Those Little Things

I was feeling pretty happy about a lot of things in general when some little things began to happen. Little things began to happen into my kitchen. Creep, in fact. At first they were very small, manageable, and yet creepy notwithstanding. Although when I was standing above them with a yell and a totally imaginary weapon wishing to dash them to pieces they would usually be standing for a second as they ascertained the threat of my presence before starting the high-legged scamper out of my way.

It got worse when the small things with legs were joined by bigger things with legs and tiny little paws and squeaks. My personal squeaks started to get louder as the days went by. Who, I declare, said you little things could partake in enjoying the warmth and pleasure of residence in my apartment?!

The little things would mostly come out when my husband was hours away at a distant job (well maybe just one hour) or when he was sound asleep in bed and I was up with hunger and a baby. For a while I tolerated the little things (after all, they are in fact little things!) but it got worse.

The little things got bigger. That was the hideous nature of these little things. Bigger became the little things, and bigger became my hatred for their presence.

They say, you know, “enjoy the little things in life.” They must’ve not known about these little things.

One day I decided I must, for my precious sanity, be able to find something to be thankful for about the presence of the skittering little things. 

My list looked like this...

1. There aren’t more of them 

2.

Now, even if I did not have the emotional capacity to enjoy these little things, surely my thank-er could do better than that. 

“Lord,” I pled as I sat in the dimness of a night with a nursing baby, “can you show me why you let these annoying little things become a part of my life! I’m so fed up with them, but starting to wonder if maybe you sent them to me with a message...if so, would you please open my eyes?” 

My list started getting longer. 

1. There aren’t more of them. 

2. I don’t have reason anymore to look down on people who are living with houses full of cockroaches and mice. 

3. Walmart probably has more traps in stock by now, to add to our growing collection. And anyway, we could be in a remote area with no Walmart! 

4. I’ve never stepped on one of these creatures in the dark, like my imagination has suggested could happen. 

5. Our roaches (eew!) are smaller things than those three inch ones I’ve seen in pictures or the zoo! 

6. The mice aren’t very smart. They haven’t eaten things in my pantry so far 

7. They haven’t invaded our bedroom to my knowledge - like in Ghana where I would find droppings by our pillows on our bed inside our mosquito net.

8. My husband has joined me on the no-more-mice campaign!! (After being scared himself by a mouse in the bathroom in the middle of the night)

9. I have a new incentive to sweep my floors and wash my dishes! 

Well. I found nine things to be thankful for, but I still haven’t found myself enjoying these little things. When they make their appearance I think of evil embodied. Not very inspiring.

Therefore, maybe I will just leave you with the challenge: are there any little things that have crept into your life that need taken care of? Maybe it’s a little resentment towards your husband, or a little self pity about the part of your story that God is walking you through right now. Perhaps a little selfishness or a little pride.

Let me just warn you: little things have a way of breeding more little things. You don’t want Jonathan to come into your house to move your table only to have a leg fall out with illions of little things pouring out, hitting the ground running and waving their antennae. (Real happening. Just not at my house. Shudder.) Little things have a way of becoming big things. You don’t want to go there.

Ask God what is the best way to go about eradicating such pesky little things that may sneak into your life.

If you don’t have mice at your house, or cockroaches, or any other common ground with me, congratulations. 

To all: may the little things in your life come with easy-to-find reasons to be grateful for them and may your pesks be few.

You Did It, You Did It

Evening commuters already had their headlights on as they sped past the house while the afternoon exchanged prominence with the evening. Upstairs in Big Sister’s room, Tiny Brother settled happily in front of an old cassette tape, CD and radio player all-in-one. Oh, how he enjoyed when Big Sister would put in some music and he could sit there, enjoying the sounds and feelings of the music rolling out into the room.

His favorite part, however, was to get his hands on the little knobs and buttons of the old black music player. As the music played, a smile of delight would spread over his face. He, himself, little though he was, would make the music crescendo to a room-filling boom and then suddenly disappear entirely, only to come back in another gaudy crescendo moments later as he turned the volume button.

This time, however, was different. 

There was no music playing. He figured he could take care of that, as he began to punch, twist, and turn all kinds of buttons and knobs. He popped a tape out, then slammed it back in. Twist, twist. No crescendo. Popped a CD out and back into its little thin alcove. Twist, twist. Not a sound. 

Puzzled, he began pushing and turning every button or possible option he could see, becoming more frustrated every moment. 

