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Posts Tagged ‘God is with us’

Forever Footsteps

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, Nature, tagged , , , , , , on March 28, 2014| 1 Comment »

Perhaps you recall my blog post in February about the footprints leading up to the church doors where I work. https://wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com/2014/02/01/funny-footsteps/

IMG_20140128_090244_264They are still there. Weather has not erased them. We have had snow, ice,  a few drops of rain, and 80 degree heat pound the concrete. Yet they remain. Five footsteps with a super-human stride that lead up to the main doors. And if you look closely, it appears the man was barefoot and there is a hole in the ball of his foot.  If you are ever in Fort Worth, TX, why not come by 3900 Longvue Avenue and see for yourself?

Yesterday, it rained off and on throughout  the morning – a blessed answer to prayer for this drought-stricken part of Texas where walking on water over the area lakes is no longer a IMG_20140129_132132_544miracle because you can see the rocks as the water barely laps at your ankles.

So when I walked up to the steps today, I held my breath. Would the footsteps still be there after being soaked for hours? Would they have washed away in the drenching rain we so desperately needed and prayed earnestly to receive? I stepped a little slower, my eyes peeled to the ground, yet not wanting to see.

Behold!  There they were, just as prominent as before. A broad smile stretched across my face. The reminder that Jesus is Emanuel – God with us –  was still present. Then, the words Jesus uttered in the last verses in the Gospel of Matthew flashed into my brain. “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” (28:20)

I shouldn’t need a reminder that Jesus is with me. I believe that with all my heart, mind and soul.  I stand on His promise. Yet, it is comforting to see these bizarre prints each day as I climb the stairs to unlock the door, turn off the alarm, and start my day. And, when I leave to lock up, I know He walks with me back to my car and stays with me all the way home. Even as my eyelids close off the sight of my pillow at night as I drift into dreams, He is there.

I continue to see God in five footprints for as long as He deems them to last. But if and when they do fade, I know God will show me other ways to remind me He is here…always, even unto the end of the age.

Where will you see Him today?

 

 

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Where I found Christmas

Posted in Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on December 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This year, my body didn’t want Christmas. In fact, it rejected everything, either up or down for three days except IVs and ice chips. No eggnog. No Tamales (a true Texas tradition.) No candy or plum ID-10087293pudding.No warm smiles during the children’s pageant as kids tugged on over-sized bathrobes and stumbled over their lines. No Christ’s Mass by candlelight singing Silent Night.  Family and friends avoided me – as well they should have. 

I faded in and out of restless sleep. The carpet between my bed and the bathroom is now well matted with footprints.

But, God still reigns. Strip away the glistening ornament-laden tree, the candy canes, the traditions and even the church services, and somehow Christmas was still there. I saw Christmas in the gentle hands of the nurse in the ER clinic as she patiently needled my arm to receive fluids, even though my veins had collapsed from dehydration. I saw Christmas in the smile of a kind doctor who treated me as his only patient when he had a packed waiting room, many with the same stomach flu as I.  I saw Christmas in my son who was at my beck and call while juggling work, and in his boss who told him to be with me on Christmas Eve in the ER instead of waiting on customers during the busiest time of the year in their store. I saw Christmas in the love oozing from the concerned  texts and emails, and the understanding that I was not up to even talking on the phone, thank you.

No, this is not how I planned to spend Christmas. But, in a way it was a very meaningful one for me. Despite the ravaging virus inside my body, Christ was there as well. Emmanuel. God with us.

I hope this Christmas you found God in your day, too…no matter how it turned out. May each day be an Emmanuel day.

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Inside an MRI

Posted in Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on December 18, 2012| 1 Comment »

I have a phobia about the MRI donut – cylinder coffin, white hole- call it what you will. Bedsides the fact that I had an adverse reaction to the dye a few years back and they had to pull me out, shoot me up with Benadryl and apply oxygen, I feel confined and not in control. Those of you who know me know “control” is my thorn in my flesh. It is the major issue on which God constantly works with me . “I’m here, Julie. Let go, Let Me.”

I pondered if I was relying too much on my own flesh and not my faith as I popped the mild sedative pill the neurologist had prescribed before my son drove me to the appointment. I asked God for forgiveness and swallowed it back.  Within ten minutes the world fuzzed. Now I really felt out of control!

The tech was nice enough to place a washcloth over my eyes as they strapped my head and neck down to keep them from moving. Oh, this is going to be really fun.  Then they slid me in head first. My heart pounded in my ears. Don’t squeeze the panic button. You are a big girl. It’s only 20 minutes. You can do this. If you have never heard one, then watch this —-

Ear plugs DO NOT help.

Then it came into my head  – Casting Crown’s song Praise You in the Storm. Per copyright laws you are not supposed to write out the lyrics, but they sing of God being God no matter where we are and how He has held every tear we cry in His hands. So I began to sing praise songs through the buzz. Each time the knock, knock, knock sounded I praised Jesus that He was knocking on my heart. He whispered you are doing this because I am here. My breathing calmed and the ten ton weight on my chest left.

I survived. Obviously, because I am writing this, though with residual grogginess even after a four-hour dead-to-the-world nap! I hope this “mild” sedative wears off soon!

When we are in a scary situation we have two choices. Praise God because He is there in all circumstances, or panic. We can focus on Him, of focus on our situation. Today I found God as close as my breath inside and MRI- and a precious reminder – that is where He is every moment, every day.

He and I are still talking about whether or not I really needed that sedative. Doesn’t matter. He was with me anyway. His mercies are new very morning.

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