FIRST RESPONDERS -- GABE -- and baby coming

Buried in important and serious activities.  Some good, some stressful... all God-connected.

At this present moment, I am at our local hospital where I have been a baby-delivery helper for the Bhutanese.  Baby number 5 is probably arriving later today.  Can't take any photos until later when it's official, obviously.  Last night we arrived about 9:30.  I couldn't sleep on the couch here; hurt my legs/back too much, so I went home at 4:30 this morning and hit THAT couch and rested [didn't sleep much] until 8:30 this morning and came back.  The baby will probably arrive late today or overnight.  To prepare for sleeping more effectively, I brought a sleeping bag and can stay on the floor, if necessary.

So, now I'll hit the important element from yesterday.

==============

Our First Responders were needed to go to a part of town we have rarely, if ever, been in the 4 years I've been involved.  When I arrived, I talked to neighborhood people and they were so horrified.  On Friday night/Saturday morning, on their street, 4 people were shot, 2 were stabbed, and one died soon.  As his family and friends arrived the story about him was a real heart-toucher/breaker.

Gabe was 18, had been a writer, a worker, had graduated through GED, and had been a football player at the high school that is 2 blocks from my house.  His sister was holding his picture when she came.  I was given permission by his family to take a photo.

What could we do?  We prayed, we touched, we held, we encouraged, we loved.

I had a prayer shawl in the car and we were blessed to lay it over his sister's shoulders [she was small, it was small] and pray over and for her, and it looked absolutely lovely on her.  I so would love to have a photo of that, but praying and touching her didn't allow my fingers to be pulling out my camera at the same time.

When we left, the family and friends moved closer to the house where the tragedy had occurred.  All we could do was leave them behind, knowing their hearts were buried in Gabe.  Our prayers were that they would know that our Father could bring truth to the light, hearts to Him, souls and spirits to healing.  Will we know soon?  Probably not.  When will we know?  When we are in heaven.  We get an answer when someone contacts a church, but that rarely occurs.  What must we do?  What our Father calls us to do.  Period.

The rest of it is laid on His Hands and His Hands, alone.

Nothing else counts.

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I reached home about 4:00 in the afternoon.  Thought I would have a quiet evening, do some writing and post reading.

Life changed rapidly.  My tiredness was filled with adrenaline... and now I'm "on the road again."  [One of my main godly mottoes.]

[And, dear friends, if this is not perfect, please just put up with me.  I'm one tired cookie today and didn't want to wait until tomorrow or Wednesday after some rest.  Wanted to share so you would have hearts for these dear ones who have faced such critical and stressful phases in life.  Thank you.]

 

AMOS 5:24

... LET JUSTICE RUN DOWN

LIKE WATERS

AND

RIGHTEOUSNESS AS A

MIGHTY AND EVERFLOWING

STREAM

HABAKKUK 3:19

One of my favorite verses, ever and ever.  Puts the Lord's encouragement and enthusiasm into my life and my heart, especially when "challenges" are entering my world.

==================================================

The Lord God is my strength, 

my personal bravery

and

my invincible army;

He makes my feet like hinds' feet,

and will make me to walk

[not to stand still in terror, but to walk]

and

make [spiritual] progress upon my high places

[of trouble, suffering or responsibility].

PASTOR HULTGREN

Something was dropped into my life in the Fall of 1957.  And, let me tell you, when it hit me, I was NOT happy about it.

I had rarely been at a church.  Ever, ever, ever.  Occasionally with a friend, but only a few times to different places.

As I've posted and said often, I was responsible for my younger sisters on Friday nights and Saturday days and nights. My only fairly restful day off was Sunday.  I could sleep later, I could sometimes go to a movie [10 to 25 cents in those days], go play with friends, ride my bike.  I LOVED my day off.

I don't remember the exact date, but my parents came home one Saturday evening and said that the next day I had to go to Emmanuel Lutheran Church.  It was only six blocks away.  I already knew a few of the kids that went to that church, because we attended the same nearby elementary and junior high schools. But, I knew nothing else about the church.

And my reaction?  I. was. furious.  How could I be forced to lose my one relaxing day of the week?  And now what would I do?  How would I do it?

The next Sunday morning, I went. No choice.  Immediately, I found out that I was expected to go to a Confirmation class on Saturday mornings, attend Sunday service, Sunday School class, Sunday evening Youth Group.  The confirmation class included its teachings, Bible reading [Genesis, Psalms, John and Revelation], and involvement with constant questions and discussions.  And memorization of so many Bible verses and catechism doctrines.  Lots and lots of homework. Entering this class, unlike the other kids, I HAD KNOWN NOTHING!!  I HAD TO LEARN EVERYTHING. 

Was I happy?  Not at first.  But, very quickly the pastor and the secretary took me to their hearts.  They knew, somehow, what I went through with my family.  [I'm often certain that many people from our general area knew more than I thought they did.  THAT was a blessing, often.]

Pastor Hultgren was very nice to me, cut me some slack, occasionally, BUT he did not let me get away with whining and acting like I couldn't get the assignments done.  He'd just give me an extra hour or so, maybe an extra week, but he didn't let me "con" him.

One small funny thing:  when I was in 3rd grade in Portland, Oregon, my teacher insisted on calling me "Joan", refusing to call me "Joanne."  I HATED the name "Joan", because of that.  Pastor Hultgren called me "Joanie".  It was such a sweet name, through him.  THAT healed my hate-heart attitude.


Secretary Shirley and her fiance, were the youth leaders.  Those evenings were a lot of fun.

