Faithful

May 20, 2021 By Kristin Saatzer 6 Comments

“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3

It was a perfect day—one of the best days of my life, May 1, 2021. My oldest son, Samuel, got married to his darling girl. And now I have a daughter-in-love. After raising four boys, my heart is overjoyed that Lauren is now officially a Saatzer.

In the time preceding, I had moments when I thought I would not attend the wedding due to my months and months-long health battle. Yet, God was gracious to me; I felt fabulous that day and savored each miraculous moment.

The week before the big event, I took the photo albums out of the hall closet and spread them on the floor. I spent quite a bit of time on memory lane, lost in happy moments with my little Sammy. Those were golden days, my little buddy and me.

We spent much of our afternoons reading. Our favorite book was I Love You Forever. I even made up a song to go with it. I often cried when I read it to him as I imagined him moving away and starting his own family, like the boy in the book. I knew it would arrive quicker than I expected. And it did, with lightning speed.

As he grew, three brothers added more chaos and fun to the mix.

Sam’s strong personality kept me on my toes, and I made many mistakes. He knew who he was from his earliest days and, I am stronger in character for having mothered such a strong-willed son.

We remained close. Until …

The difficult upper teen years.

As I turned the pages of the albums from Sam’s middle school years and beyond, I was awash with wonderful and intense painful memories.

Times when I thought I had lost him. Times of experimentation with independence, rebellion, and struggle. Times when I was not his favorite person, nor he mine.

I took in the pictures of drop-off day at college, all six of us bawling.

Little by little, Sammy and I made our way back to one another. As he matured in his twenties so did our relationship. It changed- less mothering and more advising. It was a good fit.

And now, our relationship is shifting again.

As I gazed at our family photos, I realized that my son and I were standing on the precipice. Days away from pledging his whole self to another. This woman, not mom, will be the most important female in his life. By God’s design, that is the way it is supposed to be.

Sammy wrote me a letter and gave it to me on his wedding day. Among the beautiful words, He told me I was his first love. When I look back at the heartbreaking, messy moments between we two, never would I have imagined us landing here. Such affection. Such love. Such grace. The relationship for which I prayed.

As I closed the albums and hauled them back to the closet, my mind turned to my faithful Savior. Through all the years, through all the tough mom stages with my boy-turned-man, Jesus kept calling me and reminding me to be faithful right back. To Him. To my Sammy. To all my family. To my life.

To God be the glory.

“I love you forever, I like you for always, as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be. “

I Can’t Stop Remembering The Cross! (repost)

April 1, 2021 By Kristin Saatzer 6 Comments

Original post: March 26, 2016

“And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh

mental and spiritual attitude].”

~Ephesians 4:23 AMP

“I can’t stop remembering the cross!” Words uttered by my four-year-old after participating in a Good Friday observance. As worship music played in the park, I walked Sammy over to look at large wooden crosses displayed on the ground. These crosses replicated the historical death-crosses of Jesus’ time. After running our fingers over the rough wood of one, my little boy attempted to lift it. Impossible. Next, came a litany of questions after plopping himself on my lap. Each question I attempted to answer brought on five more questions. His inquiring mind wasn’t satisfied and ready to move on to the playground. As he took in the scene, I felt his nervousness as he settled and unsettled on my legs. Revelation blossoming in his little soul.

In the weeks following our time in the park, Sammy peppered me with questions as he continued to analyze and process this story- this Jesus dying on the cross story. We read from the Bible and from picture books on the subject. We prayed. Running through the house, he’d stop and say “I can’t stop remembering the cross!”

Seventeen years later, I hear his sweet, passionate four-year-old voice in my head.

This experience moved Sammy (and his mommy too). He was renewed in the spirit of his mind by seeing and touching the cross. Ephesians 4:23 tells us in the Amplified, that we may have a fresh mental and spiritual attitude by being renewed constantly, continually, perseveringly.

Our renewal comes through remembering: the cross, the nails, the hands, the feet, the grace, the promise of eternity. Remembering: the love, the pierced side, sin erased, the curtain torn, the resurrection.

Rebirth. Renewal. Jesus.

Experiencing Christ, this is renewal! Trying to lift a heavy cross and running our hands over splintered wood. Reading the stories in His book. THIS is renewal (constant, continual), born anew again and again. Revelation blossoming in our souls.

And like my little boy once did, we say, “I can’t stop remembering the cross!”

