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What Do You See?
“Look at this piece of paper, what do you see?”
Hands shot up around the room. “A black dot,” a young man shared
enthusiastically. Heads nodded in agreement around the room. I was
reminded in James Bryan Smith’s, The Good and Beautiful God, that this
exercise was from a book, Prayer, written by a pastor from New York
City, George Buttrick. It was included as a way to help readers
understand that our human tendency is to see what isn’t.
“A lecturer to a group of businessmen displayed a sheet of white paper in which
there was one blot. He asked what they saw. All answered, “A blot.” The
test was unfair, it invited the wrong answer. Nevertheless, there is an
ingratitude in human nature by which we notice the black disfigurement and
forget the wide-spread mercy. We need to deliberately call to mind the joys of
our journey. Perhaps we should try to write down the blessings of one day. We
might begin: we could never end: there are not pens or paper enough in all the
world. The attempt would remind us of our “vast treasure of content.”
For some of us, that blot in the paper is large. That is true for me right now – how
about you? It might be helpful for us to imagine the largest pen or
pencil we could find. The largest blot we could make on that paper still
would be so small compared to the vastness of white space.
James says we must, as Buttrick urges, “deliberately call to mind the joys of our
journey,” the “widespread mercy” of God. I’m sure you have done this
before. This is an exercise in truth, in putting things in the right
perspective, not in positive thinking.
It may seem rote or wooden as we begin, but our hearts will change as we “set” them on
things that are true and lovely, as we “fix” our eyes on Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith.
James Bryan Smith encourages us to start with a small list of blessings. And like him
we’ll learn, no matter how many we name, we could never have enough paper to
contain the whole of the blessings of grace and mercy that we are shown each
day.
What we realize as we do these exercises is a change of focus, from temporal to
eternal, from self to God. God is there as our Helper, and enables us to
offer sacrifices of praise for all the things we have received in our life by
his grace. Psalm 139 gives us a wonderful frame to help us see our life
as a gift. Our Creator, who knit us together in our mother’s womb, is our
Help, who knows exactly what is in our blot, discerning our thoughts, with us
as we sit down and rise up – and our Sustainer, giving us the ability to think
and to move and to have our being.
God knows our thoughts before we even think them. All our days are written in his
book, before one of them came to be. He doesn’t leave us alone but is with us
in our deepest despair. His Spirit enables us to see rightly, to see our
life from the eternal perspective of the Kingdom of God. The darkness is
not dark to God.
We’ll find as we fix our eyes that we will see the blessings of God, and find that like
his thoughts, our blessings are more vast than the grains of sand.
God is with us, right here, right now, wherever we are, as close as our breath.
Praise Him!
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Hallowed be your name in my
heart. Thank you that there is nowhere I can go that you are not.
When I tend to see what is not, call to my mind what is. Tune my heart to
sing your praise. Your streams of mercy are never ceasing and demand our loudest
praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues
above. Take my heart, O God, seal it for thy courts above. Yours is
the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. |
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Standing in the War Zones
“The war zones of life force us to take our theology seriously, to see if our
beliefs about God hold up when the tragedies and perplexities of life press
down upon them. Our theology, if it is true, must apply to all of us and
include all points on the Richter scale ofhuman suffering. If God’s goodness cannot penetrate
the darkness of a woman’s world or breaks up under the weight of such wretchedness, if there are pockets of our lives beyond God’s reach, then none of us can really count on him.
Our hope in God is no better than a placebo if his plan doesn’t encompass all
of life – the dark side as well as the bright.” – Carolyn Custis James, When
Life and Beliefs Collide “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for
in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have
been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in
him all things hold together. He is the head of the body; the church; he is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first
place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on
earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. And
you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now
reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and
blameless and irreproachable before him – provided that you continue securely
established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised
by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under
heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.” Colossians1:15-23
“Why did this happen to you?” someone asked me when my three-week old daughter
was diagnosed with spinal meningitis.
“My company down-sized and my job was terminated. I don’t understand why this keeps
happening to me,” a friend shared at SCWN’s January luncheon.
“Life is hard and then you die,” a believer in Jesus recently sighed with downcast,
questioning eyes.
“God is on his throne and he is good,” is truth, but it can feel like salt poured in an
open wound and sit like a stone in the heart of a person in the midst of a
crisis
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Where is God in the midst of my life today? Does the way I live say to others that I
believe God is good? Can I be with others in brokenness and strife and
say in helpful ways, “God is good!” Are these words from Michael Card
true?
