Fountains of Life

On the Side of the Road

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By Cyndi

A little wildflower on the side of the road,

Does anyone see it, does anyone know?

It lives in the sunshine and breathes in fresh air, 

But does anyone see it, does anyone care?

Ever felt like a little flower on the side of the road? Cars and trucks drive past you every day concerned only about their job and destination. Joggers jog and walkers walk past you with bluetooth earphones on or faces glued to a touch screen chatting away.

Sometimes in life we feel lonely. Alone. No one to care for us and no one who seems to care.

Jesus felt alone too when He was on the cross. It’s recorded both in Matthew’s and Luke’s books: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  And if I may be so bold to look into His human side for a bit, I think there were times when, even though He was with His disciples, He probably felt very alone and misunderstood. 

One of the best things about wildflowers is that they are usually NOT alone; they naturally grow in groups or clusters. Think about it. When you look on the side of the road, if you see wildflowers,
there’s usually more than one. Many times there’s a whole color palette of them — purple, yellow, white, orange!  My dear reader, can you not see the spiritual significance of this?!

We are never alone! Yes, it may feel like it sometimes — Jesus did— but the truth is that God will never leave us nor forsake us. (Heb.13:5) And I believe Father sees every single wildflower on the side of the road, each one with its unique colors and tints, each one totally different than the one next to it. Yet there are masses of us blooming beside one another! We are distinctively collective.  

It may be hard for you to see yourself as a flower (especially you guys) but God sees you as His Beautiful Creation. Beautiful as an individual stem, and beautiful as a bunch on the side of the road. 

Now to answer my wildflower poem from the introduction of this article — Yes, He does! 

Yes, He sees you! Yes, He knows! And yes, He cares! You are not alone! We may feel disconnected at times, but remember — we have brothers and sisters who are also bunched up with us on this palette of life together, all of us being held by a loving Master Creator. Rest in the sunshine and fresh air from the Father, my friend. Breathe it in and soak in it. You are never alone. 

 

(photos taken off of Wonderwood Dr.)

Refocus

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By Cyndi

I remember when this year began many people were speaking words like, “This is gonna be a year of vision,” or “This will be a year where our vision gets clearer.” And, yes, having the numerical date of 2020, that all seemed to be apropos.

And then March Madness came. No, not the basketball playoffs, the madness that cancelled those playoffs — COVID-19. Who’d-a-thunk-it? Where did this come from? All of a sudden the whole world seemed blindsided by this virus. Blinded, shut down, not seeing clearly, foggy, confused, no 2020 vision.

Or were we really blinded?

Well, maybe at first. But as time marches on in this state of flux, I find myself truly refocusing and actually seeing clearer. Things I valued and deemed important in my life beforehand have become more obvious now.

I think we could all say indisputably that our family and our health are near the top of our most valued assets. Being able to spend so much time with our kids, the positive and negative of it, is something we may never have again in our lifetime — at least not like this. This containment scenario is making many memories and may one day be viewed as a blessing, though it’s a bit trying for the time being. My son is older and, not only out of the house, but quarantined in Chicago. For me, I wish I had more time with him. Kids grow up fast. 

And our health can change fast over time too. During this “stay-at-home” order Robert and I have been refocusing on eating well and exercising better, because we want to live active and prosperous lives for many years. Plus with all the stress of the situation, it’s also a good time for prayer ministry and noticing how we’re dealing with the pressures. Our emotional health and personal growth are important too. 

At the top of our values most of us would put “faith in God.” Perhaps this priority in our lives is being tested these days. We may be questioning: “What is God up to?” “Did He cause this?” “How will He fix this?” “Why is He allowing this to happen?” 

My only answer is — I don’t know.

I don’t know any of the “why’s” or “how’s,” but I do know we have to focus on Him and not the circumstances. This is where the 2020 vision does come in. Recently reflecting on Jesus dying on the cross and Easter — things weren’t what they appeared to be in this story. Today I have to look beyond my natural eyesight and what I think I see. This is walking by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor.5:7) If ever there was a time to understand this verse, it’s now.

So how do I do this? I relax and trust that Father God loves me and that His love is always good. I rest in not having to know everything and instead simply know that He’s here with me, in the middle of it all. 

I, too, can’t wait to see my friends in church again, to surf at the beach, to go out to dinner, and to be with all of my extended family. But for now I’m trying to refocus back solely on Him and I’m seeing much clearer than I have in a while. After all, it is the year 2020.

Rest. Rest. Rest.

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By Cyndi

About a week ago I tweaked my back a little. It was the last day before the beaches were closing here in Jacksonville due to the Coronavirus, so knowing this, I surfed until I could hardly move. I let my body rest for about a week, but then I started feeling better, not all the way healed up, but enough to work in the yard a little. Well, you guessed it — my back went out again. Bummers. Gotta rest it again! I do not like not being able to do anything physically; I love to exercise, walk, be outside, be in the water — anything to be moving. I’m a doer. 

