A Samaritan Woman Meets Her Messiah and Gets Life, Choice and Purpose

 A Samaritan Woman Meets Her Messiah

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria.

So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”  And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

……And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word.

Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” John 4

Setting- Jacob’s well; belonged to Jacob, he bought it in Gen 33:18-20 for 100 pieces of money. He lived there with his family, then gave it to his son Joseph, then region was split between Ephriam and Manasseh. This area was later conquered by the Assyrians in 740 BCunder King Paul 1Chron.5:26. He took the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.  

Samaritans - Some of those taken captive were later brought back to this area to inhabit the land, still under Assyrian rule, but many had intermarried.  With this ‘mixed blood’ they were rejected by the Jewish leaders and people.  With being in captivity their beliefs had also gotten intermingled with the Assiarian’s religions.  Upon being returned to Samaria/Sychar they knew of Abraham, Jacob and their God, but because of war, captivity, and many years, it was not a full understanding.  They kept their idol worship, they built the Temple Mount Gerizim and tried to meld it together with God’s law, that never works.  They only held to the first five books of Moses, nothing of the prophets.  The outcasts of Judea and those excommunicated would go to Samaria for refuge. Joshua 20:6-7 21:21  These and other factors made irreconcilable differences between the Jewish people and the Samaritans, they were the worst of the human race in the eyes of the Jews.  It is so sad that after all these people had been through, war and captivity, that they could not reconcile their differences.  I’m sure there was much done to women especially that was out of their control.  Taken as wives, if they were given that honor, or forced into religions and worship rituals that were detestable.  Many people would have been used and abused.   Daniel was taken captive by Assyrian King Nebuchadnezzar. Taken from Jerusalem to Babylon in 620 BC.  Not everyone was able to stand as strong as Daniel did.  The years of captivity surly wore on families, many probably finally gave in just to make life for their families survivable, I can’t imagine the hardships endured by husbands and fathers unable to keep their families provided for and safe.  Nor can I imagine what the women and girls of that time had to endure… they had no voice, no choice in decisions concerning them and no recourse against mistreatment.  

  Even today we have those who have been through wars - lost loved ones, homes, land, dignity, are in captivity of many kinds. Many children are born into situations and families not of their choosing.  Do we see them as Christ saw this woman? 

The Woman - yes, “That Woman” we seem to view her as a lesser woman, a whore, loose, of ill repute… because of her current situation.  Was it of her choosing? Was that her life of her choice? To be so refused by her community that she had to go to the well at the sixth hour of the day, noon time -the hottest time- when nobody else would be there.  Nobody else there to scorn her, no one for her to have to see, her own time to be away from “it all”.  Yes, she had 5 marriages and the one she was currently with was not her husband.  As I mentioned before, Women had no say in affairs of life.  They were given in marriage of their father’s choosing, treated as their husbands saw fit, they had no voice, no recourse if mistreated.  Husbands could divorce them at their whim.  Deut. 24:1-4 the “unclean” can’t be talking of adultress, that would be grounds for stoning, so it must mean something else.  Anything that the husband sees as immoral, not submissive, improper of a wife… Lev 21:1&14 states that a priest cannot marry a divorced woman.  But what of a priest’s daughter?  For the eating of the holy offering,  Lev 22:13 if a daughter of a priest is divorced by her husband and has no children, if she is returned to her father, she can eat at his table.  So if there are children involved she is out on her own, not really able to work to support herself and child if she gets to keep the child. Her only hope is to marry again so someone will support her, get a roof over her head, food to eat, but true companionship or love is secondary.   Divorce could only be initiated by the husband. The only safeguard I found  is that she cannot remarry a previous husband, this prevents wife swapping and “loaning” for procreation or on a whim.  He would really be sure he doesn’t want her, cause he can’t have her back.  These are the laws within the first 5 Books of Moses, should be close to the laws The woman of Samaria would have been under still. The current guy…. He hasn’t even given her the decency of marriage, he has her living in such reproach! 

