Tag: God

Waiting On God

On By LindaIn short stories10 Comments

It seems like she was always waiting on God. Waiting for promises to be kept. Waiting for healing and restoration. Waiting for direction.

As many times over the years as she’d had to wait, she should have been good at it by now. And as many times over the years the waiting had been rewarded, she should have been at peace with it by now.

But still she struggled when faced with another wait. Like the one today.

She was thinking about it as she drove into her driveway. Wishing she didn’t have to wait, and feeling frustrated that she did.

Then she saw her dogs in the front window. They were sitting up on the sofa, looking out the window and waiting on her return. They were not frustrated. They were not angry. They were not depressed. They were just sitting and waiting, confident that she would return.

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That’s how I going to wait, she thought. I will be like a dog in the window, watching expectantly no matter how long it takes!

Giants

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parables8 Comments

Everybody has giants in their lives. Things that threaten their safety. Things that stand in their way. Things that wreck their peace. Things that are usually terrifying and dangerous and huge.

She was no different. She had never seen her giant but she had heard it crashing through her life. Following her wherever she went. She could tell it was huge by the vibrations it made as it walked. And she was terrified of what could happen if it ever caught up to her.

She asked the LORD to get rid of her giant. But all He said was “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” (Is 41:10)

She knew she was going to have to deal with her giant one day. But she kept pushing that day away. Maybe if she just ignored it, it would go away all by itself. Maybe God would get tired of waiting for her to deal with it and He would take care of it Himself. Maybe someone else would come along who would get rid if it for her.

But no. No one can get rid of someone else’s giant. She was just going to have to deal with this one herself.

So she read the LORD’s words over and over until they took root in her heart. Then she stood her ground and faced her giant.

Instead of the ugly, terrifying, monster she was expecting, her giant was blue and fuzzy and cute. No where near as bad as she feared.  Even so, a giant is a giant and didn’t belong in her life, so with the LORD’s help, she soon ran that giant off.

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Amazing, she thought! Here I was, so scared of what could be, and allowing that fear to mess with my life. And all along it wasn’t even close to what I thought it would be!

Isn’t that the case with many of our giants?

Don’t Get Too Close to the Fence

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parables, short stories2 Comments

“Where are you going, Kevin?” she asked, holding on to his leash and trying not to be pulled by his strong legs. “You need to come back here.”

But Kevin had seen something that caught his attention and he was determined to investigate it.

“Stop, Kevin! Don’t get too close to that fence! It will hurt you!”

But whether he didn’t hear or didn’t understand, he ignored the warning and continued running towards the object of his interest, which happened to be on the other side of the fence.

“Kevin! Stop! You’re too close! Come back!” she yelled, trying desperately to pull back on the leash. But he was too determined and did his best to keep going.

He saw the fence, but he had seen fences before. No big threat. He could get past that. But as soon as his nose touched it, he found out different. This fence was NOT like the others. This one bit!

Terrified, he took off, his broken leash dangling behind him, across the large yard and up the long driveway as if he was never going to stop running. He had to get as far away from that fence as he could.

“Kevin, come back!” she called out. “You’re heading for the street!”

But this time terror prevented him from hearing anything. When he got to the top of the driveway, before turning to run down the street, he paused. Did he hear something? Yes, he could hear her voice calling him. Coming from a long way away, it was soft, but somehow loud enough to break through his terror.

He watched her a few minutes as she continued to call to him.

“Come on, boy. It’s OK. Come back to me.” she called gently, crouching down in an inviting position.

Not sure, he just stood there. He still didn’t understand what had happened. How did a fence hurt that bad? And why was it there in the first place? All he wanted to do was check out something on the other side.

But what he did understand was that this girl loved him and could protect him. And he loved her. So he ran to her as fast as he could and hid behind her. And there, he was determined to stay.

adorable blur breed close up
Photo by Lum3n.com on Pexels.com

Sidewalks and Life

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parables5 Comments

As she walked, she thought…

“My life is like these sidewalks.

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Sometimes my path is straight and clear.

Sometimes it’s not.

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Sometimes it suddenly changes directions.

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Sometimes my life gets derailed for a season.

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Sometimes my life can be messy.

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Sometimes the way is rough.

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Sometimes there are times of darkness as well as light.

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Sometimes things try to keep me from moving on.

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Sometimes I find amazing treasures along the way.

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But all times, just like the borders of a sidewalk, the boundaries God has placed in my life keep me safe.”

And her heart was filled with peace as she finished her walk.