I watched, perched on my bed, as Tiny Brother’s puzzled demeanor began to turn into frustration. (For “Big Sister” was me.) Quiet as a leaf falling, I snuck up behind him, knowing precisely the source of his problems. I slipped my hand around the side to the hidden button labeled “power” and gave it a tap. Suddenly, the frantic twisting of the volume buttons produced a swell of glorious music! Sheer delight flooded Tiny Brother’s face. He looked up at me with profound pride. “I did it!” He shouted triumphantly, “I did it, I did it!”

Sometimes I might just be like Tiny Brother in this memory of mine that resurfaced recently. 

How many times do I do an inner adult version of the “I did it, I did it” dance, when really anything I did was done because of Someone outside myself? By God’s grace, I am becoming quicker at catching my sneaky thoughts and sending the mental accolades back to Him. But how many times do we toil with frustration, attempting to do something beautiful, but when God turns on the “power” we try to take the credit? I wonder how that makes Him feel!

Perhaps a more fitting celebration would be an enthusiastic, “You did it! We did it!” as we look into our Father’s face.

So little of the credit for the things that we humans accomplish rightfully goes to us.

For example, should I take credit for the things I write here? I don’t think so. (Unless, of course, my content is theologically incorrect or boring!) First of all, God is the original inspiration of anything and everything that turns out good, I am sure. He is the one who stirs in my heart and makes me even want to share the things He is doing. He is the one who chose to give me ability to enjoy writing and the gift of having fun with words and thoughts. Moreover, He is the one who decided to put me in a family where I received a good education and encouragement to write. Additionally, if there is any way in which the things I write bless someone or inspire them, that is just because GOD touched His “power button”, not because of me!

I have been reading a book about humility recently, and realizing that my pride must be pretty much the biggest reason for the stresses I find in my life. There is rest in a place of knowing how truly small I am and how this life isn’t about me. At all. In that place, I seem to find I don’t have anything to lose; whether in reputation, agenda, rights, status and so forth. I find a new freedom to try, to make mistakes, to be wrong, to let go, to surrender; I am OK to be broken if I break, and out of the picture when I’m out of the picture. Jesus offers rest for the weary when we come to Him and learn to have His gentle, humble heart. (See Matthew 11:28,29) I think that could be also said, He offers rest for those who stop fruitless efforts and turn their expectant hearts to Him, saying “The music isn’t playing and I don’t have access to the Power button. Can You help me?”

Next time I say I was stressed out, perhaps you could ask me if I’ve been twisting and turning the volume buttons  without the Power.

Next time things are getting frustrating and overwhelming, I’m asking God to remind me to come to Him for power. And then I can celebrate with Him, “You did it! We did it! You did it!”

Thankful

I haven't found myself very inspired this week. (That unfortunate state inspired me to work on my document called “What Do You Do When Inspiration Leaves You?”; maybe sometime I’ll decide it’s edifying enough to share and I’ll get a chance to hear YOUR tips! Or you could give them in prelude too if you like.) I decided that one good way out of my bleary, not-very-inspired-fog would be to write down things I’m really grateful about tonight as a note to God. If you want to know what some of those things are, go ahead and read; if not, you could always write one of your own, and that might be even better! ;)

• The way that bitter and sweet complement each other (in my steamy evening cup of Dandy Blend as well as in life in general)

• That men’s retreat isn’t every month (my hubby is gone for the weekend)

• My neighbor-friend not being able to find any other ride to an appointment yesterday, which forced me outdoors and into a gorgeous day I thought was cold and wintry

• A lovely time connecting with my friend that I wouldn't have otherwise had

• Joy’s joy...her infectious smiles that make me unable to keep from smiling back!

• Delight after sorrow - the way God’s Kingdom works, that when you plant in sorrow you reap in joy.

• Friends who pray for me - what a treasure! 

• That God is a God of solutions

• A new niece born safely this week! Ah, thank You Lord.

• The mental space and physical ability (an app that started working again) for studying Arabic every day this week! (Cue cheering)

• That in the Tower of Who God Is, I am SAFE. (Been meditating on Proverbs 18:10) What an awesome thing that safety is.

• The delightful feeling of anticipation; I'm planning to spend time with my family tomorrow!

• The special time of life I'm in right now. I have reminisced several times this week on previous seasons of life and thought, "Wow, sometime I'll look back on this season in a really sentimental, nostalgic kind of way! I should see how much I can enjoy these moments as they're happening 'live'!"