So, our Woman, That Woman -   In her current relationship, she cannot initiate marriage, she needs support financially, shelter, food ect. She knows of no other way.  Was she born into this life? She was handed this life, has she really had a chance to choose it or not? Had anyone ever told her of another way or a way out?    I feel Christ saw all of this when He saw her.  He really SAW her.  He spoke to her in love and compassion, not in condemnation like she heard from everyone. Compassion, empathy, understanding, He truly KNEW her heart, He knew her intentions and situations.  Was sh not elated that Christ knew all about her? That she didn’t have to spell it all out in all it’s ugly details.  He already knew her hurts, failures, imperfections, He fully knew her heart. He fully saw her.  He met her there, where she was, at Jacob’s well. With all of the well’s history, all the sorid things it had seen transpire, with all her stories of her life that had transpired, she met Jesus there.  She received that living water without drawing a drop for Him.  She found a new way, she found a way out through Christ.  Forgiveness for her sins, hope for her forever, whatever life would bring she has her forever home. She dropped her life and went to tell others, she had to be changed in some form or fashion for them to even listen to her.  They have all been waiting and dreaming of this messiah to rescue them too, just in a little messed up way… they knew just enough to know it was HIM.  He gave the Samaritans, Jew and Gentile, the full love and forgiveness that they were due.  He gave them reconciliation with mankind, Jew and gentile alike, all are the same.  All have sinned and all can be saved, no matter the sordid details of our past life. No matter what we have been born into, He gives us a voice, He gives us a choice, man and woman alike choose for themselves who they will serve eternally.  Christ recognized women and their situations so beautifully, He lifted them up and treated them as equals and at times taught the disciples a lesson or two on how to respect them as well as all people, no matter their situation in life.  I smile when I think of this woman of Samaria and the life she could lead after this encounter with The Messiah.  She was able to help others that were stuck in an unchosen life, she was able to give them hope of a choice they could make, a live where they could love unashamedly, someone to give them water of life where they will never thirst again.  

It is humbling to me when I realize how Christ Knows me, really knows me.  He knows ALL about me, this is terrifying, but, as a believer -one for even by His blood and love- He knows how I want to live, how I desire to bring HIM glory in all things in my life, despite my failed attempts.  This brings me peace, that He KNOWsme, He sees my heart, intentions, misgivings, He fully sees me.  I want to give that compassion, empathy and understanding to “that woman” at the well.  I want to see her as Christ saw her. I want to see this story as Christ pointing out the injustice that the Jews were giving these people.  They didn’t have to marry them, but they certainly should not have shunned each other or been so despite full toward them.  God is Love and they should have loved.  Love does not mean condone, love is to be kind and helpful.  I want this encounter with The Woman at the Well to stick with me, when I see “that woman” to have the understanding of Christ, the love of Christ toward her, that person who feels they had no choice, voice.  Maybe they really didn’t.  They see no hope.  It’s just what life gave them.  I want these thoughts of good for her, empathy, and understanding.  He gave her a hope for her forever, can I point that person toward that Way? He gave her a future and a purpose, she now had a choice and a voice, she had a new story to tell and I know He provided for her prayers. He gives us everything we need. He gives us Just Enough. 

March 24, 2020 

As many of us sit in our homes and shelter ourselves and loved ones from the COVID19 virus, I am amazed at how God still provides, still gives hope and refines us to rebirth and restoration in Him.  As Craig and I take our walks I am constantly drawn to the signs of Hope springing up around us. It has been a mild winter, yet a dead brown winter nonetheless, to see new life coming beck just gives my heart a hug.  Trees budding, flowers poking their leaves up from the hard ground, grass is greening up… each one such a miracle, a hope of what’s to come. Yes, a huge killing frost could snuff them out, but let’s think optimistically, there will be leaves for shade from the summer heat, flowers to enjoy and bring inside,  grass to mow, and yes, weeds to pick out. But it gives us hope in an unusual circumstance

Worldwide.  God knew this was coming, and He timed it to happen in Spring.  I think, He allowed it to happen and made it happen at such a time as this.  

The world is stressed out, some upset with all kinds, some hoarding all kinds, and we haven’t seen the worst of this yet, but those in Christ have hope.   God is reminding us of this as we look outside I think. Even with the Easter season, a time when we reflect upon our walk with Him.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

                                                                                       Psalms 51:10-12

 As we see the world around us, are we caught up in it? Are we able to rest in Him and in His promises? The seed is laid in the fall.  Everything it needs is within it. Just like us, Christ is all we need, all we need is in Christ within us - within the Spirit that’s within each believer.  The seed in the ground needs proper nourishment, water minerals ect to grow. So do we, are we taking in what we need to grow? Are we pushing into Christ and others? Are we taking in what God is feeding us through His Word and from words He gives to others? We have been in a time where we cannot socialize and gather…. we miss it! Or do we? We should yearn to be with our church families and worship together.  

