The Voice of Legacy

A few years ago, I was with my mother at the doctor’s office. He was going over some things that he thought would be beneficial for her health. He said something that I have never forgotten that really made a huge impact on me. He said to her that what she does in her 80’s will determine how she will experience her 90’s. For some reason that simple truth was echoed in shouts that day. I began examining my own life to see if there were things that didn’t support my overall goal of balanced health. I discovered that I could be healthier in all areas today to better ensure my tomorrows. I determined the more I take time to walk in my 50's the healthier my heart will be in my 60's. I believe that this goes for everything. If I pursue peace in my 50’s my 60’s might be less chaotic. If I get in the habit of choosing grace over bitterness in my 50’s I might be more compassionate in my 60’s. If I seek gratitude for where I am today, with all its gains and losses, I just might experience deeper joy in my tomorrows. What does all of this end up looking like? It’s called legacy and we don’t even realize we are building one until we are gone. Our actions speak the unfolding story of our hearts, and once we no longer have a voice on this earth our legacy will tell our stories.

I was thinking of this when I woke up because today is 8 years that Daddy’s legacy began speaking the story of his life. What a story he had and what a legacy he left. He showed four little girls and one amazing wife what a man of God looked like. He walked out his beliefs and lived a life of complete integrity and loyalty to faith, family and friends. He led a ministry in full-time service without pay for the last 10 years of his life that brought young children who didn't attend church to Christ. I am so grateful that I had a dad who exemplified Christ and gave Him all the glory. Our legacies echo the story when we reach our eternal destination recording one decision after another completing the book. In eternal prospective, I believe that the way we will experience Heaven will be dependent upon the way we served on earth. I’m so grateful that as believers Christ left the ultimate legacy inviting us into His story, connecting us with His sacrifice and rewards.

When our legacy eventually finds it voice what story will it speak? What we do and how we live today will determine how we experience our tomorrows and our forever's.

“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6.

The Wings of Freedom

A butterfly starts life as a very small, round, oval or cylindrical egg. When the egg hatches, the caterpillar will start his work and eat the leaf they were born onto. One day, the caterpillar stops eating and spins itself a silky cocoon. Within its protective casing, the caterpillar radically transforms its body, eventually emerging as a butterfly. From the outside of the cocoon, it looks as if the caterpillar may just be resting, but the inside is where all the action is. Within the cocoon the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge. As soon as the butterfly has rested after coming out of the cocoon, it will pump blood into the wings in order to get them working and flapping – then they get to fly.

My sister Beth entered into this world April 20, 1965. We were blessed to have her born into our family and she grew up with her own flare and adventuresome spirit. She was the one in the family who marched to the beat of her own drum. Then in March of 2008 her body took on what would be the vehicle that took her to heaven…cancer was her cocoon and work began inside her body like never before. From the outside we saw the fight…the struggle…the deterioration of her body…the quiet and unreachable silence near the end…eventually her flight home. But, we never got to see the emergence of the butterfly from our viewpoint. I began thinking this morning what did heaven see while looking onto her cocoon? We saw her crawl into this world like the caterpillar, grow into a beautiful woman and eventually cancer spun its dark cocoon. On our end the activity stopped but on heaven’s end it was just beginning. I’ll bet they could see through the cocoon, watching her change…waiting for her beautiful flight into the skies of heaven. Then finally on earth’s calendar March 15, 2009 they saw the breaking of the cocoon…they held their breath…their excitement arose because she was getting ready to fly! I’ll bet the angels could fully visualize the beauty of her emergence. As light broke through her darkness, she exchanged fight for flight. She found herself flying high in the garden of God where she found new life and movement in her new body. Oh sure, the first movement was probably clumsy and awkward, but she was experiencing new found freedom…freedom from sickness and freedom from sadness. The gardens were full of beautiful butterflies, and she discovered that the struggle and fight within the cocoon was the work required for the ultimate freedom with God.

One day we will all emerge from within the cocoon and join the others who have been transformed forever into the beautiful creation God formed. Grief can be so selfish because from our standpoint we see a broken empty cocoon but from Beth’s standpoint, she is walking out the perfect life that God promises each of us.

We love and miss you, thinking daily of you Beth Ann!

The Cost of Comparison

“Now Laban had two daughters: the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. Leah had tender eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.” Ge 29:16-17

This verse…good grief! I don’t know a woman alive who could read this verse and not cringe at the blatant comparison of the two young girls. Most of us can even conjure up an experience where we had ‘tender eyes’ while another was ‘shapely and beautiful.’ For me it was the summer after 8th grade when I was hired to work away from home at Bonclarken, our church camp. Teens and college kids from all over were thrown together to do life for 6 weeks for some, and the entire summer for others. I was so excited to be hired and never imagined the fishbowl in which I would live. Our small group of employees set the stage for a summer of constant comparison for me, and an extended time of feeling like I was the one with ‘tender eyes.’ I even made the job (cafeteria waitress) for which I was hired an opportunity for comparison. As a little 13-year-old I remember thinking that the ‘shapely and beautiful’ girls were hired for the highly coveted snack bar position, while the ‘tender eye’ girls were waitresses slinging food. The summer went on and so did my insecurity as I watched boy after boy go after the same 2 girls. While I had a ton of fun that summer, I was ready to get home and stop working so hard at consoling myself.

