Friday, August 28, 2015

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: New Address!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: New Address!: She has a new address now. She doesn't live here any more. Her frail body is healed, and she is rejoicing in Heaven with Jesus. She was ...

New Address!

She has a new address now. She doesn't live here any more. Her frail body is healed, and she is rejoicing in Heaven with Jesus. She was old, she had lived a long life, and she was tired. Her eyes had dimmed, and she couldn't always hear us, but she kept her humor and her smile to the end.

This red head was a feisty lady. She did things her way, and was very independent. She was German, and no nonsense. She was proud that she worked hard, and took care of her boys, and herself, and never asked for help! She left home and her Mom and Dad, and 11 siblings when she was very young. From there she worked, she married, and she had two boys.

There was only one thing that could totally do her in. Snakes! She was terrified of snakes of any kind. The mere mention of the word made her shiver. Once when she and the boys were home on the farm they lived on outside Omaha, a snake dared to enter her yard. She went in and got the shotgun, stood up on a block of wood, and with the gun on her arm, not her shoulder, she proceeded to fire. She missed the snake, and bruised her arm greatly! The snake slithered away, probably with a smile. 

She was a lady who had a lot of friends wherever she went. After working all day, she bowled on a team, she ate with friends, and she played Bingo. She wasn't shy about traveling, and enjoyed trips to Arizona, Amana Colonies in Iowa, and even a Cruise. She loved to joke with people, and she loved to Polka. She was game for anything fun!

Fun as she was, she was a worrier. Even though she knew God was in charge, she worried. As she got older, she watched the news and weather, but got confused. If they said it was snowing or flooding somewhere in the country, she thought it was in her neighborhood. She worried about her family. Always wanting to know if they were o.k. She wanted the details of everyone's life, jobs, and general circumstances. 

Later in life after she retired, she taught an exercise class for the ladies in her apartment building. She helped decorate and fix food for any events in her building. She learned how to do ceramics. She made some beautiful things. She was always there to help others fire their pieces when they needed help. She was an avid reader, up until her eyes were too dim to see. She had dozens of cook books, and dozens of other recipes cut from magazines, and papers. Her big love besides Bingo was crossword puzzles. She was very proud of the fact that she did them in ink, she knew words most people don't, and spent her life learning more every day.

Who was this lady? I was blessed to call her mother-in-law. I married her youngest, and she welcomed me in. We didn't always agree, but I learned from her. I learned to be strong, and to enjoy family time just visiting. We didn't have to go anywhere, or have an event. I learned about loyalty to family! Even into her 90s, when I had surgery for a knee replacement, she waited on me. She made sure I had food, and she did my ironing. By that time she lived down the hall from us, so she was right there. A few years later, I was privileged to take care of her. 

She has been in her new home now for Three years. She is surrounded by music, which she loved. She can dance down a street of gold if she chooses. Her frail body is healed, her eyes see again, and she can here all the sounds of her new home. We still miss her, and find we want to tell her something, only to remember, she's not here, she's there. One day, we will join her, and what a joy that will be! She wasn't' just my mother-in-law....she was my Mom!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: What God Puts Together,

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: What God Puts Together,: Little girls dream of that special day when they walk down the aisle to be joined with the man of their dreams on their Wedding Day. As litt...

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Pain Is A Pain!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Pain Is A Pain!: No one wants it. No one greets it with open arms. No one ever truly understands why it comes to them or loved ones, or friends. Pain has man...

Friday, August 7, 2015

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Why Me Lord?

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Why Me Lord?: When troubles hit, are you grounded? Do you stand firm in your belief that God will take care of the problem? Most often, we stand firm for ...

Why Me Lord?

When troubles hit, are you grounded? Do you stand firm in your belief that God will take care of the problem? Most often, we stand firm for awhile, but as day after day goes by with no relief, we can lose heart. We sometimes find we have no patience for waiting.

Of course we have all heard, "God will take care of this, or in God's timing." Friends  or Church family assure us, that God hears us,and you just have to have faith. That's all true, but those words just automatically tumble out to reassure someone in crisis. Sometimes that's all they are, words!

We believers also know that God does answer prayer, but not always how we have it planned. We need to look to the character of God. He is not a magic genie trapped in a bottle. We can't summon Him by rubbing a bottle, and expect Him to do our biding. Our prayers are not about us, but a way of communicating with our Savior, our Lord. He absolutely wants you to approach Him with your wants and needs, but He wants your heart first!

After walking with Him, learning some hard lessons from Him, I have learned to rely on His plans. I have learned patience, and to wait for Him to answer. Do I have that totally right? No! I am too human for that, but I am getting better. I trust Jesus totally with my life, my family, and I know He is trustworthy. It is never easy, but I have learned a few things about prayer, and God's answers.

God has answered yes, almost before the prayer is out of my mouth. Other times, He very clearly says No. Most of the time, He says wait! Waiting, I have learned consists of a loving Father orchestrating what is best for me. I am still a child, so I don't always recognize what is good for me. What I have learned is that just because I can't see God working out my problem, doesn't mean He isn't putting a plan together. He is there rearranging circumstances to give me the best for me. 

I have learned that I may think the plan is the perfect plan, only to have God shut that door. He may present many "look like" solutions for me, but each one is shut down. Why? In my case, and in the case of various friends, because God has a better plan. As He directs me to the path that is for me, He has to shut doors, so I will keep going until I am standing in front of the right door. When that happens, every detail falls into place perfectly. God's perfect plan or solution for my needs.

The hardest of all is understanding why a loving God would make us wait, or why He would give us that crisis, or problem in the first place. "How can a loving God do that to me?" Why me Lord?"
How many times you feel like God doesn't care. We yell at Him, we get angry, we lose hope. Been there? Of course we all have. It also seem
s to all hit at once. We may have a problem, and before that's resolved, another, and another hits. At those times, we yell out, "I can't take any more! Where are you God?

I asked God that once. It was as though He were in the room with me, and audibly said, " I did not go anywhere, you stepped away from me." That was an eye opener. As I grow and learn, I have learned, God is always on time, but usually it is a plan I would not have thought of. It is so much better, and far more of a blessing than I could have imagined.

Why doesn't God grant our every wish?  For one thing, He knows what lies ahead. He knows us so completely, he knows what is good for us. God uses these wait times not only to teach me, but He uses my experiences to help others. The more trouble I experience, the more I wait for answers, the more joyous my heart, when the crisis is resolved. In that huge relief, I can first hand minister to someone else waiting for answered prayer. I can walk someone else through, and help them make sense from their wait. Because of what God has done, and does do for me, I can relate to others. I can better help them not lose heart. Why me Lord?  Why not? It will always be my training ground, and my ministry for others!