The social distancing reminds me of the lepers of the Bible.  Having to shout ahead to warn others coming toward them “no don’t come I’m unclean!” We pass over that lightly sometimes… what if that person is their spouse, child, parent, sibling… saying no I can’t come near you for your sake.  I’ve got leprosy (the virus) or have been exposed. Those with leprosy went off and lived their life in leper camps, no goodbyes with hugs, no visits without risking exposing the other… the dread of finding a spot. I think that is a bit more real to us now.  I then think of the rejoicing that occurred when Christ healed the leper! Or God granted healing to a leper. Can you imagine what that meant?!? Here we are having deaths from the virus, but also many recoveries. Praise God for modern medicine. Major prayers for the healthcare workers and their families, who are distancing themselves because of their continued exposure.  Prayers for the families that are distanced from loved ones in critical conditions in the hospital, from the virus or other things. No visitors. Not being able to be with them in the critical times or possibly at their passing… I can’t imagine, pray none of us have to experience that. Prayers for those losing loved ones and not being able to have the traditional services for closure.  So many to pray for. 

I am praying that through this time that there is time to think, life has slowed down for many. Became a little more focused for most of us.  Praying that this is a time of revival of all kinds; coming to Christ and renewing in Christ, reaching out into community through this time, in acts of service and love.  

Winter is past, the rain is over and gone.  

The flowers appear on the earth, 

the time of singing has come, 

and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in the land.  

                                                                                  Song of Solomon 2:11,12

Amaryllis Prayers

March 9, 2020

Sometimes HE wants us to just be still and KNOW, really know that HE has us.  To give Him the chance to show us that “He’s got this”. This journey began for Craig and I back in November, with a “call back” on my mammogram.  That wasn’t too alarming, many have those, I had never been called back - it was my turn…. through the processes of rechecks, biopsies ect it was determined that I had ductal invasive carcinoma and a calcium cluster.  This took most of November and into December. Met with my general surgeon in January and Plastic surgeon in February, had Surgery February 14. Still awaiting test on the removed tissue to come back on recurrence percentage, to tell if chemo is needed. As of now it’s just surgery and medication, no radiation or chemo, unless the test comes back with a high recurrence percentage. Many say how it took so long to find everything out, but even in that, He knew, it gave me time to process each piece.  The waiting in November was long, but my Jesus Calling devotions led me to scripture that held my eyes on Him and how my right hand was right there in His righteous right hand. My Isaiah verses came up over and over! Over and over it reminded me of this.

  

This one was given to us on surgery day… 

It was like the tests and results trickled in at the rate we needed, to process it and not fear.  It was small, early stages and seemed it hadn’t spread. That was the best we could hope for. God gave us just what we needed when we needed it.  There was a day in November when I was backing out of our garage. My car radio system picked up Spotify from my phone’s Bluetooth. Usually I have to manually connect this in my car, but today it just started playing.  It played something I had never heard before. The Amaryllis Story by Christy Nockles   (Incase link doesn’t work https://youtu.be/-3LdXjzm_dw). Stop and listen to it. 

 He would help me to “Bloom in the dead of winter”.  No matter what all this brought, He would see me through it and He would grow me in it.   I wasn’t feeling as though I would die, it wasn’t that stage or severity. But it was something I would have to walk through.  I could not have asked for a more understanding husband to go through this with. Along with Christ, Craig has been my rock. This has grown us so close, in a whole new way. He gave me the freedom to work through it how I needed to, he has been so loving, attentive and patient, while processing things for himself as well.  And being there every time I needed him to be. His devotion and patience spoke volumes to my heart. Our girls... have been amazing. There for us the whole way. They put the word out about the Amaryllis Story to a few and those bulbs have been making their way to me over the last few months, each planted in a different beautiful pot. One by one they are growing in their own time and blooming before me through this Winter, into early Spring.  

I was sitting here this morning looking at the 2 blooming in my window and my magnolia tree  outside, with it’s catkins fuzzed out, waiting for Spring. Watching the seasons of that tree are another story… I sat here wondering what God has shown me or grown in me through this time?   I read this familiar set of verses this morning, with a fresh perspective. “But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with it’s passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

He has definitely grown my trust in Him, “you got this” is a popular saying that I heard a lot, and I do “got” this, but not without Christ going ahead of me months, days and hours ago, beside me, leading me, holding me. Not without Craig, not without our kids (son-in-laws too) supporting us along the way. Not without our families, friends and church family supporting all of us and praying and encouraging us.  There are some who we’ve never met, but they know our kids, and they have gone down this path, complete strangers to Craig and I. They have added me to their prayer lists, their church’s prayer lists, sent cards and gifts. The text message, hug, card, meal, visit... at just the right time, so many times.  

