Ashes To Ashes....Dust To Dust

 

“All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return”

Ecclesiastes 3:20

This week, I loaded up the Jeep; threw in two wonderful girlfriends, and headed west to Pikes Peak.  It was something I've put off doing for almost two years....and for some reason, NOW was the right time.  I wanted; no..no....needed....for Chuck's earthly body to be set free.  We climbed 14,000 feet into the sky....14,000 feet closer to Heaven....and released Chuck Etheridge's body back to the earth.

Before we headed west, I placed his ashes into three small toolboxes he had used for as long as I knew him.  I know it sounds crazy, but if you knew Chuck, this would make sense.  As each of us opened up our tool boxes on Pikes Peak, we watched as the winds returned him back to where he came.  I find it interesting that his favorite things while on this earth came from his tools...tools that repaired and restored broken things, and God...well, He also is in the business of repair and restoration of broken things.  He wants to repair us and our pasts by giving us a future.

We said goodbye to his body this week, but not his soul...and our hearts are happy to not hang onto the memory of Chuck as people who have no hope, but rather, as people who know and trust in a future healthy body for Chuck someday. 

"But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who have died,

so that you may not grieve like other people who have no hope."

1 Thessalonians 4:13

 

 

Dust To Dust

 

https://youtu.be/1XzSDSyFpfs

 

Death. 

 

It's been a week of goodbyes. We said our final goodbyes to my dear friend Terri Ruyle this past weekend.  A beautiful young soul who I loved deeply and dearly. She ministered to me....she placed her Wonder Woman bracelet from her wrist to mine at my lowest point several years ago to remind me to be Strong and Courageous through the struggles. That I was stronger than I thought I was.....and I returned it back to her wrist a year later during her own struggles. I will miss her every day till I see her again.

And today, I leave for Colorado...a road trip with two girlfriends, to take Chuck's ashes to be spread by the winds of Pikes Peak.

"All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust, all return." 

Ecclesiastes 3:20.

I fully believe that Chuck's soul is celebrating with God right now, but that broken down body of his that provided his means of transportation through this life on earth, I will return it to the earth it came from that maybe, in some small way, will help the earth by its return to it. It feels right to be doing this....as it never belonged to us. It always belonged to God. He formed man from the dirt of this earth and breathed life into it...He created Chuck. So its only fitting that once He removed breath from Chuck, that we would return his ashes back to the earth in which it came.

I am grateful that God entrusted ME with managing this return. So I will call this road trip, "The Return".

I am blessed to have had the gift of Terri and Chuck on my journey through this life....and have the assurance I will one day see them again.

Without Thorns, There Would Be No Roses

"The enemy would have us be so blind by the pain of the thorn that we can't see the beauty of the rose garden.  Look past the thorn - His grace is enough for the thorn He chooses not to remove."

 

 

Every Wednesday evening, several neighbor women grab their lawn chairs and sit out in the cul-de-sac, 6 feet apart of course, and chat about what's happening on the block.  Usually, we're trying to figure out how to lower the population of rabbits in our neighborhood or the cost of artificial grass, but this past Wednesday, I happened to glance to my left and saw this crazy amazing sunset happening right next to us.  Living in the city now, it's not always easy to see sunrises and sunsets and boy do I miss that part of living at the lake!  But that day, it was like God handed me a beautifully wrapped gift straight-up from Him!

I jumped up, ran to the center of the cul-de-sac to see it better (barefooted) and immediately felt my big toe bend backwards as I stumped it on the concrete.  Goodness.  As bad as it hurt, I limped my way to the house to grab my cell phone and not miss capturing this quickly dissolving sunset.....in a great deal of pain I might add. 

I tell you my stumped-toe-story because sometimes pain is required to see the beauty in this journey we all are on.  And much like the thorn on a rose bush, without it, there would be no roses.  

Truth is, none of us know what the words on the next page of our life story is yet.....we have no idea what stands just ahead of us....around that corner we can't see around....but we always know that God does.  He may not reroute us around the mess ahead, but He will definitely walk through it with us.  That's a promise. And where there's God, there's always beauty...and yes, some painful stumped toes as well.

It's scary...I won't lie.  Life is so very real.....real in a way its never been real before, and although I don't fear the future, I want to slow down and approach it cautiously.  I want to be sure I've stuck my hand out for Him to grab and walk this journey with me.  He's the only One who knows the danger around the next corner.

