Author: Karen Foster

I'd like to say I've changed, but after decades of living, I still have the same four passions. My relationship with Jesus, spending time with family, attending live theater, and writing devotions & first-person stories about a loving, faithful God who reveals Himself in our every day circumstances.

Where’s the Hope?

“I’m not a very religious person,” said a young man who was interviewed on the street after the horrific shooting in Orlando, Florida. “But whatever religion you are, no matter what you believe—send it whatever—our way.”

He sighed as he tried to articulate his thoughts. “We all need it. We all need something. We all need that…hope. So just keep praying for us.”

30723-hands-candle-facebook.800w.tn

What is hope?

In the world’s vernacular, hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”

  • I hope our baseball team wins.
  • I hope it rains.
  • I hope you feel better soon.

However, it wasn’t hopeful, wishful thinking that triggered my brain when the man said, “Send it whatever our way.”

I yearned to tell him, “whatever it is” has a name and it’s not a “thing.”

It is Someone who loves you so much that He died in your place so you could experience a Living Hope that…

  • Exceeds expectations.
  • Satisfies desires.
  • Doesn’t disappoint.

I wanted to tell him about “Christ Jesus our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1).

And that “our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers” (1 Timothy 4:10).

Only, I wonder if the irreligious man would have listened to me because…the world doesn’t want us to tell them about the hope within us.

They want us to show them.

The employees of several Chick-fil-a restaurants in Orlando could have told the wounded victims and the people who mourned, “We’re praying for you.”

chick-fil-a-orlando-shooting

Instead, they showed compassion.

On a Sunday—when Chick-fil-a is normally closed—employees cooked and served free chicken sandwiches and sweet tea to hundreds of people who lined up to donate blood for the wounded.

blood-donor-1068x561

The folks who gave their blood also illustrated a compassionate heart. And reminds me…

God demonstrated His love towards us when He sent His only, begotten Son to shed His blood for me.

Before His crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples, “the world must be shown that I love the Father and do exactly as He commands.” (John 14:31 NEB)

People are watching.

When they look at Christians, do they see a talking head? Or a disciple of Christ who loves God and does what He commands:

  • Prays for our enemy.
  • Loves our neighbor.
  • Serves one another as unto Christ.

Sometimes, I’m tempted to feel hopeless when I’m going through a crisis. But Romans 15:13 says,

“May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook may be radiant with hope.”

Like the distressed man said, “We all need hope.”

So let’s pray and show the world the radiant hope within us even in this difficult time.

Taking a Vacation from God?

Baseball. Barbecues. Bathing Suits. Are you ready for a summer vacation? 

How about a vacation from God?

That sounds irreligious to say, but let’s be honest. It’s tempting to have that mindset during Summertime.

2

Bible gets dusty.
Prayer life shrinks.
Selfies by the pool take priority over acts of service.

After all, the Salvation Army only rings the bell during the Christmas season, so people less fortunate than me must be having fun too, right?

It’s not just individuals who hit pause on spiritual growth.

Churches—at least the ones in my area—are less active after Memorial Day. Other than a Family Camp or Vacation Bible School, the church calendar has a lot of white space.

Women’s Bible studies take a summer break. So do children’s Awana clubs. Small community groups within a church, that meet weekly in homes, are on hiatus.

Even church attendance and tithing is lower during summer. For even if a family has a staycation instead of going out of town, who wants to wait until Sunday afternoon to go on a hike or swim in the lake?

It’s not like God’s a killjoy. The Bible mentions festivities and God’s mandate for people to celebrate life.

Didn’t Jesus say, “the Sabbath was made for man.” We’re meant to rest at least one day out of the week. So why not set aside two weeks of vacation or three months of recreation?

Have I struck a nerve, yet? I hope you know I’m playing devil’s advocate.

I’m also NOT trying to guilt anyone or tell people how to spend their summer. I’m right there with other red-blooded Americans—weaving warm memories with my loved ones this summer.

However, conviction tugged my heart when I put on my sunscreen.

3

Summer break from school and normal routines are no excuse to ignore the Lord. I still need to seek God’s presence through His Word and prayer. I need to put on the armor of Christ as faithfully as my sunscreen.

I need to, but I also WANT to spend time with the Lord this summer because He doesn’t take a vacation from me.

He is ever present. And He longs to have a relationship with each of us that isn’t one-sided or confined to nine months of the year.

So why would I consider a sabbatical from the One who loves me with an everlasting love, and redeemed my soul?

The Bibles says, “Rejoice in the Lord, always!”

Always. Even in this… good ole Summertime.

 

Photos:www.JennyWredePhotography.com

 

How Do You Handle A New Normal?

My friend could walk and feed herself a year ago.

She could hug her husband, hold her grandchildren, use her mobile phone, drive a car. Pull the bedspread over her shoulders when she was cold at night.

Now Vicki’s life is a new kind of normal.

Physical therapy, medical appointments, caregivers, pain pills, temporarily living with her husband in their married daughter’s home, learning to walk by faith and not by sight.

Doctors predict improvement, but rehabilitation is a slow process. There are never guarantees in life, but there is gratitude. And Vicki is the first to praise God’s mercies and provision in this new normal.

My friend, Terrie, and I visited our mutual friend. A married couple also came. We gathered around the dining room table to eat pancakes, talk, laugh, listen, pray. Tried not to cry.

But it was no small matter—and I doubt it went unnoticed—that a stranger sat among us. The caregiver tried to be inconspicuous as she fed Vicki, waited for her to chew, and swallow. Wiped her mouth and held a glass of orange juice to her lips.

