Sunday School All Week long

Our Sunday School teacher challenged us to read one chapter of Luke each day, pick a verse from that chapter, and write about it. This is RIGHT up my alley! I have LOVED it!!!! The method we are using is the "SOAP" Method. In a notebook, you write the date and chapter you are reading, then you write:

Scripture (the verse that sticks out to you)

Observation (what you notice about the verse)

Application (how can ya apply this verse or what have you learned from it)

Prayer

I have LOVED this exercise!!!! I have made an effort to find something new, something I have not noticed before in each chapter. I thought this would be difficult, being that the Book of Luke is one of the Gospels and tells the life of Christ. However, it has been easy...and INTERESTING. I am realizing that the verses that jump out at me are a good indication of where I am spiritually.

I want to share some of what I have learned these past couple of weeks, but before I do, I want to make sure that I say that I did not consult any commentaries or even the preacher to find out what the scripture is supposed to mean. I just read, picked out a verse that jumped out at me and wrote about what I thought about it. This is not meant to be a "lesson" so much as it is a peek into how I feel and think as I read Luke.

The most interesting thing to me has been how EASY this exercise has been . It takes me maybe 30 minutes or so to read the chapter and go through the exercise. The result is a lingering feeling of accomplishment and a growing feeling of closeness to my Savior and Lord as I search for new verses to study.

I'll share bits and pieces as I go, just because I think it is really neat to see how the Word of God speaks.

Unanswered Prayers

As I was preparing to go home this Thanksgiving, it hit me that My Great Nan would be pleased with us. She is happily spending her first Thanksgiving and Christmas in heaven with our Lord and I do not think for one moment that she is taking up any time fretting over us, BUT IF she were still here with us, she would be pleased.

Like most families, we have had our share of stressful situations and strained relationships. We have had Holiday Seasons when one or the other of us kids did not "go home" for one reason or another. For the past several years, the Holidays have created more stress than joy.

Nan Died suddenly this summer. I was absolutely devastated for very selfish reasons, but I am thrilled that she did not suffer, she did not live years with a long list of ailments and doctor appointments....and am also thrilled by what her death did to certain members of our family. As often happens when someone dies, Nan's death challenged our family to "let bygones be bygones", to let go of grudges, and stop worrying about who "is right" in this or that situation. In our family, there was much healing that took place between us as we said good bye to Nan.

Now, back to this weekend....I was preparing to go home for Thanksgiving and the thought occurred to me that Nan would be pleased, if not overjoyed, with us. All 3 of us (me, my sister and brother) would be home. We were all excited about it....looking forward to it. No one was worried about what this one or that one might say or do to upset this or that other one. We were just excited to be getting to see each other. There was no anxiety, no dread, just excitement over getting to see each other and spend a bit of time together.

This is where the unanswered prayers come in. I hope I always remember this lesson. Nan prayed...sobbed...pleaded with God for our family. It broke her heart when we "kids" would do things that separated us from the family and she prayed for years that we would all "act right" and "be nice".

She died before she saw my brother and my parents reconnect. She died before she saw my sister meet a nice man and decide to get married and "do it the right way". She died before I was cured of cancer the second time. She died before my mom was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that, at least for the moment, all her kids were home and safe and well. Yet, all these prayers...these countless endless prayers that Nan prayed on our behalf...they have indeed all been answered. In God's time. In God's way.

I want to remember this, because I know that there prayers that I may not see answered. I want to remember that God is on His own time schedule and it really does not matter whether I see the answers or not....God is still in the business of answering prayers.

I do indeed wish that Nan could have known that, by the end of this year, we were all going to be okay. That is my silly human-ness coming out, for I KNOW that in Heaven, we are the farthest from her mind. I am however, SO thankful that she prayed us through the dark times and oh so grateful that I can witness the fruit of her labor.

I am thankful for this very vivid lesson:

The important thing is to keep praying.

Never, never stop going to God.

Hugs!

K