Christians Who Mess Up Drive Me Nuts

“Is it possible that God has called us into this work so that we might pray,” Diane Mandt Langberg asks? ( In Our Lives First: Meditations for Counselors,   p.13) She writes for counselors who work with people whose problems are many and varied, tragic and deeply troubling. Given the failures in the church, I can see why the professional counselors who serve so many hurting hearts are in need of revival for themselves.  If they would lead others out of their darkness into spiritual health, the counselors must live what they recommend.

Me, too.

These meditations are having a restorative influence in my thinking, and I commend this volume, especially if it’s beginning to dawn on you that life is hard, and people we care about often behave very badly – too often in the church!

“Our intercession can cover far more people and situations than we can ever help in the literal sense . . . It is in the process of interceding that God’s purpose and wise order is brought about in this world. ” (p. 14)

First, in my own life – for when I turn my mind and heart to prayer for people I love –and not just toss out some rote lines – I see stuff in me that may be contributing to relationship problems. And I recognize how lame my love for them can be.

Second, praying revives my faltering faith. Too many times a day I wander into the pastures of, “Gee, doesn’t universalism (or humanism, or non-belief or skepticism)  sound like a better coping mechanism than the conviction that God is?” (Exodus 3:15; John 8:58) But just coping can’t be all there is to living, can it?

On some days . . . yes it is.

On other days – I don’t want to just cope, I want to live every moment I have left; and I want to help others enjoy their lives. Prayer reminds me to let go and let God do for them exceedingly, abundantly more than I could ask or imagine. He didn’t die and leave me in charge!

When my cousin told her mother that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, my aunt told me that she became furious with God, whom she not wholly believed existed. As she railed against this God, whom she had doubts about, giving Him "what for" for doing this to her daughter – she caught herself:  If He is real enough to get angry at, maybe He is real enough to hear my prayers? And she prayed.

Finally, praying to the God who hears and invites me to pray, and through this mystery, gives nourishment, strength and guidance. (pp. 14-15) Some days we get slammed with news of Christians behaving badly that is as grim and heartbreaking as receiving a diagnosis of cancer. (If the church is to be Christ’s representatives on earth, no wonder so many people answer None when asked if they have a faith!)

 Like my aunt, I stumble in anger, doubt and fear, not so much at world events, but when Christians blow it.  Worse, I am tempted to judge, dismiss, or rail at others for being so stupid, contemptible, crass, or weak – actions that would lead me right onto a dangerous slippery slope. (Matthew 5:22)

Prayer to the God who hears is the guardrail restraining my heart.  It is the response that expands my hope that life has a purpose and meaning that is beyond “They lived happily Ever after.”   

I turn again to Psalm 116, and hang onto the guardrails of grace – during a very bumpy ride, where my pride goes before many falls.   

Gardening Update

We are headed back into triple digit territory this week – just when I thought fall might saunter in  . . . and just after I made a modest investment in more flowers for the garden!

New editions

The former hot spell a few weeks ago wilted so much, I thought some fresh flowers and plants might celebrate the new season. I shopped carefully for drought tolerant and sun-dependent additions. I bought some zinnias, plumbago, and porchulaca, some plant food and a Mexican-made planter to keep the black eyed Susans company.   

I got started early Saturday morning – stopping only when my eyes stung with perspiration. In the midst of potting new plants, I repotted a few old plants, and fed the lantana and morning glory that had survived. The Texas geraniums had survived – even if with few blooms. One plant flourished – sorry to say, I don’t know its name.
 

What is this blooming thing?

 But what delighted me when I closely inspected it – the impatiens I had rooted from a broken branch lived and flourished in the heat and haphazard watering that has been my recent gardening habits.

Survivor!

It was confirmation that a little shade and a little water can overcome lazy gardening habits. But the wonder is not a pass so that I can be careless with the newbies – especially if the heat and drought linger.

The blooming impatiens was like God saying to me – You gave up tending this plant, and yet I nurtured it.  Seeing that little basket, from my kitchen window, prods me to think again about my prayer habits. Prayer is doing what I can and trusting God to do what He has promised – even when I see no help – relief – on the horizon. (Maybe I need to reread Habakkuk?)

I don’t see how things can work out in Syria, or Egypt, or the Sudan. But that doesn’t mean I can give up praying for the relief of all those folks, and for humility and wisdom for all our leaders.

