Category: goodness

Comfort: To Give Strength and Hope To {Intuition Diaries}

Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me. 
(Psalm 86:17 NIV)
First day of classes at Cornell University
This morning we rode our bikes into town to visit the campus of Cornell University, eat lunch and buy groceries. 

You may find it strange that I am combining the word comfort and the above Scripture with today’s post. Bear with me. We all have these little enemies that reside in our heads. The ones who tell us we won’t amount to much or the what ifs…kinda like George in It’s a Wonderful Life. 

Circumstances kept him from his big dream of traveling the world, but in the end he realizes his true treasure is family and community.

Circumstances kept me from going to Cornell University. So when we had the chance to visit the campus, I was sort of excited and nervous at the same time. What little voices might whisper to me, like what if I had been able to attend college here right out of high school? What would my life had been like? 

Once we got to the main road leading up the hill to the campus, we had to walk our bikes about eight steep blocks. When we got back on our bikes near the sign welcoming us to the university, I was overwhelmed by emotion. I held it in. We parked our bikes after  navigating through the students milling around the bookstore.

We went to an overlook to take photos of Cayuga Lake beyond the campus. Down where our boat was sitting in the state park marina.
At the campus overlooking Cayuga Lake

I started to talk to Les and I melted into sobs. I admitted to God that I was quite upset with Him for thwarting the opportunity for me to go to this school. Les listened, and I blubbered that I wouldn’t change my life for anything, but I needed to grieve this apparent loss. As well as other losses that have accumulated over the years. I actually told Les that I was angry with God. And he said for how long? And I said, since I was born. Such crazy, but true thoughts.

The life we desire can’t be attained here. It is post Eden disappointment that was driving my tears today. It was comforting to admit my grief. And to move on to more comforting thoughts, such as how thankful I am for the family that I have today: my mom, my sisters, Les, the boys and all the nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and cousins. And other blessings too long to account for here, right now.

The life we have is wonderful. To celebrate we got back on our bikes, descended the hill with much more ease and delight and found the The State Diner, where we ate comfort food to our heart’s content.


Back at the boat, after we stowed our groceries, we sat in the shade. And then, it occurred to me that thirty years ago today, I could have been going to my first classes at Cornell. But God had a better plan, thirty years ago about this time I joined the Air Force and eventually met the love of my life, Les Rohlf. One of the many signs of goodness in our lives, being together.

Look ma, I’m at Cornell University

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Rest: To Remain Confident {Intuition Diaries}

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living. 
(Psalm 27:13 NIV)

Over and over again, we have witnessed the goodness of the LORD on this trip. Over the past two days, His goodness and mercy have been following us like faithful companions.

Palmyra, New York

On Sunday we left the quietude of Palmyra, listening to praise music and witnessing nature. We saw this cormorant basking in the sun, which made us think of lifting our praises to our Creator. 



We took a shorter jaunt (10 miles) to the town of Newark, where we found fresh, local produce at the Sav-a-Lot. The town, like many of the towns along the western section of the canal provided free shore power, a shower and this time free laundry facilities. After picking up groceries and ice, we sat at the dock reading and catching up on our laundry.

Newark, New York

Free Laundry Facilities!

Leaving Newark

Our destination this morning was Seneca Falls. Each day Les tells me the itinerary and I half listen. So when I went to bed Sunday night, I thought I heard him say that we had three locks to go through on Monday. The next morning, he told me we had eight! What? I thought you said three! Oh, that’s on the Seneca-Cayuga canal, we have five to go through on the Erie Canal first. 

We left at 8:00am, when the locks open to head to Seneca Falls, the birth place of the Women’s Rights movement. On the  way we passed through the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, where we witnessed the majesty of God’s birds: blue heron, bald eagle, osprey, kingfisher and a crow.

Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

We made it through the locks with no incidence. That is always good. Mostly if you make a mistake in the lock, you look foolish, but it also can smash up the bow or the motor, if you don’t have a good handle on the process. 

Lock 25 on the Erie Canal, one of five for the day

Les holding his end of the boat in the lock.

Double lock on Cayuga-Seneca Canal 

The lock filling up and water seeps through gate.
[We experienced the goodness of rest and the beauty of nature, and some more invigorating work through the locks, but if you really want to hear about God’s goodness read to the end.]

It was raining off and on all day. When we arrived in Seneca Falls it had subsided. We walked uptown to find a grocery to get some lettuce. (Forgot to buy that in Newark.) Instead we found more delicious bread, an apple fritter loaf. 

We were near the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, so we stopped in to see how late they were open and tour times. We decided to watch their informational movie, as the tours were over for the day. When we came out of the movie, it was pouring outside. So we browsed the gift shop. Once the rain let up, we headed back to the boat to think about starting dinner.

As we walked towards the dock, we noticed that our boat had been moved down about four spots. We thought that odd. And then we noticed a man tying off another boat near ours. We figured he had just arrived, so we offered to help him tie up. Once we started talking to him, we realized that the goodness and mercy of God does exist in the land of the living.

While we were away, someone came by and randomly untied both boats. George was rescuing the boats. Apparently, his wife was waking up from a nap and noticed our boat was next to the dock wall with just its stern against the wall, then the boat turned some more and started bow first floating towards their boat. That’s when she got George out to stop the boat and tie it up. We were just appalled that someone would do such a thing. For no reason other than possibly a prank. 

We helped George secure the other boat. They invited us over to visit after we checked on our boat. We enjoyed getting their take on the canal and hearing about their adventures in life; they have been boating for 52 years.

Later that evening, we all consoled another very distraught couple, when they arrived back to their boat. We could see on their faces that they believed they had almost lost their boat. George retold the rescue story and the guy gave him a big bear hug. 

At the end of this day, Les said, “Well, I think I’ve had just about enough excitement for one vacation.” Tonight, we go to bed thanking God for watching over us and for meeting good people along the way.


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Wake: A Track or Path Left

 
 
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
(Psalm 23:6 KJV)
 
 

 
 
The psalms are full of prayer language. The last verse of Psalm 23 has been following me around all week, begging to be mentioned today. One time a good friend of mine told me, that if she had two dogs, she would name them “mercy” and “goodness,” then mercy and goodness would be following her wherever she went.
 
This week as Psalm 23:6 kept hounding me, I wondered how often I leave mercy and goodness behind as I walk out the days of my life. I am not always successful, but God always covers up my tracks with His mercy and goodness. 
 
 
How about you?
What are you leaving in your wake?
 
 
 
Linking up with:
 
 
Still Saturday and The Sunday Community

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Potential: Expressing Possibiiity

 

 
Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
(Hebrews 12:1-3 The Message)
 
 
“Living deep in God’s “good” ness, I will seek to travel with others toward peace and deep joy while diligently tending to my own garden.” (Juniper Gillian)
 
 
 
 
This week as I have been contemplating potential, exciting things have been expressing themselves in my soul. I cannot explain how the good news grows from a seedling of faith into a full blooming flower of joy. I have been on a journey with Jesus as my central love, sometimes ardent, sometimes wavering for more than four decades now. He never ceases to surprise me with joy and hope and peace and things sprouting and flourishing in my soul that I don’t even remember being planted there.
 
Over the last twelve years, I have been dreaming about what I want to be when I “grow up.” When our boys were in high school, my husband and I spent three days with a couple to look at our lives, to see where we had been and where we were going. Here is the statement, which I wrote about my personal significance in the summer of 2005:
 
Personal Significance is…
 
Minimum of a two year college degree
Written and published at least one book
Created and maintained a website for spiritual encouragement
 
In many ways, God has exceeded the desires of my heart. In December 2011, I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in English and we self-published a book of devotions, titled Defining Moments: Overflowing with Living Words. And since 2008, I have maintained this blog, Nourishment for the Soul: A Place to Feed on Words.
 
This journey has proved to me the value of writing down our dreams, capturing them in a visual medium and sharing them with others. Through learning to lean close into God’s goodness everyday, He is leading me in ways I never thought possible.
 
And now, He is opening doors for me to experience more impossibilities. By the end of the summer, I plan to have a website that hosts the blog, promotes creative soul workshops and potentially the unveiling of spiritual adventures. Please pray for me as I branch out and take steps of faith to bring this possibility into actuality.
 
For now, I’m going to keep the name of this enterprise a surprise to unveil with the website. So stay tuned!
 
(Many others besides, Don and Sherie Zimmer, who we met with in 2005, have been influential in this dream becoming a reality including my husband, who defies enough superlatives to ever express my true heart towards him, our two sons who have grown up into renaissance men, my mom, who gave me life and confidence, my sisters, Juniper Gillian, Michelle and Dani, who love me and cheer me on, my Magnificent Friends (you know who you are),  my journaling friends and mentors, Lynn D. Morrissey and Mary Ann Kuechler, my writing friends and journaling friends (hugs) and my friend and life coach, Tracy Flori! And now I feel like I’m at the Oscars and I just know I’ve forgotten to thank someone…I am thankful for all the friends and teachers over the years who formed who I am today. Dreams take a lot of work and support and I so appreciate God bringing each one of you into my life.)
 
May God enable each of us to express our possibilities (and impossibilities) in order to create space for His goodness to flourish as we each, “Live out our God-created identities, living generously and graciously toward one another, as God lives toward us!” (Matthew 5:48 The Message)
 

When’s the last time you recalled the good news alongside the goodness of God?
 
 
Linking up with…
 
 
 
 
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Here: At This Point

But as for me,
the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
That I may tell of all Thy works.
(Psalm 73:28 NASB
 
 
 

 
 
 
here
close by
snug
 
near
close by
hug
 
share
close by
shrug
 
your
burdens
unto
Me
 
 
 
 
 
Linking up with:
 
 

 
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