SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

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  • Out of the Deep – Devotion 267

    I remember taking swimming lessons as a kid.  They were in a pool outside and my most vivid memory was feeling as if I might freeze.  I was a super skinny kid so you would think I would swim well.  To sum it up, I could sink like a rock.  When we were taught to tread water, I worked twice as hard as everyone else just to keep from sinking.  Learning to float on my back was even more special.  I was taught to relax, just let the body float.  That’s great advice if you are not sinking and water is filling up your face.  As it turns out, I would learn to swim fairly well.  As an adult, it is one of my favorite things to do.  But I must admit, I still can’t relax when I float on my back.  Yep, I still sink like a rock.  Apparently lots of extra pounds and some experience do not make up for me being able to float.  

    It can be scary to feel like you are sinking.  There is a panic that quickly sets in when you don’t feel like you can keep your head above water.  That’s exactly the feeling we can get when we feel like life is overtaking us as well.  It doesn’t have to be in water.  It can feel like the demands of the day are overwhelming.  We can get the sense that our grief will swallow us up whole.  We may feel like we are drowning in our sorrows or anxieties.  Stress can come as waves washing over our already worn out souls.  To hear we need to relax can seem so contradictory.  We are sinking!  Why would we relax?

    Relaxing, for me, doesn’t always seem to be a viable option.  But there is still a solution.  We begin to look up.  We search for a rescue.  We cry out for help in our distress.  We will be heard.  We will not have to face this alone.  God hears our cries.  The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture understands this.  God reaches down and rescues out of deep waters.  God will not let us go.  When we call on him, he rescues.  The waves of our distress cannot overtake us when God can calm the seas.  

    May you feel his presence and be rescued by his love.  May you breathe, knowing God is taking care of you.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 18:16

    He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
        he drew me out of deep waters.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Cleared Vision – Devotion 266

    Views can be distorted.  It can be the way we see things in an instant.  It could be something from our past causes us to see or detect things in a particular way.  What we see, someone else may look past.  Yet, what someone else notices may have gone unnoticed by us.  When I am out early in the morning, images are not always as they seem.  Objects which may look like animals may be trash along the side of the road.  Small animals are often disguised until they decide to dash away as I approach.  So much is left unnoticed in the rhythm of my footsteps.  Yet, they are all there.  Just because we do not see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there.  It simply means we have missed it.  

    I often think I miss the beautiful wonders of God because I only see what is in my immediate and limited view. I don’t always take the time to really look, sense his presence all around.  I am not always aware of the miraculous ways in which he moves.  I am usually just paying attention to what is right in front of me, even if I am misinterpreting it.  

    Slowing down helps.  Taking a moment to notice our environment and the good which surrounds us is important.  But just as important is listening.  God’s still small voice often thunders in our world if we only notice.  Since he is light, he is showing us the way.  Since there is no darkness in him, we are given clear direction.  With his light, we begin to see him.  We begin to open our view to something other than our limited perspective.  We begin to see him more clearly.  He is with us, have you noticed?  Listen carefully, he is lighting the way.

    Focus Scripture:

    1 John 1:5

    5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Light of the World – Devotion 265

    Life can feel like all the lights have gone out and someone moved all the furniture.  We stumble through, trying to feel our way to the next place.  All is unsure.  We are trying to get a sense of what is around and how to maneuver to the next place.  The dark is real dark and any glimmer of light would help.  But muddling through, it can feel so lonely.  

    These are the times when a small spark could change our entire world.  A simple flame would illuminate our path, opening our eyes to see things are not as we had imagined.  In the dark, we create images and scenes which may not even be real.  In the light, we see we are not alone.  We see we have a guide on this path.  We see there are treasures all around us.  All of these things are hidden in the dark, but come to life in just a little light.

    For me, Jesus brings this light.  We stumble in our grief.  We fall over our anxiety.  Our fears weigh us down.  We are afraid to even move, it is so very dark.  And then a spark changes everything.  God sends us just what we need to see a little more.  We are given simple joys which ignite our spirits and show us the next step.  We don’t need to see the whole path – that could be daunting.  All we need to know is God is with us and he lights the way.  

    Jesus is our light when we find ourselves covered in darkness.  He is our hope when there seems to be no way hope could exist.  He is our peace when all of the rest of our world is in chaos.  He is our joy when sorrow is all we feel.  He is our light.  Our light will show us the way.  Our light reminds us this is not the end.  Our light gives us a glimmer into the beauty all around.  