Before we left, Terrie offered to massage Vicki’s feet with lotion.

Vicki smiled. “That’d be great. Thank you.”

Terrie sat on the floor in front of the wheelchair. She removed Vicki’s tennis shoe and compression sock. We mentioned the blue polish on her toenails. My eyes watered (thus the blurry photo) as I watched my friend gently massage and caress Vicki’s feet and the calves of her weak legs.

I thought of the woman in the Bible—who’d been forgiven much—washing Jesus’ feet with her tears; drying them with her long hair.

Did my two friends view this foot massage as a humble, sacred moment?

I snapped a photo to remember how quickly life can change. A visual reminder that no act of kindness is too small if we want others to know that we care.

I wondered how Vicki felt, confined in a wheelchair, allowing people to feed her and massage her feet. Did she swallow her pride? Mentally beat her breast, ‘Why me, Lord?’ Or did she feel loved and cherished?

I can’t speak for Vicki—and wouldn’t share her thoughts if I knew—but I can say this.

From the time we met, this soft-spoken woman’s been a prayer warrior. I’ve seen her rely on the Lord Jesus to sustain her in previous trials, and her stalwart faith hasn’t changed.

Vicki told us that her grandson called her “a Bible-reading Grandma.” She can’t hold her Bible now, but God’s Word upholds her.

For years ago, Vicki chose to immerse herself in scripture. She learned to trust in a sovereign God long before this storm blew into her life. And by God’s grace, she will not be moved even in this.

Who Knows My Name?

“Can you hear me now?”

I’d walked away from the pine trees that stood like sentinels in my yard, and found an open space with a stronger cell phone signal.

Sometimes I forget the olden days when my phone conversations happened indoors. My freedom went no further than the length of my phone cord.

Now, my phone has a camera. I can take a Selfie and send it to the world. “Look everyone! Can you see me now?”

IMG_0604

Why all the Selfies? Are we in love with ourselves? Or want to be known?

When preteens were asked what they’d like to be when they grow up, the majority of them said they want to be famous.

Their response mirrors our celebrity culture and reality television shows. Children don’t care about being a policeman, teacher or leaving a legacy like Mother Theresa. They want name recognition. Ever heard of the Kardashians?

Social media has made being famous—or infamous—possible. Overnight, a name can go viral. Even fleeting fame makes us feel like we’re Somebody.

Does fame validate our self worth? I don’t need fame, but I get tired of feeling…

Invisible. Ignored. Forgettable.

Why does Self want to be noticed? Is it pride? Or a deep longing to be known and loved for who we are?

Do you know that God knows your name and loves you?

I recently talked to a women’s group about a poor pregnant Egyptian maid. (Genesis 16) The Lord found her wandering in the wilderness by a spring of water and called her by name, “Hagar.”

Can you imagine Adonai—the sovereign Lord—calling you by name?

Hagar was nobody. She also wasn’t perfect.

“When she saw that she’d conceived a child by Abram, she despised her mistress, Sarai.” Then Hagar suffered the consequences. Sarai treated her harshly so she ran away.

Thankfully, Hagar didn’t have to be perfect for God to step into her life and call her by name. He said, “I’ve heard your affliction.” Then He promised to multiply her descendants through her son Ishmael.

Hagar recognized who was speaking to her, and said, “Thou are a God who sees.”

El Roi—the Living God Who Sees—knows our mistakes, weaknesses, fears, struggles, thoughts and intentions.

God knows everything. And He still loves us and calls each of us by name.

Do you know the Name of Jesus which is above every name?

Are You Working in Vain?

 

JWP_5827-2

“Be still and know that I am God.” I love Psalm 46:10, but being still isn’t in my DNA. I like being productive.

My organized photo albums and the needle point pictures on my wall happened because I couldn’t be still when I watched television.

Yesterday was no exception.

My twenty-year-old son called me from college. I loved hearing his adventures, but my body squirmed after fifteen minutes. With phone in hand, I strolled to the gravel pathway behind our house.

During the winter, weeds had sprouted between the pea-sized pebbles. I held the phone near my left ear and yanked a tall blade of grass with my right hand. I tackled another. Then another.

“Sounds great,” I told my son. Little did he know Mama was working like a field hand while he talked about his summer plans.

I should have taken my Flonase because the pollen made me sneeze. Thankfully, my son couldn’t see me wipe my runny nose on my sleeve. I also should have worn garden gloves. Red dirt caked beneath my chipped fingernails. Bloody scratch marks marred my hand.

Two hours later, we said goodbye. By then, my husband had arrived home and found me weeding the garden. He frowned when he saw me. “Where’s your gloves?”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t the pathway look great?”

“You didn’t need to pull those weeds,” he said. “I sprayed weed killer this morning.”

I wiggled my scarred hand and envisioned the toxic chemicals seeping into the pores of my skin. If I’d been still while my son talked to me, I could have avoided all that unnecessary work.

However, there’s a spiritual lesson even in this.

When I was my son’s age, I was afraid I’d lose my eternal salvation. I worked hard to be the perfect Christian. I didn’t understand Ephesians 2:8. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Jesus died for our sins and He said, “It is finished.”

Once we’ve call upon the name of the Lord to be saved, NOTHING can snatch us from His loving, nail-scarred hands.

Just think of the effort I could have been spared if I’d been still and known God, instead of striving to earn what I already possessed.

Are you working in vain?

Photo: JennyWredePhotography