HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE

 

I was travelling along a country lane this week and I found myself following a truck with the sign ‘Highway Maintenance’. There were two, tall, traffic signal lamps being carried as cargo, facing towards me; they were standing tall and it felt as if they were staring right at me!
Obviously, these traffic lights weren’t connected to a source, so they weren’t flashing green, red or amber. They were just blank; staring at me, with a blank expression.
Now, you and I know, these traffic signal lamps are inanimate. But, as I looked at them, I felt as if they were trying to tell me something!! No, I’m not losing my mind, but I knew there was an illustration here; I knew I was about to learn something; to receive a revelation somehow.

As I pondered on this, I realised, that when the traffic signals were connected to an electric source, they were always switched on. They never took a break. They would constantly be transmitting a light colour, whether it was RED, for STOP; GREEN, for GO, or AMBER, for GET READY.

But when they aren’t connected to a source, they are absolutely no use whatsoever!

It made me think about myself………about my walk with the Lord. It made me think about all the ‘Highway Maintenance’ I require on a regular basis!

When I’m connected to THE Source, God my Father, He always ensures my path. He is with me when I am making decisions about whether or not I should STOP or when to GET READY and, He is always, always the One right behind me, when I know I’m in a season of GO!
But there can be times in all of our lives, when we come to a standstill; possibly not knowing what to make of current situations or circumstances. We wonder ‘Do I GO with this idea?’ ‘Shall I STOP, take a break, wait for direction?’ and one of the most exciting periods, which I regularly find myself in lately, is knowing when the season is one of ‘GET READY’. Yes, I love knowing I have to GET READY! A season of preparation, prayer, anticipation and expectancy! To me, GETTING READY is as appealing and stimulating as GO!!

Considering all of this, I revert back to the two, tall, traffic signal lights and realise that we too, can find ourselves feeling blank, when we aren’t connected to OUR Source, God the Father!
This is where I want to encourage you. Despite seasons in our lives, where we really don’t feel connected to our Source, our Light-Giver, our Creator, He will always carry us. He will always ‘maintain’ us on our journey through this earthly lifetime. He will ALWAYS pick you up and prepare you for the next chapter on your own personal HIGHWAY. You may not always feel connected to the Source and this can be a wilderness experience, but even when you feel your lights can never flash again, that is the time that God wants to spend, pouring into and, onto you, His precious healing balm.

After your time of being ‘cargo’ for a while, you WILL return to STOP, GET READY and GO!!!!!

“Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight before you” Proverbs 4:25

GET ‘BACK-UP’

At the very beginning, of the very beginning, of this year, I shared with many, a distinct Word I had received……..”GET BACK UP!”

At the time of praying, I’d heard those 3 words so clearly and presumed the Lord wanted me to stand, to rise, to not let the episode I had just spent in the hospital, hold me down or keep me down; for me to not lie down, or give in to the horrific spinal and nerve pain I was enduring. (Subsequently, that first time in the hospital, due to excruciating pain in my back and legs, would be the beginning of many hospital stays over the next few months).

So I did! I did GET BACK UP! Well, I certainly tried………….

But eventually, and after a 5th episode in hospital, which concluded in a major emergency surgery on my spine, and a theatre visit of 8 hours…….eventually……..I heard my Father in Heaven whisper “GET BACK UP” a second time……I heard it so very, very clearly, so very, very gently, and on this occasion……CORRECTLY!

“GET BACK UP” was a Word for me……to prepare! At the birth of this year….. when all was new…… the Lord Himself knew…….just what would be unfolding for me…….and He was going to use the coming period of physical pain as a time of growth for me; a time where I could rid myself of more pride. You see, unless I allow it, and its very rare and there are only a very few……I struggle to ‘let people in’. I seldom ask people for help………and I have almost always, when faced with dark or troubling times, trudged through, pretty much on my own.

But the Lord knew just what was coming; that I would be immobile, depressed, scared, and clinging on to any strip of hope by a thin, worn and tattered thread. He knew that I would not understand what was happening, would definitely struggle to tolerate my inability to feel so ‘stuck’, and that even for a few days, which felt like an eternity…….I couldn’t even see a light at the end of the tunnel…..not even a flicker…..and that was unnerving to say the least.

God knew that a spiritual battle was about to commence, not only for my physical health but for my mind also; a serious spine operation was about to take place, where I would have to ‘learn’ to walk again, where I would for a time, lose my dignity as well as my optimism; where I would actually ‘lose myself’ (!) And the Lord wanted me to prepare……to come through victoriously…..to GROW in Him, in strength, in belief, in love! Another step towards maturity in Him!

“GET ‘BACK-UP’!”

“GET THE TROOPS! ALLOW YOUR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO HELP YOU, TO LOVE YOU! YOU’RE ABOUT TO SEE THAT RUNNING THE RACE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A LONELY PLACE!”