At the cross at the cross, I surrender my life

I’m in awe of You, I’m in awe of You

Where Your love ran red and my sin washed white

I owe all to You, I owe all to You Jesus

~Chris Tomlin

Who Do You Say I Am?

March 17, 2021 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Matthew 16:13-15 NLT

As I grappled with God on a flight from Honolulu to San Diego, a slight shift began in my life’s course. Even though the college girls’ trip to Hawaii was a blast, I felt an inner hollowness on our return. My life was filled with fun but lacked depth. I had stopped reading my Bible, going to church, and I kept my Christian friends at a distance. I examined my life as I gazed at the clouds out of the airplane window. I thought of my purpose, my future, the way I spent my time, and my relationship with Jesus. Who was He to me? As tears escaped, I timidly began to pray (this wasn’t something I did much of in those days). As I confessed my emptiness, a gentle whisper flowed through my heart. Who do you say I am?

The most important question.

In Matthew 16, the disciples shared with their leader the common view of who people said He was: John the Baptist or Elijah or a prophet. Varied responses like the ones we still hear today: an imposter, a crazy man, a good teacher, the Savior.

Then Jesus turned the inquiry to them, His beloved twelve. Peter, ever impassioned, spoke up immediately, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 NLT) Peter was right, although this Son of God was not what they expected Him to be.

From this point on, Christ began to open the shades, shining specks of light on His future as the suffering King. He preached on themes from the prophet Isaiah and probed the twelve along the way.

This same query asked in the intimacy of this group in Caesarea rumbles down through the centuries to us at this moment in this season of Lent.

The most important answer.

My pensive prayers that day in the seat of an airplane changed the trajectory of my life. Though not immediately. After a year of wooing on God’s part, on a balmy summer evening on a San Diego freeway, tears gushed through choked words. On this brilliant sunset drive, I gave God my most important answer. I professed my need for Him as I replied to my soul’s whisper– You are the Savior. You are my Savior.

The purpose of my life shifted and took shape the night I made my choice.

As Easter beckons, the Savior asks, “Who do you say I am?” In the end, each one of us must respond to this central question of life for ourselves. What we think of Him determines who we are and what we do, the trajectory of our lives, on earth, and for eternity.

Dear friend, who do you say He is?

“You must make your choice. Either this man was the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

PC: Kai Brune and Jon Tyson, Unsplash

What To Do In The Wait? Repost

February 15, 2021 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

I am in yet another long season of waiting as I have been ill for five months now. I thought I would repost this blog because I find the words and scripture in this devotional ring true for me today. If you are in a season of waiting, I pray they will for you too.

Blessings,

Kristin

What To Do In The Wait?

Originally posted January 17, 2017

Unwell. Unengaged. Uninterested.

It was as if I stood in a hallway before an unopened door, knowing health and healing lay on the other side.

Ten years ago, I pleaded with God to heal my malaise. I desperately needed and wanted Him to open the door and allow me to step out of the gloomy hallway. Yet there were blessings in that place. Time passed and eventually, God drew me out of the hall, through the doorway, and into His healing light.

These days, I find myself in yet another hallway, praying for another door to open. Only this time it involves two family members struggling through deep waters of pain.

How about you?

Do you stand before a door today, waiting for God to answer? To heal? To provide? Do you need Him to show you the way you should go? Is there a difficult decision before you keeping you awake at night?

And the door seems bolted shut.

What to do in the wait?

~Praise Him: I call it “Praise Therapy”. Praising Him takes my eyes off me.

Hebrews 13:15 NET Bible
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name.”

~Thank Him: For what I am learning and for who He is.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 New Living Translation
“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

~Hope in Him: With God, there is always hope.

Romans 15:13 Berean Study Bible
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

~Accept His will: Maybe the door will never open. Maybe it won’t look like I thought it would on the other side. Maybe the wait is the blessing.

Luke 22:42 Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me–nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”

The door I stand in front of today may never open. To be honest, I have yet to accept that. I’m trying to find the dividing line between hope and acceptance. Can I keep one foot on each side of the line? How do I hope and accept at the same time? I suppose it is by believing in God’s will and trusting Him with mine. The blessing in this wait is surrender. Thy will be done.

We stand before many doors in our time here on earth, breathing our prayers in the hallway. There are blessings there as we praise, thank, hope, and accept.

What will you do in the wait?

PC: Pinterest and Pixbay

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Faithful