| |
It's Spring Again!
by Marsha Lenski
(Decatur, IL)
Marsha's Springtime favorite.
My thinking has been moving a little bit south lately as my birthday approaches again, to where it's been "what now, Lord?" It's just not like me - this anxiety over a birthday. Maybe it's that zero on the end of this one, I suppose. "Look at yourself," I bemoaned. "You're going to spoil the whole event if you're not careful!" I've been known to do that on occasion, and it's not pretty. What's my real issue?
Because I long to continue enjoying my God and my life, I cheered myself back into an applause over God's goodness to me. I could see my thinking was a little bit stinking, and should quite possibly be more like "OK, what's next, Lord?" God is so good, all the time, so what am I afraid of?
Questions, questions! Well, just because this birthday has a zero in it, there's no new reason to start bawking at all the promises spoken into this supernatural gift of life I've treasured all these years! I believe I simply need to say no to the nagging questions and yes once again to those heaven-sent promises that have carried me to this very day! And right now would be a good time. Here and now, before anything more slips through my fingers, lost forever.
God has kept His promises to me. . .even surprised me in His good and perfect timing. I know it's true. I love those surprises,and I love to speak it out daily in my prayer walks and every opportunity He gives me to share with women all over the country about His great big generous heart. Did I like the waiting when my timing wasn't His? No, I didn't. But He hasn't failed me once. Did I grow up through it all? I do hope so. Has it helped others? I know it has, and I know there's more to come. As a matter of fact, there are two particular promises I'm still holding out for. How about you? These many years have taught me, more than anything, that our God is truly Who He says He is: Faithful and True. As these next few weeks roll into that special birthday for me, I'm going to keep this all in mind and believe the same for you as I'm believing for myself. He makes all things beautiful in His time.
I leave you for now with one of the scriptural promises that have long held the pieces of my life together. Luke 1:45, and it reads like this: BLESSED is SHE who BELIEVED, for there WILL BE a performance of that which was told her of the Lord.. So, I guess I need to be listening with all my heart. . .expectantly and fearlessly!
Be Blessed! Love you.
Marsha
Click here to post comments.
THE SWEET SIDE OF LIFE
by Marsha Lenski
(Decatur, IL)
The grandmother thing has become so much more than I expected! I'd say it's true. . .it's grand alright.
As I've watched birthdays go by, and with another one only days away, I've been thinking about how some of the best, the sweetest things in life have come since I joined the ranks of these beautiful, blessed, wise and experienced ladies known as grandmothers. "Jesus Grandma" is what the darlings call me, and, oh, I love it. It reminds me that I know they know what and Whose principles I live by, and I believe it serves as a reminder to them.
Only since our oldest became a pre-teen have I had to begin to let that go when I agreed with her that she might have outgrown it. Last week the sweetness of being a grandmother touched me in an unexpectedly tender way again. I want to tell you about it.
Our youngest daughter who lives in far away San Diego with her husband and little boy, had four-year-old Gavin on the other end of the line when I picked up that day, and he was waitin' for me! He wanted me to hear something he had been practicing to tell me.
I had a hand over my mouth in disbelief pretty quickly as Gavin recited four memory verses from the Bible, addresses and all, that he repeated to me flawlessly. I was mesmerized and teary when Sonya got on the phone to ask me what I thought.
WHAT DO I THINK?! I think we're a mighty blessed family with miracles happening all around us. WHAT DO I THINK?! I think God has His loving hand on a little boy who is learning Who his Savior is. WHAT DO I THINK?! I think I need to call Southwest and get back out to California for a long overdue hug!
But that wasn't all.
Sonya had just retrieved Gavin from pre-school about a half hour before. She picked up his usual daily art work, and his teacher had seemed anxious to talk to Sonya about the two stick people in the drawing.
She asked Gavin about it and about the book the tall person was holding while the little stick person smiled. Gavin had answered with no hesitation and a smile as big as the one on the happy round crayon face in the picture. "Oh, that's my daddy reading the Bible to me", he popped, very matter-of-factly.
That teacher got touched by God, there was no doubt about it. And me? I was just a puddle on the floor after that little phone call.
Thank You, Lord, for the precious little joys You give me every day of the sweet life I love to live, safe in Your arms.
Click here to post comments.
Click here to read or post comments.
