Author: Beth Morrison

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:12
When tragedy strikes, there are no words.  The feeling of helplessness can be overwhelming.  The pain felt for those involved is paralyzing.  It is almost unspeakable. As a result, people shy away because they are afraid they will say the wrong thing.
The truth is, there are words, and they are simple.  “I love you.  I’m praying for you.”  Those are all the words you need to say.  What people need in the midst of tragedy is your presence.  Your support.  They need you to pray for them when they don’t know what to pray.  When their grief and their pain is so extreme, they can barely breathe they need you to do it for them.  They need you to stand in the gap and pray for them.  They need you to hold them in their arms and love them.  They need your presence.
When my nephew died four years ago the first words I said to his Mom at the hospital were “Can I hug you?”  She fell in my arms and cried.  I didn’t utter another word.  As we moved through the days that followed, I talked little.  I hugged much.  There weren’t words I could ever say that would bring her son back, but I could hold her while she cried.  I could be present for her.
And while I held her I prayed.  I prayed for her and my brother. I prayed for God to comfort them.  I prayed for my niece as she walked through losing her brother.  I prayed for them to feel His presence.  I prayed for God to give them strength for the days and years ahead.  I asked God to show me how I could help, what could I do?  I stood in the gap for them when they couldn’t pray.
I prayed, then I prayed some more.
In the midst of tragedy, it isn’t your words people will remember, it is your presence.  It is your prayers they need, your specific and passionate prayers as you cry out to God for them on their behalf.  God is in the midst of tragedy:
“Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
Tragedy has occurred in the lives of dear friends.  There are no words to describe the depth of pain it has left in their lives.  My message was simple when I called, “I love you.  I’m praying for you. What can I do?”
Even though there is nothing physically I can do, I can pray.  I can continue to pray for them as they move through the days ahead.  I can be present for them, for their loved ones, for their church.
I am praying they find God in the midst of this tragedy.  I am praying He reveals himself to them.  I am praying they feel His presence in the midst of this darkness.  I am praying He comforts their broken hearts.  I am praying continuously for all of the lives which have been affected by this terrible loss. I am praying, and I won’t stop.
When there are no words, there is prayer.
 
 
 
 

“The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.” Psalm 34:19
I was reading my devotional this morning by Rick Warren.  He is talking about struggles in life, more specifically, why do they continue to go on and on.  I love what he said:
“Here’s the lesson: When God allows a crisis into your life, He doesn’t solve it immediately.  He lets it go on for a while because He wants to see if you’re really serious about seeking Him.  If God answered every prayer immediately, you’d begin to think God was a big vending machine:  Put in Prayer, Pull out whatever you Need.”
He’s got a point!
I’m studying the book of Ruth in my women’s group right now.  Last week, we were studying when Elimelech moved his family from Bethlehem to Israel, focusing on Ruth 1:1-7.  One point the author had us ponder was WHY did Elimelech move his family?
Bethelehem was in the midst of a famine when he made the decision to move his wife and sons.  They stayed in Moab for at least 10 years.  During their stay there, Elimelech and both of his sons died.  Naomi, his wife was left a widow with her two daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth.  She hears the famine has lifted in Bethlehem in verse 6:
“…the Lord had paid attention to His people’s need by providing them food.”
God had allowed a famine to enter Elimelech’s life.  It didn’t end overnight but went on for years.  Instead of waiting on God to provide, he moved to a foreign land.  A land which held great tragedy for his family.  What would have happened if He had waited on God in Bethlehem?  What miracles did he miss out on because of his impatience?  We’ll never know.
What miracles are you missing out on because you aren’t willing to wait on God in the midst of the struggle?
Are you trying to solve your current struggle yourself or are you seeking Jesus?  Have you looked into His word to see what it says about your situation?  Is it relational?  The Bible has a lot to say about how to have healthy relationships.  How about financial?  There are more verses about money in the Bible than there are about salvation.  God knew we would need them.
Whatever it is you are struggling with today, don’t try to fix it.  Instead, turn to God.  Seek Him in prayer, read His word, talk to wise counselors in the faith.  He knows you’re struggling.  He has a plan.  All He wants is for you to seek Him in it.
 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ”  1 Corinthians 13:4-5
When one thinks of Valentine’s day, they think of love.  Typically the love shared between man and woman.  The dozen roses, the chocolates, the cards filled with poetry.  I am grateful God brought me someone to share the romantic side of Valentine’s Day, absolutely.  However one of my favorite Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with that kind of love.
I was single for over 40 years of my life.  I’ve had many more Valentine’s Day alone than sharing with someone special.  I used to dread it as the day approached.  I’d hear the platitudes, “It’s just a day Hallmark uses to sell cards.”  “Trust me honey, you’re better off alone than with someone who doesn’t treat you well.”  You get the gist.
Looking back though, I realize, I did have the perfect Valentine those years I was alone.  It was my Mom.
My Mom loved Valentine’s day.  She would always send cards to all of her kids.  She sent them to family and friends.  There were Valentine’s decorations around her house.  I was always guaranteed to get some type of Valentine’s present, usually some chocolates.  In later years, it was flowers.  I always took it for granted, as we tend to do.
Our last Valentine’s day together was four years ago.  It was her last lucid evening before she passed.  I’ll never forget it.  She was in her hospital bed in her bedroom at her home.  She was weak, had lost a lot of weight due to cancer.  She had just become bedridden a few days before.  My husband was with me, as well as some close friends.  I brought her a Bloomin’ Onion from Outback.  It was always one of her favorite foods.
I remember spending the evening around her bed with her.  Surrounded by people I love.  I didn’t know at the time it would be the last time I would have a conversation with her.  I had no idea in less than 36 hours she would be in the arms of Jesus.  I just knew I was with her.
I knew I was honoring her.  I knew she was exactly where she wanted be, doing exactly what she wanted to do.  When I think of my mother’s life, I always think of how she lived it.
She lived it the way she wanted too.  She did what she wanted to do.  When she made a mistake she accepted responsibility for it and moved on to the next thing.  She never let life get her down.  When Dad died leaving her with three teenagers, she kept going.  When I was less than a stellar daughter, she kept loving and praying me through it.  My brothers tested her too. She just kept going.  She held her head up high and kept going.
I’m grateful for her.  When she passed, she died the way she wanted too, at home, in her bed.  She is one of the few people I can honestly say, she lived the way she wanted to and died the way she wanted to.
There will never be another Valentine’s Day I don’t think of the last one I spent with her.  It was truly an evening of love.
 

