The Fall of Man Revealed the Resilient And Highest Love of God By Babs Kincaid

The Fall of Man Revealed the Resilient And Highest Love of God

By Babs Kincaid

          Ironically, the fall of man revealed the resilient and highest love of God. What could have resulted in a huge game changer became a huge display of love!  God created man for an eternal family relationship and man revolted at the first enemy attack! “I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.” Leviticus 26:12 God’s love was not derailed by man’s failure but ignited with hope and compassion. God’s mission to create an eternal family was not to be lost!

God offered Adam and Eve an intimate companionship with himself and each other, an enchanting garden, and savory food and more. Wow, what outstanding gifts! God presented Adam and Eve with the freedom of choice to enjoy their magnificent environment. The only restriction God imposed was his edict: “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:17   Their playbook had only one rule and endless perks! They had the joy of ruling over all of God’s awe-inspiring animals! What more could anyone desire for a fulfilling life? Despite God's warning, Adam and Eve took Satan's bait and ate an apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had set them up for the best life ever and they blew it! Because of God's grace, the story did not end in destruction.

To fully digest God’s merciful response to man’s sin we need to consider the depth and breadth of His Love! “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” Lamentations 3:22-23 Consider how quick we are to resent others when they let us down or fail to meet our expectations! Consider how swift we are to say: “I’m done.” when others hurt our feelings or throw us under the bus! Consider the shortness of our fuse, when others do something irritating in our presence! The mighty hand of God did not overlook our sin, but provided a covering for our nakedness and created another plan to redeem us. God’s love for us was not compromised or diminished as ours so often is for others! “Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” Psalm 36:5 According to NASA:  “The Exosphere is the upper limit of our atmosphere. It extends from the top of the thermosphere up to 10,000 km (6,200 mi).” The extent of God’s love reaches higher than that! We need to get a visual of that in our minds! “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” Psalm 145:3 My mind is blown away with that astonishing concept!

Photo by distinguished NC photographer Alan Ostmann

The resilient factor of God’s love is a fascinating notion to me. When I was in college I remember being intrigued by the concept of resilient fabric. According to the Free Dictionary the word resilience is defined as: “The ability to recover quickly from illness, change or misfortune. The property of a material that enables it to resume its original shape or position after being bent, stretched or compressed.” You can take certain fabrics and knot them and fold them up into a ball and they will recover their original shape. God’s love is likewise resilient to perfection! “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.“ Ephesians 2:4-5 God could have said: "Adam and Eve are too high maintenance for me and not worth the effort." Since God’s character is rich in mercy and rich in love He responded with incredible grace!

          Sometimes life seems to result in disappointment and failure, but God’s love never fails or disappoints. Dreams, relationships, marriages, careers, and plans often fall short of our visions. “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 That’s what true love from God looks like. The good news is “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13 Our fellowship with God is beyond astounding and worthy of our praise!  I am so grateful that I can claim this verse:

 “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 Be encouraged by God’s ultimate love that still moves mountains for his beloved people! My prayer is that our love will be resilient as well!

Photo by FL photographer William Trausneck 

More Gratitude Not Attitude Spotlights God’s Genuine Ambassador by Babs Kincaid

More Gratitude Not Attitude Spotlights

 God’s Genuine Ambassador

by Babs Kincaid

It was time for a renewal trip to Islamorada, Florida Keys and I wanted God to bless every minute of my magical getaway trip with a dear sister in Christ. I love, love, love going to this tropical oasis! My mind, body, and spirit needed recharging. I wanted God’s presence and blessings on the trip so I earnestly invited Him to have His way in all of it. “In his presence is the fullness of joy.” Colossians 3:17 I wanted God to dwell in the center of it. I also intensely prayed for God’s insight. Additionally, I asked God, “What do I need to work on while I am away?” God always nails it when you ask Him for guidance! I heard a quiet voice say to me, “You need more gratitude and less attitude!” Wow, God went straight to the point, He didn’t sugar coat it! I knew He was right! “I will praise the Lord who counsels me.” Psalm 16:7 I was already pumped up for the trip so hearing from God was the sparkling inspiration that I needed! Sometimes life gets so challenging and heavy, I lose my focus and forget who I am. Duh! I am a child of God living in a foreign place on a journey to my Heavenly home! “But our citizenship is in Heaven.” Philippians 3:20a Yea God!