I don’t see how the church is going to cope with the assaults on Christ or His commission. But that doesn’t mean I stop praying and serving.

I don’t see how some of our family and friends can bear up under their loads – but that is no pass from prayer.

“This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Time and weather will wither that happy little impatiens plant – the first cold snap will destroy it. But I hope I remember its lesson.

God makes not His abode in a narrow heart. 
(Jacopone Da Todi)

Beauty and Mental Health

Neighbor's Magnolia

"Well, take it all in, and see what you find."” Good advice from a favorite blog, Living with Flair, that has been whirling around my little gray cells.

It’s so gorgeous again today it almost hurts!  The wonder of yet another glorious May morning is that I did not will its arrival, nor can I prevail upon it to remain. It’s lovelier because I know it can’t stay – I have to hold it tight with open hands.  Taking it all in, though, means understanding this good day’s beauty isn’t all there is and I am simply choosing not to listen to news of the day for now.    By this morning’s  urging, I know that being present, even in troubled times, is a privilege, a privilege with the responsibility of learning and applying what today’s slice of life shows me, and remaining sane. 

So, from an older blog written by John Piper, 10 Resolutions for Mental Health I see the blessings of seeing what I can find when I take it all in, this glorious morning! 

1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.

2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end . . .

3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities . . .

4. I shall not turn my life into a thin, straight line which prefers abstractions to reality . . .

5.  I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.

6.  I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence.

7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder."

8. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.

9.  I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is now.

10.  Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega.

This morning I lift my eyes from the keyboard and see beauty – the wordless evangelist, that oak tree,  against a May morning’s sky. I hear the melody of St. Francis’ prayer – make me an instrument of thy peace . . . a work by John Rutter. (Link)

My eyes and ears urge: put on the garments of praise and gratitude – even as the morning news confirms the depths to which many are plunged. 

Take it all in and see what you find –

This morning I find time and opportunity to be useful – a time to be up and doing good, in the words of my mother-in-law.  May we both take it all in today – and see what we find; may we be useful – dear reader, Seeking not to be consoled – but to console . . .

·      I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see.  ~John Burroughs

 

edited for brevity -- well a bit.

National Day of Prayer 2013 and Jonah

Since I was in first grade, Americans have prayed on the first Thursday in May for our nation’s needs. (Wiki on National Day of Prayer) But dissenters demur: people of equally informed consciences who want freedom from religion. (Freedom from Religion Foundation)

Our cultural heritage, Judeo-Christian, define our prayers from Scripture. The Bible urges folks who want GOD to intervene on their nation’s behalf to amend their own conduct so that God will hear their prayers.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

(2 Chronicles 7:14) 

And the land can get plenty sick.

In Leviticus, God spelled out what would happen to His people who went their own way – the blessings of obedience and woes of disobedience. (Leviticus 26)  Israel literally experienced all He said would happen. 

America is not Israel – so what about us? What of the church? Do these warnings matter today?

The mystery of the God of Scripture is that He still makes His appeal to return to Him, for there is no other Savior. (Isaiah 44:22 ) He still holds out His blessed hand, which even we resist – let alone those who want freedom from all things “God.”

"I opened my arms to my own people all day long, but they have rebelled. They follow their own evil paths and thoughts.” (Isaiah 65:2) 

The Chairman of this year’s National Day of Prayer Greg Laurie said, If God could bring a revival to Nineveh, surely he can do the same for America. Re-reading this short account then shows me how to pray for my nation, my fellow believers, and myself.

God sent an unwilling evangelist to a powerful nation of people who knew not God, much less their left hands from their right. (Jonah 4:11) Ninevites heard the word of God preached, and they repented –from the top down to the bottom, up:

The Ninevites believed God.  . .

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

(Jonah 3:5-10)

Frankly though, I think that what gave impetus to Jonah’s preaching was his appearance – when he showed up on the shores of Nineveh, he didn’t look like a man who had a life-changing message.  Before Jonah preached, God humbled him – so, his prayer is something to consider on this day of prayer – it reflects a man who was humbled: thrown overboard, swallowed up and spit out on a on beach covered in whale vomit is pretty humbling!   He had learned the limits of God’s love.

. . . But you, Lord my God,
 brought my life up from the pit.

⁷ “When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
    to your holy temple.

⁸ “Those who cling to worthless idols
 turn away from God’s love for them.
⁹ But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
 will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”(Jonah 2:7-9)

Unhappily, Jonah never seemed to love the people to whom he preached – he sulked when God did what He said He would do for Nineveh.  His little pity party makes me examine how I feel and act in my little world. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Christians live amongst a diverse and great nation of many faiths, including alarming numbers of those with no faith in anything but themselves. My prayer is that as God shows me this day my issues – He mercifully shows my fellow citizens the glory of Himself – and the power of His word. And that I will love well all those in my humble path today – it is no accident when we meet.

If God could bring a revival to Nineveh, surely he can do the same for America. (Pastor Greg Laurie, Chairman, National Day of Prayer)

May revival begin in me – and in His church, for His glory and our beloved nation’s good.

A Nightmare

 A nightmare, by its definition, is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety  and great  sadness.   When I have them, I often awake uncertain of the details, but certain of the emotions the dream evoked. It may take me awhile to get my bearings.

Gunmen in Nigeria and suicide bombers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq kill large groups of people, including women and children, creating nightmares for all the families and friends touched by the senselessness.  But, though they should, these acts do not haunt me as the act at a school in Connecticut on December 14, 2013.

Yesterday, a nightmare became a waking reality and I can’t seem to shake off the horrors attending them; I am struggling to get my bearings. So is our country – even the world, as we process the news one human slaughtered twenty-eight other human beings, twenty of whom were children, after apparently murdering his mother.  Yesterday, stirred up unanimity of reactions, expressed best by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut: “Evil visited this community today.”  

How we contend with evil – how we survive its onslaught – is answered in the Bible.  The prayers and counsel of many of its colorful and courageous characters wake me up. Jehoshaphat and Jahaziel, a king of Judah and a Levite, had a conversation worth repeating two and a half millennium later. (2 Chronicles 20)

Facing an invading army who meant to destroy Judah, Jehoshaphat cried out: God, act – we have no power to face this army – we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. And Jahaziel told the king how to fight; first by remembering the battle is the Lord’s.

Am I saying Scripture says do nothing?

The church may offer ideas on how to change laws to better guard our citizens. The reality is no law can restrain a roaring lion  – even the best laws can’t conquer evil, or people determined to destroy others. (1 Peter 5:8) Whatever our nation does in the coming weeks and months, I pray the church will call for fasting and mourning.  (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Our government is not a theocracy – God is not the head of the US of A. But He is the head of the church, and it is first within our boundaries to renounce and repent of the stuff that is sapping our strength.  We need a clean heart – and maybe we can see how serious the battles are we face with God’s enemy. (Psalm 51)  May God Himself wake us up! (Revelation 3:3) With a clean heart, then, maybe we can be useful, and rightly mourn with those who mourn, and in time,  maybe really bind up the wounds of the broken hearted.

Sing with me a  Hymn of Meditation:

I Wonder as I Wander

Sadness Image

 

Teaching and Then Applying All Those Principles

I am sitting at our host and hostess’ breakfast table, looking through the bay window – enjoying a view of dark green cherry laurels against taller bare gray-brown tree branches. A squirrel’s nest is evident in one of the trees. The morning is cloudy  -- but – a sliver of blue sky intermittently breaks through, reminding me that today may well be all the weather forecasters predicted – sunny and unseasonably warm for the Washington area this first day of February.

This time last week, in Dallas, I was finishing up a talk for the ladies’ Bible study on 1 Samuel 27-31   – four grim chapters – with only one verse that helped: David strengthened himself in the Lord. (1 Samuel 30:6) That preparation was an Ebenezer. Just as the peace and serenity, I am enjoying now is a reminder how far God leads and provides. (1 Samuel 7:12)  

Fear for his life almost derailed David in those chapters; fear for all he would lose did drive Saul to insanity and his death.  Little did I imagine how studying two kings’ response to fear could have so much personal application so quickly.  Fear  -- arriving with all kinds baggage – was a relentless intruder.  

Our son’s son hit a rough patch coming into this world and has spent several days in NICU.  That little guy is quite a fighter – but his mom and dad must cheer him on only from the sidelines – and we, his two sets of grandparents, are even more powerless to help him. Watching all this from the sidelines of this battle highlights nuances of a word I thought I knew – powerless.

