bon voyage...

I helped my best friend pack a few days ago.  She is moving to the other side of the continent and I should be happy for her. She and her husband are off on a journey, allowing God to call upon and use their lives.  
I went through the thousand stages of grief, or however many there are.  I ignored the inevitable at first, assuming the thought of moving would go away; get caught up in their whirlwind lives.  It continued to come up, rearing its ugly head when I least expected it.  I then convinced myself it would be no big deal if they did leave.  Mature people can have long-distance friendships, right?  I tried to talk my husband into moving too, figuring that to be the best solution.  He thought otherwise.  
The thoughts began racing through my head:  whom would I share my secrets with?  Who would talk me down from my ledges?  Who would continue to teach me how to be a disciple of Christ?  A wife?  A mother???
See, as always God had a plan right from the beginning.  When I became the Lord’s, I was clueless.  My friends like to make light of this, but truth be known; after I was accepted at my Christian college for a degree in Christian Ministry, I celebrated by having a few drinks at the local bar.  I didn’t know squat.  In fact, the things I did know could be summed up on a few fingers:  I opened the doors to Jesus.  I was a forgiven sinner.  I was unconditionally loved and accepted by God.  I was to tell others about this.  Ok.  My decision to attend college was not my own to make.  I just knew I was to go.  There is no other explanation.  
Through the blind faith action of attending class, I met the husband of my best friend.  He was a pastor of a mission in the city pursuing more education.  One of our first assignments was to interview a pastor, and since I did not know another one, I asked him.  He invited me to the mission to meet his wife and do the interview.  
Forgive me if I sound like a story line here, but when she and I met for the first time, something strange happened.  We just instantly connected.
Long story short, I became her student for the next two years after.  If you know your Bible, I was her Timothy and she was my Paul.  She taught me how to forgive, how to laugh, and how to love.  I saw Jesus in a completely different light through her eyes.  He became someone I could fall in love with.  Just like she had.  
God had put someone in my life to help me succeed.  Someone I wasn’t afraid to be honest with, someone who could tell me the truth.  For a season in my life when I needed her the most, she was there.
And so now she’s gone.  I know she is still in my life, don’t get me wrong.  Nevertheless, I cannot go running to her house every time I bruise my spirit.  I cannot get a hug when I feel alone.  

BOY THIS IS SAD.  IS THERE A POINT?

Believe it or not, there is a happy point here.  Let us peruse a passage from Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, with his thoughts on friendship:
“And then someone enters our life who isn’t looking for someone to use, is leisurely enough to find out what’s really going on in us, is secure enough not to exploit our weaknesses or attack our strengths, recognizes our inner life and understands the difficulty of living out our inner convictions, confirms what’s deepest within us.  A friend.” From ‘Leap over a Wall.’

And then I read the words Jesus said to His disciples before He left them:
“This is my command:  Love one another he way I loved you.  This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.  You are my friends when you do the things I command you.” John 15.12-14

And it occurred to me that Jesus was and is a friend to me.  And although He is not here physically, our friendship does not change.  God calls all of us to grow, to do His will.  Jesus was called to put His body on a cross and die for His friends.  My best friend was called for a time to be a teacher, a sage if you will, to me.  Then she was called to go.  Perhaps she will be able to help another struggling newborn on their road to Jesus.  
We are all called to be brothers and sisters in Christ, helping and loving one another as best we can.  I am a better woman for knowing my best friend.  
I’ll end with the words Paul spoke to Timothy.  I can bet that Timothy was saying them right back to Paul.

“Every time I say your name in prayer – which is practically all the time – I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors.  I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion.” 2 Timothy 1.3-4

mythology debunked

Oh, I fear that my last blog was too sad-sounding, so here I am again to cast off sorrowful veils.  Everybody’s life falls to levels that make them uncomfortable.  I dare say that what separates them from me is that I have no shame.  Or, at least I like to pretend I have no shame.  I write about these kinds of issues so you can look at yourself without public inspection.  

