Fountains of Life

Rest. Rest. Rest.

by

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

by

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. 

Breathe

by

By Cyndi

Job 33:4—The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

There are times when life gets hectic and busyness fills my every moment; I forget the Spirit lives within me. 

There are times when circumstances around me are overwhelming and daunting where hope seems all but lost; I forget that God has made me in His image.

There are times when people fail and leaders fall while my shortcomings are more pronounced than ever; I forget that the Almighty upholds me. 

It is in these places — these uncomfortable, disheartening, and dislikable places — where the still small voice of my Father speaks one simple word to me: “breathe.”

Breathe —when I’m stressed and confused.

Breathe — when I’m surrounded by fear.

Breathe — when I’m stumbling for answers.

God has given me the breath of life. (Gen. 2:7)

Pause. Rest. Inhale.

Just breathe.

Observing the Rests

by

by Cyndi

As a musician there are several things you have to know when you read music. There are time
signatures that tell you how to count the beat, key signatures that tell you what key to play in, and specific notes that tell you what tone to play, when to play it, and for how long to hold it. Another thing we musicians have to know is the use of rests.

Rests are symbols marked in place of a note. It tells you to be silent. You count it in time because the beat continues on and the music hasn’t stopped, but you withhold playing anything. It’s a time to wait for your next turn to play.

Just like notes, rests have time values too. Some are long and some are short. And many times, depending on what instrument you play, you may rest for a very long time before you have a note. For example, if you play crash cymbals — those loud percussion instruments that look like two trash can lids you hit together — your part in music is usually those gigantic big bang accents. Your part involves a lot of resting and waiting for just the right moment!

If we didn’t have rests written into music, all instruments would be playing at the same time, all the time. That would be disorganized noise, not music. When you watch a band or orchestra, there are times when most everyone is playing and times when only a few are playing. This is what makes music, music. 

I believe life is like music. 

Each of us has our individual part to play in this beautiful song of Creation, and, just like that band or orchestra, there are times to play notes and times to rest. 

Without resting we become tired and ineffective. We can’t catch our breath if we’re playing all the time! Rests are just as important as notes. In other words, sometimes doing nothing is just as important as doing something!

Listen to the music in life. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us there’s a time for everything. There’s a time to play and a time to rest. Observe the rests. They are necessary. They make for more beautiful music and a more beautiful life. 

Sometimes Life Hurts

by

By Cyndi

Are you going through a hard time? It seems like most everyone I’ve talked to lately is in the middle of some sort of tragic or difficult time.

And that involves pain and weariness.

Sometimes life hurts. The pain of losing someone either by death or lifestyle, the pain of broken relationships, physical pain — it all hurts. I believe at times the suffering we experience can be more profound within us than outside of us. Our heart can only take so much agony.

As I’m praying for my friends and family I recall a few years ago a dark time in my life. I had broken my left wrist, however, a cast didn’t hold it in place well enough to heal so a metal plate was surgically screwed to my bone. Weeks of casting failure then surgery was followed by months (and years) of recovery.

Being an extremely active person (my son calls me an “outside mom”), I was devastated by my restrictive situation. No more biking, running, swimming, surfing, or playing the piano (which I had done for almost 40 years). The painkiller meds I took for the excruciating throbbing in my wrist didn’t affect the anguish and misery I was feeling psychologically.  Would I ever be able to do any of these things again? My mind went into the negative. It was a very dark time in my life.

But now three years later I am able to do just about anything I want to. My left pinkie is still a bit crooked and I can’t completely lay my hand flat, but I’m again as active as ever (though quite cautious if there’s a chance to fall). Life is good. God is good. He got me through it.

So what could I possibly say to encourage those of you, dear readers, who are in the depths of those dark and painful times of trials and suffering? Wait.

Isaiah 40: 30-31 — Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Wait on Him. Sit in His presence and let Him comfort you. Pour out your heart before Him. Take the time. He’s a great listener. He will strengthen you. He will cause you to endure.

Please don’t go it alone, my friend. Sometimes in the midst of our pain words fail us and it’s difficult to communicate with others the grief we’re feeling. It’s okay, they won’t always get it. But God understands. He’s been there, done that. Wait on Him and in due time you, too, will be able to soar as an eagle.