The See-saw of Faith

“For God so loved...that He gave His only son...” John 3:16a.

When I was a little girl there was a park in our town that had a see-saw. I don’t remember a time before that sunny day when I had ever gotten on one. Thankfully, I cannot remember who was on the other side of the see-saw when I was on it, but there was a group of kids with me. All I remember was the moment they jumped off when I was high in the air and my side came crashing to the ground. What a jolt! What a surge of pain up my back which left me sore, angry, and resentful. I had done nothing to deserve that but was having to experience it.

I read this morning that faith is the fulcrum of our moral and spiritual balance. ‘Think of a see-saw. The fulcrum is the point where the see-saw rests. And my moral and spiritual balance depends on that stability of faith,’ Suffering is Never for Nothing, Elisabeth Elliot, p. 45. When suffering is thrust upon us our lives crash to the ground sending an undeniable bolt of pain throughout our body...physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. It requires the very thing that we rarely have in order to bring our lives back into balance...acceptance. If faith is the fulcrum, then acceptance is the journey back to balance. ‘Acceptance...is the key to peace in this business of suffering...the crux of the whole matter is the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the best thing that ever happened in human history as well as the worst thing,’ pp 41-42. That suffering was a result of God’s deep love for you and me. The only way to avoid suffering is to avoid love. Would we have rather that God never blessed us with our loved ones to avoid the present suffering? Of course not, so what we are left with is the painful, messy, and overwhelming journey towards acceptance and peace. While our circumstances may be chaotic, ‘We’re not adrift in chaos. We’re held in the everlasting arms. And therefore, and this makes a difference, we can be at peace and we can accept. We can say yes, Lord, I’ll take it. I don’t like what You’re doing. I don’t understand it. But I will trust You,’ pp 44-45.

God will show us the next step in our journey towards the fulcrum of faith. Our footprints will be imprinted with peace and acceptance every little step we take but we must move...we must choose...we must believe.  Acceptance is not an evil word but a life-giving promise that God will use to bring us into His merciful healing and transcending peace. There is not one circumstance that any one person is enduring that is uncommon to mankind. We all will love those who God has blessed our lives with. We all will be called to live without those loved ones when God in His ultimate plan takes them home. That is God’s will for every one of us as believers and it's what we are destined for. I’m so grateful that there is more than this world and that I will one day live forever with every one whom I have loved and lost.

Rings of Life

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23:6

Back in September, Bruce and I traveled to Portland, Oregon to visit his brother and sister-in-law. Crystal and I have always been close and I have considered her more of another sister than in-law. We had not been together for over a year and a half due to Covid and we were finally going to celebrate a joint 60th-birthday. When we got to their home, she handed me a small beautifully wrapped box. I opened it up to find a silver necklace that bore 6 interlocking rings, a ring for each decade for which I had lived. It will always be one of my favorite gifts. I began thinking this morning as I was playing with the rings hanging around my neck.

The first ring boasted of my birth into an amazing family of parents, grandparents, sisters, aunts, uncles, and a slew of cousins. It represented the unconditional love of family and the unmistakable faith in God in which I was raised.

The second ring held the memories of standing up in church and being confirmed in my own faith. It’s circle of silver held within it my precious friends from childhood to adulthood that God has placed in my life.

The third ring is probably one of my top two most precious rings. It is the ring of time in which I became a mother to 3 amazing children who love me, and wife to an amazing man who consistently and lovingly shares life with me. Within this ring, God blessed me with new friends along the way to share future rings with me which still continues to this day.

The fourth ring brought too much heartache to remember, coupled with horrible choices and decisions I made. But what was met with the horrible choices were mercy and forgiveness from those whom I let down. But I cannot despise the ring that showed me how to forgive and give grace to others with the same grace and forgiveness given to me by God.

The fifth ring is my very favorite and was a ring I never could have imagined. It is a ring that completely stopped me in my tracks and set my path in a different direction. A ring that ushered me into a living relationship with God who had been there every step of every ring. His love and comfort pulled me through the death of my sister and my dad, and an excruciating season as caregiver for my father-in-law with Alzheimers. Within this precious ring, God's blessings showered me with grandchildren discovering a love that I never could have imagined.

The sixth ring was filled with a focus on God’s kingdom and discovering the purposes He had for me from the time He formed me. He has given me amazing opportunities to share in His work despite my weaknesses and flaws. This ring blessed me with a new round of grandchildren.

I only have to consider the rings of my life to understand who has been with me through it all. Each ring matters because the times of suffering and joy are intertwined with each other and show the faithfulness of a loving Father. Just as these rings are layered in sterling silver, the rings of my life [and yours] have been layered in God’s love.

‘Christ is [and has been] the head of this home, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation’ Suffering is Never for Nothing, Elisabeth Elliot, p. 3.