I really want people to know that becoming a Christian does not make the kinds of valleys I wrote about disappear.  In fact, these valleys make me stronger by revealing myths that I need to vanquish.  That’s why I wrote this story.  Two things bother me:  pre-Christians tend to think we are supposed to be perfect, and Christians hesitate to talk about the really hard stuff.  It’s easier for all of us to say everything’s fine, isn’t it?

Ok, so back to the story.  I’m in the valley, waiting desperately to be pulled out. I am running for my myths for comfort and security.  If I’m smart, I’m reading the Bible and praying.  If I’m not, then I’m feeling sorry for myself and delving even deeper in my mythical havens.  More often than not, I opt for the latter.  

But I ask again- Does Jesus have any opinion on this?  Does the Bible offer any respite from the valley?

He promises that we are protected through the valley:
“Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on!  Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a swim in the deep blue sea than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!’” Jesus in Luke 17.1-2

He promises us that the valleys are worth it!
If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me.  If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself.  But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.” Jesus in Matthew 10.38-39

He promises that we are definitely not alone in the valley:
“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.  You’re not in the driver’s seat, I am.  Don’t run from suffering; embrace it.  Follow me and I’ll show you how.  Self-help is no help at all.  Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.” Jesus in Matthew 16.24-25

I’m going to let Paul have the final word tonight.  He is talking here about the thorn he had.  To put into context:  Paul’s job was to preach God’s word to the Gentiles.  He is talking about the wonderful visions and revelations of heaven and such that God gave him and here is what he says:

“Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations.  Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees.  No danger then of walking around high and mighty!  At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it.  Three times I did that, and then he told me, ‘My grace is enough; it’s all you need.  My strength comes into its own in your weakness.’
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen.  I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift.  It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.  Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size-abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks.  I just let Christ take over!  And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” Paul in 2 Corinthians 12.7-10

Can I say what Paul said through my valleys?  Can I remove the myths and ‘just let Christ take over?’  Paul was not a superhero; he was a man who had his eyes on the only true prize, Jesus.  Rather than escaping as I try to do, he kept his eyes focused on the reality of the sufficiency of Christ.  He embraced the thorn, actually believing that it was a gift to keep him grounded and focused on Christ rather than himself.  

Oh Father, thank you for always telling the truth.  Thank you for not always answering prayer the way I would have you answer it.  Thank you for the trials and temptations in my life that make me a better person for you.  Jesus, we would be so lost without you.  No matter what I may think, you are my strength, my reliance.  Thank you most of all for being so much more than a myth.      

mythology

Tell me why I am at this place again.   Father, if you’re listening, and I am beginning to have my doubts, please tell me why my life is so cyclical.  I have tried; I have stopped trying, I have wrestled with you; I have released my grip.  What more is there?  I thought that with my last valley I was free and clear for quite a while.  This one is deeper, dryer, and more invasive than I’m comfortable with, really.  I have nothing left to say.  I guess I will be down here; waiting.

Mythology used to fascinate me in high school and college.  I found it spectacular that the ancient peoples truly believed in gods and goddesses.  Even more fascinating was that they had a god for every occasion.  These gods were not reliable either; oh no, instead, they were finicky and peculiar. They could change their mind, fight with one another, and just become rather unpleasant.

I find myself wondering how easy or how hard it would be to worship these gods and goddesses.  Under slight duress, I found myself watching Troy the other night.  Throughout the movie, I wondered two things: why did the men wear such short skirts, and why did they bother to rely on the gods who never seemed to come through?  

I remember one scene.  The Greeks just finished plundering Apollo’s temple and cutting the head off his massive bronze statue.  Predictably, Apollo does nothing about this affront, and the Trojans are left to wonder whom it is they actually worship.  I would think that would be a major clue that something is wrong.  See, their gods were not like mine.  I know my God is patient and is not One to smite every offense, much to my general relief usually. No, their gods were ones that played with lightening bolts and if someone made them mad, they usually knew about it.  

So, what was the point in having all these gods?  If there was no predictability, why waste the time and effort? Most importantly, if there was no knowledge of reliance upon any of these deities, where did the desire stem from?  Oh sure, a desire to explain the ever pressing questions of why and how, but was Zeus and his bunch really the best answer for day to day life?

So, after much reflection, I find myself here again.  Particulars aside, I let myself down time and time again.  I tell God not to waste any more of his time on me because I am a hopeless case.  At the very least, I will become like Saul and waste the blessings anyhow by doing things my way.  And I start to feel sorry for myself but it occurs to me, with the help of a very good friend, that I have indeed created my own mythology.

In order to clean out some wounds, one must gut them completely and apply some sort of cleanser to the infected area.  My friend did some much-needed digging in my life and revealed what she refers to as ‘havens.’  Havens, mythology; same difference.  

Let me explain.  When I am feeling like the valley is too low, or the problems have just become too much, I have familiar escapes set in place for me to run.  One of the escapes is to the refrigerator.  It seems innocuous from first glance, a guilty pleasure.  But it’s not, if I let it really take a hold, is it?  The other two myths I have involve my own head.  I like to let my anger and frustration really fester.  It becomes so powerful; so addictive. The last myth is my ‘other life’ myth.  I can convince myself that if I were to escape this current life, the next one would be so much better.  I would make sure that everything was set up perfectly going into it, as to prevent current kinds of crap from entering in.  

Are these current myths any different from the ones the ancient Greeks used to hold up?  Am I indeed lying to myself; deluding myself into thinking these myths, these havens, hold any truth, any reality?  The ancient people used gods to explain their current events, and clung to worshipping them as a way of control.  I use my myths as a convoluted way of explaining away my current reality.  I escape to them as a form of worship, to bring my sort of control to the situation.  

WHAT DOES JESUS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ALL THIS? FIND OUT TOMORROW.  

IS JESUS NOT WITH US?

I am watching the coverage of the mining accident on television and I cannot believe what I am seeing.  It is a tragedy, to be sure.  Imagine knowing your loved one is trapped below the earth and cannot breathe.  Imagine knowing that they will certainly die before the day is over.  
So, with weak knees and a paralyzed heart, you stagger to the one place you believe can do something, the church.  You heard someone say it will take a miracle and you decide to pray for just that.  God can provide; He can find a way out of this living nightmare.  So, you get down on your knees and pray to God.  Beside your fellow townspeople and your support network, you pour your soul out to the One who knows and listens.  Surely, He will provide a miracle for His faithful.
And He does.  You all hear word that the miners are safe and are even going to make an appearance at the church before they go to the hospital.  Immediately you are praising God, thanking Jesus.  You burst into a beautiful rendition of ‘How great thou Art.’  When the ever-present media asks how you feel about the miracle, you make a public declaration, praising and thanking God for His wonderful provision.  
Then, the whole world stands still when you hear the news that changes your life forever.  It appears that all previous reports were wrong and your loved one is actually dead.  There was a ‘miscommunication’ from down below and only one man survived and he’s not yours.  All your chapters have closed, all your roads have ended and there appears to be one person to blame.  It would be the same One you were just praising hours ago.  

Watching this coverage on the television, I am amazed at what I hear.  I hear people recanting their praise, and even denying their very faith.  They cannot believe there can be such a God that gives and takes away like that.  They are stunned that all that praying and worshipping was in vain.  Oh, I know they were angry and upset.  But I vividly remember one woman that the media interviewed.  She says that she is from a Christian family, but there are some that are seriously beginning to doubt that there is still a Lord in control.  
OH SWEET JESUS, WHERE WERE YOU?    

