Category Archives: Strength

Fighting the Good Fight

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imageIt’s the day after the Central Indiana Komen Race for the Cure. I’m a bit sore. It didn’t help that my daughter Rozie, wanted to show me her office in the One America building before the race. The elevator would not let us off at the 22nd floor but took us up to the top. We tried to walk down from there but her ID badge didn’t work to let us out of the stairwell. Let me tell you, walking down 36 flights of stairs is a killer quad exercise-literally. After this we walked the 5K. My 57 year old body was not up for this. But we had great fun and I’m glad I did it.

I know that not everyone agrees with the mission of the Susan B Komen foundation. Believe me, I heard it as I tried to get donations for the race. But regardless of the fact that more money is spent fundraising than what is actually spent on cancer research, I would like to suggest that the Race for the Cure is about a much greater cause.

Most people see cancer as a physical fight for life. But it is even more, a spiritual battle of the mind and will. I’ve spend more than 30 years in the medical field and I’ve witnessed the warfare and walked beside those fighting the good fight more times than I can remember. It’s an honor to be allowed in this confidential space. I have listened to the fear and worry that couldn’t be expressed to family members. Most times, these were not concerns about themselves but for those they were leaving behind. The questions were out of love. “How will my granddaughter take my passing?” or “Who will care for my dogs when I am gone?” Even though they were suffering, their thoughts were always on how their loved ones were coping. Often they would agree to more treatment because their family wanted it, even when they knew in their heart that the fight was done. Over the years, I have learned more about how to live by walking with those who were dying.

So as I see it, the Komen Race for the Cure, is not really about raising money to fight cancer. It is an act of solidarity. There were many cancer survivors there yesterday but there were many more people who participated to simply to show their support. In essence, it was a statement to all those with cancer, “I will walk with you.” This is the strongest promise ever made to someone fighting the good fight. You are not alone, we are standing with you. When you are too weak to go on, we will hold you in our arms. This is an act of love.

For all my cancer patients, those who are survivors and those who have passed on to the next life free of sickness forever, this is for you.

 

 

Preparing for Giants

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imageMy husband, Tim has been doing the Children’s Moment in our church once a month since the first of the year. I enjoy being a part of the audience since I never really know what he’s going to do. He’s been known to have some pretty crazy props for his presentations. It’s not good to sit too close to the front because you might get hit by flying objects. Just saying!

Well his topic this week was about the well-known story of “David and Goliath.” Even if you are not versed in the Bible, you probably can recall this one: small boy goes up against a giant and succeeds against all odds. In many respects, it is a tale of an underdog taking on a sure winner. But is it? What moved the odds in David’s favor?

As Tim set the stage for the story, he asked for one of the children to volunteer to be David. Of course, no one volunteered but he convinced a red-headed young man to play the part. David was said to be of ruddy complexion and there are those who think he may have had red hair but no one truly knows. Tim tied a cloth carpenter’s apron around his waist to serve as a shepherd’s pouch. In it was 5 smooth stones like those David would have collected from a stream. He put a shepherd’s staff in his right hand and a make-shift sling/exercise band in his left. He made a great David.

They didn’t practice throwing any stones. Thank goodness! But as Tim dressed our make-believe David, he spoke of how David would have unknowingly prepared for his battle against Goliath every day of his life. He was a shepherd dedicated to protecting his father’s sheep. Sheep are susceptible to many predators. Today coyotes or dogs would be likely predators but in David’s day, he had to ward off bears and lions. At his young age and small size, a sling shot would have been his best weapon. He didn’t have television or video games to entertain him during the boring times alone with the sheep. So he would have practiced his shot over and over until he was an expert marksman. It says in the Bible that he had killed bear and lions with his sling shot so he knew he was capable of downing the 9 foot Goliath. But even so, what gave David the courage to go up against the giant? Everyone else including David’s older brothers were afraid to challenge him and they were seasoned warriors.

David was prepared for giants in another more important way. Even at his young age, he had developed a strong relationship with God. He had studied the writings of Moses. At the prompting of God, he had already been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next king. Later in his life, David wrote numerous songs that are recorded in the Book of Psalms. His words reflect his confidence in the Lord. “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.” His awe of God is exclaimed when he states, “The heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” I can visualize the boy, David, staring up at the night sky as his sheep rest beside him conversing with God. He knew the Lord long before his encounter with Goliath. When the moment came for courage, David acknowledged where his strength originated. He explained to King Saul, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” When David approached Goliath with only his staff, his sling and 5 smooth stones, the giant taunted him. But David’s response was direct and confident, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me…All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

So what giants are looming on your horizon? All of us have them. Even the children listening to Tim’s story have giants they will face: the bully at school, the tough exam, try-outs for the All Stars. As adults, it seems that our personal “Goliaths” are getting bigger every day. Our success against giants will be determined by how well we prepare. Yes, we must study and practice our skills like David with his sling but ultimately our greatest strength will come through our knowledge of God and our conversations with Him. Our relationship with the Lord gives us the confidence to face our giants even if it appears that we are the underdog. Remember, the battle is the Lord’s!

 

Holding on to Hope

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imageYesterday I started to write a post about hope but found myself stuck after the first paragraph. I have been so moved by the events of the past few weeks, I wanted to write something that would give hope in this  present darkness. It is easy to feel hopeless as the people of West Africa are dying of Ebola, as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas, and as religious minorities are being slaughtered by the militant Islamic group, Isis.  I left my writing, not knowing where to go with it. I was at a loss for words.

