by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
Last year I had the privilege of leading a writer’s workshop for a retreat focused on caring for mothers who’ve lost a child of any age. I marveled at their strength, faith, and joy, despite the heartbreaking circumstances facing them every waking day.
Someone who knows much about this kind of pain is Dee Dee Parker, an extraordinary friend of mine, who lost her 34 year-old daughter to cancer several years ago. It’s because of the forever fragrance released through Dee Dee’s life that I asked her to share how joy is possible even on the darkest of days.
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Brooke’s death was imminent.
I remember gazing into her eyes, memorizing her face. I longed to gather her frail body in my arms, a mother’s arms, designed to protect and run away to where pain could no longer ravish, and death could not steal her life’s breath.
I remember thinking how our hearts have always beaten in tandem, when her heart stops, so will mine.
Truth:
I could not whisk her away. She was heaven-bound. Death did come; I was left behind. Brooke’s heart stopped beating. My heart continued beating, but not my will.
In the wee hours of morning under an ink-stained sky, I crumbled to my knees.
Yes, I paint a harsh picture, but that’s because so many of you find yourselves in a place so black, so painful, and appearing void of joy.
Since Brooke’s home going, I’ve been asked numerous times, “How have you continued on? How have you found joy?”
Truth is, I didn’t have to find my joy. My joy is in the Lord therefore it is constant, strong, and eternal. Happiness, on the other hand, like the fickle thing it is, had flown. I wasn’t happy seeing my daughter suffering or knowing I’d never hear her say mother again on this side of heaven.
Brooke was a believer; therefore, according to scripture, she is with her Savior and Lord. She no longer is paralyzed from cancer’s tentacles. Praise the Lord she has a glorified body, she dances in stardust. Brooke lives, and I will be with her again. I have reason to rejoice!
I pray that you know Christ, the foundation of joy; it comes by establishing an intimate relationship with Him. I don’t know your names, can’t see your faces, but I can pray for you in your time of heart-rending hurt. I will fling the words of Romans 15:13 to the very courts of heaven on your behalf:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Precious readers, I wish you all joy unspeakable.
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Thank you, Dee Dee, for bringing difficult but powerful words to the surface for the benefit of others.
Friends, Dee Dee welcomes the opportunity to pray for you. She also wants to make herself available to those who’ve experienced the loss of a child or grandchild by lending a welcoming ear. If you would like to contact her, please email me or leave a comment. She can also be found on Facebook.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort
those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we
ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3,4
Don’t forget! There are only three more days left to put your name in the drawing for the teacup and saucer from my personal collection. Visit this post and leave a comment to register. A name will be randomly drawn on Friday, April 10th.
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
God wants me to be happy.
Six words – a belief system, if you will – that, at one point, plunged my life into the proverbial place known as rock bottom.
In the moment, it was blissful. Believing this lie—that God was more interested in my happiness than His holiness—eased my conscience, leading to sinful choices that continue to affect my family twenty-six years later.
So, although this month’s series is on joy, today is also about happiness because many, such as myself, have at some point in life confused the two. And the end result is often costly:
I’m leaving my spouse. He/she just doesn’t make me happy anymore. And, of course, God wants me to be happy.
Truth is: God designed marriage. God defined marriage. Our completeness is only achieved through a relationship with Him, not another person. That kind of burden will crush the other because they were never designed to carry it. However, when our purpose, our fulfillment, is grounded in Christ, joy feeds hope and hope gives flight to “all things possible.” God hates divorce. (Malachi 2:16) Thankfully, He loves those of us who’ve experienced it but He hates the act, especially when He’s used as the excuse to do so.
I would be happier if I had a bigger house, a better car, {fill in the blank}. After all, God wants me to be happy.
Truth is: There’s nothing wrong with a bigger, better house, car, or whatever — as long as we’re consumed by the Gospel rather than stuff. Joy, the eternal fragrance of Christ, will never linger upon temporal trinkets that simply rust and decay. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Col.3:2
I wish I’d not fallen for the six-worded lie all those years ago. I wish I’d known Christ and His truth, but I didn’t. It was, however, through this rock-hard place in life that I came to experience the tenderness of God’s holiness and the joy of my salvation. The kind of joy that scales the most jagged of all circumstances and soars for an eternity.
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9
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| Made in Japan, from my collection. |
Today was the original date set for the teacup drawing mentioned in last Monday’s post but due to Spring Break (something this empty
nester failed to remember!) I’m extending the drawing until Friday, April 10th. If you would like to be included in the drawing, please leave a comment here. Best of luck to you!
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
Welcome to our NEW series!
I can’t imagine a better time to revel in the truths of joy as we celebrate Easter this coming Sunday.
It’s because of Christ and His resurrection that joy is not only attainable — it is forever infused into the life of every follower.
This month, we’ll camp out beneath a canopy of truths about joy, dispelling common misconceptions but most of all, celebrating its true meaning and the implications these truths hold for our daily lives.
