10/2/2014

Today is my youngest daughter's birthday.  She is 5000 miles away, in a country I've never been to, seeing sights I've never seen, and, to add a few more tears to my pity pot, she is turning 20, so it is a monumental "decade" birthday!  My thoughts travel instantly back to that early morning so many years ago when I first held the child of my old age in my arms.  "It's a girl," the doctor announced...my whole world changed in that instant and how precious she has been to my life! 

As an "after cancer" child, she gave me a reason to forget about death and simply live again.  As a "last" child, she gave me a reason to stay young.  As the "youngest sibling," she was spoiled a little too much by all of us.  As an "older" mother, many of the filters I had with my first two children disappeared, and our relationship had the luxury of being built on a little wiser foundation. 

Though I will not get to hug her, give her a birthday gift, or eat cake with her today, I know our hearts are joined in a special way that time or distance can never change.  What an awesome God to create a thing called "love"...such a short little word filled with more power and passion than can be imagined, given to us by a Creator who is the very definition of the word.

So fly high, my little lump, and enjoy the beauty of God's glorious world today!  We will give hugs and gifts and will share cake as you tell me of your life-changing adventures another day when we have hours just to enjoy the simple pleasure of just being together!  Love you to the moon and back...happy, happy birthday!

 

Roberta Pledge

10/2/2014

God's "Immeasurably More"

I delight in finding God's "immeasurably more."  Though it is easy to let these occasions slip through the cracks as coincidence, there are events that come to memory that are simply more than I could ever ask for or imagine.  "With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20, NCV), speaks volumes about how God works in and through lives.  

Though God's "immeasurably more" occasionally comes unannounced, it is often a result of me doing my part to make things happen.  Instead of accepting a "no" answer, I push further.  Instead of stepping out of the way, I insist God's way is better.  Instead of walking the path of least resistance, I trudge forward through a path that will be met with opposition.  Sometimes to receive God's "immeasurably more," I must do "more" myself. 

When "God's will" meets "my faith" the train starts rolling.  When I allow my actions to move past what I actually think is logical, into the realms of possible and point others in God's direction, "immeasurably more" may be seen in the distance.  When I  take a chance and say or do something beyond my comfort level, press further than I  would normally go for the good of others, according to God's will, the final results can be an "immeasurably more" event. 

Never forget that you are God's earthly hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouths.  Reach out, step out, speak up, move past your comfort level, and let God use your actions for His blessings.

 

Roberta Pledge

8/28/14

LETTING GO

She will leave.  A few more days, Lord willing, will pass and she will leave me.  She will get on a huge plane and travel across an ocean I have never traveled across and see sights I have never seen.  She will live for months in a world I have never known.

Letting a child go is never easy for a parent.  Whether they are going next door to spend the night for the first time, leaving for a week away at camp, or going away to college, watching them walk away with that packed bag is like feeling a part of our heart leave our inner soul.  Yet, we let them go.  We open the cocoon and set them free when we feel they are ready, or know it is time for their wings to spread. We pray for guidance and let them make choices, but not easily or willingly, for we know the distance and separation will often bring sadness, tears, and fears into our life.

How did God do it?  As our Father, how did He set us free and allow us to be creatures of free choice, knowing He would lose so many of us to the world and its temptations? How did He, the One who could have arranged this world any way He pleased, extend to humans the blessing of being made in His image and create us with a mind to make a choice to leave Him?

We are given the answer in three short words, "God is love" (John 4:8).  These simple words speak volumes about why our Heavenly Father sets us free and why, in turn, we, as loving parents, must be willing, able, and ready to set our children free to experience life on life's terms and make their own decisions.  It is quite simply, though not the easy thing to do, the loving thing to do.

So I will take her to the airport and put her on a plane that will allow her to follow her dreams, knowing she will come back to me a different person.  The comforting thing I know without a doubt, every step of the way, is that she will most certainly come back to me.  As long as it is humanly possible, she will return.  The beautiful thing about love is that it works both ways and, when given to a receiving heart, it always returns. 

Roberta Pledge

(8/10/14)

"RORO...DO YOU FEEL MY BREATH?"

"Roro, do you feel my breath?"  That was my three-year-old granddaughter's question as we talked on the phone yesterday.  I paused.  "Roro, I feel your breath, do you feel mine?" she questioned again.  I honestly did not know how to answer that question.  I wanted to agree and say "of course, I do!”  Yet not wanting to lie to her, and wishing to be close enough to actually feel her breath, I hesitated with my reply.

Reflecting later on Harper’s question, I realized that in my day-to-day walk there is another whose breath I yearn to feel.  With the struggles of life being so great, I would love to feel the breath of God on me to reassure me of His constant presence.  David reflects in the beginning of Psalms 139 that God is "all around me--in front and in back," even putting His hand on David (vs. 5).   I know if that was true of David, it is also true of me.  God is always with me, even when I am not aware of His presence.  He is as close as the air I breathe and, in the midst of this world’s chaos, He ever bids me to "be quiet and know” that He is God (Psalms 46:10).

 

In questioning my daughter about what sweet Harper meant by "feeling my breath," she stated that she was probably talking about feeling the vibration of my voice as I spoke.  How interesting that her three-year-old mentality would interpret it that way!  While I may not be able to feel the breath of God as He surrounds me, I can surely feel the effects of Him in my world each day.  And when I long for His touch, I can immerse myself in the God-breathed words of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16) and feel the comfort given there. 