“Could it be you make your presence known so often by your absence?
Could it be that questions tell us more than answers ever do?
Could it be that you would really rather die than live without us?
Could it be the only answer that means anything is you?”
God has not left us alone without answers to our deepest life questions.
Jesus wanted Mary and Martha to have answers to their deepest question, “Lord, if you had
been here our brother wouldn’t have died.”
We gather as a network of Christian women, from different cultural and denominational
backgrounds, to affirm that in Jesus Christ there are answers to the real hard
questions of life. Together, we encourage, equip and energize one another
with the truth that answers are to be found in the person of Jesus.
“Being spiritual” must have a rock foundation or great will be the fall of a house
built on sand when “sorrows like sea billows roll.” We don’t want to be
tossed around by every wind of doctrine. In Christ alone our hope is
found, and in love Christ comes to you and me, just as he did to Mary and
Martha. Jesus Christ assures us that He alone holds answers to the
mysteries of life.
Let’s join Paul’s prayers as we read his letter to the Ephesian church:
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven
and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory,
he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power
through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as
you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the
power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and
height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the
power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than we can
ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all
generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21 |
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Found In Translation
“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord.
The celebration of my grandson’s birthday trumps the February 2nd
celebration of Groundhog Day. This year his eighth birthday wish was a
family breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Gifts included wonderful art books, a
sturdy “cool” children’s digital camera with graphics and games, and practical
things like jeans and shirts. He also received a photograph album from
“Grand Artie” (that’s my husband’s granddad name) with pictures of their first
canoe trip. His gifts spoke about our relationship, about him being seen
and nurtured. His gifts translated meaning.
A couple days later I had the privilege to spend the day with my grandson.
Strapped in the backseat of my car, playing games on that new camera, I
silently joined his exclamations of “Oh man!” as he missed making a point or
“Allright!” as he made one. Our exclamations were joined by the cosmic
crowd chorus of performance spectators living in that tiny camera.
It was in this context that my grandson said, “Mimi, I have dreams for my life and not what my teacher says. I want to listen to the dreams God has for me.”
My heart was wonderfully stirred. His words were thoughtful, soft and intense.
These life-dream words had been spoken in the midst of small fingers provoking
noisy imaginary spectators to speak success or failure into his life.
He’d only known these powerful new voices for 48 hours.
Keeping my eyes on him and the road as I turned left into traffic, I
caught the irony of life – eternal moments in the midst of life. I so
wanted to understand about these God dreams, and I wanted to safely bring my
car through the turn.
“I have dreams to be a pastor, those dreams,” he continued, his attention torn between
me and fingering his camera keys.
Then he said something I wasn’t able to understand, thoughts he couldn’t put into
words. His incomplete thoughts about competing dreams for his life seemed
to have something to do with math. (Well, I was no help translating there
– math is like a foreign language to me!) I wanted to stay, to listen, to
understand, to help him articulate and translate - but as quickly as this
out-of-the-blue-self-revelation appeared, it was pre-empted by thoughts of
going to Steak-n-Shake for lunch.
Yesterday, as I shared this remarkable conversation with his mom, wonder mixed with
laughter. On his birthday, a couple days earlier, when asked what he
wanted to be when he grew up, his aspirations were to be an art teacher by day
and a spy by night.
You and I, like my grandson, have had parents, teachers, friends, and enemies speak life
and death into our lives and our dreams. Powerful words – bringing form
and meaning. In many ways many “someones” translated through their words things
about who we are. God in the midst of our messy life translates
Truth. When plans don’t work out, whether you’re a pastor, art teacher or
spy, when life doesn’t turn out like expected, when you lose and when you win –
who was your translator? How has your translation carried over into
what you believe about God? |
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As You Go Along
“The main place you do the work of God is as you go along. It doesn’t have to be in high-profile, important positions. It will happen, if it happens at all, in the routine, unspectacular corners of your life. As you go along.” Love Beyond Reason by John Ortberg
If you or I thought about the best place to plant a tree, it probably wouldn’t be on a rock right at a beach head where storms and wind would beat against it. Yet, looking at this tree speaks volumes and provokes praise.
