Our Life in Review...Things I Hope You Remember as You Venture into the Big Wide World!

My friend Renee Booe who is “calling me up” and challenging me to write is writing a series on her blog called, “Things I Need My Kids to Know Before I Die.” Check it out here http://www.spuronlove.com…. I love reading the things she wants to make sure her children know. Things like “speak life over people!” She’s at the beginning of this parenting journey. Her munchkins are 7, 6, and 3. There are so many amazing days ahead for Renee. And she is a great mommy! She’s going to fill her children with amazing values, hopes, and dreams. As I read her thoughts, I’m inspired to write my own series.

I’m at a much different stage in life. Whether I like it or not, those days are done for me. No one asked me, “Are you ready for your babies to grow up? Have you taught them everything they need to know to succeed in life?” I closed my eyes and poof… they were gone. The nest is empty. They’ve flown the coop. (That’s a little dramatic. They live 30 minutes away. But still…)

So my series is going to be called

 “Our Life in Review…Things I Hope You Remember as You Venture into the Big Wide World!”

I started making my list of all the things I’ve tried to teach my children about living life. This could be a really long series! It took me 25 years to compile. What do you expect?!

This whole concept has me curious. I wonder what THEY would say they learned from ME. And would their lists for mom and dad be different? I might just have to give them an assignment. Aren’t you curious what your kids would say?

I’m afraid mine would go something like…

Mom taught me to always iron my clothes when going out in public.

Dad taught me - don’t spit in the wind.

Now I’m just being silly. I’m pretty sure they got some of the deeper life lessons we were going for. I know that because of WHO they are. And HOW they live their lives. But I really do wonder what they would attribute to each of us or neither of us. I’ll get back to you on that.

For this first installment I’m going to go with what I think would be on their Top 10 list. It is a phrase they heard from the first time God started teaching me this truth, to the present.

“Be anxious for nothing. This is a be-anxious-for-nothing-moment.”

My youngest Cody was probably 8 and Erin 10 when I asked God to help me understand what He means in Philippians 4:6-7. They are now 23 and 25.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

When I read that I want to say, “Surely you don’t mean to not be anxious about a serious health crisis. I mean there are things worthy of getting anxious about.” But I look at it again and realize the word He used was NOTHING. For a worrier like me that is incredulous. How can that be? There are so many things that cause anxiety in me. But this seems to be saying that He has made a way for me to not be anxious. That when I bring my request to Him, he will exchange that need with a gift of peace that doesn’t make sense for the situation. He added that little note about thanksgiving. Hmm…

So the first week that I was talking to the Lord about helping me understand just how this scripture is supposed to work in real life, my husband left for an 8 month deployment. We had just moved into a “fixer-upper.” This was long before Chip and Joanna Gaines made it cool! We had enough time for my husband to pull the 3 layers of cat-pee carpet (I’m not exaggerating here) out of the house. Put a new roof on. (Yep he did that DIY with the help of a few guys from church. What were we thinking?) Lay ceramic tile in the kitchen and laminate in the family room. And paint every wall in the house. He worked late into the night Sunday before he was leaving. But the one thing he couldn’t get done was moving the refrigerator back into the kitchen. It was hooked up in the sunroom. That left a copper hose sticking out of the wall which I gracefully snapped in half as I was walking by the first week he was gone.

Water started pouring out of the wall, puddling quickly on my kitchen floor. Talk about anxiety!! I’m sure it was a sight to see. I was frantically trying to figure out how to stop the flow of water. I was sure it was going to ruin the new laminate flooring in the adjacent room. Not knowing what else to do, I called my dad. He lived 7 hours away. He calmly told me that I needed to find the water main and call a plumber. This was not a problem I was going to be able to handle alone. And he couldn’t fix it from there. With his help, I found the water main and got the water turned off. I hung up the phone and flopped down on my kitchen floor and sobbed.

“It’s not enough that my husband had to leave me for 8 months to go to some war-torn desert. Now I have plumbing problems I can’t fix too!” As I sat there throwing a fine pity party (balloons, streamers, and all) I heard a little voice in my heart. Not audible. Just a sense.

“You asked me to show you how to be anxious for nothing. This is lesson number one. I have an answer.” Ok. Those are totally my words. But the message in my heart was loud and clear. I knew that God was showing me what this scripture means. I started praying. “Lord, help me figure out what to do. Thank you for this house. But, I can’t afford a plumber!” I’m pretty sure God would have made a way for me to pay a plumber. But this was one of my hang ups.

I quickly had the thought that a guy from church had just offered to be available if anyone needed handyman help. Much as I didn’t want to call him…self-sufficiency is another one of my issues…I called. He just happened to be home. And within an hour he and another guy had my problem fixed.

Wait. What?! Seriously? That’s how this "be anxious for nothing thing" works? That started a whole series of problems. For any of you military spouses out there, you know what I’m talking about. If it can go wrong, it does go wrong while your spouse is deployed.  I must have been passing the early exams though, because the tests got harder. But that’s for another post.

What I want to finish with here is that I had gained a revelation about God and His ways that I really wanted to pass on to my children. Let’s face it. Life is hard. There’s lots to be anxious about. If I could help them understand that God cares about EVERYTHING, and He already has a solution prepared, maybe their lives would be a little better.

So the mantra in our house when problems arose was often…that’s a "be-anxious-for-nothing moment" Let’s pray about it!

We prayed about lost keys, impossible homework, and broken hearts. Problems big and small. We still do. We saw God work out scary traveling-alone-to-Istanbul moments for my daughter as she went out on her study-abroad adventure, and moments where He met Cody in his Air Force journey. I’m not 100% sure they always remember to pray about everything first. But if they take a breath. And think. I know that mantra plays through their minds. I hope they hear my voice saying "Be anxious for nothing! Pray!"

Please check out these other writers who are putting themselves out there in this writing challenge!

Renee

Stephanie

Traci

Jessie

Yellow birds are my new favorite. 

My deck overlooks a marsh and I start most mornings in my little backyard paradise. Egrets and Blue Herons glide by in the distance.  I fill my bird feeder and sip my coffee. I watch the birds as they eat their breakfast. I love my bright red Cardinals. They make me smile. The bold Blue Jays crack me up. They look too big to eat at my feeder. And the cute little chickadees are precious. I just want to hold them in my hand. But the Yellow Finches…the yellow birds have stolen my heart. When they show up, my heart skips a beat.

Let me explain…A year ago I was walking through some really dark days. I’d sit on my deck and talk to Jesus. I cried and praised and watched my birds. Grasping at some evidence that my Creator was hearing my cries.

One morning my husband was sitting with me and I said, “I love the birds who come to our feeder, but I’d really love to see a pretty yellow one.” I’d never seen a yellow bird come to our yard. The words were barely out of my mouth when a yellow bird came and sat on the tree in front of us. I could hardly believe it. We just laughed out loud.

In that moment, it felt like Jesus was saying to me, “I hear you! I’m right here. I command even the birds of the air. You can trust me.” Jim and I laughed. I cried. God was so real to me in that moment.

But darkness fell again. Doubt crept in alongside its companion Fear. What if my needs were too big? Was God even listening? Can I really trust Him? The What Ifs plague my heart. I sank into my seat on my deck, steaming coffee in hand. I longed for another touch from the Father.

Was it just coincidence that yellow birds came to visit when I asked for them? I mean, does God really work like that? Without even uttering the words out loud, I dared to make my feeble request. “I’d love to see some yellow birds again.” The thought drifted through my mind. It had been a few weeks since the first encounter.

Looking up, my eyes followed a flash of yellow. There, sitting on a branch right in front of me was a beautiful bright yellow bird. He just looked at me.  He wasn’t eating. When I said this to Jim later, he said, “He didn’t come to eat.” Could it be that this really was a message from my Lord? Before doubt could overtake my thoughts, another yellow bird joined him. Maybe his wife. She was not as bright. But still so beautiful!

Deep in my heart I heard the voice of my Lord reminding me yet again that He never leaves me. He hears me. He is trustworthy. If He is able to direct His beautiful yellow birds to come visit me, surely He is able to answer the many prayers of my heart.  

I was recently asked to tell of a time when Jesus had shown me kindness. I remembered this moment. And many moments since then when the yellow birds come to visit. Every time I see them, I sense the Father’s presence. I’m reminded that He loves me so much.

And just so that I would know this message was truly from God, I started to see reminders in my devotions and books I was reading. Messages I listened to. It seemed everywhere I turned, God was bringing me to His words to not fear…I am worth more than the sparrows that He cares for.

“Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns--and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matt 6:26.

For a little while I felt like not one day went by that I did not come across a reference to God caring for the birds. It's pretty hard to ignore the constant message. It's starting to sink in. Most of the time I think that I really do trust Jesus. But in the darker moments I become aware of ways that I really don't. The yellow birds have been a sweet reminder to me to just believe. Like the birds do.

I have had moments since this time that I wanted to see yellow birds. They don’t always show up. I guess God doesn’t work on demand. But it seems that when I most need a reminder of my Father’s love, the birds find their way to my yard. They never fail to bring a smile to my face. They have become a symbol of God’s presence and deep love for me. 

So as I was thinking about a name for this blog I thought of all that God has been teaching me about trusting Him as I watch my birds. Surely I can believe Him if even the birds believe!