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Just a thought...

"For the next 4 weeks, you will be one-handed."  That's what the doctor said yesterday.  So, I type now... with one hand.  .Thankfully, the "grounded" hand is my right, and I am left-handed.  There is a fracture - it will not fuse back.  The goal in stillness is to allow the least amount of scar tissue to form around the chip of bone.  That is the opposite of what I would have assumed the healing process and my part would be ordered.  So, the stillness is 'helped' by a demi-cast... one that has velcro attachment...the doctor's orders... don't take it off... until you see me in 4 weeks... Wow!

As the healing begins, I am reminded of many little chips in my life and heart that I have twisted and moved and tried to fix on my own... some chips that really haven't seemed important enough to bother God with - I can muscle through some of these frustrations... an angry response, an unforgiving spirit, a quiet gossip, a bad attitude, an impatient comment... oh, there are more..

HE clearly reminds us in scripture to "be still and know that HE is God.' (Psalm 46:10)

I shared last week that I am reading through Job and Psalms this summer...  slowed my reading just a bit this week... 

for now, let's just say my waning softball career is on hold...

So, will you slow down just a bit with me... I just read from Psalm 19:1 this morning...

The heavens tell of the
glory of God. 
 The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.


Would you set an alarm on your phone to coincide with the time of sunset this evening - the past few have been a glorious display - would you gather a chip or two of your own and just hold them in your open hand as you marvel at His handiwork.. His craftmanship?  He promised to heal our fragmented pieces as we bring them humbly into His presence...

Just a thought...

Have you considered my servant, Job?

Having just spent her most challenging summer both physically and spiritually in Ohio with Campus Outreach ministries, Mollie was eager to begin her sophomore year in college.  After much prayer and many conversations with the financial aid office, we were grateful and amazed that she would transfer to a smaller Christian college.  Excitement mounted as we loaded her jeep and filled the van to the fullest that sunny Friday morning to move her to school.  Honestly we were all looking forward to a calm, joy-filled year with a little less trauma and drama in her life.

As she backed out of the driveway, we heard a loud clunk...  After stuffing the jeep to the fullest, Mollie and I took off knowing that after a quick trip to the mechanic, Kellie and Frank would soon join us to help unpack.  They never made - the engine was blown.  Disappointment loomed - this wasn't the plan.   That's okay - small campus - walking is good.  A little drama....

A few days later, another loaded car headed to a family wedding backed out of the same driveway.  Mollie calling - just talked to her a few minutes ago.... oh well,  I can't wait to hear how her first week is going, I thought.  Short version of the conversation:

Me:  Hey Mollie!
Someone other than Mollie calling from her phone:  Mrs. Wilder.  This isn't Mollie.  Dr. Hunt here.  (Hmm - Dr. Hunt - I met her...  a professor/advisor.)  
Me:  What's...wrong...
Dr. Hunt:  The van we were riding in was t-boned by a cement truck - we are in an ambulance headed to the hospital.  Mollie is conscious, no obvious broken bones...
Me:  We are on our way.

Hours later Mollie gingerly walked out of the hospital with bumps, bruises and a headache....   Discouragement  threatened... a few days' rest and school will begin..  A lot of trauma..


A few weeks later backing out of the driveway to head to work... Mollie is calling... maybe I just won't answer... :)  Sobbing, barely able to convey... my jaw hurts so bad.. can't stand it...

I am on my way - 8 hours later - headed home after surgery to remove infected impacted wisdom teeth...  Some drama and trauma...

Maybe anesthesia influence... maybe just weary...  "Mom, why is all this happening to me?  I thought this was where God wanted me to go...."  and the river of tears flowed... from both of us...

Ever felt that way??  This summer I have been reading through the book of Job along with the book of Psalms.  I know... an interesting combination, huh?  You are probably familiar with Job's story... In the first few verses of the book, we are introduced to Job and told that he was blameless and upright; he feared God; and he was extremely wealthy.... and he had 10 children - all of whom he prayed for and offered sacrifices on their behalf...  Within just another few verses, we read that all of his children were killed his wealth destroyed.  Job's reply, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."

I have read the end of the book, and I know the outcome - after a roller coaster of questions, frustrations, and finally, after 36 chapters of Job and his friends... hashing it out, God speaks... out of a storm with HIS wisdom and HIS power and HIS sovereignty.  Job is humbled and repentant.  We get to see the rest of his story... God graciously brought Job more wealth than he had before, and he had 10 children.  I'm in chapter 19 right now... and it is messy, Job is frustrated with his friends and questioning God's seeming lack of help.

Are you struggling.... are you wondering where God is... do you feel that HE has forgotten you...

Oh friends, I only wish I could assure you that all will be right in your world, that any difficulty you are dealing with right now will soon resolve, that your pain will cease...

Maybe you are living in chapter 19, like Job.  Tucked neatly in verse 25 of that chapter, Job touts, " I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end, HE will stand on the earth."

That really is our bottom line, isn't it?  Fast forward to chapter 42 for a minute...  Verse 1 is one of my favorite, "I know that YOU can do all things, no purpose of YOURS can be thwarted."  I adore the word, thwarted...  His plan will not be hindered or obstructed or changed or baffled or blocked...

And, the God of the Universe, your Heavenly Father, your Advocate, your Redeemer, the Lover of your soul is FOR you.

No, Mollie, I can't answer the Why question, but I can sure answer the WHO question.  God IS good all the time... and HE is trustworthy - He promised...

