Month: June 2016

miracles.

miracles.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

You’ve read them.

Heartwarming stories of miracles. Being at the right place at the right time. Rescued.

But then you didn’t get a miracle, did you?

I didn’t get one, either.

So we have to do something with that. We have to have a place to file “no miracle” in our minds.

The people who get a miracle like to talk about it. And so they should! But then they believe for you, too. But you don’t understand. Not everyone gets a miracle.

I have resolved to accept it. If I didn’t, I would get bitter.

I didn’t want a heart that would soon show on my face and in my words that would reflect the taste you get when you chew up an aspirin.

Over the years, I have determined the goodness of God as well as the bad in this world. I have cultivated a relationship of trusting him since we were made to trust in something or someone so why not him?

I still cry and hurt and miss the miracle I did not get.

But I love God with all my heart, soul, and strength enough to believe and be comforted with a miracle we can all have – grace and peace for now, heaven forever with God.

grace and peace

***

Photo credit: Kylie_Jaxxon via DesignHunt / CC BY-SA

 

 

it never gets old.

it never gets old.

by Kathleen Moulton

Over and over, I am amazed at the ordinary.

These radishes are from my garden. In one month, the tiny seeds grew into this!

radish

Do you know how tiny radish seeds are? Tiny. So tiny if you’re not careful planting them they will blow away. So tiny you can barely see them when you plant them in the soil.

But within each seed is everything that is needed to create a radish. With help of water and sunshine of course.

I’ve been gardening for 40 years. It never gets old.

There are signs all around us telling us God exists. Yet, how many times do we need to be reminded? Often.

God knew we needed reminders. Every day the sun rises and sets we get a reminder.

But then there are those smaller things we take for granted.

When you are hurting badly, it doesn’t matter. But soon, it will matter and help bring buoyancy to your life again.

Don’t work at it. God will bring it to you when it’s time.

scripture friday.

scripture friday.

by Kathleen Moulton

But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.

-The Bible

sad

***

Photo credit: Victor Bezrukov via Foter.com / CC BY-NC

God is good.

God is good.

by Kathleen Moulton

It might sound trite to believe God is good when you’ve had loss.

It’s not your first thought.

And it’s okay because God is okay with that, too.

But eventually, you will come face to face with this truth. And the only way you can believe God is good is if you trust him.

Do you?

Throughout the Bible, God says to trust him. That means we can.

I often think about the parent-child relationship when it comes to God. In fact, Jesus used this in many situations because he knows we understand what is tangible.

A parent will set up boundaries and in reality, are asking the child to trust the father or mother. It is easy for us to understand it is for the child’s own good.

Some children resist and rebel. They want to do it their way.

Adults can be like that, too.

A good parent will be patient and understanding, allowing the child to learn.

God can be like that, too.

Whatever it is that is causing you pain and heartache, God sees tomorrow.

Will you trust him?

He knows the time when you are ready. You will know it, too. If you stubbornly resist it will be more pain for you.

Let him help you.

I’ve seen it before – when a child gives into whatever they were yelling about, whatever they were pushing away – they settled into a happier, peaceful demeanor.

Sometimes, the way to being happier and peaceful is not the way we think it is.

