everyday miracle

This morning I caught a huge turtle for the kids in a neighbor’s yard.  Now, it is positively surrounded by five kids and a puppy and surprise, surprise, it won’t stick its head out of its shell for anything.  It would help if Little Man would leave it alone, but of course, he can’t.  After all, it is a dream come true!

It occurs to me as I watch the children watch the turtle that turtles are much more patient than children.  Oh, it is hard to wait for something so wonderful. 

All children of God are waiting for something wonderful, and some of us are even waiting eagerly.  Philipians 3:20 says, “We also eagerly wait for the Savior.”

Sometimes though, we get so bogged down in the battle that we are lulled into a fatalistic stupor, forgetting that though the journey is often hard, we are already victorious.

The Savior is returning!  The day and the time for the trumpet’s blast calling the Redeemed home is set, and none can delay its sounding.  We are promised a new Heaven, a new Earth, and the absolute redemption of our fallen, broken, wounded flesh.

Every tear will be wiped away. 

It is certainly something worth our eager anticipation; a promise so precious that it makes even the most sorrowful day sweeter.

“Father,

Thank you for the sure promise of your return.  With Believers from every corner of the globe I pray: ‘Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!”  Amen

Sorrow and violence.  Trauma and brokeness.  These are the hallmarks of a creation that is suffering from an absence of the knowledge of God.  Christ himself warned, “in this world you will have trouble…”  (John 16:33a) and yet, God breathed Scripture also commands us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  (Phillipians 4:4)  These words falling on the ears of frail, mortal flesh at first seem irreconcilable.  How does the child of God live a life defined by joy in seasons of suffering and sorrow?

We must seek not only deliverance but the knowledge of the Lord in our trials.  We must pray not only, “God save me!” but also, “Lord, let me know  you here.”  When God reveals himself to us in our dark hour, praise will burst forth from our hearts.  In that moment, we will be filled with joy because we will be centered upon our most fundamental purpose:  to know God and offer praise to His name.

When He reveals Himself to us, we can not help but fall in love with Him more deeply.  He is mighty, awesome, and holy but He is also tender, compassionate, and sweet.

“Father,

Draw me near today.  Give me ears for your voice.  Reveal yourself to me in this place and I wll cry with the cherebium, “Holy!  Holy!  Holy!”  Amen”

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”  Isaiah 12:3

“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”  Isaiah 11:9

Every violent and destructive force, every aberration of nature, all sickness, disease and trauma, wars, famines, slavery, abuse, torture, racism, rage, murder, malice, impatience, cruelty, gossip, hate…. all are because when Eden fell, the earth suffered from an absence of the knowledge of the Lord.  That rending apart of the Maker and all He had made struck a fatal blow to creation, for to know Him was why we all were created.

Where once the knowledge of the Holy was as natural as heartbeat and breath, there now resides a deep and devastating brokenness which necessitates a deliberate determination to know God.  Now, we must choose to know Him and it is a knowledge that comes at a price, for the spirit can not hear His voice until the flesh is slain. (Galatians 5:24)

“Father,

May my flesh die today so that what is eternal in me might breathe free and live.  May I be filled with the knowledge of You, my Savior and my God.”  Amen

To choose thankfulness in a time of trial, disappointment, or sadness, is an act of praise.  It is so easy to give into the negative and wallow in disappointment and frustration.  To choose gratitude, and therefore joy, is to rise above the terra firma where, for this little while, the Prince of Darkness reigns to walk in joy with the Prince of Peace.

“Father,

You know my frame and remember that I am dust.  Today, I choose your strength to take the place of my weakness.  By your power, I will choose to be thankful no matter my circumstances.  As the hymn from my childhood declares, ‘I need you every hour.’

~ Amen”

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1Thess. 5:16-18

Hope.

No matter what I see, there is hope.

Abraham realized his body was as good as dead, but…

Against all hope, he hoped in Him who is able to raise the dead. (Romans 4:19-20)

Hope.

When I give in to despair, I am exalting my circumstances above God.

Hope is knowing God is greater.

Hope is trusting He is good.

Hope is walking in freedom.

Hope is eternal because as long as God is there is hope.

“Father,

Today, teach me about hope.  I love you.

Amen.”

Puzzle the Puppy is almost one year old.  I don’t know what I will call her then, “Puzzle the Dog” just does not have the same ring to it.  Oh, well…I think I am entitled to call her “Puzzle the Puppy” just a little while longer - at least until she stops destroying everything in the house with her incessant chewing.

Puzzle the Puppy is, like so many beings in my home, quite…spirited.  She is certainly capable of obedience, but it is always a final option for her.  She is not the kind of dog who will simply follow her master due to a sense of loyalty or devotion.  Obedience must be required of her. 

She does love me, however.  Of this, I am sure.  She is also absolutely adorable and if things were different, I would always have her right by my side.  As I write this post, I am sitting on my porch swing, laptop across my knees, watching the sun set on a perfect early summer evening here in Tennessee.  I can see Puzzle the Puppy from here by the soft light of the lamp in the foyer.  She is the closest (comfortable) place she can be to me- the piano bench.  She would really love to be out here with me but she can’t, because you see…

Puzzle the Puppy only obeys as a last resort.  I can’t trust her. 

If I allow her on the porch with me, I know she will take off running the moment she sees a bird, or a jogger, or Heaven forbid that obnoxious little white dog from down the street.  This morning my husband came inside red faced and panting after taking her out for a moment.  She saw a bird across the street and ran.  Then, she heard a dog bark and kept running.  My husband told me he had to run faster and longer than he had in a long, long time just to catch her and that in his words, I was “almost a very rich woman” because it came close to killing him.