Training my Parrot

The days were filled with an unutterable amount of things to do. Being in the oldest part of a large family whose schedule was filled with touching lives outside our tribe as well as within was a delightfully, crazily busy season of life! In fact, my memories of our schedule could resemble a jelly filled cookie. The dry cookie part was the schedule and the jelly was all the miscellaneous things that stuck in all the cracks and made life rich and FULL! I loved it. But sometimes I was tired.

Way back then, the big thing on the proverbial horizon was a three month trip to Africa. Folks, it looked huge. How was I going to be able to do this? Part of the culprit behind the I have since learned that my imagination is like a beautiful parrot that I am in the process of trying to train (it can be a really wonderful part of life, but it can also lie to me about the future and be quite annoying). However, I wasn’t fully aware about the snares of my imagination back then and it went flying about my mind, chattering and chittering about all kinds of possible events in the future. For example, 

“You’re lying on a one-inch mattress in an unbearably hot room, so weak that you can’t even walk to the bathroom. You’re unutterably embarrassed by this, because what if the most intimidating of the people who will be over there is the one who will care for you? And you’ll be so sick you can’t eat and they’ll have to take you to the hospital to get an IV; imagine how that will feel! You never got one of those before, so that makes it Scary. Then you might get so sick you almost die, and prayer chains will be starting for you back in the states, and you will start losing consciousness...imagine how that will feel!” - at which point I would shudder and try my best to change the subject, or evade the topic; for the immensity of how that might feel was too horrible to consider!

Or the “parrot” might say, 

“You won’t be able to handle the food over there. They say it’s horrible...think compost. You know, the slimy rotting goo in the bucket that didn’t get cleaned? Yeah, you know they say the food is fermented, so it’s possibly like that. How will you ever get that down your throat?! You’re already underweight, so this could be really dangerous to your health. Unless they force you to eat it. You’ve heard they do that, haven’t you! That would be another story in its own -“

Photo by Philip MacKenzie

And so forth, on and on the Imagination would chatter about the Future and how on earth will I ever be able to handle it? 

Well, one day I had a good realization interrupt that parrot. “Maybe you should talk back.” It said. “Tell your imagination what to think. Write it down, so you don’t forget it: 

‘I wonder what His grace will feel like, then?’”

So I started trying it out. It really did help. I believe I even wrote it on a sticky note and put it where I would see it every day. I started entering those future moments in my mind with a curiosity that actually helped: 

“What would it feel like to be surrounded by GRACE in that moment?! I never felt that amount of grace before! That would be incredible!”

Since I have already lived through those three months by now, I can tell you that they went absolutely wonderfully. I was sick only one day, and I received such a good attitude to go with the sickness that I laughed more than usual and didn’t feel overwhelmed in the least! The food was rarely a challenge for me, and when it was, I enjoyed rising to meet it with a spirit of adventure. The people who intimidated me became good friends and in short everything I feared fell flat before the goodness and grace of the Lord.

It’s good for me to remember those days.

Since that time, I’ve had both easier and rougher seasons of life. Some of the seasons I felt like the negative things the parrot said were true. But there was always grace. Sometimes I chose to breathe in the fumes of self-pity, and THOSE were the toughest times.

Naturally, there are new things in front of me now that my inescapable parroting imagination chatters about. It’s a timely reminder to me to spend some time training my "parrot" to trade asking me “how awful would that feel?” for

“I wonder what God’s grace would feel like THEN!”

Valley of the Blind

They tell me there’s a valley

The people there are blind.

No eyes have they, no sight, no light;

They grope, their way to find.

Sadly enough, they can’t conceive

Of sight, or seeing eyes

Of color, sunrise – they will laugh!

And say, “You’re telling lies”.

One day, they say, a seeing man

Walked in and found this valley

He saw their plight and sightless blight

And cried, “Oh folks, do listen to me!

“The sunrise, it’s like gold today!

It’s streaked with red, pink, yellow!”
But all the blind thought he’d lost his mind

Crying, “Ho! You crazy fellow!”

“But oh, it’s true!” he cried aloud

“You’d know, if you’d have eyes!”

But still they jeered, and laughed and leered

And said, “You’re telling lies.”

The man with eyes thought, “I must stay,

“For all these folks must know

The wonders and the safety that

A pair of eyes bestow!”

So he moved in. And every day

He walked from street to street

He truly tried, the blind to guide

But it was no small feat!

“Hey, these are EYES,” he’d say and then

He’d let them feel his own

But his heart was torn as they would scorn

And say, “Pshaw! You’re so alone.

