How Big is Your Boat?

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things...
(Luke 10:41)

Have you been in that place, the place of busyness, of doing too much and--it seems--none of it well? Ever felt that you might not be able to do all that needs to be done? I have been dwelling in that place lately, not merely passing through in the past few weeks. Though I cast off the label of worrier and do not claim to fret or worry habitually, I acknowledge there are some seasons of life where the mounting needs to be met and concerns to be prayed over cast a huge shadow, dwarfing my limited ability to get the job done. We can easily feel overwhelmed, especially at the peak of the busiest season of the year at work.

What we call the holiday season is really the perfect storm.

This post-holiday let down is a common phenomenon, if that were merely all it is. It happens to everyone. But this is not about holidays at all, as I see it. It is Real Life. Life comes to us as a gentle breeze at times, lifting us and caressing us along the way, and with a storm's fury at others. Part of the rhythmic ebb and flow we can expect.

We must shift gears, adjusting to the demands to be met. And if we are wise, we will adjust our expectations of ourselves. That can be the hardest part.

I've written about jettisoning excess baggage to lighten our load when our boat feels too small to weather the storm. Get rid of non-essentials. Cut out something. As we go into a new year, that admonition rings true again as good advice.

As I am walking alongside a friend with a life-threatening disease, I will not let my whining about busyness and fatigue gain so much as a foothold. I will keep it in check, I promise. But we must be honest wherever we find ourselves, and live authentically out of our present situation--whatever it is. "Do not compare yourself with others. There will always be someone.....[thinner, richer, sicker, better, faster, healthier...]," is an oft-quoted directive that springs to mind here.

That is one thing that needs to go: comparison. It only invites envy or self-pity. Either is toxic to the soul. So, out it goes. My boat is too small to hold anything that feeds the flesh- and soul-eating bacteria of envy or allows for self-absorbed feelings.

If we take only one step toward lightening the load and making life's journey manageable today, may we cast off anything that causes us to look upon others with jealousy or envy because of what they appear to have that we do not. Sounds so simple, doesn't it? We do not think of ourselves as jealous people, I am sure. And that is just what makes envy and covetousness so universal and slippery for us. Just when we say we do not have a problem with something, we just got a problem with it; we set ourselves up for a match with the master of deception. Watch and see how such a practice can weave through our conversations and our actions during the course of a week, allowing us the chance to let it go.

My mother says it often and lives it well: Let it go. It's one of many gems we have learned from her.

No matter the size of our boat, it is sufficient to contain the One who will never leave us nor forsake us in the storm of life. His grace is sufficient when our abilities fail. Thanks be to God!

We may find ourselves in that place of being worried and distracted about many things, as referenced in the scripture above, on multiple occasions. If not for ourselves, we may experience such turmoil alongside others who are weathering tough times.

Storms of discouragement, disease and doubt slam into us at the most unexpected times ravaging our 'boats'.

Financial and relational struggles slash our sails.

High winds and turbulence toss us about leaving us fearful and wounded.

Where is the joy? Where is the peace in all this?

We've heard it said before: Those who try to anchor to position, prestige and power will drift away because those things cannot supply ultimate security and protection. They never have. They may only appear to do so. And how frustrating to see one spend a lifetime navigating the sea of Other People's Opinions only to find it leads nowhere.

...There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:42

Storms may batter, winds may blow, the sails may be torn, but the anchor holds! We have hope.

Reminds me of an old hymn from my childhood:
"In times like these you need a savior.
In times like these you need an anchor.
Be very sure, Be very sure, Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.

That Rock is Jesus
Yes, He's the one,
That Rock is Jesus
The only one
Be very sure.
Be very sure,
Your anchor holds
And grips the Solid Rock."

Majesty of the Moment

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea...Be still, and know I am God Psalm 46:1-2, 10.

Let the truth of these verses find a home in your heart now.

When life gets busy or chaotic, it’s easy to get distracted. We wind up focusing on problems instead of the One who holds the answer to our problems in God's hands. When that happens, stop. Focus on who God is and how much God loves you. Share your heartfelt psalm of prayer with the God of power and compassion.

Be still and know God is near. The words of Psalm 46 hold incredible power when it comes to knowing God is near in any and every situation.”


(From The 100 Most Important Bible Verses, 1996 Tyndale House Publishers, pg 43 via Moms In Touch)
Photo unedited or adorned, taken in La Sagrada de Familia of breathtaking shafts of light.

And then it hit me: when I encountered the beauty of the sight in the photo above, I stopped in my tracks. There was nothing to do but to be still and take in the majesty of the moment. To have conceived and designed and built an edifice such as this one that would cast golden light beams and cause visitors to draw in a breath and hold it? That was amazing to me. I had to stop and acknowledge that I was in the presence of a thing of great beauty.

How much more so, then, would we not stop and be still at points during the course of our day, when we are encountering DAILY the beauty we pass on the streets and in the world about us.

Recapture the majesty of everyday moments. Let's begin today!

Love in Any Language

Δεν υπάρχει φόβος στην αγάπη. Αλλά τέλεια αγάπη διώχνει το φόβο, διότι ο φόβος έχει να κάνει με την τιμωρία. Αυτός που φοβάται δεν γίνεται τέλειος στην αγάπη.


Scenes from tumbled stones in Olympia and the elegant carved marble sculpture of Achilles remind me that thousands of years ago, men and women sought wisdom, pleasure, heroes and significance from a myriad of places, much as we do today. Just as in the story of Achilles, each of us has a place of vulnerability: we may stand tall and strong only to fall unexpectedly when pierced in that place.

Fear is that Achilles heel for many--a debilitating dread that holds some in its clutches. Fear of failing, fear of not measuring up to others' expectations, fear of intimacy--the list continues--with a paralyzing result in not fully living this life we have been given. There is freedom from the bondage of fear, and it comes to us through love, not through a mightier sword or shield held high.

I have read that the opposite of fear is not courage; it is faith. I find that faith generates courage as well. A friend shared the Greek translation for the beloved passage I offer today:

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." I John 4:18

I, too, have found it worthy of trust. And my life depends on it daily. May the immense love of God be a blessing in your life journey and in this day.

Doorways to Courage

“Always remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." ~Winnie The Pooh

Encouraging words spring from many sources. Juvenile fiction holds a treasure trove of wisdom, frequently neither juvenile nor fictitious. We find more ancient parallels below as refreshment to our souls when we need to take heart--the original meaning of encouragement:


Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 56:3-4
When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

And parting words always call for our attention:

If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever.
~ Winnie the Pooh

Getting Lost in New Town

Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, S.C. was a new discovery for us last weekend. My friends, Tish and Leslie, bike all over the world and may know about this 13.5 mile stretch along the Reedy River connecting Greenville to Travelers Rest. I want to ride it one day!

In a Southern Living reference to the delightful trail, one sentence stood out: "It's hard to get lost."*

Getting lost....A memory surged forward when looking back.

As a child, I rode bikes with my friend, Gina, who lived in what was known as New Town, a grid of maybe four streets criss-crossed by four or five perpendicular streets creating a modern neighborhood in the 1940's - 50's of our small town. New Town offered smooth asphalt roads with no painted lines needed and little traffic--a biker's paradise to me back then. I lived on a highway and enjoyed the security of riding in a neighborhood.

I loved to get lost in New Town. We would ride for what seemed like hours over the same little streets until I found myself unable to know the way home to Gina's. (So maybe I've always been a little risk-averse. The race car-driving/plane-flying gene did an end run around me, I confess.) There was some amusing delight in being lost-but-not-really.

Gina knew her neighborhood, and I was never really lost when riding with her.

I have learned that whether biking or living, we can be lost while still very close to home.

We can lose our way in our relationships. We can lose our bearings and get turned around in a direction we never intended to go. We can live in lost-ness and not even be aware of it. No one is immune from the perils of the human condition.

Rather than judge harshly with condemnation when others take what appears to be a wrong turn, what if we strode up alongside and offered a way out of and through the confusing grid life presents to us?

When we are in the midst of a maze, we cannot see clearly. We need the company of one who knows the neighborhood. One who has been around the block before, so to speak. And one who is at home facing the challenges and frailties life offers.

And when we are the little lost ones, let us remember that we are never really alone. We may feel alone, but we are not alone. There is One who desires to be our guide, to offer direction, to redeem the anxiety and panic we experience when we've lost our way, and to set our feet on solid ground when the wheels stop spinning.