The Worm

On By LindaIn short stories4 Comments

As she walked down the sidewalk one warm sunny afternoon, she noticed a worm. Most of the time the worms by that time of day were dead and shriveled up. But, amazingly, this worm wasn’t. It was still alive and heading away from the nearby edged lawn. But she knew that if it continued on its path, it wouldn’t make it to the other side. Between the hot sidewalk and the hungry birds, it didn’t stand a chance.

So, having compassion for it even though it was just a worm, she carefully nudged it withIMG_20180524_204952323 her foot towards the cooler damp dirt under the grass only inches away. It should have been easy. It was only a few inches and she was way stronger than the worm. But as she touched it, it went crazy. Twisting and turning wildly, it probably thought it was in danger and tried to protect itself. However, instead of the wild movements taking it closer to the dirt, it ended up right back where it started. She nudged it again, and again it wiggled wildly and landed back where it started. This is taking longer than it should, she thought. If only it would just let itself be nudged, it would already be safe in the dirt.

She considered her choices.

Quit scaring the little guy and let it take its chances on the sidewalk.

Or ignore its wiggling and use more force until it gets to the dirt.

Making her choice, she positioned her foot and scooted the crazy wiggling jerking worm all the way to the dirt. As soon as it touched the dirt, she removed her foot and watched it calm down.

There, she thought. You may not understand why you were being forced like this, but it was for your own good. Now you’re safe and can go on about your business.

As she continued her walk, a thought crossed her mind. How many times has she reacted like the worm when God nudged her into a different direction?

Too many.

“God, next time You nudge me, remind me of that little worm. I don’t want to fight You or make it take longer than it needs to be. Help me to trust that You know best.”

Because He does.

The Museum (a symbolic short story)

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parables, short stories1 Comment

Apryl walked through the groups of people that wandered through the many rooms of the museum. As she walked, she was drawn to a room that seemed much brighter than all the others, as if the light within it came from something other than the florescent lights used by the rest of the museum. Curious, she made her way to it and went inside.

Whereas most of the rooms in the museum had been rectangular, this room had way more than four walls. She looked around and counted at least six before the room IMG_20180523_202035005disappeared around a corner. One huge painting, framed and centered, was on each wall. There were different size groups of people standing in front of each painting,  seemingly to be content with that one painting and not interested in any of the others. Other people moved from painting to painting, spending various amounts of time studying the painting before moving on. Occasionally someone would end their tour and settle in front of one of the paintings.

Apryl walked up to the nearest painting. It was a painting of a loaf of bread and a goblet of wine. She had seen paintings like this before, but somehow this one seemed more real. The people standing in front of it were quiet and reverent, rarely taking their eyes off of it.

After a few minutes, Apryl moved on to the next painting. A large Bible was featured in this one. A large group of people were standing around, exchanging self-controlled greetings and pointing to the painting from time to time.

The next painting was of a party. Everyone at the party appeared happy and excited, blowing streamers and raising their arms in victory gestures. The multi-ethnic group gathered here were just as excited as the people in the painting, slapping each other on their backs and speaking in a variety of languages.

Amazed at the differences in both the paintings and the groups of people who had settled at each one, Apryl couldn’t wait to see what she’d find next.

Moving as quickly as she could through the party people, she got to the next painting.  It featured the ten commandments carved on stone, just like what most people imagine Moses’ stone tablets had looked like. The people here were friendly, orderly, and inviting. As much as she enjoyed their interest in her, she moved on to the next one.

She was surprised at what she found in this painting. It was a beautiful swirl of colors with no distinct form that she could see. The people here were also a beautiful mixture of colors and sizes. She liked this one a lot but knew there were others to explore.

As she continued around the room, looking at painting after painting, and noticing how the groups of people in front of each resembled the contents of the paintings, it suddenly dawned in her what this room was all about and what these painting were and why the people were grouped as they were.

She looked up and said, “You know, God, You’re pretty cool. You made each of us unique and then provided for that uniqueness. And I, for one, am grateful!”

 

Apryl figured out the symbolism. Have you?

Tell me your best guess in the comments. I’ll reveal my meaning tomorrow in a special post, but I’m pretty sure some of you will think of even deeper meanings than mine! Have fun!

Multiplying Money

On By LindaIn short stories2 Comments

Looking at the budget once again, she shook her head. They weren’t going to make it. Why did they think they could afford a house that big anyway? They should have limited themselves to the cheaper houses like she had wanted. But her husband didn’t agree with her. And neither did God, apparently, as He had led them to a house way over her budget.

