GOING AROUND THE BEND

Jun2

The dust on the road made little “poofs” as I jogged down the path, no one but me in my world at the moment. I had not alarmed the birds, who continued to sing, and I could hear squirrels as they scratched in the leaves trying to bury a late acorn–or perhaps find one. I loved being alone, soaking in the beauty, and watching the creek, out of sight on the left, gurgle over the rocks as it went its merry way. How can everything not be alright in a world like this? The day was made to be enjoyed!

I slowed to a walk to savor every moment, knowing it would come to an end soon and I would have to return to my parked car, go finish my errands, and head home. Back to the computer, back to the business, back to the “daily grind.” But wait–first let me continue long enough to see what lies around the bend in the road! Anything this peaceful has to have a happy ending.

I decided to walk lighter, not making any more noise than possible, almost tiptoeing. Why? Maybe gut instinct, which had kicked in! I had no idea how far the path continued, but time seemed to have stood still for these precious moments. As I got closer to the bend, I was still soaking in the peace that permeated the scene. And then I rounded the curve, to the unseen. There, sitting quietly beside the path, about 100 feet in front of me, sat a mama bear, with two small cubs playing happily; after all, Mama was there to keep them protected. I stopped, backed up, and rounded the bend I had just traversed, and then flew on feet that would have won a marathon back to my car. I didn’t take that nanosecond to look back to see if she had been as alarmed as I, and was giving chase. I fumbled my automatic door key, but finally hit the right button. She was not behind me–all that fear, and nothing was chasing me.

I could not help but make the spiritual analogy: it’s part of who I am. How often do we think we can handle what might be around that next step in life, when we can’t see? May we never be so arrogant that we think we can go into any situation, not knowing the outcome, unless He is leading us there to do some work for him. We have no idea what lies ahead, but “He orders our steps (Psalms)” and leads us–unless we’re set on going our own way. Then He does not stop us, but let’s us proceed until eventually we get so lost, or so in conflict that we turn back and ask Him the way.

I pray I always go no further than God leads me. He has always BEEN faithful, therefore He will always BE faithful! If I am trusting Him with my eternity, how is it that I can’t trust Him with today, here, in this “nasty now and now”? Life isn’t always about beautiful paths and peaceful scenes: sometimes–ofttimes–it’s about the bears. But He is all we need. Is He all you need?

Dearest Father, when our hearts are so heavy that we cannot lift them, we think of the beautiful Psalm, now a song: ” Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God! But, Thou, O Lord, are a shield for me; my glory and the lifter of my head [and my heart!]! (Psalm 3:2,3). Thank You for what You did for me on Calvary–thank You for the scars in Your hands and feet, and what they represent. Thank You for making Yourself so lowly and humble that You left heaven for us, who are so sinful! Thank You for the cross, Lord! Amen

MOVING THE MOUNTAINS!

May16

I will lift up my eyes unto the mountains; from where does my help come? It comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1, 2 NAS

Somehow the scene just popped out at me! How appropriate–the beauty of mountains sticking up out of the foggy valleys! What a glorious time God must have had as He painted this picture so early in the morning for me, the only person around! Climbing up onto one of the guardrail posts, in high heels, I did a balancing act while taking this picture of a scene that took away my breath. How amazing, and what a spiritual truth lay in the beauty!

Raised in the “hills” of West Virginia (America’s “Little Switzerland,”), mountains have been my love for all of my decades. It was sheer agony for me as our family drove our now-vintage vehicles, loaded with a week’s worth of necessities, to spend a week on the beaches of North Carolina. The heat, the sand spurs, the sand, the tides–none appealed to me and I longed to return home to my beloved mountains. Later, as a move to Florida came about, I thought my life had ended: as you top the small ridge on the Interstate and enter Florida, your vision feels as though it is going for miles and miles in a straight, flat line. Once, when my youngest son was about four, we were driving. As we went over a speed bump on a street, he looked back: “Was that a hill, Mom?” he asked.

Later, moving to Central Virginia, I would awaken to the gorgeous beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, drinking in the cool air, the wonder of the loveliness, and the grandeur of the height and depth of the terrain. I have never gotten enough of the view, no matter how often I awake to it.

Now, mountains and valleys have become my daily expectation. Oh, not the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains, but the ones that come with regularity into my life: those people who are seem to delight in making our lives miserable, whether in the workplace or a social setting; the load of work that has to be completed by a certain date (have you ever noticed that we refer to the files on the desk as a “mountain” of work? Or, a “mountain” of laundry?); the deadlines set by someone who expects actions to be accomplished yesterday, and on and on. Then the valleys: our spirit gets low, Satan steals our joy, unexpected bills are due, we find one of the children is being bullied, someone we love has a terminal illness, and again–on and on. Sometimes, as in the picture, the fog is so heavy in the valley that we can’t see our way. Do you call on the Shepherd at that point, or has He been walking beside you all along?

