Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6
While looking up scriptures for this week’s Daily Blessing, I had a person who passed on several years ago come to my heart and mind, Phyl Page. While many will remember her very fondly, for she was an amazing little lady with a great faith who had gone through many hardships, including the untimely death of a son, many will not know her. So, here is why I thought of her and a little bit about Phyl. I hope it blesses your day whether you were blessed to know her or not.
The reason she came to my mind while looking for scriptures for the Daily Blessing is because many years ago she asked Pastor Jan and I to have some Wednesday night classes to help memorize scripture for use in time of need. She had found that even though she had been reading and studying the Bible for decades, she always had a difficult time memorizing scripture to recall during difficult times. So, Jan and I taught a short-term class called “Grab & Go Scriptures”; this verse from Philippians is the verse that touched her heart deeply and the one Phyl chose to memorize.
To me, this verse encompasses how she lived her life. This caused a few thoughts to come to mind. One is what scripture verse encompasses how I live out my faith? I would like to think this one; however, I know that I don’t present my requests to God enough in prayer and then stop being anxious about it. I try but fall short, and I know that Phyl fell short, as we all do. However, throughout her life from moving across country with her husband when he didn’t have a job to move out to California for to the untimely death of her son; she still had the peace of God. Through the passing of her beloved husband, to moving back east to be with family because she could no longer live here alone, she had God’s peace. I am not saying she was Pollyanna about life or wasn’t sad at times, I am saying that she knew that God was with her during the difficult times and felt his peace because if it. Something we all need right now.
Just thinking about Phyl brings a smile to my face and makes my heart feel lighter. How wonderful it is to say that about a person and how even more so should we feel that about God. Phyl was a great example of a life well lived in faith and service.
It also caused me to think about what scripture verses I use to get me through difficult times. This verse is one of them, and we have been writing about many others. In some sense, I think the verses that we choose say a lot about our faith or, at least, how we would like to live our faith.
So, I ask this question. What verses help you get through this time and what do you think those verses say about you and your faith? And, how can we live more completely into those verses we hold so close in our hearts?
Gracious & Loving God, we thank you for the gift of spiritual mentors in our life, people who have shown us how to live out our faith in our daily lives. We thank you for the gift of scripture that challenges us and shows your love for us. We thank you for the grace that you have shown us and for the ability to come to you in prayer. Help us to have that peace which passes all understanding, even during these difficult times. Help us to live more fully into your love and grace, so that we can show others the love and grace you have for them. Amen
Stay safe and well and be the hope you wish to see in the world.
Hugs, Suzanne