The Tree of Life . . . Part 2 ~ and a Few Inspirational Bible Verses

 The sadness sorrow pain and strife

you displayed and wore so well

For those who did or could not see

the pain you buried deep within

can now arise with you and shine

to celebrate the newest you inside

To live your life you will find

you’ll cycle round and round

forever left to linger on

to watch, observe, and learn and grow

into whom you’re meant to be

The Lord has brought you forth to shine

to be his salt and light

for you to bring His message forth

to steer and give new life, new birth

to those who are perishing

right before our very eyes, a little at a time

their lives, they slowly spiral down

into a life of slime 

We watch afar standing on the distant shore

As they drown in muck and miry clay

hoping they will take

the ring we throw to save their life

 our hand in theirs to take

to walk ashore with us to grow

for Heaven’s sake

For without our light so bright

they can only grow more dim

So let your leaves fall to the land

 with ever so a gentle breeze, and mellow whim

 Do not judge or ridicule

those whom the Bible refers to as a fool

They are lost and so were we

at a time when we refused to see

our Jesus was always there

longing to gently set us free

Free from our bondage, aches, and pains

that scar us to this very day

 ~♥~

~God’s Gracie Girl~ ✿

♥ •.¸.•´♥ ¯`♥(❀◠‿◠)♥.¸¸.•´¯`•.♥

Psalm 1 ~ Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly [are] not so: but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Luke 4:18 ~ The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 ~ Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, [in] a salt land and not inhabited.  Blessed [is] the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and [that] spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

 

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The LORD Your God Is With You ~ Wherever You Go!

It was an icy, cold winter night this Chicago Christmas 1993 . . .

As I trekked my way home from my parent’s house, I was resting comfortably in the passenger’s seat of my friend’s car.  I nestled my precious, tired little head on the console to rest as it had been a long night. ~ All was well.

The drive was normal, nothing out of the ordinary.  Snow drifted across the roadways as far as the eye could see, and we were almost home.  We approached the all so well-known S-curve in the road—I traveled this route quite often.  It was a spot I enjoyed driving as it reminded me of the S-curve on the road where I’d grown up.  We’d take the bus ride home from school, and as we’d pass the pig farm, we as children would pinch our noses and scream, “peeeeee-uuuuu!”  It was always fun on our school bus on that country road.  Once we’d pass the pig farm, we’d then be entertained by the S-curve, and we always chortled, “weeeeeeeeeeee!”  Oh, such fond, sweet memories!

The roads had been salted in most parts, and looked pretty clear up until we reached the bend.  Oh, no . . . the car was beginning to slip-slide.  Suddenly, we had hit a patch of black ice.   Awakening from my near-to-deep-sleep nap, I awoke suddenly—confused, panicked, and quite frightened.  I bellowed out to the driver, “What are you doing! Be carefullllllllllll!” Driving at a slow pace around the first bend, and then . . . oh, no! We’d lost full control of the car–the black ice was in control now.  The car was spinning, and round-and-round we’d go.

As I screamed, I grabbed for the door handle as a form of support as I knew that I knew that I knew we would certainly crash. I held on as tightly as I could, and noticed we were slipping sideways into the oncoming traffic.  As we slid sideways on the road, I would see a car fastly approaching, and it was heading straight, right on target for me—my passenger door was directly facing this car.  I sat and stared at the headlights that were traveling at what seemed like warped speed, and I waited for the impact, and for what I thought would be the inevitable—certain death.

I couldn’t believe it–I mean, this was it? This was how my life would end?

I experienced what I have only heard so many speak of—I had my life flash right before my very eyes.  It played out like a movie on fast forward.  I thought about my family, and how we had just had a wonderful time together, opening presents, indulging in my mother’s absolutely fantastic, wonderfully-cooked-with-love food.  I thought of my sister, my brothers, my father, my niece, and my nephews.  Could this realllly be the end!

I cried out, “JESUS!” and within a flash instant, we were suddenly parked on the opposite shoulder—facing the oncoming traffic.  Dead silence filled the car.  A HUGE oak tree stood within a few inches from our front bumper. Why, there was even a mailbox on the right of me—I couldn’t have even opened the door without hitting the mailbox.

