Healing Happens

HealingHappenspinterestgreywhite

I received the text yesterday

“Great news!…No treatment as of now. Very excited about the new plan.
Thank you for your prayers!”

My mom messaged her friends that Fox Chase Cancer Center developed a new perspective regarding her case and decided that treatment would not be necessary at the moment. My mom prayed that her body would have a time of “rest” after battling lymphoma conventionally for two years.

Sixteen years ago, we received the news of mom’s diagnosis at Christmas… just as we were moving into our new home. I was devastated. I felt entirely distracted (in my final semester in college) by mom’s suffering through chemo and radiation. I couldn’t grasp God’s timing. My mom (and our family) was finally settling into a home of her dreams. Mom and her husband were only married a few short years. In previous years, she faced enduring trials as a single-mom trying to survive. I thought the new season of life was meant to be a blessing… for all of us. 

I wept, I cried. I called out to God on behalf of my mom and asked that He sustain her life. I read the Psalms for comfort and noticed that David often “cried out” to God. I did exactly that. I wrote a song about it for the ministry team I toured with at the time. The song – “I cry” – became my heart’s response to many life challenges over the next several years.

have you been there? 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the book of 2 Kings, chapter 20 – verses 3 through 6… God hears the cry of King Hezekiah when he becomes ill. The prophet Isaiah tells Hezekiah to “get his house in order” because he will die. Upon hearing the news, Hezekiah weeps bitterly and presents his petition before God:

“Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.”

God sees Hezekiah’s heart and honors his prayers.

God adds 15 years to Hezekiah’s life.

 

Healing Happens. 

Isn’t this amazing?

[Tweet “God, the Almighty, hears our prayers and sees our hearts – and responds to us! Healing happens.”]

Hezekiah came humbly (yet confidently) before God’s throne in prayer. He cried out from that posture – He knew His position as a sinner – and He knew his position as a faithful servant.

Oh, how this story ministered to my soul. In a world where we often don’t see the miraculous, and where healing doesn’t always come on this side of heaven… we can be encouraged that God is the Sustainer of Life.

We don’t deserve healing. We don’t demand it. We CAN request it with confident humility.

Make sense? Confident humility? 

We need to humbly accept that God is Sovereign. He doesn’t always answer our prayers – as we hope. He doesn’t always heal. His ways are not our ways.

We must humbly accept that.

Yet, God is good. He is loving and merciful. I truly believe that He wants to extend His mercy and wants to hear us cry out! We can come confidently before God’s throne because of WHO He is! We can walk confidently in His ability and because His character…is good!

Consider the tax collector in Luke 18:13-14 that cries out for mercy to Jesus. 

“God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

How important is humility? Absolutely essential. 

We don’t come before God’s throne with demands and expectations. We come humbly.

Still, we come.

We cry out.

He is The Healer. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My mom loves Jesus dearly.

She loved, trusted, and served Him through extreme trials in life.

I asked God if He would be good to her and sustain her.

Here we are, sixteen years later. God is good! The cancer did appear again just a few years ago… but mom battles with strength and grace. I couldn’t be happier yesterday upon receiving her text. God is sustaining her life (not because she deserves it, or has enough faith) … but because He is good… and merciful.

One part of me struggles writing this post. As I type, a former classmate’s husband is taking his final breaths. I am absolutely heart-broken for them.

I received my mom’s text yesterday that her health is on a good track. Hopeful. I read the FB post yesterday that my friend’s husband would be starting comfort care and that he would soon be out of pain. Devastating news. He was diagnosed only 2.5 months ago with melanoma that spread to the brain.

How can I claim Healing Happens when it is not happening right now for them?

There are so many suffering, so many in pain.

Discouraging.

God, where are you? 

He whispers that He’s by our side.

I pray that my friend and her husband cry out to God and let Him comfort them. When our bodies are broken, when we mourn and suffer loss – He can still heal our souls.

God doesn’t always heal physical bodies this side of heaven… but He is a healer.

If physical healing doesn’t come when we ask for it… God heals souls …through the greatest trials. It is often through heart-break, suffering, loss, and trial that God works to heal our thoughts, emotions, and inner-most parts of the soul.

If you ask anyone who suffered greatly and came out on the other side of the loss or trial rejoicing and thanking Jesus, they will attest to the fact that… indeed… (not always in the way or timing in which we expect)… Yet…

Healing Happens. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’ve battled Crohn-Colitis for nearly a decade. Through the years, I felt extreme pain and despair.

“PLEASE heal me! Have mercy upon me!”

