Lynda by the river: Weekend Words

From A Year's Journey with God... (I posted this two years ago, but came across it again this week in my readings. I like it now, just as much as I did then, so here it is again!)

The Old Teddy Bear

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them. You have given them great joy, LORD; you have made them happy." Isaiah 9:2-3a, GNB

Several of us had been helping to clear an old lady's attic when I found him. Squashed in a box full of rubbish, he looked so lonely and forlorn. All the love he had received eighty years before had worn away his fur and during his years of banishment the mice and moths had wrecked him. He leaked sawdust, his ears hung by threads and one glass eye was missing.

'Help yourself to any thing you want, my dears,' the old lady told us, and while the others picked plates and vases I chose the teddy. 'These antique bears can be quite valuable,' I told them defensively. 'Not that one!' they replied.

On many evenings that winter I worked away at him, darning, patching, restoring and finally knitting him a colorful new suit and hat. He spent so long in my lap that we grew far too close to each other ever to be parted again. When I look at him now I often remember the promise Jesus makes to mend us when life messes us up. (Isaiah 61:1). He definitely does just that, but He does seem to take a very long time to do it sometimes! Perhaps it is while He does the mending that we grow 'too close to Him ever to be parted again'?

When we have been loved once but then forgotten, like my bear, loneliness hurts! But Jesus promises to be the sort of friend who never walks away (Hebrews 13:5).

"He is our clothing; out of love for us He wraps us around, fastens the clasp, and enfolds us in His love, so that He will never leave us." - Julian of Norwich

From Letters from Ruth's Attic...

"With Thanksgiving"

"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." - Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV

Like an electric shock, the name of someone I love dearly flashed into my mind at 3 a.m. and jolted me awake. So I lay there praying for the one who was trying hard to run away from God. When it is dark and the imagination runs wild, there are fears that only a mother can understand.

Suddenly the Lord said to me, "Quit studying the problems and start studying the promises."

So I turned on the light and got out my Bible. The first passage that came to me was Philippians 4: 6-7, "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" (NKJV). Suddenly I realized the missing ingredient in my prayers had been "with thanksgiving." So I put down my Bible and spent time worshiping God for who he is and what He is. Even contemplating what little we do comprehend of God dissolves doubts, reinforces faith and restores joy. I began to thank God for giving me this loved one in the first place. I even thanked Him for the difficult spots that taught me so much.

Do you know what happened? It was as if suddenly someone turned on the lights in my mind and heart, and the little fears and worries, which like mice and cockroaches had been nibbling away in the darkness, suddenly scuttled for cover.

That was when I learned that worship and worry cannot live in the same heart; they are mutually exclusive.

Prayer for the Day: How reassuring that I can cast all my worries into Your steady hands, Lord. Forgive me for the times that I have forgotten to offer You praise and worship when I make my requests.