His Voice

This morning I pulled into the parking garage of the hospital. It was about 5:30 and still dark. There wasn’t anyone in the garage. I opened my car door to get my lunch box out and all of a sudden a loud deep voice bellowed out, “Step back! You are too close to this vehicle! Step Back!

It scared me out of my skin. I turned around and noticed that the warning was coming from the vehicle next to me. There was no one in the vehicle, but apparently I got too close and there was a special alarm set to scare the fool out of anyone coming too close. After I got my heart rate back down in the normal range, I started the walk into work. There was a light, cool breeze and the smell of rain in the air.

Later in the morning, one of the little babies I was caring for, got his breathing tube taken out and we heard him cry for the first time. I immediately thought about how God speaks to us.

There are times when He speaks with a soft, gentle voice in the rustle of the breeze, in the sweet song of a little bird or in the cry of a tiny baby.

But sometimes God’s voice is like the voice that bellowed out of the vehicle in the parking lot. When we are headed in the wrong direction. When we are wandering out of His will and into areas of trouble, He shouts, “Step Back! You are too close to trouble!” The bible says His voice “shakes the desert”(Ps. 29:8), “strikes with flashes of lightning” (Ps. 29:7) and “strips the oak and strips the forests bare.” (Ps. 29:9).

Whether a gentle whisper or a loud bellow, God does speak to us. I confess at times I have chosen not to listen because it’s not what I wanted to hear. Other times I have filled my life with too much noise to hear. But, because He loves me, He still speaks. He will warn me when I am headed in the wrong direction because He loves me. He will fill my heart with joy at the cry of a tiny baby, because He loves me.

Have you heard Him today? Is He shouting a loud warning or whispering a soft “I love you”. Shhh. Listen. Hear His voice. He’s calling you by name.

The Puzzle

On Sunday, I heard a devotional about puzzles and it seemed as though God was speaking directly to me. As I listened, I thought back to the weekly chemo sessions at MD Anderson. There was always a large puzzle on the table in the waiting room. There were usually many pieces upside down and scattered around the table. People would pass by and try to work on it. Carl always liked to try and fit a piece or two in while we were waiting.

I never really had the patience for puzzles. I could work them only if the box with the completed picture was right there next to it. If I couldn’t see the picture, I didn’t want to mess with it.

I thought about the times in our lives that seem like one big, uncompleted puzzle. The puzzle seems large. There are so many little pieces and they are scattered everywhere. We don’t have the picture on the box to see what it will look like when it’s finished.

Are you in a situation where the puzzle pieces seem all jumbled up? Where there seems to be way too many pieces? Where you can’t see the picture of the completed puzzle?

God has promised us that He will complete the puzzle. He sees the full picture. “Now being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you, will carry it on to completion” (Phillipians 1:6). We just have to press on, one piece at a time, trusting that when God is finished every piece will fit together perfectly and the picture will be perfectly clear.

Happy Valentines Day

It’s Sunday afternoon and Valentine’s Day. The house is quiet because Carl is at a piano competition with several of his piano students. We didn’t really have a “Valentines Day” celebration as many couples are accustomed to, because it’s been a busy weekend. But the quiet gives me a chance to reflect on the holiday and what it means to me.

When we are young children, Valentines day means giving little cards to all the friends in our class. It means little “sweetheart” candies and maybe a special toy, depending on how frivolous your parents were.

As we get a little older, and begin to date, Valentines Day means teddy bears, chocolates and gifts, given as a sign of love from that special someone.

When we get married and begin to raise a family, Valentines day sometimes means rushing down to the card shop and finding a quick gift and card, rushing home to feed the kids, help with their homework, get them baths, get them in bed, followed by a tired kiss goodnight and whisper of “I Love You” to our spouse.

I can truly say that this Valentines Day holds a meaning for me that it has never held before. As I think about Carl and his love for me, I sometimes can’t understand it. I feel undeserving of his love, yet he gives it anyway. I have brought burdens to him, yet he shoulders them without complaint. I have taken my anger out on him, yet he encompasses me with kindness and understanding. In one word his love is “unconditional.

Ephesians 5:25 reads “And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church.”

This is what Valentines Day means to me this year. The reflection of Christ’s love shown through a quiet, humble man. A true gift of the heart.

Happy Valentines Day, Carl. I Love You!