These acts of love made these verses (Gal 5:22-25) really speak to me today.  With all the hubbub going about with politics, virus outbreak, ect. He has just really put me in a place of peace, kind of removed -in my cozy home resting and healing, shielded in a way from it all.  I’m able to just savor the good that He has in this world. I have experienced so many of these fruits from others. Love immeasurable, overflowing, words don’t do it justice. Joy in volunteer impatiens blooming in my window, in so many little ways, beautiful banners and handwritten cards from our 3 grands,  it really is the little things that bring joy. Peace of heart knowing He is in control and He is enough and will provide enough for our needs. Longsuffering, it has been very bearable, hopefully me going through this will help me to empathize with others that face this or something similar. Kindness, I've received so much, throughout my lifetime I’ve received so much kindness.  The world needs kindness, we need to show kindness in all we say and do. I have been looking at the world going about outside my windows, all up in arms, upset about so much that in “the big picture” is so minute and yet, some of it is important in this life. Kindness goes a long ways to solve so many of the world’s troubles. I really want to try to share these fruits… goodness, God is good, so so good, He has shared enough. If we share our goodness to others, it will be enough - it’s our job, the church’s job; your’s, mine, everyone's,  church's job, to show pure religion (James 1:27). Faithfulness, gentleness, ...Craig in so many ways to me. So many others have been faithful in praying and supporting us, they have been gentle with our time availability or lack thereof, and given us space to process and make our way through, yet been there for us in such a gentle way. Self-control plays into those last two as well, and us to crucifying our flesh, so we can serve Him better. It’s not about us. We haven’t been able to do life as we usually do life. But that has been ok, it has given us time to refocus a bit. And that’s always good too, to take time to savor what is really important. Part of me doesn’t want to go back into normal life, but that is where He has us, I’m just glad it is an “us” thing, I love doing life with Christ and Craig.  And that is where that last part comes in, If we are of the Spirit, let’s walk in it. If we are Christ’s let’s exude these fruits to those around us. As far as I can tell - Christ didn’t convert sinners before He helped them. He helped them. Then if they followed Him they did, but he helped them first.  

The Potter’s Clay

     The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.  Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.*

In the cool of the evening I found myself being drawn away from where I was headed and walking down a lightly worn path, toward a small humble house, almost a tiny cottage. Possibly only a couple rooms in it.  There is a peculiar glow about it that seems to draw one towards it. I surprise myself that I am allowing myself to pursue this, I’ve been so caught up in my life, being so busy, I haven’t taken much time for much else.  As I approach, I see the door is open as if enticing one to see in, just a bit, I can see that it is a very simple place. A workshop of sorts, dirt type of floor, very earthy smells waft out as I stand there. I hear someone inside, I want to enter - but hesitate. I stand at the door and then softly knock.  I am greeted by a calm voice that seems to be laced with love to come in. I step inside to a small room. I looks like there are only 2 or 3 rooms at the most, very simple, only the essential needs if even that. I see a craftsman sitting at a spinning circular wheel. A lump of clay in His hand.

       His strong hand molds the clay a bit in His hand, inspects it a bit then works with what it is.  He firmly tosses it onto the center of the wheel and begins the work of centering the piece, watering the piece and working it back and forth, up and down,  until He can feel that it is perfectly centered into where He can work with it in a balanced manner. As I am drawn into this I’m so very focused on His hands, the small movements that cause so much impact on the shape of the clay.  His hands look scarred… He works silently, ever so gently forming the clay, drawing it into shape, placing pressure at the top to hollow it out, pulling up the sides and pressuring it into shape, he sees a blemish and then begins working and reworking to fix the blemish… all this time watering his hands and keeping the clay moist and pliable.   I release my eyes from Him and look around, broken and misshaped vessels are sitting about, Sacks of moist clay, tools… all with a layer of clay dust and dried clay. I see Him remove the finished vessel from the wheel, only to take a dried broken vessel in hand.

