Not Forgotten

It's Mother's Day!

I haven't quite been able to articulate my thoughts for a few weeks, but when I realized that today is Mother's Day, I had no trouble thinking of a host of things to say.

First of all, I am very blessed to be the daughter of Suzanne Thomson, one of the greatest mothers who ever lived. Earlier, I was looking at a vase filled with carnations that adorns the buffet in our dining room, and thinking about the generations of Godly women in my family.

My Dad's family lived in this house before we did, so my Grandma was the lady of this house, and she was known for being a prayer warrior. The vase belonged to my Oma, who was a hardworking, Godly Mennonite. My Mother has set an excellent example of following Christ and following the leadership of her husband. Now, three of my sisters have small children, and I am seeing the trends of love and humility continue.

I have to sit back in awe, and thank God for the incredible women in my life. I aspire to follow in their footsteps.

But my Mother's Day thoughts don't end there. I'm reminded that on every occasion for celebration, there is also grief.

I know that there are many people today, grieving the loss of their mothers. My heart goes out to you. I know that there are many mothers today, grieving the loss of their children. My heart breaks for you.

I am a part of a group, (I've mentioned before) that does activism on the streets of Windsor, talking about the truth of abortion. During one of those days, I spoke with a young man who told me that his girlfriend had had an abortion years earlier. Until our conversation, he had never thought of his child as a baby. It was both heartbreaking and amazing to be able to watch him begin to deal with it. It was hard for him to realize what he had done, but he knew if he never faced it, he would never be able to find peace about it.

I know that there are many women who have chosen abortion, because they didn't see another way out of their situation. Some have faced it, as the man I mentioned did, and found closure and restoration. Others have never had the courage to think about it. Some have never told anyone. My heart aches for you.

I can't imagine the grief that would come with the loss of a child, but even more, I can't imagine how hard it would be to bear that grief alone.

This Mother's Day, I want to remember the mothers who feel alone.

Whether you are raising a child by yourself, whether you had a miscarriage, or whether you had an abortion, you are not forgotten. If you feel lonely or hopeless, know that you are not alone, and there is hope!

For all of us, let's become the kind of people that would inspire confidence from those who are facing such a heartbreaking decision like abortion. Let's be the people who will comfort those who are grieving, and who will support those in need. We pray that abortion will become unthinkable in our society, but let's replace the feeling of despair that drives people to it, with an assurance of support that will encourage people to keep their children.

After all, the kind of parents we aspire to be like are the ones who love most.


Just a note: If you are a mother (even if your child/children are not living) and you do feel lonely or you really need someone to connect with, please send me an email! If I feel that I can't relate enough to your situation to truly be able to encourage you, I have friends who have been through really rough circumstances, who would love to be able to listen to your story, and love you.

You can reach me at keturahthomson12@gmail.com

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matt 11:28-29)

A Verse For 365 Days

Happy New Year!

It's a tradition in my family to sit down together on the 1st of January, and learn from my father, who is very wise, and has taught us from very young ages how to plan for our lives.

We have kind of a running joke in my house about three year old and younger kids sitting on the floor, staring blankly at my dad who is explaining assets/liabilities, having zoned out twenty minutes ago. But the truth is, the joke is completely true, that's exactly what happened. Over the years, we learned to sit still, to listen, and to learn.

I have come to really appreciate these family meetings, as I think most if not all of my siblings have.

Rewind to January 1st 2016. I was sitting on the couch during our meeting, and for some unclear reason, I turned to Proverbs.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

I understood just then, that God was giving me this verse for the year, for all of 2016.

That year, it was AMAZING how close to that theme my life stuck. Constantly I went back to it, it corrected me, encouraged me, and comforted me.

On January 1st 2017, I was again sitting on the couch, and I asked God, "Please give me a verse for this year as well."

I turned in my bible, and ended up in Isaiah.

Behold, I will do a new thing. Shall you not know it? I will even make roads in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

To be quite honest, I thought it was a little bit lame at first. It reminded me of those "teenage Christian girl" verses which you would usually see with an Instagram photo, like Jeremiah 29:11.

