As I was growing up my family regularly prayed for several missionaries. Many of them were in our home for a meal or an overnight visit at some point. I remember thinking it must be a challenge to move to another continent and be so far away from one's family and friends. Two of my siblings are now missionaries. I have a sister who lives in Turkey with her husband and six children, and my brother lives in Brazil. My sister and her family were in the US for several months in 2009-2010. They returned for a two month visit last summer. I had planned to spend at least a week with them, but due to pregnancy complications I was unable to drive last summer. They came up and spent one hour with me in the hospital one day in July, and I met their youngest son for the first time. They plan to return for another visit next summer. Over a four year time span I will have spent a grand total of one hour with my sister. My youngest will be almost two years old before they will meet him, and their youngest will be over a year old before I meet her. These experiences have given me a better grasp of Luke 14:26 that uses the word "hate" to teach us that we must place our relationship with Christ as a higher priority than our relationships with our mother, father, brother, sisters, etc. Technology makes it easier to bridge the gap, but I still really miss them. Now when I pray for a missionary, I often find myself also praying for their extended family back at home who have to wait years to see a sibling, niece, nephew, or grandchild.
A friend of mine recounted a recent experience in which he spent time doing outdoor activities with a young woman, and met some other friends along the way. Now, this young woman has a bad reputation, however, she has been working to turn her life around. Unfortunately, her past was no secret from these other friends, and my friend was accosted by them later, wanting to know how he "ended up with 'THAT"?!" "Don't you KNOW about her reputation?" I can't remember how he responded, but knowing him as well as I do, I am certain that he messed with them a bit. My initial response was a fierce anger toward a group of ignorant, self righteous Pharisees. I told him that I would have handed each of them a large stone and said, "Here you go! So who wants to go first?!" WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE??!! This girl is trying to get her life back on track! She has started to go back to church, and the so-called "church people" want to crucify her!
WHERE IS THE LOVE? WHERE IS THE MERCY FOR HER THAT WAS EXTENDED TO US? WHO WILL REACH OUT TO HER AND OTHERS LIKE HER?
The Lord has been dealing with my heart and my thinking as He has been bringing people into my life who don't fit into the usual molds that the traditional church has used in the past. I was blessed to be raised in a loving family who attended church regularly and taught me to love Jesus. There are so very many people out there who were not so fortunate, but Jesus is just a passionately in love with them! Oh, how we have misrepresented Him to them!! The church, in many ways, appears to have lost touch with the heartbeat of Jesus for these precious ones, when loving them and allowing God to transform them is what they need. I saw a church sign yesterday that stated, "Receive Jesus if you don't want to burn." Can someone please explain to me how that makes Jesus attractive to the world in any sense?! I want to tell people, "JESUS LOVES YOU PASSIONATELY!!!" PERIOD! I want people to feel His love and hear His heartbeat and see His goodness when they encounter me. I will encourage them to build relationship with Him. My heart yearns for those who may never show up at a church, that they may fall madly in love with Jesus when they realize that He truly does love them! Remember, the news is supposed to be GOOD!!!
People come in all sizes and shapes,
have different skin tones and hair. I saw all kinds of people
at the amusement parks on vacation.
We are all made in the likeness and image of God.
Kinda makes ya think. If we are all
so very different, yet still made in the image of God,
what does God look like?
The bible describes God as having hair like
shining wool, so curly white hair, right?
Skin shines like brass, He has a tan with healthy & shining skin?
Basically, my theory is this, take every good quality
you can think of that is attractive, and you have a picture
of God.
It is refreshing to view His creation, we humans,
in this light.
When I do this, it helps me to appreciate what He has made,
instead of looking down upon others
and my own imperfections.
Made in His likeness & image......ahhhhhh. I am fearfully
and wonderfully made, even with crooked teeth.
Dexter will sound the warning of strangers at the door, a passing motorcycle, the nightly visit from the neighborhood cat, and even a fly buzzing around by barking and leaping from his perch on the back of the couch with such fierce energy that sometimes I think he should be wearing a cape. However, when a thunderstorm rolls through, at the first flash of lightning he transforms from Super Dog to Mr. Scaredy Dog. He shivers, quivers, paces, and pants until I have to literally wrap him in a blanket and hold him like a baby.
It makes me wonder how many of us humans try to pretend that we are the big dog, afraid of nothing and totally in charge when underneath it all we are shaken by the rumble of the storms in our lives. During these times we could lean on others and draw from their faith, but sometimes we catch ourselves trembling in the corner instead trying to handle it alone.
In Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus calms a storm that the disciples thought was going to destroy them. They were astonished that the winds and the sea obeyed Jesus. In the midst of my storms, I need to be reminded that He is in control and trust Him to be my shelter.