The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8 NLT

There is something beautiful in that trail to Travelers Rest....and something peaceful and satisfying in reaching the destination in the company of fellow companions on the journey of life!


* http://www.southernliving.com/travel/south-east/greenvilles-swamp-rabbit-trail-00417000072658/

Bridge Over Troubled Water

"I'm a worrier," she said frankly. "It's what we do. My mother was a worrier, and I come from a long line of worriers. I don't understand how you can change that."

Does this ring true for you?

Recent conversations with friends remind me that fear and worry bear down on us, young and old. The worry spectrum spans from mild apprehension to anguish; it moves from irritation and vexation all the way to inconsolable distress. One person's experience of mere annoyance will be another's churning misery. At some point we all need help with worry.

Paul Simon's 1970 "Bridge Over Troubled Water" offers a visual image. We don't stop the tumultuous water when we experience life's deluge, but we can use a bridge. Sometimes we can even be a bridge as we accompany another during a hard time.

This song was inspired by a single line from the Negro Spiritual, "Mary, Don't You Weep," about Mary (the Mary and Martha duo of Bethany) pleading with Jesus over the death of her brother Lazarus:

"I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust in me," is the portion ensconced in Billboard history after Simon and Garfunkel's version hit number one.

A single line can provide a powerful nugget for us to help focus.

Without dismissing the seriousness of one's worries, how can we be encouragers and hold the light up for one another -- and for ourselves -- as we navigate the choppy water?

• When fears sets in, begin by turning that cyclic worry into prayer. Let the things that would take us away from God move us toward God.

• Talk truth to yourself. Even if no one has ever whispered these words into your heart or ears, hear them now: Tell that fear that holds you in its clutches that you are unavailable -- that the One who speaks and all creation listens abides with you, giving power to the faint and strengthening you for the onslaught of worry and anxiety.

• Speak the same truth into anxious moments and doubts. Doing so may not remove the circumstances, but it will change the stranglehold circumstances can have on our lives. From this point, we can breathe.

• Know the importance of living in the present. Stay in the 'now.'
  

Remind yourself: You are a beloved child of God -- one with inadequacies and frailties common to humanity, but a child greatly loved nonetheless.

This understanding does not magically erase the worry-habits that hold some of us captive, nor does it makes us bulletproof for temptations and fears. I think it makes us all the more a target -- a target for the enemy's attack on our faith and commitment to live lives connected to God. But when we live with an increased awareness of God's Presence with us in the present, strengthening us for whatever we endure, we can allow God's Spirit to permeate us with the Peace of God's making which far exceeds any confidence we have from our own accomplishments.

This bridge comes with an invitation from Jesus: "I will be your bridge over deep water if you trust in me." He will make a way for us.



1958 Swan Silvertones version of the Spiritual, "Mary, Don't You Weep"

Road Maps for the Journey

Life does not come with color-coded road maps and Google or Mapquest directions. We have many choices to make along the way and can feel weak and inadequate relying on our own assessments. We are not alone. Many great thinkers and those perceived as wise spiritual leaders have experienced such struggles common to the human condition. Take heart.

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton

And from another source, who knew what it was to be both confident and sure of himself and later - after an encounter with the risen Christ - confidently assured of God's Presence, we read:

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for

my strength is made perfect in weakness."

2 Corinthians 12:9

The apostle Paul traveled to Rome, a magnificent city in his day, though he saw it from a prison cell where he wrote, according to some scholars, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon between 61 and 63 A.D, a few years before his death. Thomas Merton, whose life, too, reveals wide swings in his search for identity and calling, intersected the streets of Rome in about 1933 during his stay there. These two very different people present honest searching and multiple attempts at 'theological correctness' as prevalent in their time as in ours.They changed their minds about what they held to be true and recanted or divested themselves of a former position in favor of a latter. Each moved from strict unbelief to a deep, abiding consciousness to the reality of Christ's coming into the world. Criticism and upheaval accompanied their journeys along the way; theirs were not stories of neat, tidy lives walking rose-strewn paths.

May we be willing to cast off anything - habits, traditions, public opinion - anything that holds us back from hearing a still small voice in our search for truth, in our quest for God's moving in our lives. We need encouragement to live boldly, proclaiming a word of witness, in a world as fascinated with the idols of our time just as those in ancient Rome. We each have to walk it one step at a time.

