Saturday morning I sat on my front porch steps in my pajamas drinking a cup of coffee, Queen Esther, as usual, close to my side. I stared all around me with a measure of awe at these humble woods. Humble, not because I’m being modest. Humble, because they really are. We think they’re beautiful but they’re simple. God got us good and ready to appreciate this place by not letting a single tree flourish in our in-town yard of 27 years. We transplanted a young oak from Keith’s grandmother’s woods into our front yard early on and it had grown a whopping six inches by the time we moved. We finally had the greatest-ever river birch in our backyard, birdhouses and feeders hanging from its gorgeous branches, and Hurricane Ike kindly relieved us of it.
So these woods out here are not wasted on Keith and me. Still, we are well aware that the beauty that surrounds us is in the eye of two grateful beholders. The view in the picture you see below is tidy because it’s closest to our front door but the rest of these woods are pretty wild and viney and, when it rains, our low land is a good deal swampy. Mosquitos eat us alive if it’s wet and hot and, more often than we wish, it’s both. We can’t take a walk without snake boots since these gracious acres are prime habitat for breeding water moccasins, coral snakes, and copperheads. Each of our dogs have been snakebitten, one of them twice. That’s just life in the country. But you couldn’t budge us from these woods with a heavy bevy of bulldozers.
What moved me Saturday morning was that all I could see was green. Every shade possible. Lime green, olive green, kelly green, emerald green, foam green, sea green, myrtle green, you-name- it green. Foliage of countless kinds and textures. Oak leaves that look like the soles of feet. Sweet gum leaves that look like the palms of hands stretched wide-open. Spiny pines, bristly red cedars, and lacy foliage of cypress trees, dreamy and ethereal, growing straight out of the waters of our tiny natural pond.
Nothing dead in sight.
I put on my boots (still wearing my pajamas, otherwise, what’s the good of living out in the country?) and I went for a walk. If you’re inclined to like the color green, I’ll take you with me. But take your Claritin. You’re going to need it.
I wish you could hear the chorus of frogs, come evening, that meet for choir practice in this straw-thin creek bed.
The white trunk you see below in the middle of the frame is a Sycamore. Not exactly the same kind Zacchaeus, a wee little man, climbed with all his might for the Lord he wanted to see. All the same, when I walk past it, I don’t mind thinking of Jesus saying, Zacchaeus, you come down from that tree, for I’m going to your house today and Zacchaeus countering, Well, it’s a long, long way to my house – I fear I’ve wandered far from home – but why don’t we just stop off at the Moores? That girlfriend can stir up a fine pot of chicken and dumplings. And they do.
You did take your Claritin like I told you to, didn’t you? Because one of us is really allergic to this right here but, still, there’s no saying it’s not pretty.
And these. Well, these make Texas Texas. We just had a few bluebonnets the first year we moved in but every Spring God adds a a handful more because He knows good and well we’re going to brag on Him like nobody’s business. And He loves that.
What burned in my lungs on Saturday was that, everywhere a soul could see, there was nothing but life.
Somebody might shrug and wonder what’s new about that. It’s Spring. That’s what Spring brings. But that’s not all of our story out here. Three years ago, Texas suffered the worst drought of its history. The ravages of it did not peak until a year or so later when century oaks and towering pines all over our beautiful State begged our forgiveness but they just couldn’t recover. I asked Keith this morning how many trees he estimates we lost in these few acres alone. He said the smaller trees were innumerable but the painful losses were the fine, stately trees, some of them absolutely enormous. We said a sad goodbye to somewhere around 100 of those.
We were sick at heart. We’d walk round and round them, studying them carefully, trying to decide if they’d died or gone temporarily dormant in an effort to survive. When all was said and done, we’d lost many of our very favorite ones. After both Old Moses and Isaiah gave up the ghost, Keith swore and declared (and swore again as he has a mind to do) that he’d never again name another tree. It’s too painful when you have to see them die. I never imagined wanting to cry over a tree before. I may have laid hands on Old Moses and prayed. It didn’t work but he didn’t mind. We stared at their deadness and mourned for awhile then Keith began the slow grueling process of cutting them down.
It’s taken all this time.
I thought that was all there was to it but I was wrong. Next came the process of piling them up, waiting for really wet weather, and starting to burn heaps and piles of deadness. Day after damp day, Keith and a few helpers watched over a dozen bonfires.
