SALTY TEARS

Why do you suppose tears appear on cue when sorrow arises in our hearts? And, if a tear happens to slip into the corner of your mouth before you can catch it in a tissue, have you ever noticed that it has a definite salty taste?

As I lay in bed, with a heavy heart at the obvious approach of death of a dear friend, these thoughts invaded what should have been sleepy time. I am convinced that a tear shed in mourning is never out of God’s sight. There’s a verse that states….

You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
(Psalm 56:8 NLT)

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
(Psalm 56:8 ESV)

Consider what we know about salt:

Salt is a pure chemical. Frequently, the first thing offered is “something to calm” the closest loved ones of the deceased. God immediately provides salty tears.

Salt is used as a preservative. As we talk of our loved one who has passed, the tears flow, but those memories are being sealed with every God-given salty tear that drops.

We use salt as a seasoning. Is seasoning connected with mourning? Certainly flowing tears are sparkly gifts that help us swallow the sting of death.

And, as with my dear friend there comes a time, when either because of aging or disease, we are ready to lay our bodies aside. As she put it, we want to “see what’s on the other side.” The antiseptic value of salt means it cleanses and/or makes free from germs. Can we apply that to our freedom from sin when we die because of our present life in Christ? “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB

Salty tears: Gifts from God, kept in His bottle, not one is missed.

© Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 2-22-2011

MY HEART’S DESIRE

When I was eight or nine years old, I stood outdoors by our country house and prayed that someday I would be a wife and mother, in that order, because, as I explained to God, a baby needed a daddy as well as a mother.
At age ten, I thought I had given my life to God.
At age seventeen, I was sure I had.
Oh, but I had a long way to go!
Now, in the early years of my seventh decade, I still have a long way to go in that life of serving my wonderful, patient, perfect, loving Heavenly Father.
I was blessed with the answer to that early childhood prayer. Soon after high school graduation, I married the guy I had admired since junior high school. We were both eighteen. The day following our marriage, my husband and I went forward after the Sunday morning service to dedicate our life together to God.
A year later our first child was born, followed two years later by baby number two. Three years later, child number three came along. From our start as teenage parents, we worked hard to stay together, to create a loving, God-fearing home for our children. Always, always, my prayer was that each of our children, like Jesus, “grow in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52 NASB)
Throughout life, I sought to use the lessons I learned in life to help others along the way. This is not to say my way has always been perfect. As I just stated, “the lessons I learned in life.” That means I learned as I went along. Unfortunately, there are things I’d like to erase, but cannot undo. Maybe in the long run, that’s not all bad. If I did away with every wrong thing I did in life, where would the lessons be? Would I grow in wisdom? Would I grow in favor with God and man? As hard as the memories and the lessons are, I wouldn’t make the necessary changes without them. Like Paul, I should try to put the past behind and press on toward the prize of the high calling. “…forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b, 14 NASB)
It’s the reaching forward that gives me hope. I relate to Paul’s description of the two natures found in Romans 7:14-25. While I understand I still have a long way to grow, I also see God as my loving Father, one who wants me to be at home with Him, not just in Heaven, but also here on earth.
While my early prayer to be a wife and mother was answered, I know Christ is the only perfect marriage partner and God is the only perfect parent. I still pray to learn to love more perfectly.
While my faith is not as simple as when I was eight or nine years old, it has grown to where I don’t feel as much need to explain so many things to God now! Often I simply say, “Oh, God, You know!”
He does, too, you know.
Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 2-21-2011

JESUS

JESUS

Born in a stable,
Buried in a tomb;
The earth He created
Became His room.
© M. Sue Moore

He [Jesus] was in the world,

and the world came into being through him;
yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own,
and his own people did not accept him.
John 1:10 -11 NRS

