Category Archives: Belief

Putting on the Armor

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imageLast week at our Women’s Bible Study, we spoke of putting on the Armor of God. The author of our study, Chip Ingram, emphasized that there is no formula as some would propose, but wearing the Armor of God is a lifestyle. I agree with this wholeheartedly. There must be a regularity of purpose to stay clothed in the armor. To me this means reading my Bible daily and writing in my journal. It means praying throughout the day. It means worshiping and studying God’s Word together with other believers. We lift each other up.

The Wednesday evening Men’s and Women’s Bible Studies are powerful. We don’t realize how powerful we are with God in us. Putting on the Armor of God is like a soldier putting on every piece of protective equipment. It is purposeful and deliberate. To forget any piece, would leave the soldier vulnerable and in danger.

Life is full of temptation. It’s often not the “big” temptations that are stumbling blocks but the “little” ones. As I read the passage from the letter to the Galatians, this past Sunday, about the fruit of the Spirit, this was very apparent. Paul wrote of the sinful nature before he listed the fruit of the spiritual nature. He began with sexual impurity but included such things as hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition and envy. Who hasn’t succumbed to many of these? Pastor Carol said our job is to stay attached to the vine (Jesus) and not to judge other branches. That is God’s job, not ours. By staying attached, we produce Spiritual fruit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. I’m glad self-control is on the list because this is often forgotten. The Armor of God protects us from the schemes of the devil often by giving us self-control. It is a power from within that is greater than we could muster on our own. The control within to say “no” when temptation in any form comes our way, is from God. I am not perfect by any means. Do I get angry? Do I envy? Every day I can fall prey to these sins. But God’s Spirit is working in me to change the old nature to a new, perfect nature. But I must stay attached to His power. I can do nothing but fail without Him. I do not have the strength within me for Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control. This fruit falls out of my reach. But God gives all these and more as a gift. If I desire His gifts with all my heart, they are mine.

Lord, help me to live out this Truth. Hold me close to You. Wrap Your loving arms around me and protect me as I go through my day. Put Your Spirit in me. I am Your child. Help me act like a daughter of the King!

Hidden in Plain Sight

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doorI slept well last night, thank goodness! I wrote yesterday about worry and how it keeps me awake sometimes. It was probably one of the most open posts that I have written. It’s a little scary to put out on the web to all my friends (and friends of friends) that I have a problem with anxiety. In reality, I’m sure they already know this. To write openly about my struggles and how I feel, is good for me and I hope, good for others. Not in a whiny, “Oh, woe is me” kind of way, but showing how the Lord helps me deal with the trials of life day by day. Sometimes I don’t think I realize how much He helps me even in the little things.

As I was getting my post ready to publish yesterday, God interrupted my day to get my attention. I was scanning through my phone looking for a photo that would be appropriate for my post. The title was “More Than a Sparrow” so I wanted a picture of a sparrow as an illustration. I always try to use one of my own photos if possible. I had pictures of other birds but no sparrows. I was sitting at my desk, looking down at my phone, when a bird hit my window. It was a sparrow! The bird was not hurt. It proceeded to light on a nearby branch between my window and the pond behind the clinic just long enough for me to take a picture. The photo was beautiful. It was framed by green foliage with the bird silhouetted against the pond. Even through the cloudy window of my office, it turned out to be a great photo, better than I had imagined!

Just at the right moment, a sparrow appeared to pose for just the right photo. Wow! God, you are something! Were Your angels having fun with me yesterday? It’s like You’re saying, “I’m here, silly. Don’t you see me? I’m hidden in plain sight.” If God cares enough about me to send me a sparrow to photograph, how much more will He do for me and with me for the rest of my life? It’s humbling and mind-boggling at the same time.

There will be those who will say that this was just a coincidence but I don’t believe this for a minute. There are things that happen that are too much to be just random occurences. I’ve written in my blogs before about having eyes to see and ears to hear God all around us. But sometimes our hearts are so hard toward God, we don’t see the evidence of His existence. We can’t see it because we refuse to see. We put blinders over our eyes and plugs in our ears to keep God out. We lock Him out of our hearts.