Now as they were waiting to close on the house, she kept studying their finances, trying to figure out how they could possibly add the mortgage payment to their already tight budget. It would help once they sold the trailer they were living in, but for now, they would have to manage both mortgage payments. True, the trailer payment wasn’t very high since they had locked into a great rate a decade before when they had bought the trailer. But still. Numbers don’t lie. And when she compared their income to their bills and living expenses, it just wasn’t enough. She feared, deep down in her heart, that within a few months, they would lose their new house because they wouldn’t be able to make the payments.

She went to bed that night still worried, not having found any answers.

As she slept, she dreamed.

She was in a grocery store doing her weekly shopping. She pushed her cart down one IMG_20180521_212134311row after another, picking up the basic foods her family would need for the next week. Vegetables, ground beef, chicken, soup, cereal, milk, bread, peanut butter, juice, and several other items found their way into her cart. After completing her list, she headed to the front of the store to check out but suddenly found herself walking down the snack foods aisle. Picking up a bag of chips, she placed it into her cart, along with some peanuts and a bag of popcorn.

She woke up knowing God was trying to tell her something through this dream. She quickly wrote it down so it wouldn’t fade away like most dreams. Then she puzzled over it as she got ready for work. “I was shopping. I had gotten everything I needed. And I was buying junk food. Stuff I didn’t need…”

And then she knew what God was telling her through this dream. He was telling her not to worry about the finances. They were not going to go broke trying to make the mortgage. In fact, not only would they have enough money to buy everything then needed, they would even have enough to buy extras. Stuff they didn’t need but wanted.

She didn’t know how that would be possible, but she placed her faith in His message. And as the months went by, and their mortgage payments were made and necessities bought, there was always just enough money left over to pay for extras like soccer fees, kids meals, and family outings.

She didn’t know how He did it because their income didn’t increase. All she could think of was, just like He had multiplied the bread and fish to feed the multitude of hungry people, maybe, just maybe, He had multiplied their money. Numbers may not lie, she thought, but my amazing God is God over everything, even numbers on a piece of paper.

Bella, part 4 – Questions

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parables, short stories15 Comments

They sat on the pier like they had done the last time. At first they were silent, drinking in the beauty that surrounded them.  The reflection of the sun danced on the blue water of the lake. Birds sang to each other, and a cool soft breeze wafted past them from time to time.

Eventually she became aware of the silence between them. She wondered if he was waiting for her to speak first. Maybe he was getting bored, but sneaking a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he was looking around and seemed to be enjoying the peace as much as she was. She also saw something else in his face. Something like…  satisfaction? As if he was responsible for the beauty himself? No, that couldn’t be right. She must be seeing things. Nobody could create a place like this. Discover it? Yes. Nurture and care for it? Yes. But create it? No. A sly thought sneaked its way into her mind: maybe he thinks he’s God.

As if reading her thoughts, he said quietly, “God’s creation is amazing, wouldn’t you say?’

She sighed with relief. At least he’s not claiming to be God. That would be weird. Maybe even dangerous. She’d heard too many stories of the evil done by men with a god-complex. And she had no intention of becoming a victim of a cult – enslaved and intimidated into obedience.

“Something wrong?” he asked, looking at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Um, no. Why do you ask?”

“You sighed.”

“Oh, that.” She didn’t want to reveal her stupid suspicion so she tried to change the subject. “I love it here,” she said. “It’s heaven!”

“No, but close,” he chuckled. “Did you say you had some questions?”

“Yes, I do. Lots of them, actually.”

He laughed. “Most people do when they discover this place.”

“What exactly is this place?”

“Well, for me, it’s home. This is where my father and I live.”

“But, it doesn’t make sense. How can this place be here? We’re in a city. There’s not enough room in anyone’s yard to have all of this in it.”

“That’s true for houses and apartment buildings that were built after the city got big. But this place.” he motioned around him with his arm, “was here before the city grew. You could say the city grew around us.”

“That makes sense. But what still doesn’t make sense is how your home is so much bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside.”

“It’s kind of like an illusion. You know, tricks that fool the eyes. Illusions show that you can’t always believe your eyes.”

She nodded. She still didn’t understand the physics involved but she wanted more time to think about it before asking further questions.

“So, if this house, this land, was here before the city grew, then you must have grown up here.”

“It seems I’ve always been here, that’s true.

“And was your dad born here too?”

“No, he wasn’t.”

“When did he get here, then?’

“He’s been here so long, you could say he’s been here forever!” he laughed.

This is getting me nowhere, she thought. She changed the subject.

“Your dad is a pastor. That means he must know a lot about God. And you, being his son, must know a lot about God, too. Right?

“You could say that.”

“Does God really exist or is He just something someone dreamed up to comfort people?”

“Oh, God’s real, all right. No doubt about that.” IMG_20180520_222010004

“Well, if God is real, why do so many people act like He’s not?”

