Congratulations and Recognition!

We had an amazing Virtual Fall Conference this year from September 30 through October 2. On Thursday evening at our kick-off event, we held our awards ceremony which included some very nice surprises. Congratulations to the contest winners, award winners, and those honoured for their longtime service.  You can check out the full versions of each of these on our Youtube channel. Subscribe today! There is other content there you will find interesting! 

Recognition Awards:

InScribe has had some very dedicated volunteers in our long history as an organization. We decided to honour those who had served for 5+ years and those who had served for 10+ years with a recognition pin. (Some much longer than that!) You can see the entire thing here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZjE7pLjP8

Barnabas Award and Editor's Choice Award:

There were two deserving recipients this year! Karma Anderson and Sheila Webster. Congrats to both ladies. 

Our editor's choice this year went to Belinda Burston for her piece "Simply Story".

To hear more see the video replay!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_SU9RU8JLU&t=82s

Contest Winners:

Devotional:

1st: Betty Taylor

2nd: Carol Harrison

3rd: Linda Pilling

Hon mention: Pat Gerbrandt

Creative Non-Fiction:

1st: Tandy Balson

2nd: Sally Meadows

3rd: Eleanor Bertin

Poetry:

Kathryn Tatsu

Children's Fiction:

1st: Joy Baile

2nd: Eunice Cooper-Matchett

3rd: Sally Meadows

Hon Mention: Deb Elkink

Check out the video link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiRfgEvN6vk&t=3s

You can also find beautiful readings of the first and second devotional winners on our Youtube channel! 

Congratulations once again!

Larry Norman: "Rock The Flock" - Bruce Atchison

This born-again rock musician proved that Christian music Needn't be sombre and lifeless. When he left the Band People in 1968, Larry Norman became an influential Christian solo artist. Check out one of his songs here:

When I was young, elders in the church kept nagging me about my love of rock music. It was of the Devil, they insisted. Some worry-warts even said I'd become possessed if I kept listening to that "satanic" music. Another complaint those churchgoers made was that the messages in rock songs would lead me astray.

Nothing of the kind happened. Neither did I get hooked on drugs as those panicky elders feared. Being truly born again, I was zealous for Christ. I often confronted students and teachers with biblical views and I even handed out tracts.

Psalm 66:2-4 (Bible in Basic English) encourages worshippers to be joyfully loud. "Make a song in honour of his name: give praise and glory to him. Say to God, 'How greatly to be feared are your works! Because of your great power your haters are forced to put themselves under your feet.' Let all the earth give you worship, and make songs to you; let them make songs to your name. (Selah.)"

Likewise, Psalm 95:2 (BBE) says, "Let us come before his face with praises; and make melody with holy songs."

The elders of my church remind me of 2 Samuel 6:16 (KJV) which reads, "And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter  looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised  him in her heart."

Music, like writing, is just a tool. It can hurt or help, depending on the person who wields it. Having God-honouring songs and books means that we believers can enjoy the style as well as the content.

In the Middle by Lorilee Guenter

 

Some interruptions seem like a nuisance in a well planned day.  The phone rings and the day changes.  At the end of the day it is possible to see God had something better in mind.

Other interruptions are long lasting.  Some days they appear to have no end.  In the middle everything feels like it is falling apart.

In the middle:

focus fades,

words falter,

questions abound,

and distractions grow like weeds.

In a recent discussion I heard myself say, "without challenge, where is faith." Our faith is not dependant on challenge but it is tested in challenge.  It is evidenced as we continue to cling to God and His promises in spite of our surroundings.

Faith shows itself when we trust that if God is leading us over a mountain, He will guide us and strengthen us.  It shows itself when we walk with Him through the valleys with long shadows.  We trust He won't leave us in the shadow, that He will guide us to places of rest and refreshment.

In the middle faith exists but the difficulties remain.  Looking back we can see the pitfalls that were avoided. However when the shadows are deep we cannot see.  We must trust knowing that we will reach the other side.  Then we will see the path God led us on and maybe even why.  We will be stronger and our faith will be deeper.

I am in the middle of a long interruption.  My focus fades and my words falter.  But God is here.  Some days He gives me rest.  Some days I catch a glimpse of what He is showing me.  I grab my pen and try to capture it.  That glimpse is a reminder that even when I can not see, God can.