“Why would we want to have these ‘eyes’?!
We feel we’ve all we need.

Two little spheres that run with tears?

We need them? No indeed!”

Others would simply walk away,

Waving their sticks all around

Humming a song, they’d go along,

Stumbling along valley ground.

Sometimes he’d try to help them out

When he’d see some egg on a beard

Or a rip on a dress, or one’s hair all a mess;

Their response? “This fellow is weird!”

The weeks went by, and the seeing man,

He saw a young maiden fair

True, she couldn’t see, but her eyes he’d be-

He decided it then and there.

She loved him too, and ‘twas a match

They started to plan their life

But her family heard, saying, “That’s absurd!

“You can’t take her as your wife!”

“Give up your eyes!” they ordered him

“Then we’ll reconsider your plan.

“Your sight makes us queasy and feel all uneasy

“Your eyes make you crazy, old man.”

He pondered it long. For he loved the blind girl

And he loved all the folks in the valley

“But could I despise the sight of my eyes?-

Though I love her, ‘n’ all of her fam’ly?!”

His love finally won, and the day quickly came

By the evening his sight would be over.

He steadied his soul and he studied his girl,

The one who had made him a lover.

But a moment of truth, light came to his soul,

He groaned, and he moaned, and recanted.

“Why, I’d be a fool to give such a jewel,

I’m taking my seeing for granted!”

“I can’t do this, folks, I’m sorry,” he said

And he slowly walked home to his cottage

“To trade in the light for the darkness of night

Is exchanging a birthright for pottage.”

______

And others there are, in a world of the blind

Who have eyes, but are mocked for their seeing

“What globe are you from?! Your worldview is dumb!

Are you sure you’re a real human being?”

They certainly are, and wiser by far,

Than the folks who can’t see the Eternal

They have a reward which in heaven is stored

And by faith they receive the supernal.

These folks see the Light of Eternity Bright,

As they live in the smile of their Father

They scorn all the joys of this world’s passing toys,

Choosing rather than pleasure, to suffer.

They see what’s invisible, what can’t be seen

By our physical eyes which deceive us

(For those eyes think they see complete reality

And from the real truth they bereave us.)

 But some grasp in faith God’s invisible things

And they stand on the Word God has given

They choose to believe that they will receive

Great rewards when they come into Heaven.

Yes, they will be mocked, as they live in this vale

Where the blind say what’s ‘real’ and what’s ‘actual’

But shall blind hold the sway,

when they can’t see their way

And they don’t know what’s actually factual?!

Oh, dear Seeing Christians, don’t poke out your eyes

For the love of a temporal pleasure

For that would be trading the bright for the fading,

The passing, for eternal treasure.

The world needs your faith to show clearly the way

That they can find peace and know Jesus

For it’s by faith in Him that this world becomes dim

And He, from our sightlessness frees us.

By faith you can help others see the Eternal

And bring them into Jesus’ Kingdom

They’ll find that the Light brings more thrill than the Night

And that Seeing is marvelous Freedom!

1/2/2016 HNR

I wrote this after a time of feeling the pull of earthly things very strongly. God showed me just how blind I had nearly become to what is really REAL, that is, heavenly treasures and an exciting life in eternity where we will be alive in the fullest sense. When someone shared the story about the man who discovered the fictional "valley of the blind" with me, this poem flowed out of my pen.

The 5-Worded Thought

On days that are so cold and frozen stiff like the ones that tend to string through January, I find it very pleasant to think about things that are vibrant and warm and alive.

So one day when a Five-Worded-Thought sidled up to my mind, I gave it a silent shriek of delight and welcomed it right in. I held onto it, so it wouldn’t easily be able to go. 

In Indonesia, where my husband lived for five years, you always serve tea to company. Sweet, fragrant, scalding-hot tea. What you as a newcomer might not realize when you take that first boiling sip, however, is that the tea says something about your stay. It says, “Welcome! Obviously, you can’t handle drinking me quickly, so relax and stay awhile. We don’t want you to leave too fast.”

If that Five-Worded-Thought was visiting me in Indonesia, I would’ve made the hottest tea possible to ensure a lengthy duration of its stay.

I almost think you’re joining me in my mind by now. I hope so. I hope you’re making some hot tea to enjoy with that wonderful Thought and me... 

But how could you enjoy the Thought if I don’t tell you more about it? Let me try. It goes like this: 

God Is Alive In Me. (Pause and repeat, emphasizing each individual word.)

Sometimes the inside of me feels pretty dead. Alone. Shriveled and ugly. Have you ever felt that way? I hope not. But I’m going to guess that most of us have. But oh! -

I am desperate for that Five-Worded-Thought to stick around because it is the truth, coming from the very Word of God. Even on the worst days, if I go all the way down the spiraling staircase of my soul, right in the core of who I am, God is there. He is dwelling within me. He’s alive! He’s doing great! He is All-Power, All-Authority, All-Wisdom, All-Wonderful-GOD. I am full of wonder.

From a song he wrote, I can tell Mr Whittle was delighted by the thought of this Life inside of us when he looked at a pine cone. Those swirling, tough chips of woodiness held within each of them the potential for an entire seventy-foot tree. How could that be? How could something that looks so beautiful and yet so dead, become an actual living, growing tree? 

He also stopped in awe at a flower seed; in my imagination it will be a nasturtium. One of those tiny, roundish, wrinkly, pale specimens held within it life; life which has all potential to become bobbing green leaves and colorfully orange flowers! 

“As lives the flower within the seed

As in the cone, the tree

So praise the God of truth and grace!

His Spirit dwelleth in me.” -D. Whittle

So while I entertain this Five-Worded-Thought, I’m going to pop all of us a question: 

Since the most Living of living possibilities is inside me, what needs to happen for me to let His possibilities explode into all their potential within me?

If any wonderful Thoughts sidle up at your home beside my Question, I would be so delighted to get invited over. We could even make some tea.

P.S. You might want to check out Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3 and John 17:23.

You Belong...With Me

The fascinating Baby Game started minutes after Joy Johanna made her entrance into our home. Studying the newly created, soft little human, the game began: “Who does she look like?” and, “I think Joy has Jonathan’s nose.” Since then, it has continued: “I just can’t get over how much she looks like her Grandma Lloyd!” “Do you think she looks more like you or her dad?” “I just can’t figure out who she looks like!” “Her mouth is definitely her Daddy’s.” 

Mama and Daughter

Amidst the delightful quest which The Baby Game offers of trying to figure out who our daughter resembles, we know one thing for sure: she belongs to us. 

And the older she gets, the more she starts to look like us. Soon, I’m sure, she will begin to act like us too! (The parts we like as well as the parts we don’t appreciate seeing replicated, no doubt!)

On Sunday I looked across the church auditorium and caught sight of a very familiar little person whom my Mama was holding. In one feasting glance I took in her little round face and big blue eyes peeking over chubby fists wedged in between her gums. A thrill of ownership went through me involuntarily. Because she’s MINE! 

I see myself in her. I see my husband in her. When we look at her we know she’s “ours”. She belongs to us, to our family. What fierce love a mother-heart can contain as she beholds her child!

I wonder...if this is how God feels about us.

I wonder what He thinks and feels as His eyes scan across the rooms, the counties, the countries of the spinning earth. He looks, and then His eyes stop. This one. “This one belongs to ME.” I wonder what He feels, as He sees His own children, one by one. His offspring. I wonder if He plays the “game” we like to play, looking for ourselves in our young. I can imagine Him exclaiming, “She’s got My love!” “Oh, look at him. His eyes. They see what I see!” “Wow, she just did what I would do.” “Look at the way he spoke the truth in love. Ahh! Just like Me.”

From Pixabay

To me, that’s a pretty special imagination.

He sees me and He claims me as His own child! The more I grow spiritually, the more He sees Himself in me!

As I look at the glory of the Lord, guess what? I start to look like Him! “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor. 3:18, KJV)

He loves us and He loves to watch us grow. He likes when He sees Himself in us.

I belong in His family.

The sun is fading in the sky as I hold a picture of my daughter beside a picture of me as a baby. Evening twilight is a good time for reflection. It’s a good time to belong. Scooping up my daughter, I kiss her little cheeks. “Joy Johanna. You belong...with me.”

Payday

If you would've been able to enter a dream I dreamt the other night, this is what you would've seen:

I was climbing a steep mountain road. Suddenly some friends of mine came rolling past in their car. Seeing me walking beside the road, their jolly faces popped out of the windows as they yelled, “Hey! You wanna ride with us!?” I hopped in quite gratefully, and soon we were zooming away together towards their home. When we arrived at their house, I was surprised to see evidences of a big celebration everywhere, including friends, food, and colorful decorations. My friends were throwing a big party! Many of their friends were there too, so I asked what this was all about. 

“Payday"! They exclaimed. “We are celebrating payday!” The dream ended with me taking in my surroundings in perplexity, knowing inherently that these people were celebrating a payday which was, strangely, yet to come.

