THE FATHER'S LOVE

I watched a touching movie over the holidays titled “The Christmas Bunny.” It relayed the story of a family who took in a foster child. Julia appeared to be about nine or ten years old. From the moment she arrived at her new home she refused to speak or relate to the family. Her surrogate mother and father were extremely patient and loving with her and with great wisdom finally managed to help her learn to be obedient. It became apparent that her behavior was not any kind of medical disorder but rather an expression of her sadness and even anger that she had been taken from her real mother. Unfortunately her natural mother had proven to be an unfit parent who could not provide the safety, protection and provision which her daughter needed.

Julia's foster mother loved and trusted the Lord. Her husband, however, struggled with his faith. He had fallen on hard times and had lost his job. Financial pressure and the stress of raising a very troubled foster child brought him to a point of extreme frustration. Julia's conflict with the family's natural son combined with her pet bunny's destructive habits around the house, resulted in a pretty heated verbal bout between Mom and Dad. When Julia overheard the argument and realized that she was the cause of it, she decided to take her rabbit and run away. She headed out into the woods in the snow. By late afternoon she was essentially lost.

The sun would be going down soon and according to the weather forecast a storm was headed Julia's way. Mom and Dad panicked and called the local authorities for help. Her foster father trekked out into the snowy forest in search of his little girl. As he trod through the woods he called out her name over and over. The intensity of his love for her was more than evident in his desperate cry for Julia. The expression of grief on his face and the utter determination in his steps demonstrated his intense desire to be reunited with and to rescue his wandering daughter. When he finally found Julia, he swept her up in his arms and held her in a warm sheltering embrace. He could now bring her back to safety!

As I watched this moving scene, one thought came to my mind. This earthly “foster father's” passionate quest to find his lost daughter must certainly be a reflection of our Heavenly Father's love for us. There are times when God's own children stray from His umbrella of protection through sin and unbelief. There are the multitudes whom the Lord has created but who do not yet know Him as Savior. These are the subjects of God's relentless and ardent pursuit. Julia's father's search for his little girl gives a but a glimpse of the intensity with which our loving “Abba” seeks us out when we are lost.

Two scriptures came to my heart concerning our Father's devotion to His children.

 Isaiah 49:15,16 says,

“Can a mother forget her nursing child?

Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?

Even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

See I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” (NLT)

Also Matthew 7:11 states,

“So if you sinful people know how to give

good gifts to your children, how much more

will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.” (NLT)

The pattern of love which the Father has for us is manifest in the natural parents' love for their children. Yet, according to scripture, and surely according to our experience, the Heavenly Father's love for us is multiplied immensely.

How grateful we can be in the coming year

for a celestial love which knows no bounds?

How inspired we can be to emulate that love

and to share it with a lost and hurting world?

By Cathy Friberg

Facing Christmas

Facing Christmas

I shall attend to my little errands of love
      Early this  year
So that the brief days before Christmas may be
Unhampered and Clear
Of the fever of hurry. The breathless rushing,
      That I have known in the past.
Shall not possess me. I shall be calm in my soul
And ready at last.
For Christmas, “The Mass of the Christ.”

I shall kneel and call out His name;
I shall take time to watch the beautiful light
Of candle flame;
I shall have leisure – I shall go out alone
From my roof and my door
I shall not miss the silver silence of stars
As I have before;
And, oh, perhaps – If I stand there very still,
And very long -
I shall hear what the clamor of living has kept from me;
      The Angels’ song!

---Grace Noll Crawford, 1919

From The Radient Quest
        Harper and  Brothers Publishers, 1940

 shared by Connie Clark

Coincidence or God Acting Anonymously?

What do you call it when something occurs in your life, and you wonder how or why did that happen? Like seeing someone unexpectedly you had been thinking about, or receiving  telephone call or text message from someone you had  been wanting to talk with; or seeing a certain saying or something along the street or in your home that especially resonates with you, bringing back good memories, and perhaps even motivating you to some meaningful action.  Perhaps the experience gives you a feeling of being connected, excited, or  inspired  with a feeling that something bigger is happening out there than what we can see or logically explain.

 We may call our meaningful events a coincidence, chance, synchronicity, or God acting anonymously, and perhaps feel  intrigued with the feeling of magic, mystery, and surprise when life hands us something we can’t explain.

 About three years ago I attended a lecture by Carol Lynn Pearson .  She talked about her new book, “Embracing Coincidence”  She tells us when we experience meaningful coincidences that get our attention, they help us contact the magical, spiritual side of our lives, and she encourages us to be open, to pay attention and to have gratitude for each day.

Whenever my sister and I see a coin, especially a penny, on the ground, we always pick it up and say a big hello to our mom.  Our mother died a few years ago, but when she was alive whenever she saw a coin on the ground, she picked it up,  and reminded us in an excited voice, that it was good luck and it was a reminder to “Keep smiling.”

When our mom’s mind was kidnapped by Alzheimer Disease, she would still get a kick out of finding a coin on the ground, and the smile on her face as she bent over to pick up her treasure, was a treat to my sister and me.

It has been a fun and rewarding to me many times over the  past few  years when I have been at a place in my life when I felt overwhelmed, sad, and even vulnerable, to  find a coin on the ground.  As I pick it up , the magic works.  I say, “Hi Mom thank you!”

Talking with friends and family about their experiences with chance, coincidence, or whatever term you choose to label special happenings, is an interesting topic.  A few weeks ago a friend of mine, Greg,  told me a story about an experience he had recently.  He was on a road trip with a couple of friends, and they drove through a small seaside town, and a church with a tall steeple stood out from the other buildings.  Greg’s  father had died a few months ago, and   he had been dealing with the normal feelings of life review and loss, so when he saw the church  he wanted to go inside and say a prayer.  One of the other people with Greg is going through chemotherapy, and she was more than happy with the idea of taking time to visit the church.  They were pleased to find the front door open.  Inside,  they saw a  small altar with an arrangement of votive candles for the offering of prayers.  Greg lit a candle and then sat down to say a prayer.  As he was praying, he became aware of a patch of sunlight streaming in through the tall narrow stain glass windows.  He looked up towards the sunlight, and read the donor’s name at the bottom of the colorful window.  The first two names,  Thomas Robert , are Greg’s father’s first and middle name.

Greg said he felt like he received a message telling him everything was fine with his dad, and he felt  a sense of calmness and love.  I asked him if he told his mother about his experience, and he said, “Oh yes, I called her that evening.”

Carol Lynn Pearson believes that we need to be open and alert for those special coincidences in our lives.  I think the season of Advent is a perfect time for us to be reminded to have gratitude and be more aware of everyday events ,  to be in the moment,  and to nurture the spiritual side of our lives, living our faith. 

If a meaningful coincidence happens to me, and I can’t explain how it happened, that’s fine with me.  I say, take the moment, and wrap your heart around it . 

Terry Tempest Williams states,

“Faith is the centerpiece of a connected life.  It allows us to live by the grace of invisible strands.  It is a belief in a wisdom superior to our own.  Faith becomes a teacher in the absence of fact.”

Blessings,
Connie I. Clark