But I felt convicted about that, so I asked for forgiveness and accepted it. I forgot about it for a while, until my life took a VERY unexpected turn, which made me extremely upset, and all I could see on the horizon was fog. I had no idea where I was going from there. I picked up my notebook one day, read what I had written, and began to understand.

The situation actually changed a number of times, each time I went back to that verse, understanding that God was doing a new thing, and I would know it.

In the end, it changed in such a way that made me...SO happy. But it wasn't finished. It was like God showed me how He was opening the door for a new thing, but He didn't really get it started, or if He did, it certainly wasn't anywhere near finished.

The "roads in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" part, I didn't really understand.

I was praying about it on January 1st 2018, and God pointed out to me that a road is a means to an end. Yes, He said "I will do a new thing," but what does He say the new thing is, at least in metaphor? "ROADS in the wilderness, and RIVERS in the desert."

A road is a way to get somewhere. It is a thing, it's a good thing, but you don't walk on a road for the sake of the road, you walk on a road to get somewhere.

A river is a body of water, but it's not self sufficient. A river comes from somewhere, if you follow it, it will lead you to a much bigger body of water where it came from.

It took me an entire year to understand what God was trying to say through that verse, but I think I get it now. I still don't know what's at the end of the road, or what's at the beginning of that river, but I know that God gave me a road this year, and I will WALK it. I will walk it until God tells me to stop, because He said "Shall you not know it?" And I KNOW that He gave me a road.

So here's what I'm going to say to finish this. Bible verses for the year are SO awesome. If you'd like to, I encourage you to pray for one, and if you have a cool story about it, I'd love to hear it!
It's not always going to be that clear. I have two written down for 2018, maybe God gave me one, or both, or neither, but if I'm totally wrong, anything that causes me to seek the Lord and His purpose for my year more is going to be helpful.

May 2018 hold more knowledge and experience of Jesus for you!



Side note: Guess what? I am going to Mississippi, (God willing) in July 2018! There is a company called Ballet Magnificat which is based there, and they run a dance intensive every year in the summer, which I am planning to go to, but I need some help. My goal is to raise $3,015 by April, so if you would like to help support my trip, you can donate as little or as much as you like HERE.
Thank you!

Let the Weak Say, "I Am Strong."

I wrote this on Wednesday, so it's a few days old, but the truth of it remains. The truth of God always remains.


God ALWAYS comes through.

I've been feeling pretty helpless recently, for a lot of reasons that I won't get into. But this morning, I was just struggling with it again, and praying for help.

I was reading Psalm 70, and praying especially this verse.

“But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.” (Psalms‬ ‭70:5)

I have a few things planned for later today, but I anticipate them being a little bit trying, rather than uplifting. I thought about confiding in someone my troubles, but who? And what could they even do?

Then suddenly, I received a text, from a dear, dear friend. We've been through a lot together, and we have often confided in each other when we needed strength, I trust her.

"Maybe," I thought, "she received some divine inspiration to pray for me, or ask how I'm doing."

But no. Her text was a request for prayer. She was having a rough time too.

My first reaction was sadness, self-pity, I guess, that she was not strong enough for me to lean on. My next that I was not the right person to ask, as I had no strength of my own. But something hit me just then, I realized that I was in the perfect position to pray for her.

As someone who was as weak as she was, we could look together for help from the One whose strength never runs out. Verses suddenly came to mind,

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (II Corinthians‬ ‭12:9‬)

“Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ " (Joel 3:9-10)

The two of us united in prayer, with the Holy Spirit among us, are the strongest possible team, because in our weakness, Christ is strong.

In all the ways I anticipated Him to answer my prayer for encouragement, I never expected it to be through someone who in themselves, could not encourage me. But this is the power of God.

Encourager

My God is an Encourager.

And for this, I am blessed.

Recently I have been wrestling with a lot of discouragement. So I have been praying for some kind of encouragement. In any form really, I'm not picky.

On Friday I went to a craft show to sell bracelets, (if you don't know what that is all about, read 'Bracelets for Ballet' on the right side of the screen) it was a three day show, Friday night, and then Saturday and Sunday.