Whatever the dictionary definition, powerless does not begin to express the absence of control, strength or usefulness any of us felt when we got the news from his parents.  I know that being powerless is more than surrendering my life to a power greater than me. Admitting my powerless means that not only am I unplugged from my silly self – rule but I am willing to stay that way. (Psalm 131) Powerless is not a synonym for passive; to rest in God, is hard work, especially when fear hisses “What if . . .” Or, when she bullies, describing all my weaknesses and failures.  

It was hard for David to trust God, after ten years on the run from Saul.  And 1 Samuel 27 showed the cost of seeking counsel only from himself.  I had a few talks to myself this week. Many ideas have seemed sensible to me these past few days – but none were worth repeating or acting upon. How could I fight this for my son, or his wife? How could I do anything to restore his son to health?  But I sure dreamed up a bunch of wild, ridiculous scenarios! 

Trusting  my life – and all the lives of those I love – over to the care of God as I understand Him restores serenity and protects my sanity.  I understand my God to be David’s God – who gave him strength in battles, literal, and personal – and had mercy on his failures.  Strengthening myself in God is more a turn of phrase – it is the one choice I can make when nothing I do will change anything. 

The last thing I prayed with the ladies on Thursday was that the promises we have in Christ, and the hope of our salvation would be more real to us than any evil we would face after we left Bible study. On Saturday, I learned some applications, and thus far, the Lord has led me. Our son and his wife were facing a terrible ordeal – but God has given them great medical care. He stirred up watchmen who are praying faithfully, and whose love and concern are almost tangible. Day by day, they and we have hope, therefore, that our grandson, their first-born, will be restored.  And here is my hymn  in this night: If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee.

Dressing for Prayer: Is My Belt On Right?

 This morning I thought today was the last day of September. So, I opened my favorite almanac  (The I Hate to Cook ALMANACK: A Book of Days, by Peg Bracken) and I read her closing rhyme, thinking it timely:

Thirty days hath September,

Thirty shining beads.

Thirty days hath September.

Actually, that’s all it needs.

But the time had passed; today is October 1,2011. I should have known September was gone when I went out for the papers, for the refreshing, almost bracing, morning air had no hint of heat. 

If I were in Maryland, by October 1 I would have sorted and packed my summer togs, and shaken out warmer clothes. This exercise usually assured a few more weeks of warm temperatures – just as changing from winter to spring clothes is a more reliable prognosticator of wintery days than the groundhog seeing his shadow is of a longer winter.  But, I am 1,500 miles south and west of the Mason-Dixon line, and we have many warm days in October – usually in the mid-eighties with cheery sun. Given the serious drought we have, though, maybe I should pack away the raincoats?

Some encouraging soul predicts that drought in Texas could continue  until 2020.  Months ago the governor urged Texans to pray to pray for rain;  how much more do we need God to shower us with steady, gentle spiritual rain?

Feeling thirst, worrying about the consequences of drought may be God reminding His people we don’t have because we haven’t truly asked. (James 4) So, if secular rulers ask for prayer, I pray!  How much more should the church urge herself to pray? (2 Chronicles 7:11-22) And many are!  But still no relief is in the forecast.  

Our natural problems are affecting the whole country – much the way the church’s failures harm even those who are unchurched, hiding the light with which God entrusted us, and we all stumble. (Isaiah 1) I don’t know why this section of the country – part of the “Bible Belt”– is so literally and perilously parched – for we surely have deep wells of sound preaching! But, I know that being thirsty for righteousness, according to Christ, is a blessing -- for those will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6) And I know many hungry, thirsty people!  How’s our prayer life?  

Maybe we have misplaced – or misused – our belt in our prayers?

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. (Ephesians 6:14, New Living Translation) 

Maybe God wants us to look in the mirror, when we pray and examine how we are dressed, (James 2; 1 Timothy 2, esp. 8-10) while there is time. Not just the churches in the Bible Belt – but all over. What are we missing; what is askew? Ask God – who gives generously and without reproach, while there is time. (Ask, seek, knock; get wisdom; wise and foolish virgins)

And if those rains are slow coming– God grant that you and I remember and believe Habakkuk’s prayer and declaration:

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

even though the olive crop fails,

and the fields lie empty and barren;

even though the flocks die in the fields,

and the cattle barns are empty,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord!

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

The Sovereign Lord is my strength!