I love the picture of Jesus knocking on a door. It’s a classic in religious art. The artist skillfully left off the door handle because the door must be opened from the inside. A heart must be open for Jesus to enter. He knocks on the door of our hearts, sometimes with a sparrow that appears miraculously at just the right time. All we have to do is open the door to greet the One who was there all along waiting for us to see Him hidden in plain sight.

Truth Sets Us Free

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imageMy church has started the Daniel Plan study which is a 6 week journey to a healthier life. The starting point for the study is an understanding that Jesus accepts us right where we are. No matter what our weight, no matter how unhealthy our habits, no matter what we’ve done in the past, Jesus loves us.  This is the truth and this truth should liberate us. Jesus said it himself, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  However, so many of us seem to believe this only in theory but don’t actualize it in our own life.  Somehow we think Jesus accepts others but the dark secrets we hold in our own souls are just too bad.  We condemn ourselves and think Jesus must condemn us too.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  If we dig into the Gospels, the story of Jesus’s ministry, we see him loving the outcasts and marginalized over and over.  He treated them just like regular people. He struck up a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well who was ostracized by her community. He called up to Zacheus who was watching him from a sycamore tree and basically invited himself for dinner.  Zacheus was a hated tax collector. Jesus did the outrageous and the socially incorrect all the time.  He wasn’t even afraid to touch lepers.  So why do we think he would not do the same for us today?

I believe the root of the problem is unforgiveness.  Not unforgiveness of others, but unforgiveness of ourselves.  Sometimes the most difficult person to forgive is yourself.  The negative voices that reverberate in our head can be overwhelming at times. They say things like, “If people really knew you, they would think you were a bad person.”  “You say you are a believer, but why do you keep making the same mistakes over and over?”  “You’re just a failure; Jesus doesn’t really love you.”  We hang onto shame and begin to believe these lies.  We are unable to embrace the magnitude of Jesus’s love for us so we are bound in the chains of guilt.

So why is embracing acceptance so important at the starting point of the Daniel Plan? Because change just doesn’t happen in a hopeless situation. Love and acceptance liberate us to move forward. This is why a supportive community is so essential.  When we are accepted as we are, we develop trust. Trust leads to open honesty and vulnerability within our group.  We are then able to accept encouragement and accountability on our journey to a healthier life. Change is possible when we see our life though the eyes of God as precious and unique.

I see this concept played out every day as a physician.  The doctor/patient relationship is based on trust: trust in the physician’s knowledge and abilities but also trust that the patient is willing to listen and follow through with a treatment plan.  This compact of trust is sealed when the patient feels care and acceptance by their physician right where they are.  They may be a total mess physically and emotionally but if they sense that they are valued, not judged, they will be much more likely to move forward in a direction toward better health and well-being.  The converse is also true. If the patient perceives that the physician could care less about them and sees them as a hopeless case then they will see themselves as hopeless. They will simply give up and not see change as possible or worth trying. 

The doctor/patient relationship is analogous to the relationship between those people who make up “the Body of Christ”, the church.  Too many times newcomers are greeted with judgement and not love.  No wonder we often see more people leaving from the back door than are coming in our front doors.  We all enter the sanctuary of God in need.  Some of our needs are obvious but most are hidden.  Only in a community built on trust are we able to be open, honest and allow vulnerability.  When we are accepted by the church just as we are, then change is possible.  When we fall down and fail as we all will, in the accepting church, there will be many there to pick us back up and move forward again.

When the church is accepting and loving then people see Jesus through us. We are witnesses of the Truth in action and we are set free.  Free to be all that God imagined us to be.  However, as Lysa Terkeurst wrote in her book, “Unglued”, we move forward in “imperfect progress,” often two steps forward and one step back.   But that’s ok because we are loved right where we are. Believe it!

