Category: Faith

Tanku: Learning Trust From a Toddler

/ colleen arnold / 6 Comments Featured

Earlier this month, my grandson was quite sick. He was in the ICU, treated with IV fluids, oxygen machines, suctioning, and frequent breathing treatments. It had to be difficult for him to understand.

With each new torture, he signed, “All done, all done!” willing it to be over. As each torture finished, he clapped his hands, “Yay, yay!” And often, he followed that clapping with his simple word, “Tanku,” aka, thank you.

I’ve reflected on this now that he is home, safe and healthy. Yes, he’s a happy baby with a big heart, but that couldn’t explain all his reactions.

Finally, I realized it was trust. He trusted his parents and me, and therefore also the hospital staff. He had no idea why we were doing things he didn’t like or understand, but he knew we loved him and wouldn’t hurt him.

It reminds me of God’s words in Jeremiah: I know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope (29:11, NCB).

We want to trust God because we know he loves us and wants the best for us – but it’s not easy.

We question his wisdom: “God, I have a better idea…”
We second guess his plans: “Are you sure God? This doesn’t seem right to me.”
And we doubt his love: “If you really cared about me, you wouldn’t put me through this.”

We all go through tough times. It’s part of the human experience. But just because we’re struggling doesn’t mean God abandoned us. Just because life gets difficult doesn’t mean God isn’t right here, walking us through it.

So next time I have trouble trusting God’s plans, I will remember my grandson’s example and say, “Tanku, God.”

Have You Seen “The Chosen”?

/ colleen arnold / 4 Comments Featured

Have you watched the TV series “The Chosen? All three seasons are on Angel Network for free, and the first season is on Netflix. I don’t usually write about books or shows, but I felt compelled to share about this.

(photo “The Chosen” promotional image)

First, the bad news. A lot of it was hard to hear, some of it was hard to see, and some was just so slow I almost fell asleep.

However, once I got past all that, I loved it.

It’s based on the Gospels, but a lot of it is imagined. If you’ve read any of my meditations, you know I love to pray with my imagination.  I’ve envisioned Jesus smiling more often than frowning, laughing with his friends, and dancing at weddings. He has his serious moments and his angry ones, and he can see whatever untruths I tell myself, but he understands and is quick to forgive when I am ready to be forgiven. The show portrays him that way, too; it often feels like a prayer.

I also love the way it depicts the apostles. They are prideful, stubborn, annoying, and sometimes downright mean. Peter is bossy and unkind. Matthew hardly knows any of the Old Testament and annoys all the others (but he’s my favorite!). Philip is kind of crazy, and James and John are convinced they’re better than everyone else. What a bunch! A friend said, “I hate that they’re like that,” but I love it! It comforts me to remember that we are all human, and not a single one of us is perfect. Jesus loves us anyway – and chooses us.

These are not the only chosen ones; we all are.

Consider making some time during this Holy Week to check it out. Then come back and let me know what you think!

Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel

/ colleen arnold / 8 Comments

I know many of you are struggling during this holiday season. A wayward child, a dying loved one, poor health, a bare bank account, a lost job, pandemic disrupted travel creating empty seats at your holiday table – there are many challenges. Some of you are so overworked you could sleep through the holidays. Some of you can’t seem to find the joy in the “happiest season of all,” even though nothing is specifically wrong.

Whatever your situation, you are in my prayers.

A wise, dear friend died earlier this year. Her life was not an easy one. She told me once that whenever a life storm was brewing, she pictured herself and Jesus standing together just outside it. Then, as the howling wind and pounding rain started, He grabbed for her hand, and they marched into the whirlwind together. Even when it got so bad she couldn’t see him anymore, she knew he was there, holding tightly. When they came out on the other side, he was just as windblown and bedraggled as she was, but he never let go.

My friend gave me many gifts, but this vision is one of the best. It’s a striking reminder that we are not alone; God is always with us. He is a friend who will help our overworked hearts find rest. He is a confidante who understands sickness and death and loneliness- and who holds our hands even when we can’t see Him. We have a God who loves us so much he became visible in a tiny baby ready to lavish our souls with joy no matter what else we are going through. Yesterday at church, we sang, Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.  The name means “God with us.”

Dear friends, take some time during this crazy hectic week to be still… and feel… and know: God is with us.

Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

If you know someone who needs this encouragement, please share. And don’t forget to ‘like’ if you do!

God is Always With Us

/ colleen arnold / 2 Comments Featured

I was eating lunch outside on an early autumn day last week. The breeze was gentle, but the air tingled with a hint of cooler days to come. From the side of my patio, I felt a flicker of movement and sensed something coming toward me. In the split second I turned my head to look, the sensation was gone and the tree beside me stood still.

Just the breeze, I thought, as I went back to work on my salad. Then I saw another flash of motion in that same tree. I decided it must be one of the hummingbirds that have been zipping around my house all summer.

I made a big dent in the salad before I saw the movement again. This time I had the sense of something floating from a high branch to a lower one, far too slow to be a hummingbird. A leaf on the gentle breeze? A falling limb? My curiosity got the best of me.

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God…and Fireworks… in the Mess

/ colleen arnold / 9 Comments Featured

We love celebrating New Year’s Eve with fireworks, but our tradition almost didn’t happen the year Jordan was born.

The weather was exceptionally cold, and tiny sleet crystals fell off and on throughout the day. An ice-crusted blanket of snow covered everything in sight. It was too cold for the girls and I to go outside, and there was nowhere clear enough for Neil to set off fireworks.

Jordan was only three days old and Jackie not yet two years, both too young to know what they were missing. But Gina was seven, already well acquainted with the tradition, and disappointed to give it up just because the weather was bad.

“Please, Daddy,” she begged. “There’s got to be something you can do!”

After mulling it over, Neil did what any dedicated dad would do, and came up with a plan. He decided to set the fireworks off on our deck.

He spent the late afternoon in preparation. He chopped ice off the railings and threw it overboard. He shoveled a path down the middle of the deck and salted it to minimize sliding. He made sure the windows were clear of winter dirt and dragged away any potentially flammable outdoor obstacles.

Once darkness fell, Neil pressed the oversized living room chair against the French doors and settled me in the middle with the baby nuzzled asleep in my lap. He perched Jackie and Gina on piles of fluffy blankets and excitedly revealed his plan.  Bundled up like the Michelin Man, he headed outside.

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