We are etched on God's Hands.

ODB ministries

I read Our Daily Bread from my gmail nearly every day with every single post speaking to my heart. This one written by Lisa M. Samra was especially strong.  Please read it! 

Egged on by my children to prove I’d endured years mastering the basics of piano, I sat down and started playing the C Major scale. Having played very little piano in nearly two decades, I was surprised I remembered! Feeling brave, I proceeded to play seven different scales by heart one right after the other. I was shocked! Years of practicing had imprinted the notes and technique so deeply in my fingers’ “memory” that they instantly knew what to do.

There are some things that can never be forgotten. But God’s love for His children is far more deeply imprinted than any of our fading memories—in fact, God can’t forget them. This is what the Israelites needed to hear when the exile left them feeling abandoned by Him (Isaiah 49:14). His response through Isaiah was unequivocal: “I will not forget you!” (v. 15). God’s promise to care for His people was more certain than a mother’s love for her child.

To assure them of His unchanging love, He gave them a picture of His commitment: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (v. 16). It’s a beautiful image of God’s constant awareness of His children; their names and faces always before Him.

Still today, we can easily feel overlooked and forgotten. How comforting to remember that we’re “etched” on God’s hands—always remembered, cared for, and loved by our Father.

By Lisa M. Samra Isaiah 49: 8-16

Etched on God's Hands-- the image awes me.

Waiting for Death

Source: xymonau

I have been waiting for someone to die.  This could sound very evil, but it is not.

My sister-in-law Cheryl has died from complications of diabetes.  She has been in a nursing care facility or hospital for several years.  Diabetes is a debilitating disease that slowly takes away part of a life, a bit at a bit.

Sadly, there are no pictures I can post.  Cheryl hid from the camera, for many different reasons.

Eyes, kidneys, feet, legs, hair, mobility—just about anything can be listed with this horrible disease.

Cheryl.  I have known her since our freshman year at high school.  She sat next to me in freshman English.  She was shy but friendly.  We found were also in chorus and P.E. 

My brother Robert started dating Cheryl in the end of our senior year (I think). They married young, the next year.

So much could be written, but won’t be.

Cheryl has passed from this life to God’s Presence, where Robert waits for her.  Peace and completely healed.

Source: gabriel77

The List

Me on a lovely bright beach day

It is a dark room day.

In a dark room house.

Not a creature is stirring,

Not even a m…

Wait!  Wait…I didn’t mean to write that.  Just slipped out of a brain that is on automatic mode.

What does one write when it is a dark room day, when light hurts and sounds skewer the head?

I read Delores at thefeatherednest and Cro at Magnon's Meanderings who created lists of good things, events, memories that remind them of the goodness of living.  Their lists were excellent, as they themselves are excellent.

My list on this dark room day is as follows:

                        Finding the perfect pillow

            Smell of movie theater popcorn

                                    Scent of lavender oil

                        Thunderstorms

            A crescent moon in a clear sky

                                    Seeing a baby

                                    Holding a baby

            Memories of Christmas with our children

                                                My husband’s laughter

                        Freshly baked bread

            Real butter

Our granddaughters giggling in the backseat of our car

                                    Reading Little Women for the first time

                        Buying packets of seeds in the spring

                                    SKYPE

            Having a phone

                        Indescribable joy of God’s love and presence

                                    Knowing how to pray

            Picking strawberries with my mother and talking with her, alone

                        Making strawberry jam

                                    Songbirds in the spring

                        Singing and not caring who hears me

                                                Talking with strangers in a line at the market

Watching a returning Marine sweep up his child at the airport

            Knowing that I am loved

                                    An hour without pain

                                                Redwood trees

                        Crème’ Brulee

                                      Holding a quilt made by a great-grandmother

                        Moments of silence

                                    Being able to weep, cry, mourn, laugh, giggle, etc.

                        Possessing empathy

                                                Rhythmic beating of a heart

What would be on your list?