Removing the Stinger

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting...But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Cor. 15:55-57

I read a story this morning about a little boy whose parents had taken him on a picnic. The little boy was severely allergic to bees and one sting could cause his death. As they were enjoying the day, a bee started buzzing around the little boy. His father jumped up and captured the bee in the palm of his hand until the bee had stung him. As he opened his hand which was beginning to swell, he showed his son the stinger. The father lovingly said to his child, ‘It’s okay. Now all he can do is buzz. This is what could have hurt you, but I took the sting away.’ Begin Again, Max Lucado, p. 150.

I used to read this passage with a little less confidence than I do today. I remember during the time my sister Beth was laboring to breathe near the end of her life, it was difficult to read this part of Scripture with resounding confidence. I did feel death won...I was feeling the sting and heartbreak of our reality...my thanks to God was more of a whisper than an exclamation point. But I realized many years later that this passage must be read in a broader view. This passage is the chant of the eternal redeemed. This is the heavenly boasting from the saints who have passed over in spite of sin and death.

With so much focus on our pain when our loved ones transition into heaven we can’t see beyond the grave. But God can see what lies ahead, and He provided a way for you, me and our loved ones to be ushered into the His divine presence. You see, ‘He tailored you for more than a grave, fitted you for a grander destiny than a casket. You are an eternal being equipped with an eternal soul...God sees you as a steward of his essence. You bear the stamp of God’ p.147-148.

Like the little boy’s dad, Christ also bears the stinger in the palm of His hand that left a scar. He took the sting for us so that our story doesn’t end in death. While on earth all sin and sickness can do is buzz around us but it cannot eternally kill us. ‘When Jesus vacated the tomb, he robbed it of its power. Death may touch us, but it cannot have us’ p. 150.

Rock-a-bye Baby

“Therefore... I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.” Hosea 2:14

This past weekend we went to my daughter and son-in-law’s home for Bruce to remove a dead tree in their front yard. My son-in-law had arranged for three of his best friends to come over and help cut the wood up and haul it to the back yard. Their wives and dogs came with them and were hanging out inside with my daughter, granddaughter, and their two dogs. When I walked in the four dogs began barking and jumping on me and the girls began welcoming me. It was quite the chaotic scene as you would imagine which would transpire in any home. My granddaughter Emry was sitting on the floor in the middle of this and was letting her voice be known. She became out of sorts, started screaming, and began crying. I’m not sure if she even knew why she was so unhappy. My daughter, Caroline had a business call and I was going to take Emry to her nursery and spend time with her. I grabbed a warm bottle of milk, her blanket, and headed back to her room closing the door behind me. Suddenly we were alone in a quiet room without the noise and competing circumstances. I began to rock her...feed her...sing to her in her dimly lit bedroom. It was just as much a joy for me to see her calm, peaceful, happy, and content as it was for her to experience it.

That is what God does for us. He sees us in the middle of our earthly chaos, recognizes that we need something for which we are even unaware, and picks us up taking us out of the noise to fellowship with us. He leads us into the still of the quiet if we will simply allow Him to carry us. He speaks to us in the whisper of the calm and tends to our every need. We spend that coveted time alone with Him away from the world and its noise. We forget what was stirring us up and remember that our Father can calm us down. We feel heard, we feel held, we feel comforted, and mostly we feel completely loved.

The next time chaos is swirling around you and you don’t even know what you need, reach up for the Father and allow Him to carry you to a quiet place where only He can comfort you.

A Box of Compassion

“Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40 The Message

When Bruce and I were sick with Covid last month I could barely get off of the couch. I had wondered what it would be like ...pondered how my body would response...considered which symptoms I would get. I wasn’t consumed with it, rather awaiting its arrival since I felt that everyone would eventually get Covid. As I laid there on the couch, a text popped up on my phone with a picture of a box on my porch overflowing with supplies and food. I couldn’t believe that a dear friend had come so far to bless us...to feed us...to care for us through the provisions...to offer nutrients and strengthen us through liquids. As I unpacked the box one item and a time, I was touched with how personal the items were to my preferences and needs. Her compassion was so dear and her timing was impeccable. This morning as I read a chapter in Begin Again, by Max Lucado her face came to mind and I was so blessed to know that when she dropped off that box of provisions, she dropped off that box to Jesus.

He writes, ‘The sign of the saved is their concern for those in need...And yet in these simple deeds, we serve Jesus. Astounding, this truth: we serve Christ by serving needy people. None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone. And when we help them, we serve Jesus’ p. 124.

We might just see Jesus playing an instrument with an empty case on the ground laid open, an invitation to a dollar or some change to be tossed in there. We might see Jesus in a hospital bringing a pill to a patient for pain relief. We might see Jesus in the grocery line counting out her change to see if there is enough to cover her few items. Jesus is everywhere and the opportunities to serve another are innumerable and everywhere we look. So, may we ask the question of ourselves according to Max, ‘O Lord, where did I see you yesterday...and didn’t recognize you? Where will I encounter you today...and fail to identify you? Make me a billboard of your grace, a living advertisement for the riches of your compassion’ p. 124.

You never know...Jesus just might walk up your front steps and drop off a box of compassion!