       He places the vessel on his bench and proceeds to work it with a mallet and brings it into small pieces and eventually into powder, adding water to bring it into a clay form once again… setting it aside to rest until He can work it again, and taking up another broken piece to see how He can restore it…. my eyes watch His hands, the scars are seen again… my eyes watch, but my mind wonders - What am I witnessing?  Who is this master craftsman? What are these pieces? Is this me? Is this a message for me, given from the scarred hands that took nails on a cross for me? Is this…. my mind races at this awareness, the clay, the water, the molding.. my busy life, my rushed days, … He looks at me for a brief moment, His eyes seem to plead with me… “do you see?” Oh Lord, like Israel, I need to be remade, like Isaiah I need to be undone!   I need to be worked in your hands, pounded, watered, beaten to a pure clay without air of myself inside. Firmly placed on Your wheel, firmly held and worked with to be centered in YOU. Watered with your grace and mercy so that I am able to be pliable and molded. Pressure me that I can rest in Your hands and trust your fingers and tools, to make me into Your vessel that, would be worthy of a KING’s service. 

      My mind racing within me, the Master dimmed his candles and motioned for the door.  It was growing late and I knew I needed to go, I breathed deeply wanting to remember every aspect of this place, I turned to see HIm again but He was exiting to another room, I feebly uttered a thank you, feeling unworthy to speak even that.  I entered out into the cool and damp night. I had much on my mind, I had so much to ponder… 

                                *Jer 18

Mothers and Fathers Day

Yesterday holds our memories,

Today is a gift, 

Some say Tomorrow never comes, 

but tomorrow is the start of forever... 

So, I’ll see you tomorrow. 

     I heard a song this morning about mothers, as it is Mother’s Day weekend.  It was by Chonda Pierce A Mother’s Prayer ,  it reminded me of my mom and the journey we had together.  The last line is similar to the line Mom & Dad taught me to pray, only it was from a mom’s heart perspective. “If I die before they wake, they’ll know I lived for Jesus’ sake.”   This song reminded me of the heart journey I took, over my lifetime with my parents, and the example of grace that they were.  

       As with most kids, the parent at home isn’t always the people that others know, sometimes but not always - and to an extent, that is how it should be.  It’s that way in my girl’s lifetime as well; good, bad, ugly, beauty all happen in a family, in our’s laughter and tears filled in the gaps.  For some reason, it seems that I was closer to my mom than my dad, I have a good healthy relationship with them both, but seemed to relate better to my mom...  I have thought for sometime about blogging about her and dad, but there is just so much, where to start, what to talk about... I guess my overlying thought in the end of it all is... I am so thankful that God gave me the time with them that He did, so I had time to come to understand where they came from and how that formed them into who they were.  This will be the first set of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day without them.  11/2017 & 8/2018 Nine months apart until they were back together.  Maybe now is the time to write. 

        For many years as I grew up, I kind of held it against them that they weren’t as I thought they should be.  They were more critical than encouraging, they asked annoying rhetorical questions, or they didn’t notice how hard I was trying or trying something new, sometimes they just didn’t seem to ‘get it’... I was impatient with them.  And yes girls, I do some of these things too...  As an adult I slowly came to understand, I slowly began to appreciate, who they were, what they grew out of and their huge accomplishments they had made -in spite of the losses they experienced early in their lives.   They both had what we would call trauma in their early childhood. Mom’s mother (Gma Lena) died when mom was 8 and Uncle Leland was 10.   My Dad’s parents divorced when he was 8 or 9 yrs old, in 4th grade, and thereafter she had 4 more marriages and 3 more divorces, he had step dads with abuse, alcohol issues  ect.  Both of my grandfathers were the stabilizing people in my parent’s lives.   My grandpa Zim remarried after grandma’s death.  The grandma that I grew up with tried her best to be a mom, but she had no experience at that, being a single gal all her life.  That mother daughter close relationship wasn’t there with my mom, she learned the work that needed done, but not the relationship building.  Dad and his brother kind of raised themselves in southern Illinois, during the depression, doing odd jobs that young boys could do: paper routes, selling ice chunks for freezers, shining shoes in the pool hall and learning to play snooker... while my grandma was often working in a diner or something.  My grandpa Zobrist did all he could to help support the boys by working on farms and later on the railroad, but it was a horrible depression, everyone was poor.  My Grandpa ended up moving to Peoria with his new wife (my Grandma June) and after a few years  Dad and Uncle Don showed up at their doorstep as well, with comic books and a white shirt.  Both had dropped out of school and caught a bus to Peoria.  Worked in gas stations ect until getting on a Caterpillar, both excelling at the GED program, apprentice course, working their way up over the years,  to where they “wore a white shirt and tie to work” and retired at an early age very comfortably.  Mom grew up on the farm until moving into town, after high school she went to Brown’s business school, worked at Cat, met dad on a blind date and they figured out life together from there.  After marrying they found the Lord and that was their Saving Grace literally.  Mom had been raised by Godly parents, but dad had little to no church experiences.  

