Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice
Seasons change but not Jesus
I have a niece who is a big pumpkin spice coffee lover. She is so happy that the season for all things pumpkin spice is finally here. That is how I feel about Jesus all year long.
Don’t get me wrong. I have ups and downs like anyone. I have celebrations, and challenges. I laugh, I cry, I worry, just like anyone else. I have just chosen Jesus as my counselor, my messiah. He helps me through, just as he is doing now.
My husband just came down with that international illness that caused such disruption. (I’m not sure if this platform would throw a red flag if I named it so I won’t.) One of his co-workers called off work Friday with it. The co-worker sits within three feet of my husband for eight hours a work day.
He arrived home from work with a box of two tests. He admitted to having felt bad during the week, starting around Wednesday. He blamed it all on seasonal allergies until he experienced chills, and fever like symptoms. Now that his coworker is out with it, he decided to test. We have had our shots, and managed not to pick it up for two years. Yet, here we are.
Instead of picking up my phone and calling a friend, I started a conversation with the Lord. I shared with him my thanks that we managed to avoid this challenge for two years. Then I shared my worries about the coming couple weeks. Not only that my husband is ill, but that I may pick it up, then the possible rebound for him, then the rebound for me. It could take weeks to clear the house of the virus.
When Jesus walked the earth, he physically and spiritually touched many people, healing them. Yet, He didn’t heal everyone He interacted with. He never promised to heal the physical ailments of everyone. What he promised everyone who will believe was a pathway to heal the relationship between man and God.
So, even as my body ages, as virus and bacteria cause illness, I know that my final destination is in His presence. That knowledge allows me to rest easier during times of stress. As the late Reverend Larry Dunnett used to say, “I am a winner either way!” Just knowing that takes away the ability of Satan to instill crippling fear in the believer.
Fear is a favorite tool of Satan. He can cause you to do and say things you would not otherwise. He can create such terror in people they withdraw, jump at shadows, and live in misery. A believer, neglecting his relationship with the Lord, might find themselves feeling a hopelessness that cannot be described.
Whether a believer or not, if that one struggling with such fear will, in the words of the great hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus,” a healing can begin that will break the chains of that fear.
“O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There’s a light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free”
I can’t guarantee that it will be easy. Satan will throw stumbling blocks in your path to cause you to trip-up and fall. Don’t stay down. Realize what happened, stand up, and get back on the path. You may fall ten thousand times. Jesus is there ten thousand and one.
My initial test for the virus was negative. As of this writing I am not experiencing any symptoms unusual for me this time of year. Grass pollen, and ragweed are up causing me trouble. Even if/when I do get it, I know He is there every minute of the day. That gives me peace.
