A Child's Faith

We were enjoying extended family time between Christmas and New Year’s, watching a football game and playing with our grandchildren. Someone mentioned a prayer need as we often do; but I wasn’t expecting the words I heard next. My 5-year-old grandson, who had recently decided to give his heart to God, stated matter-of-factly that he prays about lots of things . . . but that “it doesn’t always work”. 

I explained to him that prayer isn’t a magic formula and that God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we want him to. Then I told him that we still have to choose to trust God anyway, even when he doesn’t do what we want him to do. My grandson has already begun to discover that real faith can be hard work. 

As a firm believer in the doctrine of salvation through faith alone by God’s grace alone, I don’t mean that we have to work hard to be saved for eternity. But as someone who has walked for decades in a personal relationship with God, I know that trusting him on a regular basis through all of life’s ups and downs can be hard work . . . and that doubt can be part of what we experience as we try to understand God’s ways of doing things. Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us that God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts, and his ways are not like our ways. So sometimes we will struggle to understand what God is doing and to accept what his best for us looks like from our perspective. 

I wish I could help my grandson avoid the questions that come with trusting God. I wish he could fully understand that his new decision to follow God is about a daily relationship and not the blessings or gifts he gets from God. He’s too young to fully grasp the truth of how God’s knowledge of what is best for us and His unfailing love for us work together for our good and His glory. My grandson still has a lot to learn about God’s character in order to have his hope and trust properly placed for a lifetime of following God. I can’t walk that journey for him.

But, ironically, I can do for him the one thing that started this whole conversation. I can pray for him. For as much of his life as I am blessed to be a part of before I leave for my heavenly home, I can pray for my grandson to grow in his love for God and his understanding of God and his trust of God. And I can also listen when he expresses what he’s thinking and help him to understand what I have learned from my own walk with God. I can’t imagine a greater privilege! “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged . . .“ (Proverbs 17:6a). 

Gone Too Soon

 

It was a Monday, just like today. Seventeen years ago today, to be exact. That was the last time I saw my father. He had been given four years to live after being diagnosed with leukemia; and he lived almost all of those four years after the diagnosis. But the end, though not a surprise, happened quickly and left little opportunity to say goodbye. He was hospitalized on Saturday and was gone by Monday. It seems like such a long time ago now. And it sometimes seems like he died too young. 

A lot of life has been lived by those of us left behind since my Dad died. He only got to attend one of his five grandchildren’s weddings. He never knew about any of his nine great-grandchildren. He would have freely given both his love and support to all of them. Dad never knew I was going to be a writer and a published author. He never got to see God using me as a speaker, or most of the adult adventures his grandchildren have had. He would have been so proud. He never walked with us through the health difficulties of the years since his passing. He would have prayed earnestly for us. 

Time does heal and memories fade . . . sometimes more than we’d like them to. But I’m reminded that only those left behind think about the things I’ve mentioned. The moment Dad breathed his last breath, he entered into the presence of his Lord and Savior. There was no more pain. There was no more sorrow. All of his ties to earth were gone in a split second. Dad instantly began experiencing a much greater joy than anything on earth could offer him. 

And for that reason, I could never wish that he was still here – stuck in time and under the curse that began in the garden with Adam and Eve. It may be all we can see as we continue our lives here, but Dad has a completely different perspective from his new home in heaven. His body was left behind seventeen years ago, but his spirit will live forever! 

I’ve reached the age where heaven is looking better and better all the time. But, as the old saying goes, I don’t want to be so heavenly minded that I’m no earthly good. This world may not be my permanent home, but it is my home for now. And with God’s grace I want to “finish well” like my Dad did . . . serving God by loving others and holding the things of this world loosely. I miss you, Dad; but I’m so thankful for the privilege of being your daughter and carrying on the legacy you and Mom modeled in our family. Well done, good and faithful servant!
 

An October Memory

 

 

I haven’t had a first date in 47 years, and I’m pretty thankful that dating isn’t on my agenda in the changed environment of the 21^st century. You see, yesterday marked the 47^th anniversary of my first date with my future husband, and we’ve been together ever since. 