      So, as I look back at what parenting role models they had to work with, the lack of close parental relationships that they had... and I remember the tough times that they went through as life went on.  I see the real reason for the joy they had,  in giving us what they didn’t get as kids: vacations camping all over, time exploring the outdoors, importance of family and friends to do things with, so many healthy relationships that I was given.  Yes, there were negative experiences in life, to me and them, but when they were wrong they apologized, sincerely owned it.  When falsely accused or “done wrong”,  they reacted with grace and mercy and prayed for the person/people.  Early on,  I realized that I never had heard my parents raise their voice at one or the other.  I didn’t realize how uncommon this was... then I married and had conflict...  at first I saw it as a fault with them - it caused me to have the need to learn how to resolve conflict,  after the age that most already know this.  This was not a good time to just now be learning this... but now,  I look at that and I think they were trying to right a wrong from dad’s past.  He heard a lot of things from stepdads that a child doesn’t want to hear... he didn’t want his children to hear conflict.  My mom wasn’t ‘mothered’ much after age 8.  She was loved, but missed out on that mother’s wisdom, care, nurturing... she lacked that role model, she knew the work that needed done, but not the relationship building.  She had a lot of regrets, we talked about it, it makes me sad, I now see that she really did try hard and gave us kids more than what she had, better than what she had.  Isn’t that a parent’s natural wish?   I think by the time her journey ended,  she understood, we understood, God understood,  (you do your best with what you are given) and forgave herself.
     The legacy she and dad left was amazing. Especially considering what they started with.   Even looking at the spiritual end of things. Mom did all she could do to understand the scripture, to learn to meditate on it, study a bit,  her parents weren’t taught these things, they were trying to learn to read, comprehend and preach the Bible in English instead of German and eek out a living in the midst of wars and loss of loved ones the Bible was sustaining them!   She saw me doing Bible Studies and would ask about it, how to do it.  She found what worked for her and how to make the Word apply to her life.   Through her cancer when she couldn’t read, she went to audio bibles, cd’s and books, lots of books!  They sustained her as she tried to keep busy,  working with any handwork she could still do, and figure out who could use it, baby hats and blankets to wash rags. They were not the grand caliber of what she had done over the years, but her heart was in wanting to do something for others,  even when she was sick.   She extended grace and forgiveness in abundance, she was not perfect, but she was repentant and forgiving.  This was so wise,  because this gave her peace of heart and mind in her last years, not more regrets.  Some of the last words she said to me, in asking the whereabouts of  grandchild, “it will all be ok, it will be ok” and her “I love you too”.  I will never forget dad sitting by her bedside that day, giving her a kiss and holding her hand all the way Home.  Dad was the most patient man I ever  knew, a lot like Grandpa Zobrist.  He always spoke well of people, gave them a second chance and the benefit of a doubt. I just saw an old friend of Dad’s and he mentioned missing dad and that he wished he “had his disposition” not much riled up my dad -if he was riled up,  you knew it was a big deal!. :) But he always had a bit of wit for you,  a “geneism” as we now call them.   Dad, with having no upbringing in a church or faith,  went on to self teach himself the Bible.  He knew the succession of all the kings and judges, happenings in the Bible,  battles and wars and how world history fit in with the Bible.  He taught all of us kids in Sunday School.  He could have  ‘ran circles around’  those who had been ‘churched’ all their lives.  When he passed on, many didn’t realize he hadn’t been raised in a churched family.  Another first generation PTL!
    So, after all this rambling I guess my point is this,  what I learned from  Gene and Caroll: Don’t be to quick to criticize, you don’t know what that person’s starting point was.  Generations before you or those from different cultures,  lived in very different times and ways, give them credit for that - not criticism, honor them for the obstacles they have overcome, recognize the confusion today’s day and time must present them.   Simplicity holds wisdom, sometimes I long for it, but He has me Planted in today, in His present day and time  - so that’s where I’ll attempt to Bloom with His Grace. He gives me Enough.

Just Enough is Enough

Early Spring 2016

“This is the time of your life when you must learn to let go: of loved ones, of possessions, of control.  In order to let go of something that is precious to you, you need to rest in My Presence, where you are complete.  Take time to bask in the Light of My Love. As you relax more and more, your grasping hand gradually opens up, releasing your prized possession into My care.

