Hope Archives - Kristin Saatzer

How’s Your Bounce?

December 30, 2019 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

The end of the month.
The end of the year.
The end of the decade.

As I glance back and think about the three “ends”, I find a running refrain in the story of my life – resiliency. I bounce back. I rebound. I get up again. And again. And again… I share not to brag but with awe because this is not who I think I am- the one who bounces back.

Adulting looked glitzy from the stands. Oh, the independence and fun that awaited. But once I took the field, the curveballs came – relationship rejection, job and college struggles, depression, intense physical pain and health trials, and the divorce of my parents. Although my twenties held so much joy (wedding and baby at the top of the list!) the curve balls bruised and sometimes derailed me.

Those years are distant in my rearview mirror. However, each year, each decade, threw in its own array of curveballs to gaze back upon.

“I get knocked down and I get up again…”

You too, huh?

They tried to bury us but they didn’t know we were seeds
~Mexican Proverb

Thank You, Zeke

October 29, 2018 By Kristin Saatzer Leave a Comment

IF I was to have another baby boy, I would name him Ezekiel (meaning “God strengthens”). I adore this name and especially the nickname, Zeke. This moniker fits with the rest of the names of my sons. They are Samuel, Noah, Josiah, and Micah. My husband is Daniel. We took the Jewish name route. However, the birthing ship sailed from our harbor 14 years ago, so no baby Ezekiel for this fam. By the way, if that birthing ship sailed back in (after being released from intensive shock therapy), I might win an “Oldish-Lady Birthing Record” for my region. I did hear that Janet Jackson had a baby at age 50.

Lord bless her.

Anyway, back to Ezekiel. Zeke was a major prophet in the Old Testament. This guy preached to the Israelites held captive in Babylon; sort of a street corner preacher with a dramatic flair. He announced God’s plans for the fall of Jerusalem, and he admonished the people for their attachment to foreign nations and wicked ways. In the hopeful end of the book of Ezekiel, He foretold of future salvation for the children of God.

Today I want to hone in on some of Ezekiel 34. This passage of promise reinvigorated me as I read it recently. I encourage you to read chapter 34, you will find rich messianic metaphors of God as our Shepherd. Beautiful and woeful stuff.

Moved as I read, when by verse 16, tears dripped on my Bible as hope welled in my soul.

I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick… (Ezekiel 34:16a, NKJV)

In my journal, I script prayers for dear ones with seemingly impossible situations. I pray each day for two troubled young people. Sometimes their conditions seem beyond hope. Their depression and lostness beyond help. This Ezekiel passage freshly reminds me of God’s relentless love as the words jump from the page and hug me.

Also found on the pages of my journal are stories and remembrances of answered prayers and God’s faithfulness. Chronicles of healed souls, healed families and healed bodies. Myself included. These personal accounts and the words of Ezekiel increase my courage and remind me to pray big prayers, to claim the lost and the broken for Christ. I am grateful to Ezekiel for painting a picture of our Good Shepherd who has marked His sheep with His stripes of love.

Our Shepherd:

Seeks and Searches for the lost (verse 11)
Delivers his sheep from their scattered places ( verse 12)
Brings them to their own land (verse 13)
Feeds them in good pastures (verse 14)
Restores the lost (verse 16)
Brings back what was driven away (verse 16)
Binds up the broken (verse 16)
Strengthens what was sick (verse 16)

“Christ chooses us, buys us, calls us by name,

makes us His own,

and delights in

caring for us.”

W. Phillip Keller

My friend, can you proudly say, “The Lord is my shepherd”?

Are you under His charge?

Do you trust God’s words from Ezekiel as you pray for your scattered, broken or sick loved ones?

Are you comforted in the knowledge that your Shepherd seeks out the lost?

Renew yourself in God’s word, enliven your prayers with expectation! I urge you to spend time in reflection, thanks, and petition today as you ponder the questions above and read the words of our hope-dispensing prophet Zeke.

Gosh, I love this name. Maybe my next dog?

I’m In, How About You?

October 13, 2017 By Kristin Saatzer 5 Comments

If we’ve ever needed You, Lord, it’s now, Lord, it’s now,
We are desperate for Your hand, we’re reachin’ out, we’re reachin’ out,
If we’ve ever needed You, Lord, it’s now, Lord, it’s now,
We are desperate for Your hand, we’re reachin’ out, we’re reachin’ out

Let Your Church arise, let Your Church arise! Casting Crowns

The happy crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival sang “God Bless America”, honoring their country and the veterans present on the stage. Just moments later, evil struck, bringing devastation and death; life will never be the same.

Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. Psalm 31:9 NIV

I know many who attended this concert. None dead or maimed physically. Yet, emotionally maimed and changed forever.

How do we wrap our brains around the devastating events of this fall? Here in the USA and abroad: earthquakes, storms, fires, death, and darkness. I am leery of switching on my radio, checking the news, scrolling through Facebook or even checking my texts. It seems each day brings heart-wrenching news from the world at large or from people I know experiencing sorrow or crisis. There is no making sense of it. Continue Reading

What To Do In The Wait?

January 31, 2017 By Kristin Saatzer 7 Comments

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?