When I re-read the blog I wrote in January, ‘Now, where did I put those hiking boots?’, about Mount Growth, I can clearly see the prophesying over my own life! I’m not ashamed to say the last few months have been really, really tough, not just for me but for my daughter also. However, it’s through the dedicated prayers of many and the love shown towards us in ways I cannot count, that I have learned the most positive way through any episode of physical and/or mental trauma is by walking it……..(even if with a Zimmer frame and back brace!!)…………step by step WITH others!

WITH……..your BACK UP! 🙂

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matt 18:20

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” 1 Thess 5:11

If you need prayer for anything, please let me and my prayer team be there for you! Go to http://www.elliepalmacass.com and leave your request. May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Now, where did I put those hiking boots?!?!

‘The pull of the mountain, is like gravity for my soul’ (Heather Day Gilbert)

I’m not a flatlands kind of girl………I’m not inspired by wandering around an expanse of ‘sameness’, existing on a plateau of assurance, safety and sanctuary. Spiritually, My Lord has already confirmed my sanctuary in Him. It’s written. It’s a sealed deal!

But while I’m here on earth, I have so, so much to do! As a vessel for my Father in Heaven, there are so, so many souls to be saved! I haven’t got the time or the disposition to be wandering around where it’s safe, in the flatlands……..Because MY soul is saved! Granted, it’s nice to take a rest and recently I have been MORE than commanded by my Father to rest! “Rest in Me Ellie”, said He.

No one knows more than the Lord what is coming next! He knows YOU! And He knows ME!

He knows I’m a mountain climber. But I’m not sauntering along the easy path, gradually making my way up the ‘touristy’ route. You know; the classic, ready-made path with the odd tiny stone that might get stuck in your shoe. Kind of niggles at you, but you take off your shoe, shake it out and carry on meandering up the easy path.

No! I’m marching up the tougher terrain. There are always two ways to ascend a mountain. Any climber or fell runner knows that………and there are 2 ways down also! (This is not the blog for me to tell of the time I was on a very steep fell run, came across a bull and didn’t run back down…….No! I actually FLEW!! For real……..but that’s another blog!) Here, we’re talking about getting UP; NOT coming back down! 😉

I’m looking up at this beautiful mountain in front of me called GROWTH. Mount Growth! I’m evaluating the climb, my technique, my navigational skills…………. and the strength and tenacity I am going to have to gather to reach the summit. It’s here where you discover that your strength comes from The Lord! In the flatlands, you find happy, chilled-out individuals who don’t often need to lean on The Lord. They have no need because they like where they are. It’s comfortable and is most obviously a time of blessing and relaxation; a time of contemplation and reflection on where you have been and where you are now.

But none of us should hang around there for too long. The journey doesn’t end the minute all your so-called dreams come true and many of your desires have been fulfilled! It’s here, in the flatlands, where you should be praying and preparing for the next climb. You should be looking for your mountain!

When I saw Mount Growth, 🙂  I prayed. I asked for Wisdom to help me on the climb. I prayed about the parts of the mountain I couldn’t see. I said ‘Father God, My precious Father, in Whom I trust, please give me revelation’. It was then I saw crevices; I saw the jagged rocks that could cut me acutely; I saw possible splits in the path I had ascertained was the one I should take; dark areas that looked like an abyss; I couldn’t quite see everything clearly because when you look far up the highest of mountains, there is a blinding mist. However, I knew as part of climbing Mount Growth, that it was at these crosswalks where I would have to press in more; that the Lord would be my eyes, my ears and my guide.

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

When you are working for the Kingdom, the Lord’s Kingdom, you WILL have mountains to climb. And even though it can be the toughest of times, you should also be praising Him. Praise Him for being with you every step of the way! Praise Him for ‘growth’. Praise Him because you truly are THAT important to Him. God wants to take you to the next level. Are you ready? Have you prayed? Do you want to be a warrior in the Kingdom and fight with the Lord’s army?

I DO!

And as I commit to that journey and I look up, I start to notice on the path I have chosen to take, little grassy areas, situated here and there; actually many of them…….soft and safe on the climb….. on the tough terrain where I can sit comfortably and wait on the Lord for His next instruction. It’s whilst I’m sitting there that the mountain actually doesn’t seem so huge. I can SEE the summit. Usually, as we climb we sense the summit becoming further and further away…………………but no!

I see the peaks, covered in snow, glistening, beckoning, ‘Ellie, come on, it’s beautiful up here. And wait until you see what’s on the other side!’

“She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet” (Proverbs 31:21)

The Blood of Christ covers me and mine as we climb to the summit.

And then, I see Him…… His smile…… His arms outstretched…… My beautiful Lord……waiting. And I see the snowy peaks. They are glistening………in the bright, intense, luminous Son; in the light of THE Son.

Now, where did I put those hiking boots?!?!