My mind and heart needed a tune-up to be more thankful and less fault finding! I have a plaque in my home which reads “Count your blessings” and I purposed on my trip to start doing that more often. Knowing that God gave me His wisdom for my benefit and not for my discouragement made me very thankful! I purposed to look for things to say thank you God and dismiss things that made me angry, bitter and resentful! “Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.” Hebrews 13:15 Frances Frangipane once said, “The thankful heart sees the best part of every situation.” That sounds like Jesus to me! Harry Ironside said, “Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” My favorite quote is this one by Andrew Murray “Thanksgiving will draw our hearts out to God and keep us engaged with Him; it will take our attention from ourselves and give the Spirit room in our hearts.” That is how I want to live so thankful in my heart that I am drawn to God and deeply engaged with Him!

Faro Blanco Lighthouse, Islamorada, Florida Keys

I knew this trip to the Keys was a gift from God! “For every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” James 1:17 Someone near and dear to me who wished to remain anonymous paid for my lavish lodging, meals, and expenses! Since I am a single mom with a modest job, such a luxury trip would be out of the question! God so often uses humble people and generous people to bless me to the moon and back! Yea God! It was pure joy to be on island time and be laid back and chill out! It was pure bliss to not be stressed or in a hurry! It was purely delightful to be able to listen to a live musician playing Jimmy Buffet music, with an ocean breeze while eating delectable food! Now you know you can’t go to the Keys and not eat some divine Key Lime pie! Yes, I did eat some Heavenly pie! It was an impressive gift and a Heaven drop mile marker forever in my life!

Even great composers have been characterized by reflecting more gratitude and less attitude. Patrick Kavanaugh in his book “Spiritual Moments with the Great Composers” told the story of Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn. “His joyful attitude was not the result of a life free of obstacles. He was born in poverty, had a difficult marriage, and worked hard to make a living, yet he never let trying circumstances darken his enthusiastic nature or weaken his faith.”  “Blessed are those who acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long;” Psalm 89:15-16a I want to be able to shake off the negative circumstances and people and rejoice in God’s presence each day!

Sometimes I need a wake-up call from God when I become complacent and just forget my calling and purpose in life. I forget I am an ambassador for Christ and here to shine a light that reflects my Heavenly Father! I get hung up in the worldly call to just do my own thing and murmur when things don’t go my way! One of my favorite Bible verses is “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.” Isaiah 60:1 So it’s time for you and me to shine because our light has come and the glory of the LORD is on us!

Now is our Time to Shine

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Help God, I have a hole in my heart from grief” by Babs Kincaid

Photo by distinguished NC photographer Alan Ostmann

Tears came like a flood that day I refused to be ready for. My precious mom had been promoted to Heaven. She had died peacefully in her sleep in our home. Thank God for that miracle! She had been the rock of our family and the holy matriarch.  She was the one who gave us all Godly counsel and maintained a sense of humor at the same time. At her memorial, one of her dear friends told the story of her telling the EMT’s who came to take her to the hospital after falling, “My you guys have such tight buns!” OMG!!! She always knew there was a time to laugh! She was a spit fire! Betty Boop as she was called encouraged us as a faithful cheerleader. She cleverly called us out when we were drastically off base. But God was ready for her glory days to begin! This verse described my mom’s status: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2Timothy 4:7

          Bittersweet were my mixed feelings of loss and gratitude that my beloved mom who had been a champion of faith was gone. I was happy that her pain and suffering was over. She had prayed boldly and fervently for our entire family and others. I was not happy she wasn’t going to be around to hang out with. I was happy she was at peace and home with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and all the saints. I could smile knowing she would probably volunteer to become the hospitality queen in Heaven organizing all kinds of celebrations! I was her daughter and caretaker for so many years so my attachment to her was great. I had lost a devoted mom and a dear friend who showed me: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6 The hole in my heart was enormous and I felt overwhelmed by it all! I desperately wanted a do-over to go back and revisit so many days and make them better for her! Who wants to part company from “a beloved gift from God!”