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,

able to tread upon the heights.   (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Praying for a Break in the Weather

We got a scare this morning. The house went dark  -- maybe a strain on the power grid, as we head into over forty days of 100 + temperatures. Headlines flashed in my mind: [Cute] Elderly Couple Prostrated by Heat.

Not since 1980 have we had so many consecutive hot days. What’s more, the evidence of the drought that is gripping the Southwest is growing is apparent on my walks. (TX drought) And it is tormenting our humble yard now.

Although the wonder of our automated sprinkling system mitigates some damage from the relentless heat and aridity, the leaves on the crepe myrtles we  planted this spring are curling up and slightly brown – not a good sign.  The Japanese maple, planted a few months ago, is in rough shape – having endured first a windy start of summer and now.  Small patches of brown are popping up.

The backyard also testifies to the heat and drought’s power.  I went a little nuts this spring with pots – none of which wholly match each other.  When they contained gaily-colored flowers it  -- their diversity was tolerable. Now, not so much.  Only two geraniums remain – barely; the black-eyed Susan’s are almost skeletons of the former glory – the stems and leaves are drained of color.  My once cheerful little square flower garden of perennials is oh so melancholic. All but the lavender, curry, potato vine and portcullis are dead. And it is too hot to do much else.  The plethora of pots whose dead plants overhang the rims suggest it is Morticia Adams who is the gardener in residence and not moi!    

However, I can’t imagine how it would be if the heavens over Texas were shut up as tightly as the heavens over the Horn of Africa.  Or how we would fare if our leaders did to us what has been done to so many Africans.

Hoping, gentle reader, you will join me in prayer and giving, if the Lord enables to rescue those who have no water or food, or shelter.

God’s promise to Solomon is one we should seek:

God appeared to Solomon that very night and said, "I accept your prayer; yes, I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship.   If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I'll be there ready for you: I'll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health.   From now on I'm alert day and night to the prayers offered at this place. ( 2 Chron 7:12-16 from THE MESSAGE )

You Believe What?

Many years before I became a Christian, an Episcopal priest at my local church assured me there was no such thing as a devil – Satan, when I went to the priest for help. I was frightened because of a message my roommate gave me about a telephone call from someone who presented a real and dangerous temptation for me. It so frightened me I fled to the church, about twelve blocks from my home. I blurted out my fear that I felt the devil was after me – or something to that effect – and he laughed reassuringly and told me not to worry. Embarrassed, I left his office. I never again went to that church. Yet, the impression of evil from that phone message still resounds. It represented a clear choice. I decided not to return the call.

So, the reader might ask: “Do you believe in an actual devil, one named Satan?”

Yes, I do. But many Christians do not.

In a study by George Barna, many Christians – those who do not claim to be “born-again ” -- see Satan not as a living being but is “a symbol of evil.” Moreover, many of those polled do not believe in the divinity or sinlessness of Jesus Christ – or the power of Holy Spirit; He is a symbol – not a living entity. The poll also found we tolerate many other faiths because we often are not well informed on what the Bible teaches. And, Christians believe, “the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths.”
( Barna Group)

So, beginning 2011 – and the fourth decade that I have been a Christ-follower – I believe the battle in the heavenlies still rages, though Christ has defeated Satan. And I believe a wise woman is never to be without her armor – no matter how out of fashion that suit seems!

. . . God is strong, and he wants you strong.So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way . . . You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. And don't forget to pray for me. Pray that I'll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, . . .

(Ephesians 6:10-20 The MESSAGE)

It’s Still About Me

I don’t who I am madder at – them or me.

Someone had plans for a “Mac-mansion” a few blocks from us – but the economic downturn seems to have slowed their plans. For more than a year, they have neglected the landscaping: no grading or grass or plants. So, when it rains – as it did earlier this week, the runoff from their unseeded front and side yard creates quite an impediment for walkers: a long stretch of  squishy mud on their sidewalk.

The other morning I had hit a good pace and I didn’t want to break stride and  hop into the street; I estimate a few wide steps and I’d be through it. Not only was I wrong on how big the hurdle was, I misjudged its depth. I didn’t fall, but I could have skidded into a knee-wrecking tumble. Many thoughts hurdled through my mind as I felt my new walking shoes sink and slide, coalescing around the conviction that it was their fault I made a bad choice.

