My previous post, Ten Years Can Change a Great Deal centered on the reason behind the journey in writing on the Scarlett Road. I now share Part Two!
Part 2: A sampling of what has transpired in these past ten years while writing!
- For myself: Alarming health issues with a Herniated disc, and in 2021 a retina tear
- For our immediate family: Overwhelming experiences included grandchildren’s births (one spending 68 days in the NICU) and stress-filled days waiting for the courts to decide for adoption through the foster system
- For my oldest sister’s son: Intense and alarming sadness as my nephew was incarcerated
- For my brother’s wife: Startling and consuming suffering as my sister-in-law was diagnosed with a rare cancer in March 2018 on her 50th birthday
- For my brother’s son: Confounding and consuming grief of a terminal Leukemia diagnoses for my 23-year-old nephew seven months after his mother died
- For my oldest sister’s husband: Anguish and shock that my 64-year-old brother-in-law breathed his last breath July 2024
Yet, through all of life’s experiences, my greatest desire these past ten years is To Know Him and To Make Him Known! Who is “Him?” Well, my Creator God, of course!
Through the Apostle Paul’s pen, the Holy Spirit of God directed the writing of the Bible book of Philippians. Chapter three of that book expresses the priceless value of knowing Christ! Paul uses the Greek word ginosko focusing on “to come to know, recognize, understand, to be taking in knowledge” (v. 10). These past 10 years I gathered knowledge to know the God of the Bible and make Him known!
Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord…We who worship by the Spirit of God…rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). We put no confidence in human effort…everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of KNOWING Christ Jesus my Lord…I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ (Romans 3:22; 1:17). For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith (Galatians 2:20; 1 John 5:4). I want to KNOW (GINOSKO) – to come to know, recognize, understand, to be taking in knowledge, Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so …I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Philippians 3:1-10, NLT)
We can never fully KNOW (understand) all there is to know of an infinite Creator God, Who is our Father, and our Savior Redeemer who loved us to the point of dying for our sin-sick-souls. But I am so thankful He continues to shed light when we, like Paul, desire nothing more than to KNOW HIM and to MAKE HIM KNOWN!
The Band, Casting Crown, sings a song entitled “Great Are YOU, Lord!” It testifies to God’s greatness through life, light and hope; avenues by which we can know Him and understand He is the reason we have breath. I cannot fully express the thought of God literally placing breath in my lungs (and strength in my fingers) to use me for His glory and knows the literal number of breaths (and keyboard strokes) I will take on this earth before transporting me to my eternal home. But the greatest self-examination comes to me when I realize: IT IS HIS BREATH so EVERY WORD I SPEAK IS USING THE BREATH OF GOD TO verbalize WHAT BRINGS HIM GLORY OR WHAT BRINGS HIM SHAME!
Song: Great are You Lord by Casting Crown (abbreviated lyrics)
You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope and You restore
Every heart that is broken
Great are You, LordIt’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You onlyAnd all the earth
Will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry
These bones will sing
Great are You, LordIt’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only
Songwriters: Jason Ingram, Benjamin William Hastings, Leslie Anne Jordan, Michael Brandon Lake, David Alan Leonard, Dante Bowe. For non-commercial use only.
Don’t run out of breath before giving Him PRAISE!
The Scarlett Road 
It is nothing short of God’s amazing grace you found sufficient during this time of hardship and spiritual growth. Thank you and congratulations on 10 years of blogging, Scarlett Road!
LikeLiked by 2 people