Reflections of Reflections

January 16, 2025

The Moon In My Window

Dear Nieces and Nephews,

Yesterday morning I woke up half an hour early, instantly alert, my eyes landing on a mostly-full moon in our upper great room window. Underneath was an identical but dimmer version of it. It took me a few minutes to figure out the reflection was bouncing off the window on the other end of the great room and reflecting back at me. I found myself adjusting my gaze to see only the dimmer version, as the brighter one hurt my eyes.

It was all so sudden and unexpected, I found myself asking, “Is there a message in this?”

No answers came to mind, so I tucked the thought away but soaked in the view a little longer before getting my phone to take a picture. It doesn’t capture the fulness of the image or the moment (where were you, Ellie?), but gives you an idea:

This was followed by a rough day. The pipes had frozen overnight again. (I must confess, Garth: I think I forgot to turn the faucets on at bedtime … It wasn’t the kids’ fault.) As we were thawing them and bringing more firewood into the basement, Sadie (our lab) got down there and Michael caught her eating poison. Three of us spent the next half-hour wrestling her bear-like strength to induce vomiting by forcing hydrogen peroxide down her throat. Then it was a trip to Walgreens to get charcoal for next-level detox. In the middle of all this, I found something in a corner of our home that overwhelmed me with a feeling of failure. A couple hours later I was knocking at the door of a house I’d never been in, admitting something embarrassing to someone I’d never met.

Things got better after that, and my heart lightened. As I pondered it all at the end of the day, I remembered the reflection in my window and found its message.

The moon is a direct reflection of the sun. It can be really bright … almost too bright to look at.

I want to reflect God clearly in my life. But maybe someone somewhere needs to see only a reflection of a reflection in me for now, because it’s all their eyes are ready for.

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror dimly; then we shall see face to face.” – I Corinthians 13:12)

Truth be known, on Monday night I was more like a third or fourth generation reflection. I don’t even want to describe that for you. My kids can if they want to.

Here’s the point: Maybe it doesn’t matter how many generations down our reflection is on any given day … AS LONG AS WE KEEP REFLECTING. And that means keeping our gaze fixed on What we are reflecting, no matter what’s happening around us. Little by little, we'll move up the ladder.

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18

“Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option.” (2 Corinthians 4:8)

Do not grow weary in well-doing, dear nieces and nephews, for great is your reward!

Have a great day,

Aunt Michelle

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Birthday Baby

By Michelle Hauge • March 28, 2025

Celebrating Life

Adventure Day

By Michelle Hauge • March 23, 2025

Dear Nieces & Nephews, We had been home schooling your cousins for several years when I decided our days had become too mundane, and “Adventure Days” were born. Once a week, I’d wake everyone up with a mysterious list of items to pack, then we’d drive off into the great unknown. The study desk for the day might be a new library, the top of a bluff, the base of a waterfall, a waterpark in its off-season, a donut shop. Kids had only to trust, follow along and have a great time. Some of them loved these days and still talk about them today. Some chafed and battled. Why? I still ponder my way through the psychology of it. I’d suspect there were two elements at work: pride (“I have better ideas than you; I want to do mine instead.”) and insecurity (“My trust broke when I was a baby and I can’t trust you unless you’re utterly predictable.”) Both demonstrate an insatiable appetite for being in control. And I relate to both. It amazes me how diligent God is in refining the skill set I need to trust Him in each day’s unpredictability. It’s finally dawning on me that the angst in the pit of my stomach won’t dissipate until I let go of my pride and insecurity and stop battling for my own way, which sounds like this: “I want adventure, but it needs to be of MY choosing, in MY timing. I need YOU to be steady and predictable and safe. YOUR job is to (please) make it comfortable and fun, and (please) make sure I look really good to everyone else along the way.” God doesn’t usually go along with requests like this. He loves me too much. He loves YOU too much too. If you feel like you’re drowning today, please learn this alongside me: The very life circumstances that are drowning us can also make us float. The difference is in our response. Lightness and ease will not come from being in control of our own adventure, but in surrendering and trusting the One who loves us so very much. He is trustworthy, even when others haven’t been. Peace will not come when the unpredictable stops. It will come when we learn to float in it. How do we learn this skill? Ask the Holy Spirit for swimming lessons. He will teach you. He will . Just ask. Even if you don’t think you know how to hear His voice, I guarantee He will not give you a snake when you ask for bread. (Matthew 7:9.) He’s the One who knit you together in your mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13.) He knows every thought before it even enters your mind. (Psalm 139:2.) He certainly knows your language. Pay attention. Make Him your focus, not the circumstances that are making you panic. Then respond. We’re on the adventure of a lifetime together, you and I. Let’s enjoy it! Love, Aunt Michelle

Equal & Opposite Reaction

By Michelle Hauge • February 26, 2025

Dear Nieces & Nephews, “Grandpa Dave” has been God’s gift to our family since both sets of grandparents left early for heaven. We don’t live super close, so most of our contact lately has been over the phone, talking about challenges and breakthroughs and what we see God doing through them. Yesterday he told me that while thinking about how dismal the world is looking these days, he was reminded of Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. “God is getting ready to release an equal and opposite reaction to all that the Enemy has been unleashing,” he said. I had to wrestle through the concept of “equal” when it comes to God and Satan, but eventually it made sense. God’s not wasteful. I think He uses just enough of his bottomless resources to meet each action with its equal reaction. And here’s another scientific truth we see everywhere: When opposite and equal forces collide, there is a burst of ... shall we say ... productivity ? When it’s opposite electrical charges, there is a spark or release of energy; the intensity depends on the magnitude of the charges involved. Varying air temperatures collide to create a storm. (I could go on, but I'll stop before my simplicity brings laughter to the true scientists among you.) That’s where my encouragement for today is coming from. My life has been a fierce, ongoing storm for some time now. (I’ll bet I’m not the only one.) Every day there is either cataclysmic disturbance with flying debris, a respite of sunshine and rainbows, or darkening clouds as another onslaught forms. The main goal of my quiet times is to lift my chin, focus my attention on the Savior, press on, and hold onto peace. Bill Johnson says, “We only have authority over the storms we’ve learned to sleep through.” Jesus has a cushion laid out for me in the bottom of the boat beside Him, and I intend to use it. Then I'll wake up occasionally to watch the lightning display or pull others to safety. This morning I studied all of Newton’s Laws of Motion, and there is a boatload of spiritual truth hiding in all three. I plan to dive deep and learn as much as I can from them about my Creator because the more I grasp how He thinks naturally , the more I’ll understand Him supernaturally . Without this, I’m sure I will sink. With it, I’m in for the ride of my life. Hoping to find you resting there alongside, Aunt Michelle