I was involved from the beginning of 7th grade to the Spring of 9th grade when confirmation occurred.  I had learned MUCH in that stretch.  How amazing is it that the Lord had used my parents to force me to do something I would never have intended to do nor ever wanted to do?  And why?  Because the Lord used this opportunity to plant spiritual seed in my heart.  

A main seed planted was this pastor, a godly man placed in my life.  [I usually hated or was afraid of men at that phase of life.] He gave me instructions, he forced me to follow the rules, and he let me know what he expected of me.   BUT he showed care, appreciation, respect, and answered question after question after question connected to the Bible and the church.  He was not impatient.  [Can you imagine me reading Revelation and not having PILES of questions to ask?  I did, and he took that time.  What a blessing.]

Now, at home things didn't get better.  At school, I was a rotten kid some of the time, especially in 8th grade.  In my neighborhood, I was a tough cookie.  In the Girl Scouts, I wasn't liked.

BUT the Lord used those weekends, sometimes a struggling time, as an entrance to my heart.

That following summer after confirmation, my family moved from Tacoma to Klickitat, WA, and a whole new life began, in good and evil, but it DID begin.  [One of the biggest blessings:  my "forever friend" Susie was dropped into my life, and, 52 years later, we are still spiritually and "heartly" together.]

I've never forgotten him.  I discovered some years later that he left the Tacoma church shortly after I did.  I'm looking forward to seeing him in heaven.  GOD USED HIM.  Even though home life did not change and I fell into extreme sin, headed for a violent death in my late teens, the seed that was planted did not leave me.  And God broke through when I was 20, those few years later.  I'm a very grateful lady...

for both Pastor Hultgren and my Heavenly Father.

ISAIAH 48:18

[OUR LORD SAYS:]

OH, THAT YOU HAD HEARKENED TO

MY COMMANDMENTS!

THEN YOUR PEACE AND PROSPERITY

WOULD HAVE BEEN 

LIKE A F-L-O-W-I-N-G RIVER,

AND YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

 LIKE THE

DAVE'S SWEETNESS

We had been married only a short time, frustration and confusion hitting me often regarding whether I was doing the right thing or not, making right or wrong choices.

The main reason: after a number of years of being the main family worker, the list including jobs and cleaning the house and caring for the kids, my "then" husband was rarely doing anything helpful.  I was worn out and heavily overwhelmed.  Then, while "single momming" for a year, that was filled with even more stress and distress.  ONLY THE LORD pulled me through both of those sections of life, covering about 16 years. 

After marrying my dear man, life changed.  I was a stay-at-home mom and just taking care of the basic needs.  What a treat!  -- At least, for the first few months.

THEN my kids became angrier and angrier.  So typical as teens.  The reason was because I wasn't gone when they came home from Jr. Hi and High School.  I wouldn't let them watch certain programs, call certain people, do certain things.  They could bring friends home with them, but because some of these kids were foul-language-oriented, my entrance comment was "Leave the street mouth outside."  They would just roll their eyes... which annoyed me then and forever ... and usually the friends wouldn't come in.

The "You're a Bad Mom" spirit had been burying in me.

One day Dave had been at the house at noon for a lunch break.  When I entered the kitchen after he had gone, I saw a message on the refrigerator and that truly blessed my heart, immensely, immediately.

He drew it on a piece of old-fashioned typing paper.  Very basic.  But his pen, his drawings, his encouragement turned it into a gold-finished parchment sheet.  Touched my heart then, and has for all these nearly 27 years.

[I was asking the Lord last night what I should pop onto my blog, and He put this picture in my mind.  I've kept it in an album for all these years; it will never go away.  Ever, ever.]

ALONE WITH GOD

I wrote this poem/song 30-ish years ago here in Omaha. One Sunday morning before church the Lord simply laid it on me. -- I love it when He writes and I get to hold the pen! -- I hadn't thought of it for a long time, but with the stress of this past few days, shared in three serious posts, this song hit my heart again. 

The photos were: 1) taken by me as you see my foot draped over a cliff at the North Shore while I was resting in the Lord and rejoicing in His kindness to me, and  2) taken by someone else on my behalf as I was reading the Word and writing a poem and story describing why I was there.  The "there" time was connected to my depression and "run away" stretch to the North Shore in early October, 2001, when the 9/11 event had hit my heart so strongly I needed to seek the Lord's restoration of my soul.

The photos fit the song, precisely, so thought I'd toss them in.

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  Sometimes I feel the need
***to slip away and seek God’s face.
To hide myself from everyone —
***to flee life’s mad’ning pace.
To hear my Father speak to me
***To hear His voice of grace —
Sometimes I need to be alone with God.

Sometimes my heart is hungry
***for a glimpse of heaven’s peace.
The burdens seem so heavy —
***the cares of life increase.
But then I reach my hand to God
***and all my sorrows cease —
That’s why I need to be
***alone with God.

Sometimes the day’s so hurried
***and I do not seek my Lord.
I find myself at end of day
***not having read His Word —
To see what He has written me,
***To see His love out-poured —
Sometimes I fail to be alone with God.

Sometimes my Father sees that I’ve
***this need to be alone.
And He seeks me out at night
***when my heart and mind are calm.
And He whispers through my dreams —
***and reminds me I’m His own.
Sometimes I need to have a
*** touch from God.

In all of us we recognize
***this need to be alone.
To close the door unto the world —
***to stand before His throne.
To hear His words of wisdom
***to know that we’re His own.
Sometimes we need to be
***alone with God.

He wants each one of us
***to take the time — and come alone.
To meditate upon His Word —
***to pray before His throne —
To praise His blessed name,
***Or make our petitions known —

Oh, how we need to be alone with God.