God’s care – Erin Ulerich

What Does Love Look Like?

This post is part of my Exploring Angkura series. Come behind-the-scenes with me as I introduce my newest project, Angkura: Hesed, my soon-to-be-released YA Christian Fantasy novel.

I used to be a hopeless romantic.

Between fairy tales with princesses searching for true love’s kiss, Sweet Valley High books in Junior High, and 80’s Rom-coms, I definitely had my ideas of what love should look like.

Sleeping Beauty is my favorite fairy tale because in this story the prince fights for the princess. He fought a fire-breathing dragon to rescue her.

He thought she was worth fighting for.

This shaped my definition of what love should look like: To be found worthy of fighting for.

What does love look like? is an important question because our answer drives the ways we think and act in every type of relationship. It determines our reactions when people treat us badly. It drives the way we treat others.

It is such an important question that I made it the theme of the first book in the Angkura series.

Before a YA reader picks up my book, they will already have an idea of what they think love should look like. They will probably have experienced betrayal of some kind, and I suspect they will have made some mistakes and need to know forgiveness and redemption are possible.

I can say this because we are all looking for worth, acceptance, love, and security in a broken world filled with broken people. The people in our lives don’t always fight for us, do they? Even those who love us sometimes step away when we need them most. Sometimes they look at the fire-breathing dragon and choose self-preservation instead. When that happens, we feel rejected and discarded. We hold onto destructive relationships in hopes that one day that person will see our worth.

The search for worth, acceptance, love, and security is not uncalled for. We were made to experience those things. We just look for them in the wrong places.

And that is where hesed comes in.

I was well into adulthood and parenthood when I discovered the word hesed. And I was stuck. Stuck in the gap between what God’s Word said and what I felt. God’s Word said He knew me, but I did not feel known. The Bible said I was chosen and cherished, but I was not feeling that at all. So in a moment of frustration, I told God exactly how I was feeling and asked Him to help me.

He used hesed to bridge the gap between His truth and my feelings.

Hesed is a beautiful Hebrew word. Simply put, it is God’s promise to show mercy and steadfast love to His people just because they belong to Him.

Hesed is love and action combined. Because God promises to love His people, He also promises to be loyal to them. It is faithfulness within relationship. God’s generous sense of compassion, grace, and mercy is at the heart of hesed.

Hesed is the prince picking up his sword and fighting the dragon to get to Sleeping Beauty. Hesed says I will fight for you because I love you. You are worth whatever the cost.

This grown-up little girl had been looking for that prince my entire life. I looked for him in friendships, in boyfriends, and in my marriage. I twisted myself into a human pretzel hoping to convince others that I was worth knowing and worth fighting for.

Hesed helped me see that I had it backwards. I was already chosen. I was already cherished. I already had a Prince that fought for me.

Hesed provides the things we are all searching for: worth, acceptance, love, and security because it points us to the place we were meant to find them. It points us to God. God’s love for His people is the perfect example of love.

This is what love looks like.

Discovering hesed bridged the gap between God’s truth and my feelings. It helped me see God’s tender, unfailing love for me and brought me into a closer relationship with Him. It changed the direction of my relationships. I didn’t put unrealistic expectations on those around me, because I was experiencing hesed with God.

Studying its meaning and pouring over the ways it is used in the Bible completely reshaped my definition of love. It grounded me, giving me the strength to push away the lies about my worth.

Since we are made in the image of God, we have the ability to show hesed to those around us. We can show mercy and forgiveness to someone who doesn’t deserve it. We can show compassion to those in need. Every healthy relationship we have mirrors an aspect of God’s hesed to us.

By the time a YA reader finishes my book, I hope they will know their worth and that this will guide them in their friendships and relationships. More importantly, I hope that they will have a deeper understanding of the depth and tenderness of God’s love toward them.

I am no longer a hopeless romantic, because hesed is filled with hope.

Erin Ulerich lives and writes in a rural Mississippi community beside the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway. She is the author of In Unexpected Ways: Christmas in Everyday Life, a devotional that encourages readers to notice God’s presence in the ordinary moments. Her first YA fantasy novel, Angkura:Hesed is coming soon. Connect with Erin at erinulerich.com

Why I Wrote A Christian Fantasy Novel

This post is part of my Exploring Angkura series. Come behind-the-scenes with me as I introduce my newest project, Angkura: Hesed, my soon-to-be-released YA Christian Fantasy novel.