Passing Through the Waters

Torrential rains soaked most of the U.S. yesterday, and all of that water has to find a way to do what water does best: seek its lowest point. I took out my phone and snapped this shot of a beautiful rushing waterfall atop Lookout Mountain. No framing, no composition. Truly a snapshot to help me remember a beautiful sight.

The woodsy fragrance of wet, densely-packed leaves and the powerfully soothing sounds of rushing water tumbling over ancient boulders reminded me of summers from many years ago on that mountain. Days were simpler as junior high campers hiked in the early morning hours and shaped canned biscuit dough around a green stick to cook over an open fire before filling the cooked 'dough boy' with butter and jelly. The laughter of girls permeated the patchwork of memories woven into these woods near Camp DeSoto. 

Boys, too, have claimed a stake on Lookout Mountain since the 1950's at Alpine Camp, and countless young people have been blessed by spending summers on the mountain. I have traveled this road many times since 1967, and the sights and sounds of running water brought back an album of mental images. I am thankful to visit that familiar place again.

The relentless pounding of water created cascades high above the road we traveled yesterday and and carved channels underneath it as well, with sparkling rivulets streaming in unexpected places. I marveled that the entire road bed had not been washed off the side of the mountain after all these years. How can it endure the onslaught of high winds and rain season after season? Yet, people make their way up and down it every day.

Sometimes we get to experience life's blessings as a trickling mountain stream, nonthreatening and beautiful to behold. A running brook moves peacefully, lulling us into some expectation that all of life should run that way. It doesn't. 

Life comes at us with a storm's fury on occasions. Learning to accept our lot, our portion that we encounter, with courage and grace is a goal I press toward daily. When we find ourselves in the midst of a storm may we take heart. It is common to feel overwhelmed and unable to keep our footing when the path we've known before seems to be shifting under the weight of each new step.

Timeless words come to mind as signposts for the journey. Isaiah 43 and 2 Corinthians provide meaningful bookends to shore up a road bed that threatens to weaken underfoot. Take a fresh look:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43: 1-3 ESV

But we have this treasure in jars of clay,
to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed...
So we do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-18 ESV

Passing through the waters.....What a picture that presents.

I only drove through the waters today, but the days will come when we will experience this expression in a different way. May our God strengthen us as we grow in faith and learn to trust in God's provision along the way.

We have the promise of God's own Presence! Amen.

Beauty in Unusual Places

Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes.

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was asked by her husband how she felt as she was dying.

"Beautiful," she replied, her last word. She died in his arms in Florence where he tended her alone.

Inventor Thomas Alva Edison said just before his death in 1931, "It's very beautiful over there."

Beautiful. Can it be?

There is a great mystery in dying that has gotten my attention in recent years. A favorite book, Final Gifts by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelly, is an important guide and resource for those suddenly thrust upon the final-illness scene; yet it is even better if we have no such prospect looming but simply want to live with greater understanding of a topic we generally like to keep far away from us.

Written by two hospice nurses who speak from experience of thousands of deaths, Final Gifts acknowledges that while each person's death is distinctly one's own, there are patterns and stages common to most that we likely will experience.

Preparation for dying draws me - not in a macabre or gruesome way - but with a spiritual intensity that longs to be prepared physically and emotionally as well. I have shared this pursuit with others who are facing near-death situations themselves. Yes, tennis might have been a more pleasant hobby, but for this season (and for the past number of years) death bids me to take a closer look.

Each of us will experience death and dying of those dear to us, perhaps many times over our lifetime. While I would choose to wedge the door shut if that would keep the unwelcome intruder at bay, I want to learn from those who have experienced this aspect of our shared humanity. I want to be as prepared as possible for a possibly incomprehensible loss.

I say I do not fear death. (I have yet to be fully tested on this hypothesis, you understand.) I do, however, fear grief, and I dread living without the presence and companionship of those we love. I have named my fears, and grief is at the top of the list.

Death is a part of life, an essential stage of moving from this life to the Life we cannot glimpse until we pass its threshold. We are not kidding ourselves to avoid it, or to act as though it might not happen to us. But it need not have the last word.

I believe there is an inaudible 'beautiful' that awaits us as well.

A young Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote,

"There are so many mercies close around me that God's being seems proved to me, demonstrated to me, by His manifested love."

