Moving at the Speed of Martha

If you have attended any Adventist University and it’s nearly finals week, you know the drill. You check when your finals are and for any last opportunity that awaits, for you to get your worship credits in before you get fined. Tonight there were countless students with me scanning in for one of the last dorm worships of the semester.

This past week I have not been consistently setting aside special time to authentically get to know my Jesus. I have frantically been rushing around and just need to stop and rest in His grace. Somehow I’ve still been getting chicken-skin (Hawaiian for goose-bumps) at the marvelous miracles that He’s been doing for me, even while I’m moving at the speed of Martha.

God did something beautiful for me tonight and I want to let you in on it. A couple hours ago, I decided to bring my Bible early to worship. I sat down before many people trickled in so that I could have some special time with Jesus. I opened my Bible to Matthew 6:25-34. That is the beautiful passage of Jesus telling us not to worry about anything because when we seek God’s kingdom first, everything else will come along!

I quietly waited to see what God would do next. Everyone got scanned in and the speaker began his message. The message was on the exact passage I had quietly been reading just moments before! At the end of his beautiful testimony about how God holds true and is faithful to us when we seek Him first, he gave us a captivating choice to make. He told us that for our last fifteen minutes of worship credit we could stay for a communion he had prepared or he would scan us out early. He said that he wanted us to make the choice to choose spending special time with Jesus, but to understand that he would not judge us if we decided to leave. He dimmed the lights and put on Heavenly music. Everyone quietly waited as we made our decisions.

I got up out of my seat, walked over to the table set before us, and took hold of the biggest communion bread, and fullest grape juice cup I have ever had! As soon as I went others came along. I sat on the pew, completely surprised at how God had totally reached out to me a million times more than I expected.

Right afterwards I called my younger brother Noah to tell him what God had just done for me. He excitedly said, “You mean you reached out to God, and then He reached out to you?!” His response was so precious and is completely true! God can’t wait to embrace us in His arms! He is crazy about you!

I believe that coincidences happen when God chooses to remain anonymous. One of the sweet songs that I heard tonight sang, “There will always be a place at the table and it won’t be the same till you come home!” Nothing is more satisfying than coming into close contact with Jesus and realizing the encounter! Keep reaching out to Jesus. Leave the worry behind. Stop running like Martha and me. Breathe in the beauty of His love for you.

Being Un-slaved Feels Like Surfing

Honolulu, Hawaii

A poem I wrote during my journey at Union College...

Un-slaved

Take away my itch to be in the niche

Of the very things that made You hang on the crucifix

Create my plate to be evenly balanced with Your taste

Remove my sin based waste and replace my fool's gold look

With Your truth-bearing, sin-tearing, love-bearing book

You say green, I say go and the way I maneuver is with 

You on the steering wheel

We'll never know what gear is best until we surrender our

Will and trust Your tests, remembering to look at the context

As I confess and die daily, You caress my being, suggest what I do next and

Selflessly call me Your princess

You were beaten, but You won

There is no man-made gimmick that can even mimic

The way You saved, un-slaved, and made me whole with Your Holiness!

In His Joys,

Hannah Elise

How God's Itinerary is Better Than the One We Booked

         Today I woke up, checked my flight status, saw that it was cancelled, and confirmed a flight that would depart three hours later. I was not sure what was going on with that and decided to trust that God had a better plan for me. I ended up at the airport for my original boarding time just to make sure my new flight wasn't cancelled too.

         I was informed that I could go be on standby for a flight that would leave in a few minutes. I ran as fast as I could and as I was putting my shoes on after the security check I heard over the loudspeaker, "Two minutes before flight to Detroit departs!" I ran even faster and got in line behind the passengers that had their boarding passes. The Holy Spirit impressed me to get in line behind everyone else instead of in front of the main desk where you negotiate flights, as a small act of faith for how God was going to get me on the plane one way or another.

        

         I calmly told the lady in charge that I was told there was a chance I could come on this flight and be on standby. She said, "Who told you that? That makes me mad! I've got a plane that needs to take off!" I said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you upset. The person at Delta that told me I could try had a nice smile." The lady responded and said, "Let me see what I can do." Another girl came to the front desk and asked if she could come on the plane too. The lady said, "Listen, out of fairness, there isn't time for me to put you both on the plane. The doors are closing. Then on her radio to the pilot she said, flight has all passengers, ready for takeoff."