An Interruption of Life and an Incomplete Blog Post by Sharon Heagy

 

The baby’s butt hit the floor with a plop. He was blissfully unaware that he should be thankful for the extra padding afforded by his diaper.  He twisted to his knees, crawled to the chair and grasped the wooden spindles, pulling himself upright once more. Steadying himself he let go. One hand, then the other. He teeters as his chubby feet squish this way and that to gain balance.  He takes a wary step and then another.  His eyes focus not on the floor, not his feet but on his mom who is crouching in the distance with outstretched arms.  A toothless grin accompanies a happy gurgle, and he is off. One step. Two step. Suddenly he is walking, almost running. Never losing focus of the wide loving arms ahead then reaching the goal arms wrapping him in a loving embrace.

Such are the divine interruptions of life.  Sometimes a crisis comes and we are knocked on our butts with one fell blow. These interruptions are almost always characterized by loss. Loss of health, finances, loved ones, peace and even faith.  Ant though we may feel like we are caught in a swirling vortex, in a downward spiral, spinning out of control, hands and feet flailing for something to grasp or a solid foothold. We, too, are unaware of the ‘padding’ that His hand is providing for our crash landing.  It is the hand of the Father which steadies us though the water may continue to swirl around us.  It is He who shows us the way out. He is the handhold, the solid footing for us to climb out one step at a time.  If we continue to keep our eyes focused on Jesus, taking one step at a time, we will be led to exactly where He want us to be. A place where He will hold us in His loving arms providing comfort, peace and love no matter our circumstances.

Divine interruptions can be chaos and crisis or valiant victory. It is, in a word, life.

Though this blog post is incomplete due to circumstances beyond my control, I hope you find these incomplete thoughts an encouragement, as each and every one of you has encouraged me this month.  Thanks for your grace and mercy. Thanks for always being an inspiration.

Beautiful Disruptions ~ Take 2 ~ Valerie Ronald

 

This post is a repeat of my first guest post published by InScribe Writers Online, back on October 31, 2019. It so perfectly fits this month's writing prompt that I decided to post it again. 

 

One day on a beach walk with a good friend, I told her about an e-mail I received that morning from a man I did not know. It seems I knew his brother and sister-in-law a long time ago. I watched the waves beat their way to shore, scuffed the sand with my shoe.  

“He asked if it would be alright if we wrote to each other.” When I glanced at my friend, she was smiling. She said, “I have such a strong sense that from this day out, things for you will change for the better. God is up to something.”  

My heart gave a hopeful little leap, then settled back to the cautious beat of one familiar with pain, disappointment and struggle. For several years all I had known was the war zone of a messy divorce and a life-threatening illness. Hope was hard to come by.

But now when I look back I recognize that moment on the beach as one of God’s beautiful disruptions. Sometime later I married the man who e-mailed me and moved on to a whole new life full of love, joy and fulfillment.  

Webster’s dictionary defines disruption as causing something to be unable to continue in the normal way: interrupting the usual progress or activity of something. A disruption is at first stressful because it throws things into disorder, putting us off the course we were used to. But God has a way of disrupting lives that opens up possibilities never imagined, even if at the time the disruption is unwelcome.  

The scriptures are full of beautifully disrupted stories where God suddenly steps in to redirect the current path of someone He wants to use to fulfill His purposes. In Exodus 3, Moses has spent many years tending his father-in-law’s flock on the far side of the desert. God captures Moses’ attention when He speaks from a burning bush. He sends Moses on a mission back to Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery. As a country herdsman spending days on end with only sheep for company, Moses’ life is beautifully disrupted when he becomes God’s chosen instrument to lead His people to freedom.  

As a lowly shepherd boy on the hills around Bethlehem, David was unlikely to be chosen for any significant role. But God changed David’s life by sending His prophet, Samuel, to anoint him as the future king of Israel. God’s beautiful disruption caused David to become a mighty king, a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV) and a forefather of Jesus, the Messiah.  

In the most glorious disruption of all, a Jewish peasant girl is visited by an angel announcing she is to give birth to the Son of God. “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) Through the power of the Holy Spirit, she becomes the mother of Jesus, God in human flesh, whose life, death and resurrection provides salvation for all who believe in Him.  