 

 

 

A Reflection of Glory

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imageSo today I start a new journal. It may seem odd but I’m using a notebook given to me some time ago by a pharmaceutical rep. It’s a nice notebook but it has stamped on the front of it the words, “Lunesta.”  Someday no one will even remember that Lunesta was a sleeping pill. The latin word “Luna” means moon so in time people will simply think the name has something to do with the moon or the night sky.

This seems appropriate for my journal.  I’ve heard it said that we Christians should be like the moon in that It doesn’t emit light of its own but reflects the light of the sun.  What light we carry in us is from God: the divine spark.  When we think we are enlightened by our own knowledge, we deceive ourselves. Who created our mind to think but God?  Some would argue this with me but it takes more faith to believe that we come from nothing, just a random occurrence, than to believe in a creator. I choose to believe we were created in the image of God. An image is a reflection-it’s not God.  But the image can become more and more like the human manifestation of God, Jesus.  It doesn’t happen in a moment but is a slow process that doesn’t end until we are given our resurrection bodies that are perfect.

Yes, perfection is a process, not a single event.  It is often painful as we are changed little by little in God’s skillful hands.  We are molded and shaped by the Master Potter.  It’s easy for me in this perfecting process to either think too much of myself or too little. I go back and forth.  God sees me as his daughter, an heir of his kingdom.  Not that I earned this title but it was gifted to me.  So I can’t boast in this accomplishment but reflect the glory of it to others around me.

I am so far from perfect.  It often seems an unobtainable dream to me.  I feel like I take one step forward and then two back. When I’m trying to change myself, it’s often fraught with discouragement. Only God can do it. He is able to transform me through the fire of his love into something beautiful.  He can do this with each one of us if we will only hand  our mess over to him.  He will then change us from one glory to the next so that in the end, we will glow as we reflect the brilliance of his Son.

Lord, make me into the person of beauty you envisioned from the beginning of time so I may reflect your glory.  I give you everything I own and everything I am.  I am yours and you are mine. Do with me as you will.

Praying for Deliverance

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imageRecently Tim and I traveled to the Lamb Farm in Lebanon Indiana to join with a number of others for a time of praise and prayer for the country of Liberia in West Africa.  Hoosiers have many connections to this part of the world through United Methodist missions such as Operation Classroom which has educated hundreds of children even in the midst of the recent civil war.  Hope in the Harvest International is carrying on this tradition of care for the Liberian people by training them to farm.  Gina and Travis Sheets are the founders of this mission and have been living in Ganta, Liberia for the past year.  They flew home to Indiana early in August with plans to return in September with tickets they had purchased nearly a year ago.  But soon after they arrived in the US, the borders of Liberia were closed to anyone wanting to get in or out of the country in an effort to contain the Ebola outbreak there. At our gathering, they tearfully spoke of their concern and grief over the Ebola crisis.  They have lost people who they have grown to love like family on the farm in Ganta. A young man named Gabrielle, particularly affected many of those from Indiana who had gone there on a mission trip this July.  It was difficult for them to accept that someone so vibrant and full of life could be taken so quickly by this deadly virus.  His grandmother also has died as well as the son of one of the farm staff.  The crisis hits home when those Gina and Travis worked with on a daily basis are now gone.

Tearful, heartfelt prayers were lifted to God asking for the deliverance of the Liberians from this plague.  Music and voices praising God filled the barn where we gathered together sending sweet harmony heavenward.  Are we able with our prayers to move God to action?  I believe so.  Maybe this was His plan all along that we might come to Him with our pleas so He could answer our prayers in a mighty way.

When I pray for the Liberian people, I think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they stood ready to be thrown in the fiery furnace for not bowing to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.  My friend, Dr. Shadrach Gonqueh is from Liberia and is named for one of these brave souls.  They said to the king, “We do not need to defend ourselves to you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the burning furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from your hand, o king.  But even if He does not, we want you to know, o king that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”  They knew God was able to save them.  But it was up to God what He would do.  He chose to rescue them by sending an angel to walk them through the fire unharmed.  Many centuries later, a group of believers in the early church gathered together secretly to pray for the Apostle Peter when he was imprisoned.  God released him by sending an angel to the prison to unshackle him and lead him out. They were amazed by the mighty way in which God answered their prayers.

God is able to lead the Liberian people out of the crisis as He led the 3 out of the fiery furnace and Peter out of prison. He could do it in a miraculous, supernatural way and heal the people. But it is more likely that He will raise up capable people who have the heart to help them.  This is the way He usually operates.  We act as His healing hands and feet on the ground.  But even so, many will not see God behind human actions.  Where does the will to serve and the ingenuity to discover medications to heal the sick originate if not from God himself?  Zmapp, the experimental medication that was given to Dr. Kent Brantley, probably saved his life along with intensive supportive treatment at Emory University Hospital.  Who was behind the scenes orchestrating these interventions but God?  Dr. Brantley recognizes this, even if the media discounts it.  He gives credit to God who directs humans to do His work.

God is able to supernaturally rid West Africa of Ebola but more likely He will use us to do it.  We often feel helpless in situations like this. What can each of us possibly do that would make a difference?  Pray and keep praying for insight and wisdom.  Open your eyes to see possibilities right in front of you. The answer may be supporting those who are already there so they can do their job.  But most of all simply care enough to do something even if that something is only prayer.  In the rush of life, it is easy to be distracted by our own worries.  Never, never forget our brothers and sisters who suffer more than we ever will know around the world.  We have no idea how much our prayers and concern mean to them.  Prayer may seem like a little thing when the needs of the people are so great. But never underestimate the power of prayer to start a chain reaction to mobilize God’s people into action.  The results can be miraculous!

What if?

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imageWhat if we could rewrite our story?  Would we get it any better the second time around? Even a small decision can make a large impact. The things that we consider as “bad” decisions or the tragedies in our lives, lead us in directions we might not have taken otherwise. Our decisions not only change where we are but they change who we are and they affect everyone around us. Andy Andrews in his book “The Butterfly Effect” describes several true scenarios in history that seemed inconsequential at the time but changed the course of events to come dramatically.  Joshua Chamberlain’s choice to stand his ground at Gettysburg with his meager group of Union soldiers, turned the tide for the North to move on to victory in this battle and eventually, the Civil war. If the North had not won at Gettysburg, what would the USA be today?  Would we be a world power or divided into numerous small countries like Europe? It’s mind-boggling to contemplate the impact of that one decision by one man so long ago.

In my own life, I am aware of the impact of many of my decisions. Yes, I have often wondered what the consequences would be if I was able to rewrite parts of my story. If we had not traveled to the city of Lebanon that icy February in 1975 to attend a band concert, would my sister Gaynelle still be alive today? If my mom had been driving instead of me, would she have been able to control the car on slick pavement?

What if, what if…?  This is the question that hounds our souls!  My sister would have been 44 years old now. I wonder if she were here, whether she would have a family and whether I would have more nieces and nephews to love. Only God knows the answers to my questions.  I remember Dad saying not long after Gaynelle’s death that he wondered if she had been saved from something worse by dying when she was only 5 years old. Perhaps she was shielded from unimaginable suffering she would have endured had she continued to live here on earth. Would she choose to stay knowing what she knows now?  Even though I’m sure that she would want to be with us, I imagine she would choose heaven.  She has seen the “other side of the veil.” She knows Jesus face to face. How magnificent that would be!  She also knows that in a very brief amount of time compared to eternity, we will be with her again. What is our hope, is her reality. But I still miss her even after all these years. I long to hold her, laugh with her and tell her that I have loved her always even in her absence. I haven’t forgotten the joy she brought into the world. She was a gift even if it was for only 5 years.