         I silently stood two feet away from the closed terminal door with both my carry-ons and had a big smile on my face. I knew that even though she was telling me everything that sounded like bad news, there was no reason to doubt that God had a way to get me on that plane, because why else would the Holy Spirit tell me to stand right in front of the terminal door and not behind the front desk? The girl that also wanted to board the plane left immediately and I was still standing there smiling. Then all of a sudden, the lady said, "I'm going to do all I can to get you on this plane. Watch that luggage truck, when it leaves I'll be out of time. As soon as I say go, you run down that terminal and sit in seat 2B!" I said, "Thank you, Ma'am. God bless you!" I ran down the terminal, sat on the plane, and in no time at all that lady who stopped the plane for me came running with the biggest smile as she handed me my connecting flight ticket that I didn’t have time to grab!

The view from my first flight 

         I was excited to see how God was going to speed up my flight from Detroit to Omaha. I thought after all, why would He make a way for me to come to Detroit early without following through with another early connecting flight? As soon as my first flight landed I walked over to the big screen that shows connecting flights. I saw two for Omaha. The first one I saw said boarding! After seeing that the gate was A31, that meant it was time to sprint! I ran through the long tunnel at what felt faster than the speed of light :) 

The long tunnel 

         I finally reached gate A31 and out of breath told the man at the desk, "I'm wondering if there is any chance I can get on this plane, could I be on standby for it perhaps?" After looking at my boarding pass he said, "You're booked for the next flight, not this one. I have two minutes till I shut this gate. I'm not even sure I can get you on, and there will be a $50 fee." I said, "That's okay. I will wait for the next flight. I'll call my dad and tell him." 

        After I hung up the phone with my dad. The man said, "Excuse me young lady, I'm going to do all I can to get you on this plane." Then he handed me my ticket without charging any fee, and he told me to RUN!  I said, “Is there anywhere I can write a recommendation for you?” Shaking his head no and with a huge smile he said, "My name is Taka. I'm always here, have a great trip!" I said, "This is a miracle! Thank you so much! God bless you!"

        

         I ran down the terminal, boarded the plane and am on my way to Omaha. There is an empty seat next to me for a reason. The flight attendant has been listening to me tell her this story and the story of my lifeguarding experience from the previous blog post. She is beaming because she sees how God makes matters marvelous! I can't stop smiling because God opened doors for me that were originally barred closed.

         To recap what just happened: 

1. After getting news that my new itinerary was taking off 3 hours later, God ended up getting me to Lincoln, NE earlier than my original 10 AM flight out of South Bend would have.

2. Two flights were stopped to get me home after both airport workers told me there wasn't any way and one told the pilot to takeoff.

3. God helped me run through the tunnel in two minutes, normally when I’ve timed it takes me twenty!

4. The Holy Spirit impressed me this morning that my flight was going to be arranged, but to trust that God had a better plan than the one I booked.

5. God honored my decision to trust Him, by standing in line without being ticketed for the flight even though it seemed and looked crazy!

         This adventure has given me the courage to meet the faculty and graduate students in University of Nebraska's Speech-Language Pathology Masters Open House tomorrow. 

        What a thrill it is to see God have fun coordinating moments that solve every minor and monumental mystery we face. If God can make my itinerary on earth a fascinating adventure, think about how wonderful God is making your itinerary in Heaven!

        I want to leave you with this verse found in Isaiah 40:31, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

        My pilot can take care of all your flighty feelings. He loves to have your frequent fellowship miles!  

Landed and ready for Lincoln!

How God's Power Works Best in Weakness

            I have found that God carries me the furthest when I have to depend only upon His grace. Three years ago I was lifeguarding and teaching little children swimming lessons. I got them all out of the deep end. I had my eyes fixed on them as I was getting out of the pool then stood straight up under the elevated concrete lifeguard stand. Immediately a loud thud echoed as my head collided with the concrete structure.  I remember telling myself, that I had to keep it together in front of the children and to stay alert to make sure they were protected. 

Later that night, I was studying with some of my friends who started asking if I was feeling well. They said they noticed I was acting funny and not like myself. I told them that I hit my head really hard. They told me it was serious and arranged for a nursing student to call me in the middle of the night, to make sure I was still breathing. The phone call came, I answered, and went back to sleep. 

First thing in the morning I visited the school nurse who suggested I see a doctor to evaluate me. My dad picked me up from the dorm and took me to the hospital. They explained that I had a traumatic brain injury and that time would tell as to how my post-concussion symptoms would pan out. I was thankful for the results, but had no idea of how this accident would change the course of my career choice as well as my empathy for people. 