Two days it took for the shoes to dry enough so I could chip off the mud soaked leaves; it took another day for the shoes to dry again from the hosing that forced the mud from the shoes soles. Three days is time enough to admit taking a short cut through another person’s negligence isn’t worth it. Taking the time to steer clear would have been a much better plan – but I was so sure I could navigate the mess.

So I am madder at myself: one, for making an unnecessary mess. But two, for forgetting to pray until just now for the people whose problems might be a wee  more pressing than mine.

Image Source

Back in Texas

 Reason and faith are both banks of the same river.  ~Doménico Cieri Estrada
 (quotegarden.com)

One week ago today I was organizing myself to head to Maryland, and the week I spent there flashed by, even though the days were filled with several long hours of giggles and tears. This morning I am not organizing much except some pleasant memories. Yes, here I am — sipping coffee in absolute quiet — well except for the classical radio station’s soothing strains.  No ear-piercing shrieks, squeals, squalls or loud crashes. Even my phone is silent. The loudest noise is me sniffling because the baby shared her cold.

In thanking God for what He provided this week past, He showed me – at the airport – a concrete reason  we could enjoy our children and their children, a place to worship and hear the Gospel of Grace, and sleep in peace. The reason?  Soldiers.

They face head on what is always lurking around the corners of my life – death. Many young people – and not so young as well –  dressed in fatigues – coming from or going to battles I could never fight; battles that mean I can live in peace.

This peace that God has enabled is not only for my pleasure – it is an opportunity. How well will I use it, knowing its cost to my fellow citizens and the Lord Jesus Christ?

While I can, let me learn, live and love because You, Lord loved me first. And You have given me a hope and a future. 

Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
  If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
 but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.
 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
(Psalm 66:16-20)

. . . My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds. (Psalm 73:26-28)

. . .  I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
 The LORD has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
(Psalm 118:17-18)

Hurricane Season

Hurricane season usually runs from June through October. and the picture of  monster storms, one after another, churning and destroying is a picture that describes what is going on in the lives of folks I know.  Cancer is wreaking its havoc. In each case the disease blew up forcefully – unexpectedly – and is flooding people’s lives with cures that seem as deadly as the disease. Like a real hurricane that spawns other deadly events like tornadoes and flooding, cancer is not the only catastrophe these dear souls face. In the midst of one friend’s fight, the marriage of his adult child collapsed, and so did the ceiling in his home when their water heater malfunctioned. Another friend’s cancer battle erupted abruptly during a move and renovation of their new home – major surgery, major chemo and radiation all during the stress of remodeling. And I have several other friends with stormy cancer tales that blew up this summer! 

When bad times hit, and are compounded by the collateral damage of “cures,” or other disasters,   I can see why Job’s friends shut their mouths in the face of their friend’s anguish! (Job 2:13)  Even saying, “I am praying for you” sounds both feeble and presumptuous.

Many years ago, I prayed that God, who was not then my personal Friend,  would totally heal a friend from lung cancer, in part to show me that He was real and worth knowing. She was the same age I am now: 64. For  nine months she fought – and spoke very little of God. Her sister came and tended her. I think she was a Christian, remembering some things she said to me – she would be close to 100 if she still lived. But my friend died, and I got the idea  prayers  – my prayers – were pointless and powerless. For many years following I felt  unqualified to talk to God, other than sending “arrow prayers.”
 
In the face of so much suffering, I still feel “unqualified” to pray – and my prayers still sound both feeble and presumptuous. What has changed is that now I believe God is real and have faith, (though small as a mustard seed), that He in Christ is worth knowing – and moreover He receives all my prayers, and answers each one. (Isaiah 53:12) Moreover He Himself prays (Hebrews 7:24-25), asking  for things I have phrased poorly, or even forgotten to ask. As a father overlooks silly and ignorant requests from his child, God  sifts through my words, and gives appropriate answers.

Unlike Job’s friends, I have no idea why some of my friends’ storms are so severe. But, I will keep  watch with you friends, as we wait together for these storms to blow out to sea.  And I will enjoy God’s loving and purposeful rescue for you.   I am praying for you and yours   during these “hurricanes” that are bearing down on you, dear friends. But way more powerful is the truth  that  Christ the Lord intercedes , and His words are powerful, and purposeful.(Romans 8:26)

“Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” 
(Isaiah 46:4)

Art work:  Hurricane Season - Gavin Mayhew