I recently attended a memorial service, and it reminded me of
another one I experienced many years ago. My take away from
the two services was the power we have to define our own lives.
The first service was for the mother of two men who had grown
up in the church we attended. Both of these brothers were
leaders of a N. California, First Nation’s tribe. They made
powerful stands and are the only native tribe that has said no to
casinos and no to producing marijuana. Although they both
became strong leaders, they voiced such different views of their
lives.
Their mother was loved by everyone who knew her. But as the
boys grew up and left home, they chose very rough, gang lives.
Both of them eventually remembered the ways of their mother
and gave up their violence, but they came to their mother’s
memorial with very different perspectives. The first son
attributed his return only to God’s mercy and the prayers of his
mother. The second son cursed Jesus, blasted his mother’s blind
faith in God, blamed the foolishness of God for her death and
stormed out of the service.
The second memorial was for an East Indian woman I had
known for many years. Esther was a mighty woman of God
who had suddenly lost her only daughter, Susan, at the age of
13. Susan was the pride and joy of Esther’s life. I still
remember being in the hospital Emergency Room with Esther in
the wee hours of the morning when the doctor came to the lobby
and told her there was nothing he could do. Her daughter had
died.
The first words from Esther’s mouth were, “The Lord gives and
the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job
1:21) Now, I had 4 little children at the time, and I knew those
could not be the words of a mother overcome with unexpected
grief, unless she had already established the truth of God’s
goodness deep within her soul.
Through these two experiences I was reminded how important is
the WAY we speak when we are in our valleys.
Prov 18:1 says,
“Life and death are in the power of our tongue.”
We can define difficult experiences by cursing them - or with words that
proclaim the goodness of God that is unchanging and available
to us in every circumstance.
I used to tell our children, If a dog goes to the bathroom in our
front yard, you can leave it there, and it will not only look ugly,
but it will also stink and draw flies. Or, you can shovel the foul-
smelling stuff into the soil and make it become fertilizer for your
yard.
Ask yourself now, Will I choose to curse the times and blame
God when life is full of sorrow and seems to be falling apart, or
will I choose to trust him? “And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) If we don’t allow faith
to define our trials and valleys, our enemy will use our ill-
conceived words to put his label on them.
I believe our nation is crossing a threshold into great things
never seen before, but not without some huge battles. Like the
testimonies from each of the memorials, we will choose how we
interpret and how we speak of what is already behind us and
what is ahead of us. It’s important to decide now to see with
eyes of faith and to use our mouths to speak life and the
goodness of God over every circumstance.
As we stand in the doorway of a challenging season, God is
opening new horizons for us to seek him for the blueprints and
strategies to conquer these frontiers with great vision, greater
capacity, great courage and boldness with the mind of Christ.
If you are struggling to see God’s perspective for your life, this
might be your time to contact Signet Ministries. It is our
commitment to hear God’s words for you and speak them over
your life.
Carol Skandera
Signet Team Member