Puzzle

Picture a 1000-piece puzzle before it’s assembled, but without a picture on the box.  The first thing you do is put the outside pieces together.  That’s your foundation, so to speak.  As you begin to fit the inside pieces together, you find yourself making little “clusters” of pieces that fit together perfectly.  They become small pictures within the big picture, but it is still not clear what the whole picture looks like.  By looking at the clusters, you might be able to guess how the finished product will look… or you might not.

When we read the Word of God, I’m guessing that more times than not, we read many of the same passages over and over through the years, but neglect reading the whole Bible.  We get in our minds a picture of who God is, but we don’t necessarily see ALL of His attributes or, in other words, the WHOLE picture.  The passages that we read are like the little “clusters” that we find in the puzzle.  We use those clusters when we talk about the Lord.  Each cluster shows us some of His attributes, but we don’t really get a true picture of WHO GOD IS.  We need to put ALL of the pieces together to really understand.

God wants those of us who know Him to share what we know with those who need to hear.  But it doesn't stop there.  If we really love Him, then we should do everything we can to get to know Him better, including reading the Bible from beginning to end, day after day.  Only then will we be able to present Him more accurately to the world.

For the first 38 years of my walk with the Lord, I read the Bible… but not every day.  I could tell you a lot about Jesus, after reading the New Testament over numerous times.  But during that time, I never read the Word from beginning to end.  Then, 2 years ago, I started that journey.  It was amazing what I learned about God that I never knew before!  I not only read, but felt more than ever, the amazing love our God has toward us!  And I began to understand why so many of His people in the Old Testament had to die because of their disobedience, even though He loved them with an everlasting love.  It took me about a year-and-a-half to get through it all, reading every single day.  And I will continue on as I have started, because I know what it’s done for my life.

It takes time and effort to fit pieces of a puzzle together, but in the end you’re left with the beautiful picture it has created.  So it is with reading God’s Word, but you don’t have to wait until the end to see in a better light who God is.  Every day that you read, He will reveal more and more of Himself to you.  What might start as an effort, will eventually become pure joy…

Remembering Mama Bernice...

As I said yesterday, my inspiration for drawing closer to the Lord came from my husband’s mom, Bernice Wilson Wimberly.  She and I would have lively discussions about scripture–she knew the Bible so well!  In fact, when she and I were in the middle of one of our discussions (even if it was in a restaurant), we would hardly acknowledge that anyone else was there. Nobody seemed to mind, though.

Most of the last 2 weeks of her life were spent in the hospital in a coma. I felt so connected to her that the only way I could really get through this time was to write poetry about her and about what our family was going through.

This poem was written 10 days before her passing…

Remembering Mama Bernice

In Holly Springs, Mississippi,

A baby girl arrived.

The firstborn of two sisters,

So glad to be alive!

She grew to be a woman

And soon became a wife.

Along came five small children,

Who were the joy of her life!

She taught them about Jesus,

To love and respect His Word.

And through her prayers and teaching,

They came to know the Lord.

A student of the scriptures,

Well-versed in all she read.

She loved to share what she had learned

And all that Jesus said.

Her memory for scripture

Could rival any pastor.

She could quote the chapter and the verse

If anybody asked her.

She had the sweetest temperament;

Her laughter made you smile.

When one would imitate her voice

We’d laugh for quite awhile!

She loved to sew and do her crafts

And occasionally did mending.

To make things for her family

Would give her joy unending.

She loved her crossword puzzles, too,

She’d do them every day.

They challenged her to use her mind

In an entertaining way.

Her poetry blessed those she knew,

The verses set in rhyme.

She spoke of what was dear to her heart

Each and every time.

Music was something she dearly loved;

Joy it would always bring.

The song, “Because of Who You Are”

Was what she loved most to sing.

She sang with her sister and family

Hymns from the ”good ol’ days,”

And she’d worship the Lord with her whole heart

As she sang the songs of praise.

And, oh, how she loved her family!

She’d do anything for each one!

Unconditional love which I witnessed

As I found this same love in her son.

I know that she was my mother-in-law

But more like my mama was she.

I loved her as if she were my own blood,

And she felt the same way about me.

About this dear, sweet lady

I could just go on and on.

And though we’ll nevermore see her here,

She’ll never be really gone.

She will be with her Lord and Savior,

Whom she waited her whole life to see.

He will say, “Enter in, precious daughter.

You have served me so faithfully.”

Each day as I think about Mama

And how much she has meant to me,

I’ll remember that one day we’ll meet again

Where we’ll live for eternity!

Lisa Marea Hare Wimberly  

Written August 7, 2011

The Beginning of the Journey...

I have created this blog as a means of sharing the thought-provoking  poems that the Lord has been giving me over the past few years…  Some of these poems have been published in my book called, My Heart Makes Its Home in a Faraway Land, that came out in March of 2014 (which is available through Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and Outskirtspress.com).  I will be including some of them here, because I feel a constant urgency for as many as possible to read and hear what, I feel, comes from the heart of God. The Day is drawing near, and so many need to wake up to the fact that the Lord is coming back soon.  We don’t know when He will return for His own, but He has called me to do my part in sharing His love and His Word with those who will hear…

This part of my spiritual journey began as my mother-in-law lay in the hospital in Elkhart, Indiana… just days before going home to meet her Lord Jesus, whom she had been serving for over 60 years of her life.  Even though I knew her for only four short years, during that time she inspired a longing in me to know my Lord better and to draw closer to Him.  As a result, my Father in heaven began pouring into me words that became poems and songs…

Although the following is not the first of those poems, it is probably my most favorite, because I identify with it more than with any of the others.   I hope you will go with me on my journey to the end…

My Heart Makes its Home in a Faraway Land

My heart makes its home in a faraway land,

Not seen with the human eye.

I enter that place when I start to pray,

Where my Lord is so very close by.

He takes me out of this present world

And fills my heart with peace.

He takes me to places beyond the clouds

Where my cares and my worries must cease.

I can bring to this land everyone that I love,

As I lift them to Him in prayer.

I know that He’ll touch all those precious to me,

For the answers are always found there.

Sometimes I just want to stay in this land,

Where God’s presence is so real to me.

But He wants me to go tell this world that He loves

That in Him they can also be free.

He says I can come anytime to this place,

For He waits for me night and day.

And He says I can stay for as long as I want,

When I open my heart and pray.

My heart finds its rest in this faraway land,

This place that is truly my home.

When I go through the pain that the world has to give,

He reminds me I’m never alone.

Lisa Marea Hare Wimberly

Written January 2, 2012