God has a story He is writing of my life and Gaynelle is a beautiful yet painful part of the whole. Every page He pens is creating who He wants me to be-the best me.  I need to offer Him the book of my life without strings attached.  Francesca Battistelli expresses my sentiments as she sings, “My life is an empty page, an open book. Write your story on my heart. Make your mark.”  Who am I to think I could write my story better than God?  I can ask Him why He put in some of the painful parts when I see Him face to face. But I wonder if I will be like Job when God revealed Himself after all his trials. He no longer had any questions when he met God but said, “I know that you can do all things. No plan of yours can be thwarted…Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”

All of us have our “What If’s” in life. It is human nature to wonder what life would have been like if we could change even a few things.  We all have events or people who have scarred our hearts.  At times, I will look back with regret at events that happened even decades ago. But I don’t want to dwell there. As I look back, I can see the hand of God guiding me; I recognize that Jesus was walking with me “through the valley of the shadow of death.”  So looking back reinforces the fact that I have walked through fire and survived. I am confident that if needed, I can do it again with the one who strengthens me. I agree with the Apostle Paul when he said, “The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” “He who started a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”  Instead of looking back with regret, I look forward with joy and anticipation to what is to come. Rather than dwelling on “What If”, I will embrace this life I have been given for what it is and focus instead on “What’s Next.” I’m ready and excited for this next chapter to be written.

Remembering Sacred Places

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I imagine that we all have idyllic places from our past that we hold dearly in ours hearts.  Scales Island in Lake of the Woods, Canada is one such place for me.  It was owned by my cousins’ grandpa, “Doc” Scales.  I have many fond memories of vacations spent there exploring the 5 acre island of wonders.  My first trip was when my father and mother flew me up there at just 11 days old in our single engine Beechcraft Bonanza.  The legend goes that Doc Scales held me the entire trip home since I was so young.  He was one of the physicians who gave me the motivation to pursue a medical career by his example of caring and compassion. In the years of my youth, It was a great gift to spend time with extended family out in nature’s glory.

As kids we had every inch of the island mapped out and named for its significant feature.  There was a small sandy area we used as a beach, a mossy log for relaxing and a wild blue berry patch where we could gather luscious berries for pancakes.  I happened to be the unlucky one who sat down on a sandy spot unaware that it was a giant ant hill. I don’t think I have ever stripped off a pair of pants any quicker than I did at that time to kill the numerous ants biting me under my clothes!  My cousins laughed about this for years.

One beautiful, sunny day while up at Scales Island in 1969, plans were made for my parents with my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Diane to go out on a sailboat owned by the Salvador’s who lived on a neighboring island.  The grandfathers, Doc and my grandpa Earl were planning to take the older grandchildren fishing.  This included my cousins Brad and Mona and myself.  My sister Beth and cousin Sheryl were judged to be too wild for fishing so they stayed on the island with Grandma Mazo and Grandma Rose Alta.

Everything was going well until we began to see dark clouds forming across the bay and the wind began to pick up.  We had seen the sailboat carrying our parents in the distance.  Suddenly we couldn’t see the bright white sail on the horizon any longer.  We realized that the sailboat had turned over in the harsh wind.  A decision was made by our grandfathers to travel to the sailboat to see if we could help the situation.  It took some time to motor across the bay to them since we were only in a small fishing boat.  Little did we know then but the sailboat had capsized and was completely upside down.  My Uncle Chuck was able to pull my Aunt Diane out from the cabin as the sailboat went over but my mother was trapped underneath. Luckily there was an air pocket left for her to breath since she tried several times to swim out but couldn’t because she became tangled in the ropes and sail.  Bill Salvador was able to swim under to bring her to safety while we were yet motoring to their aid.  When we arrived I remember seeing my dad sitting on the hull of the boat and my mom, Aunt Diane and Lucia Salvador trying to stay afloat in the cold Canadian lake water.  We were able to get my Aunt Diane into the boat and were attempting to come around to pick up my mom and Lucia when the boat was accidentally put in reverse.  My mom dove under the water to escape the propeller but Lucia was too close.  The thick Canadian sweater she wore caught in the boat’s propeller stopping the motor.  The men untangled her not knowing how badly she was injured and were able to get her into the boat.  We made our way back to Salvador’s island with heavy waves lapping up over the sides of the boat.  The air was sharp and brisk unlike the beautiful, warm morning earlier in the day.  My cousins and I were shaking from fear and the cold, too upset to even speak.  We were able to get our small vessel to the dock and Lucia into her home for Doc to examine her wounds.

As we waited for what seemed like an eternity, my cousin Mona and I walked outside holding onto each other while tears flowed down our cheeks.  We didn’t talk much but  prayers were being lifted up to heaven by our young hearts for Lucia’s wellbeing.  When we were told that Lucia’s sweater had saved her from any open wounds, we were greatly relieved. She had deep bruising under her skin but no more serious injuries! We were in a remote area, far from emergency medical care.  It would have been extremely difficult for Doc to treat her even with his medical expertise if she had had a serious back injury.  A miracle had happened before our eyes!

A seemingly inconsequential choice of whether to take a heavy sweater while sailing had made all the difference between life and possibly death that day.  I’ve often heard it said that coincidences are situations that appear to be random chance but are really God choosing not to make His presence known. Did I feel that this coincidence was random then or now?  Absolutely not!

In the Bible, it was customary for people to build an altar or monument at the spot where they had encountered God.  Jacob did this after he wrestled all night with God and prevailed.  His name was changed to Israel that day because he was a changed man.  When I have encountered God up close and personal, I may not build a physical altar to Him but a place of remembrance is set up in my heart.  The hand of God was with us that day long ago in the cold waters of Lake of the Woods, Canada. This will remain a sacred place in my heart forever.

 

Self-Confidence or God-Confidence

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So much of western culture is “me” oriented.  We have manuals to boost our self-esteem, to promote self-actualization and to bolster our self-confidence.  We are convinced by shrewd advertising that “I’m worth it.”  We buy into this thinking and enthrone ourselves as our own gods.  When we make ourselves into gods however, we cannot allow the rightful King to rule our lives.  Jesus told his disciples, ” If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”  This is not an easy task. Self-denial is certainly counter to the culture in which we live. How do we remain self-confident in what we do here in this world yet die to self? What if rather than seeking self-confidence, we are “God-confident”?  What would this look like?

Instead of being solely dependent on our own abilities, we would depend on God working through us.  Our focus would be outward, not inward; looking out for others, not ourselves.  We would not be doormats though because we would stand for what is right.  Jesus was certainly not a doormat as He stood His ground with the religious leaders of His day.  Our leadership would be enabling and encouraging others to be all they can be.  We would not worry about material things but would be confident that God would provide what we needed.  This would free us to take risks for good.  We would be creative beyond our own ideas  because we could be open to the creative energy of God flowing through us.  We would be co-creators with God.  I believe this is really what He desires.  He doesn’t want us to be puppets who only can act when manipulated.  But He wants us to work side-by-side with Him: co-workers entrusted with the stewardship of the earth and its contents.

Overall we’ve done a pretty poor job with being good stewards but there are high points interspersed throughout history that give us hope.  A few of these include the discovery of the polio vaccine and penicillin that opened the door for other medications that changed our world, the fall of the Berlin Wall leading to the disintegration of the Iron Curtain , the end of Apartheid in South Africa through forgiveness and reconciliation , the abolition of slavery in the US and the subsequent Civil Rights Movement. All these accomplishments were gained through self-sacrifice and sometimes martyrdom for a greater good.

Each of us are given talents or gifts to use wisely as stewards of what God has entrusted to us.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a parable about a man going on a journey who left property in the care of three servants. He gave to one 5 talents (each talent was worth more than 15 years’ wages of a laborer), to another two, to another one, each according to his ability. When the man returned from his journey, the first two servants had doubled the money entrusted to them but the third servant buried his talent in the ground. The only servant who was chastised was the one who did nothing with what was given to him.