ONCE UPON A TIME

Once upon a time…
That’s a good way to begin a story of make-believe, isn’t it? This is not a make-believe story. This is a true tale.
Once upon a time, there was a woman of more than three score years plus ten. One night as she was headed to bed, she had the bright idea that she must find a cute, soft, little, gray stuffed elephant to buy. Miss Sadie knew exactly where she would go the next morning as soon as the store opened. She was so excited with the thoughts running through her mind that she had difficulty going to sleep.
THE PLAN:
A few days prior, Miss Sadie had given away two adorable squishy elephants to a precocious kindergarten girl named Kate. If the woman already had those elephants, you may wonder why she gave them away. She made the decision based on a perceived need. She felt Kate could make good use of her wonderful imagination by having the two appealing elephants “discuss” important matters with one another. The woman envisioned the young girl holding one small elephant in each hand while encouraging their face-to-face conversations.
The little elephants were named Ava and Eva. Ava wore a pink bow above one ear and Eva had an aqua bow over hers. When she passed them to Kate, Miss Sadie explained the bow colors showed her which one was which. The tiny twins had lived on a desk in Miss Sadie’s house for a couple of years. They were there because they used to “write” letters to her grandson who also owned a cute, soft, little, gray stuffed elephant. His Ellie used to come to visit with Ava and Eva until he got too old to bring her with him. After that, the twins had stopped writing letters. And now it seemed they would be happier living with the cute little girl.
In the past, Miss Sadie had used some special children’s stationery with elephants on it. The stationery was outlined in different colors. Some was lime green, some light yellow, some pink, and some blue. Each piece had a drawing of a little elephant dressed in fancy corresponding colors of clothing of different styles. There were also matching envelope forms to print, fold, and glue. Now, she had big plans for using that stationery again.
The time was right. Miss Sadie was ready to find another elephant so she could give her a name, set her on the desk, take her picture, have her “write” stories about herself, and send letter-stories to Kate and the elephant cousins each week. The woman planned to be sure the little girl knew that Ava and Eva were twins and encourage Kate to make up her own stories about them, too. Knowing that the little girl was already an imaginative storyteller, Miss Sadie knew it wouldn’t be long until the kindergartener would be able to write her own stories.
Once Miss Sadie had the idea of finding a similar small gray elephant, she knew the search was going to be difficult. She figured it could be impossible to find an exact match to the twins, but she was a woman who would not give in to the thought of its being impossible. Too many times in her life, the impossible hadn’t been!
Morning finally came. Time for the store to open arrived and Miss Sadie went inside. She took a shopping cart and went directly to the stuffed toy shelves. She didn’t see any tiny, gray stuffed elephants. She didn’t see any elephants at all. She took one of the big boxes down from the top shelf and dug through all the stuffed toys. No elephants. She put the box back and took another down from the shelf to look through. Ah, there was an elephant, but he wasn’t very cute. Yet, he was a stuffed elephant. A stuffed, male adult elephant…not soft. She put him in the shopping cart and thought, “He might be okay, but I am going to keep looking.” She continued her search through box after box, until she had dug through more than ten boxes and several shelves, high and low, front to back. She pawed through tiny stuffed toys and big stuffed toys. She thought she might have to settle on a cute little black bear or some other bean-filled soft toy, but when she moved a large teddy bear aside, hidden underneath was a cute, soft, little, tie-dyed looking purple elephant! The floppy ears were purple with a white floral design on them. Each of her four feet was covered with the same fabric. After all the searching, this little elephant in Miss Sadie’s hand was more than a dream come true!
Miss Sadie just stood there for a minute, wanting to tell the world, “Look what I found!” In all her joy, she knew a few people would understand her complete joy; most would join in her happiness, but not really “get it.” She knew it was all part of a plan that came from more than her mind could fathom. She had a plan, a good plan, as described in the above story, but once she held that little purple elephant in her hand, other stories began to blossom that never would have come about with a cute, soft, little, plain gray stuffed elephant.
Miss Sadie believed God was in the little things. He didn’t hand a little gray elephant to her on a silver platter just because she wanted one; no, she had a plan, but He had a better one. He knew what she wanted, but He didn’t immediately answer in the affirmative. He watched while she searched, but He gave her strength to do it. And then, He watched and rejoiced with her when her hand and eyes simultaneously landed on that little purple and white elephant. He knew, without her saying so, that she was thankful. She knew that He had shown her again, that “once upon a time” can be a true story.
© Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 11-15-2010
"Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Innocent"