Sometimes God reveals Himself to me in subtle ways. To be honest, I would prefer He direct me slowly and gently. But when I think of the mountaintops of my spiritual walk, it is the beautiful disruptions that stand out. Those times when God breaks suddenly into my mundane life speak of a love so great He would do the extraordinary to capture my attention. 

Such beautiful disruptions cause me to exclaim, only God.

Only God could orchestrate so many details to fulfill His purposes.

Only God interrupts by making me breathless with His beauty and majesty.

Only God beautifully disrupted time by stepping down from eternity to live among us. 

Valerie Ronald lives in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. She is a graduate of Vancouver's Langara College journalism program, and has worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance writer, public speaker and bookstore employee. She writes devotionals for her home church bulletins and her online blog. Her current book project chronicles how God's faithfulness saw her through the dark valleys of divorce and cancer. Along with her husband, Valerie enjoys spending time with their blended family and six grandchildren. She is a nature photographer, water colorist, cat lover and Scrabble addict.

More of her devotionals can be read on her blog https://scriptordeus.wordpress.com

Interruptions - the Real Substance by Joy Bailey

I'm bad with interruptions, but I'm trying to do better. I'm trying to be ... less annoyed. 

I'm convinced it gets easier once one has grandchildren. 

My grandchildren don't live near me so when they video-call, I drop everything to see their sweet faces, to read them a book, or to chat about the new bandaid on their eyebrow. 

There is little else I will accept as an interruption, but I'm working on that.

****

A few people have quoted C.S. Lewis this month on the blog. However, I keep thinking about an interview I saw with Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham. In the interview Gresham describes what it was like to live with C.S. Lewis. About nine and a half minutes in, interviewer Derick Bingham asks, "Was he hard to live with while he was writing?"

Douglas Gresham doesn't hesitate even slightly when he answers, "Not at all. He was the opposite. Jack was someone who would accept interruption, every ten minutes, if necessary, while he was working very hard at a book or something, without the slightest degree of irritation. He was able to believe, and to behave as if he believed, which he did, that our own personal work is nowhere near as important as the interruptions to it. The interruptions are the real substance of God's job for us."  

I find this remarkable. It's one thing to write a memorable comment that people quote decades later in a writing blog, and something else entirely to have lived it. Extraordinary.

*****

This week I haven't been interrupted by any grandchild video calls at all, because I've been hanging out with them in person! In fact, the only interruption to our fun was the deadline for this blog post, which I almost completely forgot about until the last minute. Real life can be annoying sometimes. 😄  

~ Find the full interview with Douglas Gresham here. ~

Joy is writing from a lovely home in Saskatchewan, where she's been painting princesses, filling small dump trucks with sticks & leaves, and building forts out of throw pillows. Find more of her joy-infused view of the world at Scraps of Joy.  

Peace Amid Pandemic by Alan Anderson

 

 

“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

 

 

In the World

I feel lonely in the world,

a longing inside,

I do not know what to do about.

My words know,

therefore, I write.

A reminder I am not alone.

--Alan Anderson, Oct. 22, 2021

 

 

Throughout the past almost two years, I made it a point to not write about the Covid pandemic. This post is an exception. I trust you will sense my inner landscape as I lay bare my experience of Covid weariness.

 

Covid Weariness

 

A young woman loved by my wife, and I visited us on Terry’s birthday. We chatted for a few minutes, then our conversation took on a more serious tone as she talked about the Fiend, the Covid pandemic. Terry and I listened to every groan of her heart. Her words sounded like one who could no longer hold back the conflict within her.

 

 

As life-changing effects and consequences of this unprecedented time drag on, life will never be the same. Like the beloved young woman I mentioned, my inner life has not been left unscarred.

 

A prompt for this month's post asks, “How have you faced the tendency to look back and long for how it used to be?” This reality of reminiscence for life gone by fills my mind with questions. The questions are like little rats gnawing at my brain. Questions like, when will the pandemic end? How long will it be until we have “normal” again? Will the health orders become even more restrictive? I can’t answer these questions right now, but these little pests need to be dealt with.

 

 

I clench my fists when I hear anything about Covid, yet here I am writing about it. Often these days, my body aches after being with people who seem fixated on the pandemic. My mind, my heart, my inner life, scramble to escape this stalking monster.

 

 

The attitudes and tone of many people these days ripped an explosive division through society. Like boiling lava, these thoughts spew out of people like volcanoes long overdue for eruption.