While I couldn't feel Harper's breath yesterday, I could feel her love as she spoke to me, said “I love you, Roro,” and told me how she missed me.   We cannot always be exactly where we want to be or with whom we want to be with on this earth, but we can always have the peace of knowing there is One greater constantly in our presence and caring for our loved ones wherever they are as well...our God is TRULY an awesome God!  

Roberta Pledge

8/28/13

HAVING AN EDGE...

Have you ever been in a position where you felt you had an edge?  Maybe you have applied for a new job where the boss was your Father’s best friend or played on a sports team that your Uncle Bud coached.   Gone to school where your Mother was a teacher or been in a courtroom where your neighbor was the judge.  Maybe you have been pulled over for speeding only to look into the officer’s eyes and realized it was your Aunt Betty.  Having an edge in any situation may not make favorable results a given, but it certainly removes the helplessness we might otherwise feel. 

The same is true in our relationship with God if we are a follower of Christ.  When we put on Christ through baptism (Rom. 6:3), not only does His cleansing blood wash away our sins, but He becomes our mediator to the Father (1 Tim. 2:5).  How powerful is that!  The very Son of God is our escort to the throne of His Father, pleading our case and making up for our shortcomings.  We are no longer an outsider, but a joint heir to the Kingdom (Rom 8:17). 

We alone will never be good enough, strong enough, or smart enough; but with Christ as our “edge” we will be completed by His grace, His blood, and His love.  As someone totally destructible, we become indestructible when we team up with Christ (1 Cor. 15:54).  There are no words worthy of the description of how we will feel when we look into the eyes of our eternal Judge and see the eyes of our Best Friend and Savior...the ultimate edge for this life and beyond!

Roberta Pledge

2/18/13

"There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza..."

I am always amazed when I face a seemingly huge problem, searching hard for the solution, and then the answer suddenly just occurs to me and, almost like magic, problem solved!  Such was the case with the “mystery of the flooding bathroom,” which plagued my home for several months. 

Unexplainably, the bathtub started leaking every time someone took a shower, and not just a little, A LOT!  The liner was in the correct place, and everything else seemed in order, but suddenly the water jetted in such a way that it leaked around the shower curtain and flooded the tile floor.  After wringing my hands and many water-filled towels, and almost calling in a professional for advice, it FINALLY occurred to me that a can of shaving gel now occupied the shower caddy just below the showerhead.  Removing the can and everything else that the water might reflect off immediately solved the problem…definitely one of those “duh” moments! 

The same is often true in life.  We sometimes have a huge problem that we repeatedly struggle with and the immediate way out lies right in front of us.  Sometimes we wrestle with procrastination, with the simple solution being JUST DO IT!  Alternatively, there are times we search endlessly in our minds for the correct answer in a dilemma, when talking it over and giving it to God would quickly give us the most beneficial results. 

This life holds enough truly difficult circumstances, so try simplifying and looking right under your nose or straight up to God for the answers. Take the solution staring you in the face before you replace the whole tub! 

Roberta Pledge

October 31, 2012

Musings from the Prayer Labyrinth...

Walking a prayer labyrinth is a lesson in reaching a center like no other. The labyrinth, upon first impression appearing to be a maze, is actually an intricate pathway.  While the bends and turns seem to lead nowhere, when followed, they will always lead to the very center.  There are points in the path where the center seems far away, but at those very points the center of the labyrinth can actually be the closest to you.  In these and other ways, the process of walking a labyrinth can be mindful of one’s personal relationship with God.

Life is often reminiscent of a maze.  The harder we try to get through, the more burdened and confused we become; we find we are constantly running into roadblocks. It is only when we comprehend that life is not a maze, but a complex pathway, that we begin to understand.  We can only start acknowledging our powerlessness when we realize that the roadblocks are often stepping stones meant to bend our will in the right direction.  Just as the labyrinth’s pathway always leads to the center, if we stay on the pathway with God it will always lead us to our perfect center with Him.

With twists and turns along the way, praying in a labyrinth is very different from praying in a seated or knelling position.   While walking the path your eyes must be open to avoid tripping; life is also very much like that.  We have to walk through it with our eyes wide open.  This means that no matter how hard we are walking towards God, there will always be distractions on our path that take our eyes off Him.  In a labyrinth it may be a stick, a bug, a weed, but in life the distractions are larger and more threatening…a sin, an addiction, a disappointment, the list is endless.  We must keep our eyes focused on our path rather than the distractions.  Distractions lead to desire, desire leads to addiction, addiction leads to sin, and sin ultimately leads to death.

Much like life, the path in a labyrinth, not a straight one, can be deceiving. Thinking you are the farthest away from the center, you find with a single turn that you are actually arriving there.  Similarly, the valleys of life that pull at our hearts and make God seem very distant are also often the very things that often turn our hearts towards Him.  Since God never moves, the illusion that He is far away is always a lie from Satan meant to deceive our hearts. 

The similarities of a prayer labyrinth and life are many, but the strongest one is that if we are focused on God, our earthly path will always lead us to Him.  Just as the intricate path of the labyrinth will always lead to its’ center, the confusion of a day, the obstacles along our path, and the distance of our hearts from Him can be overcome if we keep putting one foot in front of the others and walking towards Him.  While holding God’s Hand we can conquer whatever Satan throws our way and reach our ultimate center, Heaven.

Roberta Pledge

9/25/12