You'll never see the roses and only feel the thorns if you walk your road without Him.  Put your hand in His and travel it together.  And check out those amazing sunsets as He places a band-aid on your stumped toe.

 

Words Can Kill

"Just because you've drawn the drapes, doesn't mean the sun isn't still out there." 

 

I lost a best friend last night.  She had drawn the drapes because she could no longer see the sun.  She no longer felt the warmth of it hitting her face and infusing her with Hope and Peace...and she felt the weight of this world crushing her....no longer able to breathe.  

 

 

It doesn't make sense.  And the only comfort I have is that I know....without an ounce of doubt....that she is finally able to breathe again.  She is no longer carrying the rocks of despair up the mountain she had been struggling to climb.  She is Home.  She is Healed.  And I will see her again soon.  This I'm positive of.  I pray for her family as they desperately try to put the pieces of their lives back together without her.  I pray for myself as I continue to ask "Did I do enough?"

 

 

I will never forget Terri Ruyle.  She was the one who texted me in the middle of the stormy nights after we flooded saying, "I know you're awake and I know you're scared of the storms, Liz.  I'm here.....praying for you."  This happened more times than I can count.  But did I pray enough for her when she was in the middle of her storm?

 

And that's a question we all must ask of ourselves.  

"Earth Has No Sorrow

That Heaven Can't Heal"

 

 

The Mystery of Grace

 THE MYSTERY OF GRACE

liz etheridge

 

A few years ago, my brother, sister and I made a trip to our grandparent's old home place in a tiny town in the center of Alabama. It had been years since any of us had been back to this place we used to visit every summer....and in all honesty, it was never a place I loved going. The crickets were huge, there was no running water, baths were taken in the river and an outhouse was not a place you wanted to visit in the middle of the night.

My grandparents owned 200 acres of pine trees.....oh ya....and a creek that ran right through the middle. For as long as I can remember, my grandfather in his striped overalls and his train engineer cap, along with my grandmother in her long dress with an apron....yes...always with an apron....would drive the old pickup truck down to Blue Creek and pan for gold with their grandchildren hanging out the bed of the truck. For my siblings and cousins, this was like going to Disneyland. For Liz, it was pure torture. 

 

 

But along the orange-clay dirt road to the creek, we would always pass an old Methodist church with a cemetery next to it. My grandparents would eventually be buried in that very cemetery and the memory of a bee flying up my niece's skirt during my grandmother's graveside service will always be with me. But the thing about that old Methodist church I will remember the most is driving by it on Sundays and hearing the black people singing from the top of their lungs. Not a shy or embarrassed bone in their bodies......they loved the Lord and they wanted everyone to know it.

And as we drove up that old orange-clay dirt road a few years ago, I SWEAR..I could still hear them singing. The church has long been abandoned, the windows broken out, the grass is taller than the tombstones and a mild wind could blow the walls down. But as I walked into this room full of memories, I found this old Methodist hymnal laying open on the floor, partially eaten by rats and among piles of old bulletins from 1979....opened to Page 285, "The Mystery of Grace". 

 

 

I smile as I think about that person who, so many years ago, set that hymnal down on the wood plank floor, just for me to find.

Aww....the Mystery of Grace.

If Satan Can Neutralize You, He Can Mute Your Influence"

 "If Satan Can Neutralize You, He Can Mute Your Influence"

liz etheridge

 

 

"Let me be clear....you, (insert your name here), represent a challenge to Satan's plan. You carry something of God within you, something noble and holy, something the world needs - wisdom, kindness, mercy, skill."

Max Lucado

Have you ever wondered why Satan would mess with a Christian? I mean, if we are promised in John 10:28 that "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand", why would Satan waste his time on a Christian? He knows his time to gather followers here on earth is short, so why would he spend what little time he has on something he can't have...Christians?

"If Satan can neutralize you, he can mute your influence."

Awww, there it is...thank you, Max Lucado, for pointing out the obvious. When pain and strife continue to smack you in the face....when darkness falls all around you....when evil is creeping into the crevices of your soul, remember; if Satan can scare, discourage, depress and quiet you, he can STOP your influence.

It's a clever plan, really.....using shipwrecks in our lives....to stop our voices. But as Christians, we know its these shipwrecks we have survived, that can be the very life preserver that saves others. When we make it to the shore after our lives have crashed against the rocks, we are only then able to help resuscitate those in the throes of their own shipwreck.