Each morning I see a man walking two dogs down my street.  The first, he guides by a leash.  The second has a leash as well, but the leash is simply draped over the dog’s back.  The dog is, in essence, walking himself and yet in all the times I have seen the three of them on their morning walk, never have I seen that dog stray from his master’s side.

You see, obedience brings freedom.

So, as I sit here watching Puzzle the Puppy sleep on the piano bench, I am reminded of how much she is like me.  Too often, I am determined to have my own way.  I know what God wants from me but instead of simply obeying out of adoration for my precious Savior, I am reluctant at best and flat out defiant at my worst.

All the while, the Savior must shake his head and say, “What I really want is for you to be free, if only you would obey…”

  “I run in the path of your commands,
       for you have set my heart free.”   Psalm 119:32

“Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around.  His name shall be Solomon (Peaceful), for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.”   1 Chronicles 22:9

What an incredible blessing Solomon received and yet, he still ended his life in a complete wreck saying, “All is vanity!”

Why is it human beings are so prone to getting into trouble when life is especially good?

Rest.  There should be nothing inherently evil about rest.  God rested.  The Sabbath rest was given as a command.  Throughout Scripture He says, “I will give you rest.”  In Hebrews, he even describes Heaven as “rest”.

Maybe we fail to realize that all things are to be dedicated to the glory of God.

Even rest.

“Father,

I could really use some rest.  Thank you for reminding me to be watchful against sin when it finally comes.  May my every moment today be dedicated to you.”  Amen

Until a few weeks ago, I thought the fig trees were dead.  It is nothing short of miraculous to me that now, thick vibrant green stems have shot up from the dry, brown branches.  Huge leaves, many larger than my hand, shelter plump green figs.

What a picture of life and the work of God’s grace.  Just when all  hope seems lost, and that which is dearest to us appears utterly dead, new life springs forth.  There are no hopeless situations with Him, no lost causes.

“I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain.’”  Isaiah 45:19

“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry…”  Psalm 34:15

Sometimes, it is good to look back.  We so easily forget the path we have tread.  The memories of God’s goodness, counsel, instruction and deliverance throughout our lives just…slip away.

God warned the Israelites of this very thing just before they entered The Promised Land.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”  Deut. 4:9

Lately, I have been reading back through my journals to remind myself of all the landmarks along the trail of my life. 

This blog has been very quiet because I have been in a strange place.  One evening, I lay my weary head down to pray and found that I no longer had the energy to keep the pace I had set for myself in life.  It was time to stop; time to narrow life down to the basics once again, regroup, and get my bearings. 

So, I was wife.  I was mother.  I was master to Puzzle the Puppy.  I dug in my garden and as I pulled weed after weed from beds long neglected by the previous owners of this home, I weeded out some sorrows in my own heart.  As I brought life and beauty back to the yard, God used it to bring life and beauty back into my spirit. 

Then, I sat down in the shade of a tree as the wind gently coaxed subtle music from the bamboo chime above my head and my children busied themselves peeling apart layer after layer of wild onions from the yard and I read, and read, and read.

And now, I am looking back and looking forward.  I am letting go of that which I cannot change and breathing deeply again.

This morning as I sipped tea and watched the sun rise I suddenly knew that this blog was supposed to go back to the beginning too.  In the beginning, my intention was that this blog would simply be a reflection of the loving words, and sometimes gentle corrections God spoke to me in the quiet of the morning before anyone else was awake in that holy hour when the sun rises.

I did not really understand much about blogs back then.  All I knew was that many people seemed to use them as on-line journals.  I was baffled by the concept.  “Why would anyone post their journal entries for the world to read?”  I asked myself.  I guard my own journal with fierce privacy.  It is the place where I can speak the deepest fears, sorrows, and frustrations of my heart freely with no fear of judgment or misinterpretation.  There is something incredibly liberating about simply being utterly honest in a forum where no one gets hurt.

Some days, I shudder to think that I will one day die and my family and perhaps people I don’t even know will thumb through those pages where my heart was laid bare and trace the path of my life word by word.  I completely understand why little girls buy journals with tiny silver locks and then hide the key.  Then…hide the journal under their pillow just to be safe.  I refuse to read the diary of Anne Frank because I think it would be a young girl’s worst nightmare to find that her most intimate thoughts had not only been read but published to be perused by millions. 

Recently, I read in the paper that some of Saddam Hussein’s journal writings from when he was incarcerated in the three years before his execution have been published.  I have no misguided sympathy for the brutal dictator but I still felt it was some kind of violation to publish his journal.  As a matter of fact, it seems even worse to me than the pictures my government published of him doing his laundry in his underwear.

Some things are meant to be private.  Underwear and journals are two of those things.

But…as I go back to the beginning, I am going to partially break my own rule.  I am going to crack open journals old and new and pluck from their pages entries that record the quiet moments when God has spoken to me as the sun rose and I sat with a cup of tea in my hand. 

I am going to look back to keep the loving words of my Savior from slipping away from my heart.

See you tomorrow…..

This past Sunday, my husband and I were the substitue teachers for the four year old Sunday school class.  This is the class our youngest, The Queen of Sass, attends.  The lesson was on the Passover meal and arrest of Christ the night before His crucifixtion.  All of the kids were sitting with me on the floor and as I told the story, I came to the part about Judas.

“Then, one of Jesus’ friends decided to help the bad guys hurt Jesus!”  I said.

The Queen of Sass did not like that one bit.

“When I get to Heaven,” she said with a snarl, “I’m gonna beat Judas up!”

That’s my girl, all fire and sass.  I have no doubt that one day she will take on the injustices in the world.  Until then, you guys pray for me, okay?