Writing is a funny process. As in any creative endeavor, one must start and then push through to open up the revelation of the mind.  Inspiration comes from within and without. It comes from things I see, things I hear and memories long buried in the recesses of my mind.  But then there is the inexplicable, mysterious insight that suddenly comes out of nowhere.  This is God.  I know it without a doubt.  There are thoughts that come out of my pen (or the keyboard of my computer) that are not from me.

Inspiration comes from taking God in like a breath through his word, his people and his Spirit and letting him flow forth.  Like breathing in and breathing out.

This is hope that God is as close as the air I breathe.  I inspire his oxygen and it travels to every cell of my body, giving life, energy and sustenance.  When all else is stripped away through persecution, disaster and death, he is still there within me.

Paul, to the church in Rome, asks:  “Who therefore shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

How can we be separated from the air we breath if that air is the Spirit of God?  We can’t.  No matter what happens whether good or bad, he stands with us through it.  Our hope cannot be based on external situations because the world as it is will always disappoint us.  Our hope is based on that which cannot be changed, the loving nature of God.

My heart and prayers go out to the suffering people on the other side of the earth and right here at home.  We will all have trouble, no matter who we are.  It takes different forms but suffering is universal.  None of us is immune from it.  But my deepest prayer is that all those going through pain whatever it might be, will know that God is as close as their very breath.  Inspire/inhale his presence and hope and peace will envelope your heart and mind. You will be “more than conquerors” through any trouble that comes your way.

Overcomers

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I hear the words of Christian music artist Mandisa in my head as she sings on the radio, “You’re an overcomer.  Stay in the fight until the final round. You’re not going under. ‘Cause God is holding you right now…”  How many times have I felt defeated with the circumstances of life but a deep inner voice speaks to my heart these same words, “You’re an overcomer.” But even though I know God is right here, I can feel so alone.  We all feel knocked down and beat up when things are not going our way. Or we feel ashamed when a choice we have made has consequences we didn’t anticipate.  There are losses that are difficult to share even with those who love us: the promotion that never happened, the hoped for relationship that fizzled out, the baby that was never born.  They leave us with a sense of inadequacy and failure that is difficult to shake.  Does God really care about these feelings of defeat?

The Bible tells us that when we’ve seen Jesus, we’ve seen the Father.  Jesus cared for the defeated.  He announced His ministry when he read a passage from Isaiah that stated, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

Are you held captive by a sense of failure and brokeness?  Does despair surround you like a blanket of darkness?  Jesus came to release you from all this and give you beauty for ashes.  He wants us to be more than conquerors.  We are overcomers.  We choose not let failure get the best of us but to get up, wipe the ashes from us and try again. Often this is not from our own strength. We are lifted up by God’s people loving us when we are having a hard time loving ourselves.  This is how others will recognize God’s people by how they love one another in good times and bad.

Remember all of us have experienced failure even those the world would consider to be successful.  Most great people failed multiple times before they attained the status of greatness. The only difference between them and others is that they didn’t let defeat, defeat them.  Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest US presidents of all time but he went through trials that would have stopped most people.  When he was yet a young boy his mother died suddenly.  He was fortunate that his father re-married a woman who would encourage him to learn and better himself.  When he was still a teen ager, his beloved sister Sarah, died in childbirth. She and her baby are buried together in the little cemetery near Lincoln’s boyhood home in southern Indiana. His family left Indiana and moved to Illinois in 1830. He first ran for the Illinois State legislature in 1832 and lost. He went into business with a friend in 1833 and it went under shortly thereafter. He could not pay the debt when it came due and his possessions were seized by the sheriff. He ran for the State legislature again in 1834 and won.  He was able to pay his debt with his salary from the legislature and a position as a postmaster in New Salem, Illinois.  In 1835 his sweetheart, Ann Rutledge died and left him heartbroken. He was re-elected to the State Legislature in 1836 and 1838. He was licensed to practice law in 1837 and was quite successful. He gained a seat in the US Congress in 1846 but didn’t run for a second term due to erosion of support back home in Illinois.  He did run for US Senate but failed to gain a seat both in 1854 and 1858. However in 1860 he was elected as President of the United States. During his presidency, the country was divided over the issue of slavery in a great Civil War. In 1862, while he was serving in the White House, his son Willie died.  He was again elected to the presidency in 1864 but was assassinated in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth while he was at the theatre with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.  His life was tragic by any definition but he was known as a man of faith and great wisdom. It is thought that a raft trip as a young man down the Mississippi with a friend to deliver goods to New Orléans gave him the impetus to later implement the Emancipation Proclamation to abolish slavery.  It was there that he witnessed slaves being bought and sold on the auction block. This experience so affected him that he stood up against great opposition to use the power given him for good.  Even though his life was one of great loss and numerous failures, he moved beyond these obstacles to make a difference in the future of our country and it’s people.

But what it is that makes one an overcomer like Lincoln?  I believe we are given the power to become overcomers by the Spirit of God when we recognize that we are a part of a bigger story: God’s story.  Every joy and triumph, every loss and failure molds us into who we are meant to be.  These experiences give us the means to play a role in “God’s Grand Story.”  As Mordecai, Queen Esther’s uncle told her when he asked her to risk death by approaching the king to save her people, “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.  For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.  And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

You might think that you are not a president or a queen with such responsibility but neither Lincoln nor Queen Esther came from positions of wealth or power.  God moved their once simple lives into these positions for a reason. None of us know what part we are to play in “God’s Grand Story” but every good and bad experience in our lives moves us into the role we are to play.  We become overcomers when we realize that whatever lies ahead for us, we were born “for such as time as this.”

 

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising up every time we fail.”                          Ralph Waldo Emerson