Here I was once again stuck not able to do much of anything. I needed to let my body rest and heal. Funny thing, our nation, along with so many others right now, are all supposed to be staying home to stop the spreading of this COVID-19 virus. Many are even quarantined and entire cities are locked down. (As of this writing we are not yet.)

I think Father may be trying to get a message to me. And maybe not just to me, but to His whole body world-wide during this crisis. 

He’s not calling us to DO something. He’s calling us to BE something. Be the church. Be His hands and feet. And be at rest!

It’s very easy to get a feeling of helplessness with this pandemic going on. Everyday we see the numbers and statistics change — mostly for the worse at this point in time — but it will eventually get better. We just have to wait and be at rest in Him.

The Lord never guaranteed us that we will not have trials and tribulations. In fact, He flat out says we will! But He said He’ll be with us through them, even in the midst of them. In John 16:33 Jesus tells us that, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

So what things did He tell us previously before this verse? That going through these troubles are hard, but on the other side of them, it’s so much better:  

  • Jesus had to leave so He could send the Holy Spirit;
  • Jesus left His disciples so they could go directly to the Father;
  • A mother goes through travail to give birth, yet afterwards has the joy of a child. 

My friends, I believe on the other side of this it’s gonna be worth it. (Great song from Rita Springer.)

Rest, my friends. Breathe deeply. This is a time to invest in your families. This is a time to reveal to strangers the Hope we have. This is a time for the fruits of the Spirit to grow and develop in us if we allow them to. 

Let us be the Father’s love expressed here on this earth — right here, right now!

Stop doing and start being. Rest. Rest. Rest. 

God Is Our Refuge

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By Cyndi

There’s a lot of fear and anxiety out in the world today. Some may say hysteria. The unseen enemy of the Coronavirus is running amuck and normal life is becoming something like we’ve never known before.

Yes, it’s pretty crazy watching the news, seeing people in stores, the lack of traffic on the streets, businesses closing. Things have changed. Well, except God. He never changes. He hasn’t moved nor fretted one bit. 

He is still good and always will be.

Look at Psalm 34:8 — “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” The Hebrew word for refuge here is Chacah meaning to take refuge, flee for protection, put trust or hope in. Many other verses also refer to God as our shelter, our strong tower, our place of safety and security.  

A picture that comes to mind and gives me great comfort is from Matthew 23:37 where Jesus is saying how He wants to cover us with protecting love just like a mother hen takes her wings and shields her chickens. However, both in this verse and in the world today, some of us are not allowing Him to cover us. We have to choose to rest in His love. 

Perfect love casts out all fear. (1 Jn. 4:18) I encourage you to take some time to be still and just rest in His love. Put on some worship music and soak in God’s presence. It’s true we don’t know how everything is going to turn out, but we can at least live in peace as we wait.

And much of the world is looking for that peace right now. Historically after many plagues and disasters, Christianity spread. People are looking for hope in the midst of their fears, comfort for their concerns, and quiet for their turmoiled souls. We have a Father who is big enough to shelter us all. 

Father’s Kids

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by Cyndi

I love to see kids playing at the park, climbing over monkey bars, swinging on swings. just having fun. It’s a shame we tend to stop “playing” when we grow up. But should we?

Recently we held a pastors retreat in the Dominican Republic where we gathered a group of leaders at a retreat center out of town to experience the Father’s Love deeper. It was a wonderful time, especially without television or lots of media distractions. So what did they do between teachings?

They fellowshipped — a churchy lingo way to say they hung out together — and they played. As they drank coffee, shared stories, shot basketball hoops, and swam in the pool, there was lots and lots of laughter.

I’ve never heard so many jokes (all clean ones) and such loud laughter from a group of people. And most of the antics came from the men! During the breaks they jested about sermons they could preach or unusual books they could write. One of the funniest ideas was a message about the good things you could learn from the bad girls in the Bible. For instance: Delilah cut hair very well; Eve was very sharing with her husband. On and on it went till everyone was chuckling and throwing in their own suggestion. It thrilling to see these sweet men and women of God relaxing and having some fun. 

Sometimes I think we believe that once we grow up life has to be serious all the time, where anything “fun” is looked down upon. Yet, I imagine when Jesus was hanging out with His disciples, there were probably plenty of jokes and horseplay between the guys. Think about it, twelve men traveling together, eating together….  I bet farts were funny even back then. 

I think this is also why the Father likes to remind us we are still children, His kids. 

Kids need time to play. Yes, chores are good and studies are important, but many things are learned simply by playing. Unity is formed with teamwork; awe and wonder is found in looking at details; creativity comes with trying and experiencing new things; ideas are sparked by role playing; and reverence is renewed in Nature itself.

More and more studies are showing that play is vital to our health — which is at least one good reason God calls us His kids. Father keeps us secure in His love where we don’t have to worry about performing for His acceptance. Like a child, we can just enjoy His goodness and play.