    You can feel secure, even in the midst of cataclysmic changes, through awareness of my continual Presence. The One who never leaves you is the same One wh never changes:  I am the same yesterday, today and forever. As you release more and more things into My care, remember that I never let go of your hand. Herein lies your security, which no one and no circumstance can take from you.” Jesus Calling (written first person as Christ speaking)

This was exactly where I was at, God had over time released my fingers from this house we “brought back to life” over the last 25 years.  I was ready to move on, the situation was getting desperate that we move -with the city annexation coming, bringing double or triple taxes on our few acres of land.  We had listed with a realtor who had seen our For Sale by Owner listing. It wasn’t going very well and we were not happy with how she was handling things, but we were under contract with her.  

    I continued to read each day of... of I am with you... do not fear, trust me fully, I will supply ALL your needs according to His riches, be in constant communion with Me, be thankful in ALL things, Trust Me in every detail of your life.  May 9, 2016 “Trust Me and watch and see what I will do.” Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. May 21 Watch and see what I will do was there again.  So I trusted and waited as best I could. The realtor had offered to release our contract and we took it.  Put For Sale By Owner back on the front yard and researched another realtor option. In the meantime a Doctor couple was interested.  Moving here from the Carolinas, had lived in older homes there. The wife was coming house hunting ahead of the move. She came and loved it, wanted her husband to see it as well he would come Memorial Day weekend.  He liked it as well, it all looked promising, she really wanted it. But, they decided to not make an offer or anything until they would actually move. They found a place to rent for when they move and would pursue buying a house once they are here permanently.  It did not make sense. It seemed so perfect, they had already sold their home, were in a great place to buy ours….. did not understand… IS 41:10 my all time favorite verse was referenced that day 
 

Combine verse 10 and 13 and you see, my right hand is in His righteous right hand.  That means we are face to face, He is face to face with me. He is right here with us through this. Trust.  “”Hold My Hand and trust” a week or so went by and another couple called. They had driven past and saw the sign, they were newly married and both grew up in older homes.  They wanted an older home, but were in no rush - were content just waiting for the right one. She loved it and wanted it from the first visit. It was humorous because she did not hide her feelings at all and he was more like “honey, we will think about it and check things over…” not wanting to agree to it before they had done it right with inspector ect.  She was like “nope! This one is it!” So funny. We had explained all the nuances of the house, our water agreement with neighbors and a new roof that was approved by insurance to be done. We agreed on a price and had our lawyer draw up an agreement and we were rolling.

    I was getting my parent’s new retirement condo painted and ready for them to move into when I got a call from Craig that the deal was at a stand still.  Makes. A knot in my stomach to even remember this day... Our lawyer told us that we technically have a house without water. In order to sell out house at all we have to have a water source.  Our agreement that we had was not sufficient. We need to drill a well. So, Craig started calling and found a firm that would drill one in July for us. We informed the new owners of the finding and of course she said “Oh it’s no problem, we will just figure something out, we will get water somehow, it’s fine” and he said “well… honey we have to make sure of a few things here… “.  So, we signed with the contingency of water being located and sufficient clean water and pump system installed in the house. So we pulled money to cover this huge expense and would trust that it would all work and we could pay it back with the sale money. Trusting again.

    In the meantime we needed to get more serious on our house search, we had looked at a few. Craig prefers to be out by ourselves,  I wanted something in a subdivision, by a walking/bike trail, but all that we looked at just weren’t right and had other concerns.  I wanted newer, not too much that we would have to redo… God seemed to keep showing me Just Enough is Enough. I don’t need what I want, I need to be content with what He gives me.  We had looked at a house out in the Challacombe area and really liked the area.  There were neighbors but not close by, everyone is on a few acres, rolling hills, quiet… The house we looked at wasn’t for us, bad foundation ect. It would be a total rebuild and we couldn’t do that.  But Jackie, our realtor told us she had heard another was coming on the market in this area by a different realtor, but had no details until it lists in a few days. We are set to take a 3-4 week vacation end of June. Needing to get something setup though and still praying for water in July.  A new tax assessment came, it had more than doubled already without being annexed… Trusting Trusting…. trusting there’s water. Mid June a house came on market just up the road from the other one. 3 bedroom sitting on a hill. Nothing fancy, it was a grandma grandpa house, didn’t really excite me at first, but I knew God was saying it was Just Enough.  We looked at the possibilities of what we could do with it over time, Jackie’s husband walked through it with us and assured Craig that we could make the changes we were thinking with the structure of the house. So we began the steps to purchase our new home. We did some packing up of the old house, as much as we felt comfortable with doing. Not a done deal really…  We left on our trip and learned how to sign electronic documents on the road. Inspectors came and went, our girls were at home if anything needed into the Alta house. We held our breath as the day of the inspection came and their appraiser. Once again God pulled us through. The inspection didn’t bring up anything major and they got their loan so the appraisal must have come in high enough.  Such a relief, now wait for water… We really were able to rest in Him and enjoy our trip, we just had an assurance - even if this all fell through He had us. No idea what we would do, but He did...