So the last two days were much like any other show, except a bit slower.

But then today was like a "Hey! You asked for encouragement, you're gonna get it!" kind of day. :D

This may not seem so awesome to you guys just reading this, but to me, it meant a lot.

I met a girl on Friday who told me today that she is a professional dancer. She told me good luck with our bracelets and gave me some contact information and said that she does free dance workshops sometimes if I was interested.

That was super exciting!

And then after that a girl came over and asked where I was planning on taking dance lessons. I told her either the Dance Barre or Academie Ste Cecile, and she said she works at the Dance Barre! How crazy is that?
She bought a bracelet and then continued on her way. A few minutes later I saw her talking with a guy who I assumed was her brother, and in a few seconds he came my way with a five dollar bill in hand.

He came up and said that he doesn't really wear bracelets, so he didn't want to buy anything, but he said he liked what I was doing, and he wanted to support me. "My sister is a dancer," he said, "and for someone to not get lessons...that really hits home for me."

That made me so happy...you have no idea. :)

Talking with these three people really made me realize how many people come by and buy a bracelet just to support us. It makes me really grateful.

I feel like someday if I become a professional dancer, I will be in some interview, and I'll be like, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for God, my parents, etc. etc., and I just want to thank that one guy at a craft show a long time ago who told me never to give up, and that lady at another craft show who told me I was pretty and to keep on going, and that other guy at the same craft show as the lady who gave me twenty dollars!" At this point I will look at the person who is interviewing me, "Can you believe that? TWENTY DOLLARS! For a THREE DOLLAR BRACELET." Then I will keep going, "And that little boy who only had a quarter but he gave it to me so I could take ballet, and that one..." The reporter will probably have to shut me up. I have had so many people that I am so grateful for, who didn't know me, but just felt like blessing me. :)

These people are so encouraging, and I know it is God who used them to encourage me.

He is my Encourager.

He is awesome.

Innocent or Pure?

You know those times when there is something so simple, so plain, but it takes you years to realize, and when you do, it is so profound?

I had one of those moments a few months ago, and it has stuck with me and been really encouraging, so I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you about it.

Here it is, plain and simple, Innocence and Purity are not the same.

I became a Christian when I was twelve. This may come as a surprise to some of you, as I have grown up in a Christian family with Christian morals and may have seemed to have been a Christian for a long time. (I am fourteen, for anyone who didn't know that) When I was twelve, my view of life changed so radically and I was sure of my salvation. Positive. There was no question about it, no more fear, no more doubt, I was saved.

I knew that the only way to be saved was by grace, since waaaaaay before I was a Christian it has been drilled into my head through Sunday school and other places that you cannot be saved by works, that it has to be all God. So I know this. However, sometimes I view myself as still being what I was, sinful, unsaved, imperfect, so I feel that I have to work and be good enough, measure up to God's standard, to be His child.

Have you ever felt that way?

One day I was outside, I don't remember what I was doing, taking garbage out or something like that, and I was trying to convince myself that I don't have to prove myself worthy, and in one moment I nearly lost all hope. That was the moment that Satan decided to take advantage of my moment of weakness and tell me, "You have sinned. It doesn't matter what God does, you will never be innocent. You are innocent when you have done nothing wrong, not when your wrongs have been forgiven. It doesn't matter if you are forgiven, you can NEVER be innocent again."

I turned my face to the sky, I knew God couldn't have lied to me, but this was true, I never would be innocent again. I had sinned.

Then, out of the blue, a verse came to me from the Beatitudes, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matt. 5:8)

I still didn't see the difference, I just sat there and despaired, "I will never see God. I am not innocent. I can never be innocent."

But then words came into my head, "Innocence and Purity are not the same thing."

That simple sentence was all it took for me to realize, God never said 'Blessed are the Innocent.' True, no matter how many times you ask for forgiveness, you will still have your past behind you. The difference is that it does not matter anymore. Because Innocence is what was, while Purity is what is.

When God forgives, He doesn't take you back in time, He gives you a chance to become new, to be pure now. Your identity is not in what you were, or what you did, but in what you ARE.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor. 5:17)