THE PRAYERS NOT PRAYED

There have been times in my life when I have been too overwrought with sorrow or concern to formulate a worded prayer. I have taken great comfort in being able to believe with all my heart that God knows me better than I do; therefore, He completely understands and will help take care of my needs. His Word reassures me of this in Romans 8:26-27 (ESV): “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” But…have you ever thought about the answers you have received to prayers not prayed?
There was an occasion when my husband and I had to ask for help in transporting my bedfast, ninety-year-old mother from a nursing home in Ohio to one here in Texas. My husband had received a long-desired job transfer. We could not afford the hospital-style airfare. We did not have money for ambulance care for that kind of mileage. What could we do? We prayed for an answer. This was before in-home computers, so we snail-mailed friends who were with Sojourners, a group of retired RV-ers. These are folks who spent silver-haired years repairing church buildings, helping with Vacation Bible Schools, doing whatever they could wherever they were needed. (It’s my understanding they still do.) My letter went to their Texas home, but finally reached our friends sojourning in New Hampshire. They called. “There’s a couple here, with a brand new RV that sleeps six. They have to be in Mesquite, Texas a few days after Labor Day. They will come through to take you and Mimi there. Here, I’ll let you talk to Billie.” I talked to Billie. With gushing thankfulness, I gave her directions as we made the upcoming plans. When I hung up the phone, I turned to my husband with the announcement, “Well, we knew to ask for transportation. What we didn’t know to ask for was a nurse. Billie is a retired nurse!” The prayer we didn’t even know to pray had been answered.
More recently, my prayer was that the empty house next door be sold to someone compatible. I prayed that, though I knew God might have someone incompatible in mind because I needed to learn some particular lesson! If that were the case I was willing, and He knew that. Even so, it didn’t hurt to ask for my heart’s desire, someone who would be easy to get along with. We live in a patio home. In our neighborhood that means one whole wall of our house is the property line of the neighbor’s side yard. The only window on that wall, in the dining area, measures about three by four feet, and is filled in with thick glass blocks. We needed good neighbors. The sold sign went up but we seldom saw anyone around. One Sunday as we were getting out of our van, a sweet little woman appeared from next door, saying, “Hi, I’m your new neighbor. I locked myself out. Could I use your phone to call my husband?” She saw that we were using the lift on our van for my husband’s motorized scooter. After we explained his need because of the effects of diabetic neuropathy on his lower limbs, her eyes brightened as she responded, “I’m moving here for my job as a caregiver for a healthcare system. I’m a diabetic specialist. I’ll give you my phone number and you call me if you need me anytime, twenty-four hours a day.” Another time, another prayer answered: a good new neighbor, but again, here was an answer to a prayer not prayed, a health-care specialist on call next door!
Have you caught yourself saying, “Whew! That was close!” when you realized there was a near-miss involving your vehicle in heavy traffic? Would you consider that an answer to a prayer you didn’t pray?
Oh, how about other occasions when you find yourself thinking, “It could have been worse.” Is that a time to consider there has been an answer to a prayer you didn’t pray?
We can be thankful for the promise we find in our beginning scripture, that the Spirit intercedes according to the will of God. God provides amazing ways to surprise and delight us with answers to prayers we don’t have the wisdom or forethought to pray.
Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 10-7-2010