But, Saturday, I sat on my front porch and beheld the breathtaking sight, forgive the redundancy, of nothing but life. Because, here’s the thing:
We’d finally given up what was dead and not coming back.
I wish I were not just talking about trees. We Moores and Jones have had some hard things to let go of over the last several years. Droughts, dying, death, grief. Of course, embedded here in this soil where thorns and thistles prosper, we earthlings will always have those things nearby to remind us that this place in no permanent home. We long for a better country.
I could not help but think about the contrast of all that is happening in these woods in the wake of our recent Resurrection Sunday celebration. I love Easter so much. If I believe in anything at all, I believe in God’s shameless felicity in raising to life what is dead. We Moores and Jones have experienced His resurrection power in ways no blog post could adequately boast. But I thought of a second theological principle as I stared all around me, not a dead branch in sight. I thought how sometimes we have to accept what has died or refused to come to life or produce a whit of fruit…
…and we have to let it go.
Instead of staring at it for months on end as a monument to our loss, we sometimes need to cut it down, pile it up, move it out or let it burn.
While we cry.
Because often God chooses to resurrect something that has died.
But other times He wants us to call it what it is – dead – and let it go, knowing that He is good. He cannot fail to be good.
That’s what Jesus said He does with what, over the proof of time, does not remain. It is “thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up.” (John 15:6 The NET) He “takes away every branch that does not bear fruit” and He “prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit.” (John 15:2)
He’s all about the fruit.
What doesn’t bear fruit, what fails to resurrect Spring after disappointing Spring, finally needs to go. That doesn’t mean you forget. Some things are too big to forget. Take Old Moses, for instance. He blessed us with a lot of shade. And spectacular beauty. And he’s so big, we’re not even sure how to move out what’s left of him. But we’ve quit begging him to come back to life and we’ve pushed him back where he’s not so easy to see. Trying to resuscitate what’s not coming back to life just leaves you out of breath.
But this is the miracle of the whole thing. The drought stole life from these woods that bore roots in this ground for a hundred years. It was a terrible shame. But the sun rays and showers blocked so long by their enormous branches found their way to the fertile ground and the space that was bare gave way to new life.
God will not leave us comfortless. He will not leave us alone. He will not leave us fruitless. He will either resurrect the dead or grow something brand new.
I say this to you with a tender heart and deep compassion and empathy. If it is gone, let it go. If it is possible to move the deadness from your sight where it has become a monument to your sadness, pile it up and carry it off.
And know with all your heart and all your faith that something new is coming. Hope preferred for your hope deferred. Give it space. Sunshine. Water. Inspect it with great expectation. And you will surely – as surely as God is faithful and Jesus is the fleshing out of life itself – live to see new trees sprout out of that soil. Something you couldn’t have expected. Something Old Moses could never have given you.
We’re here too brief a time on this finicky soil to spend days on end grieving what could have been. We’ll talk to Jesus about that when we get Home. We’ll have forever then. For now…
Let it go.
So something new can grow.
Water it with your tears if you must but release your fears that nothing but nothingness is ahead for you. Is God your God? As sure as He is, new life is coming.
All the deadness did not manage to kill you. You are stronger than you thought. Stretch out your arms like mighty branches even if, for now, they’re as thin as sticks. It is to your Father’s glory that you bear much fruit.
The lyrics of an old Ralph Carmichael song came to my heart as I read this blog. “Lord, to my heart bring back the springtime; Take away the cold and dark of sin; O renew me now, sweet Holy Spirit; May I warm and tender be again.”
Having just gone through and still experiencing the ripple effects of a drought spiritually & emotionally in a very close relationship, my heart has be sickened … “hope deferred”. I have kept trying to see if it would revive, but to no avail.
At the same time I sense that the Lord is doing something new. And I think it lines up with what you said, Beth. “Letting go of whats not coming back”….”hope preferred”. In Isaiah 43:18-19 God addresses Israel, “Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert”.
With that, I will let go and turn to face the Son. I want to be “aware of it” and trust His sovereign behind-the-scenes workings. Grateful for you!
Wow, what a powerful message, thank you for such a fresh but perfect perspective!
Nice post. We in California long for the rich fullness of green one day again too. To God be the Glory!