The nurse gave me warm blankets

The after effects of the concussion included intense throbbing headaches, sensitivity to light, inability to keep my college course load, sadness, and feelings of being overwhelmed. For months I went to Madonna Rehabilitation Center for Physical Therapy to help reduce the headaches and neck pain and received Speech Therapy to help with time management. I was one of the few patients who looked normal on the outside, but was struggling from post-concussion syndrome on the inside.

Most of the patients there are in wheelchairs, have lost limbs, and receive inpatient therapy. I remember waiting in the lobby one morning and seeing a normal looking Husker football player, telling someone that since he had hit his head he could not remember his team player’s names. I wanted to tell him that I was having problems with normal tasks like that too, but thought, What’s the point? It’s not like he’ll remember it the next day. J  

My Speech Pathologist took thoughtful care of me and encouraged me on my journey of strategizing my time. She helped me get a planner to record when and what places I was supposed to be at and gave me three goals of completing for each day. My cognitive ability function right after the concussion was at the level of a sixth grader. 

One month before my concussion I was living in Hawaii with my family. One of our favorite activities was to hike a steep trail up Koko Head crater, an extinct volcano with beautiful views overlooking the ocean. On the trail, I paused to pray, first praising God for the beauty that was surrounding me through the ocean and bright blue sky. I quoted the scripture, “Ask and you receive, you receive not because you did not ask.” I asked God to move my family to Lincoln, NE, give my dad a pastoring job there, pay for our plane tickets, and to stop me if He didn’t want me to pursue a degree as a Physician Assistant. Up to this point, my dad knew nothing of my prayer or even that I had settled on going to school in Lincoln.  Two weeks after my prayer, the phone rang, and it was the Kansas-Nebraska Conference offering my dad a job in Lincoln. I told dad to take it because I had prayed that we could be a family on the mainland as I went to school. We took the job, hopped on the plane, and I enrolled into the Pre-Physician Assistant program. It was one month into the program that my life-changing lifeguarding experience happened.

Koko Head

Since then, God has strengthened my stamina for the rigors of college life and He has equipped me with the encouragement I have needed to function well in everyday situations again! I am graduating on May 1, 2016 with a B.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Andrews University. I am applying to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to pursue a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology and will specialize in Traumatic Brain Injury. 

The past three years of my life have been challenging, but what I see even more is a God whose power works best in my weakness. God made my home a happy home. My brother is now my best friend. My family is closer than we ever were and it is because we had to depend on God completely and wholeheartedly. God took my prayer on Koko Head and answered every part! I had no idea that I was going to end up studying Speech Pathology and that I picked the one state that gives the best in-state tuition for graduate school! 

God strengthened our family’s faith by being faithful to Him; He has showed me that He gives and takes away and yet gives even more in return! I still have my good days and my bad days. Yes, the headaches have stayed, but the heartache has not. Today I received a test score that shows God is merciful. His faithfulness is renewed each morning. He sends encouragement right when you need it!

God sends encouragement when you need it most

I want to leave you with this verse found in 2 Corinthians 12:9 saying, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” My Lifeguard walks on water and His name is Jesus. Have you met Him yet? 

Family time at Holmes Lake in Lincoln, NE

Don't Try to Cheer Me Up!

Don’t Try to Cheer Me Up!

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”

~ Proverbs 17:22

My younger brother, Noah, has coined a phrase in our family that is used when one of us is in an unbecoming mood called, “Don’t try to cheer me up!” For the moments we are stuck in a selfish funk, often times we would rather look for a way in than a way out. To keep our family accountable and make each other smile we say, “Don’t try to cheer me up!” We find that it breaks the awkwardness of the moment and allows joy to seep in. 

The Bible is right when it says that, “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” Why would anyone want their strength sapped? When we question who wants us to be broken so that we are not cheerful? The answer is the enemy, Satan. If we can realize where our broken spirit’s originate, we can reverse the problem with calling on Jesus for strength, and choosing His prescription of a cheerful heart implant. Not only is it 100 % cheaper than a medical heart transplant, it is free medicine, no matter what insurance you have. Side effects include a peace that passes understanding, a passion for people, a growth in your character, and a journey of endless joy! 

Thank You God for making a way for us to know You, through your Son, Jesus. Help us to always look to You to be reminded of Your perfectness. Please shine into our hearts each moment.  Thank you for surgically removing sadness and sin from our lives and implanting the joy of our hope in Heaven.  Amen.

Hand-in-hand