Back in the late 1970’s, when there were three television stations, and my sister and I were the alternating remote controls, I remember a few shows that came on once a year: The Wizard of Oz (the flying monkeys terrified me), the Sound of Music, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in Claymation, and a cartoon version of The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe. I also remember the 1970’s version of The Hobbit, but I honestly don’t remember if it came on more than once or if the weirdness of it just etched itself permanently in my brain.

This was before streaming, before DVDs, before VHS, and the only way to watch something on TV was to be on your couch at the exact time the TV Guide told you to be. It was a very bossy little magazine.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe fascinated me. Four children finding adventure by going through an ordinary piece of furniture? Sign me up, please!

I was young, so I didn’t catch the depth of the story the first few times I watched the movie, but I knew I did not like the scene of Aslan on the stone table and I asked questions right along with Lucy and Susan “Why doesn’t he fight? Why is he letting evil win?” Moments later, I shed tears of joy with them as Aslan came back to life.

I wasn’t a believer, and my family didn’t go to church back then, but I did go to church occasionally with my grandmothers, so I recognized the parallel of the scene of Aslan on the Stone Table and his resurrection with the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Year after year I watched the movie, and as I grew older different things stood out to me. Every time I watched the Stone Table scene, it was powerful. It brought me to tears in a way that the accounts about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection in Scripture didn’t. It captured my imagination.

And as I grew in my faith, the scene from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe helped me feel the range of emotions surrounding this historical event of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

It sounds a little crazy that a fantasy story could help me understand a historical event, but that is the power of story. Facts give us the framework of an event, but story captures our imagination and helps us feel the moment.

Story also lowers our defenses, so that truth can be seen. The account of King David and Nathan in 2 Samuel 12 is a perfect example of this. In the previous chapter, David, who already had numerous wives, slept with Bathsheba, another man’s wife. When she discovered she was pregnant, David tried to cover it up, and when that failed he had her husband killed.

David knew he was in the wrong. And Nathan, as a prophet, could have walked in with a list of David’s offenses. Instead, he came in with a story. A story that completely slipped through David’s defenses and brought him to repentance before the Lord.

That’s the power of story.

How does this connect with my latest project?

I love writing that traces the beauty of redemption in our stories. I love writing devotions that help people see God’s presence in the everyday moments of our lives. This project contains all of that plus adventure in story format.

Angkura: Hesed is a YA Christian Fantasy that explores the importance and the ripple effect of our decisions to hold on or to let go. It follows the story of Elizabeth and her process of trying to decide to hold on to, or let go of a relationship. But it is not just about her, because her story intersects with the stories of those around her, who experience their own battles of choosing to hold on or let go.

It is also the story of Elizabeth getting to know God and learning to trust Him.

It is Christian fantasy, because I wanted to explore the wonder and creativity of God. I wanted to describe moments when Elizabeth hears His voice and feels His presence.

It is Christian fantasy because I don’t just want Elizabeth to know Him. As the author I want every reader to get a glimpse of God in the pages of this story. I hope that believers will read Angkura:Hesed and grow closer to God. I hope non-believers will read it and be drawn in by His kindness and tender love.

I could have written articles about how to get to know God. I could write persuasive blog posts about when to hold on in situations and when to let go. I could write about building resilience. Or the importance of Biblical hope in this broken world.

I could have. And one day maybe I will. But for this project, the Lord led me to build an entire world that points people to hope. He helped me develop characters readers can cheer for and weep over as they travel through their struggles of holding on and letting go. Characters that resonate with readers and characters that help them see things in their own lives they might need to hold on to or let go of.

That is the power of story.

Trusting God When Things Feel Uncertain

The Virtual Reality headset was firmly in place and doing its job.

I stepped onto an elevator, and it traveled up, up, up to the highest story of a skyscraper. When the doors opened, there was a single plank of wood. The assignment was easy – take a few steps across the plank.

There was just one problem. I don’t do heights.

I looked down, which was a mistake. People, tiny as ants, hurried along the street below me.

As I tried to talk myself into stepping out of the elevator and onto the plank, I had all the physical reactions as if I was actually standing stories above a bustling city street. My heart was beating like crazy, my breathing was shallow, and my legs started aching, like they do when I’m in an actual real-life situation involving heights.

I knew I wasn’t really standing on a plank above a city street. I knew I was in a library standing on solid ground. But I threw logic out of the virtual window, got down on all fours and crawled across the plank.

Can you picture this? I crawled across the library floor in full panic mode.

What in the world? I am a capable adult, a grown woman. Why couldn’t I convince myself that I wasn’t really standing on a plank high above a city street? I let what I was experiencing override reality. It felt real, therefore it must be real.

Walking through this crazy broken world can be exactly like this. We let what we experience override what we know to be true. Things feel shaky and uncertain. We feel alone. Anxiety rises. We make decisions based on our feelings. It’s a mess.

The truth? We are not alone. We are not left on our own to figure things out. God has promised to be with us, and He keeps His promises. God is certain and steady. God is trustworthy.

Proverbs 3:5 describes this reality: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” The word for trust here is the Hebrew word batach. Batach is placing one’s full weight upon someone or something with calm assurance.

Calm assurance. I love the sound of that.

God is reliable. We can have complete confidence in Him. We can trust Him.

When we trust God in a batach kind of way we are surrendering, we are letting go of the things we cling to and placing them into the hands of God. That relationship you are holding onto? Trust Him with it. Your college kids that are running around living life all willy nilly? Trust God with the plans He has for them.

The idea of surrender can be scary.

Proverbs 3:5 isn’t telling us to give our full confidence to God without evidence. The evidence of His faithfulness is overwhelming. Because of God’s hesed, the love and devotion He has toward those in relationship with Him, He has committed to be faithful to His people. He has promised to be unwavering, to be trustworthy. He has committed to be with us, to work things for our good, to grow us in our faith, to finish the work He started in us.

God does not waver in His love and commitment to His people. People in our lives may waver, circumstances will change, but God is steady.

Like me in the VR headset, we tend to trust what is right in front of us. We put our full weight and confidence in people and circumstances, which is just as foolish as me crawling on my hands and knees on the library floor. In contrast, trusting God is never foolish. He is worthy of the full weight of our trust.

Are you feeling uncertain today as you look at what is in front of you? Are you standing on the edge of changes in your life, or looking down at a situation that you can’t see a clear way to resolve?

Take a deep breath. Ask God to show you His faithfulness in your life. Ask Him to help you trust what He is doing right now, even if you can’t see how it will turn out.

When we ask for His help, He responds. He wants you to trust Him. He wants you to live with the calm assurance that comes when we trust Him in a batach kind of way.

Psalm 13:5 says I trust in your unfailing love. I batach in your hesed. I fully surrender to your loving devotion. I place everything in my life in Your strong, loving, wise, capable hands.

People change. Circumstances change. If we place our trust in those, there is no stability. In contrast, God never changes. Never waivers in his love or commitment to His people. You can rest in that today. You can walk in confidence, in trust, with calm assurance.

This is the truth we can walk in as we live in this broken world. This is reality. No headset required.

How to Let Go to Land on Solid Ground

We live life holding on, as tight as we can. But what if life is found in the letting go? In trusting that God is who He says He is. That God will sustain us as He promises He will.

Nothing moves faster than a toddler with something he’s not supposed to have. It’s really amazing. The same child that took 25 minutes to walk from the house to the car as they stopped to look at every. single. rock. suddenly develops superhuman speed.

Can we also talk about how their little fingers morph into vice grips? Another phenomenon.

And the strength of will! Determined to hold onto their treasure no matter what. It could be a bug, it could be a Starbucks candy wrapper, but they are not letting go, no matter how we try to be the voice of reason. Even if it could hurt them. Even if the person they trust most is saying let go. At this point they use every toddler’s favorite two words.

“NO! MINE!”

Is it too early to declare nap time?

How often are we like toddlers, our figurative fingers in a vice grip, holding onto things, people, careers – even if they are harmful to us, even if those we trust most are pleading with us to let go.

A few years ago, I taught a Sunday School class about the idols in our lives. In class, the high schoolers were ready to trust God and let go of their idols. But during the week I watched as they held onto volatile relationships, as they chased after perfect grades, and found their worth in the approval of others.

I was frustrated with them until I looked at my own life. It’s hard to let go. Really hard.

In fact, it’s impossible to let go when we are in survival mode, and that is where many of us are. We won’t let go when we feel like this one thing is keeping us afloat in the chaos. We won’t let go when that feels like it will be a total free fall.

And that is scary. Not roller coaster scary, because there we have bars to hold onto and we know that ride will eventually end. I’m talking real-life scary. Scary in a “I don’t know what will happen” way.

But what if it only seems scary?

The enemy of our soul keeps us in the dark, telling us that if we let go of this one thing, we will be alone in the dark, abandoned, hopeless, lost forever. He paints the picture of a yawning abyss waiting to swallow us up. He wants to keep us trapped in the dark.

Truth is like turning on lights in the darkness and discovering that the yawning abyss isn’t even real. Truth sets us on the path to life, light, and freedom.

Unfurling our fingers and letting go is a progression. We won’t let go of that one thing until we are convinced that God will take care of us better than that one thing ever could. We won’t be convinced of that until we trust Him. And we won’t trust Him until we know Him. We can’t know Him without spending time in His Word. And His Word is where the solid ground is.

God leans toward us through His Word. In Psalm 55:22, He says cast your burden on me, and I will sustain you.

Ready for rock solid truth?

The word for cast in this verse is to throw, to fling, to hurl. In other words, to get it as far away as fast as possible.

And where are we hurling our burden, our cares? The word God uses in this verse is Yahweh, His personal name.

The personal request of handing over our burdens is made by our personal God. The God who created everything, who keeps planets spinning and molecules together, but who is also so personal that He asks us to hand over our burdens to Him.

When we throw that one thing to Him, our hand is then empty. But there’s no free fall, because in the same breath God promises to give us what we need.

How does He know what we need? Because He knows us.

Psalm 56:8 says He catches our tears. Our tears don’t run down our cheeks and disappear. The idea is that He collects them and intervenes on our behalf. He sees. He cares. He acts.

See the beautiful progression? He cares for us and will give us what we truly need for our mind, body and soul. He bends toward us. He hears our sobs, He feels our pain, He catches our tears, and He draws us in toward Himself.

The enemy wants us to believe that we are alone, abandoned, hopeless. But we are none of those things. Jesus has come to be with us, so we are never alone. He walks beside us, so we are not abandoned. He is our hope, so we are never without hope.

Now that our hands are empty, we can hold tightly onto Him and stand on solid ground.

If you enjoyed this post, you’ll find more examples of connecting with Christ in your everyday life in my devotional.

Get your copy here!

This link is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Is the God You Know Too Small?

My daughter and I are preparing for a mission trip to Africa. Most days I am excited about the trip. Some days I feel overwhelmed. And every day I feel the need to prepare for what we will walk into.

We are going to a very hopeful place; hope is even in its name: Hope for the Fatherless.

Caring for orphans has been a recurring theme in the life of our family. Each time we step into orphan care, my view of God gets a little bigger and my view of his tenderness toward the vulnerable goes deeper.

There is a truth that I’ve learned, seemingly opposites that we must hold in a careful balance.

Our world is broken and God is at work.

Our world is so very broken. No one can argue with that. Five minutes of the evening news or a couple of clicks on any screen will break the hardest heart.

Sometimes I look at the brokenness and I forget that God is at work in this world.

I look at the brokenness and feel helpless and I assume that God feels that way too. When I focus on the brokenness my view of God is too small.

Ready for a dose of reality?

God knows this world is broken, and moment by moment He is redeeming it. He is not wringing his hands in worry. He is not wondering how to work in spite of the brokenness of our world. He plans to work through the brokenness. He plans to work through the very things we try to avoid.

God is at work and He wants us to join Him.

He calls out to us, inviting us to jump in and take part of what HE is doing in and through the brokenness.

The first step is taking our focus off of the brokenness and placing it on Him. It is in saying “I know you are working. What would you like me to do?”

The second step is to dive into His Word. To see what God says about Himself and what He says about the vulnerable in our world. His heart is so tender toward them.

Orphan care is simultaneously heart-wrenching and hopeful. And we need God’s Word to give courage to our hearts and guidance along our path.

Through orphan ministry I’ve discovered that God does not always work the way I think He should. I discovered that He is bigger than I thought, and that His ways often don’t make sense, from a human perspective.

I also discovered that He relentlessly and unexpectedly weaves beauty and redemption in the darkest places, He gives hope where circumstances look hopeless, and He continually draws people to Himself.

I’ve written a seven-day devotional that helps us see the heart of God toward the helpless. It is a helpful guide for those new to orphan care.

The Hope of the Helpless is available on Amazon. (This is an Amazon affiliate link.)

We Were Made to Hear His Voice

When our older daughter was just over a year old, she began having ear infections. We took her to the doctor for a hearing assessment. I held her on my lap in a room that had rectangular speakers on different sides of the room. She was supposed to turn toward the appropriate speaker when she heard her name being called.

“Margaret” the voice boomed through a speaker on the left side of the room. She did not respond.

“Margaret” the voice boomed again, on the right side of the room. Still, no response.

Panic welled up inside me She’s going to fail this test! I’m a horrible mother! How could I not know she couldn’t hear! Until one clear thought pushed through.

“Wait!” I yelled toward the speakers. “We call her Maggie. She doesn’t know the name Margaret.”

The test went quite smoothly after that.

We were made to hear God’s voice, but sometimes we don’t hear His voice because we don’t recognize the name He is calling us.

Beloved. Loved. Precious One. Friend.

We expect Him to use words like: Mistake. Failure. Oh, it’s you again.

Sometimes we don’t hear His voice because we haven’t really met Him.

The best introduction is His Word because that is the place where who God is and who we are can be clearly seen. His Word is more than a book. It is God’s words of, “This is who I am, this is how much I love you, and this is what I’ve made you for.”

Through His Word we find this beautiful truth.

We are made by God. We are loved by God. We were made to hear His voice so that we can know Him.

So, what does His voice sound like? When we hear His voice, we can be sure it is His when:

There is love and conviction, not condemnation and guilt.

When we keep things in the darkness, fear and shame grow and overrun us with thoughts like, “God would never forgive me.” These thoughts keep us in the darkness, away from God. These thoughts are from the enemy of our soul who wants to distort our perception of God—His character, His love, His actions. The enemy constantly throws up smoke and mirrors and keeps us off balance.

His voice is kind and constant, even when He is dealing with our sin. He will not sweep our sin under the rug or pretend that it does not matter. He will bring it out into the open to deal with it because He sees our misery.

“God doesn’t point out our sin to condemn us. God’s purpose in lovingly revealing our sin is to encourage us to acknowledge it and confess it so He can change us. The Enemy’s voice brings condemnation. You will know condemnation because it will bring guilt and offer no clear means of relief. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit brings conviction that always provides a road map out and away from a specific sin. His aim is always to lovingly steer us in the direction of His grace.” (Discerning the Voice of God: How to Recognize When God Speaks by Priscilla Shirer)

When God speaks to us His words will not heap judgment on us. He reveals our sins to lead us to repentance, but this revelation is buffered with the hope of His grace, love, and another chance. He has already undergone the punishment for our sin once and for all on the cross.

His voice points to His character. It points us back to Himself.

“One of God’s greatest desires is to make Himself known to us and lead us into a more intimate relationship with Him… He wants us to know Him.” (Discerning the Voice of God: How to Recognize When God Speaks by Priscilla Shirer)

The place to get to know God is in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, His love, His desire for relationship, and His dealing with sin to restore relationship are described on every page.

If we were made to hear His voice, why don’t we? What keeps us from hearing His voice? There are three main reasons for this:

1. Noise. Our lives are noisy. Our phones ding with every email, text, and reminder. TVs are always on with some new drama (real or fiction) unfolding. There is always something to do, somewhere to go, someone to talk to.

2. Locked elbows. Deep down we are afraid to let God get too close, afraid that knowing Him might mean changing things in our lives that need changing. We say, “I want to know you,” but we keep our elbows locked and our hearts closed so that He stays at a safe distance. I’ve been there, and I’m so thankful that God was not content being on the outer edge of my life. He patiently drew me closer through His love and grace.

3. Not recognizing our name. Like Maggie’s hearing test, we miss hearing his voice because we don’t recognize the name He is tenderly calling us.

“By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me.” (Psalm 42:8)

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

When was the last time you pictured God singing over you with joyful songs?

You bring Him joy. You bring a smile to the face of God.

His voice is not in the media storm of the day. His voice is not in the rushing news feeds on our screens. His voice, clear, constant, and quiet, is in His Word. The more we read His Word, the more clearly we will hear His voice.

-Excerpt from In Unexpected Ways: Christmas in Everyday Life

Heritage Ukraine Knows How to Pivot

Pivot is a word that pops up from time to time.

During the pandemic businesses had to pivot to stay open. Many began offering curbside pickup. Churches began streaming church services. Drive-through doctor appointments became a thing.

But what does it mean to pivot? I think it means identifying a need and changing what needs to be changed in order to supply that need.

To pivot, the goal or mission of a business or organization doesn’t change, but the way to reach that goal needs to be adjusted slightly.

Pivot.

My friends at Heritage Ukraine have been pivoting constantly for the last 100 days. Beginning February 24, they’ve had to pivot in order to care for those God has placed in their path. The ministry plans they had for the foreseeable future ended as the Russian army moved into their country.

Overnight they began meeting immediate needs. Helping families evacuate, gathering and delivering food to those who couldn’t leave, making thousands of sandwiches to give to refugees at the train station.

At a time when they would normally be planning for the weeks of summer camp at CAMP LELA, they gave away their camp supplies to those who needed it.

Slavik and Alyona and their team at Heritage Ukraine know how to pivot. And the Lord is using their flexibility and their obedience to His leading. God is working in the middle of this horrible war. He is providing.

And, as a wonderful surprise, God has opened a way for CAMP LELA to happen in July. Their Facebook post shows their excitement – Look at all the exclamation marks!

Camp LELA 2022 in Romania!

As the war began we didn’t even think of the camp for this year as Heritage is so focused on war relief around its region. However, God opened us an opportunity to do a camp in Romania for Ukrainian refugees!

Three camps will take place in the month of July! We need your help to make it possible! Click here if you would like to support camp LELA 2022 for Ukrainian refugees in Romania.

If you want a glimpse of what is happening on the ground in Odessa, if you want to see ways that God is providing things that seem impossible, if you need encouragement in your day, or want to know what you can do to get involved, follow Heritage Ukraine on Facebook or Instagram.

I designed a wallpaper for my phone to remind me to pray for my friends in Ukraine and I would love to share it with you! The original painting was done by our talented friend Miss Allie McCoy. Click on the image to download these beautiful sunflowers for your phone!

Words to Live By

These words were the last ones I said each morning as my son walked out the door for school.

They came after the “Do you have…” checklist and the “Have a great day” hug.

Remember WHO you belong to.

I said these words as he walked out of the safety of our home and into the day.

I picture them wrapping gently around him, a scarf on the good days, a forcefield on the difficult days.

When I began saying these words, he would step back into the house and wrap his arms around me. I would rest my chin on his head, squeeze extra tight, and say a quick silent prayer.

It is a sentence that carries the weight of history, his and mine. They are words that bring difficult days to mind and words that remind us that we are different people in the present.

We are different because we remember WHO we belong to.

These are words of growth. Words that we all need. Words to live by.

Sometimes we need these words because we feel alone. We weren’t made to be alone. We were made for belonging.

The Junior High years were years of growth for my boy. I picture the struggle of a seed pushing through its outer shell, inching through the dirt toward the warmth of the sun.

Years of growth can hit us at any stage of life. These are moments when we choose to push toward God’s truth or we let others sidetrack us.

It is so easy to get sidetracked when we feel alone, isn’t it?

Sometimes we need these words because we’ve pushed everyone away. We want to be free – however we define freedom – and yet we are not made for this type of freedom, or self-reliance or independence. We were made for belonging.

This was my story. Pushing all restraints away until freedom became a free fall. I was untethered, unsure of who I was because I didn’t really know WHO I belonged to. And trying to belong to anyone else doesn’t work because we weren’t made to belong to each other. We can’t carry each other like that.

But we can help each other remember WHO we belong to.

So, to the graduates in my life, to those at the beginning of a new stage, to those who need to begin again. To those who feel like you are floating along, who feel like you don’t belong. Lean in and let this truth soak in. You were made for belonging, and this is WHO you belong to.

You belong to the God who created the heavens and earth by speaking it into being. He is that powerful, and yet involved in the details of your life. He cares about you so much that not a hair can fall from your head without His permission.

You are loved:

God created and formed you out of love. He holds you in His loving and powerful hands.

He works events and circumstances for your ultimate good even when it is difficult to understand.

He rescued you from the power of sin and offers you lasting life.

You have purpose:

He has good works for you to do, and He prepares you for those works.

He invites you to participate in what He is doing in the lives of those around you and in the world at large.

Our school mornings are over, but these words still wrap gently around my boy-turned-man as he walks out of the house. He often stops, gives me a lopsided grin, looks into my eyes and says, “You remember that too, Mom.”

When he says this, I step toward him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He towers over me these days, resting his bearded chin on my head. I squeeze extra tight and say a quick silent prayer, thankful for the truth poured into the fabric of these few words.

Remember WHO you belong to.

I’ve created two printables to help remind you of these beautiful truths. Feel free to share with a friend!

Four Things That Are Saving My Life Right Now

A few weeks ago on her podcast, The Next Right Thing, Emily P. Freeman shared 10 things that are saving her life right now.

I loved the simple way she flipped the script. It’s easy to list the things that are driving us crazy, or the ways we are so crazy-busy. We tend to hold those things like they are a badge. It’s a little harder to look at our lives with the lens of what’s saving our life right now. But it’s encouraging and life-giving.

I began looking for those things in my current crazy season, and I want to share them with you.

The first thing that is saving my life right now is taking a few minutes after I take the kids to school to sit down with a cup of coffee and read one entry of Heart Aflame by John Calvin. These are daily readings from the writings of John Calvin on the Psalms. The book begins with January 1, but I’m being a little rebellious and started it in March. At the beginning. The devotions are less than a page long, and I write a little prayer in the space at the bottom of each page. It has been a great way to begin each day setting my mind on truth.

The second thing that is saving my life right now are green spaces. I don’t really know why but driving past green pastures and rolling hills makes me happy and peaceful.

The third thing is breaking my to do list into smaller, bite-sized pieces. I tend to get overwhelmed in the crazy-busy, and dividing tasks into smaller tasks keeps me from getting paralyzed and not getting anything done.

And the last thing that is saving my life right now is having one clean space in the house to sit in. I have piles of writing projects, end of the school year things, scrapbooks (any other Senior moms pulling out all the pictures, or is it just me?) Having one space clutter free gives me a place to start my morning (see number 1) and to have friends sit when they swing by.

Over the next few weeks this pace will morph into summer pace, which has a completely different feel. I want to keep up the practice of naming the things that are saving my life instead of focusing on the things that are keeping me busy. It helps me appreciate and savor moments of peace in the middle of the chaos.

What about you? What is saving your life right now?

A Hope-filled Prayer for the Beginning of the School Year

Would you rather listen to this prayer and pray along with me?

Download a printable of this prayer.

Father,

We like things to be in order. We like schedules and things that can be measured. We like sending our children into a school year refreshed from a great summer, with new clothes, fresh supplies, filled with anticipation.

But these days, nothing seems orderly, nothing feels certain. We are sending our children into a school year with our words of worry ringing in their ears. With the burden of uncertainty on their shoulders. With hearts filled with anxiety. With little hope.

We confess that we have been looking in the wrong places for peace and hope.

The truth is as simple as the children’s song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and yet believing it isn’t easy at all.

The truth is that there is so much to be hopeful about. As we send our children into this new school year, with whatever it contains, help us to remember that they are in the palm of Your hand, and that You will use everything in their lives to highlight their deep need of You and Your strong, lavish love for them.

Help us to remember that you are working in the middle of this, and that you are up to something really good.

We confess that we’ve acted as if you’ve taken Your hand off of us throughout this Covid nightmare. Deep down we’ve believed that You’ve abandoned us and expect us to figure out this mess on our own.

The truth is that we have the “immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe.”

This power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is at work in us. Jesus is by Your side, governing the universe in ways that bring us good and bring You glory.

We don’t understand how a worldwide pandemic can be for our good and can bring you glory. But we trust you. We trust Your heart for our kids, and for us.

We pray that these uncertain times will draw our children’s hearts to the certainty of your love, your grace, and your goodness.

We pray that these uncertain times will help us to be bold in sharing your hope with others. That as we cling to You, the One who never changes, Your Spirit might work through us to encourage others and point them back to you.

We pray that we would experience the kind of hope that the world around us can’t give : a peaceful heart in the middle of uncertainty, footing when things around us crumble, security in the promise that we are not alone.

Help us, and our children, to rest on Your unchanging character and nature.

Help us to anchor our hearts to your truth.

Help us to stand firm, with Your Word wrapped tightly around us.

Help us to be bold, assured that you are with us every step of the way.

We pray this in the powerful, wonderful name of Jesus,

Amen