Letter Thirty-Eight on Trust

 THIRTY-EIGHT on Trust

My Dear Child:

This is a hard letter for me to write, but this is important.

Faith doesn’t come with a guarantee.

If you know much about me, you know I am all about faith. It’s been that way since the beginning.

I told Adam and Eve they could eat of every tree in the garden except for one. I gave them a stern warning to avoid the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. I hoped that they would take it by faith that I meant what I said. That is a dangerous tree and I wanted them to avoid it at all costs.

But they failed the faith test. They chose their own way and took from that tree.

I wanted faith. They wanted selfish desires.

The fruit on that tree looked very enticing, and I knew it would open a door that could never be closed again. I hoped they would take it by faith and obey when I said leave that one alone.

Faith is all about trusting me when you don’t see things clearly or have all the facts. Sometimes I want you to stop, sometimes I want you to lean out, or jump over the edge. You can’t always see the other side, but I want you to have faith in me.

Faith doesn’t come with a guarantee.

I’ll always allow you to make your own choices. If you want to open a forbidden door, you surely may. You won’t always like what’s on the other side, but I’ll let you open it if you choose.

I care and that is precisely why I put up some “Do Not Enter” signs along the way.

I can handle whatever comes your way ... today, tomorrow... forever. Just trust me with a little bit more of your life.

God,

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Letter Thirty-Seven "Do I Matter?

THIRTY-SEVEN

Do I Matter?

Dear Child:

I hear your cry. You wonder if anybody cares. You feel empty, abandoned, and alone.

You cry out, “Do I Matter?”

Let me wrap you in my arms. Listen as I whisper words of calm. “Yes, you matter. I am God, and you matter to me.”

I know where you are every moment of the day. I never lose track of you.

I never take my eye off you.

“Do I matter” you ask?
My precious child, yes, you do matter.

As long as you take a breath you shall matter. Your significance is not diminished simply because of your age. You are, therefore you are significant.

You are someone important. 

Someone of value

Someone of worth
Someone with skills and a destiny

Someone worth knowing
You are valued simply because you exist. “DO I MATTER” you ask?

Yes, you certainly do. You matter!!! 

Your God of Compassion 

Letter Thirty-Six - From God

 THIRTY-SIX

My Dear Child:

This is the season of grief in your life. Everyone goes through this at some point and now perhaps it is your time.

I want to say some things to you about this time in your life.

This loss you are experiencing will pass in time. That may be a difficult thought for you, but it is true.

Meanwhile, know this.
I am here. I am with you in the middle of your grief. 

I AM HERE!

I’ve never abandoned you.

Shed tears if you like.
Talk with a trusted friend or advisor. They are there to help you as a part of my plan. Reach out to one if you will.

And hold onto this thought: “Do not fear. I am with you; I am your God, so do not be shaken. I will give you strength and I will help you. You are held by my righteous right hand.”

Your God of Strength,

P Michael Biggs

Hope Encouragement Inspiration

Letter Thirty-Five - From God

 Letter THIRTY-FIVE

From The Letters by P Michael Biggs

Dear Child:

I am all about simple things, and I want simple from you.

   Simple prayers. 

         Simple conversations. 

               Simple thoughts.

You don’t have to use big sounding words or holy sounding phrases. Just be you.

I’m not impressed with fluff. I don’t like a lot of high-minded blabber or lofty sounding words.

Just be yourself. Be true to the nature I have put within you already.

Even if you can’t utter the words, I still understand. I know your thoughts. I know everything about you. I love you, just as you are.

Your words are important, but your attitude is what I consider most. Just be you. Come to me just as you are.

Simple is beautiful. 

God,

From:

Thoughts on Prayer

 Thoughts on Prayer

And what about prayer?

What is prayer all about and how do you do it properly?

If you’ve ever tried to pray, perhaps you have your stories of struggle, of staying awake until the “amen” and of making a coherent string of thoughts in prayer so that God is pleased with you, and you get a gold star for the day because of your prayer.

Hmmm. Consider this:

“Just patch a few words together 

and don’t try to make them elaborate. 

This isn’t a contest but a doorway 

into thanks, and a silence in which 

another voice may speak.” 

Mary Oliver – Poet

Mary was not a theologian nor a biblical scholar. She was in touch with life in her own way as a poet and writer.

However, I think she was onto something with this quote.

Praying is not a contest to see who can pray the most eloquent thoughts, or the most beautiful phrases or string together the perfect synonyms for creative thoughts on God.

Praying is based on sincerity, humility, and intent of the heart.
I love Mary’s analogy of prayer as a “doorway into thanks”. Simple thanks.

Ann Lamont wrote once that “‘Help’ just might be one of the most profound prayers ever uttered.

When the burdens are heaviest, when the way is darkest, when the mind is cluttered with too much information or not enough of a sense of God, then perhaps “help” is the most appropriate prayer we can pray.

I’ve used that one a few times in my life.

Perhaps you have too.

I have some mulling to do on Mary’s last thought.

“And a silence in which another voice may speak.”

Silence. Isn’t that one of the eight deadly sins of the church? We can’t sit still and silent for too long for fear that half of the congregation will fall asleep.

Ah, what if we use that silence as a true tuning in time? What if God wanted to say something to us and was waiting for us to simmer down, hush up, and quite yakking long enough to whisper an important thought into our minds?

Now, wouldn’t that be something.
That’s the kind of praying to which I can relate. It goes like this.

Come in, with no agenda, no prepared speech (prayer) and no worries about what I am going to say and no fear that I’ll say the wrong thing or leave out someone or something for which I should pray. Whew.

And then, in the stillness, the quiet quieter than quiet, what if God whispered to you and me? What if He started with something simple like, “Hey you. I love you.”

That would really be something.

A real, honest-to-goodness God-moment.

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration