and to learn more and more what it means to quietly rest and reflect and rejoice in Him.   Because His Word tells us: "For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, 'In quietness and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength.'  But you were unwilling." (Isaiah 30:15)  Lord, we don't want You to say that about us.  Help us to be willing, Father.  Help us to enjoy being strengthened by You in quietness and trust.  
     So today, might we all take time to rest and reflect and then rejoice.  He's given you a whole new 24 hours to see how good and great He is.  Might you slow down to see it and then thank Him.
     To God be the glory.

An altar of praise

Six weeks ago today--God intervened to save the lives of four precious girls.  And to show the world that He is mighty to save, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He is still in the miracle business.  Because He is God.

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." (Ps.50:15)

"I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.  Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.  The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.  Then I called upon the name of the Lord." (Ps.116:1-4)

"Jacob said to his household,... 'Let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone."  (Gen.35:2-3)

     Just a few of the verses I just read from this morning's Daily Light.  Again, God reminds us of His faithfulness, His goodness, His power, His grace, His provision,  His mercy... and that all is for His glory.  That He would be glorified and that we might glorify Him.  Jacob made his altar at Bethel; I make my altar here: to praise Him for delivering us in the day of trouble.  To remember all the ways He heard our voices and our supplications and answered again and again and again.  To love Him for His continuing faithfulness in being with all of us "in the way" we are going, in this continuing marathon.
       Not just with Tessa and Janie, but with all of us, all of you who are fighting long, tough battles and running challenging, seemingly endless races.  He is with you in the way you are going.  Might we all continue to "call upon Him as long as I live."  For each day's provision.  Each hour's need.  Each moment's decisions.
     This is one of my favorite pictures from the ICU in Greenville.  Another reminder, an Ebenezer, of God's incredible faithfulness in every single moment's challenges.  The first 72 hours, the desperate prayer was sent out--pray for no swelling of the brain.  So critical.  And God answered. Praise You Lord.
     Then, no sooner past that huge obstacle, the next urgent request: please pray for her lungs.  Her right lung suffered damage in the wreck, and suddenly that lung really began to struggle.  Frightening stuff, and I can still feel the paralyzing fear as the respiratory team went into immediate action.  And God answered.  The lung slowly began to recover.  Praise You Lord.
     And then came the fever.  A high, seemingly out of control fever that again, left us breathless with fear and seeming helplessness.  This time, Russ and Creecy were right there with us in the room the first time we watched the fever tick up and up on the monitor.  So we prayed.  Urgently, beseeching the Almighty to lower her temperature.  But we also went into action!  Reminded me again of the "warrior marathon sisters" back in action--Team Fountain--praying and acting!
     Creecy and I began putting cold cloths all over her, waving the chilled cloth over her face.  And Russ, one of our church's pastors, well, you could just say this is a pastor who does it all.  That's him waving a bedpan (a clean, unused one, I might add) back and forth to send a strong cooling breeze all over Janie's body.  I can still feel the breath of air that seemed to feel the room.
     At the time, despite the fear, God gave us such laughter!  We prayed and waved bedpans and wet washcloths... and the grip of terror loosened and the temperature began to drop. (And I had to take a picture.  We need to remember moments like these!)  Praise You Lord.
     And God was glorified--in the answer to our desperate cries and in the joy He gave to His fearful children.  True joy in Him--again, you can't explain it: joy in an ICU in the most desperate of times.  Yet there it was--His joy, His peace, His power, His provision for yet another challenge in this long marathon.
     So, Lord, this is my altar.  Help me never to forget all the ways You delivered us when we called upon You. For six long weeks You have listened and answered and provided.  Thank You for hearing us all each and every day.  Thank You for loving us.  Thank You for forgiving us.  Thank You for saving us.  Thank You that You are with each of us in our daily battles and our hardest challenges.  And thank You that You are a God of JOY!  Joy even in the midst of the sorrows and strains of life.
     And Lord, we pray and trust that You will be with us "in the way" ahead as we continue this marathon for Janie to recover.  And in each of our marathons--whatever challenge and crisis Your people are facing.  You are the God who hears and delivers and answers and heals and strengthens and provides all along the ways we each are going.
      "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." (Ps.103:2)  Might we all never forget.  And might we praise the One who hears and who delivers.  To God be all the glory forever.