That loving presence would be tested a few days later when she learned of the death of her only brother, Edward, in a sailing accident with friends. She had parted with him with 'pettish words' on the day he left, and her grief was complicated by her intense remorse over that unreconciled quarrel. For years she could not hear of the sea or of her brother because of the lingering anguish she felt.

Only later in life did she write,

"Once I wished not to live, but the faculty of life seems to have sprung up in me again from under the crushing foot of heavy grief. Be it all as God wills."

She is not alone in expressing such a sentiment. Grief is oppressive. It settles in for a season - maybe a long season of drought and barrenness of spirit. The fog hangs even heavier when embedded within it is guilt for harsh words exchanged, or forgiveness withheld, or unexpressed love and appreciation. We long for the opportunity to settle emotional accounts.

The faith I embrace gives perspective that all do not share, I realize. Chief within it is the call to love and to forgive. Forgiveness is not easy, and it is not optional. But it does go a long way in resolving conflict and easing the burden we bear after last words are spoken.

Everyone has struggles and challenges, even those who appear to live a lovely life. Elizabeth's subsequent love for and marriage to Robert Browning is a 19th century love story that would inspire millions today, but their life together was not easy. Her father had forbidden his daughters to marry - a prospect that terrified and saddened them - and, though Browning thought he could speak openly with her father about the stance and persuade him otherwise, Elizabeth knew her father's edict to be firm, and they eloped. She pleaded for reconciliation with her father for the rest of his life, but he refused to speak with her and later returned all her letters to him, unopened - a final insult, it seems to me.

She knew something about suffering. Her mother and brother had died early in life; her poor health kept her confined to a room. She could not walk. Robert carried her up stairs or across the brooks near their home. She experienced real life: satisfying life and love mixed with unreconciled issues, family conflicts, and lifelong grief. And yet she could express devotion to God and rest in God's provision even though her life was filled with hardships to endure.

And she called it beautiful.

I want to know what is true....what is bedrock...what is helpful on this part of the journey....and I pray that God will guide through shared experiences and from impressions of the Spirit on this quest to live life to the fullest and to face the end of this life with courage and grace in the presence of the Lord.

God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:15

Be strengthened in the Lord if you are facing an uncertain road ahead. Know that you are not alone. May we see 'common bushes afire' with God's loving Presence and have spiritual eyes to see something beautiful beyond our sight.

Watch and Pray

Waiting. Waiting for hours. For some, waiting for months. I even feel restless just writing the words. It is another night watch for many.

Try waiting for hours in the ER, then hours more for an open room. While I am at home in my routine it is easy to live unaware of those who are waiting somewhere. Waiting on - quite literally - their next breath. We get the phone call or the message, and suddenly we are thrust into a new reality of sharing the burden of waiting. Then I think of all the people who populate those hospital beds which are too full to allow a critically ill friend his room, and know that countless families are squeezed into waiting rooms everywhere. The enormity of it is overwhelming on any given day.

I am living in that place of the virtual waiting room with several dear friends right now, and I imagine you are too. We wait with others who are at the bedside of mothers, of precious loved ones, of babies who are struggling with life and breath, of a dear friend who tonight finds the simplest act of breathing death-defying.

We can feel helpless to do anything. And we can be fearful. Or we can take seriously the call to prayer. Or maybe we are fearful, AND we choose to pray in earnest. That's probably more honest. So I pray for for comfort....for God's peace in the midst of turmoil....for assurance that we are not alone, though we may feel alone. As I told Stephanie, the Great Mystery that is God's Presence with us bears witness that God is there and is not silent, even when we cannot be physically present. Yet our anticipatory grief of what may lie ahead clutches at our hearts.

When God draws near to the brokenhearted there can be inexpressible comfort even as there is undeniable grief and deep loss. It is an unfathomable mystery. As Corrie ten Boom's sister, Betsy, said, "No matter how deep the pit we are in, God's love is deeper."

When there is fear and anxiety, God can soothe and heal our anxious moments. I want to cast abroad the message I believe we need to hear: fear not, dearly beloved. Do not be afraid. When everything else around us seems to be cratering, our fear is a natural human response. But as believers we are called to live beyond our strength and beyond our fears.