How on earth had we ever managed to land perfectly straightly-aligned, fully intact, parked as if we meant to park the car like that—positioned in that precise manner?  The car that was destined to be the death of us, whizzed right past us and off into the night it went—never stopping to see if we were okay.  I’m not sure it could have even stopped at the rate of speed at which it was traveling, let alone with the patch of black ice that lay ahead.  Oh, well.  We sat there, absolutely stunned.  Staring at each other, silently.

After wiping away the tears  of shock, fear, and grateful joy and unbelief, we shook off the dust of shock, asked if everyone was okay, and off we went, still trembling . . . In unison, “I can’t believe what just happened. We should have been dead. That was so close.  I can’t believe we’re alive”.

As we entered my home, we could hear the phone was ringing off the wall.  This, at an era where not everyone had cell phones, mostly beepers.  The answering machine was shut off, and the phone rang incessantly, and urgently.

When I finally made my way upstairs to get the phone in my bedroom, it was my best friend, Deborah.  Frantically, she immediately asked, “Gracie, are you okay?”

Huh?

Why was she asking me if I were okay? . . . how could she possibly know that something tragic had just happened?

I began to sob, as I recanted and told her about my brush with death.

She then went on to tell me what had just happened to her . . .

Deborah was at home, cleaning up after her own Christmas Eve celebration.  Just then, the Holy Spirit prompted her to pray for me.  It was an urgent feeling, and she obeyed.  She fell on her knees, obediently, and began to pray.

She said she knew something was terribly wrong, and all she could do was pray for me­—she had no time for questions, just prayer.

When she felt a release from her prayer in the spirit, she knew she had to call me to make sure I was alright.

We were in utter disbelief, as this was something we had always heard of in our walk as Christian women, but had never personally experienced anything like this before.  Sure, we’d heard of such stories, but now it actually involved the two of us.

We talked for a bit, ensuring one another was okay, and although we could not believe how the Lord worked in our lives that cold, blistery night, we were everso grateful to Him.

I hung up the phone, sat on the bed, and thanked the Lord for saving our lives that night.

What lesson had I learned? I learned that He is with us always, even unto the end of the age . . . working behind the scenes, even as we are unaware of His doing so. ~ Amen!

I AM FOREVER HIS ~ AND . . .

deeply blessed

highly favored

greatly LOVED!

~ GOD’s  g r a c i e  g i r l  ~

HE HOLDS ME IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND!

♥

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Moved by His Spirit ~ Precious Memories . . . How They Linger!

This morning, I was able to watch a recorded program of the Gaither’s “Precious Memories”.  You see, I had set the the DVR to record the one-hour program last night, and like a giddy girl I couldn’t wait for my Darrell to sit and watch it with me!

While I sat with my loved one, arms entwined, we enjoyed one full hour of nothing but Southern Gospel.  Oh, how I wish our modern day radio stations would embrace these old hymns versus the newer Christian “pop” music that they stream into our cars and homes–which in turn ultimately indelibly imprint our hearts and psyches with the latest fad in rhythms and beats, none of which differ from today’s hip-hop.  Most of the music I hear when tuned in to today’s Christian radio stations sounds JUST LIKE regular secular music.  I can’t stand certain of these newer sounds, so I change the station to the oldies station (yes, secular), or just shut the radio off altogether.

These newer Christian songs we hear today, while all good and well-meaning, nowhere near compare with the Truth and beauty of what lie within these wonderfully written, soul-stirring classic hymns.

These old hymns move one’s soul to the deepest of depths, stirring deep within us all that the Holy Spirit would have for us to soak in.  My heart–LITERALLY and UNEQUIVOCALLY–feels the love of our precious Lord Jesus drowning out every ounce of care in this wicked, fallen world.  Reminding me that He is forever and ever so near to me–living within me.

So moved am I.

My sweetest, dearest love hands me a tissue to capture my tears, as he embraces me everso tightly.  I find myself nowhere near able to control the flow of tears that cry to stream forth in His Glory.

I so enjoy these old hymns.

Precious Memories, indeed!

~gracie~