 

 

While the pandemic insists on acting like a murderous bully, I stay home most of the time. When I venture out, perhaps once a week I wear a mask. I hate to wear a mask. I am not noble, nor am I in compliance with the powers that be with regards to the mask order. I wear a supposed helpful mask because I can’t be bothered explaining to people if I do not wear one. I am also done with the petty arguments I hear on anything pertaining to the Fiend. I am plain old tired of it all!

 

 

Embrace Peace

 

Jesus promised us peace. I need to embrace His peace more. I enjoy a sense of peace when I am at home or with my church family. Walks on the dike near home act as a security blanket for me. My peaceful places do not crowd my mind and heart with the insanity common in the world.

 

True peace is possible amid the hurricane powered pandemic of illness and people judging others so common today. How about you, dear InScribe family? How are you bearing up these days?

 

 

Alan lives in Deroche, B.C. with his wife, Terry. He contributed stories to Good Grief People by Angel Hope Publishing, 2017; Story by Story: The Power of a Writer, Unstoppable Writers Publishing, 2018. Alan has also written articles for FellowScript Magazine. Blog: https://scarredjoy.ca. He has written blog posts for this blog since 2015.

 

0 Words by Sheila Webster

 0 Words.

 It was difficult to accept that my computer had not saved my blog offering for today. I looked at the bar at the bottom of the word document and realized there was nothing I could do to reclaim the words I had prepared.

Maybe I was just supposed to share something else, something about moments when I had no words for what had just happened.

One of those moments happened this summer, I opened an envelope from someone expecting an encouragement card. What it contained was the exact amount to redeem a costly mistake a friend had made that ended up being charged to me. No number of words could change what happened, it was not worth pursuing for compensation, but God knew.

Opening that card opened me up to a new relationship with the divine and community that listens to God. The card was a picture of a picture of one of my favorite flowers, inside was the exact amount needed, and I had drove by the gentleman at a moment he was wondering how to get it to me. 

No words describe how the divine was already at work in a way I could not see or feel in a very dark moment of life.  As any time the divine reveals love and compassion to us we could write, sing or paint forever about how that gift continued to give warmth and companionship long after it was given.

The End of an Era - by Tracy Krauss

This month's theme got me thinking about a lot of defining moments in my life. Of course, we could all list things like marriage, deaths in the family, having children... These are huge moments that shift our world. So too, I've had shifts in my 'identity', often associated with my primary work - teacher, minister's wife (I didn't see that one coming!), homeschooling mother... Then there are some really big moments attached to physical circumstances: a heart attack, open-heart surgery, being blind for a time... There seemed to be so many defining moments that I had trouble choosing which direction I should go for this post.

So, I decided to go with the most recent. (Forgive me if it sounds similar to the latest post on my personal blog or my most recent newsletter.)

At the beginning of this month, I stepped away from something that has been a very integral and important part of my life for the past several years. I'm talking about being on the InScribe executive. I didn't make the decision lightly. I have been a member for over a decade. I got involved early, volunteering behind the scenes in various capacities until I found myself on the executive, first as VP and then as President for the past three years. (Since the fall of 2018.)

During that time, I made genuine friendships and connections that I know will last a lifetime. It was wonderful (and eye-opening) to be part of the inner workings of such a group. However, my ongoing health issues made me realize that something had to give, and I knew it was time to let go.

After this year's Fall Conference and AGM I felt relieved. Being president of such an amazing organization was a great honour and I grew as a person and writer. However, it was a ton of work, too. Your executive give and give and give again of themselves in so many ways that most members never see. So yes, I did breathe a sigh of relief. Still, I also felt an initial emptiness that surprised me.

Working behind the scenes with InScribe has been such a big part of my life these past several years. It has taken a lot of my attention, time, and energy. I am looking forward to the extra time I will have to focus on other aspects of my life. It is necessary for my health, and I also believe it is in God's perfect timing. But I realize that stepping away from my involvement at the executive level is a loss. It's another layer of my 'identity' that I am leaving behind, so it's natural that I may feel a bit empty or melancholy for a time...

And that's okay.

To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

May God continue to bless each of you and may He guide our new executive in the coming year!