“There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
I am currently listening to “When, The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing”  by Daniel H. Pink.  I find it fascinating the things people commit their lives too.  This entire book is about the study of time.
I’m about half way through it.  I have two thoughts as I’m listening to this book.  The first is, quite honestly, don’t you have anything better to do than study time?  The second is, you can’t put God in a box.
You know who has perfect timing?  It’s God.  Hands down, best timing ever!
So far, according to this book, there is a best time to think, there is a best time to exercise, there is a best time to take a nap.  If you optimize their studies and apply it to your life, you’ll learn how to live your life in a way that will always allow you to operate at peak performance.
Hogwash!
I’m not disagreeing that on an average day, I probably do make better decisions in the morning versus the afternoon when I’m not quite as fresh.  It makes sense if you want to lose weight, exercise in the morning before you eat and you’ll burn fat.  I believe an afternoon catnap can make you more productive the rest of the day.  These are all good points.
But God isn’t a point.  He is the Creator with a plan!
Romans 8:28 tells us all things work to the good for those who believe and trust in the Lord.  You know what that tells me?  That even if at 4:12 in the afternoon, when I am tired from an already long day, God can use any decision I make to the good.
See, I’ve learned in the 40 some years I’ve been walking with God, admittedly sometimes closer than others,  Romans 8:28 is true.  He does use all things to the good for those who believe and trust in Him.
He has used my fumbling’s, my blundering’s in ways I can’t even imagine.  In fact, I would go so far to say those have impacted people’s lives more than the things I’ve done right.  And the pains I’ve endured in this lifetime, not a one of them He hasn’t used to help others, in ways I wouldn’t of imagined.
I’ll finish the book.  I hate to leave a book unfinished.  I’ll glean some valuable tips from it.  But I know, if you truly want to have perfect timing you have to trust God for it.  No human on earth will ever find a formula to trump it!

