Just Believe....

Just Believe

liz etheridge

Right out of college, I went to live with my sister and her husband while I looked for a job. It was winter and we had decided to head to Oklahoma for a day of shopping. I know...that part of the story doesn't even make sense....shopping = Oklahoma??...I know. As we were heading home that night, it started to snow....like blizzard snow and you could barely see the unfamiliar country roads ahead of us. I was scared to death....and not being a particularly active prayer warrior at that time in my life, I started negotiating with God in the backseat of that AMC Spirit my brother-in-law was driving. I promised Him I would pay tithe for the rest of my life....without fail.....if He would rescue us from this scary mess we were in.

He did...I didn't.

Have you ever found yourself negotiating with God....bartering with Him when you get in a pickle....."Lord, if You get me out of this mess I'm in, I promise to go to church every-single-Sunday-without-fail-and-sometimes-on-Wednesday-too"?

When I read the story of the dude named Jairus in Mark 5, I couldn't help wondering if I would have started the negotiation process had I been in his shoes. Jairus was a very important man, the head-honcho of his church at the time.....which is like the mayor, principal and pope all rolled into one.....and he was desperate. Desperate enough he could have offered the temple key to Jesus in return for healing his daughter.....

But he came to Jesus, much like a poor, blind man standing on the corner begging for a gift:

“My little daughter is at the point of death.

Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” (Mark 5:23)

He doesn't barter or try to negotiate with Jesus. He doesn't haggle and remind Jesus how important a man he is. He just pleads. A scared, desperate father pleading for the life of his daughter just as you or I would do. And Jesus says to him, "Don't be afraid, Just Believe."

JUST-BELIEVE. 

 Two simple words that brought life to a 12-year old girl.....

and brings life to you and I when we JUST BELIEVE.

Maybe....just maybe....Jesus' reason for raising this sweet little girl from the dead wasn't for her sake - but for our sake now - to teach us that heaven sees when we Trust and Believe.

Do Not Worry About Your Life

 

 "One morning, Death was walking into a city when a man stopped him and asked what he was doing. Death answered, “I’m going into the city to kill 10,000 people.” The man replied, “That’s terrible that you would kill 10,000 people.” Death responded, “Taking people when their time has come is my job. Today I have to get my 10,000.” Later, as Death was coming out of the city, the man met him. Again, he was furious. He said, “You told me this morning that you were going to take 10,000 people, but 70,000 died today.” Death answered, “Don’t get mad at me. I only took 10,000. Worry killed all the rest.” (1)

W-O-R-R-Y.

My friend, Beatrice was a 92 year old worry-all-the-time lady on my Meals on Wheels route. She worried she was going to have a stroke one day....she worried about who called on her phone and hung up.....she worried about when the trash truck was going to show up, and she worried about her doctor firing her. Beatrice was the most worrisome person I'd ever met.

And yet, she had a great and deep love for the Lord. This - I - know.

She just has a problem with trusting Him.

And don't we all! We worry we'll catch the Coronavirus. We worry who will be our next President. We worry it won't be the one we voted for. We worry whether we'll have a job next month and we worry we'll forever have to wear a mask. Being a recovering worrier myself, I'm learning how to replace that space within me that's been reserved for Worry....with Trust. It's like when my granddaughter Brie was little. She would stand on her bed, arms stretched out wide, and say, "Lele, I'm going to jump into your arms and you're going to catch me, right, Lele?" She showed her trust in me by taking that leap off the bed and into my arms. And I never dropped her.....not once.

It's the same with God. He simply asks us to trust Him.....to catch us when we jump off the cliff of sorrow, anxiety, and worry. And when we do....He catches us. Those great big strong nail-scarred arms are outstretched as if to say, "I love you THISSSSS much" and He catches us as we trustingly fly through the air to His waiting arms. And He never drops us....no, not once.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,

what you will eat or what you will drink,

or about your body, what you will wear.

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Matthew 6:25

1 Haddon W. Robinson

Kill Them With Kindness In This Covid World

 It finally happened this week.  

 

After 2-1/2 months of living in the city, I heard someone say to me, "WOULD YOU MIND?? (Insert irritated-snarly-voice-with-attitude-in-an-ugly-gym-outfit).  YOU'RE TOO CLOSE TO ME!".  I may, or may not, have rolled my eyes and then gave her a great big ol' East Texas smile under that paper mask of mine as I snapped a picture of her.

Yep, I was anxiously standing in line at Trader Joe's for my very first inaugural visit when this skinny chick-who-looked-like-a-man turned and barked these words at me.  Startled, I stepped back a foot.  Truth be told, I couldn't have been any closer than 5'11" from her skinny rear-end.  I have mastered an impeccable way of visually measuring the 6' between me and the person in front of me these past few Covid months.  I simply visualize a 6' man laying on the ground between us. 

I'm pretty sure it works most every time.

But in all honesty, most people in my short time of returning to the city have been nice....polite....and respectful.  Most everyone in East Texas told me the city people would eat me alive.  That hasn't been the case, but there is a big part of Liz that is missing the human-ess (not a word....don't bother to look it up) of living in the country.  The Grace that comes as easy as breathing or acknowledging or even...(gasp)...speaking kindly to strangers in the grocery store aisle or, heaven forbid, hugging during a pandemic, is missing  here.  Strangers generally don't speak to you here in the city unless they're telling you to BACK AWAY.  And that is why I am making it my mission to look them straight-in-the-eye and startle them with conversation and a smile...and to see the person who is inside their skin.

“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior:

Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!

Luke  6:31

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."