Some Random Thoughts and Notes

I heard Bianca Olthoff share that Ancient Hebrew does not have a word for tragedy. She went on to say that in the Hebrew culture they believed that if God had not redeemed the situation, then He was not done yet.

“My pain will have a purpose. I will stand again.” ~ Bianca Olthoff

We all have areas in our lives we need God to come and redeem. To make right. To bring a solution or understanding too.
We all have tragedies and trauma to walk through. To find healing and freedom through.
Waiting is hard. Actually, it can kinda of suck.
I have struggled with having hope and belief that God will actually show up and redeem that situation? How about you?

The 60th chapter of Isaiah is about hope after years of exile. God has a plan to redeem their time in exile and bring those who are humble and repentive into His covenant family. It ends with this verse:

“The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD; in it’s time I will do this swiftly.”
Verse 22

The Message uses the words “runt and weakling”. Raise your hand if you ever felt like a runt or weakling and felt powerless. Me too!

There is a lot of life that happened to the Jews as they waited for God to change their situation. There is a lot of life that happens every day. Every week. Every month. Every year. It can feel like Ground Hog Day waiting for God to move.

A few ways to describe “waiting” or “waiting patiently” are:
* to eagerly expect God to act; be ready to spring into action when He does. (You can see that in verse 22.)
* to be intertwined. Like a three-legged race where you are tied together with your partner and have to be in sync in how you run.
When we are in sync with God we will pause when He pauses, when He runs, we run. When we intertwine our lives with God, we will renew our strength. We are not alone.

As I was sitting with this I journeled some thoughts that I’d like to share with you. Feel free to add your own.
”Abba, I will wait for you to do whatever it is You are going to do .. I’m having a hard time waiting though. BUT here’s what I know:
* You are good.
* You have my good at the heart of everything You do.
* You are trustworthy.
* You are patient .. and You want me to be patient.
* You are kind in Your dealings with me in my sin, stubbornness, fear …
* Love is Who You are and motivates everything You do.
* You are worthy of my gratitude and praise.
* You love me unconditionally and without reseveration.
* You give me hope.
* I want to bring joy to Your heart, love You and follow You.”

I think when we get bogged down by focusing on what’s not happening, we lose sight of all we have when the Presence of God is in our lives. That’s where the hope is. That’s how we can thrive in the waiting.

To end where we started, there is hope in the trauma, tragedy, trial, testing, failure, waiting because God is not done working. Rest in the knowledge of Who HE is, in His faithfulness to you and His power to transform us and our situation.

You are loved and seen today! You are not alone!

********************

On a personal note: Dean and I had the best time in Connecticut with family and friends. The wedding was beautiful from start to finish. We loved seeing the leaves turn to fall colors. My sister and her husband live near a pond and every morning we would see the deer come and drink, the buck sharpen their antlers and we saw a fight between a couple of them. That was really cool. We are so grateful for that time. Thank you for praying for us!

Have the most amazing day!
All My Love ~
Jodi

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