the-world-is-mine-all-mine

Photo credit: tarotastic via Foter.com / CC BY

~~~

father’s day.

father’s day.

by Kathleen Moulton

Maybe you’ve seen it today.

Pictures of fathers and their kids and what-my-dad-always-told-me quotes displayed across social media and television.

Dads embracing daughters. Daughters embracing dads. Dads who would rescue his girl from any potential threat.

Dads fishing with sons. Sons with dads at baseball games. Dads who take the time to make men out of boys.

They’re out there.

Maybe just not for you.

Absent fathers, distant fathers, angry fathers, unloving fathers, alcoholic fathers, emotional and physical pain inflicting fathers …

…

In my first year of life, my birth father did not want to see me. My potential step-father did not want me. After 2 tries my 3rd father adopted me.

Needless to say, it affected me more than I realized. I have always been optimistic, adaptable, and trusting. I had never given it a second thought. I did not jump on the blame-your-parents bandwagon when books started to be written or therapy identifying every “buried” infliction from your past being the cause of your present demise.

Perhaps this is one reason why I have clung so tightly to God. Because I started out with something important missing in my new life. Even though I was too young to wrap my mind around it, the bonding to what is supposed to be did not happen. A part of me did not grow properly.

Abandonment and rejection was imprinted upon my heart whether I wanted it or not.

Nothing is 100% in this life and we all have our stories that have crippled us. So we tend to look for something .. someone .. to fill that emptiness.

I can tell you assuredly, God is who we need.

The Bible says God executes justice for the orphan.

It says God is a father to the fatherless.

It says when our father and mother abandons me the Lord will take me. Another translation says God will hold me close.

These are comforting scriptures revealing the father heart of God. Unfortunately, our first inclination may be to say, “If he loves me like a father, how come he let this happen and that happen?”

One day we will understand. Can you trust God the way we were made to trust our earthly father?

Today, don’t let the hurt consume you. Is is real. It is not visible like a broken arm but God sees it.

I can tell you this: everyone can call God their Heavenly Father, but few know him as Daddy.

alone

***

Photo credit: CamillaLindskoug via Remodel Blog / CC BY-NC

scripture friday.

scripture friday.

by Kathleen Moulton

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.

–The Bible

garden 17

when life goes wrong.

when life goes wrong.

by Kathleen Moulton

I am dedicating this post to memory of those killed in Orlando and the family who lost their son at Disney World. May God hold them close.

It’s been the little things in life that has helped make me strong. That’s because of my Christian faith, believing and knowing God is real, and the small ways he whispers his presence into all of our lives.

God is like that.

When he whispers, we pay closer attention.

It’s like last week when my local paper had a photo of a scarlet tanager and I thought, “I’d love to see one of those!” And a day later, I did.

Photo credit: Mike's Birds / Foter / CC BY-SA

And then the 6 quarts+ of strawberries I’ve picked out of my little 5×5 patch.

kathymoulton

And the cardinals I have been coaxing to the feeders for so long.

kathymoulton

Or my peony that would only give 2 or 3 blooms  each year, and this spring, it was covered with over 70 blooms.

kathymoulton

All around you are whispers from God. He wants you to know he is with you.

This doesn’t mean we don’t remember the hurt.

It means we remember the good.

wait on the Lord.

wait on the Lord.

by Kathleen Moulton

when it hurts

I know what it feels like when it seems that things will not change.

It feels like your situation will never end and it will consume you.

The thing I have personally experienced is – it won’t.

ocean

Have you thought about the immensity of the earth and 2/3 is covered by water?

And yet it does not overtake the land.

How much more important are you?

God is fully aware of your situation.

We have to be patient and wait. He knows the right moment for it to change.

Meanwhile, God keeps you close. It may not seem like it but he does. It’s not until you look back that you see it.

~~~

Photo credit: Claude Robillard / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)

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scripture friday.

scripture friday.

by Kathleen Moulton

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

–The Bible

cup

©kathymoulton

 

 

when we don’t want to.

when we don’t want to.

by Kathleen Moulton

Since losing my oldest son 10 1/2 years ago, I have been very aware of a part of me that “holds back”.

It’s this small part deep inside. It doesn’t hurt. It just exists.

This morning, I began getting back into my walking routine. Wildflowers swayed in the meadows along the road. So calming to the soul!

I walked by several clumps of daisies. Hmm. I remember long ago, picking them and putting them in a vase on the table. But today, that small part of me kept holding me back.

Why bother.

But then I made a decision to pick them, even when I didn’t want to.

morning 3

©kathymoulton

I can’t tell you that suddenly the heavens opened up and I felt incredibly wonderful.

Instead, I felt contentment.

Contentment is underrated. We think we’re always supposed to be happy .. on top of our game .. riding a wave of accomplishment.

And if we aren’t, something is wrong.

Not true!

Do something you don’t feel like doing today.