Thank you so much Beth for sharing this story……I needed it to help me let go of some things…..call them for what they are…DEAD….in this life we have to let go of so many things that we love ….. watering it with my tears …… trusting that God will do something new. Give me new life dear Lord, I pray. Bless you my friend, you are an inspiration.
Thank you! This led to prayer about what “dead” things I need to let go of in my life. Very valuable.
I, too, prayed over a tree. A baby Weeping Willow that I planted with love. I had hoped it would grow forever. I was in denial for a long time that it was indeed dead. When I finally faced it, I believed God could bring it back to life. I post this to tell you that I truly understand how one could grieve something like a tree. Even after pulling it out of the ground I laid it next to the house. A monument to my sadness and all that wasn’t.
Thank you for your post and the beautiful pictures.
Oh Beth.
Oh. Beth.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for this article as I shed tears over our estranged 18-year-old son Isaiah,who was raised in a strong Christian home his dad is a pastor our son fell into drug use and all that goes along with that as a mother I cry every day but through prayer good friends and scripture I’m learning to let go and trust God’s goodness and the Prodigal Son story,thank you for this article it’s helping the healing process
My heart breaks for you as I read your comment ..I am a p.k. myself so I understand the pressures of living in a fishbowl type of environment ( preachers family) where your every move is critiqued and evaluated. I believe this is what happened to your son and since Satan wants to destroy families and their Christian witness , he went after your son using drugs as his weapon of choice. I am positive your son just wanted acceptance from his peers and was tired of being watched by everyone he met just because he was a p.k.
As preachers families or p.k’s, we really had no one to talk to about our feelings or struggles and in my experience at least, a lot of my church peers wouldn’t really include me in their circle of “friends”. We (p.k.s and all kids and people for that matter) all want acceptance so I became ” friends” with the ” bad kids” in junior high since the “good kids” would have nothing to do with me. God protected me because although my ” friends” did all sorts of things I knew were wrong, I hung around them anyways because (we could go off the school campus to eat in junior high and that’s when they did these things ) I desparately wanted “friends”. I am sure this is what happened with your son too and that’s why he strayed off the narrow path because he just wanted “friends” too.
Satan attacks us using whatever scheme he thinks will work on us , as He knows he can’t take our souls once we are saved so He tries to take our witness. When a piece of pottery is broken and glued back together again, it won’t be exactly like it once was. However, it can still hold water or other things if properly glued back together. As you know, God can take those broken pieces of Isaiah’s life and put them back together and bring him back to your family , (just as the prodigal son in the Bible returned to his father). Isaiah won’t be exactly like he was before he was ” broken” by the worlds influences but he will make a mighty witness for the Lord after God takes all those “broken pieces” and puts them back together again.
Sorry for being so long winded but your comment really tugged at my heart strings. Since I am a p.k. myself, I think I understnd why Isaiah was led astray in the first place as he just wanted to be accepted by his peers and have friends. I also want to let you know I am praying for you and your whole family and for your son Isaiah’s deliverance from Satans hold and influence in his life.
Tears flowing as I read this….why am I crying over dead trees? This has touched a depth of my heart I know God is speaking to me…Let it go, Dixie!
Beth, Thank you so much for the encouragement. It was much needed. Jesus has perfect timing. Thanks for listening when He prompts you. I am going through a season of heavy loss right now. Your sweet words and willingness to share have spoken to my heart right where it’s a little bruised. I will love you forever sister. Love Lynda
Thank you very much. Good Word.
Beth you words resonate like water going over a waterfall. The life we treasure so much here on earth passes so quickly. the life that God puts in us should be like the roots of those trees, strong, supportive, and well fed. but like the drought when we don’t thirst after God’s word we tend to wither and sometimes before we die we receive a refreshing shower that revives our soul. Our God is so awesome even when the snakes are around us he protects. God bless you and may you enjoy the solitude of your homestead of beauty. Ceffie
Romans 12v6 niv
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to us. If a mans gift I’d prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith..
Profound. Timely. Thank You Beth.
I was asking God to speak to me and show me what He wants for me. He said that He wants me to bear fruit and in order to do that He has to cut off the dead branches and get rid of those sinful things in my life to be able to bear something new and more beautiful and more full than I ever was before. It can be painful letting go of the dead things inside you, but I want to be free from my past and my old ways and live my life bearing fruit for my Father’s glory. Thank you for sharing Beth. I have been planting new flowers and enjoying the new buds on the trees. God’s words are like the rain and snow that don’t return to Heaven without making in bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater. So are His words that come from His mouth. They will not return empty but accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it. That’s from Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV and also one of my SSMT verses. God bless you and your calling.