We all have different talents given to us according to our ability.  No one is exempt.  Medicine and writing are the two talents given to me that I am aware of.  Maybe there are more that I have buried deep inside myself that I have never used.  Both of my talents are God-enhanced especially my writing.  I don’t know what I will write for my next blog post until I write it. There is no plan, it just comes to me at the right moment.  This is not me but God. He puts the ideas in my heart and I put them on paper.  We are co-creators and through this process I feel closer to God than ever before.  But I haven’t relinquished all of myself to God yet.  Little by little, layer by layer, resistance falls away.  It’s like an onion being peeled.  When I let go of external pressures and open myself to God, I then understand the joy and peace Paul speaks of in the letter to the Philippians.  But when I grasp onto myself and my needs again, then worry overwhelms me.  I move back and forth between dependence on God and dependence on myself.  But I can see that bit by bit I am changing.  God is patient with me.  Like a good parent, He lets me fall to teach me lessons.  He doesn’t protect me from life but stands by me through it. I need more than a lifetime to let Him peel the layers of self-protection and self-centeredness away to reveal the person He sees that I can be.  I imagine that a good portion of this happens in heaven after I die.  It seems that we are all at different stages when we go from here.  But eventually He will perfect us.  It won’t be by our power but by His. However, we have to allow the transformation.  We can’t hold on to being our own god for this to happen.  Self-confidence must be converted to God-confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watchful Waiting

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Waiting for Christmas to finally arrive was so difficult as a child.  I remember waking early on Christmas morning to peek down the stairs to see if Santa had come.  The year I bounded down the stairs to find a new bicycle with training wheels beside our tree, I was ecstatic.  I have an old black and white photo of me still in my pj’s on that bike with a wide smile on my face.  What great memories!

I still enjoy Christmas but the waiting is different.  As a parent and especially for mom’s, there is so much preparation to get ready for Christmas.  All the decorating, baking, buying and wrapping gifts, and cleaning the house can be overwhelming.  But it’s all worth the wait to see the smiling faces of my family and friends when we gather together.  I think I like the laughter best when we reminisce about old times.  This is often the case when that reminiscing involves stories of the crazy things I was unaware that my kids and their cousins did in their younger years.  We can chuckle about these memories now since these “true confessions” occur long after the actual events and my grown children have survived to tell about them.  My family is very boisterous and conversations can be quite animated. It can be a little intimidating for those first experiencing these interactions.  But for me, these are the times that I long for at Christmas.  Presents are fun but don’t really mean much compared to the gifts of love and joy.  This is what I wait for expectantly every year.

Advent in the Christian calendar is the time of waiting prior to the birth of Jesus.  In the dictionary, Advent means “the coming or arrival especially of something very important.”  The Jewish people had waited on the Messiah for hundreds of years.  He was to be the very special one who would come to save His people.  When He did arrive, He came in such a lowly, humble way that most people didn’t recognize the gift in their midst.  But there were two elderly people who had been watchfully waiting for years to see Jesus.  Their names were Anna and Simeon.  We don’t know much about them except that they were in the temple in Jerusalem when Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus on the 8th day after His birth for dedication and circumcision as was the Jewish custom.  The Spirit of God opened their eyes so they were able to recognize who Jesus was and they both were overjoyed to know that He had finally arrived.  The gift of salvation for their people was here at last. Their waiting was over.

It’s been a little over 2000 years since the gift of Jesus arrived.  So much clutter surrounds Christmas that we sometimes forget to appreciate what was given to us so long ago.  Jesus is in our midst if we allow our eyes to be opened to see Him like Anna and Simeon.  He is Emmanuel, “God with us,” within us.  But shouldn’t we also be watchfully waiting as they did, for Jesus to come again, not just in Spirit but in physical form?  Didn’t He tell us over and over that He would be back?  Maybe since it has been so long since He walked on earth, we are tired of waiting.  We’re used to the way things are here and have become somewhat numb to the news about tragedy, illness and death.  We watch evil 24/7 on round-the-clock newscast until we accept life as it is.

But hope says, “evil doesn’t win”.  This was a recent statement that came from a parent who lost her child in the Newtown school shooting just a year ago.  With such horrific acts of violence all around us, we need to remember that we’ve been told the end of the story.  The very last chapter in the Bible, tells us that there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth.  The old, worn out world will pass away.  And God will come live with us forever.  Evil will be no more.  No more tears, no more suffering, no more children dying.

I wait for this expectantly, on tip toes, watching for the greatest gift of all to return.  Come, Lord Jesus, come!