We live in a world where comparison is our favorite past time, a game everyone plays, and no one wins. We compare our looks and popularity to others…we compare our success or failure in our jobs to others…we compare our financial situation to others...we compare our children to others…we even compare our losses to others. Comparisons create the most consuming, over-analyzed activity that our brains can do. So, what do we do when we find ourselves in situations with ‘tender eyes?’ How can we rewrite the script when we see the ‘shapely and beautiful’ on whatever platform? We can pray for eyes to see our worth through God’s eyes. We can refuse to follow the thinking that we are less than another. We can ask the Holy Spirit to reaffirm how much we are loved by our Father. We can call it what it is when these feelings arise…lies sent by Satan to gain a foothold.  Most importantly we can choose gratitude.  God will always remind us of what we have, while Satan will always point out what we do not have.

When we feel like we suffer from the tender eye syndrome let us all turn to the mirror that really reflects beauty… the Bible. It is the ultimate love story written by a God who adores and loves each one the same. God has no favorites and desires us to see ourselves in every situation as shapely and beautiful. It is why He shapes us into the likeness of Christ, and why we have been chosen in Christ as His beautiful bride. Let us claim the true position that we have been given...CHOSEN...and walk out lives in confidence and clarity.

"But you [we] are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9

As Angels Move

“And he dreamed:  A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching the sky, and God’s angels were ascending and descending on it.  The LORD was standing there beside him…‘Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.  I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’” Ge 28:12, 15

Jacob was on a 500-mile journey heading towards his uncle Laban’s house to allow his brother’s anger to subside.  He had deceived his father and betrayed his brother by pretending to be Esau and received the blessing of inheritance and birthright.  Not his shining moment for sure but encouraged by his deceptive mother he hit the road.  No doubt he was exhausted and lonely wondering what his future held.  Was he remorseful and fearful of never returning home?    At some point he gave in to his exhaustion and fell asleep.  That was when the dream occured, and it is one of most beautiful images we are left with in the Bible.  Throughout the Word, it is written many times that God sent angels to help His children.  He sent an angel to Mary to tell her she would carry the Son of God.  He sent an angel to wrestle with Jacob to show that God could be trusted.  He even sent an angel to strengthen Jesus the night before His death, when His prayer to God was met with silence.  What I find interesting is that through this dream God gave Jacob a glimpse of a future promise fulfilled instead of the actual fulfillment.  God knew that Jacob wasn’t ready to receive in full what God had planned for him.

I know what it feels like to be given a promise from God as a future fulfillment.  I have seen a glimpse of a beautiful promise which I will one day receive.  I know that until that day I have my own ladder where angels move bringing down their encouragement and comfort, while carrying away my doubts and anxieties.  They move in and out of our circumstances, carrying out the commands of our Father who wants good and precious things for His children.  The Bible tells us that angels are His servants, carrying out His will, working for our good and are ministering spirits, sent to serve us when we are believers (He 1:14).

I wonder what situation you are experiencing this morning that has you anxious or discouraged?  What circumstances need the movement of angels to assist you, protect you and encourage you?  Whenever we feel alone or despaired we must remember that angels are all around moving on our behalf at the insistence of our Father.  There are ladders all around us with the armies of angels going before us and ministering to us.  And maybe if we lean our ears into the movement of God, we might even hear the flapping of their wings.

“For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up.” Psalm 91:11-12

Chain of Blessings

“While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.  As soon as Jacob saw his uncle Laban’s daughter Rachel…he went up and rolled the stone from the opening and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep.  Then Jacob kissed Rachel…She ran and told her father.” Ge 29:9-12

Talk about a dirty job for a woman…being in the hot sun day after day in charge of keeping a flock of wandering animals from straying.  Leading them to the same well in the same location and talking with the same shepherds day upon day.  No where was Jacob on Rachel’s radar that one fateful day…that ‘defining moment’ day.  Neither of their lives would ever be the same.  It was a beautiful love story, one that was worthy for inclusion into the Bible.  God orchestrated the timing of their meeting in their most mundane activities.  No romantic dates…no violins… no premeditated arrangement.  Just God…being God.

