Sabbaday Falls

I have to discipline myself lately when it comes to writing. I sit at a computer all day at work so sitting at a computer at home is not my first choice. But recently I was asked to write what I shared with a friend lately. She gently reminded me that I needed to use a gift The Lord gave me. So here goes........
      I work as an assistant in a firm that does financial planning. Right now that is not the most promising job considering the upheaval of the economy and the manipulation of the market. The men I work for are believers that are constantly seeking God for wisdom and direction for their clients. As I sit nearby hearing their daily discussions, I feel that I need to find a quiet place to pray. As a widow who lives alone, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the ongoing words we hear about an economical crash. Some preach gloom and doom, others prosperity and ease. I choose to pray and hear what the Spirit is saying to me.
     One morning as I laid out all my cares to Jesus, His voice came, as it often does, gently but strong.
He said, "Have I taken care of you so far?" "Yes Lord", I replied. "Then you need to continue to trust Me." Just then I had a vision of Sabbaday Falls on the Kangamangas Highway. I went on vacation in North Conway with a friend and took her there this summer. It is very beautiful and an easy hike. When I was there this time I took the time to read every plaque. My friend likes to do that too so we were not in a hurry. The falls used to cascade straight down the mountain many years ago next to a large ledge near the top. Some catastrophic occurrence split the ledge causing half of it to fall and lodge itself some ways below. This caused a total turn of the falls to the right, making it go in another direction altogether. As I read this I took note of the wall of rock that blocked the cascade from continuing in its usual direction.
      So here I am sitting at my kitchen table seeing this scene and hearing this verse......
       The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. Proverbs 21:1
       He said that I have experienced what seemed like a catastrophic experience which caused my whole life to shift direction. I was devastated and grieved but like the falls the flow continued unhindered. He is the living water that flows in my innermost being. I always have felt His Presence, even in the darkest places.
          He began to tell me that cataclysmic circumstances were coming to this country and still for many in the body of Christ as individuals and groups. Some of us (and I'm including myself) get in a rut, we are used to what we are used to and as we get older we dig even deeper into our ruts of existence. We think we are led by the Spirit but we are "comfortably led" where we are...... well....comfortable. He wants us to move in a new direction, we feel the stirrings, yet we ignore them or we doubt them. In the end, by His eternal grace He lets things "fall". Circumstances out of our control change our existence, our path. We are in new territory, totally out of our "skin" and the only thing to do is look to Him and trust.
      The wonderful surprise in all of this? His river of life flowing out in newness. Though we find the surroundings changed, the rut is gone and fresh revival is started in our hearts. What we feared most is not fearful anymore because He is there with us. And as long as He is with us, no matter what the future holds, we bring His hope, His joy, and His love into it. This new path may be unknown to us, but He knows it and He will meet us there.
       The news we hear is dreadful at times and there is so much despair in the world. Unless the church is shaken out of its rutful existence we will miss this opportunity to let Him flow through us in places where we would never go on our own. Sabbaday Falls actually was aptly named Sabbath Day Falls at one time. Sabbath means rest, not fear, not torment but rest. Resting in His arms, trusting in Him even in the darkest of times. This will testify to a lost and dying world that our Savior lives.
        May we hear what the Spirit is saying and recognize what He is doing for He is faithful who called us.

July 16th

        I've had a full weekend with my family, kids and grand kids. Always grateful for the gift they are to me, and especially now that I'm widowed. That word is still strange to me, almost unbelievable at this stage of my life but it happens to everyone at some stage of life. As I approach July 16, I dread the memories of that night that keep trying to plague me. It was a  traumatic experience, one I shudder to remember. I've only shared it in some detail to close friends but refuse to tell it all. As I spent time weeping today and talking to The Lord about it, the pain was intense. I didn't even get to say goodbye or I Love you. Within minutes he was gone  after I feverishly made the 911 phone call  and then watched my son do CPR on his own father.
      As I sought The Lord tonight He spoke, as He always does, sending the comfort I need. I hear His voice, I do! I really do! It's amazing to me how His voice reaches to the depths of my soul, to the darkest places and brings light. He said, "I was there Celeste, I was right there." And He showed me how He held me up, gave me His word through my tears. The memory became vivid of when we reached the hospital and they pronounced John dead, I had fallen to the floor and wailed, through my tears later by his body these words came out......
       
            " The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. " (Psalm 23)
   
 I could hear my voice and thought, how can I do this now?!! Because I'm strong? No! I'm one of the weakest people I know. It was because Jesus was right there with me, and supernaturally He spoke to me through my own mouth. Later the next evening I collapsed in exhaustion on my oldest son's couch but would wake up every hour gasping as I realized John was gone. Yet each time I did, I would feel the Holy Spirit close to my face say "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24. Every time I woke up I heard this word, over and over. I wasn't quoting it to myself, I know I wasn't, I could barely function! My body and mind were useless, very weak, but within my spirit the Living Word of God gave me what I needed to go on.
     Today as I wept before Him,  He reminded me gently and so patiently, that He was there and THAT is why I survived. He continues to be there and I yearn to hear His voice because His Word IS life, real life.

"O you who dwell in the gardens, with companions listening for your voice; let me hear it."            Song of Solomon 8:13

   May you hear His voice ........and believe His Word to you.......

First Move

         I know you don't hear from me as much. It is because I am working on a bigger project and it will take much of my concentrated time and effort. I must stayed focused so it will come to fruition.
     But today I would like to mention something that came to me today as I was preparing for Sunday meeting. I depend greatly on the Lord's constant love for me. It is the one thing that keeps me going everyday. I had a devoted love in my husband and it fed me for many years. Now that he is with the Lord in heaven, I find myself alone without that constant support and love from one so close to me. People are not God, they cannot fill the void in us created when sin separates us from Him. Along the way we encounter some blessings but they are temporary. We still feel the vast emptiness that cries out for more. We all seek to be loved and accepted without the fear of rejection. I have found that love in my Lord, He has never disappointed me or given up on me. Even if I am rejected by man, I have One who will never leave me nor forsake me. I was His enemy, and He made the first move to bridge the gap that separated us. I did not seek Him, but He sought me, and He found me, bound in sin and chained in slavery. He came to me.....and I received Him........
      You & I have the choice now to be like Him. We can bridge the gap that separates us from others. We can make the first move to reach out to another. I am finding that the only way I can do this is to be satisfied in His constant love for me. To do for another without expectation or demand takes a security that is not of this world. I am loved, I am accepted, I choose to move out from that security and point others to it. If we will keep this ever before us we will not be shaken by rejection or disappointment. We won't find a cave and hide in it but we will rest in knowing that Jesus can't love us more than He does right now. There is nothing you will do that will make Him love you more......what you do is only the response to His abounding love for you! When I rise in the morning I seek Him so I can get that massive void filled with Him and from there face the world. No matter what you did in your past or what you will do for Him now, always remember....He made the first move.......