Seems like, right now…God is repeating this message in my life. The trees are powerful images in my life. Their unfaiing living worship shows me God’s power and love. The thing I hold onto needs to be let go…burned up…then replaced. God give my your power through the Holy Spirit to see it and let it go forever.
This is my second post on your wonderful reflection. I catch myself grieving over what should have been and wanting to go back to a grande time or circumstance or place and get a “redo” and this time hold on to it and do it right- not possible….. Thank you thank you for challenging me to consider the importance of Letting go of what’s not coming back, no matter how grande or good it could have been or was in part… there is no new growth unless that grande Moses is taken down after it has completed it’s time – why can’t I celebrate the new sprigs of growth rather and eagerly watch what God has in store rather than needing to revisit what was and should have been … Love to you and yours
Rhonda McKamie – Oklahoma City
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17 NIV
Beth, I continue to praise God for your obedience to “keep on keeping on!” Thank you for this post. So spoke to my heart.I will read it to my 84 year old aunt that is always encouraged by your teaching. God Bless You, dear friend!
I’ve never planted trees — I don’t have a green thumb — but several years ago, my neighbors cut down their locust tree. It grew between our houses, providing shade and beauty to both families. They explained that the tree was dying and they were afraid it would fall on their house during a bad thunderstorm. Sure enough; even though the tree looked fine on the outside, its core was rotten.
I think letting go of what’s not coming back is like that tree. We may not see the damage caused by holding on but it’s there. I’ve had to let go of friendships I thought would last a lifetime — a job I thought would last until retirement — a mother who died without ever telling me why she never wanted me — apologies that will never be offered by those who have hurt me — and, 30 years ago, a husband who, when I said I wanted another child, told me he wanted a divorce. I wouldn’t have made it on my own. God has always been there, even when I felt He wasn’t listening or didn’t care. I’m still a work in progress — to quote a hymn I don’t even like, I know who holds the future!
As I sit here reading your words so many thoughts come to mind echoed by “…what’s not coming back”. We live at 8000 feet overlooking the Denver skyline in the midst of the beautiful forest…next to the Rocky Mountain National Forest. My husband brought me the first wildflower of the Spring season the other day. It was a tiny white flower that grows very close to the ground. Not much root to it so it won’t last long but has a beauty of it’s own for the time it is alive. Our property has a lot of dead trees that we spend each summer mitigating. And like your story, we too have seen new growth once the dead trees have been cleared out…it’s a beautiful thing. However, you struck a deep place within me with just the title…Letting Go of What’s Not Coming Back. I too, like many women that have responded, realized that there is some dead things in my life that need to be let go of for they are not coming back…not to be revived…dead! I desire to make room for new growth…God growth! Thank you, Beth, for sharing what the Lord showed you in such a beautiful way.
Thank you, Beth. God’s timing and truth to me!
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
Sorry about that!
Wrong place!
Posting Verse 8!
My apologies!
LOVE this blog!!!!!! And the people in it!
Beautiful… Powerful… appreciated the message; it spoke to me in many ways. Thank you!
However, the crafter in me, the frugal “make something new out of something old” in me, see’s whats left of Old Moses as an awesome coffee table (with a sentimental story), end tables, plant stands… I see Old Moses living on, resurrected as a beautiful piece of furniture to put somewhere on your porch or in your house if that’s your style. 🙂
I love the woods, thank you for the encouragement and the peaceful walk to admire God’s artistry.
Beth Moore, you and your team are a blessing.
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid;
For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He has become
my salvation.
Isaiah 12:2
Susan
Tyler,TX
April 15, 2015,9:53 p.m.
“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
Proverbs 16:24 (NIV)
Beautiful ..thank you for reminding me of the beauty all around us ( I too have terrible allergies so Springtime kills me when everything is blooming). Love the pictures of God’s creation you shared with us from your property. Just as a seed must die in the ground to take root and grow, I see that there are things that must “die” in me for Christ to truly grow inside of my life too. I look back on my life and ,of course, there are regrets but our Heavenly Father has always been there and will always be there for me and for all of us. All I have to do is look around and observe the things He has created for our enjoyment to realize God is still creating and He still is not done with me yet..praise God for His love despite my failings!