Last year, after reading my Bible through for the umpteenth time, as I came to the verse in Matthew, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and nothing shall be impossible to you,” (Chapter 17:20 NAS) suddenly I was struck by the word ‘mountain.’ Now probably you, if you’re theologically taught, have already realized that was speaking metaphorically, but for me–well, I had always thought there would have to be a mighty good reason for the mountain to move, and I had never had that practical motivation, although I felt my faith was solid. Suddenly, I saw the metaphor, and realized that I could have enough faith to move a mountain of heavy burdens, a mountain of tasks, a mountain of responsibilities…and so much more. Why had I thought it had to be a physical mountain? Because I’m a black and white person, I guess. I have to really work on seeing gray areas. God opened my eyes, and the word popped out! Don’t you love it when that happens?

So today, you can move a mountain! Not perhaps all at one time, but you can start with the first wheelbarrow full of dirt. Does your spouse or family member have a mountain of bitterness against you? Then start moving it! Do you have a mountain of work at the house that it seems it will never get done? Then start with one square of 4×4 ft. space. Tomorrow do another square! By the way, leave one mountain in place, so you can go to the top occasionally for a real “mountaintop” experience! And while you’re there, remember how many valleys God has brought you through. Even though Christ was talking in Matthew 25 in a parable about servants and faithfulness, it is easy to apply it to Christ Himself: if He has been faithful in your life to bring you through the many small things, will He not also bring you through the big things, the mountains, if you will? Of course He will! Your faith only has to be the size of a grain of mustard seed!

God, You are so tremendous! What a glorious world You have given us to enjoy, with the beauty never-ending! Yet we know this world is going to wear out like a garment, but we don’t have to fear: You have gone to prepare us a place that is beyond our imagination. Meanwhile on this earth, Lord, as we sojourn here, let us be good and faithful servants, even unto death. Thank You for Your nail-scarred hands, and all that they mean to us! We love You, Lord! Amen

JUST WHEN I NEED HIM MOST!

May10

You may not have been raised “old school” where the hymns were the basic doctrine for almost all of one’s theology, but if you were, you know there was (is) a hymn for every situation! My son once said, “No matter what I do, you have a Bible verse for it!” Believe me, that was not meant as a compliment! But there truly seemed to be an old hymn for however one was feeling and you would find yourself humming or singing the one that fit your mood! “What A Friend,” “The Old Rugged Cross..” so many great hymns. This week God reinforced the beautiful one that said “just when I need Him most!”

My son-in-law posted that he had had a week of four Mondays… someone else said he was about the fourth person they had heard that from–and I made a fifth! Do you have those weeks, when it seems as if every day brings a crisis, an unexpected bill, a sickness, or worse, a dry, spiritual river bottom, rather than a flowing stream? Your prayers don’t seem to go through the ceiling, and God seems silent. Not a good week.

But He knows our weakness, and oh! the reassurance in the reminder that “He knows our frame; He remembers that we are but dust!” (Psalm 103:14). He hasn’t moved one inch… He’s just waiting for–well, what? Us to get quiet? To draw near to Him? To get to the end of our frayed rope? To call upon Him in the day of trouble? Yes, these and more!

One Monday after another for four days, and then suddenly, like a flower opening in the sunshine, He sends down some blessings to remind me–and you–how special we are to Him. Like a child who comes to you in loving obedience, and suddenly you forget the misdemeanors for the love, just as suddenly you forget the faithlessness of wondering if He really cares as you bask in the love that He’s showing. Problems that were stressing me all week disappeared as He acted: sending answers to prayers that had been fervent all week. And I wonder, why did I doubt that He would? I am so often truly a “double-minded man [woman], unstable..” in so many ways! And yet He remains faithful. Again I rest in the Scripture: just because I am faithless, does not make HIM unfaithful! (2 Tim 2:13.)

We serve an Awesome God! One Who has our best interests at heart, but is not persuaded to act when it’s too early, just because we are stressed. His answers come “just when we need Him most!” And when they do, we forget the pain, for the gift of life that has come again to us! (John 16:21, with apologies to John for taking it slightly out of context!) He has answered with love and kindness, miracles that are so special they show me they are “Love Notes” directly from the heart of God–straight to my path.

Forgive me when I waver, Lord! Keep me on the straight and narrow path, even when the world tempts me to get busy and forget my first responsibility is to hunger and thirst for You, O Lord! Thank You for Your love, Lord, and thank You for the Cross! Amen

Waiting Patiently or Taking Control?

