Sunday, February 7, 2016

Five Minute Friday Fun: Focus

Hey there friends!

A little confused by the title of this post? Oh! It's not Friday is it?

Oops! I kinda missed Friday's blog land party at Kate's place.
But thankfully, she allows us to link up after Friday and doesn't mind if we come to her party late.

I just couldn't pass this Friday's one word prompt by - FOCUS. It's been on my heart all weekend.

The truth is that I have quite a few posts still in draft stage waiting for me to figure out what and how to say what's on my heart. And then sometimes I just.... have. to. write. This is one of those times.

Let me explain why and then I'll start my five minutes.

On Wednesday night there was an urgent prayer request on Facebook from a friend. It's for a seven year old boy's dad..... a motorcycle accident.... in surgery..... mom passed away a few months ago.... he has a baby brother.

And so I pray and ask hubby to pray.

The next day, Thursday,  I see the update that the dad made it through surgery and is in very critical condition in ICU.

And I continue to pray. Update hubby and he continues to pray, too.

Surely God will be merciful and allow this dad to heal and recover and live. And my heart breaks for the seven year old who has already experienced enough grief .... more than a seven year old should ever have to.

And that evening I ask if there is any update. And I read my friend's reply. The dad passed away earlier that day.

No!
Why?

I am angry that this is the end of this life and the beginning of unimaginable grief for the families. That this is the way prayers are sometimes answered. And it seems so unfair for the two boys left without a mom and now their dad.

And what do I say?

How do I respond? What should my comment be?

You see I'm leading a ladies Bible study {Missing Pieces by Jennifer Rothschild} and we're talking and learning about things like -
is God fair?
does God care?
is God there?
does God ere?

That Facebook prayer request on Wednesday?
It was posted on our Bible study group's FB page.

I sat there for the longest time trying to figure out what to write. How to encourage.  And it was really hard. There are no answers that will satisfy when an event like this happens and makes us ask "why".

So I wrote -

"I too feel heartbroken for the children and the other family members. Yes, it is things like this that make us ask all those hard questions we're learning about each week in our Missing Pieces study. Hubby and I will be praying. And like you, trusting God and His perfect will."

And than this one word prompt on Friday. Yes! That's the answer we need in times like this.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
and GO!

FOCUS

When life lands a hard blow and knocks you off balance - don't loose focus.

And when the answers don't come easy... or at all - don't give up.

What should you do? How do you regain your balance?

The answer is where our focus lies. It does not need to be on the "Why?" or the "What if?"

Our focus needs to be on Who.

On the One who knows what we're going through. Hebrews 4:15
On the One who counts our tears. Psalm 56:8
On the One who will never leave us or forsake us. Deuteronomy 31:8
On the One who is forever faithful. Psalm 100:5
On the One who is close to the broken hearted. Psalm 34:17-18a

In order to stand back up and find peace when life knocks us down, our focus needs to be on our faith and on the facts.

Faith - choose to believe and stand on the promises of God that are found throughout His word.
Facts - God's character is: faithful, just, loving, gracious, merciful, good, righteous, all-knowing.

Faith + Facts = Peace

"You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in You."
Isaiah 26:3

and STOP!



~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

  "Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is His faithfulness;
His mercies begin afresh each morning."
Lamentations 3:21-23


Love ya, 

6 comments:

  1. Debbie,
    now I know what resonated with you and why. And WHO. :) Oh, I'm heartbroken for those dear little boys. Thank you for sharing. I cannot fathom their loss, but I will be lifting them up.
    Your new friend,
    Tammy.
    (#108 in the linkup this week)
    (tammysincerity)

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    1. Hi Tammy! One thing I love about the FMF linky party is meeting new friends like you. Welcome to my little place in blog land. And thank you for praying for these two sweet boys - Zach & Zane.

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  2. I love how you connect the dots between faith, the facts of God's Word, and peace. I've never seen in stated quite like that before. Great job!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I appreciate your taking the time to comment. :)

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  3. This is wonderful! As a mom who lost her first born son to suicide I have definitely been one of those to ask 'why?'. I never for one moment doubted God's love for me or my son and His mercy, but there was that part of me that wondered why He didn't intervene. I had to cling to the promises set forth in His Word to get through it. Thank you for your post. Blessings to ya.

    Lynette

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lynette! What a nice surprise to see you had stopped by. I'm so very sorry for the loss of your son. {{HUG}} from one mom to another who truly understands. Won't it be nice on that day when we see our boys again and then there will be no more "whys"? Until than we focus on His promises and like you said - His love and mercy.

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