I love me some trees, so I am very sorry for your loss of so many. As it so happens, I just yesterday studied the lesson in The Patriarchs where you mentioned Abraham and his trees. Then yesterday evening I found myself taking a short cut through a neighborhood I don’t frequent, and I noticed all the beautiful trees that lined the streets. Then this morning I read your post. I love it when God gives me reason to ponder one of my favorite passages…. “and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3 NIV
Blessings, Kay
Thank you for this. I’ve been hearing a similar message from the Lord in a matter I have been seeking his will about. Your post was just the picture form of what I was hearing. There is great hope springing from these biblical concepts.
That was absolutely beautiful; the story, the pictures, the analogy and the message of hope and life! Love it!! Even though I’m not as much of a tree-lover as my husband (he’d plant the whole yard full of trees if I gave him the okay) I was struck with awe and wonder when I read your story, picturing that I was there surrounded by all that life. And after death there was resurrection of new life. Love how that applies to us humans, after all death could not keep Him in the grave!!
Thank you so very much.
I love you, your love for God and your
love for me.
Debbie DeLeo in Seattle… Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” NASB
I can’t find where to post these memory scriptures… I tried on facebook but it never keeps my posts… if there is a link that you can give me, I will use that next time… thanks
Hi Debbie, I’m so sorry you’ve been having trouble posting your verses. There is not one link to direct you to, other than the Blog home page each 1st and 15th of the month. blog.lproof.org You will see a new post for the next verse on each of those dates. One thing that could make it easier for you is the link on the right hand side of our LPM Blog home page called “Scripture Memory Team 2015”. All SSMT related posts are grouped there. Please feel free to contact us at the Ministry if you need further help! Toll Free 1-888-700-1999
Thanks so much for the help… I finally found the right connection using the blog.lproof.org . That was the only one I found with a little prompt on the top right side of the latest blog poster’s pic, saying “comments”, and when I clicked that, the place for new comments opened as well. I’m not very tech savy 😉 however, I’m loving memorizing the scripture verses & God is using them well in my life, day by day. Blessings to you all… debbie
I greatly enjoyed your and Keith’s photos of spring. What actually got me to stop and read your post was the mention of Queen Ester, the Bible study we are doing at my church. I had hoped (and still do) to read your thoughts on her study. At varying times in our lives we take different meanings from our reading. This time the meaning I found from Ester is just how God saw not just the events of our lives and planned for those but how clearly he saw all Satan’s plans and moves, so clearly illustrated in Ester, and planned for everything Satan could muster against his people. Seeing this makes it easier not to fear in this world and know God is in control and that while his plans for me are far less that worthy of writing about that those plans do include me.
Thanks for listening, Fair Winds and Following Seas
Fred
Beth,
I loved this post, and it made me think of every time that I look out over the mountains across from my home in Colorado Springs, and I see the burn area from the Waldo Canyon Fire a couple of years ago. As tragic as it was, and the losses that we all suffered in that fire are beginning to pale in comparison to the beauty that is beginning to appear up there. Mountains that never held the snow much before because they were covered with dense pine trees are not glorious when we get a spiny snowstorm, and they are covered in beautiful white. And in anticipation of summer, I can’t wait to see the new bright free growth that we saw even a bit of last summer, in places where the foothills only looked dark and quiet, not they are looking bright and full of new life. Our God is amazing and it just thrills me every time I see him bring beauty from ashes and life from death!
Such a beautiful topic and lifelong challenge for those of us (me) that like to hang on to what’s familiar. Couple of resources to share on this topic.
1. Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud. Great for business and life.
2. Letting go Christian Video http://www.joyreel.com/?p=369
Blessings in the journey!
Lynchburg, VA –God is always faithful!! As I read I was thankful to have confirmation of what God spoke to me last Sunday, “take a deep breath and let go of the things you tolerate and try to accommodate that is less than my best for you. I created you to thrive not compensate!” I let it ALL go and trust YOU! I love you Jesus!!
Ruth. Bartlett, TN The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup :thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea,I have a godly heritage. Psalm 16:5-6. KJV. I forgot to post vs 5 for April 1 so posting both now.
