Fostering the Family

May9

I was listening to this the other day. I’m not even sure what to call it. It’s not a song, and not a sermon. Just a video, a call to family. It’s not a call to the immediate family, or even to blood relatives, but a call to the Christian family. Because we do, after all, share the same Father.

Which got me thinking. If we share the same Father, we are all family. Do we act that way? Do we treat every lost person we see as family? Unconditionally loved, happy to see them? In our hearts, do we recognize them as brother and sister?

I know I don’t. I try to. But all too often, going through my day, I treat people like strangers. Because really, they are. It’s both strange and eye-opening to walk through crowded streets of Manhattan, not knowing a soul but knowing that I’m walking through family and potential family. Because that’s what it is for those who are lost – a potential family. A family that is just waiting for them to join it. To come back to it. To come into their identity that Christ gave them, to live the way they were created to. To come into their inheritance as sons and daughters.

But what am I actively doing to welcome them in? To claim them as brother and sister and show them what this family looks like? God gives me discernment over people sometimes, and it guides my prayer. Other times He gives me a word for people and I do my best to be bold enough to speak it. But if it’s not a direct order, I usually leave them alone. And I don’t think that’s really enough. Yes it’s the crowded streets of Manhattan. But a smile, a greeting, a compliment…those things cost nothing. It doesn’t always have to be profound. Every moment is a chance to show our Father’s love.

Yes, some families here on earth are dysfunctional. Some family members don’t treat each other all that great. But not ours. Not with the Dad we have. So we shouldn’t act like it.

I posted the video below, just because it sparked all my rambling. And I leave you with a call of your own, as you go through your day. It’s a call to not just be outwardly nice to people because we know we should, but to see every person you come across through the eyes of the Father, and see them as a potential brother or sister. What family members have been right in front of you have been right in front of you this whole time?

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Curbing a Habit

Apr28

Lately, I have been experiencing something that most New Yorkers know well: road rage. Extreme, “humanity-is-a-needle-in-my-eye-and-why-the-HECK-are-you-jaywalking-when-I’m-clearly-RIGHT-in-front-of-you-do-you-have-a-death-wish-you-crazy-fool” and “Lady-I-don’t-think-I-pushed-you-in-front-of-my-car-you-CHOSE-to-step-in-front-of-me-so-save-your-glare-for-the-mirror” kind of road rage. And don’t get me started on my opinion of bikers and cab drivers. Or people who honk just for the heck of it. But I digress.

Anyway, I was telling a friend about my extreme impatience and general hatred of the world that I feel every time I get behind the wheel. She in turn decided that I don’t in fact hate humanity, but am simply reacting to my environment. Could’ve fooled me, because I see plenty of taxis on the NYC streets and I’m pretty sure I hate them. Then again, I don’t necessarily count taxi drivers as humanity. They are some special demonic spawn sent to torment everybody else. And, if left to their own devices, probably to kill us all. I’m sure of it. But I digress. Again.

Joking aside, I don’t necessarily say all those things (except sometimes) and I don’t hate humanity. Or even cab drivers (except sometimes). But I do definitely notice some impatience. Is it from me? Is it reaction to my environment? I don’t know. But either way it’s not really ok, is it? Of course not.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s common. Acceptable. Expected, even. But not for me. Not if I’m living by the law of love. Sometimes I do wonder if mankind would still have been given salvation if Jesus were surrounded by taxi drivers. But something tells me that God’s grace is bigger than that, yes it would’ve been given to us, and Jesus’ reaction to being cut off and nearly run off the road would be much more polite.

SO, after doing some impatient soul-searching to go with my currently impatient soul, I decided that I was not going to stoop to the world’s standards for acceptable driving attitudes (ie pretty terrible ones). Instead, I am going to reach my attitude up to God’s standards. Stooping is bad for the back anyway. Much healthier to reach up.

So I had this plan in mind. Then I was praying with a friend and she said “Jesus we thank you that you give us joy in the face of the enemy, because when met with joy he doesn’t know what to do.” That clinched it. I was going to meet my road rage with joy. Instead of screaming and grumbling, and saying who-knows-what to the masses of people who seemed to have developed New Yorker amnesia (which basically consists of forgetting what a moving vehicle looks like – I blame the pollution), I was going to meet every near-death experience with a chuckle. A smile. A blessing or prayer for that person even. And then I was going to move on.

