MERCY MAGNIFIED
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Winds of Change...

1/30/2015

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December 2012 marked the eighth anniversary of the grand opening of Sunrise Medical Campus.  On December 3, 2004, the morning after our celebration, I had written:  "Lord Almighty, it seems You have thrown open the floodgates of heaven and poured out so much blessing we will not have room for it!  At long last we celebrated the opening of Sunrise.  Be glorified there every day!"

Years earlier the Lord had given the vision to provide the community with a medical facility on South Hill.   God's grace and provision had made it possible.  The dream became reality, and we were happily involved in the administration of both the Medical Campus and the Oasis Cafe.  This was our life...our ministry...and our comfort zone....

Setting up for Friday night music at the Oasis Café.
Then came the email.  The first of what would be many.  A commercial real estate broker expressed interest in brokering the sale of Sunrise.  It became a challenge to ignore the changes of seasons in our lives.  Another look back to my journal at that time tells the story:
December 31, 2012:  "As I approach the New Year I want to focus on You.  The Winds of your Spirit are shifting in my life..."

January 1, 2013:  "I pray Your protection over my family...a holy force-field that allows penetration of only that which will ultimately bring You glory and increase our faith.  You are all-wise, and You know that which will bring the perfect combination of heat and pressure to separate the pure ore in our lives from that which is waste..."
January 18, 2013:  "I pray for wisdom in knowing how to prepare for the times we are facing...find us faithful, Lord."
In March, after multiple phone calls and emails from various real estate brokers, we began to consider that the Lord might be trying to tell us something.  Henry consulted with our corporate accountant, who recommended calling a meeting of the top investors at Sunrise.  We began then, to pray for absolute clarity.
On May 2, 2013 we hosted/catered a dinner for the top twenty investors at The Oasis.
After dinner Henry presented our dilemma.  After nearly ten years of un-rippled operation and great blessing...and not a single offer to buy or sell Sunrise, there had been a barrage of emails and phone calls.  He simply told the investors, "We are here to get your input."

After a few moments of awkward silence, one of the senior investors, wise and well respected, stood up.  His countenance was solemn.  I will NEVER forget his words:

"This nation has passed the point of no return.  We have accrued so much debt, there IS NO WAY TO PAY IT OFF!  It is no longer a matter of 'if', but 'when' the whole thing WILL come crashing down.  If you have a buyer, get out!"

By the end of the evening almost every one of the eighteen investors in attendance communicated similar, grave concerns.  The decision was unanimous.  A committee was formed to select a broker.  Our days at Sunrise Medical Campus and the Oasis Cafe' were numbered.  We had prayed for clarity...and the Sovereign Lord has answered our prayer.
To be honest, as I was cleaning up, rearranging The Oasis for opening the next morning, I found myself in a shock-induced fog...and enveloped in melancholy.  I had absolutely no idea what the future would hold.  The next day I found myself singing the old hymn:

"I need Thee, Lord I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee..."

And in my journal I wrote the words to a popular song:

"All I know is I'm not home yet, this is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong..."

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The Saga Continues...

1/29/2015

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 "Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.  A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His Name.  'They will be mine,' says the Lord Almighty, 'in the day when I make up my treasured possession.  I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.'"  Malachi 3:16-18

So there it was.  On that very dark evening in late November of 2012, Henry finalized plans to travel to Edinburgh and Orkney the following June.   Just the thought of it brought an infusion of levity into our somber home.  I had been plagued with a sense of foreboding for several months.  Our nation was reeling from Hurricane Sandy, which not only wreaked untold destruction along the Eastern seaboard, but ominously sank the renowned "H.M.S. Bounty" and seriously delayed the long awaited re-opening of the Statue of Liberty. Several journal entries I made around that time speak for themselves:

October 24, 2012
:  "I love the stillness of the house at this hour.  I hear only the comfort of a gently simmering teapot.  I am grateful for these days of relative peace, and I sense that these carefree days are numbered."

October 29, 2012:  "I sit this morning in relative peace, while the entire east coast of this nation braces itself for the worst storm in its history.  Lord, You are making a statement!"
  
November 6, 2012 (Election Day):  "You alone know what this day will hold for our nation...grant us the courage to abide in Your truth - regardless of the consequences.  Our citizenship is not in this world."  And from Hosea 9:7-9  "Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac."

December 4, 2012
:  "Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.  You come to the help of those who gladly do right."  (Isaiah 64:3-4)

Caught in the seasonal whirlwind of Christmas preparation and Oasis catering, I was too busy to realize that the Lord was preparing me.  Little by little He was breaking up the unplowed ground of my heart...making way for the sowing of new seed. He was also bringing comfort and reassurance.  Mercy and Truth...Truth and Mercy... It was during this time that Henry received an email triggering events that would change our lives forever.
To God be the Glory...
Anne
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Orkney Musings...

1/24/2015

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Bear with me, as I lay a little ground-work.  I would like you to meet my grandmother, who was born and raised in Graham...
Like a scene from Laura Ingalls Wilder, Thelma Benston, the golden-haired girl spent her childhood days frolicking in the prairie grass of Rocky Ridge and wading in the muddy waters of Muck Creek.  When she wasn't fishing for crawdads or riding the hay-wagon, she sat at the feet of her half-Quinault grandmother Sarah Davis Benston.  Tales told were hidden in Thelma's heart and the retelling would continue to captivate... 

Sarah had met and married William Benston, a fur trader with the Hudson's Bay Company.  Too young to sign on with Hudson's Bay, yet determined to leave home after the death of his mother, William stowed away on a ship carrying his older brother Adam.   They set sail in 1843 from a far-away island called 'Orkney', off the north coast of Scotland.

Fast forward some one hundred and sixty-nine years...to November of 2012.  Thelma, the golden-haired girl (my grandmother) has been gone for thirty years now.  Though her memory begins to fade a little, the golden thread of those stories...the rich tapestry of our family history still glimmers from time to time. 

For some reason, the glint in the tapestry has caught Henry's attention this dark, November night.  He is fascinated by tales of William Benston, the man who took the 320 acre homestead claim at Rocky Ridge where we have our home.  He decides it's time to visit Orkney.  Tickets are bought.  Reservations are made.  I smile at the prospect of a long- held dream realized.  The Lord knows the desire of our hearts.
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Orkney Musings...

1/22/2015

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It is 8:25 pm.  Oddly enough, the wind is not blowing. Funny how quickly one becomes accustomed to the background noise.  A little howling of the wind might echo my mood about now...so exasperated am I, after spending three days simply attempting to add text to this page! I grudgingly admitted  defeat, and within five minutes Henry solved the problem.  Thanks, Henry.

It has been two and a half months since we  arrived in Orkney.   A house I had only seen in my dreams (until last February) is now beginning to feel like 'home'.  There are a couple of boxes yet unopened in the shed, but they are marked 'garden pots'.  We won't be needing those for awhile.  

We are adjusting to living on an island.  Driving on the left is feeling more natural every day.  Local expressions are becoming familiar (kirk = church, peedie = small or tiny, tangles = kelp).  I am learning to cook and bake using metric measurements, different ingredients and an AGA that has no temperature markings.  People in Orkney are characterized by civility and kindness.  We walk on the beach almost every day. This is a good place.

It would be tempting to forget why we are here.  We have not 'retired' to Orkney.  This is not the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.  We left family, friends and a home that we loved as a gut-wrenching response of obedience to God's call to leave our country.  

I sense the need to share our journey with all who are interested.  Be warned, with knowledge comes responsibility.   

Join me if you dare.

Soli Deo Gloria!
Anne












 




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    Anne Reitzug

    Sojourner.  Servant.  Recipient of undeserved  Grace.  Worshiper.

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