Author: Kathleen Moulton

it matters to this one.

it matters to this one.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn … I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea.

When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. there were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish.

Hurling it far into the sea he said, “It makes a difference for this one.”– Loren Eiseley

starfish

Make a difference for someone, even if you are the one who is hurting.

~~~

Original post 12/2015

thankful.

thankful.

by Kathleen Moulton

Not feeling much like being thankful? When everything around you is painful, being thankful is not in your mind.

And even if you think about being thankful, the fact is you don’t want to be.

And a picture of a sunset or snowflake or flower won’t do a thing for you. Not when you’re feeling some deep loss or despair.

Feel the pain. It’s okay.

But lift your tear stained face off  that pillow for a minute and breathe. You see the now. But there is a tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. Don’t let the sorrow consume you to the point of not wanting to live.  Just as quickly as that pain stormed down the door and pounced on you – it can leave just as quickly.

The Psalms are full of the heart cries of sorrow. Yet, in the end, the psalmist concludes his pain is bigger than him to handle. The solution for the pain he cannot contain is turning toward God and saying – yet I will trust in You.

There is something to be thankful for. Something.

Abraham Lincoln gave a proclamation to the American people during the Civil War.  Despite a time of severe sorrow and loss, he led the country in establishing our national holiday on the last Thursday of November, and called it Thanksgiving.

What? How can this be?

This wasn’t a war fought in a foreign country. It was right under the noses of the American people. The battlefields could not be ignored. They were stained with human flesh and blood from the slaughtered sons and fathers who never came home. Surely, our nation’s cries of angst echoed in the heavens up to God’s ears. And it took someone such as President Lincoln, who spent many private moments grappling in his own personal darkness, to lead the nation to do the right thing. The thing that makes no sense. But the thing that would bring relief, comfort, and peace for an aching heart.

Thanksgiving.

Finding something to be thankful for is not avoiding or ignoring the pain. It is the secret to getting through the pain and seeing your inability to handle it alone. It is the secret to knowing the God you’ve heard about.

Being thankful won’t make the pain go away. But it will help you through it.

Abraham Lincoln must have known that.

Grace1918photographEnstrom

hurt in church.

hurt in church.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

Some people have been hurt in church. It’s the last place you’d expect it.

Some people have remarked with a quip: “There’s no perfect church!”

Well, it’s not funny.

It is true that people are not perfect.

It is not true that people are not perfect

enough to say “I’m sorry”.

If you’ve been hurt in a church, you may have turned away from God.

Don’t. You will feel worse.

It’s not God’s fault.

 

 

And you’re right.

The people in a church should have

a caring

a compassion

and a love not seen anywhere else.

 You be different.

Give to others out of your pain. It’s like giving yourself what you were not given.

And watch what happens.

~~~

repost Nov. 2012

Photo courtesy:

seanmcgrath / Foter / CC BY

Pink Sherbet Photography / Foter / CC BY

anticipation.

anticipation.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 2 Comments

I leaned back in the wicker rocking chair – a favorite – the one with the brown and aqua quilt.

Linger. I want to linger here for as long as possible. The warm, scattered sunshine is soothing. Can I stay?

My eyes teared slightly at the leafless branches contrasting against royal blue  – recalling a childhood memory of loving the sky.

The smells of autumn were unmistakable. The clean smell of Macintosh apples in a nearby bushel, the carpet of golden maple leaves soaking in the warm sun, and the damp earth preparing a resting place for frost-bitten hostas, salvia, and phlox.

And then one leaf…and another…gracefully floated to the ground to take its place among the others.

Seasons end, but another is waiting. Do we hang on to the old? Or do we anticipate the new?

Even in the midst of the cold and bitter winter, there is life. The wind plays with the snow, creating ripples of purple shadowed dunes while grand, lacy snowflakes rock gently to the earth – breathing life into our weariness.

The pain will end. But in its cold and bitterness, there is still life. Can you find it?

reposted from Oct. 2014

look up.

look up.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 2 Comments

If you’re having a bad day today, go outside and look up at the sky.

Hopefully, it is a sunny day for you.

I promise it will clear your head and make you feel better.

God’s simple solutions are all around us.

It doesn’t always solve the problem, but it solves the problem of hopelessness.

sky

scripture friday.

scripture friday.

by Kathleen Moulton

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

-The Bible

weep
Captain Kimo / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
how?

how?

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

I’ve said it before.

I don’t know how people face difficult times without faith in God.

You have to have something that you know is going to change your situation, even if it’s only at the very end of your existence.

With God, you know what the end of the story is. Eternity. Reunion. Restoration.

That feels like a long time off, doesn’t it?

It is. But it’s coming.

It doesn’t take the hurt away but it fills us with hope, believing God will do what he promises us.

Without this assurance, how do people live?

How do they process the sorrows of life?

To believe when life ends it’s over doesn’t line up with how we think now. We were made to hope in the smallest of things.

Shouldn’t we naturally hope in the biggest thing?

8733483995_b8b386d372_c
Mara ~earth light~ via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

 

 

friday quote.

friday quote.

by Kathleen Moulton

“The meaning of life in the United States is the pursuit of pleasure and personal freedom,

that suffering is so traumatic for Americans.”

– Dr. Paul Brand

rejection
Photo credit: KatLevPhoto / Foter / CC BY-NC

why choose God.

why choose God.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

I know.

There are multitudes of belief systems out there.

Do they work for people? I don’t know.

I do know the Christian faith has worked for me.

It’s natural for me to choose God because I am about bottom lines. Give me the starting point so I can understand. Don’t skip steps and go to #3 or #4.

Yet, everyone of us have a longing in our hearts to know the Creator. He designed us that way.

And everyone of us have a different way of attaining that.

I do believe what Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father except through Me.”

I am rock solid in this belief.

And when you are suffering through tragedy, pain, or heartache, you want sure footing.

You need sure footing.

That said, people without God to turn to, what do they turn to?

Lots of things.

One thing is they turn to the “experts”.

But even the experts don’t always agree. That can cause someone who is already overwhelmed to become even more overwhelmed and want to give up.

Listen. I’ve done it. I have always thought most people knew better than me. It’s my nature.

Thankfully, I’ve grown since then. Yet, I remember being in a place where I sought answers and expected solutions from trusted people. There are so many differing opinions – even from the experts – psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists – and all of the others with letters after their name.

I’m not discrediting them. But if you find yourself on this quest to get help, get comfort, get understanding, get relief – you might find yourself going around in circles.

Some of us get lucky and find the perfect counselor or support group.

Some of us don’t.

When it is all said and done, God is always there. And he left his words to guide, direct, strengthen, and comfort us.

Words of truth.

Truth that has the ability to cut through it all, and yes, set you free.

Free from confusion, frustration, bitterness, sorrow – all of it.

You know in your heart there is a longing for God.

Why choose God? He is always there.

Get a Bible. Open it up. And read.

God will do the rest.

bible-in-abandoned-detroit-church

~~~

Photo credit: Freaktography via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND