faith

Naomi’s Daughters

/ Carol Underhill / Leave a comment

I’ve posted much about the loss of my husband which is going on 15 years this August. Feels more like 8 years. But God has brought healing through the grief. I have wonderful memories of my husband but the pain of losing him is almost gone. It creeps up on me during the annivesary dates, and I struggle emotionally for a few days around that time, but it doesn’t weigh on me every day.

We started a support group for widows specifically and call it Naomi’s Daughters. The Naomi of the Bible lost her husband and sons and the Bible tells us she was bitter. The pain that accompanies such a tremendous loss is crushing and it is far too easy to let bitterness grow roots.

I’ve come through my loss without bitterness. My faith has grown and the Grace of God has sustained me through it all. I’m not an expert on grief, but today I share some thoughts on what has made a difference for me.

The path through grief is not the same for everyone but the emotions that go along with it are shared by many. I will focus on these two today:

Anger: God can handle our anger. Like an earthly father, He has broad shoulders. We can pound on his proverbial chest in our anger and grief. But we don’t stay in that emotional state. We release our anger, and we lean into him. We allow His presence and His love to wrap us up and embrace us and hold us until our tears subside. This doesn’t happen once, or even a dozen times. As often as anger fills us, we seek our solace in our Heavenly Father.

Loneliness: The loneliness is unbearable at times. We have traveled through life with our dearest companion and now they are no longer with us. No matter the ages of our children, we will spend much time alone with our thoughts and with our grief. What do I do when I feel so lonely I don’t think I can go on? I cry out to Jesus, sometimes silently, sometimes out loud. I play music that lifts up my spirit. There are songs for every mood available on music apps. I have several playlists that help me through those hard times. And in those times, my heart becomes settled again. I have peace.

Again, why Naomi’s daughters?

We too have suffered the loss of our husbands, (or spouses, or children).

But we don’t have to allow that bitterness to take root.

We can unleash our anger in our Father’s presence and lean into Him for comfort. We remember that God is our Heavenly Father, that He is always with us, and that He has a plan for our lives that we cannot comprehend. He is faithful. He will bring about good in our lives. We don’t understand why we lost our loved one, and for me, I will never fully understand it this side of heaven. The grief looks like the underside of a cross stitched pillowcase my mom made for me. It’s a tangled mess of threads, snarls. But the upper side is beautiful. When I make it to heaven one day, I’ll look back on my life and I will see the beautiful picture God has woven through all the moments of my life.

We can cry out to Jesus in our loneliness. He understands our loneliness. We remember places in Scripture where Jesus sought comfort from his Father in heaven. He knew loneliness even when surrounded by people. He knew despair. He cried out to God in the garden and accepted God’s purpose for his life. He endured the lonely death on the cross because he knew the glory that awaited him in heaven. Jesus longs to walk this road through grief with us. We are never truly alone.

Reaching for Light: Lessons from My Cat Ash

/ Carol Underhill / Leave a comment

Warning: If seeing a cat on top of a table offends you, you should not read this post.

However, if you own a cat, you know that sometimes, despite our valiant efforts to stop them, cats will jump up on tables, counters, shelves, every available space in your house at some point.

This is Ash. Born to a feral cat in our garage a few years ago, we at first called her the Tiny Terror. You can get an idea as to why when you look at this photo of her perched on top of our dining room table.
Although she is older and less active now, I absolutely love this photo.

As you can see, her paw is lifted high as if she is trying to touch the light above her.

Does that remind you of anything?

It reminds me of the words in the following Scripture verses:

Phillipians Chapter 3.

v. 10: I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…

v. 12: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 

v. 13-14: Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

And this verse from Colossians Chapter 3:

v. 1: If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

Like Ash is reaching for the light above her, I reach for the light that is in Christ above. My goal is to know God more and to be more like Jesus. To love like Jesus did in this dark and troubled world.

Before I can lift up my hands to him, I have to let go of the weight that is holding me down. The chains of shame, guilt, bitterness, all of those feelings we’ve held in our heart because of things that we’ve done, or that have been done to us.

We can lay our burdens down and lift up our hands in worship and praise.