GOD'S PLANS

So many times I have seen Jeremiah 29:11 quoted and have repeated it myself: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” We have taken that scripture very personally and applied it to mean to ME. (That is taking it out of context because it was written for a group of exiles, not just one person. However, I am sure God does have things planned for each and every one of us as individuals so I won’t argue the point. The NLT version of Psalm 40:5 says: “O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.”)
This morning as I was doing my daily Bible reading I noted just before that favorite verse of Jeremiah 29:11, another to which we ought to sit up and take notice. In verse 7, God tells Jeremiah to give this message to those in captivity, “And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”
At the present time, few folks seem satisfied with the status of the political situation in the United States. Considering that and having just read God’s admonition to those in exile, started me thinking about another scripture that maybe we ought to pay more attention. It seems to be human nature to want to discuss our grave concerns about the state of our nation and voice our complaints loud and long. We tend to talk to anyone who will listen; let’s face it…we’ll talk whether they will listen or not! We write letters to the local newspaper editors and pen guest columns. We editorialize on blogs. We become masters in the field of verbiage yet fail to make full use of the greatest opportunity of all. I Timothy 2:1-4 is so clear in detailing what needs to be done and why: “ First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Now if we look back to that favorite verse from Jeremiah, would you agree we have heard it repeated more frequently in recent years than the ones from Timothy? Why do you suppose that is? Have we become so selfish that we want to grab it all for old Number One and let the other guy look out for himself, let him do his own praying? Are we just simply heedless? Uncaring? What? Look back at the earlier verse in Jeremiah and the ones in Timothy to catch the reminders that that isn’t God’s way. He wants us to reach out to consider the plight of others, and He explains that what is good for them is good for us. It seems we, as a people generally, have become so busy looking inward that we can’t be bothered with looking beyond our own selves to what’s good for our fellow human beings, not just for this world, but for eternity as well.
We need to remember to learn to look and love as God does. He does have plans for us, to give us a future and a hope, but it’s not for us alone. He has a desire for all to be saved, to come to a knowledge of the truth, and He has given us the admonition to pray, not just for self, but for all. And that means all.
Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 8-22-2010

JESUS CHOSE – I CAN CHOOSE

Before the creation of the world, because He knew mankind would need a Savior, God made a plan and chose to send His Son to be the perfect unblemished Lamb Whose blood would be available to wash away the sins of the world. A long time ago I chose to accept this wonderful Lamb of God as my Savior.

Ephesians 1:3-6
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

Think with me for a bit about what this means: Jesus chose to leave Heaven to live in an earthly body, knowing the kind of death He would eventually die. If you were already in Heaven, can you imagine choosing to come live on earth, knowing you would die such a painful death?

Jesus talked of His life being His own, to lay down and to take up again; He willingly chose to lay it down. He chose to allow the nails to be pounded into His hands and His feet while He also chose to yield His body to those who nailed Him to the cross. Jesus could have walked right through the crowd as He did on another occasion, (Luke 4:28-30) but instead, He chose to be obedient to the point of death.
John 10:17-18
"For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."
Hebrews 5:8
“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

God does not force us; He has blessed us with the same opportunity of freedom of choice He gave His beloved Son. Do you realize what God did when He placed that opportunity in our hands? He gave us tremendous power! We can choose!

When these thoughts first started working through my mind, a couple of lines became kind of a mantra to help keep me in line when I am tempted. A simple example would be: In the morning when I head to my laptop computer…do I first choose to click on the Internet icon for e-messages or do I click on my Bible Explorer Program for my Daily Bible Reading in order to get my day started right? Inside I say, “Jesus chose; I can choose. Jesus chose; I can choose.” Interestingly enough, just those few words help remind me to make the right choice. Maybe it’s because I am really a control freak and I want to be in charge; however, in reality I know my being in control is a myth because ultimately God is in control, not me anyway. Whatever else it is, it is a reminder of the power God has placed inside of me, the power to choose!

Oh, it feels good to be able to say…and know…

Jesus chose…
I can choose…

Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 8-13-2010