Germany...and Coming Back Blues

Here we are in Germany! This first one is in the Alps in Füssen on our hike to the castle Neuschwanstein.

This one is at the Alatsee aka Frog Lake!

Here we are in Füssen and at the castle Hohenschwangau.

The Fränkishe Schweiz

Nürnberg

Ailsbach

Herzongenaurach Osterbrunnen

Schloss Sommerhausen

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Mit Großmutter

I am back from Germany, and what a wonderful time it was! So much a sign of God's graciousness in my life as I drove around with 4 children, saw lots of beautiful sights, made new friends, nursed my sick family, was sick myself, felt saddened by changed relationships and Großmutter getting older, felt lonely, was invited to by Christians to celebrate Easter together with the church, was invited to people's homes, saw my children loved by others, felt loved, and knew the Lord's goodness.

The transition coming back to our home here has been challenging. All of the things I struggled with before I left are still here!

I've been reading in Judges and love how God tenderly loves Gideon. He choses him, calling him a "valiant warrior" although Gideon questions God and is insecure and fearful. Gideon asks God, "If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles....But now the Lord has abandoned us" (Judges 6:13). Gideon practically blames God for Israel's unfaithfulness and disobedience. But when God tells him to go and deliver Israel, Gideon doesn't like that either. He says, "How shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house" (Judges 6:12, 15). Gideon asks God to give him not one or two, but three signs that He will do what He said, and God does. Then, the night before the battle God allows for Gideon's fear. "If you are afraid to go down, go...down to the [enemy] camp, and you will hear what they say; and afterward you hands will be strengthened" (Judges 7:10-11). Gideon overhears the enemy soldiers talking about a dream in which they were flatted by Israel, and he bows in worship, returns to camp, and fights victoriously.

Isn't it easy to blame God for our own unfaithfulness and disobedience? To gripe about how things are going and forget about the victory and joy we have in each and every moment because of Christ's victory on the cross over sin and his victory over death at the tomb? Isn't it easy to dwell on our inabilities, our physical, or mental, or emotional limitations and forget that according to 1 Cor. 1:27, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." Paul gives us his godly perspective on living life free of our own inabilities by saying, "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10). He know that the source of faithfulness, obedience, strength, ability, and all good things isn't from OURSELVES, from ME! It is from HIM, the One who choses us, just as He did Gideon, and sweetly encourages us in the midst of our fears.

So as I return to Santa Rosa, and once again am faced with all the same stuff that threatens me and drags me down, may I immerse myself more than ever in the One who is the God of Gideon, who has chosen me because of who He is, and who promises me the victory.

1 Cor. 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.