This song has come to mind often the past few days, so I’m posting the link to the YouTube lyrics video below.

“In the Secret, in the Quiet Place.”

Embracing God’s Invitation: A Reflection on Isaiah 55

/ Carol Underhill / Leave a comment

To start the first Sunday of the year 2025 right, I opened the Bible to read some verses today. This passage came to mind from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Isaiah 55.

What a blessed piece of Scripture!

It illustrates so beautifully what a relationship with God looks like.

Isaiah 55:3 – Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you…

In the words of this verse, God invites us into fellowship with Him.

Does the thought of a relationship with God make sense to you?

How can a mortal being, a human who was formed from dust and will return to dust after death, be connected to the Creator of their very being?

How can we have a relationship with an unseen God?

And why would we want a relationship with a God who often appears unjust – allowing good people to die too young and wickedness to rule on this earth?

God’s response to those questions?

Isaiah 55:8 – For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

Who is this word, the Lord, referring to?

If you are unfamiliar with God as the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, this reference might be unclear to you. That is a topic for a different time.

Having heard the word all of my growing up years through now, I understand what the Lord means for me, personally, and that the Lord refers to Jesus, the Son of God. Yes, the same one whose birth we celebrated at Christmas. And whose resurrection we will celebrate in a few months.

Although I understand Jesus is Lord, I was unsure of a good way to explain it. I googled the term, and these are some key points I discovered:

Why is Jesus called, “Lord?”

Authority: Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). He is the head of the church, the ruler over all creation, and the Lord of lords and King of kings (Col. 1:15-18; Rev. 3:14, 17:14). 

Obedience: Jesus humbled himself and obeyed God all the way to death on the cross. God exalted him for his obedience and gave him the supreme name in the heavens. 

Religious significance: In antiquity, “lord” was a courtesy title for social superiors, but it also had religious significance because kings were often considered divine beings 

Now we understand who the Lord is. Most if not all of you have heard the concepts, born again, becoming a Christian, accepting Jesus as our Savior. Those are ways to say that we acknowledge that we are sinners, that Jesus took our sins upon himself when he died on the cross, and that He is alive today. We repent of our sins and invite Jesus into our hearts. We ask Him to be our Savior.

We also acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our lives.

What does that phrase mean?

In the same Google search, the following was said:

Submission: By calling Jesus “Lord”, we submit to God’s rules and trust him to give us what is best.

Wait a minute!

Hold the phones! (Does that phrase make any sense with today’s technology? Probably not)

Calm down. The word Submission is not meant in a physical sense here. The word has many connotations, many of them negative. Those are topics for another day (And way above my limited education.)

Because the word Submission has so many meanings, it’s important to recognize the Biblical concept as described here:

Submission: By calling Jesus “Lord”, we submit to God’s rules and trust him to give us what is best.

Rules?

Who needs more rules, right?

We’ve been given rules to live by since we were tiny earthlings. First our parents (or caregivers), give us the rules for what we can eat, what we can touch, where we can go. Then in school, our teachers and other professionals add to those rules. Some may come us a surprise to us. (What, we’re not allowed to bite when we get angry? a child may discover after he bites a classmate.)

Did you know that you have the right to say “no”? God has given us what is called free will. He will allow us to do and say anything, but sometimes there might be consequences for our actions and words. Natural consequences, when what we do causes harm, or punishment from the authorities.

From a very early age, we learn that we can say “no” to authority. Our free will is exercised from the time a parent says to a toddler, “don’t touch that” and the toddler looks the parent right in the eye, and touches “that.”

In general, by the time we are an adult, we are tired of following everyone else’s rules. We want to be our own authority, the boss of our own life. “No one is going to tell me what to say or do.” (Hello, do you have a boss on your job? Big eye-opener.)

God’s given us free will, which means we do not have to accept Him as our Lord and Savior. We can say “no” to God’s invitation to call on Him.

When you feel the tug on your heart to make Jesus the Lord of your life, you don’t have to respond to it. You can ignore those nudges and live life your own way. But it’s clear from the verses above that God calls us to Him.

This brings us back to my original question. Why would we want a God who often appears unjust – allowing good people to die to young and wickedness to rule on this earth?

There are many arguments for why God is not a good God. Some would say He is not the God of love that He portrays Himself as in the Bible. But that’s not the way I believe.

So how can you know for sure that God is who the Bible says He is?

There’s this little thing called faith. It might only be as small as a mustard seed, but that bit of faith is all you need to recognize who God truly is. The Creator, the Heavenly Father, the God of grace and mercy. When you feel the nudge on your heart to make Jesus your Lord, you are given enough faith to say Yes. Faith is believing in the unseen God.

A relationship with God grows from that tiny seed of faith. Every time you read or hear the Bible preached, you learn more about the love and Grace of God. For me, I hear it in the words of every song I listen to and try to sing. I love both the old hymns with their antiquated, poetic words, and the contemporary songs we worship with today. (I’ve been known to have a song for every mood. My playlists will confirm that.)

Even with faith, we still question why God allows terrible tragedies and sins to happen. I would be lying if I said if I always understood the why’s.

I, for one, will never totally comprehend why my husband died in a tragic work accident in the prime of his life. Why God would leave my children fatherless and me without the rock of support that he was for me.

Isaiah 55:9: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts,” (declares the Lord).

Do I trust that God has a purpose in losing Pat? Our loss was Heaven’s gain, and Pat received his eternal reward much earlier than most of his family and friends.

The Bible says in Romans 8:

Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

For me, good things have come out of my tragic loss. I have a deeper faith in God than I did in August 2010. God has shown himself to be a loving Father. He has sent people to help me and given me a clearer understanding of what His will is in my life. He has proven to me that He is a God of grace and second chances.

Could he have done this another way, other than with Pat’s death?

Yes, because He is God.

But again, His ways are higher than my ways, His thoughts higher than my thoughts.

Just like I couldn’t envision Pat’s death at an early age, I can’t see the big picture of how my life is going to turn out. Like the underside of one of my mom’s embroidered artpieces, what I see down here on earth are snarls that don’t make any sense sometimes.

Yet I trust God with all my heart, with all the faith that is within me, that when I get to the other side, when I pass from this life and enter heaven, I will see the whole picture, and it will be beautiful.

Won’t you trust Him today to be the Lord of your life?

God gives you this invitation in Isaiah 55:6

Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon Him while He is near.

The End Goal

/ Carol Underhill / Leave a comment

Our Detroit Tigers worked hard playing baseball but didn’t quite make it to their goal.

On the other hand, our Detroit Lions are consistently winning their football games after many years of living with defeat.

Football and baseball players invest their lives in the sport and work hard towards the goal of winning championship titles.

I never liked playing sports. I couldn’t hit, throw or catch a baseball. The one time I played backyard football I didn’t realize when the quarterback threw the ball to me I couldn’t throw it to someone else. Everyone was running towards me, and I wanted to get the ball out of my hands.

Could I have become better with more practice?

Maybe I could have, but you never know. I didn’t try.

My goal in school wasn’t to play on sports. No, it was to write stories that other people could read.

I attended college with an eye on journalism. I got sidetracked when I went on to Mexico to study, then returned a few years later to teach.

My goal at that time was to become a mission–or rather, a Missus. I had my eye on the prize, wanting to become a bride. When my husband came into my life, I got caught up in a whirlwind of romance and married him nine months later. (No regrets).

Now my goal became to have children. So a year and a half after our wedding, our first child was born, then a year and a half after that, our daughter. (No regrets).

Okay, a boy and a girl. A few years later, we made the choice to try for one more, and successfully became a family of 5. (No regrets).

Then my husband passed away while my older two were teenagers and youngest only ten.

Now we were a broken family circle.

I felt defeated. Lost and confused. Angry and trying not to question God. My husband used to say, we’re all going to die sometime. But why him, why now?

And how could I possibly go on without him?

One day at a time.

One song at a time played in those moments when I needed the extra words.

Time after time of crying out to God in my loneliness and heartache.

I got up each morning, got the kids off to school, took the dog out in the yard.

Yet daily I struggled with grief compounded by mental health issues.