I put the plan into action this week. Some days I’ve remembered. Others I’ve haven’t. Sometimes I’ve remembered after the fact and what comes out of my mouth is something like “My-car-is-SOLID-and-no-matter-how-badly-you-want-in-my-lane-no-you-can’t-drive-THROUGH me….be blessed though”. It’s a work in progress. Ultimately it will involve abiding in His love for others, and having my heart be so united with His that my very instincts and reactions are one with His. I’m not even close to being there. I’m closer to the opposite extreme than the Jesus extreme. All I know is, with baby steps, I’m curbing the habit.

If you are trying to curb something, let me know. You can reach me at being.rebekah.a@gmail.com. I’ll pray for you. We’re in this together.

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Praise Report! (and a song)

Apr24

I found out yesterday that my little cousin (‘little’ = freshman in college) has a tumor on her lung that was impeding her breathing. She went to the hospital for a biopsy; I went to my knees to pray.

Today I found out that her tumor is indeed cancerous. BUT it is extremely slow-growing and they will be able to remove it with surgery. AND, not only that, she will be able to finish out her school year first. No withdrawal or missing a semester necessary.

So I am full of praise today, and praying into God’s will over her life. Maybe He wants to show her more of Himself through this. Regardless I know there’s a plan, and I am praying into it wholeheartedly. I trust Him enough for that.

And because my praise has me bursting into song at random points throughout the day, I have a song for you:

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Beautiful Worship

Apr17

“Take this body,

Take this melody,

Take Your heart’s cry,

And let it pour out of me,

In beautiful worship.

Let Your grace flow,

Through this voice raised high,

In this moment,

Let me proclaim Love’s cry,

With beautiful worship.”

I have posted once or twice before about writing songs – or really, just writing down the words that God gives me. Which is funny, because I am not a songwriter and extremely self-conscious when it comes to singing. I am much more comfortable at the piano. Usually.

However, recently I was sitting at the piano trying to worship through my playing. I was trying to put music to one of the tunes God had given me. It was going terribly. You’d think I was tone deaf and had never seen a piano before. In a moment of frustration, I prayed for Jesus to help me out – help the music flow and help me worship Him with abandon.

Prayer soon turned to song. The lyrics are above. I sat there singing it over and over again. Interestingly, the more this ‘beautiful worship’ manifested itself in random ways. Like just basking in Jesus while walking outside. Or having giddy giggle fests with Him (yes, Jesus is fun like that. I swear). Or unleashing a colossal Jesus-love hug onto my unsuspecting roommate. It was great and unexpected and definitely free-flowing. However, as of yet it hasn’t translated to the piano. But then again, until recently my worship didn’t consist of ANY original music. So I will take whatever comes, ride whatever worship wave God sends to me, and praise Him for blessing me with intimacy!

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Guest Spot: 40YearWanderer “10 Things Life Teaches…If We Are Learning”

Mar17

Editor’s Note: Our weekly guest spot is our effort to help our reading community connect with each other. Even though this list only holds ten items, there’s a lot of wisdom if you’ll internalize and act on these words. Thanks for sharing this with our readers 40YearWanderer!!! ~Rebekah M.

1- LIFE is not about getting things perfect. It is about the destination of the journey. Have some place to go … daily and eternally.

2- Learn from the difficult things in life. They teach us many things if we are paying attention to the lessons.

3- Never, ever, ever miss a chance to LOVE. You will be loved back. In many cases you will find out you were loved first.

4- Weakness can cause our strength to grow IF we choose to let that happen. It really is all about a choice to move forward.

5- Life is not about understanding every thing that goes on. It is about APPRECIATING every thing that goes on. Life goes on.

6- We do not exist just for ourselves and our pleasures. We were made to love. Love one another.

7- Hiding and not sharing our needs and sufferings leads to the same thing as constant complaining. No effect.

8- Love is an action we MUST practice. Practice truly makes perfection in this instance.

9- Understanding, getting through, making a difference, overcoming, VICTORY – are all found simply by opening the door that you are standing in front of right now. Hear the knock?

10- Love is eternal. (NOT the end of the story.)

Be thankful that we each have a Choice to live in Grace. That is followed by many other opportunities to choose all the things of God’s plan for our lives. It’s all in the choice.

Live Blessed,

~ Heather

*****

Heather Mertens has spent 40+ years wandering through life – at first aimlessly and now at last with drive, passion, and commitment to Christ who called her out of the darkness. Her life has brought depression and healing, death and life, destruction and repair, sadness and victory – and above all else … Love.

What started as a gifted love for writing, blossomed into a ministry and a career.
She penned a Christmas poem at age 7 for her father who carried it in his wallet until the day he died a few years later. She knows deeply how words can touch a life.

Her writings can be found at

www.40YearWanderer.wordpress.com

Life, Love, Joy… Found!

Reblogged with the permission of the author. Submit your own by emailing us at beingrebekah@outlook.com

Small Blessings

Mar15

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:19

Those of you who have been reading this blog know that I’ve been looking for work. It’s been difficult for 2 reasons: 1) my field doesn’t exist in NY; and 2) my roommate needs my assistance on Mondays and Tuesdays, making a typical 9-5, Mon-Fri work week impossible.

So it’s been a struggle, but God knows exactly what I need. He knows, and He provides. Just when I was getting truly desperate, He provides me with temporary employment. He did the same thing last year, but this time it’s twice as much as it was then!

It just goes to show the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’. God provides for our needs (and sometimes blesses us with our wants too!). It’s as simple in that. In Him we need nothing else. And His timing might be a little tight in our point of view, but it’s always perfect. We are so insignificant, but still we always have His full attention. Praise Jesus! I’m thankful and blessed that He’s come through once again to take care of me!

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Under Control

Mar13

My good friend Scott is back in the hospital again. He has, as you may have read in past posts, a condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, an ultimately fatal muscle-wasting disease. He’s had a rough winter, battling pneumonia, dehydration, sepsis, and a slew of other heart and lung issues. He also had to get a feeding tube (you can imagine how slow the recovery from that surgery has been in light of all the other stuff) and can no longer eat or swallow regular food (even pureed). When he did finally come home, it was only to find that his driving hand had stiffened and he could no longer drive his wheelchair. The health issues started in December, and he recovered enough to be home from the hospital for a couple months, but not really getting out of bed. His spirit had changed. He was dealing with depression and severe anxiety, and seemed to have lost his will to live. At the very least, he seemed to lose his will to fight to live. I don’t blame him, really. This disease has taken so much from him already, and now the two things he could still enjoy – eating and moving about independently in his chair – were taken too. But now, with so much spent time in bed, the pneumonia has relapsed. So, back in the hospital he goes. This latest time, he passed out and was unresponsive. He was rushed to the hospital but remained unresponsive. He is on a ventilator that breathes for him, so I can’t say he wasn’t breathing, and he did have a pulse this whole time; he was just unconscious and unresponsive.

To be honest, I was initially torn when it came to praying for him. I know what I want – a healing. Call it selfish, but I want him here. With me on earth for as long as I’m here. But at the same time, I know he knows Jesus and I know where he’s going when the time comes. In light of that, it seems cruel and selfish to pray for a healing for him when he seems so ready to be called home.

So what to do? In the end, I just started praying into God’s will over his life, and that all things surrounding him other than God would be removed from him. I prayed for God’s plan to come to fruition regarding Scott’s fate, and I prayed hard. I praised Him for having a plan in the first place, and being loving and attentive enough to carry it out over each of us. And as I prayed, something cool happened.

God really just wanted me to open my mouth in prayer and praise. As I did, He guided my prayers. Once I got started, words just came pouring out of my mouth, things I hadn’t even thought to be concerned about. I opened my mouth and God filled it with the prayers that Scott needed, prayers that aligned with His perfect plan.

Sure enough, later that night and throughout the day today, Scott woke up. He can’t talk right now (he is on a hospital respirator instead of his own so he can’t speak), but he has been mouthing words and communicating via eye blink.

