Karen's Story by Sandra Rafuse

This is Karen's story. She shared it with me one day while recalling a very difficult time in her life, telling me one of the beautiful things God did for her and her two boys at a time of great sadness and difficulty. Something beautiful they would never forget.

 

🙶After my husband left me, I would go on a three mile walk everyday. During the first mile, I would memorize scripture.  During the second mile, I would pray.  During the third mile, I would sing. The walk went in a circle so I always ended up back at the place I had started. The pattern was the same every day. It never changed.

As the days and weeks went by, I began to realize I was seeing a "God thing" every day. It would be something special, or unusual, or unexpected. One day, as  I was crossing the road, I looked up and saw, facing me, a large, dark bird sitting on the branch of a tree. It stood up and opened its wings. . .they were huge. . .at least six feet wide! I was so stuck by their size!  When it lowered its wings and sat down, I continued on my way, keeping the picture of what I had just seen in my mind. Another time, a squirrel scampered into the ditch up ahead. It stopped, stood up tall, and watched me until I was quite near it. Then it crouched down and rushed away into the grass. 'That was unusual,' I thought. 'Having him wait like that until I got so close.'  And one time a swarm of bees went buzzing past me at high speed, racing to their new home, wanting to get there as quickly as possible. I had never seen so many bees flying that closely past me. Their noise and proximity were startling. 

I would share my experiences with my two sons, aged 10 and 13, and one day they eagerly asked if they could walk with me and experience their own "God thing". 'Sure,' I said. We started out on our walk and I prayed in my heart, Lord, don't let me down now. Please send them a sign that you are with us.

It was a pleasant day. The sun was shining down on us and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We were out on a country road and the boys were excited, expecting to see something special but not sure what that would be. We chatted as we walked and one or the other would ask occasionally, 'Do you see anything, Mom? Have we passed anything we should have noticed?'  

"No, not yet. It's coming. It's coming.' We were in the middle of the second mile. 

'Is it going to happen?' They lifted up their questioning faces to look at me.

'Soon. Soon,' I responded. Oh Lord. I'm counting on you. You have given me so many signs of your presence in the past weeks. Please send something for my boys.

We were approaching the last stretch of the third mile. I could see that the boys were becoming skeptical. Their faces had lost that look of expectancy they had started out with and their walk was not as bouncy as it had been at the beginning.

'In just a minute. In just a minute,' I encouraged them. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a kaleidoscope of Monarch butterflies appeared and landed on some nearby trees and on us! They settled on the boys' and my shoulders, fluttering their wings delicately for a minute or two before they lifted up and flew away. The three of us stood there, speechless, looking at each other. No more looks of skepticism on my boys' faces. No more feelings of doubt. Just total unadulterated joy in each of us.  I felt so tremendously blessed that God had answered my prayers in such a unique and beautiful way. My boys were going to remember this "God thing" from him forever.❞

Three years after hearing Kathy's story, I was sitting in the staffroom of a school I was subbing in that afternoon. One of the teachers looked at me and asked, "Did you hear about the Monarch butterflies that are congregating in the bush near the front entrance?" I told her I hadn't but that I would check it out at home time. At 3:30 I walked out the door that was near the bush and I stopped and stood and looked. I could see dozens and dozens of butterflies fluttering in and about the branches of the bush. From top to bottom and all around. I couldn't take my eyes off them. I was reminded of Karen's story, of how beautiful it was, of how thoughtful and loving and kind God is when he answers our prayers. He is truly "the God who hears". My heart was full. I felt I had been given my very own "'God thing" that day.

El Shama is a Hebrew phrase meaning "the God who hears" or " the God who listens".

Sandra Rafuse lives in the small town of Rockglen, Saskatchewan, with her husband, Bob, a Gordon setter named Sadie, and a Peregrine falcon named Peet. She is a mother to two wonderful sons, a retired teacher, and an amateur writer.  Currently she is thoroughly enjoying having the opportunity to share what God has been teaching her through her life experiences .

Image by Erika-Lowe from Unsplash

Beautiful Words by Brenda J Wood

Image by ToniaD from Pixabay

HEBREW

HESED – unfailing, steadfast love.

SHALOM – complete peace and wholeness.

SELAH – a musical term meaning pause and reflect.

GREEK

AGAPE – unconditional, sacrificial love.

EKKLESIA – the called-out ones, church.

KOINONIA – fellowship, spiritual communion of believers.

CHARIS – grace, unearned, freely given grace.

APOLUTROSIS – redemption, bought back, bondage free.

TZEDEK – righteousness, spiritual perfection before God.

Here they are just words, but more importantly, they are how God sees us, loves us, welcomes us, forgives us.

Let us be thankful.

Brenda J Wood has authored more than fifty books. She is a seasoned motivational speaker, who declares the Word of God with wisdom, humour, and common sense.

Beauty and the Writer by Brenda Leyland

The Lord God made to grow every tree

that is desirable and pleasing to the sight

and good (suitable, pleasant) for food.

Genesis 2:9 (AMP)

It's been raining in our corner of the world. As we've had drought conditions and threats of wildfires over the past few seasons, we are more than enjoying this wetter one. Mine eyes dazzle to look out and see how alive and vibrant and green my garden looks in the diffused light. Do you think green is God's favourite colour? Such a beautiful world God has created for us to live in. According to ancient texts, there were all sorts of wondrous things in the original Garden, including trees that were beautiful, and pleasant, to look upon. Our world had not been created only with utilitarian efficiency and function in mind but also with beauty for our wonderment, pleasure, and well-being.