When I awoke, I remembered that I had asked God for an encouraging dream the night before. Was there anything He wanted to say through this wild dream of my party-crazy friends? 

Then realization came rolling up to my consciousness like Friday comes after Thursday. Payday! Has the real Payday, the one that will stunningly excel all other paydays, happened yet? No! But it’s definitely coming up. Our Master, the Boss, is coming soon and His reward will be with Him! What if He's trying to encourage me to celebrate this coming day now, by throwing a spiritual "party" in my heart as I go about my labors for Him?

When Payday dawns, what kind of remuneration do you expect? Is it something worth celebrating about now? If not, it is definitely be a good idea to start putting in some joyful hours!

He Himself says that He will reward the servants who are ready. Both the one who plants and the one who waters will be rewarded. He is coming soon, bringing His reward with Him, to repay all people according to what they’ve done! (See Lk 12:38, 1Cor 3:8, Rev 22:12; slightly paraphrased from the NLT for better flow. Check the verses out for yourself!)

Why not have a celebratory, enthusiastic attitude as though already seeing our hours listed on the pay stub? Heavenly accounts are adding up; let’s celebrate the Payday which is yet to come by more enthusiastically lavishing our lives upon those around us with joyous love of Jesus!

“Payday” is coming soon!

Kneading Patience

Have you ever had a long, wearying morning? Joy could probably relate. 

Shopping can wear out even the indefatigable, and my ambitious “do-it-all-in-the-one-day-you-have-a-car-this-week” attitude had tuckered the both of us out on that particular cold Winter day. Big adult problems filled my grown-up head as we drove along home. But dear little Joy? The greatest longing of her heart was to be out of her car seat, and out now! My heart wanted to break as I saw her very sad little face in my rear-view mirror, the car filled trunk to hood with her desperate cries for relief from the awful confines of that terrible car seat. 

“Oh Sweetie,” I heard myself crooning soothingly over and over amidst the din. “It’s gonna be alright Sweet Girl. You’re not gonna be here forever, Joy. Just wait a little longer. We are almost home, we are almost home.”

Suddenly my eyes spilled over in tears, the kind that get you by surprise and take over like the conquest of Troy. Suddenly it wasn’t baby Joy in the car seat anymore, it was her Mommy, and her Daddy-God was the gentle car Driver. He knew the whole journey well, for He had navigated these roads thousands of times before. His heart broke at my whimpering pleas for relief and for a speedy end to confines I didn’t understand. Her whimpering pleas suddenly seemed my own, as I begged God to answer my prayers for several situations, and do it NOW. Moreover, the words changed ownership as they came from my mouth and God started speaking them to me: 

“You’re not going to be here forever, Sweetie. Just wait a little longer. I wish I could get you out, but it’s not the best for you. Oh, I’m so sorry, I know you don’t understand. It is breaking my heart to hear you cry! But Sweet Girl, we’re almost Home. We’re almost Home!”

I imagined my Father, working on my life perhaps as a hunk of bread dough. From His perspective, my Tribulations were kneading some necessary Patience into my dough. 

Patience, mixed with time, was creating a beautiful and valuable Experience. Experience, coming out of the heat of the oven, brought with it the rich aroma of Hope; and my Heavenly Papa knew that the Hope would come with a new abundance of unashamedness and love! (See Romans 5:3-5) From His perspective, the patience wasn’t going to last forever, nor was it going to ruin anything. From His perspective, my weary cries broke His heart, and He longed to take me out! But it wasn’t yet time. For my good.

I think back over the last several years of my life, and the seasons they contain. As I reminisce through the changing periods of sorrow and joy, dying and resurrection, I imagine my Father right there, walking through it all right beside me. During the seasons of tribulation, He was there, guiding my heart into patience. As I emerged slowly from the intensity of the tribulation, He was there gently handing me the gift of a new experience that He had purposefully thought up or allowed. Then came the celebration together of Hope! The season of rejoicing in the goodness of my Father which I had chosen to believe in when I couldn’t see it.

“We’re almost Home, we’re almost Home!” I could almost hear His encouraging whisper in my heart. Ah. From His perspective, my trials are not all that long. In fact, in comparison to an exciting eternity with Him, they are just about to forever end! I’m almost Home! Heaven is just up ahead. It feels like my current trials will last forever, but they will not. They aren’t immortal! There is hope, if I am only willing to surrender my heart to the voice of my Father and trust His perspective above mine.