“Many people don’t know that He exists.”

“I mean, people who go to church. People who say they are Christians. Why do they act like God is not real?”

 

“That’s a good questions, I…”

“How’s it going out here?” called a voice as footsteps vibrated on the pier.

Jude and Bella both turned to see Pastor Toby waving as he walked towards them.

“Wonderful,” she answered.

“We’ve been enjoying the peace of this place,” Jude said. “And Bella has some pretty deep questions.”

“Awesome! I love answering questions. But first we have a date with a fresh hot-out-of-the-oven peach cobbler! And if you know anything about peach cobbler, it’s best eaten warm!”

“Mmm… sounds delicious!” Jude said as he stood up. He held out his hand to help Bella stand. “My mouth is already watering!”

Bella tried to hide her disappointment. As good as the cobbler sounded, she would have preferred to hear Jude’s answer to her question. But she didn’t want to hurt Pastor Toby’s feelings, so she smiled and headed back to the church with them. Maybe after eating some of the cobbler, they could get back to her question. She hadn’t realized until she asked it how much she needed to have her question answered. All she knew was that the growing pressure of not knowing was driving her nuts.

 

Links to previous parts of this story:

I’m Not Hurt, Not Really, part 1

I’m Not Hurt, Not Really, part 2

Bella, part 1- Heart VS Brain

Bella, part 2 – Distractions

Bella, part 3 – Overcoming Detours

 

Failing Does Not Make Me a Failure

On By LindaIn short storiesLeave a comment

She woke up at midnight and couldn’t get back to sleep, so she stayed up.

Failed at sleeping.

She took her early morning walk but got tired so cut it short.

Failed at walking.

She tried to transfer some photos from her phone to her desk top computer, but phone wouldn’t recognize the computer.

Failed at picture transferring

She ate her normal breakfast and lunch, then continued eating everything she could find throughout the afternoon.

Failed at dieting.

She attached a zipper onto the tote bag she was making, only the fabric got pinched and the stitching was uneven.

Failed at zipper attaching.

She hemmed a pillow she was making, taking four tries to get it passable – not good, but not bad enough to try again.

Failed at hemming

She thought about doing her afternoon walk, but couldn’t make herself go.

Failed at walking, again.

She tried to clean up a pile of clutter, but got overwhelmed and stopped.

Failed at clutter removing.

I’m such a failure, she thought.

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“You’re not a failure with Me.” came the quick but soft voice she had come to recognize.

As she thought about those words, she gratefully realized that she may have experienced many failures that day, but SHE was not a failure in the eyes of God.

God knew just what to say and just when to say it. Amazing what a difference those few words made!

An Anointing Experience

On By LindaIn short storiesLeave a comment

“God, what does the anointing feel like?” she prayed late one night. “I hear preachers talking about it but I don’t think I’ve ever felt it. Could You give me an ‘anointing’ experience?”

She knew believers were supposed to seek God, not experiences. She knew those who did seek after experiences tended to end up in bad places, many times dragging other people with them. She didn’t want that, but she was curious about what the preachers were talking about. So she dared the prayer, then went to sleep.

The next morning she woke feeling really bad. Tired from going to bed late, she was also feeling sick. The slight cold she had had the day before had developed into a full fledged head cold. Struggling to get up, she thought about calling in sick and just staying home. But staying home was not an really an option that day. There were things she needed to do that no one else could do for her.

“God, You’re going to have to get me through this day. I can’t do it and I don’t even want to try.” she mumbled as she got dressed.

Having no appetite, she skipped breakfast, got in her car, and headed to work.

Once there, she forgot everything as she got busy with the multitude of tasks a teacher has to perform each day. The students were rowdy as usual, but she found herself enjoying their antics and laughing with them instead of scolding.

“What’s going on?” her friend asked her at lunch.

“Nothing,” she responded, confused. “Why?”

“You just seem to be in such a good mood. I’ve never seen you smile so much.”

“Yeah, I am in a good mood. That’s weird because I have a cold and I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like that from my end.”

She thought about it as the afternoon progressed. Her friend was right. She was in a really good mood. She felt strong, confident and easy going – like everything was just a walk in the park. She was getting a ton of work done, and was even able to give her more difficult students the attention and time they craved. She liked the feeling.

At the end of the day, as the last student left, she felt all that strength, the good feelings, drain out of her until she was feeling exactly like she did when she woke that morning.

And she remembered her prayer just before she had fallen asleep the night before. Amazing! God had granted her request – her whole day had been an ‘anointing’ experience!

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“Thank You,” she prayed gratefully as she drove home. “Now if You could just make my cold go away…”