Tracy Krauss is past president of InScribe, but continues to write and work from her home in northern BC. Visit her website for more: fiction on the edge without crossing the line. https://tracykrauss.com

October Mid-Month Moments by Connie Inglis

 Mid-Month Moments

This past Sunday/Monday we had a major thunder/wind storm in Edmonton. Then yesterday I had to head downtown for an appointment. As I was walking along, I noticed a broken umbrella jutting out of a concrete garbage can, with another one strewn beside it on the sidewalk. Ironically, the scene stopped me in my tracks; I actually made a note on my phone right then and there. For some reason all I could think of was a story I used to read to my children called, "Tear-water Tea" by Arnold Lobel. Are any of you familiar with it?

It's the story of an owl who has a craving for tear-water tea. So he sits down with a tea kettle on his lap and he starts thinking of things that make him sad. Things like: "chairs with broken legs" and "mornings nobody saw because everybody was sleeping." And here I added: Discarded umbrellas that couldn't withstand the Edmonton winds.

In the story, the owl starts to cry; he cries until the kettle is filled with his tears. Then he puts the kettle on to boil for tea. As he sits down to drink his tea, he feels happy and says, "It tastes a little bit salty...but tear-water tea is always very good."

Cute little story but in that moment I knew it held a profound spiritual truth.

In John 16: 33 (NLT) Jesus said, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

In this life, we all see/struggle with trials and sorrows, with overwhelming circumstances or strained near-impossible relationships that make us sad--make us cry. We will all have nights spent filling our kettles with tears. That is part of being human in a broken world--even Jesus understood that.

However, that is only one half of the story IF our trust in God is real--if we can rest in WHO HE IS, the great I AM THAT I AM--our Father, Creator, Sustainer, Lover of our souls, and our Overcomer.

Romans 5:1-5 speaks into this (I'm quoting The Living Bible paraphrase):

So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. 5 Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Verse 4 says, "And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us TRUST GOD MORE..." Isn't that what our desire should always be? To trust God more? It is what His desire is for us.

I'm sure we all have a kettle full of tears. But can we take that kettle, offer it to God and let Him turn it into something good? Can we trust that He will turn our ashes into beauty, our mourning into dancing, our spirit of despair into a garment of praise? (Isa. 61:3) Can we trust Him to make tear-water tea out of our lives?

My prayer for us this morning is that we can say, "YES! Yes, I can trust my God to do this." But if you honestly can't say this today then I pray for you too. I pray that you will go to God in honesty and tell God how you feel. And that in humility you will say, "God, help my unbelief." He will answer that prayer too--because His relentless love NEVER runs out for any of us, no matter how many times we return to Him with doubt. May we not doubt His forgiveness and His power to help us trust Him more.

Learning to trust,

Connie

P.S. For any interested, here's the website for the pdf of "Tear-water Tea": http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/tear-water-tea.pdf

July 26, 2017

Mid-Month Moments are past devotionals written by Connie Inglis that she shared each week when she was InScribe's spiritual advisor. (Originally called 'Mid-Week Moments') They are shared from her archives with permission in the middle of each month. 

Interruption or Red Carpet Appointment? by Wendy L. Macdonald

 

Although the prompt for this month asked us, “How has a ‘divine interruption’ rocked your world?’ I want to share something on a much smaller scale that recently happened to me. I’ve written about a humungous interruption/blessing to my writing life before, but this time I want to address what more and more spouses are experiencing these days due to retirements and work from home requirements.

The incident I’m referring to happened one morning when I had a longer than usual writing to-do list sitting in front of me. It was early morning and I had already downed my coffee and spent a delicious hour with Jesus, His Word, and my journal. It was time for me to open my Word Docs and do the next thing. 

That’s when my husband informed me, he wasn’t feeling well. He said he wasn’t sure if he was coming down with something as he hadn’t slept well. He didn’t want to push himself and potentially risk spreading a virus (We won’t mention which one we were nervous of as I’m sure you’re as sick of that five-letter word as I am.).

Normally I inwardly groan when my writing routine is potentially going to be rerouted. I’m ashamed to admit how selfish I am about my alone time. But I’m also pleased to report that because of someone else’s productive writing time, I had just completed reading a book about the very situation I found myself in.

Instead of looking downcast when he mentioned he was staying home, I rolled out the red carpet and smiled, “Feel free to visit me anytime you want today. I’ll make us lunch and then we can have coffee together afterwards.” 