    We returned from our trip with the drilling only a day or two away.  We were having a bored well, which is wider and more of a seepage situation rather than hitting a body of water with a pipe.  Our area was very spotty for water, that’s why we never pursued it. They had walked around the yard and planted a red flag where they felt would be a good spot to try.  It works that they come and drill down, you pay a lot per foot that they go. IF they get to their limit and no water, they fill it in and you pay for a dry hole, then try again.  There are no guarantees. So that morning they pull in and I sat on the porch with my Bible doing my devotions, watching them get started. This is what I read in JC

    Bring me all your feelings, even the ones you wish you didn’t have. Fear and anxiety still plague you… use your shield of faith to extinguish them… Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel.  If you persist, your feelings will eventually fall in line with your faith. ...concentrate on trusting me, and fearfulness will gradually lose its foothold within you. ISAIAH 12:2  I clung to verse 3.  We would draw water.

So I sat and watched as they went deeper and deeper. Coming back up and adding on another piece to make it longer to go deeper, trying not to do too much math..$.. I was texting Craig through all this.  At one point the little guy jumped into the hole, then the other guy sent down a hook and pulled him back out… Craig asked if he came out wet! Haha. At one point they took their tractor and started moving the dirt pile, my heart sank, I thought they were going to fill the hole back in, but they didn’t - just moving for more space for more dirt.   Whew! I would go inside and try to work on something, but always came back to look…. finally I just had to know what was up, so it gathered up my courage and went out to ask. “Water?! Oh yeah we hit water a few feet ago, we are just going a bit deeper to get a good supply. Oh yeah we hit water about where we thought we would not too bad at all, looks like a good amount coming in…”.  I don’t think I have ever felt so much thankfulness in my life. There was so much riding on this. And God was just saying “watch and see what I can do…”. So we had the well hooked up and into the house with new pump. Ran chlorine rinses til we could test it and pass inspection. Craig and I had another trip that we needed to do for church, so the girls were on water testing patrol while we were gone. Everything cleared and passed, what a miracle! God truly Amazed us!  These were not things we could have orchestrated, we just had to wait and trust.

    The new property was running into glitches with the city of Peoria, so we closed on the Alta house and rented for a month or so in the new house, until we could close there.  Even that, it made it better for us in the end, protected us from Peoria annexation for 20 years. Thanks to the great lawyers that Tori works for. It “just happened” that they were the firm handling the division of the house from the farmland and sale for the family we were buying the house from.  As we have moved in and remodeled, God keeps providing Just Enough and growing my trust and faith in Him.

Craig and I went to Galena Illinois soon after we had been in the new house for awhile, continuing to see how He was providing again and again just in time, just what we needed.  We found this cute little coffeehouse called Otto’s Place and on the menu this was written -

In a time when the world seems to go faster and faster, when we seem to have more and more to do, when we seem to go after more and more and appreciate what we have less and less, when it seems that too many focus on themselves with little regard for others, when it seems that we are in competition to amass the most in the shortest time, Otto’s Place philosophy is very simple; Enough.

In 2005 my Aunt, Sr. Lois and I heard the story by Bob Perks “I wish you Enough”. It touched our hearts immensely, and it is a philosophy that is both simple and deep and one that has stayed with us ever since. My Aunt is now 98 and she is an inspiration to all who know her. Since we first heard the story we have been ending our phone calls and signing off on emails and letters with the simple phrase, ‘I love you and wish you Enough’.

Part of the story goes as follows: ‘He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.”When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.”’

“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much
bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough Hello’s to get you through the final Goodbye.”

It was more than perfect.  It captured all we were experiencing.  

He is so righteous and loving in spite of all our failures.  I am trying to just remain content with what we have, with what He sees as our need, keep life simple.   There are things that we want in life, but what we need He generously supplies, and therewith we should be content, I try to remember,  it’s Just Enough - and He is Enough.

Watercolor of when we bought the Alta House.

Moving day

On to the next chapter of our journey. Our Challacombe house when we purchased it.