A few weeks ago, Iris and I kept having the same conversation. She'd read about a study of monkey mothering that involved abandoned baby monkeys and the robotic mother substitutes some researcher had built to test out his pet theories
I usually zoned out around the description of the robot mothers and was at the uh uh, uh uh, yes, mmhmm" phase. We'd finish the conversation and she'd look at me closely. A few days later she'd go at it again. It was Groundhog Day until I finally listened.
The robot monkey mothers were of three kinds. Those that never punished and were always accepting, those that only punished, and those that did both. The monkey "mothers" that were loving but set boundaries were loved the most.
Knowing she finally had my attention, she said, "You're like that, Mom. Your kids all love you the most because you love us and you set boundaries for us. We really love you, Mom."
Yes, I melted and went all ooey-gooey inside. In the weeks since I finally listened, her advice has been an undergirding for those tough boundary moments and for those moments when I feel like a failure, like yesterday, when I lost Iris in the Air and Space Museum. We were two panicked monkeys, and have spent most of the time since hand in hand. She keeps telling me my favorite story and I keep counting heads.
This week is black raspberry picking season. For the next few fleeting days, my daughter
and I go out daily to harvest those juicy black jewels to bake, freeze, and eat
out of hand. We go out, armored in
jeans, long sleeves, sneakers or boots, and hats. Our hands still end up looking like they’ve
been attacked by a vicious pack of kittens, and there are times when I can be
seen running through the woods away from a particularly-nasty mosquito, but
all-in-all, we consider the berries worth it.
There are a few life lessons we can take away from the process of berry
picking. First, always wear your armor.
If you have it, put it on and use it!
I made the mistake of wearing a less-protective pair of shoes one time,
and regretted it. The Bible says that we
should put on the whole armor of God to help us deal with everything the world
throws at us. (Ephesians 6:11-13) Be thankful for whatever protection you have,
and use it! I know I am very thankful for my hat, which has saved me from
many-a mosquito bite. Next, things that
seem out of reach might not be. As we stretch and balance like ballet dancers,
many times on one leg, we are able to get to beautiful berries we never thought
we could reach. The effort stretches us
out of our comfort zone, but we have a much bigger harvest from it. Come at problems from a different
perspective, and don’t give up looking too soon. I have learned that you can trust your eyes,
your outlook, but just to a certain point. Don’t get too confident in your own sight. Beautiful clusters hide under leaves or just
around the bend, waiting to be found if only you look at the place from a
different angle. Go around your bush again,
and you will be surprised by what you missed, and glad you tried one more time.
Stir up those leaves and go treasure-hunting!
Pain is part of the process.
Berry bushes have many thorns, and they are the unforgiving sort. We have to learn to be gentle even while in
the grip of a thorny embrace, or we will crush the fruit. No black raspberries are free: you pay the price of pain, and there’s no
getting around it. Life is full of pain
and full of joy. The question being, “Is
it worth it?” If so, be careful not to
squash the joy because of your pain. When
you learn unrelenting gentleness, you learn inner strength. Berries are a gift from God, and the labor
involved can be part of that gift. Enjoy
your gift of life: may your harvest be great and your thorns few. God's timing is absolutely perfect. I needed a two week trip to Charleston so much that God just gave me one--PRECISELY when I needed it.
Sure, it seems like the events went down like this,
1: In January I sat down with Pete, my husband with unfortunate last name, and decided the time for our vacation. He chose a week where he thought everyone would be able to come. YAY!
2: Pete is a medical doctor and to keep his credentials he must take Continuing Medical Education (CME) classes. Every year we get flyers for exotic locations where companies that do these courses want to entice us to come. Pete and I get an accommodations paid trip to somewhere nice. The only trade off is that Pete has to attend classes for half of the day. He said to me in February, or maybe March, "It'd be nice if there was one near Charleston next to the week we've already booked. Gee, I'd like that."
3: I looked at one of our flyers and said, "Look! Right here there is one on Kiawah Island right next to our vacation!!" Pete booked it with the CME company and his hospital. YAY!! A luxurious two weeks in my happiest of places. ooooooooooooooooo.
4: Some crazy, cuckoo drama took place right before we were scheduled to leave. It involved some serious unpleasantness. I was a wreck. (More on that next week)
5: Now I got to heal in the perfect time in the place that has always brought me peace. I'm pretty convinced that the ocean and sand can fix almost anything.
GOD PLANNED IT ALL FOR MY BENEFIT. The vacation, the CME, the drama, all of it for His glory and my good.
I love my Jesus, my God.
My family heads to church camp next week
I am so not ready for this
We must pack a family of ten, throw a party and have a wedding before the weekend
Then off to camp
Four of my oldest will stay as campers, while the younger four will stay with us as Camp Pastor
To love on and support those amazing, sometimes tired and weary, yet always excited for The Lord counselors
We will meet God in His creation
Among the trees and the marshmellows, the nature trails and the blob
Quiet away from all the norm
I am so ready for this
