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.

Rattled by the Weeds

Once a patch of wild earth, my yard is now a sanctuary to butterflies and birds. An emerald oasis bordered by a palette of perennial colors. Yellow Columbine, purple Iris, pink Azaleas, and pale blue Forget-me-not appear like magic.

Just one problem.

In wanting the perfect garden, my eyes are drawn like magnets towards the weeds. And I wonder. Is that my outlook on life?

Is everything that is right with the world upstaged by evil? Do I fixate on the negative when I look at my family, or myself? Does a root of bitterness within my heart overshadow the good in others?

Again I’m confronted. Where’s my focus? Why the weeds, instead of the Master Gardener?

Beneath a canopy of oak trees, I kneel in the  flowerbed. Listen and wait for the Master Gardener to cultivate my heart.

 Prune plants, pull up weeds, scatter seeds. Fertilize and water. Remember…..

Last year, my Crimson Pygmy Barberry Bush appeared dead. But once I transplanted it to a sunnier location, it thrived. My Crepe Myrtle tree has grown very little over the years. But it still produces cherry crinkled blossoms in the summer.

I’ve marveled at the hardy Forget-me-not that survived in the cement cracks. And watched dismayed as my diseased ivy wasted away one winter only to grow back more prolific in the spring.

Sounds like me.

Transferred by Jesus from darkness to light. Sin that tries to entangle my heart like a weed is purged, so I can enjoy abundant life. My soul fed with the Living Water. Spiritual growth spurts, and seasons of blight.                                   

Clinging to  the Vine, I become more like Him, revealing the fruits of the Spirit.

Knowing in the fullness of time, in the right season,

Jesus will come for the harvest.

“Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” (Rev. 14:15)

Vertical Gaze

My teenage son’s calf and thigh muscles bulged under the strain of running the one-mile race. Beads of sweat lined his tan brow. His eyes were fixed ahead, oblivious to the people in the stadium. With lips partially open, he inhaled deeply and led the other runners during the first two laps.

Then a swift runner passed my son, and left him lagging behind. My pulse quickened as I watched from the bleachers. I shouted as he ran by, “Keep going. Finish strong!”

On the final stretch of the fourth lap, my son’s face grimaced as a spurt of energy catapulted him pass the runner ahead of him, and over the finish line. Throwing his head back, he gasped for breath and let his body relax. Victory was attained, but not without endurance.

I am not a runner like my son, but I’ve been on this marathon journey called life for fifty plus years. Some days I’m in my running groove, able to persevere and finish strong.

Other days, it seems I’m on a treadmill. I’m worn out, going nowhere, and….

  •  Sick of the rat race: the pressures to make a buck, perform, and compete with the Jones.
  •      Tired of the mundane business of daily life: what do you want for dinner?
  •      Overwhelmed by the tyranny of the urgent.

BUT when I adjust my eyesight. When I shift my gaze from horizontal to vertical, I’m able to endure the race because ….

Horizontal eyes are dilated from fear and anxiety over what if’s, and situations outside of my control.

       Vertical eyes trust in a sovereign God who will lead me and not forsake me.

Horizontal eyes are envious of other people’s success, and concerned with their approval.

       Vertical eyes choose to live before God and not man.

Horizontal eyes allow the world to set the benchmark, and assess my performance and worth.

       Vertical eyes “run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith….” (Heb.12:1, 2)

 Which direction are you gazing? 

Creme in Your Coffee?

Last week, someone whose name  I won’t mention, surprised me by cooking dinner. I came home to the delicious smell and rich taste of steaming Potatoes Gratin. I paid my compliments to the chef by licking my plate, not knowing I’d want to hit him with a rolling pin the next day.

I’m not a violent person, but I’m not a morning person either. I need my coffee first thing, and I drink decaf. Go figure.

Saturday morning I made my usual French Pressed coffee: grind two scoops of whole coffee beans, pour two cups of boiling water over them, and steep for three minutes. Then I pour the coffee into my Drama Mama mug and add three tablespoons of Half and Half.