Christian Women Leaving a Legacy
by by Marsha Lenski
MARSHA & HER HUSBAND JOHN
My oldest daughter made a comment to me recently that seemed to bear a lot of weight when considering the aging process and how to live it with grace. The only thing about aging that she is questioning at this point came out this way :
"What do I want to look back and see?" Her sweet daughter, Kennidy, was the one with a delightful and unexpected answer, well beyond her 12 years that put it all in perspective. It was simple but deep, and I thought it well worth sharing with you.
Being a grandmother has its own delights. I've wished I could spend more time with Kennidy, but her family lives 1,800 miles away. I've missed a lot, and I've prayed, cried some lonesome tears and sought anxiously for ways to change that. I asked her parents if I could invite her to spend a weekend alone with me once a year and start a new tradition, just the two of us. They thought it a great idea.
Our sweet Kennidy has taken on so much in her short life and done it with a love that never complained, never questioned. Her parents have tried to guard her from being overwhelmed through trauma that could easily have shattered her. Amazingly, we all watched as a strong and beautiful character began to unfold in Kennidy.
When she graduated with honors from grade school and started Jr. High recently, I had an understandable anxiety about how the pull of her peers might begin to shake her foundation. I knew the Lord was telling me that time is of the essence. I also knew it was a tender issue that needed a delicate approach.
In our first email exchange I told Kennidy how proud we are of her accomplishments and her decisions to hold tight to the values she'd been taught. I encouraged her to hold even tighter now that she was beginning a new step in her life, and asked her about school. Then I told her about my idea. I'll never forget her response.
"Dear Jesus Grandma," she wrote. I have loved that name for a long time but wasn't surprised by her next comment. "I'd like to call you just Grandma now, if that's okay." She's growing up. "I think your idea sounds fun! Jr. High is going great! I'm doing very well. I will always stay true to who I am."
Wow! Wouldn't we all age with much more grace and beauty if we simply kept that same value without wavering when the birthdays role by? "I will always stay true to who I am."
Our Lord's love gives us such great dignity. "He brought me to His banqueting table and His banner over me is love." (SS 2:4) As a matter of fact, I don't think anyone gives dignity to women like Jesus does. "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a performance of that which was told her from God". (Luke 1:45).
What is He telling you, daughter of the King? Seeing ourselves as He sees us and holding tightly to that above all other things, can and will give us reason to "laugh at the days to come" (Prov. 31:25).
Kennidy signed off with a soaring finish: "I love you and can't wait to see you." Thank you, Sweetheart. Love you, too.
Thank you, Sweetheart. Love you, too.
Click here to post comments.
He Keeps Me Young!
by Marsha Lenski
(Decatur, IL)
RADAR, Marsha's Personal Therapist
God's little surprises can bring the greatest delights. One surprising 'gift from above' came at a low point for me recently when I was at the bottom of my little emptied nest pit, grieving over the many changes happening to me all at once.
If it weren't enough that the girls up and left me and that my husband insisted that his regular life of travel and busyness must continue (I'd been living with it for over 25 years!), but our dear ShyAnn passed away unexpectedly.
ShyAnn was a beautiful collie who had been in our family for more than 13 years, and I cried as much for my own guilt over her death as I did in losing her. Grey, grey days. Hard, hard truths to face. Very present, very loving Lord. He knew my pain.
By 'chance' I met a lady who was hurting from her husband's decision, forcing her to either part with her year-old sheltie or part with him! It was a tragic story, but I didn't realize then how our chance meeting would put me at the threshold of Divine purpose.
My new friend invited me to her home for a visit on a pretty fall day I'll never forget. I met Radar. Handsome, spirited, smart little Radar, and I lost my heart all over again! She held back tears and asked me if I knew of someone who could take him for her. Not me, though.
My wonderful husband has always done everything for my happiness, but I didn't think he understood how old I was beginning to feel as the things that delighted me so had begun to disappear. I knew he was concerned that another dog would one day bring the same pain back.
We were both wrong!
I invited my friend to bring Radar to our house for a trial kind of, well, whatever! The delight that came over me when this little discard, this furry little reject, showed my husband how much he loved to retrieve a ball, would have made you cry, too! Radar kept goin' and goin' and John's smile got bigger and bigger that day.
This dynamite boy-dog made John act 25 years younger in about 25 seconds! No matter the little stinker's need to be 'fixed' and no matter that we'd have to install an electric fence (neighborhood compliance) Nope. It was love.