Nothing explains this better than the story of Job in the Old Testament. Job's friends were the kind of friends we often are if we haven't suffered - they are more interested in explaining his plight to him than sitting with him in it. They're incapable of the compassion that would demand them to suffer with him. Because they themselves had not sat in the dirt of despair as Job had.

Don't let a shipwreck moment in your life go to waste. Use it. Tell others about it. Be vulnerable and wrap the life preserver of compassion and understanding around those who find themselves sinking from their own shipwreck.

You were rescued....to help rescue others.

Coddiwomple

 

I ran across this word the other day and just loved how it sounded when it rolled off my tongue.  "Coddiwomple".   Try saying that five times real quick and see if you're aren't crazy about it too:  "Coddiwomple" "Coddiwomple" "Coddiwomple" "Coddiwomple" "Coddiwomple".   See what I mean!???

But even better than the cool word was the definition: 

"To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination."

It reminded me of when Chuck and I traveled in the RV during the summers to get away from the brutal Texas heat.   The first year or so, the ever-planning Liz would have each destination planned, each RV park reserved and each route Google-Earthed. Truly, I was a maniac with the planning process.  But we discovered DURING the journey that we often didn't like the route we (Liz) had planned, or the RV park wasn't a good "fit" for us and Google Earth took the "fun" out of not knowing what was around the next bend.

We discovered we had a much better and happier time (and argued less!!) when we would sit at the RV dining table, pull out our trusty laminated truck stop map, close our eyes, drop our finger on a never-before-heard-of destination and then go there.  Our trip-planning never would have included Vernal, Utah, Spearfish, SD or Vacaville, CA had we not trusted our trusty blind finger.

I tell you this because our lives are so much like those fly-off-the-seat-of-your-pants RV trips.  We can plan every detail of our daily lives only to discover we don't care for the route its taking....or the place we're in....or the un-spontaneousness (is that even a word??) of our day-to-day grind.

I think of my friend Jay who walked across America last year...yep, from CA to the East Coast.  Took him five months and many pairs of shoes...but he rediscovered himself on that often difficult and unpredictable road.  He never knew each day what was waiting for him right around the next corner.  Was he going to be beat on by a hot summer sun or see a beautiful rainbow in a field of wildflowers?  Would he meet people who honked at him to get off the road or a new friend who wanted to give him a ride to the next town and buy him a meal?  

Its the same with our life here on earth....we have no idea what is down the road for next week or even the next hour.  But what we do know is we aren’t walking it alone.  God is walking beside us each step of the way, like a cheerleader cheering us on as we run this unpredictable race through earth striving for our forever Home.  But sometimes...we have to get off the safe and secure road to see the beauty in the journey.

"Don't Be Afraid That Your Life Will End.

Be Afraid That It Will Never Begin."

"Rabbits and Widows and Satan, Oh My! "

 

"Rabbits and Widows and Satan, Oh My! "

liz etheridge

Molly and I are ending Week 4 in our new home. 

 

TRUE CONFESSIONS: At times, it has felt like YEAR 4.

I'm not going to lie; this has been a hard move. Sometimes, painfully hard. My bank account would also concur this has been a throbbing four weeks, with unexpected roots in the plumbing....sprinkler valves going rogue...landlords being a major thorn-in-my-side...and missing my friends who had always been right down the East Texas country road to cry a few tears and share a coffee with. And yes...I've even questioned whether I heard God correctly to move here. In my heart there's no doubt....oh, but how Satan loves to mess with my mind!

My sister, Debbie, passed on some wise words to me as these things threatened to disarm me:

"If Satan can't make you sin, Liz, he can certainly make you suffer."

Ahhhh....the always wise words of my sister. She's right, you know. Satan knows he can't have us if we belong to God...but a quick read in the Book of Job will show us convincingly that he certainly can try to make our lives miserable. And sometimes...he succeeds.

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome,

because the One who is IN you (God) is GREATER than the one who is in the world (Satan) ." 