Yes, times like these are difficult. But it’s in our own weaknesses, our own limitations, that we see how much God truly has it all in His hands. In times like these, when our very words fail and we need to be carried, we feel how much love and attention God has for us. When we no longer can control our circumstances, we feel how in control God is. Sometimes knowing that we don’t have to go it alone is the greatest gift there is, and it’s a gift that God gives to us constantly.

And that right there is reason enough, no matter how bad things seem to get for us here, to praise Him to the skies.

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Identity in Christ

Mar5

Definition of Identity:

1) The fact of being who or what a person or thing is.

2) A close similarity or affinity.

I have spent the last few years on a journey of discovering who I am. It started with uncovering a family secret in 2009 that the man who raised me may not actually be my biological father. Worse than this discovery was finding out that the man suspected of being my father was the person in my life who had wounded me more deeply than any other human being on this earth. Emotionally this put me in a tailspin. As a result I started down a path to try to gain a sense of identity. In the last few months I have done extensive research on my family tree and a few days ago received the results of a DNA test to help answer some of these questions. The outcome of this test gave me more questions than answers.

The results of this test were not exactly what I wanted. In talking about it with my godfather he said that sometimes it’s better not to know. He is right, but it’s in our human nature to want to understand where we come from and why things happened the way they did. But I thank God that He has given me peace in this situation. The Lord has held me through every fear and comforted me through my tears. He is my true Father!

I Praise the Lord for His revelation to me that my identity does not lie in bloodlines and broken promises, my identity rests in Jesus Christ! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Where I come from is not important, it’s where I am going!

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

When we are baptized in Jesus Name, we take on His name! We enter into a relationship with Him and from then on we get to use the family name. What a privilege it is to be able to call ourselves Christians! He is our perfect father. He takes care of us, provides our needs, He helps us to grow and even disciplines as we need it because of His enduring love. When we receive His spirit we are freed from the bondage of the enemy and we receive the “spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).

“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

I want to be so wrapped up in God that it is obvious to everyone that I meet that I belong to Him! I want people to know that I am His child. I want my identity to rest firmly in Him! I want to encourage all of our readers to embrace your Christian identity. There is nothing greater than the salvation He offers us, but beyond that we have received something so special from God; we have received the right to call him Daddy!

In His Love,

Rebekah L.

A True Servant

Mar1

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” ~ Galations 6:2

Lately, life has been crazy. Between helping my roommate’s aide daily (who is still in agony, can sometimes put on his own shoes, but not his own jacket, can only eat soft foods and can’t walk unassisted), having him spend nights at our house so his wife can go back to work, helping cover his old duties while we train a new aid, it’s busy. Plus, the house is falling apart (I swear every piece of furniture we own is in cahoots). So it’s been busy.

And through the busy, God has been showing me something. When we’re left to our own devices and we see a need, we may try to fill it. We’ll do ‘what we can’. But very often, ‘what we can’ isn’t exactly what we can do, but what we want to do. In a lot of ways, even under the guise of doing a good deed, we ration our help. We determine what is convenient for us to give.

And while those good deeds are indeed helpful, we really only get the true heart of a servant when we push past our self-imposed boundary. When we lay aside what is convenient for us to give and truly give according to God’s calling to fulfill the need before us, that is when we become servants. Servants don’t do their lord’s bidding when they have a spare second. They put themselves aside. They see their lord as more important than they are, and they do his bidding when he tells them to.

So too are we called to see every person we pass as more important than ourselves. I’m sure it wasn’t convenient for Rebekah to stop and water an elderly servant’s camels, but she put the servant above herself and did it anyway. I’m sure dying on the cross wasn’t convenient for Jesus. But He did it anyway, because while here on earth He acted as a servant. He put the rest of humanity above Himself.

I’m not saying we all have to go to that extreme – God will guide us as to how much of ourselves to actually give. But whatever He asks of us, the fact remains that to be a servant means to go beyond ourselves and place ourselves below the person we’re serving. In that moment, they are more important than we are. Imagine how our regular interactions would look if we all truly embraced that concept in our hearts.

So I invite you today to have God examine your hearts. Make sure your calling as a servant isn’t hindered by a limit you placed on it, but that you are giving according to His calling for you. You can trust Him – He won’t lead you beyond what You can truly bear and He won’t forsake you. He’s our provider, after all – He’s all we need!

