Norma L. Brumbaugh

foresight: the ability to predict or the action of predicting what will happen or be needed in the future.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Definition of foresight

1 : an act or the power of foreseeing : prescience through foresight, she could tell what the outcome would be. 2 : provident care : prudence had the foresight to invest his money wisely. 3 : an act of looking forward also : a view forward.

Practical application.

I’m going to admit something here about myself that I’ve rarely mentioned to anyone. Things occur, decisions are made, and I can almost always predict the outcome of that decision before it happens. I guess this is the gift of foresight. However, what I really think is going on, is I have a broad understanding of human nature, and how it works in the scheme of things. Also, I have some slight em-path tendencies. Also, common sense enters in.

God may have gifted me with foresight.

Foresight is both a good thing and a bad thing. I often know what’s going to happen before it happens. I know personalities and how they react or handle things. For example, I remember when my church was voting on a youth program that costed $600. I also knew the youth leaders, and their leadership style. I knew before we voted that the money would be wasted, the leaders were sort of all over the place (not to disparage them, they did a good job). Yet, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to rock the boat. The church bought the program. It was barely purchased before the program was abandoned. It wasn’t a good fit.

Since those long ago days, I’ve learned to speak up. But sometimes I’ve dropped the ball, those times I should have spoken but kept silent. I felt the pressure of group-think, where fears of going against the grain kept me from voicing an independent view, where maybe I could have brought more clarity to the conversation. I’ve learned that if you keep silent, people think you are in agreement with those vocalizing and pushing to influence the outcome. In those cases, group-think was not the best solution for the situation. Two or three years later, it proved to be disastrous.

Foresight looks forward to the future. Wisdom, discernment, and forward-thinking benefits from looking at a choice and its possible outcomes–to the institution, people, culture–and if it will possibly cause damage control issues or worse. People can be their own worst enemies. In fact, sometimes the thing may be good but still not God’s will for you, your church, or your family.

Patience is a virtue.

The problem is that people steamroll ahead without giving serious thought to consequences of the choice or action. I think we’d all be better off if we would give serious prayer to decisions before we make them. God’s will is discernible. But sometimes people don’t want to wait long enough to listen for His will. Often, a waiting period is required before God reveals His will. Believers can be too impatient, and believers can do it their own way, impulsively at times. They think their solution is the right solution. Yikes!

Nope, not good.

Most of my ability to use the gift of foresight has a natural flow that impresses me with what’s going on. Sad to say, these incidents rarely are positive. Sometimes I’m down in the dumps for weeks and can’t talk about the issue with many I know. A couple close friends are trusted to handle these concerns of mine. Other times, spiritual warfare comes as a result of a wrong choice, which is never pretty. You can spot it by the confusion of people talking over other people and not hearing each other’s heart.

*I am not referring to supernatural foresight, an ability to foretell an unknown entity without any knowledge of the said event.

Influences and outcomes.

I wrote this post to encourage you as you place your stuff in the Master’s hand. God is not slack concerning His promises. He always welcomes us. Foresight doesn’t matter in the scheme of things, but wisdom does. If God is prompting you, don’t ignore it. Act on the prompting. His Spirit will guide you in the right direction without fail.

Some of the past has included wounding by our fellow Christian believers. Move forward. Let it go. Choose the right thing. Confront the past issue when necessary. Don’t live in bondage to the thing. Welcome God’s healing. Welcome His joy. Trust Him to carry you forward. Find God’s peace that passes all understanding.

God is gracious.

I wish you well on your spiritual journey.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Today was an interesting day. I spent my time preparing some paperwork for Social Security. Midday I headed to Oroville to the Department of Records to get a copy of my marriage certificate. It was a nice drive and I was coasting along, happy at heart. This was a good day, and I was feeling it.

Now at the building, I input the information on a computer screen and then waited to be helped. Next it was my turn. I told the clerk that I was requesting an ‘old’ copy. She smiled when I said 1980. She had thought 1800’s when I said old. She said it would take a minute to print the marriage certificate.

The clerk handed me the marriage certificate. I’d not seen it before today, having had only a handwritten complimentary copy all these years. I looked at my ex-spouse’s name and my name, the year, the pastor who officiated, my friend Ronda D. and his friend Randy S. who were witnesses of our marriage. It startled me as I looked at it, and I remembered. My mood altered as I viewed the marriage certificate. A strange mixture of emotions came over me. I felt warmth, regret, sadness, happiness for that day, the joy of our children, and the everlasting melancholy that marked our marriage relationship. I had loved and lost.

I loved my mate with an innocent love. That love and my belief in our marriage had carried me through thick and thin, heavy on the thin. I was naive about a lot of things. I didn’t know what I was dealing with in our troubled marriage. That the marriage had been dissolved just days short of 22 years, was a testament to human resiliency and God’s faithfulness. We both had tried in our own ways. The flower had faded. For a while I faded too, after it ended. Pain does that to you. I’m still sorry our marriage didn’t make it. But it wasn’t for lack of trying.

At my daughter’s wedding this past June, I saw my ex again. We exchanged a few pleasantries. He came over to my house for a meal with my extended family, and it was okay. When you’ve lived with someone for two decades, you know them pretty well. The way they talk, their gestures, the way they laugh, and the way they carry themselves is so familiar that it all comes rushing back. You can almost predict what they’re thinking.

Morning glories I planted this year. They brighten my day.

It’s a few months shy of 20 years since we divorced. Neither of us has remarried. I’ve learned a tremendous lot since my world fell apart. God does make beauty from ashes. It’s sad that the kids get hurt in the process. Dysfunction is damaging. They’re doing pretty well now, I’m happy to say. But it’s not been easy. I tried so hard to protect them from getting hurt, yet they got hurt anyway. Why? There are reasons, but they no longer matter. We have picked up the pieces and trudged on. That’s a good thing.

One day I was talking to God like He was in the room with me. It was during those days of sorrowing for all I had lost, about a year after we divorced. I had lost not only my husband, but myself, my marriage, and seemingly, my future. I said to God, “If I ever marry again, I only want to marry if its Your will.” Immediately the still, small voice of God spoke within my spirit, and said, “Who says that it wasn’t My will?” That surprised me and pulled me up short. Make what you will of that.

Any comments?

I wish you well on your spiritual journey.

Love to all, Norma

CONNECTING WITH GOD IN EVERYDAY LIFE