Today
Reflections by the Sea © Betsy Ore Glass
January 29, 2009

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
–Psalm 118:24 NIV

More than once, I have found myself leaning against a sand fence and thoughtfully staring at the ocean into the distance. I wonder if there was someone on the other side staring back at me with a heart full of hopes and dreams, too! It is a great past time to wonder what lies beyond what our natural eye can see. At times I wish I could see supernaturally for what is coming next week, next month or next year. But, God knows best when He limits our vision to the “here and now”. When I was a child, my friends and I wished our life away, as though we were in an anxious race to mark time quickly, so we can become adults. Only to become adults, and long for the carefree days of our youth again! How foolish we were!

The Bible teaches us to not worry or have fear about His Provision. We aren’t to worry about tomorrow, just live in today. Worry can’t accomplish anything. In fact, worry is actually a sin. It cancels out our prayers. We are to trust God for His blessings and favor. It is a blessing to just being able to live and enjoy each day in contentment without fear or anxiety. He provides for us in all ways, each day. God brought this message to me another way this week. As I was going about the house, I was humming a hymn. Finally I paid attention to the song He put in my heart. It was “Great Is Thy Faitfulness”. The refrain says it all:

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Peace 


Reflections by the Sea © Betsy Ore Glass
January 21, 2009

(Photograph by Elizabeth Brown)

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 NLT

I was so delighted to be a part of the sudden snowfall on the Outer Banks earlier this week. I had lamented to my husband a few weeks ago that since moving to Texas, I really missed the snow. It was beautiful to me. It quickly covered over the grass, bushes and the wet flakes stuck to the bare winter branches like a glove. The Outer Banks was flocked in snow and it transformed the bare scenes of winter into a snowy wonderland. There was a stillness about it all. As the snow fell, I felt a calming peace that fell over me, snowflake by snowflake. I got a call to travel from Texas to come to my Daddy’s side on the Outer Banks last week. It appeared that God was calling my Daddy home to Heaven and I just had hours to make it. God is good and I was able to arrive in time to pray and talk to him. Soon after, my Daddy left us for the arms of Jesus. My earthly sadness about losing him was replaced with a supernatural peace that still remains with me. While I wish I had more time with my Daddy, I understand that I don’t understand. Does that make sense? As much as I think I know, I know nothing at all. I don’t know why things have to happen as they do, but what I do know and what my Daddy always said was that God has the Plan. Things change, circumstances come and go, people are born and people die. We have a beginning, middle and an end to our life. We go through seasons. My Dad was in the sunset of his life. God had given us many graces and had mercy on our family during this past week At his service, we showed photos of sunsets that my daughter, his granddaughter took just recently. One of the photos we have used today. But is there anything beyond that sunset, that last breath, or is that all there is…just an end to a life? I believe that John 3:16 tells us that there is eternal life. That Jesus paid the price for us so we could live eternally. My Dad had a dream in his last hours that he was sitting in a chair on the “sunny side”…..I believe Daddy saw heaven in his dream. It seemed to comfort him and it comfirms in my heart that there is something that lies beyond the sunset for us when our time comes to leave this earth. This week when the snow fell, I know that my Daddy knew how much I loved snow and perhaps he placed a “special order” for me when he got to Heaven. It humors me to think of it that way. I do know that without God’s Peace covering us like snow covers the earth; we couldn’t get through this time. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as the Comforter in all things. I believe that when any of us feels sadness and despair, when we are thrown a curve or our plans are redirected, I believe we can ask for God’s Peace. We don’t have to go through difficult times alone. Our Heavenly Father provides His Peace that only we can find in Him.

Morning Walk


Reflections by the Sea © Betsy Ore Glass
January 08, 2009

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. –John 14-25 NIV

Many of us are trying to keep our New Year resolution about fitness. To take a morning walk on the beach or through the neighborhood is a great start and it can bring some real joy. I think what I like best about walking in the morning is that my mind has not had time yet to be overloaded with chores on my ‘to do’ list. When we allow ourselves to have an empty mind, that is when creativity flows in. If there are no distractions other than the sound of our own steps and the rhythm of our heartbeat, we are free to just enjoy the moment. So often, we are thinking of what to do next, where we must be later in the day and so on. In our homes, the television and radio and chatter of people around us, keeps us in a busy mode. The reflective time that we all need to experience quiet moments and to recharge ourselves can be done during a simple morning walk.

The Holy Spirit surrounds us and is in us. The Holy Spirit can give us the nudge to move forward or to patiently wait for better timing about something in our life. The Holy Spirit is there with answers and wisdom and guidance, too. God sent the Holy Spirit to be our Counselor when Jesus left the earth. But how can we know about this? I have found that it is when I am quiet, after meditating on the Word, the Holy Spirit often gives me a “knowing” about what to do. It is a “leading”. I have learned to trust the “leading” of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit may cause me to feel strongly enough to stop what I am doing and pray for someone. Or, maybe I’ll feel the nudge to telephone someone at that very moment for reasons unknown to me. Some call it intuition but I know it is the Holy Spirit that guides me through the paths of life. God will use us in many ways to serve Him, but we need to learn to listen for Him. In the busy world we live in, a morning walk can be our regular daily time with God and a place where we can also be quiet and listen.