God bless!

~Rebekah A

Just a Blink

Feb26

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” ~2 Corinthians 4:18

A few years ago, I had a friend go into the hospital with a heart scare. Like several of my friends, he had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). In this particular case, he had a defibrillator implanted in his chest. And his heart rhythm spiked, triggering the machine. So he sat there, fully conscious, getting more than a dozen electric shocks to the chest. I visited him the day after he got home from the hospital, and needless to say he was scared, anxious, and drained. I had nothing to offer him long-term to cheer him up and provide a distraction (I did make him a care package based on Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part 1. It included the horse Miracle). So, I told him I’d run the half marathon in Walt Disney World in his honor that winter. I know that doesn’t seem like much of a distraction for him. But trust me. I was athletic growing up, but sometime in college got out of the running habit. I’d never run more than a 5k in a race (3.1 miles – a half marathon being 13.1), and right then I wasn’t sure I could run more than a mile. If nothing else, he’d be amused at the ongoing absurdity of my attempt. True to form, he was, and we share some laughs as he continued to deal with his bad heart and I continued to rack up the running miles on his behalf.

I registered as a runner on team Run For Our Sons, which raises money for Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (they fund research and advocacy for DMD). I mentioned my racing inexperience and within a day, someone had reached out to me. His name was Brian, and he was an amazing runner. He was injured and still running the goofy challenge (a half marathon one day and a full the next). But as good and ‘elite’ as he was, he was totally fine with coming down to my level, meeting me right where I was at, and guiding me forward. He had tips on form, clothes, nutrition, training schedules…you name it, he helped me with it. He even had encouragement for the days that I didn’t want to go out the door. And even more encouragement on the days when I didn’t go out the door. Without him, I definitely would not have been ready for that run.

With his help, I prepared the best I could. The friend I was running for passed away a month before the race, and just like that I went from running in his honor to running in his memory. Brian was there for that too. He had his own family, his own life, and his own sons to run for. But he still invested himself in my dream, and never gave up on it. When race weekend arrived, I had the chance to meet Brian and his whole family – his wife and two teenage sons (both with DMD). The eldest, Matthew, was a junior in high school and trying to choose what college he wanted to go to. He planned to be an engineer.

I bonded with the whole family instantly. About a month later, I got to see them again during an advocacy conference on Washington DC. Once again, Brian (this time with his whole family) was there to guide me as I went to meetings on Capitol Hill, advocating for DMD awareness and research. We connected over being from New England (they from Maine, me from New Hampshire). We connected over college applications and high school English class (my favorite subject). By the end of one day with them it felt like we’d been friends for years – and that was just day 1!

Over the past few years, we’ve kept in touch. He’s kept me posted on how his boys have been doing, and we continue our support of PPMD. Then this morning, I got the sad news that Matthew died last night, of heart failure, at age 20.

Yes, it’s sad. Tragic even. My heart breaks for his family as I think about the dreams and plans that won’t be realized, his presence and smile that will now be missing. There’s no pattern to DMD death. Some people defy their lifespan and live long past the age doctors predict. Others fail to even reach it. The doctors, despite all research and medical care they can currently provide, still don’t have a way to control life and death.

To me, that’s evidence that we as people aren’t doing the picking and choosing here. We’re not meant to. God is. And He does. We are all made in love, with a specific purpose. Everything, from our flaws to our strengths to our circumstances, comes together to help shape, guide, and qualify us to fulfill our respective destinies. At the helm of that is God. And in His perfect love, when our purpose here is done, we are brought back to our true home.

So I know it’ll all work out. Matthew is ok, and no longer hindered by a failing body. His family will be comforted during this time, and as sad as the situation is they won’t be forsaken. They’ll see him again, in a place where they can enjoy him and not be constantly fighting for a cure. It’s sad, yes, but…..I can’t really say it’s a bad thing. I know where he is, and I’m happy he’s there. I’m pretty excited to be there myself, someday when the time is right. When I am, I’ll see Matthew again, and for that I have no cause to cry – just to rejoice. Our time here is so temporary anyway. A mere instant compared to our eternity. One person’s eye blink might be longer than someone else, but when it comes down to it, it’s still just a blink.

God bless!

~Rebekah A