Notes From A Broken Heart

  miracle - a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency; a highly improbable extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences. "For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thought of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11a) Knowledge.  Discernment.  Understanding, Wisdom.  These gifts come in stages or phases, although many of us may disagree on the definition of terms.  I use "stages" and "phases" synonymously to depict progression that leads to a "knowingness," or the acquisition of wisdom.  What do I mean, and how do these terms describe the  miracle of how God works in my life? Two seemingly disparate concepts account for illumination and growth. First and foremost, I am a teacher.  I cannot remember when I didn't know this.  An early memory derived

  Most of us plead guilty to singing in the shower.  In fact, the only place many of us dare sing is in that safe, compact space where cascading water drowns out the quality of a soprano, tenor, alto, bass, or "whoever I find myself standing closest to," voice. Time, day, or duration doesn't determine when a song might erupt. However, I wonder if occasionally, dear Reader, lyrics bubble up and surprise you ,  because they are totally unexpected?  I ask now because lyrics have begun springing forth from within and are puzzling me. You see, unexpectedly one recent morning, a song from my Mother's era hymnbook began to form silently and internally.  Initially, it sounded little more than a thrum, causing me to pause for only a second, then resume a daily ritual.  Yet, it persisted, and the next thing I knew, I was singing all of  "I know it was the blood.  I know it was the blood.  I know it was the blood for me.  One day when I was lost.  He died upon the cross.  I

I certainly didn't know it while it was happening.  In fact, sometimes I thought of her admonition as a chore at best or just part of her "being Mother."  It took literally decades for me to realize how subtly God, even then, had been growing me in grace, in ways organizations like the Girl and Boy Scouts, or Sunday School classes had set out to do. Yet, it was from Mother's mouth that I learned to thank God, even if it took decades to realize the "You" I referenced was God.  Girl and Boy Scouts taught values and concepts, true, while kiddie Sunday School classes promoted good behaviors.  Rather, I will clarify what the quality of Mother's instructions signified.  Yes, she taught gratitude, thankfulness, politeness, and compassion, among other qualities.  But she did so much more.  Mother modeled  the spirit undergirding whatever she taught. Decades later, I describe her as a woman who walked the walk, talked the talk, and practiced what she preached!