I repeat: add three tablespoons of Half and Half.

Like Sherlock Holmes in search of a dairy product, I looked behind every container in my refrigerator. I plowed my way through soggy, limp lettuce leaves in the vegetable bin.

My personality went from being like Smeagol to Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Instead of a ring, I wanted my precious Half and Half.

Desperate, I added 2% milk into my cup, took two sips of bland, lukewarm coffee, and dumped it down the sink. When the chef whose name I won’t mention woke up, I asked, “Did you use Half and Half in the Potatoes?”

“Yes. Did you need it for your coffee?”

“YES!” I hissed like Gollum.

“Sorry about that.”

I counted to ten and a half and half, and went away to have my quiet time with the Lord. Coffee or no coffee, it’s difficult to read God’s Living Word and not be convicted. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Gal. 5:22,23)

My fruit was lacking. But even in this, the Lord used my Half and Half to show how quickly I fall off my holy high horse when I don’t get what I want when I want it. Rather than cry over spilled milk, I confessed and…

Went to the store where I bought a gallon of Half and Half to share with the chef whose name I won’t mention. Only now, he’s afraid to touch my Half and Half. And I think it’s beginning to curdle.

Tug of War

Ordinarily I read my Bible and pray first thing each morning. But this was no ordinary day. A writing project had to be postmarked by 4 p.m. Mindful of the fleeting time, the taskmaster within me shouted, “Get to work!”

My shoulders sagged beneath responsibility’s weight. Surely God would understand if I worked first and had my quiet time at the end of the day.

Agenda-oriented, I turned on my laptop computer, but Martin Luther’s words pricked my heart. “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

Taskmaster and Obedient servant played tug of war in my head.

I turned on Christian praise music and knelt before my living room window. My yard was a spring palette of emerald green, yellow, lavender, and blue. Nothing in my creative bank could compare to God’s handiwork.

Joy filled my heart as I praised God for my blessings. Praised God for who He is. Opening the dog-eared pages of my Bible, Psalm 66:8 seemed to dance before my eyes. “Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard.” (NIV)

Smiling, I sang along with Chris Tomlin’s lyrics, “How can I keep from singing your praise. How can I ever say enough. How amazing is your love. How can I keep from shouting your name. I know I am loved by the King and it makes my heart want to sing.”

Hands raised, my heart grew as warm as the sunshine on my windowpane.

I didn’t spend three hours in prayer, but my time was well spent. When I went to my desk, calm nerves allowed my mind to stay on task.Technological glitches and  minor setbacks tried to sabotage me, but my 10×13 envelope was postmarked fifteen minutes before the deadline. That’s too close for comfort, Lord.

God didn’t allow me to second guess my priorities. A card waited in my mailbox. The front of it said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5,6)

I wept.

The card was signed by the women in my Bible study group, God love em.

But it was God’s perfect timing …. even in this.

Weathering the Storms

      Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”– John 16:33 NIV

A severe rainstorm approached our town like a threatening and uninvited houseguest. The media warned us to prepare, so my husband cleaned our rain gutters and stored our lawn furniture. I gathered flashlights and bottled water. At dawn, we awoke to wind gusting through the trees as a downpour hammered the ground. But because we had prepared, we were able to face the storm with less anxiety.

Life is full of times of preparation. We prepare for school exams and job promotions. We prepare for a baby to be born, for retirement, and yes, even for harsh weather. Should we not then prepare our minds and spirits for life’s inevitable personal storms?When we faithfully read the Bible and pray, we prepare spiritually for the storms of life.

This may sound simple, but such disciplines help us to know God’s character more deeply so that when trials occur, we won’t feel overwhelmed and question God’s goodness. Instead, because of our intimacy with God, we will know that God is ever-present in any storm. And we can know God’s peace through it all. –Karen Foster

via The Upper Room – Daily Devotional Guide.