    May the Light guide you on your path today.  May your joys be illuminated.  May your hopes be ignited.  May you see you are not alone.

    Focus Scripture:

    John 8:12

    12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Easy To Love – Devotion 264

    Loving God should be easy.  But it’s not.  We think of love in a conditional sense.  We feel loved when… Someone shows love by… We know they love us because… We take those same concepts and apply them to God.  The rules don’t apply, though.  God doesn’t work by our rules and doesn’t mold to fit our ideas (thankfully).  His love doesn’t work the same way.  He does have expectations of his children.  He does redirect when we go off course.  There are consequences for our mistakes.  These are all for us.  It does not change his love for us, though.  

    God doesn’t love us because…  God just loves us.  He doesn’t need a reason.  He doesn’t need an excuse.  And his love is steady and sure.  So when things don’t go well, God is still love.  When our entire lives fall off track, he is there to help pick up the pieces.  When we completely lose all understanding of his love, he continues to love us.  

    These are things which should baffle us but also bring us to a place of gratefulness and peace.  We didn’t earn his love so we don’t un-earn his love.  He does not work like we do.  He is exactly the One we need when all else fails.  God loves you.  God loves me.

    Out of this, how could we not love him?  We struggle because we don’t understand.  We fight against his love because things are a mess.  We push him away because we are hurt or damaged or simply broken.  We strive against the One who welcomes us home.  Yet, he continues to love.  

    What a gift it is to be loved more than we could ever imagine.  What might it look like to truly begin to love God with our all?  What does it feel like to love him in spite of… ?  What does it mean to love God with our strength – all that we have that we can muster?  How might we love God because he first loved us?

    Focus Scripture:

    1 John 4:19

    19 We love because he first loved us.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • It’s Time – The Grief Journey

    We can feel like time is standing still, as if everything is moving in slow motion.  The clock seems to tick slower and the hours drag on as if they are on vacation.  We look at the clock again and again.  What could be hours is really only minutes.  This is where we can find ourselves when we are dealing with our grief.  It can feel lonely and especially painful, all which seems to have no end.  

    Yet, we look at the past and it has flown by.  The celebrations, the momentous events, the milestones all feel as though they came and went so fast.  When was she that young – we ask looking at pictures.  Do you remember when he did that, it seems so long ago – we giggle as we think back on a memory.  Our minds are filled with treasured moments that can seem so far away, as specks in our rear view mirror.  

    Time ticks on – one moment at a time.  Moments, days, weeks all pass – we move the calendar forward.  We set timelines for ourselves.  Now that I am in a new year, surely I will feel better – we tell ourselves.  By February, I shouldn’t still be crying when I hear his name – we so desperately hope.  Tomorrow I am going to get out of bed and find joy again – our heart cries out in an attempt to calm our anxieties and fears.  

    We put timelines on our grief and can’t wait to move on.  But grief doesn’t work like this.  We don’t wake up one day and it is all gone.  It isn’t a disease we are cured from.  Grief is a process, a journey which has to be traveled.  Sometimes the journey is painful.  Sometimes we find the belly laughs of memories from times past.  Sometimes we can barely step forward.  And sometimes, we find ourselves running into the future.  But we must pass through, we must journey.  If not now, we will later.  If we put off the journey, it will come back in compounded force later.  We will face our grief – and it will look different for each of us.

    Just as we can’t put timelines on our grief, neither can those around us.  Just because someone else in a similar situation was at a different point than you doesn’t make you bad or wrong or right.  It makes you unique.  It means your journey is just that – YOURS.  No two grief journeys have the same timing.  No two relationships are ever the same.  Just because two men both lose their wives does not mean they will grieve their losses the same.  It will look very different.  So don’t compare your journey or your perceived progress with anyone else.  Don’t beat yourself up because you are still struggling or because you feel better than someone else.  It isn’t a race.  It isn’t even something you can compare.  It is an individual trek you take.  There are friends and family who can help all along the way.  But they also can’t set timelines or tell you when you aren’t getting better fast enough.  This isn’t their journey either.  