I gave him a hug and freshened up the bed so it would be extra cozy for him if he needed to go back to sleep.

Wow, the book I read really helped me roll out the red.

With sincere joy I pampered my man and made him feel like a blessing instead of an interruption to my writing life. Amazingly I got through my to-do list with only one thing leftover. And I completed an extra item. (The next day I finished the final thing on the list. It was my latest newsletter that ended up being changed so that I could include this story in it. When you come across inspiration that makes you a better person, it’s not something you want to keep to yourself. There’s nothing better than sharing good news.) 

   After lunch my husband felt pretty much as good as new, so he waited in our vehicle while I mailed some prizes for my latest newsletter giveaway. Then we went to the beach and watched storm waves from the shelter of our car. We laughed so much together all afternoon that my daughter said, “Get married already, would you?” (We celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary on August 19.) 

I’m nosy-to-know about a time you allowed God to turn an interruption into a red carpet appointment.

And in case you’re curious as to which book, I was talking about, here it is: Spouse in the House by Cynthia Ruchti and Becky Melby. Here’s my review of it on GoodReads.  

Red Carpet Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

Life Interrupted by Carol Harrison

I’ve had many dreams and plans, like everyone else. Yet I’ve experienced times when my world has been rocked by something huge which I never planned on or desired. Life’s forward progress, at least in my own mind, had been interrupted.

The latest one came with a name—cancer. The diagnosis that brings fear and necessitates change. It rocked our world and affected not only my spouse who had the disease but myself as I walked the journey with him. Then treatments forced it into submission. Forever we hoped and as years passed it receded to a niggle of ‘what if it returns’ dwelling deep in the recesses of our minds. We began making plans for after my husband retired. We began to live our ‘real life’ once again.

Then, when we thought it conquered and vanquished it jumped out to fight again. This time treatment options dwindled to nothing and we grieved what was and what might still be. Pain increased and activity levels decreased. More scary words entered our lives. Chronic infection. Metastasized. Palliative. They linger close by, never far from our minds. We watched life as we knew it slip away, plans for retirement with them.

How do we deal with this new normal? To be truthful, I’m not always sure. We live the truth of the diagnosis. Him with the pain. Me with watching him hurt and feeling helpless. We wait. Him for the next pain meds or the next time its better enough to visit with family and friends. The next good day or part of one. The next opportunity to make a new memory. But along with that is the waiting for it to spread more and for death to replace the pain with heaven. I wait for the other proverbial shoe to fall and limit plans yet again.

Together we grieve for what has been lost as a couple and individually along with all of our dreams and plans for this stage of our lives. Together we live one day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time. We muddle through, trusting God for strength enough for now. I try and be present in the moment looking for those little things to be grateful for, watching for God-moments though out it all.

In John 16 Jesus teaches his disciples things I need to pay attention to as well. In verse 33 he says, “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.”  Jesus never promised me that our family could avoid interruptions to our plans, a lack of pain, or horrible diagnoses to deal with. But he promised peace which can only come through him because he has overcome it all. Nothing takes him by surprise. Not the diagnosis. Not the pain. Not the change of plans or the grief.  When I give it all to Jesus, he will use it to draw us closer to him. We’ll grow more and more like Jesus.

I read this quote by C.S. Lewis “The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own’, or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life – the life God is sending one day by day.” Real life is full of divine interruptions, some of which are extremely difficult.

What have I learned though these last few years when my life has been rocked by interruptions to my plans? I must pause. Caregiving and watching a person you love hurt is exhausting. Our world turned upside down with these changes. But God never changes.

Psalm 46: 10 is printed out and sits on my desk. “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.”

Time to pause, listen, reflect on the lessons I am learning. Obey God to continue to be compassionate, trust him, and write. The words might be just what someone else needs to read and be encouraged. My husband continues to urge me to go and write. It keeps me from dwelling on what has been lost and refocuses my thoughts on being a good steward of the gift God has entrusted to me.

Divine interruptions are part of my everyday life just like they are in others. Hold my plans loosely for God’s plan is greater than I can ever understand.  

 

Carol Harrison lives in Saskatoon with her husband. She loves to tell encourage people to help them find glimmers of hope and glimpses of joy even in the seasons where our life has been rocked to the core.