Life blossomed again for both John and me, and God's blessing brought refreshment to my new friend. Wonderful new joy came to our emptied-out house. Radar is the gift that keeps us young!
Who would've thought that a reject would be a key to the delight God has in us? We shouldn't really be surprised anymore. . . .just delighted.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He'll give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
Until next time, Radar says 'Hey!' and I send my love.
Marsha
Click here to post comments.
A Wife's Tribute
by Marsha Lenski
(Decatur, IL)
It's birthday time again, and I got to thinkin' a little differently, because it's not my birthday. This is the perfect time for me, and maybe you, to step out of the box of looking at aging from a personal point of view and recognize the special greatness in one of the finest gifts of God a woman could receive in her lifetime.
It's made me sparkle from the inside out when I recognized what I really need to do this month. It's made me feel very young again...young at heart, without a doubt! Giving tribute where tribute is due is a forgotten art. Not for us. Not this time! I see now what it is; no, who it is, who's kept me sparkling and alert to the goodness of God through every birthday these past 27 years. I bet you'll see God's blessing in your life as well, and I'll bet you'll agree.
The birthday I'm honoring this month is my husband John's.
I remember the message a renowned pastor's wife gave some years ago on her husband's birthday. She remarked of how she'd grown so annoyed at how he just couldn't pick up his clothes or turn out the closet light before starting his day. It had bothered her for years on end. When her husband suddenly faced a tragic illness, she only wished he were home with her again so she could wait on him, pick up his clothes and quietly flick the light switch off behind him. She was saying that she needed to express her appreciation afresh to God and her husband for the blessings that came to her through the gift of her husband's life.
Thank you, John, for the example you set for our whole family. Thank you for the sweetest display I've ever seen of faithful love and strength of heart. Thank you for showing our children a man's way of living for Jesus by choosing humility as that strength. Thank you for letting the Lord touch me so tenderly all these years using your life as a conduit, at your permission.
John, you're not perfect. I couldn't live with you if you were. But then, neither am I. It's truly amazing how the love and blessing of God has built a beautiful life like ours from the scraps He had to work with when we found each other.
Happy Birthday, John Joe. I have a feeling the best is yet to come!
Your Smitten Kitten,
Marsha Lynne Lenski
Click here to post comments.
Christian Women Aging; Carbonated Holiness & a Loving Truth about those Birthdays
by Marsha Lenski
(Decatur, IL)
Marsha and her husband, John
Ahh. . .a latte' moment with you. It's so good to be together to think quietly and talk openly about our God's goodness in our lives, isn't it?
There's so much to be said for women and aging, and I think that's why I loved being challenged to inspect this issue with you. As women of God, we are shown a much different perspective on this touchy topic than the world's spin. The self-deprecating focus to keep our bodies looking 18 at any and all costs, while desperately trying to hold on to a smile, looks more and more like simply a ploy to get our money that leaves us with less hope than we had when we WERE 18!
Got a comfy chair? Alright. . .Got a question.. .or two. . .
How do we 'laugh at the days to come' as described in Proverbs 31:25? Don't you want to be remembered as a truly loving woman and not 'that tough old bird!'? Can we love laughing in the face of hardship or evil? Is there anything to be said of having a kind of holy craziness as a woman who can face trouble, even face the mirror, and still laugh?
I love how that says, "I have confidence in God!" How do we grow to become more of a safe place for ourselves (now there's a new slant) and the precious people in our lives? Is it too late to live with more of a marked compassion and ability to connect with others soul to soul?
We can acclimate our eternal souls to the values of heaven right now and laugh at every birthday party they give us, bless 'em!
Party. Did someone say party? I have always loved having a party on my birthday, and my husband knows it's true. It sure focuses everyone's attention right at the center of my little universe.
You know, I really believe in God's sense of humor, because the green light to write to and talk with you about all the glorious truths concerning aging and staying beautiful came on my birthday. It's true. My husband was sensitive to ask me what I'd like to do for my big day and almost keeled over when I said I didn't want a party.
Things are changing, and I'd have to be blind not to notice. Let me tell you how the Lord in His tender love orchestrated June 3, 2009, for me. Never be surprised at how He speaks with you. I saw a miracle on my birthday this year that will keep me smiling the rest of my life.
As June 3 crept closer these last few weeks, I talked with God about how much I've noticed His answers to my forever prayer. The one about growing up. I happily see His progress in me, and that pleases me so much, but I'm still concerned with some thinking that steers me wrong, especially while I can see my body changing so rapidly. I was grieving and didn't know it.
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zeph. 3:17 (NIV)
There was this lady. Not young, not old. Needy. Oh, my goodness. She came into my life at Easter when she came forward alone at our church service at the Civic Center to rededicate her life to Jesus Christ. God put me beside her in the discipling (mentoring) program our church was commissioned to do through Pentecost. There was something about her that I couldn't put my finger on, but her life and mine most definitely had a Divine appointment.
Then there were two other ladies. Friends from forever, who always celebrated my birthday with me, helping my husband with a party and doing so many wonderful things for me to make me feel loved and appreciated. We were close for lots of years. Close in the love of Jesus.
I didn't hear from them this year. Not a word. I knew how our lives had drifted in new directions when John and I moved to the country and each of us began attending different churches. Distance. Time. When I didn't hear from them on my birthday, I knew it was time to trust God and look at what it was He wanted me to see.
My husband is a busy executive who travels a great deal for business, and my children now live far away. Poor me. . . I said, "God, I'm going to be alone on my birthday this year, I just know it, and You know I'm hurting. I'm so grateful for the wonderful life You've given me, but only You could know the loss I'm feeling. I miss my family and my old friends. And Lord, You know which birthday this one is. . .the numbers aren't getting any smaller! Hold me tight, Lord Jesus, because I really do want to 'laugh at the days to come'."
He did. He prodded my heart and He answered my prayer. He showed me Lisa and the reason for her new presence in my life. Though I am her mentor, she had something wonderful to show me through the needs in her life.
I invited her to spend my birthday with me because I knew she, too, was alone. She had no home but a borrowed one, no family but those who abandoned her, no job to provide an income. . .just a beautiful smile and a heart for Jesus that radiated.
I had been there once, and I knew it. She loved watching my life. She practically jumped up and down at the invitation, and looked so lovely when I picked her up in my new convertible and she in her borrowed clothes.
When we sat down for lunch at a place that made her eyes sparkle, she quietly told me she had no money. Imagine. And imagine again my joy build as I watched her excitement grow through the afternoon of lunching and antiquing and visiting my new home where Lisa couldn't quit rejoicing with me in the blessings of God.
She loved little Lucy, our chihuahua. I had carefully stacked some pretty clothes to give her (is it a surprise that she's my size?), and I forgot all about the sadness I had expected to find in June 3, 2009.
Lisa wasn't jealous of my life, she helped me find a new appreciation in it as we enjoyed its blessings together. Here's what she said in the birthday card she gave me: " Happy Birthday, Marsha. God has richly blessed you and yours, and YOUR FATHER in heaven celebrates this special day, and I'm happy for that blessing for me to share, too. You blessed a broken heart and did not despise."
Just like God. . . He is so good! Don't you love the sound of His voice?
Until next time . . . .keep listening with me! Blessings to you.
Click here to post comments.
Christian Women and Beautifying Servanthood
by Marsha Lenski
(Decatur, IL)
Our lives are like letters written to others. Our lives are watched. Our beautiful lives can tell more of Jesus' love through the years than any words we may or may not get the opportunity to say.
Sweet friends, beauty is in the heart of the possessor. I'll tell you why I believe that.
As I was growing up I watched the life of a very beautiful woman who was 87 years old at my last recollection. She had spent most of her life helping people look nice. She took in bundles of dirty clothes to wash and iron as her life's work. She helped in the church kitchen so often that I can't remember when she wasn't there.
Gladys was her name, and Gladys quit school in the sixth grade to go to work, never married, never had children of her own and never learned to drive because there was just no place in particular she wanted to go. Her work was her life. It was her way of being a blessing to others.
Just thinking back about her today reminds me of the wonderful Anna of the New Testament who spent many years after widowhood serving families selflessly in the temple area of Jerusalem. She held the Savior in her arms!
Gladys must have experienced her Jesus as intimately through her life. She spent almost no money, lived in her old family home, and bound her ragged old family Bible with scotch tape to keep the precious passages from being lost. She saved her money, most of it coming in dollar bills and change until she had saved over $100,000, giving it all to the college educations of young people she loved. Her great hope was to see a beneficiary of her gift graduate before she died. . .so much like Anna, wasn't she?
Gladys left a legacy written on the hearts of grateful young people who grew to perpetuate her generosity.