My cousin had invited me to come to Asheville, NC to work through my grief.  I thought a change of scenery and new people would help accelerate my healing!  Because I love nature so much I truly believed my healing would greatly improve. The lie I believed was that the same nagging feeling of loss would not travel with me! That was not the case. I had the same reoccurring feeling of loss but a beautiful environment as my motivation to reconcile it! Despite the odds, God as the master genius used the beauty of nature to help heal the ashes of my life! This scripture gave me reassurance of God’s comforting role for those grieving: “to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61:3  A beloved family member generously funded my wild adventure, so I packed my bags and set off blazing a trail to the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains!

Me in front of the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC

The inviting wonderland of all, the Biltmore Estate, home of George and Edith Vanderbilt was where God planted me to work through my healing. My beloved cousin, Cherie Ostmann Behrens had graciously helped me to get a retail job at the 8,000 acre estate. Coming to work at this magical paradise was rejuvenating and uplifting! I was privileged to do prayer walks through formal rose gardens. Once three deer’s crossed my path as I drove through the estate. I also encountered stunning horses, sheep, Canadian geese, turkeys, cows, and farm animals. Meditating and seeking God in this Heavenly setting was awe-inspiring and therapeutic! “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” Isaiah 66:13a

I was radically aware that I now needed God to fill that earthquake hole in my heart with Himself. Nothing else would bring me peace or contentment! I had tried unsuccessfully to medicate with intense shopping therapy, organic muffins and romance movies. I now realized I had to build a stronger relationship with God to navigate the shifting waters ahead of me. I needed to spend more time just talking to God about everything. I needed to dig deep into the scriptures and not just go for a light dip in the scriptures! I needed to trade in my snorkel gear for scuba gear! My time to get more committed to God had begun! It was my time to step out of the boat and be fearless about my new venture. I now had to fully believe God was my lifesaver so I could safely step out of the boat! “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

God directed me to study the Biblical book of Ruth as my first place to study for my healing. I had always thought the book of Ruth was all about romance and finding your true love. On the contrary, I found the book of Ruth was all about handling loss and rebuilding your life. Ruth was all in for God to intervene in her life after suffering the major loss of her husband. Ruth was a foreigner, a Moabite who chose to leave her homeland and follow her mother-in-law to Israel. Ruth made a decision to become better and not bitter after losing her husband. Ruth adopted a new faith in God to help her move forward in life. Ruth resolved to do whatever she could to help herself and her mother-in-law survive a new place. Ruth was not above going in the fields gathering up the left overs so she could put food on their table. Humility became a lifestyle for Ruth. Ruth selected an optimistic and positive approach to life rather than a fearful or regretful one. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Ruth was willing and open to new possibilities and hopeful they would come to pass. Ruth made a decision early on to capitalize on what she had and not on what she didn’t have. Cling to this verse: “hold on to the good.” 1Thessalonians 5:21b as Ruth did as a way of fulfilling life. Boaz, a handsome and wealthy landowner took note of her selfless and faithful lifestyle and said to her: “May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." Ruth 2:12 My prayer is that you would take refuge under God’s wings and let him direct your healing! God wants to take your massive hole and fill it up with hope, that does not disappoint. God wants you to discover you have an incredible purpose as you are wonderfully made to shine His Light!

For a courageous and liberating journey from tragedy to triumph, I highly recommend “180 Your Life” A Woman’s Grief Guide by Mishael Porembski.

http://180yourlife.com/

This book is uniquely heartwarming and practical. You will soar above the storm of grief and fan into flame your life’s mission. It is a must read for any woman dealing with grief!