It was 1978. He had just turned eighteen, and I was barely twenty. Our eyes met at an all-campus event the first week of school at our college; and in the weeks that followed we had friendly exchanges while my roommate and I continued our practice from the previous year of eating dinner with members from the fifth floor of a neighboring dorm . . . which just happened to be the floor my future husband was living on during his first semester on campus that Fall.

Our first date (on a Thursday night) wasn’t glamorous, but it was meaningful. He asked me to go to a concert on campus, but we could only attend the first half because I was playing in an intramural volleyball game later in the evening. He came to watch my game as part of our date, and he thought I might be an athlete like he was . . . until he saw me play. He didn’t tell me his impression until much later! After the game, we took a walk along the canal that ran next to the gym. 

I’ll admit that, in my third year of college, I was looking for a possible future husband. I had dated enough guys in the first two years to at least know what I didn’t want. Ron seemed different, and I was immediately struck by how well he treated me and his obvious affection for me. We discovered early on that we shared a love of music and of travel. We both fell quickly and never looked back – marrying 21 months later. 

That first date seems like a lifetime ago, and in a lot of ways it was. Forty-seven years is a long time! And marriage has brought many ups and downs. The traditional vows have taken on new meanings as we have experienced life together – for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. We have disappointed each other many times, but we have chosen to forgive the other one over and over through the years. And we both still love music and still love to travel! 

My brother and I got married the same year, and I have never forgotten a message that my new sister-in-law received from a relative of hers whose husband had made some choices that had created difficulty for his family. A simple phrase that summed up her approach to making her marriage work: “A happy marriage isn’t about marrying the right partner . . . it’s about being the right partner.”   

As I continue to add years to the timeframe since my first date with my husband-to-be, and as life continues to be a journey of ups and downs, I’m asking God to help me every day to be the kind of partner that brings happiness and joy to my marriage. And to trust God for the things I can’t control or change. We have less years ahead of us than those behind, but together we can continue to face the future with love for each other and guided by God as we have been since that first date so many years ago. 

The Tie That Binds

 

We hadn’t spoken a single word or had any interaction since we saw each other over eight years ago at a mutual friend’s memorial service. And it had been nearly thirteen years since we worked together closely and shared the daily ups and downs of our personal lives with each other. But our two-and-a-half-hour phone call this past week proved that some ties are not easily broken. 

My former boss and I have a long history. Over fifty years ago, when I was just a teenager, she married my youth pastor and they began their ministry serving God together in our small-town church. With different personalities, she and I were never best friends; but we had mutual appreciation for each other and a shared love of God. We made many good memories before they left our church and started a new church of their own. 

When I was looking for a job more than twenty years later, God graciously steered me to apply for a job at our local hospital . . . only to discover that my new boss would be my former youth pastor’s wife. Despite the necessary adjustments to our new roles, we worked well together and were able to share more than just work life with each other. Six years later when I returned to my favorite job as a fulltime homemaker, we parted on good terms and went back to living separate lives. 

But when we talked on the phone last week, it seemed as if no time at all had passed since our last conversation. I’ve experienced this before with other Christian friends, so I know that this is a result of the grace of God. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three have gathered in My name, I am there in their midst.” And I have seen this happen many times. Shared beliefs invite the presence of the Holy Spirit, who binds God’s people together despite distance or lapse of time.  

I don’t know how long it will be before my friend and I will speak again. We both live full lives and continue to serve God in separate towns as he gives us opportunities. But I do know that whether we ever speak again or see each other again on this earth, we will spend eternity together in God’s presence because we have both chosen to follow Jesus while living here. 

I’m reminded of the first verse of a hymn from my childhood and early adult life that we always sang each month at the end of a Sunday service that included taking communion. We would join hands across the aisles and celebrate the tie that binds all Christians together . . . the love we share for God and for each other. It truly is a little bit of heaven on earth! And that’s a tie that will never be broken, but will carry over into eternity.

Living and Actively Working

 

Just call me Alexander . . . you know, that guy who had that one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! We’ve all had them; and how we’ve responded sometimes reflects our state of mind before the not-very-fun day began.

