Tears, Prayers, Kept in Heaven

After exiting the school bus one autumn afternoon, I walked the short dirt road distance to my front door. Inside, my mom waited. The principal of my elementary school had phoned her. She wanted to speak with me about it. I had gone missing at recess.

Next door to my elementary school’s playground was the town cemetery. My paternal grandfather had died during October and he was buried at the east end of the graveyard, not far from the school grounds. I have no memory of this, but Mom said that the “recess lady,” (our neighbor) had searched all over for me, finally finding me next to my grandfather’s grave.

That was fifth grade. My grandpa was the first funeral I’d gone through. No one told me that he had gone to Heaven, only that he’d died. My father never cried, never spoke about it. Grandpa was 54, dead from a heart attack.

In our society we’ve been taught not to cry, especially men.

But Lord Jesus wept about the death of his friend Lazarus when He saw the emotional pain Martha and Mary went through. (John 11:35)

In our society we’ve been taught to repress our feelings, especially men.

But Lord Jesus, alive in the flesh, experienced sadness, he was known as a “man of sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:3)

In this life we go through many problems which affect us emotionally. Emotions left bottled up turn into depression, mental disturbances and even suicide.

Because The Lord has lived this life and experienced its worst, He understands our frame, our weaknesses. Cry when you need to. Show your feelings of sorrow. Let them out. Speak to Lord Jesus and to another safe person about what you’re going through.

Your words are heard by Lord Jesus in Heaven. They come up to Him as incense and are kept in golden bowls. Our hands lifted to Him, He sees as an evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8)

He’s here to catch your tears and put them in His bottle. He acknowledges every one of your tears, recording them in His book. (Psalm 56:8)

Speak to the children in your life about what they’re feeling. Acknowledge them just as God acknowledges us. Reassure them that God is in control. Tell them about where their prayers go and about Heaven.

One afternoon after I was grown and had my own children, my spouse and I pulled back in to the Goodrich cemetery. I wanted to visit my grandparents’ grave one last time before returning south to Florida. I opened the side door of the rental van. My young children, so innocent of death and sorrow, jumped out and ran across the green summer grass shouting “A park! A park!” They loved the peacefulness, the trees, flowers and the nearby pond. A beautiful resting place for souls gone to Heaven.

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SPEND TIME ALONE WITH GOD

(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon

Spend Time Alone With God

As a child I had hiding places, where I would go and spend time alone: floor of my closet, a dry bank of a pond in a swamp, up in a crab apple tree obscured from view by leaves and fruit. In these places I spent time thinking and imagining, contemplating, and once in a while throwing down a crab apple near a pedestrian walking by!

Lord Jesus took time to go up to mountain tops alone, or to a place in the wilderness to pray alone. There He spoke to God the Father and received instructions. (Luke 6:12; Luke 5:15)

Today I do this. I walk early in the morning, praying as I go, talking to The Lord about many things, covering others in prayer, and giving thanks.

During my college years I went to Japan as a missionary. One long weekend, the members of Hallelujah Community Church and I drove up into the mountains for a spiritual getaway. There I went and sat alone on a boulder as big as a golf cart overlooking the valleys and clouds below. God and I met together there.

Another time while in college, I attended a spiritual life retreat at a campground in Southern Michigan. During a hike into a pine forest, we stopped and rested, laying down upon a carpet of dried brownish pine needles, soft as a feather-bed. God and I met together there.

Elijah met with God upon a mountaintop. He received instructions about where to go and who to anoint as king. (1Kings 19)

Paul met with God while in prison. His written letters became a main source of Biblical knowledge. (Bill Bright/CRU.org)

Corrie ten Boom met with God in a Nazi concentration camp. She received a promise of freedom and instructions for the future.

Elizabeth Elliot met with God in the jungles of South America after her husband was murdered. She was able to continue her husband’s missionary work as a single mother of a young child, alone.

Gracia Burnham met with God in terrorist Philippine encampments. Learning endurance, she saw her husband killed, but survived.

Bernadette Todd still meets with God daily from her wheelchair. She has told her story, her testimony to thousands.

God comes to us where we are, no matter the place, condition, or situation. Call to Him from your place of prayer. He will lift up your spirits, give you strength, provide help, provision and positioning. He is the Protector and Healer. There is no other to call to.

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"NEW NORMAL" A LIE, A COUNTERFEIT

(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon

Praying Through The Storm's Waves

Sometimes I find myself thinking too much about what is going on around us in the United States. We believers can sense that change is coming, is even upon us. The headlines and news are overwhelming and negative. We can feel isolated, being separated from the body of Christ, friends, and family for so long. This can lead to depressed thoughts.

Depressed thoughts can cycle down into a well of despair. Before I get too far down, I make a few Biblical moves on the chessboard of life.

First, I reach out to a close friend(s) for prayer. You don’t need to necessarily be specific, just text another person whom you know prays and say, “Hey, I need prayer right now.” On Facebook I have seen some of you reaching out, even while struggling with COVID 19 from the hospital.

If you can, talk with this prayer intercessor, explaining how you feel. It’s good to talk to another human being. Where two or more are gathered, in His Name, He is. (Matthew 18:20)

Prayer makes a difference. The prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. (James 5:16)

Second, I focus on gratitude in my prayer life. Have you ever had to force yourself to sing in church or to smile when you didn’t feel like it? That’s what this prayer is about. Look around yourself and begin to give thanks for what you have—the simple things that do not exist in other Christian cultures—enough food, air conditioning, your family, your job, a home, even your little dog. Give thanks at all times. (1Thessalonians 5:18)

Corrie ten Boom learned to give thanks for the fleas while in a concentration camp because they kept the Nazi guards out of the prisoner barracks, enabling for the sharing of the Gospel before many of the women were sent to their deaths. Many times what we despise is being allowed by God for His higher purposes.

Psalm 22:4 says, “In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them.” Trust in God, ask Him to bring you up and out of a deep well.

Ask Him to open your eyes and show you what He’s doing. Give thanks when He does.

Are you praying through the storm?

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CASTING YOUR CARES

(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon