• About Pat Luffman Rowland

Prayerful Pondering

~ by Pat Luffman Rowland

Prayerful Pondering

Tag Archives: scripture study

Hearing God, Receiving by Faith

21 Tuesday Mar 2023

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in miracles

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

believing, faith, healing, health, joy, listening to God, miracles, physicians, receiving, scoliosis, scripture, scripture study, testimony, trust, waiting

I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.

–John 16:1 NLT

I believe I have blogged about my daughter’s healing from scoliosis in earlier years. I am feeling strongly to write about it again, perhaps providing more detail than previously.

Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine. Double scoliosis is when the curve is both in the upper and lower parts. The spine becomes “S” shaped. That is the kind my daughter developed.

When Kristi was in junior high, she was referred to an orthopedic physician by our family doctor. She appeared to have an abnormal curvature of her spine. The ortho doc x-rayed and said it was very mild scoliosis and he believed it was nothing to be concerned about.

We went back for a routine follow-up some months later and this time the orthopedic physician was concerned. Very. He said there had been a dramatic increase in the curvature and he wanted Kristi to be seen by a specialist in another city.

My daughter was almost 14. Girls are so conscious of their bodies at that age. She was devastated. She didn’t want to see more doctors and have more examinations and pleaded with me to not take her to another doctor. I was working for a family practice physician at the time and I knew the treatment available then. It would most likely mean a body cast, so I was also devastated.

I’ve had faith for as long as I can remember. However, what I was about to hear from God took a bolder step than I had ever experienced. It came the next morning during Bible study.

I was reading about the people of faith in Hebrews 11. Not in an audible voice, but strong just the same, I heard God say I was to give this matter to Him and not see a specialist. It was so strong I wrote this at the top margin of my Bible: It is in faith that I ask that Kristi’s back be made straight again – that scoliosis will totally disappear so that there can be no misunderstanding that God interceded and healed with divine power. The date was 12-27-78.

Each day I prayed about Kristi’s back. Some days I would let my eyes fall on her back as she walked away from me, and my breath would catch. I would ask myself if I was doing the right thing by not having her seen by a specialist. Yet, I knew that I had heard God speak. I kept on praying and believing.  

It was three and a half years later before I heard God speak again about Kristi’s back. It happened one morning as I had taken about three steps from my kneeling posture. (Yes, I pray all the hard battles on my knees; my grandmother taught me that.) I remember how I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard the whisper you forgot something. I asked what, and heard you forgot to pray about Kristi’s back. I went back to prayer posture and before I could say a word, God spoke again. Kristi’s back is healed.

I was overwhelmed with joy! It seemed the sun shot through the room with major intensity. That whole experience is burned in my mind and heart forever!

After very emotionally thanking God for His answer to prayer, I went straight to the telephone to make an appointment with the ortho doc who had diagnosed her. I didn’t doubt the healing, but now it was time to gather proof for testimony.

I called for an appointment and learned Dr. Johnson was out of the country on a mission trip. His office made an appointment for us with the physician covering for him at another location. I was to pick up her x-rays and take them with us.

When Kristi was diagnosed, I had not been shown the x-rays, which was common practice back then. I got home with the manila envelope of spine x-rays, opened it, and held them up to the window for viewing. I was not prepared for what I saw. There was a very strong “S” curvature of her spine. My first thought was what have I done to my child?! But that thought was immediately washed away by I have done what the Lord told me to do and I’m still trusting. I didn’t show them to my daughter.

The day of the appointment came to see the covering orthopedic physician. On examining Kristi, he said he saw no evidence of scoliosis but would do an x-ray. After a short wait, he came to the room and motioned for us to follow. He pointed to the screen where both x-rays were up. On the left was the x-ray that brought on the diagnosis and referral. On the right was that morning’s x-ray. There was no scoliosis!

I asked the physician how he explained it. He said he couldn’t. I responded that I could. God answered my prayers. He simply looked at the x-rays and didn’t comment.

On 6-11-81, I wrote alongside the first note I saw the x-ray that showed no scoliosis. Thank God! That was three and a half years of waiting for our miracle, but it came. We can trust God absolutely when we know He has spoken to us.

There is a scripture reference noted on that same page, Luke 22:44. It was about Jesus praying so earnestly that sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood. It had been my encouragement to pray as earnestly as I knew how for God’s healing.

I’m blogging on this today for two reasons: Maybe a new reader needs to hear this and not give up as they wait for an answer to prayer. God hears all prayers, not just the little ones. So if you have heard His direction on a matter, confidently trust and follow. The second reason is I just heard a sermon on the importance of telling about our miracles. The pastor said our testimony of miracles is the preparation for someone else’s miracle.

So, I close by asking you this. Do you have a miracle to tell? Examine your life closely. Find the miracle(s) and share your experience. Encourage someone as they wait by giving your testimony. Give it in specifics. God told Joshua to set up stones of remembrance so their miracles wouldn’t be forgotten. In some way, be sure you capture your miracles for future generations (Joshua 4:21-24).

It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

–Daniel 4:2 ESV

For we cannot help but speak of the things we have seen and heard.

–Acts 4:20 ESV

Notes in my Bible as mentioned in the
blog. Hold on to your remembrances.

The Labor and Love of Quilting

08 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in quilting

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

antiques, comfort, family, friends, gifts, handmade, handwork, kindness, labor of love, love, practicing God's word, quilt designs, quilts, scripture study, sewing that lasts, sharing, vintage

Do everything in love. –1 Corinthians 16:14 (NIV)

In the 1970s, I became interested in old things, mostly due to a neighbor’s living room being beautifully furnished with old things. Some were valuable antiques and some were simply aged pieces Betty found interesting.  I was fascinated with her finds and found them more appealing than new-from-the-store decor.

I caught the love for vintage and Daddy, taking note of my excitement, began looking for things to gift me. There was an old oak rocker purchased originally from a Sears catalog, a faux Chippendale coffee table from L&M Tea Company, and the quilt you see pictured.

Dresden Plate design

Actually, Daddy found, or was given, the quilt top and then paid someone to quilt it. Mother shook her head in bewilderment that Daddy spent money to have it completed. She didn’t think it was a very pretty piece and it was not in good shape. It was certainly not a fine quilt top like she and her mother, my grandmother, had done in their early years.  I saw all she said but I loved that my dad wanted to do this for me and accepted it with much appreciation. 1 Peter 4:8, simply put in the NLT, says the most important thing of all is to love each other deeply. This was a demonstration of Daddy’s love and I would receive it as a demonstration of mine.

For years, the quilt remained folded and stored, never used. It was too small for my bed but I could never part with it because it was a gift Daddy had taken such pleasure in giving me.

One cold night recently, I pulled the quilt out of storage, ran it through the washer and dryer, and put it on my bed. It didn’t quite meet the sides of my bed but layered between a sheet and comforter, it held in place. It felt so good to lie beneath its warmth and remember how I came to have it.

I wondered who the women were who put the quilt together — the one who pieced the top and the one who later did the quilting. I especially thought about the one who put the pieces together, thinking she would have used whatever fabric scraps available, maybe even some passed on by friends and family. I have had the quilt for almost 50 years and the top showed a lot of age when Daddy came upon it. I can’t imagine how old it is from its beginning.

When I married in 1962, my grandmother gave me a beautiful Double Wedding Ring quilt. Oh, how I wish I still had it, but it was lost along the way. The stitching in that quilt was so fine and delicate. I don’t know how many hands were involved in the quilting, but I’m sure Mama pieced it all by herself.

My favorite of the old quilt designs was Little Dutch Girl. I was fascinated by the girls in profile with their calico bonnets and dresses. I slept under one of those growing up that my mother made. Some quilters called the pattern Sunbonnet Sue.

Every stitch of my baby quilt was done by my mother’s hands.

I have my baby quilt that my Mother embroidered and quilted. Twelve little animals play across its top, each one different. It first snuggled me, then each of my brothers, and finally my own daughter. It’s close to 80 years old and though the edges are frayed from many washings, I don’t find a single missing or broken stitch. I find that amazing. For Mother’s handwork to hold up for 80 years reminds me of Colossians 3:23 that says Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord (NIV).

A close-up of a lamb on my baby quilt that Mother embroidered about 1943. Every stitch is tightly intact.

In the days of quilting by my grandmother and mother, quilting frames were quite large and usually dropped from the ceiling. Then all who could come and help would sit around the frame and delicately lay stitches, piercing through the top piece, batting, and under piece, then returning from the bottom. They shared their labor and turned out creative works of art. The work of their hands provided warm beds for their families. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands (NLT). That verse well describes the women of an earlier era who labored long and hard over what was before them to do. It was the life my mother and grandmother lived.

Quilting still happens, but the stitching today is done by sewing machines. Quilters often have machines just dedicated to quilting. The artistry is through the colors and designs and precision. To hear my friend Bonny talk about all that goes into her quilts is a delightful experience. You hear the love of the design, the challenge of selecting the fabrics that fit the person, and her anticipation of the recipient’s response. Bonny made me a lap quilt years ago. She said she chose colors that reflected my personality.

My quilt from Bon. It is a variation of Uneven Nine Patch. In the past 25 years, she has made at least 120 quilts.

Quilting was and still is an artistic labor of love. And I’ve been a grateful recipient for a lifetime.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. –1 Peter 4:10 (NASB)

The Value of Love

03 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in love

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

faith, God's love, love, love for others, sacrifice, scripture study

“. . . and if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2).

Courtesy MorgueFile

Courtesy MorgueFile

I have a deep and abiding faith, a faith that has sustained me for a lifetime and I am now 72. It is a faith that has carried me through the waters and the fire, scripturally speaking, a faith that has seen miracles of healing come to be. Even so, my faith couldn’t move a mountain. It couldn’t move a rock in the road! I ponder on so great a faith, but I cannot get my mind around it.

My eyes go on to the last part of the sentence in 1 Corinthians 13:2: “. . . but have not love, I am nothing.” Even a faith that would move a mountain is not worth what love is worth to Almighty God. In His eyes, love has the highest value of all. In my earthbound thinking, it seems faith would be the greatest, but it isn’t so.

1 Peter 4:8 says “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”

Courtesy MorgueFile

Courtesy MorgueFile

It was God’s love for us that provided the blood of Jesus our Savior to cover our sins. And this alone should tell us all we need to know about the highest value being placed on love: the Father shed His only Son’s blood because of His love for us, a love greater than anything we will ever understand this side of Heaven. Peter declares that our love for others is of far more importance to God than all the wrongs we do. God prefers looking at our pluses, not our minuses.

Perhaps John says it best with this simple message: “God is love” (1 John 4:16). Not God loves, but God is love. So if God is love, then we see why He delights in our giving love to others. It is evidence to the world of our likeness to Him, that which speaks the truth of God.

Courtesy MorgueFile

Courtesy MorgueFile

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34).

Recent Posts

  • In the Garden
  • Sue and Sophie, Caregivers
  • Hearing God, Receiving by Faith
  • She Taught Me to Pray
  • Calls to Serve
  • When We Have an Assignment to Serve
  • Caring for God’s Creatures
  • Perspective on Life from Hospital Days
  • Sorting Blueberries — and Life
  • Establishing the Faith of a Child
  • Gift-Giving
  • The Labor and Love of Quilting

Archives

  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

  • adoption
  • adoration
  • aggressive behavior
  • Animal companionship
  • animal protection
  • anticipation
  • Assumptions
  • attitude
  • availability
  • Bible study
  • birds
  • blooming things
  • career decisions
  • Celebrate Christmas
  • Christian hope
  • Christian service
  • Christianity
  • Christmas story
  • claiming God's promises
  • comfort
  • communication
  • communication with God
  • communion with God
  • compromise
  • cotton fields
  • death
  • death and dying
  • dementia
  • depression
  • devotion
  • earth
  • Election 2016
  • end-of-life decisions
  • faith
  • family
  • fitness
  • focus
  • forgiveness
  • Gethsemane
  • gifts
  • giving
  • God's answers to prayer
  • God's faithfulness
  • God's love for us
  • Goodbyes
  • grandmother
  • gratitude
  • healing
  • healthcare stories
  • Hearing God's Voice
  • heavy heart
  • heroes
  • Holy Spirit
  • hope
  • hospital stories
  • how God sees us
  • humility
  • hymns
  • insight
  • Jesus in prayer
  • jobs
  • journaling
  • judging by outward appearance
  • kindness
  • Learning from Adversity
  • life purpose
  • love
  • Love for God
  • making decisions
  • Memories
  • miracles
  • music in healing
  • Nation under God
  • nature
  • negotiating
  • never alone
  • nighttime fear
  • observation
  • peace
  • pets needs
  • poetry
  • prayer
  • Preachers
  • Prodigal
  • quiet time
  • quilting
  • rain
  • raised from dead
  • relationship
  • remaining pure
  • responsibility
  • risks
  • Serving
  • Siamese cats
  • Sight
  • sleep
  • solving problems
  • Spiritual Maturity
  • spiritual training
  • study scripture
  • support
  • Teachers
  • thanksfulness
  • Thanksgiving
  • Therapy Animals
  • trust
  • understanding
  • unity
  • unknown future
  • war veterans
June 2023
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« May    

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

God has not given us a spirt of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

© Pat Rowland and Prayerful Pondering, 2010 - 2013.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pat Rowland and Prayerful Pondering with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Hope must be in the future tense. Faith, to be faith, must be in the present tense. Catherine Marshall
Everything over your head is under his feet. Dr. Tom Lindberg
What an excellent ground of hope and confidence we have when we reflect upon these three things in prayer--the Father's love, the son's merit and the Spirit's power! Thomas Manton
Our Christian hope is that we're going to live with Christ in a new earth, where is not only no more death, but where life is what it was always meant to be. Timothy Keller

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Prayerful Pondering
    • Join 130 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Prayerful Pondering
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...