Over time it became apparent that I needed help to get to a better place in life.

I found that help. I stuck with it, worked hard on the things I could change and got back into church.

Today I am coping with life better than I thought I ever would. I have minor setbacks and defeats, but overall I am in a good place.

My goal is back to writing stories, where I first began in high school. Fortunately, none of those are still in existence. One time on a whim, I tossed them all in the dumpster. (No regrets).

What are some of my other goals today?

To maintain a purpose in life. To work hard and support myself financially.

To love my kids without reservation and to make good memories with them.

To encourage others who are on various paths in life and judge them not.

My end goal?

To meet Jesus and finally learn the answers to all the questions I’ve had in this life. To dance for joy in his presence.

Go Detroit Lions! Win big this year.

Meet the Author: Andrea Jo Rodgers

/ Carol Underhill / Leave a comment

Heavenly Rescues and Answered Prayers contains Powerful Stories of Life’s Emergencies.

For more than 35 years, veteran EMT Andrea Jo Rodgers has been helping people in their most terrifying and vulnerable moments—and bearing witness to the miraculous power and handiwork of God.

In this new collection of unforgettable stories, Andrea shares more heart-pounding accounts of rescues and interventions from her vast experience as a first responder. Whether it’s a boy fallen through thin ice into freezing water, an old woman and her walker stuck at a railroad crossing, or a loyal dog playing guardian angel for his incapacitated owner, join Andrea as she responds to incredible scenarios that testify to God’s power and love.

Not only will you be astounded by the courage exemplified by Andrea and other first responders, but you will also be inspired by her faith, empathy, and hope—even amid the most daunting circumstances. These powerful stories will encourage you and deepen your awe for God’s amazing mercy and grace.

Meet the Author: Andrea Jo Rodgers.

Andrea, thank you for joining me today. Tell us a little about yourself.

I am the kind of person who always keeps busy, and writing is something I enjoy in my scarce free time. I’m a happily married mother of two, and family means everything to me. I enjoy working as a physical therapist, and I specialize in pelvic floor rehab, oncology rehabilitation, lymphedema, osteoporosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). I love serving my community by volunteering with my local EMS squad as an emergency medical technician. I’ve been volunteering since high school (over 9,700 rescue calls), and now I’m blessed to be answering calls with my twins, who are also volunteer EMT’s.

Are you a night owl or morning person?

I am most definitely a morning person, which is a good thing, because I have to be at work by 6:30AM. I am high energy all day (I seriously don’t even drink caffeine), but I am ready for bed by 9:30PM. However, when I respond to  multiple nighttime emergency first aid calls with my rescue squad, I am sometimes a little sleepy the next day!

Do you reward yourself when a book is finished? If so, what is your favorite treat?

Well, to be honest, I don’t wait until my book is finished. Chocolate is my favorite treat during the writing process! In my opinion, there’s nothing like a crème filled chocolate to keep the creative juices flowing.

I agree. Chocolate is a great energy boost.

Are you part of a writing group?

I was briefly a part of a writing group in the past but had to give it up because there are simply not enough hours in the day between working, writing, caring for my family, and volunteering with my first aid squad.

Who was the first person you allowed to read your completed book?

My husband and sister are the first ones to read my books. They are a great support system, and I feel blessed to have their input.

Do you have a favorite author or book?

My favorite author is Jane Austen. I have read Pride & Prejudice many times, and I can never resist re-watching the 1995 BBC version.

What book or author has inspired you the most?

As a child, I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the books by James Herriott, which relate true stories from his experiences as a veterinarian. Currently, my family and I are watching the series All Creatures Great and Small, which is based on his books.

What’s next for you as an author?

Right now, I’m working on a book about healthy aging, drawing on my experience and knowledge as a Doctor of Physical Therapy. I also have several  short stories being published by Guideposts.

Andrea, thank you for being my guest today. Where can readers find your book:

https://amzn.to/46U4JZs

Where can readers find you?

www.andreajorodgers.com.

https://www.facebook.com/AndreaJoRodgers/

and amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Andrea-Jo-Rodgers/author/B00SAAQM18?isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true