Feb18

Do you get frustrated waiting for God to answer a prayer? Lately I have been more and more aware of the “control” I want to take when things do not go the way I wish them to! Yet at the same time I’m fully aware the Bible tells me to “wait patiently on the Lord, and He will bring it to pass.” Why, then, is waiting so hard?

Obviously, part of the reason (maybe the main one!) is that we live is a society that is geared to NOW: we go through the fast food restaurant when we feel hunger pains (and get upset if the line is more than 3 cars long!); we hit ‘enter’ on the computer and then get irritated when the circle spins for more than ten seconds; we pull up to a red light with our left foot on the brake, the right on the accelerator in order to hit it as soon as green appears, and on and on. Control in our eating habits, control on the road (and don’t we holler at other drivers–since they can’t hear us!–when they make us five seconds later than we want to be?!), control over the computer, —control, control, control. You would have a hard time convincing me that most of our frustrations do not arise out of losing that control.

God does not work on our time table. That may not surprise you, but at the same time, have you accepted it so that you can trust in peace? Lately it has come to me as I’ve been reading in the Old Testament, trying to absorb the culture as I read that I do not have the faith of the old time saints. Noah was faithful, spending many years building a boat–did he know what a boat was? Did he know what it was for? Did he understand rain? I’m not sure–perhaps his faith was so great that he didn’t care about the unknown, since he had heard the voice of God telling him to build the ark. How long would we have worked, while people jeered and taunted us for doing something “stupid?” A day? A week?

Abraham was told by God to go away from family to a place God was going to give him and that his descendants would outnumber the sand on the seashore; ten years later the covenant was renewed, and yet it was another fourteen years before Isaac was born. Twenty four years! It’s not a wonder that Sarah got frustrated with waiting, but yet there is no indication Abraham had anything except total trust in God.

David was anointed king by Samuel. Did he take the throne immediately? Not by any means! He even was ‘hired’ by Saul to play on his instrument in order to quiet the insanity of Saul–an unknown king consoling a reigning king! He had to run for his life for years before being anointed king, and then served faithfully in Judah before Israel became part of his kingdom as well.

All of these patriarchs point out that God definitely does NOT see as we see, nor is He tied to a time that says “do this immediately!” Yes, there are times He acts quickly: Nehemiah, cupbearer to the king, showed a sadness in his face when he came before the king: an act that could have gotten him killed. The king asks, “Why are you sad?” and Nehemiah prays! All he has time to say in his prayer is “HELP!” He did not have the luxury of waiting ten minutes before answering the king! I’m convinced God gave him the words to speak truth to the king and gave it to him at that moment. But that was God’s timing!

What can we learn from these? That when God promises something, He will do it! Which is more important to us–that we submit our will to His, or that we control God to get it done sooner, rather than later? If I can order God around, He is not the right God! My God does what He wants, when He knows He needs to, and not one second sooner. He gives me faith to continue to serve Him even when I see nothing happening–or do I? These are hard questions. St. Augustine, one of the most famous of the early church fathers, had a mother who prayed for his salvation night and day–never giving up, never letting go of the hem of the garment of the One Who brought salvation, and eventually her prayer was answered.

It is a light-bulb moment for us when we realize that inactivity drives us up a wall, and that waiting patiently is adverse to everything in us: waiting for God to act seems fruitless when days become weeks, and nothing seems to have been done! So we say to God (perhaps not aloud!) “Here, just give it back to me, and I’ll work on this problem while You do something else.” And God usually does! He’ll give it back, watch our fruitless actions, and wait patiently for us to come to the realization that all we’re trying to accomplish is only resulting in unrest, a lack of peace, and NO productivity! Years ago in high school I remember the analogy the teacher used for work: was pushing against a boulder or a building, with every muscle in you, pouring sweat in the process, red in the face, work or not work? It was not work because it would end in nothing being accomplished. So it is with our activity when it’s outside the realm of waiting on God.

May He find us faithful as we wait for Him to answer our prayers, our pleas, the desires of our hearts. May we have enough trust in Him that we can rely on every promise He has ever made, knowing somehow good is coming from the waiting! May we continue steadfast as we lift us wayward children who may be destined for hell, husbands who may be playing at church, fathers or mothers who want nothing to do with God, siblings who fight against serving God, and neighbors whose lifestyle slanders everything He is. Let us serve Him for He is Holy, Faithful, and deserving of all we can give Him!

Father, I’m probably the worst of your children who gets impatient with waiting. Help me to realize the stronghold this can have in my life, and let me give my problems completely over to You, and then wait patiently for You to bring good out of them! Send sowers to those we love who will plant seeds, water, fertilize and get the Gospel into their hearts, so that You can bring them to fruition! Increase our faith, Lord! Amen