I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

Does that mean if we can sufficiently mask the fear or quench the anxiety we will have proven ourselves faithful and have earned the right to healing - sort of a Crucible, a final test of the faithful? Absolutely not. We come before the Lord God in need of any miracle God wants to give. We come pouring out our hearts like water before the Lord, honestly asking for mercy and grace without limitation. We approach a sovereign God.

Sometime we experience the cure.

Sometimes we experience the healing we seek before death; sometimes it is only after death that we can know restoration and renewal. Another great mystery that is outside the grasp of our limited experience but not beyond the reality of our faith.

And sometimes we are called to extend that same mercy and grace to others when we least expect it.

To show mercy is an act of love just as powerful as fighting for the life of another. The lines bleed, and it is hard to know which one is more loving in the in-between - the times of fighting for any chance at life. And yet, there may come a time when we can know that it is time. Some call this a time of release. It is not a time of giving up, but of giving over. And it can be a tender, poignant time of sweet release. Time to put down the plowshares and implements of working so hard, and to pick up the hand of another and simply express, once again, that deep human longing to love and be loved. That, too, is a glorious act of love.

The waiting room is a good time for remembering that we are not alone...that we do not have to be afraid....and that we are held in the grip of God's grace, even though we live in this broken world with all its diseases and frailties. May God bless our families and friends who even now are dependent upon this day's breath. May we watch and pray fervently with them while waiting.

In the Still of the NIght

A few thoughts from today's scripture:

Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSV)
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

(See also Luke 2.1—7)

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been
engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy
Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public
disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take
Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son,
and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place
to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the
Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she
had borne a son;j and he named him Jesus.

1. Verse 19: Joseph had a plan. He had reasoned it well in his mind, and it probably made sense. His plan even called out his most noble, generous nature to have Mary put away quietly when it would have been sufficient in his society to publicly handle the matter and save face himself. By all accounts, it was a good plan.

We, too, like a good plan.

2. Verse 20: Note: 'just when he had resolved to do this....an angel of the Lord appeared....' Sometimes we encounter situations that cause us to re-evaluate our plan. But, we also can be so committed to our agenda that we do not allow room for another voice to break through and call our action or plan into question.
We dismiss others' opinions that may challenge our course.
We justify our actions and rationalize our behavior and silence those who oppose us.
But Joseph heard the message of the messenger of God and changed course.

3. Verse 20 continues: The unusual message begins with words of comfort and assurance: Do not be afraid. Do we see how God offers these words whenever we encounter the Person or the message of God in Scripture? God already knows the tendency of humans to be in awe and frightened by such a communication, so there is always the accompanying message of 'do not fear'. Etch it in your hearts as I undertake to do as well; we need never fear a brush with the Holy. God is beginning even before we hear a message to meet our needs.

4. Verse 20: The message came to Joseph in a dream. This dream could have been while asleep at night or during an unusual experience any time of day. But I think of it as something that occurred during the night during sleep. During the night watch, as I like to think of it -- that time each day we go off duty, when we let our guard down, when we can rest in temporary peace if possible.

We may sleep, but God does not. Sometimes God does life-changing work in us and for us when we least expect it. God can change our plan and have us do a complete turn around after contemplating a matter with God's inspiration.

5. Verse 24: Joseph was obedient and ditched his plan. He certainly took the harder road when it would have been far easier to proceed with his own idea. Something in that nocturnal encounter was powerfully compelling!

Have your ever awakened from sleep to have a clearer picture of a situation, or possess understanding that had previously eluded you? These may be rare experiences for us, but they are possible and, I believe, to be expected when we seek God's inspiration at all times, not merely at designated hours of the day or limited to Sunday worship. Look to the night watch as a time of great possibility for spiritual growth. Ask the Lord to move in us and through us and for us, always acting to do His good pleasure in our lives for the Glory of God.

Fear Not Little Flock

"Fear not, little flock; It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Luke 12:32

A thought for the day...

This is the favorite verse of a dear friend and woman in her eighties who generally identifies with scholars and academicians. Seems like such a simple thought - not weighty or impressive as a scholarly pursuit. It came to mind when Rhymes sent me her watercolor of the little bird peering upward.

This snipet of scripture is actually a tiny treasure. It offers calm reassurance, words of love and comfort, and draws a picture of relationship between and the generous, loving father and each of us. What a tender thought in a tiny package. May it be a blessing to your day as we face an uncertain future with serenity and assurance that we are loved with an everlasting love.