 “Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.”  Proverbs 14:26
I just watched “This is Us”, the episode that explained how their dad died.  If you don’t watch the show, you will have no idea what I’m talking about, which is completely fine.
I am a woman who lost her dad when she was 16 years old.  It touched a lot of heart strings for me.  More than I realized were still there.  As  I watched the show, as I watched them tell the daughter her daddy was gone, it broke my heart.  I remember the day my Dad died.  Like Kate in the show, I have regrets.  There were things I could of done that I didn’t, like go visit him at the hospital.  I didn’t go that day, I wanted to sleep in.  I knew the minute my Mom and little brother pulled out of the driveway I had made a mistake.  It was too late.
I called Dad.  He answered the phone.  I’ll never forget it.  I was crying.  I told him I was so sorry I didn’t come.  He forgave me.  Then he told me it was time to say goodbye.  Somehow, he knew too.  I will never understand how he knew.  He let me off the hook.  He told me he would see me again.  I had the opportunity to tell him one last time I loved him.  He told me he loved me too and he would see me soon.
He didn’t die that day, at around 4:00 in the afternoon he drifted into a coma.  My Mom and little brother had barely arrived home when the hospital called us.  We immediately rushed to the hospital to be by his side.
He died two and a half days later.  That is how long it took for all of his family to get there.  The last was my sister-in-law who came from VA.  Her and my Dad a special relationship.  He waited for her.  It was moments afterwards that he passed.  We were all standing around his bed as he took his last breath.
It was surreal.  He took one long breath.  I thought that was it, then he took another long breath.  Then he was gone.  I see it as clearly as if it was yesterday.
When my Dad died, I lost my hero.  He was perfect in my eyes.  Learning that he wasn’t was a hard lesson.  I had him on such a pedestal that when he fell off it, let’s just say it sent my world into turmoil.
I was so young when my Dad died, yet I hear him in my head. “If you’re going to do something, do it right!”  or “Don’t do it half a**ed, do it right!”  My Dad was big on doing it to the best of your ability.  “Do it right or don’t do it at all.”  That has served me well in my life.
My favorite job is my volunteer job.  I love being able to give my time away.  I love that God signs my check.  He signs my benefits.  I love giving it my all.  In my head, I hear my Dad.  I hear his euphemisms in my head and I work harder.   My most favorite thing is doing it right. Every time I do, every time I don’t cut shortcuts, every time I hear my Dad.  “Job well done!”
I’m grateful he taught me how to do my tasks well.  I feel God’s pleasure when I do.  There is nothing else like it.
But wow, I miss my Dad!  So much!
 

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”  Colossians 4:6
I teach tennis.  I started three years ago, I’m beginning my fourth year of teaching this year.  Tennis is a great way to learn life lessons.  You call your own lines, it shows your level of honesty.  It requires patience, endurance, perseverance.  It teaches you how to win and how to lose.  Those are just a few.  There is one thing teaching tennis has taught me that has revolutionized my life.
Did you know, 80% of what you say to children they remember?  However, you only remember 20% of what you say to children.  That’s intimidating!  I can’t even remember what I had for lunch yesterday, much less every word that has come out of my mouth.
I have found, the older I get, the less I remember.  I have found there is only one solution to this statistic.  Make sure everything you say is uplifting and encouraging.  Then you don’t have to worry about remembering what you say.
I can’t say I am perfect at this.  I can say, every time I look at the sweet face of a child I remember that rule.  It holds me to a level of accountability that I appreciate.
One of my good friends gave me this piece of advice when I started coaching.  They don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.  There is no better way to show them how much you care than with the words that  you use.
Lord, help me be uplifting and encouraging in all I say.  Forgive me the times I fail.
 
 

“Be still and know I am God” Psalm 46:10
It is humbling watching God’s work unfold around me.  It is hard for me to put in words how awestriking it is He chooses to use someone like me.  Even more amazing how much He loves me.
I have had so many incredible conversations this week.  I have been brought to the edge of tears watching people get connected and grow.  I’ve watched them take steps of faith, get out of their comfort zone and engage.  I’ve watched them get back on the journey with God.
It is truly awe inspiring.  Humbling. Miraculous.
My heart aches for those who do not know Him.  Every time someone takes a step towards Him, my heart sings.
“No one is in your life by accident, they are all divine appointments.” Mark Batterson “Whisper”
Thankful for all of the divine appointments I encountered this past week.  Grateful for the ones I will encounter next week.  Enjoying this day of renewal the Lord is giving me in between!

“Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,”  Hebrews 3:7
I’m listening to the book “Whispers” by Mark Batterson.  It’s about hearing the voice of God.  He compares learning to hear from God like learning a new language.  He uses the analogy of Helen Keller,  who at 19 months old contracted an illness which caused her to go deaf and blind.  As a result of this,  she honed her sense of touch to such a degree she could listen to music by placing her hands on the radio, sensing the difference in instruments by the changing vibrations.  She learned to “hear” words by placing her hands on a persons’ larnyx and “feeling” the vibrations of the vocal cords.  She learned to communicate through sign language.  As a result she was the first deaf and blind person to receive a Bachelors of Art Degree.
Effectively, Helen Keller learned a new language to communicate and live in the world.  It was adapted to her circumstances, her life, her abilities.
When we hear from God, we are doing the same thing.  We are learning a new language. One specific to our relationship with God.  One geared to how we communicate with Him and how He communicates with us.
I think this is a fascinating perspective.  I had never thought of it like this.  I’ve heard many a sermons on “tuning” into God the same way we tune into a radio station.  I had never thought of it as learning a new language.
Yet when I think of different friends in my life and how they communicate with God, it truly is a unique and personal experience.  I have one friend who hears from God in her dreams.  I have another who feels it in her spirit, not necessarily in words.  I myself hear Him most through the scriptures.  When I’m not sure what to do, one will come to mind from somewhere deep in my cortex and I know it is the Lord speaking to me.
In the same way, we all communicate with Him differently.  I have some friends whose best God time is when they are on the commute to work.  Others it’s at bedtime.  For me, it’s first thing in the morning.  I love to close myself in my prayer closet, open my Bible and lose myself in Him.  Others prefer worship music and wide open spaces.
Each person is different, each unique.  It is like learning a new language.  One created for each of us.  One no one else knows.
Most important of all, the more we study our individual language.  The more we learn to talk to God through it.  The more sensitive we are to His whispers, the louder and clearer we will hear His voice.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11
I was listening to a message by Greg Surratt, Pastor of Seacoast church in South Carolina.  I loved what he does instead of making resolutions at the beginning of the New Year.
He chooses to do short sprints.
A short sprint, as defined by him, is choosing a verse, such as 1 Thessalonians 5:11 and then committing to doing it for a period of time.  It could be 7 days, 14 days or 21 days, whatever he chooses.
His church was starting a 21 day fast, so he was going to do a short sprint during that time.  I can’t remember what verse he had chosen.  What a great partner practice during a fast.  I wish I had listened to this message at the beginning of our 21 day fast.
Nonetheless, you can start a short sprint at any time.  Of course, I now have the desire to start a short sprint.
My first short sprint is going to be all about 1 Thessalonians 5:11. I want to speak only uplifting and encouraging words to everyone, no exceptions.  From my husband to the passerby on the street, for the next 21 days I’m going to focus on this particular verse.
I’m so excited, can’t wait to see what God does with my first short sprint!
Ready, set, go!

“He sends the snow like white wool; he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes.”  Psalm 147:16
I thoroughly enjoyed the brief snow we received last night.  24 hours later and there is barely any left.  Life in Virginia.
As I walked this morning in the snow, it reminded me of my Mom.  Growing up in Pennsylvania, snow lasted a bit longer than it does here in Virginia.  One of my fondest memories of my Mom were her early morning walks in the snow.  We lived on the 15th tee of the Gold Course in Treasure Lake.  She would rise early, bundle herself up in her warm coat and heavy boots.  Then she would walk the golf course holes 15, 16 and 17.  All up and down hills, not an easy walk by far, add the heavy snow and you have a work out.  She did it faithfully, day in and day out.  I’m grateful for the example.
I don’t have it nearly has hard.  There are no hills, rarely any snow.  I think of her example every time I head out.
I’ve realized, over the past few weeks as I’ve made changes to my lifestyle, accepting truths into our lives can be difficult.  My husband and I have recently joined Liberty Healthshare,  an alternative to health insurance.  It is a Christian based organization based on the Biblical principle of sharing each others burdens.  For more information, click the above link.  It’s a wonderful option.
The downside to Liberty is it’s difficult to join, mainly because if you have pre-existing conditions they won’t be covered, at least not at first.  Thankfully, we don’t have any, except for one, my weight.  As a result, we pay an extra fee and I have been assigned a health coach who I check in with each week.  Once I reach my goal weight, I graduate from the program and we no longer have to pay the fee.
It’s been a God send for me.  It has helped me accept difficult truths into my life:
I ate more than I thought I ate.
I exercised less than I thought I exercised.
I weighed more than what I thought I weighed.
I’ve also learned that watching what I eat and exercising regularly is a discipline.  Just like reading my Bible daily is a discipline.
I have had so many conversations with different people about reading their Bible daily.  How the practice of seeking God each day makes it easier to seek God when the storms of life hit.  As our pastor said this week in his message, its sets us up for a future win.  He also talked about how the real reward is the repetition.
He’s right.  The repetition is the reward.  I look forward to my daily time with God.  It is truly the best part of my day. Now, thanks to Liberty, I’m adding new disciplines into my life.  I am starting to find the reward in the repetition.  I am now starting to look forward to my daily walks as much as I do my quiet time with God.
This mornings’ walk was particularly special.  I spent it thinking about my Mom.  It felt like taking a walk with her. I thought of how I would love to sit and have coffee with her one more time.  I would love to tell her about my life, and all that has happened since she left us.  I wish I had taken one of those daily walks with her back then.
Miss you Mom, today a little more than most.