I can’t begin to describe how The Lord spoke to me through Beth’s words in this blog post. Earlier this week I was a casualty of a major headcount reduction at a Fortune 500 company where I have worked as a consultant for the past five years. I was crushed to learn that my role needed to be terminated as part of a cost-cutting measure. But the irony is that while this job fulfilled my financial need, it couldn’t have been a more dead-end role where my skills and talents began to atrophy over time. No matter what I did to try to make things better, nothing changed; week after week, month after month, and year after year. This was the first time I’d ever been part of staff reductions, and it was crushing. Literally — two minutes before I read Beth’s blog, I thought to myself, “WHAT am I going to DO in two weeks when I have no where to GO?!” And then God used Beth to speak straight into my situation. What’s even more fitting (just in case I didn’t catch all the parallels) is that the building where I work(ed) is the tallest building in our city. I think I’ll name it Moses, too! God knew I wouldn’t leave that place even though I wasn’t bearing fruit there. So He did some pruning. I am humbled and thankful that God chose to speak to me through Beth’s beautiful blog post. I clung to every word as I was reading this tonight, knowing it came straight from God to me.
ahhhhhhhhhhhh …. healing words. I live right next door to Mt. st. Helens. It’s magnanimous “comeback” from it’s own death sentence in 1980 has baffled scientist and inspired even non believers. Truly, new life thrives and will Now, remind me that yes, sometimes you gotta just let the thing go! Dead is dead. My current life circumstances make that a profound and timely truth. Thank you again Miss Beth, here’s to new life! All my dead stuff indeed has not killed me yet, so tomorrow I’ll wake up and look for the new life. Good. Very good.
Thank you so much for this message. I had never read this blog before but I know the Lord lead me here today. I needed this message so much as I feel a bit in limbo after retiring. I want to be used mightily for God and am waiting on His direction after some shakey steps forward.
Welcome to the LPM Blog, Emily!
…just wanted to leave a heartfelt ‘thank you’, Beth! 🙂
This is one of the most comforting and inspiring writings I have ever read. Thank you for taking the time to remind me/us that there is always hope when we trust God’s plan.
This was such a beautiful, nurturing message, Beth. I read it, reflecting on my own life of almost 64 years next month. i certainly would say, “Amen!” to everything you said. I was left with the feeling that everything is ” all right”.
Siestas everywhere are going through some difficult times. I pray for you that you will pass through this season soon and experience new life.
I just read this post.
A few minutes later, I began my Bible study for the evening.
Just ran across Job 14:7 and wow- the connection between this post and that verse! You should check it out!
Thank you Beth for the beautiful video! I live in Oregon, and that is one of the best beauties in the NW, trees, leaves, green, peace, and God for hiking with family and pets!
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3
NIV
Dear Beth,
Thank you for the above,you are always on target. I am doing your “Believing God” Bible study at Westtown Church in Orange County, NY and it is awesome! So many good reminders of God’s love, and remembering that no matter what is going on around us or in us(healthwise). Remember the good news and leave the bad/dead, feel His presence and rejoice, Glory!
Thank you for being you in Him,
Florence
Dear Beth,
With so much heartfelt reflection, I clearly recognize this as “Part 2” of your post “In the Wake of Drought: What Remains” from March 28, 2012. That post was a catalyst for me, a message right from the Lord, through your words.
Time has gone by since then, and with joy and praise, our personal “drought” that I spoke of in my comment that day is coming to an end up here on the Canadian prairie. It’s been years in the making. God deserves all the praise for what He is doing in our lives. And I wanted to update you to share in it with us! We are seeing the signs of new life, the hint of green. We’ve pruned and nurtured, watched and waited to see what was alive and have also buried and burned some the things that the Lord allowed to die. And we are better for it, as hard as it was. Your reply to my comment on that post has been an encouragement to me and the Lord has used it as a reminder for me over the last 3 years that His desire is for my life to bear fruit in ALL circumstances, even the hard and painful times, maybe especially then. We will never forget the past, but we look forward with hope and joy to see the full on display of His Splendor and Grace on our lives.
I look forward to “Part 3” if the Lord so chooses to inspire you!
God bless you Beth.
It is no accident that I am reading this post today. I don’t know why I missed this one at the time it was posted, but God surely does. He has a way of picking just the right time for us to hear what we need to hear from Him. Thank you Lord, for giving Beth the anointing and gift to tell me what I need to hear in just the way and at just the right time I need it!!! Love you Lord.