Have you considered my servant....




The worst pain she could think of...

Our own experience often dictates our reaction and response to any given information, doesn't it?  The horrific report had splattered the newspaper and the local news channels.  Like any responsible mother of a six-year-old daughter, I had carefully avoided her exposure.  To my dismay her information was gathered on the school bus, but as is often the case, her source was vague in truth and in understanding.

Her look as she exited the bus alerted me to some problem.  I expected someone had made fun of her new tennis shoes or maybe she missed a problem on the Math sheet that day.  Imagine my "take your breath away" moment when my first grader said, "Mom, I just don't understand - what is rape?"  After I picked myself up off the floor - somewhere between the thoughts of, 'we are moving to a family monastery and I knew I should be home schooling... under a very big rock', I sat down with her on the front porch.  The conversation went something like this:

Me:  Hmm. Was there a conversation on the bus about rape?
Katie:  Yes, and I just didn't understand.  The fifth graders were talking about it.  They said a man did that to a little girl and that he hurt her really bad.  
Me:  What else did they say?
Katie:  That was all.  Then I started looking out the window and cried.  They said it was the worst thing someone could do to a little girl.  Mom, I know what happened.  That man stuck that little with a really sharp pin, didn't he?  That would really hurt and it is the worst thing I can think of!

She began to cry... so did I.  My tears represented so many thoughts:  the fact that my six-year-old had even heard the word rape, that her innocence was so precious thinking the worst possible thing someone could do to another was to "stick her with a really sharp pin", the reality of the fallen, mean, dirty world we live in, the beginning of many hard conversations I would have with Katie about our world...

Katie's limited world experience with the 'worst possible thing someone could do' guided her thinking.  She is 28 now and her thinking is vastly different with her now additional 22 years of learning this world.  Knowing her tender heart, she [and I] would certainly cry when hearing a similar report today.

Don't you just wonder about the experience the disciples brought with them when they first followed Jesus?  He said, "Follow me!" and they did.  They could not have known the gravity of the journey they would later walk because of that commitment to their Lord.

Studying through the book of Acts, I have been overwhelmed and challenged by the keen boldness of the disciples and apostles.  Like Stephen, who as the crowd was literally throwing stones of death at him, spoke, "Lord, don't charge them with this."  His love for them because of his love for Jesus saw only the hope of their salvation.  Later when Paul had been dragged out of the city, stoned apparently to death, he "got up and went back into the city."  His concern for the souls of those who so brutally beat him caused his action.

Dear friends, like the generations before us, there has been the battle cry touting that Jesus would surely return to claim his bride [the church] during our lifetime.  Should that cry spur us on to action regarding the souls of each one we come in contact with each day?  We know the King is coming - whether in this week, this year, this century... HE is coming - HE promised.

Oh Father, give me Your love for others.  Help me to love You enough to care about the soul of each one...

Stamp with approval, please!

I'm praying this morning that your spiritual muscles have been flexing this week as you have spent time with the Lord.  Thankfully, our Father is patient with us as we develop new habits and "set our minds and hearts on Christ Jesus."

I love a good plan, don't you?  I am a list maker, how about you?  I am NOT often a list 'finisher' or an effective organizer.  Confession is good for the soul, right??

Making a plan is crucial to setting/achieving goals, and to accomplishing needed expectations.  If you have spent much time with any teacher, you know that the sometimes dreaded lesson plans for the coming week are intended to be both a guide and a help. (Although I must confess many a late Sunday night panic occurs for a few teachers I know in completing that task!?)  In many education circles,the term "backward planning" has become a key buzz word.  Look at the end of the year - what is needed to accomplish those year-end goals and then fill in the blanks with the aligned ideas, activities and lessons to "end" there...to end well with the meeting of set goals!

In life... and in school, I have often found myself planning from now... from today with the plans I need/want to move forward.  Making a good list of the needed or desired plan, then bringing that list to the Lord for His stamp of approval on MY very well-intended and well-thought out plan. Jeremiah 29:11 is an often quoted verse regarding plans... Jeremiah was a prophet  and his words here are hopeful, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares, the Lord, plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Keep in mind these exiles (in Babylon at this time) were in a difficult situation - it didn't look or feel hopeful.  Jeremiah went on the remind them in verse 13 that..."you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."

Backward planning for us, as believers, is simple.  Our ultimate goal when we meet Jesus is to hear Him gently whisper, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  Those were the words of Jesus as He shared the parable of the three who had been given different amounts of talents to tend to by the Master.  The two servants that had used their talents well were rewarded with those words from Jesus and were then given more because of their faithfulness.

His plan for us is good... is best.  Last week I shared several verses about meeting with the Lord, and one of those verses has followed me through this week. (Psalm 5:3 NASB)

In the morning, Lord, You will heard my voice. 
 In the morning I will order my prayer to You and 
eagerly watch. 

I am a really good "prayer list maker"... and a reasonably good "prayer list pray-er".  You know what I mean, I bring them to the Lord... He hears my voice... ordering my prayers..

My challenge sometimes comes in the eagerly watching part... expectantly listening... watching and waiting....  

Sarah Young (from Jesus Calling) says of this verse, "Pray about everything; then leave outcomes up to ME.  Do not fear... for through it I accomplish what is best for you."

Step away from the list.... not asking for the stamp.... just watch with me... He promises it to be more beautiful than any fireworks display!!