Prayerful Pondering

by Pat Luffman Rowland

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I don’t remember a time I didn’t believe in God or know that Jesus was His Son and our Savior, but I made my profession of faith and was baptized at age 12. I’ll never forget the experience of understanding I was the Lord’s! The sun became ten times brighter and it was as if I could hear angels singing. It was a supremely joyful moment. And I can still “see” my immersion baptism in the small Baptist church as if I were looking on. With certainty and gratitude, I can declare that God has never failed me, even though I have failed Him many times over. God has blessed me with family and friends, opportunities and health, freedom and education. He has been ever faithful and I look forward to the day when I can bow at the feet of Jesus and thank Him for His unconditional love that has made all the difference. I have an undergraduate degree in Healthcare Consumer Relations and a master’s in Religious Studies. In 1990, I received the designation of Fellow with the National Society of Patient Representation and Consumer Affairs of the American Hospital Association. I worked for 27 years in healthcare, retiring as Corporate Director of Patient Affairs with Methodist Healthcare in Memphis, TN in 1998. A major part of my career was teaching about patient concerns and needs, their rights, and ethical matters of healthcare. I taught through writing, as well as speaking from coast to coast. For several years, I authored a byline, Patient Perspective, for a healthcare journal. Other publications include Tennessee Hospital Association newsletter, Marketing Perspective, nursing and pharmacy newsletters. I received a writing award from the American Hospital Association in 1990. There are three things in my life that I count the most rewarding: my work with the mentally challenged from 1978-1983, my healthcare days establishing and directing patient advocacy for a large healthcare system, and my present work as a reading tutor. Most of my writings at present are devotional in nature. Devotional publications include Upper Room, Presbyterian Daily, and on my church website, www.famemphis.net. I am retired and live in a suburb of Memphis with my cat Chloe. My daughter and son-in-law, Kristi and Mark Hearn, live in Georgia and are the delights of my heart. Additionally, I am blessed with a spiritual family, Son (Tim) and Hien-Anh (Hannah) Le, their children, Rachel, Rebecca, and Esther, and Hannah’s mother, Phuong Hong. I am active in my church, First Assembly Memphis, and tutor second graders at First Assembly Christian School (FACS).

Author: Pat Luffman Rowland

  • The Spirit of God in Us

    This morning, my eyes held to this verse:   I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.  (Ezekiel 36:14) Though spoken by the Lord regarding his restoration of Israel, I saw more — something there for each one of us today.  Read the words…

  • I Give Him Glory

    The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21 This has been a year of hard events. My husband died in September after a very lengthy illness. My daughter has spent this past year battling cancer and is not well enough to travel home. Her cancer diagnosis…

  • Healing of the Abused Child

    This was written almost 20 years ago after a young woman told me of her sexual abuse as a child and the shame she lived with until receiving the healing of Jesus.  A child sits yonder, alone and forlorn, wondering where love could be. A knock on the door (is it possibly love?) Open wide, then maybe…

  • Reflections

    My mother is in residential assisted living due to dementia and a weakened body.  I have a church shut-in friend who recently moved to a like facility for the same reason.  I have noticed with both my mother and my friend one like feature:  they mention someone’s need and then state their strong desire to…

  • Meeting God

    There is a place deep within the heart of you that only God knows. It is a place that only He can reach, a place where you alone can reach Him. It is a place where your Father receives you, quiets you, and rests you. It is a place where His abundant love will flow over and…

  • Choosing Joy

    Last night I went to bed troubled.  So much was on my mind.  For years I fought my own battle with illness; then, I was healed of what was supposed to be something you never get over – just learn to live with.  But healing came from the hand of the Lord; there is no…

  • Caring for Strangers

    A friend told me about something that happened with him in a restaurant.  Alec and his friends were being seated, and as they walked by an elderly man, this man reached out to touch him.  The elderly man seemed unable to talk, but clearly wanted to make contact.  Alec spoke to him, but even more,…

  • Pain that Lashes Out

    French author, Gustave Flaubert said “Human language is like a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, when all the time we are longing to move the stars to pity.”  In my hospital setting it looked like this: A 16 year-old complained about everything to do with his nursing…

  • Hearing the Voice of God

    Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.  — Psalm 68:10 Hearing the voice of God takes trust and practice.  It requires believing what you hear even though it may not make sense in man’s way of thinking. One of the most remarkable times of hearing and acting on God’s voice was following the…

  • Early Morning Light

    We all need a daily place of solitude, a place to be in communion with God and with ourselves.  For me, the time is early morning.  I love to watch the day arrive and experience the quiet and still of dawn, hear the first chatter of birds, the occasional sound of a cricket holding on to…