I can look back over the course of my own life and see those defining moment days.  The day I was scheduled to interview for a job was the day I met my husband of almost 33 years.  The day I was at home sick with the flu was the day I decided to start meditating in the Bible and 12 years later I’m still mining jewels.  The first day that I wrote something that I knew was written beyond my capabilities.  These are all defining moments that string together forming a beautiful necklace of God’s grace.  It reminds me of a necklace I used to have called ‘Add a Bead’.  Each bead was usually added as a gift for an occasion.  This bead for an accomplishment, that bead for a birth, another bead for Christmas.

When we were born God gave us a beautiful chain upon which He adds His beads of blessing.  Each bead is perfectly chosen for us and is uniquely given to us. There have been times in my life when I compared mine to another, counting her beads instead of gratefully wearing mine.   We cannot allow comparison to diminish the beautiful days He has orchestrated for us.  When we keep our eyes on the opportunities that lay before us instead of the success of those around us, we position ourselves to recognize our own defining moments.  They are there…He’s promised great things to those who love Him and walk in His ways.  ‘God has the best surprises in life for us.’ Rachel & Leah, Nicki Koziarz, p.28.

Today and everyday may we walk in gratitude for the adornment of blessings that God has given us.  He will continue to add blessings to our lives and defining moments to our days.

The Priceless Penny

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?’  The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, what you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:37, 40

The other day my daughter texted me about something that had occurred in the Harris Teeter parking lot.  She was getting out of her car when a homeless woman approached her, asking if she would be willing to allow her to wash her windshield for a penny.  Caroline said that she was such a sweet woman, agreed to the terms and gave her some money.  She understood well that this woman wanted to earn her money, instead of receiving a handout.  Caroline said that while in the store she began to feel like she wanted to do more so she bought some bottled waters, a few hoagies and some bags of chips.  Upon returning to her car, the woman was standing there crying because another driver had accidentally run over her backpack which contained Windex and cloths no doubt.  Thankfully, the driver of the car also gave her some money to replace the contents of her backpack.  Caroline said the woman began to apologize for crying and asked her if she had done a good job on her window. 

The experience lingered in her heart and mind into the following day where she felt like she had not done enough.  I told her that it seemed she did everything for that woman that the Holy Spirit had prompted her to do.  I also told her that God uses many people to care for His children and that she could be assured her part was blessed.  The next morning when I was walking, the above verse came to mind and I could almost see the woman and my daughter exchanging gifts.  Caroline gave her physical provision, and the homeless woman gave Caroline spiritual provision.  It was an opportunity for Caroline to be obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, growing in her faith.  For the woman, it was a gift of being visible to someone, receiving compassion and provision for the moment.  It was an opportunity for the woman to feel proud of an accomplishment.  It was a moment in time between two women who were brought together by God for a gift exchange, and both received the blessing. 

When we show others kindness, gentleness and engagement we remind them that God sends the community of Christ into the toughest set of circumstances.  When we take the time to meet people where they are we exemplify the walk of Christ.  When we share the resources that God has given to us, He will multiply the offerings.  One of the greatest gifts we can give another is to meet them eye to eye, heart to heart and show the love that Christ has shown us.  After all, we will one day stand before the throne and give an account for all the beautiful ways we served Christ while on earth.

So, as we walk out this beautiful Sunday I pray that each of us will have the opportunity to show kindness to those who are less fortunate, and who knows…we just might be entertaining an angel.

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2

The Sin Nazi

“He [Esau] said to Jacob, ‘Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.’ Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright’…So Esau despised his birthright.” Ge 25:30-34

There are a few episodes of Seinfeld that I just love! All I have to say is ‘soup Nazi’ and an image is more than likely conjured up in your mind. The characters wait in line for a long time discussing what kind of soup to buy, how to order the soup, and what not to say when ordering the soup. As they wait their appetites grow and their plans are formed. If any word or action offends the soup Nazi, he yells ‘No soup for you!’ and motions them away. By the time they had the soup in their sites their actions or words resulted in favor or failure.

Jacob was the soup Nazi on this fateful day, when his brother came in famished from the field. Jacob no doubt had spent his life in the shadows of the brother who would be favored by their father upon his death. Only one son would receive the birthright and blessing, and law mandated that it was the first born. Jacob, with a life spent comparing himself to his brother, planned a way to provide something Esau wanted at his most vulnerable time. He was hungry, and only Jacob stood between his appetite and his satisfaction.

Aren’t we just like this sometimes? God is wanting to bless us and show favor upon us, but we are standing in line to receive something that satisfies the flesh. And the ‘sin Nazi’ is right there for the offering. He determines what he will dish out to each of us depending on our appetite. We must compromise on this…turn our backs on that…and before we know it we despise our blessing. When we allow ourselves to become vulnerable in any part of our lives, we subject our future favor from God to possible faith failures in the moment. The consequences can reach far beyond our comprehension. The beautiful thing about Jesus is that we come to Him just as we are whenever we need satisfaction. There is no waiting line to see Jesus, and He will serve our hearts with whatever lack we have. We will walk in favor and freedom instead of failure and fear.