Monthly Archives: November 2022

Jesus Took the Wheel and Drove Her Home

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Dear Lori…I love you with all my heart and I will miss you immensely. 💔

I will miss our fun-loving bantering back-and-forth between our offices. I will miss the walks in the hallway and the walks around the track. I will miss eating our peanut butter pops together. I will miss the tears and laughs we shared and our talking out loud to ourselves then yelling to each other “you talking to me?” I will miss our outings together such as snowshoeing, golfing, or hiking monument trails. I will miss your benevolent smile, your wisdom, and your giving heart. I will miss our visits about our faith…our Jesus talks. I will miss hearing the stories about your family and the love you had for your husband, children, parents and brother. I will miss hearing you say “Jesus take the wheel,” and “oh, my lanta,” which you and I both picked up from my daughter.

I giggle when I remember our recent trip to Brainerd with seven SMSU Aspiring Educators. You chuckled when you shared with us the story of your resort room missing a few essentials such as a shower curtain, coffee pot, iron, and hangers. You never once complained about these glitches. You handled it with such grace! This impressed my daughter, and it impressed the students you were mentoring.

The SMSU Aspiring Educators adored you and were appreciative of all you did for them and for the knowledge you shared. You touched their lives more than anyone will ever realize. The letter and pictures below are from three of the seven:

You have been a light for me the past 2.5 years, Lori, and I thank Jesus for introducing us and putting our offices right next to each other. Oh, if our office walls could talk.

I love you, Lori.  As our mutual friend said to me after we learned of your unexpected passing away, “Gosh, I just cannot even imagine the GLORY she is seeing right now. There is NO joy in death, but Praise Jesus…He has overcome death.” And as my six year old grandson said to his mom, “Mom, she is WITH Jesus. She is so lucky. I know grandma is sad, but her friend is WITH Jesus.”

Jesus took the wheel and drove you home, Lori! I know where you are, and I’ll see you again someday, sweet friend❣❣

Stay calm & Hug a Friend!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V.   

Holiday Sorrow

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My jovial, handsome brother would be celebrating his 66th birthday today. Makes me wonder what he would look like at 66? Probably just as handsome as he was 42 years ago before he entered his heavenly home exactly two weeks prior to his 24th birthday. We lost him right before the holiday season began.

Losing a loved one is hard, really hard! Add losing that loved one around the holidays and it seems to magnify the sorrow. As sad as it was for me to lose my only sibling, I saw the devastation and turmoil it caused my mom and dad. Especially my mom. I’d say it took her at least five years before I saw a small glimpse of the mom she used to be. I had missed her so much, so I welcomed this tiny step toward her healing with such hope and gratitude to God.  

My hubby and I have been watching “The Crown” on Netflix and we just watched Episode 2 of Season 5 the other night. One scene shares Prince Philip soothing his grieving cousin after she lost a daughter to cancer. This cousin is wanting to start a charity for cancer victims, and the Prince shares these wise words about grief with her:

“A long time ago, I lost my favorite sister, Cecilia, in an airplane crash. I learned then what grief was. True grief. How it moves through the body. How it inhabits it. How it becomes part of your skin. Your cells. And, it makes a home there. A permanent home. But, you learn to live with it. And you will be happy again. Though, never in the same way as before. That’s the point. To keep finding new ways.

Prince Philip lovingly encourages her to keep finding new ways to embrace joy and happiness through the grieving process.

There have been so many losses recently and it is HEARTBREAKING!! I want to hug every single person who has lost one they love. I want to gently tell them “you will be happy again.” But I don’t. Everyone’s grief is their own. Everyone deals with loss in different ways. Those of us on the outside looking in…please be empathetic to this. Let them (us) journey through their grief in their own way. No matter how long that takes. Just be there for them. Somehow. Someway.