    We are in unusual times.  Grief has always had its own agenda.  It has always been on its own course and in its own time.  But with our pandemic, there are even more unknowns.  With social distancing and the lack of support due to safety issues, your timeline may become even longer.  It may take even more time to find your way in your grief journey.  You may find yourself even more lost along the way than you could have even imagined.  Know you are not alone.  There are many feeling their way through the maze of grief with the hovering cloud of a disease blocking much of the light.  Just keep moving forward, one tiny step at a time.  

    Your grief journey is just that – your journey.  Take your time.  You will find your way.  Know that friends and family will support you on the journey.  Know we are praying for you as you travel.  Most importantly, know God is always by your side, no matter how dark and lonely the path may appear.  You are never alone.  

  • Being the Student – Devotion 263

    Listening and learning are an essential part of life.  We don’t know everything, at any point.  To be a constant student is a necessity if we want to grow and become better.  I am not simply talking about formal learning. That certainly has its place and I have spent more time in a classroom than most.  But do we consider the lessons we learn each day if we pay attention?  Do we listen well enough to hear and take in and learn?  Are we humble enough to hear something important even when it contradicts with what we think?

    Listening is not easy, especially when we think we know the answers.  We want to talk over the person who is speaking.  We want to tell them we already know.  But there is always something new we can learn, no matter who we are.  I was watching a baking show recently where the amateur baker actually taught the ‘expert’ something about baking.  The most important part was the expert was willing to say he had no idea and had learned something.  He had learned something important from someone who had a fraction of the experience, training and expertise.  And it came because he was willing to listen and learn.  

    God is always teaching us something.  We can easily fall into the trap of thinking we understand.  We can think we have it all figured out and we know what we are doing.  Those are the times when everything seems to get shaken up.  When our foundation is built on our knowledge only and we aren’t always learning, we will easily fall.  It is when we are willing to be a student that we are constantly working on ourselves to become even better.  Our foundations become much more solid when we listen and learn.  

    The Psalmist in today’s focus scripture seemed to get it.  In Psalm 25, there is a desire to be taught, to be led, to be directed by God.  What if we had that desire constantly?  What if we were dedicated to being a student of God?   What might change if we always sought to listen and learn lessons God is trying to teach us?  We might find we are more equipped to be the followers he has called us to be.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 25:4-5

    4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
        teach me your paths.
    5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
        for you are the God of my salvation;
        for you I wait all day long.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Covered Imperfections – Devotion 262

    There is something special about snow.  Since we don’t get to see it much here, it makes it even more special when it does fall.  Not only is it beautiful, but it provides a blanket over the earth, covering all of its imperfections.  When snow covers the ground, all seems even and well.  It is as if all has been made new, at least for a moment.  I think that’s why we like to take pictures before anyone walks on it.  We want to make sure we capture the clean and crisp view of a fresh fallen snow.  

    As I sit at my table in the warmth, I can appreciate and enjoy the view.  It brings to mind some of the songs we sing in church.  We sing of being cleansed and remade like snow.  We proclaim the goodness of God as he provides this blanket of forgiveness over our tattered lives.  We get excited about the opportunity to once again feel the joy of being set free, washed clean and renewed.  It all takes on new meaning as I see the snow cover the ground.  And I am even more grateful than usual.

    God’s grace certainly is amazing, breathtaking and beyond our understanding.  What a gift grace really is.  We receiving this cleansing, this renewal, not because we deserve it but because we are loved just that much.  We receive God’s grace freely so that we might live abundant lives for his glory.  We are provided this new opportunity and we are no longer held down by the mistakes of our past.  We are set free.  We are revived.  We are renewed.  God’s grace does that.  May we live in celebration of God’s amazing grace, bringing him glory as we seek to live for him.

    Focus Scripture:

    Psalm 51:7

    7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
        wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Rather Not – Devotion 261

    Some days it is easier to just lay in bed.  We rationalize if we can get 15 more minutes, it will make a difference.  The truth is it rarely, if ever, does.  It delays the inevitable.  We have to get up and get moving.  There are things to be done.  We don’t often realize what a benefit it really is to simply get going.  To top it off, it we could get going and exercise too, we would be even better.  But when we are tired and just want a few more minutes of sleep, getting up to exercise seems ridiculous.  Why would we exercise when we are so tired?  We would just rather not.

    Our bodies often work in ways our minds don’t understand.  Exercise makes us feel better and become less tired.  When we push ourselves to go ahead and get up, we are more productive and our day gets kicked off better.  But it seems to make no sense.  We just keep thinking about the few more minutes of sleep.  Doing things which are good for us can feel like the most challenging.  What is most challenging can be most rewarding.  But too often, we would rather not.

