To Whom Shall We Go?

Within minutes after we found Joshua, I was propelled to make several choices. I did two things first: I called the ambulance and then Joshua's siblings and close family.

The third and most important choice I made that morning was spiritual. Believe it or not, my terror and sorrow was so great that I sensed a screaming call to choose between Satan and Lord God.

My response to this choice came immediate and without doubt. In John 6:68, Peter says it much better than me, ". . . Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life."

Indeed.

I hope this helps to know that even in time of immense trouble, we can and should rely upon our Lord God. Many blessings will follow, including the spiritual safety we enjoy within God's presence.

Until next time . . . choose him daily.

Who Needs Jesus When We Have TV?

After Joshua died, my husband and I didn't turn on the TV for two weeks.

I remember the first time we did sit down to watch a program. I told my husband I couldn't watch stuff that had nothing to do with my life without Joshua. He turned it off.

In time we thought we needed to rest our minds because of our loss, and we watched TV. Feeling odd about it, I viewed selected programs with my husband. Still, that didn't seem right. I prayed about my struggle, and I stopped watching Television altogether.

I studied my Bible with my concordance when I would have normally watched TV. I found more time for Jesus, and the oppression TV had on me disappeared. I needed more of God, and TV had served to distract. For me, Television had been an idol. I didn't want anything to replace even a moment of Jesus in my life, especially when I needed His strength to rise out of bed each morning.

We watched movies on our screen, though, and we got a few classics like Lucille Ball and Shirley Temple. They made me laugh and smile. It was more wholesome entertainment, not like TV sitcoms and the commercials.

When my husband and I moved to Oregon, we banned the TV. The quiet our home now experiences is amazing. Sometimes in the winter, we view wholesome biblical movies, and we watch documentaries on the men who suffered and died for translating the word of God to English.

If you're thinking of banning your Television, you'll be amazed at the calming transformation to your spirit.

Worried about getting the news? Use your Internet for that.

Let me know if you stopped watching your TV to allow more time for Spiritual matters, and tell us how that has affected your lives.

Until next time . . . share Jesus with others.

Author Note: The photo above is of Joshua playing Twister with his friends. Joshua wore the peach-colored western shirt I made for him.

What Time I Am Afraid

Fear. Terror.

Do these words describe your present state because of loss of a loved one? I know it did mine after our son, Joshua, died by suicide over six years ago. Do I still feel this way from time to time? Yes, but with God's mercy, I passed through and out of the terror over Joshua being gone.

Psalms 56:3 is fitting: "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." (KJV)

Hard to practice living that verse? Of course, especially when you've lost a child. I walked around full of terror that first year after Joshua left us. But I didn't stay in that miserable state. We may feel fear during our loved ones' birthdays and the holidays that we experience without them. And we may know terror when their death date rolls around, but all this can be less of a burden.

In time.

This year, my husband and I were not overly sadden at Christmas time. Few tears and sorrow to overwhelm us. Why? We reached out to a community where I spent much of my growing up years. My husband passed out Bibles and the Gospel of John tracks at the town's Christmas dinner feed. At one table, we shared about God's love to a suffering soul. We even got to eat with my dear friend who is still like a mother to me after all these years. We felt blessed by the day.

Something else I've recently come across is a book about writing through your healing process. You do NOT have to be a writer or a published author. You can take up writing at a point in your life when that has never been your intent. It can be words only for your eyes.

The book is entitled, "Writing as a Way of Healing" by Louise DeSalvo. I believe God allowed me to find this book as an aid to my healing process. With God as my foundation, I've been reading DeSalvo's words. I understand I am doing well to write about my feelings after all the major losses in my life.

DeSalvo suggests we write in a journal about an event that has caused us so much sorrow that we can not let it go. Something that keeps us stuck in neutral. Here's a quote from DeSalvo's book: "Engaging in writing, in creative work, then, permits us to pass from numbness to feeling, from denial to acceptance, from conflict and chaos to order and resolution, from rage and loss to profound growth, from grief to joy."

Do you think David understood this when he wrote Psalms? I see David's life poured out onto the pages of our Bible. So, why shouldn't we create our own words of healing? Or paintings of healing? Or woodwork, crafts, sculptures? Why not try it, friends?

Until next time . . . create.