My friends, thank you for being here. You bless my heart. This Back Porch community is precious-beyond-belief to me.
I’ve prayed about how to write this post. I really hoped God would provide a way around it. But here we are. I’m looking forward to looking back. Will you join me? Let me explain.
I have an “interesting” couple of months ahead. I intended to write and preschedule posts, so my activities did not affect my blogging schedule. I’ve been writing, for sure. I have a fully loaded drafts folder.
But here is the thing. God gave me the prompt for this year, and it is truth. His truth.
I’ve committed to bringing you God’s truth and that is not something that comes from me. I can’t spitball. I write what I feel God is teaching me, I back it up with scripture, and then I must let the Holy Spirit edit it until He gives me peace that it tells His truth and is ready to post.
For whatever reason, I do not yet have this peace about the drafts I’ve written, and I am not going to publish them until I do. I can only assume God has something else in mind. I’ve been asking Him what that is.
I believe He gave me an answer yesterday. Life will take my husband and me to some interesting places (literally and figuratively) in the next 6-8 weeks. So, I will post photos. Some days that might be all it is. But I suspect God will show me His truth in mighty ways and those photos will be prompts for me to share it with you. We shall see!
“For the word of the Lord is right and true;
Psalm 33:4
he is faithful in all he does.”
Oh, how I look forward to looking back! Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.
Are you game to come along on this adventure with me? I am filled with emotion because this is going to be a month or two of extremes. I am going to lean on you. Is that ok? Can I ask for prayer?
“With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel…”
Ephesians 6:18b, 19
I’ll share an outline of what is ahead for me to give you an idea. And then, get ready to see the photos! I think some of them will represent intense feelings… everything from pain and dread to gratitude and gladness. If a photo is worth 1000 words, even one at a time should suffice, right?
- My granddaughter is coming to visit! She is 8. She’ll fly in with her other grandma, and her dad will arrive by car a few days later. They will all drive home together, after a 9-day activity-packed visit. This is a huge blessing! And I’m an introvert who relies on downtime, of which there will be precious little. Please pray for my resilience, for relationships to grow, and for me to resound with the love of Christ.
- The day after they leave, my husband and I are traveling to Las Vegas to visit his father. Their relationship is tough. His dad left when he was 10, and hardly looked back. In the 32 years I’ve been married to my husband, I can count the times we’ve seen my father-in-law on one hand, with fingers left over. But he is dying. This might be the last chance to say what needs to be said and, more importantly, to share the love of Jesus. My friends, we covet your prayers!
- From there, we will fly to Oahu. We had a chance to cash in some miles for free tickets and we took it. We are praying for reconnection there… with the Lord and each other, and with some beloved friends and family who reside on the island. Many of you know we used to live there, and if I’m honest, a piece of my heart still does. Please pray that we will be successful in what we are going there to do, and that I will be content to leave again and face what comes next because…
- A few days after our return, I will be having surgery. No surgery is fun. My right arm will be immobilized for 2-8 weeks post-op, and I am not ambidextrous! Will you pray for my husband? I am going to rely on him for so much! And please, pray for me to have supernatural patience, because most of what I do for work, and for this blog includes typing. It will take much longer than usual to hunt and peck my way through reports, correspondence, and blog posts with my left hand.
So now you understand why I wanted to have my drafts finalized and ready to send to you. But God is the boss of that, and He obviously has other plans. I cannot thank you enough for the grace you extend to me. I truly appreciate your prayers. I hope you will be blessed here, as we discover what God is going to show us. Personally, I can’t wait to see what He has in store.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Proverbs 3:5, 6
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight”
With that, I am going to sign off. I’m not sure what comes next for the Back Porch. Photos. Discovery. Adventure. Time will tell!
I am immensely thankful that this blog – and that includes it’s community, of which YOU are an integral member, my friend – is in the mightiest of hands and that I have such a wonderful group of readers to join me on this journey of truth, hope, and faith. I am already looking forward to summer, when we’ll be looking back together on all that God does for us this spring.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
Mama Lava's Back Porch 