1 John 4:4

 

And the best way to combat the one who would seek to discourage and disarm us is to get that dusty and trusty old journal out and start numbering......documenting and making that list of all the things you're Thankful for. This simple practice is the secret to overcoming discouragement! My brother-in-law Doug reminded me of that one particularly difficult day shortly after Chuck passed away. And my son Troy handed me a book* a few weeks ago that gave me more tools which included repeating ten times a day, "If God be for you, Liz, who can be against you? (Romans 8:31). 

 

 But I am right where I'm suppose to be. Widow #13 on the block. I have been blessed to find a beautiful home, great neighbors, one Gladys Kravitz and thousands of rabbits. And those friends from East Texas and family members? Well, they've been showing up on my doorstep handing me doses of encouragement, reminders they still remember who I am and love me. They have helped me pack and unpack...given me a much needed massage when my muscles had tightened up and flown 3,000 miles to climb ladders in 100 degree heat to change out motion sensors to keep me safe. I am a blessed woman to have them walking next to me on this journey.

 

 

And you can bet....each of them are listed by name daily on my Thankful List to God. And I can see Him smile as He drops a blessing or two down on each of them for being the blessing in my life......

.... “Count your blessings and discover Who can be counted on.”

*The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

 

 

PEACE

 

Peace

liz etheridge

 

(Originally written on ......)

"Promise you'll come and sit with me one afternoon---"

I received those words from my friend a few years ago.....a new widow. While I was battling fires in my own household, she was saying goodbye to her husband of many years and feeling anything but peaceful.....

"He was in ICU that week right after Christmas--with me praying for pneumonia! Have you ever heard of such a weird prayer?" she wrote.

"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

 (Romans 5:1).

I've never understood why every time I hear the word "Peace", I think of death. I long for that day when God and I are walking along that River of Life.....chatting like the old friends we are....and I can actually feel His skin on my hand....I can touch the scars. I always cry when I close my eyes and think of that picture in my head...it's the picture of Peace.

"Please Lord, don't let it be small-cell." I stopped and thought--whoever in this world prays for cancer of any kind -- and then my next prayer was, "Please Lord, just let this be over!" My final prayer was for the funeral, "Let me make it through this day."

I could actually hear these words coming from her mouth as I read them...I could feel the pain deep in her soul....and my heart felt her distress. Peace and Hope were waffling at her door and threatening to leave the room....."We rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us..." (Romans 5:3-5).

"I'm flunking widowhood, Liz" she said.

And we know that Hope is the highway that gets our faith from point A to point B. It's what keeps us moving through whatever circumstances life throws at us. It's the secret sauce in our soul. He just wants us to wrap ourselves around Him, be silent and still, and go where He takes us.

No Jesus.....No Peace

Know Jesus......Know Peace

Peace Out

"The Enemy Intended to Harm Me, But God Intended It All For Good"

A few years ago, a good friend showed up at my door with tears in her eyes and these words on her lips, "Liz, I am SO discouraged. Why is God allowing me to be persecuted this way?"

As we sat down, I listened to the struggles she had been experiencing.....very public struggles....and I couldn't help but smile when she finished. Yes.....her struggles were BIG. They were EXPOSED. She was being lied about.....persecuted really....and she struggled to understand why the God she loved so much would allow this to happen. I smiled because it meant she was doing something RIGHT. She was a threat to Satan. Her very public LOVE for God was getting on the evil one's last nerve. He was ticked off cause he was losing people because of this girl's strong and very evident devotion to her Father.

I reminded her of Genesis 50:20: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for GOOD to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

See, I've clung to this scripture since December 27, 2015. It's been my "Go-To" scripture after God repeated it to me over and over and over that dark night in the rain. It was the only scripture I heard.....and I couldn't have told you where to find it or even the story behind it. But I can now. The story is about Joseph....a man loved dearly by his father...despised by his brothers....and sold by those very ones who hated him so. Fast forward 22 years.....Joseph is now running the country....he's in charge. And Joseph says this to the brothers who tried to kill him, "God sent me here. God did this. God is protecting you. (through me)". In other words,

"There's more to our story than we can see."

We know the feel of a famine, don't we? Like the brothers of Joseph, we've found ourselves in dry seasons. Max Lucado once said, "To the degree that we BELIEVE and ACCEPT God's vision for our lives, we WILL get through life. When people chunk us into the pit, we WILL stand up. God can use this for good. When people sell us out, we WILL climb to our feet.

GOD WILL RECYCLE THIS PAIN."

(Originally from April 27, 2016 Growing Seeds)