Perpetuating generosity. That's the way Kingdom living is meant to be.
Until next time. . . .blessings and love to you.
Marsha
Click here to post comments.
ON THE WAY HOME
by Marsha Lenski
(Decatur, IL)
David and Gloria Kirby
While raising our children, I sometimes used to think about what it would be like when they grew up and moved out on their own. The thing that concerned me the most was how lonely it might be. I remember asking God to prepare me, and He softened my heart to the truth that life was just beginning and there was still so much more living to do.
Just like the earlier times of raising a family and the struggles and joys that went with it, relationships have been the glue of this newer look at life. As we've followed God's lead to nurture the friendships we've been given with wonderful people who share the common ground of 'empty nesting', we've discovered that our nest isn't so empty after all. We can see how the wisdom of scripture enriches our lives when we open them up and share them, refusing the prison of self-pity and fear.
Our church small group has rescued me in ways I don't think they realize. Each one in our group of 12 has his or her unique gifts and talents to offer, and we all take turns at leadership so everyone can cook, organize, or even teach if they'd like to. We've taken trips together, had progressive dinners and game nights, kept a prayer chain and laughed and cried together through the events of life. We all help each other move on in the love of Jesus. We've passed the joy around by helping the church organize and birth new small groups with the same kind of purpose and passion, young or older.
One recent Friday evening everyone was gathered around the table at the home of David and Gloria Kirby where we generally meet for study and fellowship. Gloria's gift of hospitality is like none I've ever seen. Everyone knows that with Gloria around fun is somewhere close by. She just shines. She's taught me alot about food preparation and kept me in stitches while we worked and worked. Gloria also helps me in my teaching ministry when I travel from city to city to share God's call to empower women through His love and His Word.
That night, as usual,we were doing what we all do best, eating, and I heard one of the fellas mention his recent birthday, and of course the talk about aging erupted with all the moans and groans. "These bodies we live in seem to talk louder and louder every year, don't they?" his wife remarked. Gloria piped up very matter-of-factly in the midst of the conversation and stopped it cold as she gave us her take on it all. "I know why we wear out," is what I heard her say. We all waited for this one. "If our body parts didn't start wearing out, we wouldn't want to go home with the Lord." Priceless.
Well, I have to say that the evening just kept getting better after that!
The solemn side of aging disappeared again in the joy of relationship building. It rarely rears its ugly head any more.
Making the gift of life work in this precious part of it just doesn't seem like work when we help each other grow. God worked in John and I when we came out of our shells to risk relationships on a new level. We highly recommend it!
Click here to post comments.
Click here to post comments.
Christian Women Possess an Ageless Secret
by Marsha Lenski
(Decatur, Illinois)
The last time we visited about getting older, I was shaking in my boots about my upcoming birthday with the big zero on the end! It loomed out there as threatening as it had when I was 18. I'm sure that's why it became more and more threatening as the day got closer. I had a mindset and a stereotype of what I expected women to look like at my age. We can all thank the people who make money from anti-aging products for that hoax, and I shook a finger at myself for falling for it all these years.
My husband gave me the most wonderful surprise on my birthday when it finally came last month. He took vacation time and put together a retreat for both of us in a place I had always wanted to visit. We were invited to a training session for Samaritan's Purse, held in Asheville, NC at the Graham retreat known as The Cove, and John arranged it all.
The Graham Family has been a huge inspiration to John and I, and we were both saved through the ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. In that visit to NC, John and I held hands as the waves roared at us on Carolina Beach, and took deep breaths in awe of the Smokey Mountains. Didn't the Lord know exactly what would anesthetize my heart against the enemy's attempts to steal joy from my life on an occasion so important to me!
Touring The Cove gave me some wonderful insight in to the life of Ruth Graham. She so gracefully chose to allow the aging process to open her life like a rose and cause the fragrance to permeate every life she had the privilege to touch. She loved growing up in God, and she obviously let Him choose her path every step of the way. I wept while reading the wall plaques and viewing pictures of her blessed and committed life. My birthday turned in to a sweet challenge to remember how my destiny in Christ means I no longer hold destiny in my own hands. And I'm so glad for that.
Ruth had a simple and beautiful tombstone with an inscription I'll never forget. It read: "Construction Completed. Thank you for your patience."
You are a Woman With Destiny in the Kingdom of God. Don't settle for anything less.
Until next time, with love. Marsha
Click here to read or post comments.
|