If I can relate to a woman in the Bible, it is truly the woman with the issue of blood. I. simply. understand.

Friends, can I share with you that I am totally medication free this week? I’ve been through some valleys. I can tell you that I am a changed person BECAUSE of the difficult journey. God healed many emotional wounds. God used the illness to strengthen me. Ironic, but true.

Psalm 25:18 “Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

Healing Happens. 

*Read my health journey here: For Goodness Glory Sake – my health journey (part 2)

 

Friends, can I share with you that my son is a healthy 6 year old? When Z turned one… doctors said he might have leukemia. Testing revealed neutropenia (a blood disorder). Three short months later, the neutropenia resolved, with no explainable reason.

Healing Happens.

Friends, can I share with you that my grandmother survived 7 massive heart-attacks, a stroke, and congestive heart failure (3 times) within her final 15 years of life?  Many do not survive one heart attack. God chose to sustain the life of Minnie. Meanwhile, God worked inside of my grandmother to reveal His great love to her. In those years, Minnie drew closest to God. She admitted that through her trials, He was healing her soul and preparing her to meet Him face to face. She passed peacefully into heavenly glory in the summer of 2015.

Healing Happens. 

God does indeed work in mysterious ways.

God is good.

Can you trust Him for your healing today? How is He healing you physically? Is He healing your soul?

[Tweet “God’s seed: “…He forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” Psalm 103:3″]

Healing Happens.

missionzera blessings,

Planting God’s seeds of hope…

Brook Joy

Brook Profile-02062016*Brook Joy writes articles on Faith, Life, Culture, and her personal journey with Health (IBD). Brook is a chocolate-loving wife & homeschooling mama (and a Christian for 20+ years)… planting and growing God’s seeds of hope at missionzera.com

When Mama Needs Grace

When Mama Needs Grace

“You’re a mean mommy. I want the good mommy!”

 

Well, I have to laugh AND cry.

My 3-year old dancing princess caught my attention. She uses words to get a rise from me, but I also knew she spoke truth about her feelings.

I’m such a terrible, horrible, no-good mommy! Ha.

Honestly, it was a rough day. I was a rough-around-the-edges mama.

It’s true. This grace-saved sinner needs more grace-filled moments than I’d like to admit.

This poster mom resonated beauty in the morning while scoring points toward the ideal homeschool mom award. Well, you know what I mean. I felt good about mamahood!

Smiling. Singing Songs. Crafting. Teaching a well-planned lesson. Emphasizing character. Pointing them to Jesus. Ha. Ha, again!

Then, the evening arrived. I lost my cool after the constant whines and demands grated my last nerve. (It’s Winter – we get a bit stuck. I’ll just leave it at that word – stuck.)

I wish I could tell you that I took a deep breath and prayed. Nope. I yelled. I threatened an early bedtime. And they could sense the frustration and anger gearing up.

“They” are my precious littles that I love with all of my heart. Why do I fail at loving them as perfectly as I want to?

I’m going to fail them. I’m going to sin against them simply because I’m born a sinful human. I get frustrated; I lose my patience.

I sin.

I don’t want to, but I do.

I have the precious Spirit of the Living God available to me – to change my mood – to calm me.

I need a heart-check with my Maker in these moments – especially in these moments. 

I’ve been bought with the beautiful blood of Jesus. Costly. Very costly.

“I owe it to Him to seek regeneration of spirit when I feel I’m checking-out and about to lose it. I owe it to the ones I love – especially my husband and children.”

Psalm 51:2 “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”

Keep Calm & Carry On.

Yes, and YES! HOW???

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The disgruntled look on my son’s face assured me that we all felt the stress. We were losing solid ground in the moment.

I pulled my six-year-old boy aside, “Hey sonshine, what would you say to mommy in these moments when she needs grace?”

“Get with God, mom. Relax. I’ll let you do that. I’ll listen.

I’ll stop complaining. I’ll be quiet.” 

Whoa, son! I’m failing you in the moment and Jesus is pouring grace out through you!

 “The kids are learning that a “mom with God” is the mom they want.”

How AWESOME is that?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A friend and fellow homeschool mama shared a great post on Facebook a few weeks ago. It was a picture of a post-it note handwritten by one of her kids. It said, “Beware! No Bible time!”

Even better, they stuck it to her forehead!!! How hilarious? I hope you have a sense of humor to appreciate that. I certainly did.

I don’t know the details on how they actually placed the post-it on her head, but the message was clear. Mama missed her devotion time with God. Steer clear. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear little loves,

I want to be devoted to get things right in my heart with God, so that I can get things right with you!

