Happy New Year!

How do you like my logo?

I got a Pro to create this for me. I want to encourage others to find harmony in their lives, even with the hard times. Purple colors indicate fibromyalgia and chronic pain. blues indicate endurance.

I wrote a devotion for a course this past summer. I’m not sure how many were in the class (a lot) but I was one of 8 that is having their devotion published on the Flourish Writers website. I believe it should be the introductory piece for my book.

The Day the Music Died

Tears streamed down my face as strangers forced my precious piano out the door and onto a removal truck. The piano was a dear friend, giving me release from all the stresses of life. Dragged from parsonage to parsonage, it had been a true instrument of joy. But now, as the truck faded from view, the ballad of my life faded as in a big decrescendo.  

“God, haven’t you taken enough from me already?”  

My health was in shambles. I could no longer minister to the children at church. And now, my husband and I were leaving pastoral ministry completely, losing home and job. Forced into early retirement, we were doing a severe downsize of home and moving away from the town our children called home. 

No song lingered in my heart; just an unrelenting ache—an emptiness. No joy. No hope.  

God has got this; my head told my heart. He has something amazing in store. Don’t lose hope. 

But my heart only felt the ache of loss.  

I wondered if Naomi felt like this as she picked up her few belongings and returned to Bethlehem. She’d left her home to escape a famine with her husband and two sons. Now, she had come home to Bethlehem, a widow and a grieving mother. Why her daughter-in-law Ruth stayed with her when she left Ruth’s home country of Moab, she did not know.  

 “Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara for I am bitter,” she told everyone upon her return. Her story—and Ruth’s—is captured in the book of Ruth in the Old Testament. 

The name Naomi means “pleasant one” or “beauty.” She saw none of that in her life now. 

She had nothing to bring joy into her life. All was gone. She had no hope. She would have no grandchildren because her sons were gone.  

Did she second-guess every decision she and Elimelech had ever made? Would she find the song in her heart again? 

The same questions probed my mind as circumstances stripped every precious thing from our lives. The staggering losses became a chaotic dirge.  

In our new place of residence, attending church lost its joy as we traded church leadership for pew seats. Nothing felt right. How could we find our song again?  

Still, an occasional harmonious chord would surprise us.  

Our children found their places on the worship team. I found smatterings of joy in hearing my daughter sing. Soon, a flame of romance flickered between my daughter and a young man on the worship team. They were perfect counterparts.  

In their flourishing romance, my joy sparked, slowly filling my life once more through friendships, soon-to-be family, and worship. 

During that dry period in which music seemed non-existent, God led me to blog. I wrote about my chronic pain, which led me to an entire community of Christian pain warriors. Writing grew into devotionals and devotionals into Bible studies. And now . . . a book. 

Occasionally, the church asked me to play the piano. Oh, what joy! I could not practice much because I had no piano, but God had given me the gift of sight-reading music. I also found time to drop by the church occasionally to play piano while my husband had personal business in town.  

Music began to permeate my heart again. 

And then it happened.  

My children had vowed that one day they would put a piano back in my home. Now, seven years later, they purchased a digital piano that would fit into our tiny apartment. What a joy it has been to run my fingers down the black and white keys and to sing, as the psalmist did, a new song in the night. 

God has given me a new song. 

I waited patiently for the Lord;[Text Wrapping Break]And He inclined to me,[Text Wrapping Break]And heard my cry.[Text Wrapping Break]He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,[Text Wrapping Break]Out of the miry clay,[Text Wrapping Break]And set my feet upon a rock,[Text Wrapping Break]And established my steps.[Text Wrapping Break]He has put a new song in my mouth—[Text Wrapping Break]Praise to our God;[Text Wrapping Break]Many will see it and fear,[Text Wrapping Break]And will trust in the Lord. 

Psalm 40:1-3 NKJV 

And what of Naomi? God gave her a new song too! Through events God orchestrated, Ruth married and birthed Obed. Before she knew it, Naomi “took the baby and cuddled him to her breast and cared for him as if he were her own” (Ruth 4:16 NLT). 

The music had never died—for neither Naomi nor me. It just went silent for a while. Perhaps the silence was intended so I could hear the Spirit speaking to me in new melodies.  

Running through the sadness, the grief, the struggle had been a chord of joy.  

God had never let go of me, even when I could not see him at work or hear him above the muddled mess. 

Prayer 

Lord, thank you for never letting go of me. Even in my distress You hear my cry. I know I can trust you. Help me to hear the chord of joy running through the struggles I face.  Thank you for giving me a new song of praise to You. May I never forget Your faithfulness. Amen! 

Mandy 

What’s Next?

I have written a children’s picture book for families with chronic illness within. The title is Soft Hugs for Mommy. We are working on the illustrations for the next bit. I hope to share some of that as it becomes available.

I am also steadily working on devotions for the devotional book, From Dissonance to Harmony. I hope to have that finished in 2024.

Now’s the time to share

If you know anyone with chronic illnesses, please share my page with them. I am also looking for podcasters that would be interested in talking about my books.