In the car, familiar surroundings glided past outside the windows. My daughter’s darling blue eyes, however, were tightly closed. Unlike me, she couldn’t see that we were 3/4 of the way down Prince Street, and it would only be three more minutes till her Mama was lifting her from her seat to snuggle and comfort her. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her mouth was furiously at work with air over vocal chords, heartbreaking as the funeral wails of the heathen. As her mother, my feelings for her helped me realize how badly God was wishing that I could understand just how short my trials really will turn out to be. For from His perspective? They are classified Light, Momentary. Compared, that is, to what’s ahead in eternity with Him!

Today as I quiet my heart, He is assuring me that He knows that the waiting hurts, and He cares about the feeling of His daughter who can’t see beyond the confines of the “car seat”. And yes, like He promised, Experiences of the last years of my life have come to me with the aroma of Hope. I am learning that I’m loved while “strapped in my car seat”. I’m learning to relax and enjoy the ride. 

And to my deep relief and joy, with the passing of time I’m beginning to think my little daughter is learning, too.

A Free Boost

What if I would tell you that there’s something simple that you could do for one week that could boost your mood, your marriage, and your life in general? What if this thing was such a good price that it was free? A FREE way to boost your marriage, mood, and life in general? 

Are you ready? Okay, here we go:

Step one: Think of one person whom you love and love to see encouraged. Get ready to contact them. OK, step two: Tell them that you have an idea but you need a partner to do it with. You want to write down ten things you’re sincerely grateful for every day for one week, and want to share them with someone: with one condition, that they also send back a list of ten to you. Just for one week. That's not too hard is it? 

That's it! Except, of course, doing it. 

I did this "game" with three of my friends so far (one of whom is my best bestie, my treasured Jonathan!) and the result exceeded my expectations! I wanted to do something to be proactive against the blues that like to overwhelm new mommies ,so I did this with several other new moms that I know. Can you guess what happened when the end of the week rolled up? We kept sending these lists. It’s actually addictive! We discovered that the encouragement we got from it came in several different flavors:

1. We needed to stop and look around us and think of things that were a blessing and which we were truly grateful for.
2. Since we did it every day, we needed to be creative, which was a bonus because we were thankful for things we had never thought of being thankful for before!
3. Since we sent them to each other, we had the blessing of getting to share the precious gifts we discovered in each day with someone else, which was doubled the joy!
4. Not only did we enjoy sharing the things we found to be grateful for, we also got to hear things from another woman who we knew was facing similar difficulties as ourselves with thankfulness, which was encouragement on top of encouragement!
5. We started getting addicted to being thankful; even in the month or more since the week was up, we have sent each other lists of thankful-things!
6. These little lists turned into lines of life for bad, awful, miserable, baby-won’t-sleep, overwhelming (you’re getting the picture, right?) days. We turned to them when we felt ourselves going “under” in the ocean of emotion, and used those little lines of gratefulness to hold onto and keep us from drowning.

So here’s my challenge to you: find someone to do this with and ask God to show up in the middle of the lists in special ways. I believe you will find Him giving you personal gifts in the midst of your day-to-day mornings and messes: your living, caring, personal God.

Here's a little tip: If you don’t have time to write things, snap a picture to send that captures your thought. 

Anybody want to be my “partner in thanks” this coming week? 

Come, MAGNIFY the Lord with me! I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

See Psalms 34:3 and Psalm 69:33. 

Nail Clippers, Dates, and Parking Spots

When this time of year comes around with its twinkling lights, the name "Immanuel" appears more often than usual. Jesus's coming was foretold with the usage of a precious name for Him: "Immanuel; that is, God With Us". For me personally, this is one of my most favorite names for my God. It never ceases to amaze me that the God who created the galaxies and our little life-inhabited globe cared so much for the world that He put Himself into a human body and lived among us!

What is equally awesome is that He is still God With Us, now. This week I have been noticing a lot of little ways that He has shown up in my life, and I wanted to share them with somebody. You might think they're minuscule but they show me that He is present in my life, and that He cares. So if you want to hear my stories...here goes:

Fingernail Clippers

I was ambling through Sharp Shopper, treasure hunting from my shopping list, when I spied with my little eye a plastic bin of: fingernail clippers! Now the reasons for my excitement were threefold: 1) I had mysteriously lost my clippers recently and they happen to be a frequented essential in my bag for dealing with everything from fast-growing fingernails to opening a tough bag of chips! 2) These clippers also had the cuticle/cleaner piece; and 3) They were the kind you could clip onto your key ring. When I got the checkout I discovered moreover that they were being sold for the grand price of $.99 a piece! I took them home and upon trying them out realized that they are really nice. In fact, I must have bragged them up because both my husband and one of my sisters both asked me to get them one the next time I could go to that store!

Well, the days passed and I wasn’t able to get out. It bothered me in the back of my mind since I had told them I would get them some clippers too. “Lord, could you let there be at least two left when I can get to that store again?” I asked my Father. If you've ever been to Sharp Shopper, you know that what you find there one time probably won't be there the next time you come, at least if it's a good deal.

Finally I was able to get out, and went straight for the aisle which housed the little shiny treasures. My heart beat faster as I saw the basket was empty...of all except for TWO fingernail clippers. I worshipped God right there. In this little detail of my life, God was there, and He cared.

Medjool Dates

A few nights ago two of Jonathan’s Middle Eastern friends were coming over for coffee and Book-reading. I was busy caring for Joy (it was getting late at night) so my husband and I discussed what he could serve his friends. We didn’t seem to have a lot of good options in the house at the moment, except for...our special medjool dates. I had splurged and bought them a few weeks ago and we were relishing each nibble together. They were really soft, exceptionally melt-in-your-mouth dates. We both looked at each other. Those dates felt pretty special and hard to give up at that moment. Slowly and decisively Jonathan lifted the container of delicacies up with both hands and said, “Lord we give these dates to you.” So around the Book the men enjoyed their treat with sips of strong black Arabic coffee late at night.

This morning I had some shopping to do, and I decided I would stop at Aldi’s to see if by any chance they still had those dates. Guess what? There they were, and were one of the week’s specials at half the price I remember them being several weeks ago! I was able to get two containers for around the same price I had been planning to get one, and I did it wearing a big smile. My God cares about our little “sacrifice” of something special to us and wanted to remind me that He repays over and above in heaven what we give Him here below - and sometimes He repays on earth too.

Parking Spots 
I don't know if you've ever lived on the second/third story apartment of a house or not. It means that you get a lot of stairs into your daily routine. Not only stairs, but if you live in a row house near downtown without a parking spot to call your own, you may need to be walking a block or more to find your car! This was an inconvenience before having a child, but now with a warm little darling in her carseat to carry (not to mention everything else a trip going out entails) the hike down the stairs is a bigger and trickier workout, and to walk a freezing block away with several loads can be daunting and confusing. What do I take out first, and what do I leave for last? Can I manage to carry everything in one trip, or will I end up partway down the street with stuff falling out of my arms? Will my baby be crying in the house, disturbing the neighbors, while I take out the first load?

So all of that is the background for a simple plea to God to let there be a parking space out in front of our house for me. Not just once...but all Winter, Lord?

So far, He has totally answered my prayer since then, and oh how I treasure every blessed time I pull onto our street and find a parking spot right in front of our row house! Once, as I pulled up to park the person who had parked in front of our house came walking down the street right then, got in his car and drove away! I do believe at that moment my Father in Heaven was smiling at me.

I know the title only had three items, but here's a couple bonus stories where I saw God in the last week:

Dinnertime Discussion

Recently we were privileged to eat dinner with a family who has been through a lot. They know so much suffering and heartache, yet don't seem to be bitter, so Jonathan asked them, "What do you do to stay encouraged as you walk through suffering and trials?" Their response was so beautiful I stayed stuck in the moment, savoring it long after the others had moved the discussion on. "We are convinced of the Sovereignty of God. That's one thing we decided to put our absolute faith in long ago, and when we don't understand what's going on we fall back on that trust." The rock-solid faith that I felt in those words and the tone of voice they were spoken in has stayed with me ever since. I saw God-With-Us there at the table eating our roast and vegetables. Only He could give the grace to hold on to faith like that.

Three Angels
I was having a rough morning about a week ago, so before Jonathan went to work he prayed for me. I got tears in my eyes when he prayed that God would send someone to visit me that day. "That gift would bless me so much," I thought. "It's just what I need." My baby went to sleep, so I did too. I slept, that is, until my phone started ringing. It was my sister Elisabeth, and basically the first thing she said was, "The rest of the family except Jonathan, Michaela and I will be gone or busy this afternoon, so I was wondering if we could come over and visit you! Would that be OK?"

Ahh. What a delight. God, with us. How I enjoyed my afternoon with those three "angels".

Where do you see Immanuel at work in your life this week? I would really love to hear your stories too!