A Branch In the Vine

In this world, you will have trouble...[like heart attacks]...but take courage, I have overcome the world! These things have I spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full! John 16:33;15:11

I'm just beginning to process my husband John's heart attack that happened earlier this week. Believe it or not, despite the fears and tears (that were locked up inside of me for a time), I've had the incredible peace and joy that the Lord promises. Those of you who have walked consciously in and with the Lord through trials know what I mean!

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 10
In Thy presence there is fulness of joy... Psalm 16:11

The Lord has shown Himself near and caring through...

....giving me two significant verses to hang onto: Phil 1:6 and Isaiah 26:3-4 ...my neighbor Nancy and my friend Penny dropping everything early in their day to play and pray with our two young grandsons who had slept over so I could follow after the ambulance to the hospital ...a Christian male nurse grabbing both our hands and praying with us just after John arrived in the ICU ...my being able to watch my husband "chatting it up" with the medical personnel, showing forth the loving Jesus who lives within him ...our son Jeremy and daughter-in-law Cortney driving 7 hours and ending their 10 year anniversary trip early to be here ...our daughter Beth in California and my friend Maria, after a long day at work, each calling the night I needed to "unlock some frozen tears." ...and of course, many loving family and friends sending timely messages via facebook, texts, emails, calls, and visits (Thank you so much!)

As if all this love wasn't enough, I've experienced the Lord's "winks" this week -- little delightful "serendipidies" proving that He is here and He cares -- namely through a poem and a song.

I've never been much of a "poetry buff"...just never got it until I lived life a little more. Now I get it! The poem that "captured me" was hidden at the end of a novel I was struggling for months to finish! Now I know why I struggled so long...God's timing! I needed that poem this week :) And I'll let it speak for itself:

Life
Paul Laurence Dunbar

A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in,
A minute to smile and an hour to weep in,
A pint of joy to a peck of trouble,
And never a laugh but the moans come double;
And that is life!

A crust and a corner that love makes precious,
With a smile to warm and the tears to refresh us;
And joy seems sweeter when cares come after,
And a moan is the finest of foils for laughter;
And that is life!

AMEN!

Then there's the song. A few weeks ago, a friend told us about a movie she had just seen on Netflix. John and I watched and enjoyed it. But the thing that stayed with us most was the theme song. We just couldn't get it out of our minds -- the melody was so haunting and romantic. So we found it and ordered it on Amazon.

Well, guess what? It came while John was in the hospital. So the night of his "release", we sat and listened to it...talking, crying, not talking, laughing, just being together...and agreeing with Robert Browning,

Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!'

The Water is Wide

The water is wide, I cannot get o'er
Neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall cross my true love and I
I lean'd my back against an oak
Thinking it was a mighty tree
But first it bent and then it broke
So did my love prove false to me
I put my hand in some soft bush
Thinking the sweetest flow'are to find
I prick'd my finger to the bone
And left the sweetest flow'are behind
O love is handsome and love is kind
Gay as a jewel when it is new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like the morning dew
The water is wide, I cannot get o'er
Neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall cross my true love and I

LBI...Long Beach Island, New Jersey -- sun, surf, and sweet memories. Home of Surf City and Barnegat Lighthouse! LBI was a favorite place for us Renners to vacation in our growing up years in the 1950's & 60's -- not every year but as many years as our family of 6 (and later 7) kids and 2 parents, living on one income, could afford.

It was such a beloved place that my brother Conrad and family bought a beach house there in 1998...within a block from the beach, no less!

One year, when our kids were grown but not yet married and out of the nest, we had the most wonderful Renner family reunion at LBI. Conrad scouted out other houses on his street that were for rent. And so several of us rented for the same week, and we all (along with in-laws, friends, and pets) descended upon that little beach community.

It was a glorious week, filled with swimming, sun-bathing, sunrise watching, etc etc. But the best thing was the love and togetherness and community that "happened". We shared meals together, each family taking a turn.

A year or two later, some of us rented houses again at LBI. I was hoping to recapture the same experience of that previous vacation together. Well, you know how that goes. Recapturing "glory" usually never happens. And it certainly didn't happen this time...or so I thought!

For one thing, we all couldn't make it...for various valid reasons. On top of that, my brother Paul's family, including his sister-in-law's family, rented a house that was germ infested (probably from the previous renters). Everyday other members of their families "would drop like flies" with a terrible flu-bug. So there was often a "skeletal crew" on the beach from that household.

We didn't eat together like the other year. There was little to no fellowship or community because of struggles going on in individual lives. My widowed mom, then in her mid-70"s, was staying with us. (Remember her? My hero in a previous post!) She was frustrated with issues related to our family house, which was too much for her to handle at that stage of her life! (We probably had waited too long to move her elsewhere.) So our conversations were largely negative. She had to get it off her chest, but with my expectations for a nice relaxed vacation, I was hardly as sympathetic as I could have been.

Not to bore you with too many negative details, let's just say that to me the vacation was a total bust! And I left LBI mad, mad, mad...and feeling cheated! For the 11 hour drive home from NJ to OH, I seethed. I couldn't sleep that night! And I stayed stuck for days despite dealing with some issues I needed to deal with. Until...

Until the Lord broke through, "Enough! Now it's over! You've dealt with what I told you. NOW when you think of this vacation, I want you to focus on the one hour of joyful bliss we had together."

Oh my goodness! I had forgotten about that because of my absorption with my disappointment!

It was the Wednesday of vacation week. I woke up at 5:45 am totally awake. Grabbing a cup of coffee at Bageleddi's (the local favorite), I walked alone to the beach. It was warm, and the sun had just started to come up but was not yet visible. The cloud bank above the ocean was turning shades of pink, purple, and blue...and then the sliver of sun started to appear on the horizon. I opened my Bible and read in the Psalms,

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship... God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Psalm 19:1,4-6

So Jesus and I walked and talked together that glorious morning -- perfect rest in Him, enjoying together the most gorgeous sunrise I had truly ever seen. And I had forgotten it all!

So whenever negative thoughts about vacation would start to again flood my mind, I remembered this one joyful hour of bliss with my Lord.

As the days went by, something amazing started to happen.

Other pleasant memories of our vacation started to surface: like my early morning walk to the beach only to discover a delightful sight -- my brothers and nephews fishing in the surf; and the fun supper at the Mud Hut with my husband and adult children; and a surprisingly wonderful conversation with an in-law that I didn't typically connect with.

By God's grace, He saved me from a root of bitterness in my heart. As I began to reflect on what had happened in me, I started to realize what I've come to believe is a spiritual principle: We become like what we focus on.

I remembered some of my favorite passages of Scripture:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another... For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 3:18: 4:6 ESV

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Col 3:1-4 NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things... And the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:8

So here's the question, dear friends: What's your attitude, your frame of mind, like right now?

Maybe you need to hear the Lord say (as I did), "Focus on Me and remember joy!"

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

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Love and Trouble and Joy...LIFE

Lessons from a Family Vacation: Expectations Transformed

A Branch In the Vine