When God says STOP

This food art for my Project Mom Recuperation takes some imagination. It is a lion. March comes in like a lion....you know. And it has, at least here in NY. A roaring, ferocious lion that likes to make people WANT to be devoured because they are so unbearably COLD. I think it warms up tomorrow, the day I intend to leave my Mom to finish her surgery healing on her own. I hope there aren't setbacks when the whimsical breakfast and lunches go home with me. I wish I were two people so one could stay with my folks to continue to help, and one could be hugging my family and dogs back in NC. It is one of the allures of heaven -- all who have put their faith in Jesus will be reunited, never to part again. Doesn't that sound awesome?

I went to cross-country ski yesterday and for the first time in the three weeks I have been here, had to give up. The frigid weather had hardened the top layer of snow into a sheet of ice. Had I skied more than the three feet I attempted, I would have been the one in ICU with Mom making the whimsical breakfasts. Disappointed, I unlatched my skis and walked home.

Sometimes, that's how it goes. You have great plans, all the right skills and equipment and motivation, but conditions just don't go your way and you fail. It is wise to know when it is best to just accept what you can't do, and find something that you can. God could have you succeed in anything, so when it is clear a roadblock is in place, He is probably directing you elsewhere for a reason.


There are multiple times in the Bible when that truth is played out. For example, Acts 16 is a powerful proof that God blocks us at times for His purposes:
⁶ Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. ⁷ When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. ⁹ During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Paul had to have been confused. Why would God block him from preaching the Gospel? I don't think anyone really knows...except God. Part of the faith walk and the struggle is knowing when God is blocking something, and to obey. This requires discernment. Sometimes trials and hurdles are NOT roadblocks but refining fires we are meant to go through, not avoid and turn away from. 

How do we know which it is? God saying Stop or God saying Go With My Help?

The deeper your relationship with God, the easier it is to discern, but it is often still difficult. At such times,I pray my "2 by 4 prayer": Lord, if this is not the path you want me to take, bang me over the head with a 2 by 4, cause I'm not hearing clearly. (I don't mean a physical 2x4...but a metaphorical one that will cause me to know without a doubt where I am supposed to go.) In general, if I don't hear His clear direction to STOP, I keep GOING.

But the icy snow was a clear Stop.

So instead,  I went home and made this scrumptious meal in the photo below for my folks for dinner. It is Tuna Casserole from an ancient cookbook Mom had. We all loved it, especially the extra dose of sherry on top. The oven roasted fresh broccoli was yummy too. She ate every bit of it.