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Great Is Thy Faithfulness

“Great is Thy faithfulness. O God, my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee!  Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not.  As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.  Great is Thy faithfulness…” Thomas Chisholm

A place to reflect and remember with the Lord in the garden.

During my Bible study this morning I was studying chapters 9 and 10 of the Old Testament book of Zechariah. Chapter 9 speaks of the King that is to come, while chapter 10 speaks of the promised blessings in the day He comes (look at verses 6 – 12 for a taste of these rich and precious promises).  

After studying the chapters we were asked, “Of the various ways that God will show compassion to His people, which is most meaningful to you personally, and why?”

I read through the list I’d written of what God had said He’d do for His people: strengthen, bring them back, make them glad, redeem them…  

Then I looked at today’s date: April 28, 2019, one year to the day since Keith was infected with spinal meningitis and sepsis.  Suddenly, I saw the three things that God has done in this past year, for which I have thanked Him over and over, and over.

I’ll strengthen and save My people.

They’ll sail through troubled seas and brush aside brash ocean waves.

I’ll make them strong, God-strong, and they’ll walk in My Name.

Since those frightening days at the hospital, not knowing if Keith would live or die, God has graciously granted us these three things.  Keith was strengthened and miraculously saved.  He sailed through troubled seas and Jesus calmed the storm.  God made him strong and today Keith walks in His name. 

In this past year Keith, besides returning to work in full health, has gone on to have a successful total knee replacement and just a week ago underwent a total hip replacement.  God has again graciously granted us these three things, which has increased our faith in Him exponentially. And in the midst of these troubled seas and brash ocean waves, I, too, have been miraculously healed.  Jesus touched me and healed me of Multiple Sclerosis this past summer.  Jesus strengthened and saved me, first spiritually and now physically.  He has made both of us strong, God-strong in every way and we both walk in the almighty, all-powerful name of Jesus.

Now I can’t wait for my Lord and King to come a second time, when I’ll be able to see Him with my own eyes and thank Him for all He’s done.  

Great is Thy faithfulness, indeed!

How have you seen God’s faithfulness?  I’d love to hear all of the ways He’s shown you compassion. 

He’s in the Waiting

God grew our garden

An incredible transformation happened in my garden last week and I had  nothing to do with it!  

I’ve been so busy driving to San Diego to help my dad and stepmom, while carrying out household chores at home.  You see, Keith’s recovery from knee replacement went well, but now, unexpectedly, he’s having his hip replaced right before Easter.  In the midst of this busyness the garden  had to wait.  

But do you know God is in the waiting?  Even while the storms keep raging around us, He is working…underground, where we cannot see what He is doing, just as He does in our gardens.  My only job in these times is to trust and remain obedient to what I know to be true of Him. If I can’t do anything else I can faithfully follow what I know He wants of me:  “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7).  Rather than being overwhelmed in weariness, I’ll fix my eyes on Jesus and rest. Trust. Wait.

“While we are waiting God is growing our faith, proving our love is for Him and not just for the answers He gives,” I journaled on 10.28.18.

When we least expect it, so we know that it’s truly from Him, He’ll do the totally unexpected: flowers bursting forth in bloom, gracing the gardens of our lives with dazzling beauty, refreshing fragrances, even sounds of singing birds, as life returns more vibrant than ever before.  

God’s Beautiful Garden

Do you see it in your garden as I see it in mine?  Have you seen the super bloom along the highways?  

Are your eyes fixed on Jesus, watching and waiting for what He’s doing?

“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” Song of Songs 2: 11-12  

Oh yes, He’s in the waiting!

Remembering with Gratitude – God-sightings in the early days of Keith’s meningitis

A continuation of “But God” (Which you can read here https://gardenlessonsbook.com/but_god/

Psalm 107: 1 – 2a “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.  Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story-…”

Reflecting on this chapter in God’s Word makes my heart well up with gratitude for the many ways we saw Him on the move in those early days of Keith’s battle with meningitis and sepsis. While the days were difficult and the struggle was real, the assurance that we were not fighting alone gave us hope…strength…even joy… knowing the LORD was on our side.

 

The week building up to the onset of meningitis had been a challenge in itself.  Both of us felt as if we were fighting the flu.   I’d had chest congestion, while Keith was horribly achy, fatigued, and by Friday had an ear infection.  While we were sick, my dad slipped in his bathroom and hit his head, causing a brain bleed.  He was in ICU at the hospital near his home in San Diego being monitored and cared for.  I wanted to drive down to be with him but couldn’t take a chance on exposing him to something that might make his situation even worse.  Gratefully, he was discharged on Friday (day of Keith’s ear infection) and, with the help of my wonderful stepmom, was able to return to normal life at home…the day before Keith was rushed to the hospital.

Psalm 107:8 “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds…”

 

On Saturday, the timing of getting medical care for Keith was perfect. If I had taken him to Urgent Care (we weren’t even thinking about the ER) before I left with my girlfriends for the weekend, things might have taken a different turn. When he finally went to Urgent Care, Keith had horrible head pain but was speaking clearly; when the doctor saw him he could only talk gibberish. Because of that the doctor had him rushed by ambulance to the hospital, which was right across the street. Had Keith gone for help any earlier, he might have been sent home with oral antibiotics, possibly with a much different outcome.   We later heard of two others with meningitis who had been sent home with oral antibiotics: one died; the other has brain damage.

That same day after getting the call to come home, as my dear friend, Debi drove me from Pasadena to St Jude Medical Center, freeways opened up in front of us and we arrived safely and in good time.

Psalm 107:6 “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress.  He led them by a straight way…” (Emphasis mine).

  

Our dear friend, Colleen and our son, Kole, were with Keith when I arrived.  A CT scan had just allowed doctors to rule out stroke. Within minutes lab workups showed his blood stream was filled with bacteria: sepsis.  A few minutes more brought results from the spinal tap: meningitis!  Immediately everyone scrambled to don masks and gloves, protecting themselves from air droplets coming from Keith’s mouth and nose, which could spread the deadly disease.  He was moved to quarantine, with strict adherence to hand washing protocol, and later gloves and gowns were required, in addition to masks.  No one mentioned what might happen to those of us exposed to his air droplets prior to quarantine.

Psalm 107:13 “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them from their distress.” (Emphasis mine).

As day one came to a close, the prayers of so many family and friends from Fullerton, across the country, even around the world, began to be offered on Keith’s behalf and the real, touchable, tangible presence of God was felt.

 

Before I fell asleep that first night I recorded all of this…and so much more…in my Gratitude Journal. In the days ahead, when times were most challenging I would read back over every recorded event, which brought encouragement and consolation to my heart.  (Those of you who maintain such a journal understand what I mean.  If you don’t yet have a way of recording God-sightings and things for which you are thankful, let me encourage you to start today. You will be truly blessed!)

 

Psalm 107:21-22 “Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.  Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.”

 

 

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