Switching gears...Mary, mother of Jesus

We finished Bathsheba last week in Bible Study and began Mary this week. I am excited this is coming to a conclusion, but also a little bummed. I am not sure what will be next. I just hope we can keep this little group going for some time.

As we have only just begun Mary this morning, I haven't much to tell or reflect on yet. I mean, I have read the stories in the Bible many times and feel comfortable enough to know that Mary was a strong and courageous woman of faith. Everything she had to endure, from the virgin birth to the death of her son on the cross. This can only be symbolic of strength and courage, undying faith and devotion, and most of all GRACE.

As I have said before, going through these novellas, reading about each of these women, has given me some perspective of my own life. The happy times and the hardships I have faced. The triumphs and the disappointments. The serenity and even the confusion. I am learning a lot about myself and the kind of woman that I not only need to be, but want to be. I have been working on trying to figure out who I am for so long that looking at these women is like looking at myself through another set of eyes.

The biggest realisation I have made is I only need to be the woman God created me to be. And that is what I have to open my heart, mind and soul to at this point. I know that I have always been a loving, caring person. I try to bring out the best in those I surround myself with; yet at times I have not been successful. I know that when it's God's timing, He will bring forth the man who is meant for me and learning to wait on Him has been my biggest struggle the past few months.

I also know that the past few weeks my heart has been torn. I feel like I am being pulled in several directions at once. I won't divulge anymore than that. I just pray that God helps me to understand His plan for me and relieves some of the torment I am feeling.

Bathsheba

I have gotten through almost 2 chapters in the Bible Study on Bathsheba and am finding myself in her the deeper I get into this novella. Her deep and long-lasting love for David resonates. At this point, having read about three grace-filled women from the Bible, I can truly come to the conclusion that I am blessed. I am a mixture of these women for sure. I'll touch on that more at a later time.

I have loved deeply and still love deeply. There is only one man for me and only God Himself knows who that man is for certain. The man that I truly love, deeply love, is the man I want to spend my life with. I only hope that my desires mesh with God's plans. Sometimes I see things coming together. Other times I have to remind myself that God IS in control. I cannot have control over my life anymore. I have to let HIM lead me.

Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. II Samuel 11:4

Bathsheba and random thoughts (picture heavy)

We are starting Bathsheba in Bible study this week. I don't have much to say about her yet, but I am sure I will once I complete the reading.

I spent last week in Denver for work. I will have to go back a couple more times. Different classes that are required through National Veterans Training Institute of UC -Denver. I enjoyed my time there and got to meet some nice/interesting people. Here are some pics I took on my trip:

Florida Panhandle Gulf Coast

Might Mississippi

Windmill energy in either W Kansas or E Colorado

Beautiful smelling trees outside DoubleTree Hotel in Denver

The Rockies as viewed from Northfield Mall

Jet heading west while mine headed east

Wing shot

Taking off into the sunset in Nashville

Sunset over Nashville

Coming into Tampa area

I didn't really get to site see too much while in Denver this time. I decided I will rent a car on the next trip when I am there so that I can head for the mountains!

Ruth

The past couple weeks have been spent on Ruth in Bible Study. I am finding it difficult to finish the novella as I am deeply identifying with Naomi, Ruth and Orpah right now. Naomi and her daughters-in-law all lost their husbands. A little background is needed to better understand…

1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. ~ Ruth 1:1-5

Ruth, a Moabite woman, longed to learn more about the God of her husband’s family. In my personal life, I have been longing to hear from God. I am learning to trust in Him and His plan for my life more than ever before. To trust someone, anyone, is an extremely difficult thing for me as I lost trust many years ago in mankind.

I have read the Book of Ruth in the Bible several times in recent months and a handful more over my entire life. I love the strength, courage, and faith she shows in all aspects of her life. I love how she perseveres in the worst of times and encourages her mother-in-law to continue on as well. I have been told by a few people since my father’s passing how inspired they are by the strength I have held. What they don’t know is that I have cried myself to sleep many nights and while it’s less and less, the hurt of his loss is deep.

After the loss of her husband and sons, Naomi decided she wanted to return to her homeland: Bethlehem. Ruth went with her; Orpah went back to Moab. These two women were bound to one another for a lifetime not just through marriage and death, but to sense of duty and kinship. Ruth went on to remarry and had child(ren) who were ancestors to Jesus Christ.

I can only hope to live half the life Ruth led in her time.

Rahab

Have you ever read the story of Rahab in the Bible? It’s an interesting story and very telling of the faith one woman had in a God not of her people.

Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, ⁹ and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. ¹¹ And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. ¹² Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, ¹³ and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” ~ Joshua 2:8-13 (NKJV)

If you recall in previous post(s) I mentioned that women during these times were not allowed to have independent thoughts or lives. That said, things were no different for Rahab. Her father gave her to the King of Jericho when she was a young girl – as a prostitute! Growing up in this way, the only option she had as an adult was to continue as a prostitute. Rahab, however, was wise enough to realise that she could use her skills as a means to get information for the king from men. So, she became a spy.

After reading the story of Rahab in A Lineage of Grace I find myself applauding her choices. She could have chosen to rat out the Israelites to the king. She could have chosen to just continue as a prostitute and not make a life for herself. She could have even been greedy and not included her family in her plans to survive the fall of Jericho to the Israelites. Instead, she kept the men safe and at the appointed time, gathered her family into her home. She kept faith in God, knowing their lives would be spared…

Tamar, pt. 2

Have you ever felt like someone didn’t have your best interests at heart? Wondered if there was another way you could make that person do the right thing? Did you ever want to take matters into your own hands and felt like you couldn’t? If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone! Tamar felt this way when she was sent back to her family after the death of Onan. Heck, she felt this way before she ever married Er, the first son.

In the society she lived, Tamar like all women was considered a 2nd-class citizen at best. She didn’t have any rights; well, maybe some inheritance rights if her husband preceded her in death and then it was only if there were heirs. So, when she was sent back to her father’s house and not married off to Shelah she patiently waited on Judah, and God, to do the right thing by her. When several years had passed and still nothing happened, she took matters into her own hands.

 

Imagine this scenario: you are promised to a man by his father. You wait and wait trusting all the while in the words said to you. You learn that your father-in-law is in the local area and you want to seek revenge. What do you do?

Tamar, with the help of her mother, dressed as a temple prostitute, waited on the side of the road by which Judah was traveling, seduced him, and took his seed.

Imagine this: you have just prostituted yourself to avenge yourself. Little do you know that God has BIG plans for you and your progeny! That’s right, Tamar gave birth to 2 sons (Perez & Zerah) who would become ancestors of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

What a burden she must have felt she was carrying to go to such lengths.

I Can Only Imagine–MercyMe