Covered

Cover..

"To put something such as a cloth or lid on top of or in front of something in order to protect or conceal"

I have found a new necessity... Hats. Actually, caps. I am more fond of baseball caps than hats. Women wear baseball caps more often than hats. I like that they are the norm. Hats are fancy... I am not fancy. Hats draw attention... I am not fond of attention. 

What's so funny about this little journey I am on is I have very little hair left. I actually forget I am bald at times, then I pass a mirror and I am startled by my reflection. No lie. I cover my head in public because I know it makes others uncomfortable and quite frankly.... I am uncomfortable with it. 

I have always had a love/hate relationship with my hair. It's not that great as far as hair goes. It looks like a side show when there is rain or humidity. When the air is dry it can be so on point if cut and styled right. There is some curl to it, but just enough to NOT do what I want it to!

On bad hair days I have said out loud, very emphatically, that I hate my hair. Well, God and chemo took care of that... I really don't have much to hate anymore! Ha!

So, I cover...conceal...but you can tell here is very little under that cap. It's not the best concealer, but it does give me great comfort. 

We use covers everyday to hide our ills. We try to find figure flattering clothes to hide our muffin tops or use colors to slim our backsides. We use makeup to cover scars and imperfections. We chose all sorts of accoutrements to flatter or hide.... Been doing it since the Garden. 

But the most precious covering we have is the covering offered to us by God. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 91:4

"He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler."

I love it so much I claimed it for Anna Lauren when she was born. We are also covered by the precious blood of Christ. When God looks at us He sees His Son, when we are in Him.

The tricky thing about covering is we can use it to hide a multitude of sins or something else... Our spirit. When we suppress or cover our spirit and don't allow it to shine, we do our Savior a great disservice. God doesn't ask us to live in a pious repressed state. He wants us to live in a joyous grace-filled state! He wants others to know our joy comes from Him!

He also wants us to live in victory. He wants smiles and hugs and laughter and love. Peacefulness and joy abounding. He wants us to live righteously and above reproach, but at the same time, He offers forgiveness and healing when we fall!

HE HAS US COVERED, Y'ALL!!

Please don't let the enemy or even your interpretation of The Word and Law let you forget this or embrace it. Live life with joy and peace and grace. Don't be a Grumpy Gus and don't cover up your greatest gift....

Love!!

Monica

Treasure

Matthew 6:19-21

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where never moth or rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

One of my devotions this morning was about fitting in. I have struggled with that my entire life. I had so many insecurities growing up I ached to fit in. The funny thing is... I actually did fit in. But as I grew into adulthood I managed to fall into the pit of gaining acceptance from other mothers. You know the ones. Houses filled with the latest earthly treasures.... Children dressed in the latest earthly treasures... The finest earthly treasures on their fingers and wrists and ears and necks. Their vehicles that cost more than we borrowed to buy our house. 

I struggled to keep up. I looked like a homeless person at times so that my children looked like they stepped out of a catalog. Then one day I realized that I was storing up earthly treasures. It hit me... Except if photographed in these outfits no one would even remember what my kids had on at any given time. Were those monograms and Polo men a definition of who my children were? If they were then I was doing a great disservice to my children as well as the people who came in contact with us. 

I was completely and totally saved at the age of 30... Broken, jobless, pregnant and scared I was brought to my knees in complete submission. Prostrate on the floor by my bed I gave it all over to 

The One Who Saves. He picked me up, brushed me off and gave me hope. Then what do I do? Get caught up in the things of this earth. I can see Him just shaking His head at me! 

It took me a while to realize, my treasures are my children and my marriage and how I conduct myself. My salvation and how I use it. 

What are my heavenly treasures? 

My children's salvation... Their witness.... Their kindness... Their humility.... Their work ethic... Their strength.... Their love for others... 

My salvation and my husband's... 

My marriage is my greatest earthly and heavenly treasure. It has been tried and tested and tossed about, but because we never forgot our vows it has withstood the tests of life. We aren't The Cleavers, but we cling to the promises we made and the truth of true love. Read I Corinthians 13. 

I pray that my faith is the legacy I leave trailing behind me. That when people watch me they are watching my unfailing belief in God. That people don't look at me with one ounce of doubt as to where my treasure lies. That I ring true to every person I meet and that they don't define me by what I have or don't have. That my faith is my definition. 

Sweet friends, don't worry about what others think or what you think others think. Concentrate on loving your family and friends, as well as strangers, and serving God. He will serve you way more than you can imagine. Your treasures need to be the eternal things and the legacy you leave. I don't want to be remembered for my stuff.... I want to be remembered for the stuffing. 

Monica

Listen

It is the eve of treatment #3. I sit with my girl on the couch watching Aladdin. I parooze Facebook and Pinterest. I wonder how on earth I am here in this moment. How has my life has taken such a dramatic and life altering turn? I mean seriously.... How? Why? What did I do to deserve this? What am I supposed to learn from this?

I wrestle with hope and fear. It is natural I think... I have great hope in healing, but there is always a small nagging voice that says, "Why should you receive healing when others haven't? What makes you so special?"

That nagging voice isn't the voice of my Heavenly Father.... It is the voice of lies and mendacity.

As I was heading to lunch with a precious longtime friend today I was given the gift of a song. Casting Crowns, "The Voice of Truth".

"The Voice of Truth tells me a different story,
The Voice of Truth says "Do not be afraid"
The Voice of Truth says "This is for My Glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth."

All the questions I could ever ask during this journey are answered in God's Word. He holds every key. He holds every tear. He cares about us. He made us in His likeness.... We are precious. So even when I lose a little hope, He wipes my tears and holds me in His hand and tells me to keep on listening to Him. Keep on reading His Word. Keep on praying. Keep on believing in miracles and hope and peace and love.

Because even if it isn't okay... It will still be okay!

Beth Moore, through her devotional, Portraits of Devotion , told me today...

"He answers me, so that I don't have to live off my own answers."

So, every verse He gives me about healing, every phone call, text or message telling me I am thought of or being prayed for, are precious answers.

John 15:14, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full."

Monica