In a day when circumstances continue to crumble about us, we need to hold fast to the fragrance of Christ that will linger forever, and that, is joy. (No foolin’!)
I look forward to sharing this joy-filled journey with you.
So, what is one way you’ll celebrate JOY this Easter weekend?
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great
mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… 1 Peter 1:3
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
Writing about the whispers of God this month has been both a joy and well, a challenge. I learned His whispers rarely tended to speak above a hush, and certainly didn’t try to contend with the clatter of my cluttered days.
Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
As we close out this series and begin a new one in April, {Whee!} I would like to offer a tea cup and saucer from my own collection to help someone settle in to their stillness time with God.
There’s something about preparing a cup of tea (especially when using loose leaves) that brings a bustling day to its knees. Bringing the tea kettle to a whistle, allowing the tea to steep, and slowly sipping the warm beverage. By the time you’re settled in your comfy chair, with tea in hand, you’re ready to revel in God-infused stillness.
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| Marked: Gold in China, Made in Japan |
If you’d like the opportunity to win this beautiful cup and saucer (my picture doesn’t do the vivid fuchsia flush of the flower or the light green rims justice), you need only leave a comment on the blog sharing which post in our March series you resonated with the most. (US participants only)
Click the purple shaded area at the bottom of this post to leave the comment. (If you have any problems, please email me via the envelope icon on the sidebar.)
Contest will end Monday, April 6th. I’ll use random.org to draw a name and the winner will be announced that day via Facebook. (Good luck!)
Beginning this Wednesday, April 1st, we’ll begin a NEW series:
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
I don’t mind being wrong. I just don’t want to be misunderstood. (That makes sense, right?)
Like, I’m perfectly okay if someone doesn’t agree with my perspective on something as long as they understand my heart on the matter. This mode of thinking, however, has sometimes handed the enemy his sharpest darts of doubt to penetrate my peace of mind.
Recently, one of his darts took flight soon after writing a difficult email. I had prayed prior to sending it, asking God to check my heart. Nevertheless, this question continued to encircle my thinking:
What if the meaning of my email was misinterpreted by the recipient?
Enter, God’s whisper:
I know your heart. Rest in this truth.
The enemy may have fiery darts (Eph. 6:16) but our God wields a swift and mighty sword (Hebrews 4:12) that snuffs out doubts, leaving nothing but smoldering splinters in its wake.
When God reminded me of his truth—that he is omniscient, knowing all things, especially the heart and intentions of his creation—I could rest, and I did. Later that day, God graciously confirmed my initial concern with confirmation that my heart had indeed been understood. A praise of thankfulness quickly followed.
How has God snuffed out your doubts in recent days with Truth? Let the praises begin!
The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
Psalm 33:13-15
**** Don’t miss Monday’s post as I’ll be offering a beautiful tea cup and saucer from my personal collection for a drawing. It’s a gift from me to you as we close out this month’s series.
by Cathy Baker | Faith |
by Cathy Baker
Upstairs I gaze out the window overlooking the city street, onto the sprawling tree just beyond the concrete boundaries. Her elegant arms stretched wide like a ballerina in the finest Grande pose.
Its bare limbs, trunk, all things, exposed.
Vulnerability rarely comes easy. I’m an only child, and for me, it’s always felt more natural to hold things closer to my heart than to my lips.
Only in recent years have I begun to understand how vulnerability plays such a vital role if my life is to put the gospel on display.
It’s one thing to be transparent, which merely means being upfront and honest. To be vulnerable, one must be willing to lay open the most tender places within, leaving them exposed for the possibility of emotional bruising. After all, the word vulnerable means able to be wounded.
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| Photo courtesy of Cheryl Werner |
But if I am to reflect the life and love of Christ, how could I not make myself more vulnerable, for Christ is the perfect example?
As Easter approaches, one need only look to the verbiage found in Luke 9:22 to see the vulnerability of Christ: suffer, rejected, and killed.
He did not hide His heart…nor His love—even to those He knew would nail Him to a cross.
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
It’s when I gaze out the window that I hear His whisper:
Vulnerability exposes the deepest, most tender places of the heart. It’s costly, I know. But worth every bruising.
Perhaps it’s for this reason I often make my way up the stairs on these winter-turning-to-spring days. Soon, this exquisite display of His whisper will be cloaked in color, no longer visible.
In life, vulnerabilities can be hidden beneath many “cloaks of color” — isolation, anger, pills, alcohol, broken smiles, and humor, among thousands of others. But…
he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his
wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
I will miss the bare branches—but even on the hottest of summer days—His whisper will linger, and I will respond with a whisper of my own: Thank You, Lord.
How has your journey dealing with vulnerability changed since becoming a Christ follower? I’d love for you to take a moment to share. We never know who will be encouraged as a result of our own vulnerability here. Blessings!
Brooke’s death was imminent. 
