Tea Talk -- Carried Away

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

I'm having...iced tea with lemon; I'm using my blue goblet.  I'm sitting on my bench in my back yard garden today, enjoying the remaining summer.

I'm feeling...[insert normal response:  fine].  Oh!  I have something different to report here:  I'm excited, sad, a little worried and/or nervous, and happy all at the same time.  Because...

On Monday, my dear sons Jacob (20) and Danny (18) got in the car...

Jacob (right), and Danny (left)

...backed out of the driveway...

...and drove off to college:

They came back later, of course.  Joliet Junior College is just half an hour away.  But they were gone all morning and my house was quiet with just Joseph, Thomas, and I.  I've always said--take one child away, and the noise level declines dramatically.  But having two gone results in a different feel altogether.  This is what it's like when they start to fly away.  I'm glad this learning-to-fly business is happening bit by bit.  :)

On my mind...is a photo shoot I'm going to do tomorrow night for a young Marine recently returned from Afghanistan.  Having married a Navy man, I have experienced a flood of memories as I think about the people in the military, and especially their willing sacrifice as they serve their country.

I leave you with...this passage of Scripture and a thought:

When Jesus came into Peter's home,

He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.

He touched her hand, and the fever left her;

and she got up and waited on Him.

When evening came,

they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed;

and He cast out the spirits with a word,

and healed all who were ill.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES

AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.

Matthew 8:14-17

In our family devotions, the question arose:  Why did Matthew reference the Scripture in Isaiah (chapter 54), which usually generally refers to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross?  And an interesting idea arose in response:  maybe Jesus healed in the physical sense to show the people that He would also heal in the spiritual sense.  After all, He spoke in parables so that the people could understand the spiritual idea behind the physical illustration.  By healing someone physically, He proved that He had the power to heal us spiritually.  He demonstrated this concept later in Scripture (the very next chapter of Matthew) when He forgave someone's sins first, then healed his physical body (cast out demons) afterward.

I am truly thankful that He can physically heal--I have felt His healing touch in my own body at various times.  But I am also truly thankful that He has healed me spiritually.  I am washed clean.  I am whole.  I am His.

Back to life,
Christine

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