Whether it was just yesterday, last year, or 42 years ago, to all of us experiencing tragedy and loss, I offer these scripture hugs and love and heartfelt prayers…”

💔 I mourn with you. Romans 12:15B, “…mourn with those who mourn.”

💔 I weep with you. John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”

💔 I offer compassion and love to you. Lamentations 3:32, “…he will show compassion; so great is his unfailing love.”

💔 I pray for your broken heart to heal. Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

💔 I pray for God’s comfort to embrace you. Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

💔 I pray for you to find rest in the middle of your sorrow. Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

💔 I pray you know God cares for you and will lift you up. 1 Peter 5:6-7, “…so that at the proper time, he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  

And…

💔 I pray you find inner peace. Numbers 6:24-26, “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Finding joy and happiness once again will come. It may never be the same, but it will come. It may take quite a while, but it WILL come. Believe it. Receive it.

Sweet Jesus, I lift up all who are going through or remembering a loss this close to the holiday season, and I pray you would be very close to each one who is in mourning today. You are the God of all comfort who comforts us in time of need, and I pray for those who are facing such a painful trial today. Uphold and draw near to all during this season of grief. Sooth away our heartache. In Jesus name, Amen.

Sending my deepest sympathies, hugs, and prayers to all of us experiencing new and old loss! And…happy heavenly birthday, big brother. Love and miss you.

Find Peace in the holiday sorrow! 🙏
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V. 

Jesus Take the Wheel

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📷 credit: Etsy https://tinyurl.com/kj4b28pr

Two young men were heard discussing the quote Jesus Take the Wheel while sitting in their car.  

The first young man asked his buddy, “You know that saying Jesus take the wheel? Where did that even come from? There’s no biblical evidence that Jesus even knew how to drive.”

The second young man answered, “Bro, Jesus drove a Honda.”

Startled, the first young man questioned, “WHAT?”

The second young man responded with great confidence in his knowledge of scripture, “Do you not read the bible? He didn’t like talking about it. John Chapter 12 verse 49, He says, “For I do not speak of my own accord.”  😀

While that second young man clearly does not understand the true meaning of this verse, I’m proud of him because at least he knew what the verse said. I didn’t know the verse so of course I looked it up to read the whole chapter and learn why Jesus said that. John 12:47-50 reads:

47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.

48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.

50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

Basically, the last verses in John 12 can be quickly summarized like this: Some folks believed in Jesus and some did not. Pretty much sums up today, doesn’t it? And, what really breaks my heart is Christianity has dropped almost 12% in the last few years (Max Lucado, 2022). So sad!

When I get frustrated with circumstances or people or whatever, a way to call out to Jesus can be a simple “Jesus, take the wheel.” In his song “See Me through It” Brandon Heath explains why this works… “Things are gettin’ real, Jesus take the wheel. I don’t got this, I know YOU got this. I know you’ll see me through it!” In other words, “HELP, Lord, this is out of my control, and you are bigger than any burdens I will face so I need your help.”

My colleague and friend is often heard saying this. Out of the blue, I’ll hear the voice in the corner office next to mine say out loud, “Jesus! Take the wheel.” Advising almost 100 students can do that to a professor. It’s her code for asking “let’s go for a walk or something” so out the office doors we go to walk the hallways for a little while. I appreciate this about her. She’s real and open and honest, and she would do the same for me. All I would have to say is “Jesus, take the wheel” and she would just know.

Is there someone in your office or school district or classroom who is struggling and may need to go for a walk? Share the code with them and make a promise to each other that when you hear “Jesus, take the wheel,” you’ll take a Jesus break together.  

Yes, Jesus, take the wheel. I give you thanks and honor and glory today and every day (Psalm 86:12). I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). When life gets me down protect me from trouble and keep your loving eye on me (Psalm 32:7-8). Give me the courage to totally trust you today (Proverbs 3:5) and to know you will see me through all my troubles because with you all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Take the wheel, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

Stay Calm & Let Him Take the Wheel!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V.