“As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him.  He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.  Men and women don’t live very long; like wildflowers they spring up and blossom. But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here.  God’s love, though is every and always, eternally present to all those who fear him, Making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said, God has set his throne in heaven; he rules over us all.  He’s the King!  So bless God, you angels, ready and able to fly at his bidding, quick to hear and do what he says.  Bless God, all you armies of angels, alert to respond to whatever he wills.  Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are-everything and everyone made by God.  And you, O my soul, bless God!  David in Psalm 103

“I, God, am your Savior, your Redeemer, Champion of Jacob, I’ll give you only the best-no more hand-me-downs!...God will be your eternal light, your God will bathe you in splendor.  Your sun will never go down, your moon will never fade.  I will be your eternal light.  Your days of grieving are over.”  God in Isaiah 60.

God never abandons.  He does not promise anywhere in the Bible that there will be no pain or sorrow while we are here.  In fact, He promises that the tears will be wiped away when we’re in heaven.  He doesn’t abandon us when we curse His name, reject His son, turn our backs.  You know what you’ve heard; His ways are not our ways.  Well, it’s true.  What happened at the mine is sorrowful, but it is not a sign that God played tricks or that He abandoned anyone.  We will never have a clear reason why it happens.  All we can cling to is the love and hope of tomorrows.  Think about it.  

TASTE AND SEE...

First, I want to wish you a Happy New Year.  Just the same as everyone in the world, my hope for this year is peace and joy for the world.  I also pray that God does a mighty work this year, bringing people into Himself, and helping His children to truly demonstrate the Good News.  And a whole lot of love.

That being said, I am about to make my first product endorsement.  No, that does not mean I am necessarily qualified as some sort of expert.  I was just talking with a very valued friend today and we got on a subject that is vital to discovering who God is, and thusly is crucial to this blog.  That vital subject would be the word of the Lord.  Without His word, this is just a lot of hot air being blown around by people who think they know what they are talking about.  Anything anyone says should be measured against the Bible for both clarity and truth.  
Now, that also being said, the truth of the matter is that the Bible can be hard to read.  Forget the people who will tell you that the Holy Spirit will translate, I tried that and He has a heck of a time getting me to understand the Old English version.  Yes, the Holy Spirit is given to us to decipher the word of God and to help said word pack a punch.  But every person comprehends differently and various translations can allow the word of God to permeate as needed by the individual.
Ok.  This valued friend bought me The Message translation of the Bible for Christmas.  It is the fifth Bible translation to enter my home.  I have been reading The Message for a while with a borrowed copy, but I really wanted my own so I could start highlighting and writing in it.  
I recommend this Bible for everyone reading this blog right now.  If you struggle with reading the word or if you relish your devotional time, get it.  There can never be too much of God’s word lying around your house.  This Bible is not good for all occasions; I admit that.  It is hard to follow along in a church service with The Message because it is written so differently.  But it is a Bible to sit and cuddle with.  I mean that, it is a Bible that you can sink your canines in like a good steak.  It takes confusing passages and makes them sing.  I would like to share with you a taste of the verses that have really touched me so far.

“Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me.  And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go.” Jesus in John 6.37

“Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people-free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds.  And not just barely free, either.  Abundantly free!  He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possible need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making.  He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.  It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” Paul in Ephesians 1.7-12 (isn’t is beautiful!?!?)

“God is love.  When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.  This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment day –our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.  There is no room in love for fear.  Well-formed love banishes fear.  Since fear is crippling, a fearful life-fear of death, fear of judgment-is not yet fully formed in love.  We, though, are going to love- love and be loved.  First we were loved, now we love.  He loved us first.  If anyone boasts, ‘I love God’ and goes right on hating his brother and sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar.  If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see?  The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God included loving people.  You’ve got to do both.” John in 1 John 4.17-21

One more…

“God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient—so much love, so deeply true—loyal in love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion and sin.” God in Exodus 34.6

Oh, to taste and see that God is this good.  If you are hungry for more of the Word, or if you keep finding it hard to grasp, try The Message.  Make a resolution this year to fall so in love with Jesus by reading His love story to us.  Think about it.