I LOVE YOU!!

 

Have you ever been more effective after 3 hours of sleep while you pray through every moment of your day? I’ve been there – many times. Totally dependent on God – and it’s awesome.

It’s often the moments when I’m breezing through a wonderful, everything is “under-control” type of day when – suddenly THAT moment sneaks up. I’m tested. Will I succeed or fail?

Stop. Drop. Roll. 

Silly, right? We learn this in pre-school. It’s the way to get out of a fire.

Well, when the fire is about to flame inside with sins of impatience, frustration, anger… you name it…

STOP

the attitude. Recognize the problem. Pray. Just breathe and pray. 

Psalm 86:5 “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and abundant in mercy unto all them that call upon you.”

DROP

the agendas, checklists, intentions for the day. Ask the Lord, what can I drop? What activities can we skip today? Skip the store. Skip the Math. Leave the dishes in the sink! Skip the weekend plans. It’s time to adjust course.

If you’re in the car – drive to a parking lot and put on worship music. Tell the kids that it’s time to heart-check with God and re-focus. Let them know that sometimes God will re-direct our path. If we need to show up for dance a few minutes late in order to dwell in God’s presence – then so be it.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31 “But if from thence you shall seek the LORD your God, you shall find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

ROLL

with the word of God. Open up the Bible. Quote scripture from memory. Get on tea-time, music, and prayer. Who cares if everything comes to a halt at 2pm while the mama takes a 10-minute grace break with her RESCUE!

Which is better – Mary or Martha? Jesus understood the depth of difference between the two. It’s more than acts of service vs. worship. He knows what is best for us… because He loves us! He knows WE need it – the rest, the peace – we need HIM!

Psalm 145:8-9 “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all His works.”

It’s not always about our duty – it’s about what He’s already done.

Let Him do the work on the inside!

“Get out of the house on fire. Get into God’s House of Grace.” 

Let Jesus’ water wash over us and control that blaze. Let Him subdue our spirit as we submit.

Hey super-mama! Worship Jesus, rest in His word – abundant grace is yours – abundant grace flows through you.

Jesus Christ in you is simply enough for the day.

Choose His grace today. 

God’s seed: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

 

Treasure those who Treasure You

Treasure Those who Treasure You

This hot mess mama stumbled into a convenience store to grab a few cosmetics… and chocolate, of course!

My Zee and Zu (the nicknames of my littles) couldn’t make a quick decision on chocolate of choice. The wide-eyed teenager working behind the counter saw an opportunity to ask a question. God only knows why he chose to entrust me, a mere stranger with two distracted kids.

“Can I ask you for some advice?”

“Sure. What’s up?” I replied. 

He wore his heart on his sleeve and quickly explained that his “friend” continuously complained about her job. He politely asked her to stop complaining and find ways to appreciate her employment. She was infuriated. She asked him to never speak to her again. He was shocked and broken-hearted. She ended a “friendship” … just like that.

His question was simple,

“Should I try to work it out with her, or do I just move on?” 

I rambled for a few seconds while I prayed,

“God, what can I say to this kid? Give me something meaningful. In teenager vocabulary, please.” 

It hit me hard as simultaneously I spoke,

“Treasure those that treasure you.” 

I said it again. Sternly, loudly, lovingly, and with a smile,

“Treasure those that treasure you.”

He nodded and smiled. He got it. We both did.

He finished ringing up my items, and I encouraged him to remember those words, “Treasure those that treasure you” on Valentine’s day – and everyday. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I thought about those words for hours. I’ve been evaluating life’s demands and all of the characters that are in my story. I love every person that God chose to include in the chapters of my life. But, oh, those special few…

There are those special few, the very dear and close ones, that remind you in simple ways how much you are loved. Treasure those. Really, really, treasure those. 

You don’t need a romantic Valentine to appreciate the treasures.

No one knows what tomorrow brings. We have today.

This Valentine’s day, make a phone call (not a text), send a card, buy some chocolate… treasure the treasures…

(I feel like I just wrote a commercial.)

Honestly, though, why not? If you do, I can almost assure that your attitude of gratitude will guarantee a warm fuzzy on heart day.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It’s still early in the year…I noticed others sharing their yearly aspirations in a sentence or word.

I have several words that I’m clinging to…(for me) TREASURE needs to trump them all.

Treasure those you love.

Treasure the day.

Treasure moments.

Treasure blessings.

Treasure life.

And most certainly…

Treasure those that treasure you

 

God’s seed: “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

Treasure Jesus