Trust, in God’s plan, this tree shouts. Trust God - “this” life just for you - your roots, your heritage, your exact spot. Live “this” life to the fullest. Embrace the beauty, all its uniqueness and particulars. Embrace the mystery of it all, finding rest for your soul as you continue to bring things you don’t understand to the One who holds all things together.
As you go through the days of 2012, embrace Life in the midst of the life you have been given. Jesus’s words apply to all things that comes into the days of our lives -
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” - JESUS
Hear His invitation to embrace the life that you have been given. In every place, in your nooks and crannies, around every bend, “as you go along” your way, in whatever is going on in your life, look to Jesus as the Way, the Truth, the Life. He wants to speak into your questions, into all you’re thinking, and doing – into your inner, hidden life.
“God came to us because He wanted to join us on the road, to listen to our story, and to help us realize that we are not walking in circles but moving towards the house of peace and joy. This is the great mystery of Christmas that continues to give us comfort and consolation: we are not alone on our journey. The God of love who gave us life sent us His only Son to be with us at all times and in all places, so that we never have to feel lost in our struggles but always can trust that He walks with us.”
- Gracias! – by Henri J.M. Nouwen
God made you and me to flourish - hearts, minds, bodies, souls. Jesus in us - our hope of glory, the mystery revealed - the fragrance that we carry with us wherever we are. Jesus didn’t stand far off but entered into our world – to live Life with us.
The amazing beauty of this sunset happened after a fierce storm, and the tree is a focal point to the greater story of all creation bringing praise and glory to the One who made it all. Your life, what you do every day along the way, is part of His story.
May this be a year of realizing together that we are not lost in our struggles, of helping one another remember that He walks with us. Resting in that reality, flourishing and fragrance will be along all our ways – as we move toward the house of peace of joy! |
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Wonderful Words of Real Life
I just read a wonderful blog post from a young mom
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html shared
on the facebook page of another young mom, my friend, Lacy. I love
and appreciate Lacy. She is a truth teller. Lacy shared this post on
her facebook page because it made her “laugh outloud.” And because Lacy
shared it, I knew I should read it. Reading it, Truth called my name this
morning.
When our child-rearing, plot-filled “in the midst-ness” story has been written, we may
truly know that “one day she’ll look back on all this and laugh” - but wisdom
enables us farther down the road to share our truth in a way that is truly
helpful. Helpful truth “aptly spoken” isn’t easy, or glossy, or
photo-shopped.
I was thoughtfully admonished by these younger women to see and think and feel before
I speak my truth into someone’s else’s reality. Beautiful words,
wonderful words – of Life – that’s what we should seek to bring. When God
has graciously met us in our own wilderness and in our own weakness, let’s not
present an illusion that the sand didn’t sting and the darkness wasn’t frightening.
Let’s share our honest struggle, how we learned that there is pardon and peace
in the gospel for all the times we screwed up. It is only Jesus who can redeem
and sanctify and cover a multitude of sins.
Seeing life rightly and speaking of it honestly, out of weakness rather than strength,
brings life. Confessing our failures points us to our common ground, our
mutual need of a Savior. Together we can see Grace in the midst of
messiness. We can rejoice in confession, repentance and forgiveness
rather than in doing things right. I wish I’d understood and done more of this
in my parenting. Farther along I know there is a Redeemer, and grace that
is greater than all my sin. Words of life – “Lord, help me share those
words.”
I readily admit my bent to romanticism, idealism, seeing the silver lining in the
clouds. In the storm I need God’s help, “in the midst-ness” I want to be
as salt rather than saccharin. In the midst, may kindness and truth be on
my tongue, and your tongue, the way it was with Jesus as he spoke to the woman
at the well. I’m reminded as I think about those life-giving words that
God is seeking true worshippers, those who will worship in spirit and in
truth. May our words point others to Jesus, the only Savior. That
thought reminded me of hearing my Uncle Ralph sing this song when I was a
little girl. http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Wonderful_Words_of_Life/
So, if you don’t have time right now to read the “Don’t Carpe Diem” post cited above,
I’d encourage you to print it or bookmark it. It’s worth our time.
And, Lacy, my truth-telling friend, thanks for all the ways you challenge me
and others to clarity and honesty and the beauty of the grace of Jesus seen in
the midst of real-life messiness. Reality does bite, and reality leads us
to worship, in spirit and truth. |
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