How often had I read that portion before actually noticing that tiny phrase 'pleasing to the sight'. I felt elated. However it first came to reside in my belief system, I grew up with the vague sense that a utilitarian way of life was the more important way. Flowers and beauty were fine in their place but not truly necessary, e.g., planting a vegetable garden was essential but planting flowers was less important, even optional, according to some. But there grew a secret recognition of what I found pleasing to the senses in my child's heart of the pretty things around me—it sometimes came as a ping of the heart or as a delicious shiver down my spine. I fell in love with the clove-scented flowers in Grandma's garden; was in awe of a midnight blue sky filled with billions of stars that felt so close I wanted to reach up and pluck some with my hand; was ever delighted with that contrast of light and dark in the skies after a summer rainstorm.

So learning that, in the grand scheme of things, lovely trees had been created just for their beauty solidified something on the inside. God was not just okay with us loving the beauty in the world, he'd established it in the original designs for this planet and its inhabitants. I felt released to delight in the beauty and creativity all around me. It was not a waste of time, effort, or resources to make my life and corner of the world I called home as lovely as possible. I had come to see early on that beauty is what truly inspires and motivates me at the core of my being. If I can find the beauty in a thing or task, then I can do it with joy in my heart.

In our prompt this month, we were invited to peruse the account in Exodus 35 where we learn of God's intricate planning for the building of the tabernacle. And how he gave special skills and gifts to various artists and artisans so that his dwelling on the earth would be beautiful in every way. This glimpse of God working with mankind and mankind working with God to create beauty, isn't it thrilling?

So, when it comes to my writing, I love the idea of joining forces with fellow creatives to develop the creativity, ideas, and skills God has given to me, to us, to create. I love that lovely old line in Proverbs 25:11, "A word fitly spoken and in due season is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (AMP). A bit of graceful beauty from my pen to someone's heart. Written to fit the situation and then offered at just the right moment. To me, it's a beautiful thing. And that phrase "apples of gold in settings of silver", how much more lovely can that phrase be?

As a writer I rely on creating word pictures to show the beauty I see around me. And how I imagine the world might be when it's made perfect again. I write to offer readers what delights me in the every day things, all the while hoping they will find their own inspiration to live with beauty, joy, and creative energy. In honour of the One who dreamed it up as it was originally intended. I write to remind myself, and my readers, to keep watching for glimpses of heaven in unexpected places. These glimpses point us towards the Beautiful One, the one who made us co-creators with himself.

(Top) Image by Andreas from Pixabay

Brenda Leyland writes from her perch that looks out on the garden, the birds at the birdbath, and the sky overhead. You can find her 'slice of life' writing on her blog It's A Beautiful Life. She is also on Facebook and Instagram (under Bren Leyland).

 

Beauty Draws Us to God by Mary Folkerts

 

We all know just how cracked and broken this world and we ourselves are, yet when I read Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts, she challenges me to search for beauty like a woman on a mission.

The One who created us created beauty all around us—
in cloud formations,
in the giggle of the little one,
the tender embrace of a friend,
in quiet words of comfort received,
in the chatter of the early morning birds,
the sweep of the prairie grasses,
in the steam off of your first morning cup of coffee,
in the expanse of the ripening yellow canola fields,
the cluster of cows grazing.
The more we look for beautiful,
the more our eyes
will be trained to see it,
our ears tuned to listen for it.

If the One who formed us in His image is responsible for all the extravagant beauty we see, surely He mandates us also to create beauty. He gives the ability and passion to create, be it with our hands or words, but sometimes struggles in life cripple us, and we are unable to create beauty, let alone see the beauty God places before us.

Could we find our way back to beauty by intentionally seeking the many ways God has gifted us with it through creation? Could beauty itself be part of our healing? And what if, in the process, we begin to find ways to create our own beauty again?

Creating has a two-fold purpose: in it, we find delight and restoration for our souls, but it is also the fruit of delight for others to partake in, drawing them into the secret of God’s extravagant beauty. It is God’s creative handiwork that ignites our creativity, allowing us to be co-creators with Him in His grand design!

Could your words be the beauty someone needs to hear?

There is a yearning
inside—
My spirit calls for
something
just out of reach.
I can’t quite place it,
it’s like an ache
or an emptiness
that needs filling.

Sometimes I feel it
in the melody.
The music
washes over my soul
like rain
soaking a parched ground,
and I begin to feel it.
My tears with the haunting
refrain—
maybe it’s in the
music.

Maybe it’s a need for
beauty.
The morning sky splashed
in color,
the evening glow as
day is done,
chasing the sun in its
perpetual glory.
Yes! Beauty of the
natural!

The tiny green shoot
forcing its way through
warming earth,
the ocean vast and endless
captures me, mesmerizes
and touches a small part
of the yearning
inside—
I need more of nature
then.
I will surround myself with
mountains, rivers, oceans
beaches, flowers.
I will adventure and
bask.
I will breathe deeply and
let beauty fill the
cracks inside.
But I sense it’s more—
not quite enough.
It’s the beginning, it’s like
a taste, still searching,
I can almost grasp it.

What?
What am I
missing?

Is the beauty of nature
pointing me
to more?
Is it the hand of God
I see?
Is it the sweet echo of a
song once heard?
Is it God that fills
the empty?
Was I made for more
than the material world
I can see and grasp?
My spirit longs
for what only
can be filled
by God
Himself.

 

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a member of Proverbs 31 Ministries' COMPEL Writers Training, involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/ or connect on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/maryfolkerts/