    Our spiritual lives tend to work the same way.  We can get complacent, satisfied with where we are.  We can find ourselves in a rut and not want to put in any extra effort.  It seems easier to just continue to do what we always have done.  Yet, we can find our greatest successes are waiting around the door of the most difficult challenges.  When our faith is pushed, it becomes stronger.  When our beliefs are questioned, we dig deeper to understand.  When we step out to serve in new and different ways, we experience God in new and different ways.  But this doesn’t happen in the valley of sameness.  It takes the effort to get up and get going.  It takes extra effort – but produces the greatest joys.

    Today, begin to seek God and where he is leading you.  Where are you challenged?  What can you do to become more like him?  What will it take for you to get going?  May our minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits be renewed and rejuvenated beginning today.

    Focus Scripture:

    1 Timothy 7b-8

    Train yourself in godliness, 8 for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • To Be Humble – Devotion 260

    Humility can get a bad rap.  We don’t always understand it.  We can get confused on what it means to be humble.  Being humble does not mean beating ourselves up or degrading ourselves.  That isn’t in line with what we are taught in scriptures.  We are taught we are the beloved.  We are taught we are loved and adored and the created.  Sure, we mess up…a lot.  But that doesn’t change the fact we are loved.  We are still adored.  So to belittle ourselves in an effort to be ‘humble’ isn’t the right path.  

    I like to think of humility as a way of respect.  When I humble myself before God, I am recognizing his power.  I am remembering he is the Creator.  I am drawn to the fact he is my Savior and my Redeemer.  It is not about me beating myself up.  It is about seeing how amazing God really is and then considering this same amazing God decided to create me.  That’s actually pretty uplifting.  It is empowering to know we are created for something good.  My humility does not mean I am worthless.  My humility means I am giving place to the One who deserves to be honored – God.  

    In this particular section of the 4th chapter of James, there are many words which are used to describe this drawing near to God – humility being one of them.  We are taught to submit ourselves to God, to draw near to him, and to cleanse ourselves so we may be pure.  This is a drawing in, a welcome, a calling to come closer to God.  It is a place where we are cleansed and find refuge.  We cannot get here if we think so much of ourselves that God is not most important.  We cannot truly rest here if we don’t believe God can truly care for us.  We won’t allow ourselves to be cleansed unless we realize how much of a mess we are without him.  But when we do – when we truly humble ourselves before God – there is peace.  This is where we were meant to be all along.

    Today, may we humble ourselves before God and allow him to clean us up and care for us.

    Focus Scripture:

    James 4:10

    10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery

  • Thinking Truth – Devotion 259

    In most cases, we are our harshest critic.  We tend to beat ourselves down.  The way we talk to ourselves would be completely unacceptable to talk to anyone else.  We have the highest expectations and often set the bar so high, it is unrealistic.  We don’t always treat ourselves well.  When someone else criticizes us, we can easily allow this to absorb into our already overloaded mind and heart.  We feel as though we must become the person others think we are – that there isn’t another way.   

    And yet, this isn’t at all what we are taught by God.  We are taught, instead, that we are his beloved.  We are taught about how much we are loved.  This downward spiral we fight begins in our minds.  We tell ourselves how stupid we are or how dumb that decision was.  We beat ourselves up when a mistake is made.  We are so harsh.  Most people have no idea how badly we treat ourselves.  It is our thoughts of who we think we are which drive us. 

    Today’s focus scripture reminds us these aren’t the thoughts we should allow to run our lives.  These aren’t the thoughts which are acceptable or good or profitable.  These are damaging thoughts.  God gives us another measure.  He gives us a different guide.  He provides something different to consider.  Our thoughts should be true, first and foremost.  If they are true – really true – then we understand who we are in God.  We begin to see ourselves as God sees us.  We begin to see the beauty within because God is within.  We see who God created us to be and it isn’t the failure we may have told ourselves.  We are not a disappointment to God.  So if our thoughts are going to be true, we must begin with the truth.  God says we are loved.  God says we are his children.  God says we are more than good enough because of who he is.  God says we are created for so much more.  God knows us and loves us anyway.  Maybe we should do the same.

    Today, may our thoughts begin with the truth…the truth of just how much we are loved.

    Focus Scripture:

    Philippians 4:8

    8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

    Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery