Lola’s talk for FAL Ladies’
Christmas Brunch – 12/8/2012
I prefaced my talk by saying
I argued with God about what He wanted me to say – that I wanted the ‘fun’ talk
– but He specifically told me there was one person who needed to hear what He
wanted me to say today – and that I wrote what I would say, or I could talk
until tomorrow afternoon. I also
mentioned that as the eldest of the 4 speakers I was there to represent the
‘older’ generation. – Lola
When
tragedy enveloped me as a child, I didn’t know who Jesus was – and I didn’t
know His comfort. I was 7 ½ years
old when my mother committed suicide April 3rd 1953. It felt like my world had come to an end….but because of her
death, my dad went on a mission to ‘find us a mother’ and he remarried just
over 14 months later. My
stepmother got us into church.
My heart was absolutely open to hear about the God who loved me and the
Savior who died for me, and when I was 8 ½, I knelt at the altar in a little
white A/G church in Wilder, Idaho and asked Jesus to come into my heart.
Then
I grew up, disobeyed God, and married the wrong person. (Which means he married
the wrong person, too.) After a
miscarriage and a divorce I was so angry at God for letting me make such a horrible
mistake that I decided He didn’t even exist. During the time that I was away
from God I met and married Al.
When I was pregnant with our first child, I came terrifyingly close to
miscarrying. I’d already been
there and didn’t want to do that again – and in my desperation I prayed to the
God I had abandoned, “God, I don’t even know if You are real, but if You are,
and if You will save this baby, I will recommit my life to You.” He did and I did.
It
hasn’t always been easy – but I have been faithful. I’ve been through plenty of other tough stuff since then –
and, in fact, am going through one of the toughest right now – but now I know
that no matter what happens I have to place my trust completely in the
Lord. There is nowhere else
to turn.
God’s
Word is my greatest source of comfort – and Jesus' words are the most comforting
of all:
“Come
to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your
souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29)
He
tells us, “In this world you will have trouble, but I have overcome the world.”
And
He assures us, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
When
I cling to those promises, I find comfort and I find joy. True joy.
Joy
is a layered word.
There is a joy that elicits ebullient expressions of delight – pure
unbounded visible joy – but there is also a much deeper joy – one that is not defined
by emotion – but is an inner assurance that reflects the joy of the Lord in our
lives. That joy is an attitude –
and a choice. It is not dependent
on circumstances. In fact, true
joy is based on the reality of having the Lord in our lives. It is best stated in the phrase, “The
joy of the Lord is my strength.”
The
joy of having the Lord in my life is what gives me the strength to face
difficulty. He is my joy and my
source of joy!
There
is another way to look at that statement.
It states “the joy of the Lord”….
When I ask myself what the Lord’s joy is – the answer is us! Everyone who has received Him is His joy. In fact we are His
inheritance. At the end of the
age, we will be presented to Jesus as His gift, His inheritance. Everything He did, He did for us. He paid the price for us to have a
relationship with God, a relationship with Him.
It
is the kind of joy the songwriter experienced when he stood at the rail of the
ship and peered into the waters that had taken the lives of his 4 young
daughters and wrote the lyrics of IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.
The
first announcement of Jesus’ birth was to shepherds in a field who were taking
care of the sheep. Luke tells us
that an angel of the Lord appeared to them – told them not to be afraid (Don’t you just love it how angels
always say, “Don’t be afraid?”) – then proclaimed, “Behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for
all the people. Today, in the City
of David, a Savior has been born to you.
He is the Messiah, the Lord.”
That
Good News of great joy is the best good news ever given – and it is good news
of great joy to us as well….
There
is enormous joy that is yet to come! Jesus promised before He left the earth, “I go to
prepare a place for you, and if I go I will surely come again and take you to
myself. His coming could be very,
very soon! We are living in
uncertain times. Every prophecy
that had to be fulfilled for the Lord to return, has been – and now we are just
waiting for His timing.
One
thing I have learned in life is that God
deserves our praise and worship no matter what our circumstances…. I cannot promise you a path of ease. In fact, quite the opposite. I have heard many people say that
the Lord will never give you more than you can handle. The truth is, not everything that
happens to us is from the Lord.
Sometimes it is because of our own bad choices – or someone else’s poor
choice. (Sometimes life is a four-letter word.*) I have had more than I could handle
on multiple occasions, but I have never had more than He can handle. He walks with us through
everything!
Whatever
life brings our way, it will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
He
is my comfort. He is my joy!
12/9/postscript
I wish I had clearly stated
that while He doesn’t take away the memory, He does take away the pain.
My current pain is not
because of what happened back then – it is because of now….but I definitely am
aware of His HOPE and comfort even in the valley.
*This statement was not in
what I originally wrote – it was
an unscripted comment….which would most likely have been better left unsaid....
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