I was beginning my seventh day of running a fever and the third morning after sitting up to sleep all night due to breathing issues from pneumonia. I had already had to accept that I would not be leading my new Women’s Bible Study at church that night and someone else would have to cover for me. 

As I opened my medicine cabinet, a decent-sized spider that had taken up residence decided this would be a good time to drop down onto my countertop and try to take over. The spider was wrong . . . I took off my slipper and beat it mercilessly until it was no longer recognizable! 

Next, I went to the kitchen to try and restore some of my electrolytes with a small glass of Gatorade. But it would be a while before my body received any help, as I accidentally hit the glass with my elbow and sent it flying to the throw rug below . . . leaving a pool on the countertop, a pool on the rug, and splattered drink down the front of the dishwasher and across a three-to-four-feet radius on the floor. The words that came out of my mouth probably weren’t the most uplifting I’ve ever uttered! 

Now I was tasked with wiping the countertop and dishwasher, mopping the floor, and eventually washing the rug. I asked God why he thought this was a good idea for me that day when he knew how bad I felt physically. He didn’t answer me audibly; but I knew from a lifetime of walking with him that this probably had something to do with either my growth or his glory. At that moment, I really wasn’t interested in either of those options. 

As I went to get the mop from the wall-mounted mop rack, I was greeted with the fact that the rack was beginning to fall off of the wall. You can imagine how happy I was with that information. All I wanted to do was sit down and rest with some Gatorade. But as I cleaned up the mess, I began to think about some of David’s reactions in the Psalms. 

No part of the Bible is a mistake, but instead is God’s written Word. Even when David or other Psalmists were basically yelling at God and telling him how unhappy they were. Here are a couple of examples: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1); or “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1). 

But here’s the part of the Psalms that I love: these and other passages validate my human feelings, but they don’t stop there. Listen to the words just a few verses after those quoted above: “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” (Psalm 13:5-6); and “But you do see . . . O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear . . . “ (Psalm 10:14 & 17). It seems that God is okay with our questions and our cries, as long as we remember Who he is and what he’s done in the past and choose to be thankful in spite of our less-than-ideal moments or days. 

I can always count on Scripture to center me and bring my thoughts into proper alignment, even on my worst days. That’s the power of God’s living Word. What a gift we have been given!

Keeping My Mind Engaged

With four grandchildren who all live in the same house together, three of whom are also very close in age, I am always looking for new ideas for birthday and Christmas gifts. And, given my practical and teacher mindset, I usually buy things that will help develop their minds and not just their creative play inclinations. 

 One of my latest gifts for my ten-year-old granddaughter was an Extreme Dot-to-Dot book with pictures of baby animals that each contained hundreds of numbered dots to connect to form the pictures. She started creating almost immediately after opening the gift! But then I had an idea.

 

I also have always enjoyed doing dot-to-dot pictures; and with a couple of long flights coming up for our vacation, I was looking for more than my usual book to read on the planes to help pass the hours of confined inactivity. So, since I was flying internationally for our trip, I purchased for myself an Extreme Dot-to-Dot book with pictures of well-known scenery and other places around the world. And with my mind fully engaged, I managed to conquer eight of the pictures during four flights – including the most difficult two-page picture with 2,201 numbered dots! 

In this technology-saturated world that we live in, I’ve been thinking about the importance of continuing to use my mind as I grow older. While there are some great tools available for that on technology devices, screen time also presents the added danger of mindless activities that do nothing to keep me sharp and alert. And I’m reminded of Peter’s warning in his first letter to “be sober-minded” and to “be watchful” because Satan is prowling around like a lion just looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). 

There is a lot of emphasis in our culture on keeping our physical bodies fit and pushing our physical limits to improve strength and health. But when our minds need help, we often resort to medications instead of putting in the hard work to keep mentally fit. Maybe we could prevent some problems with our minds if we were more attentive to proactive measures before our brains forget how to think. I’m no expert, but I wonder. 

When I think about the words that Jesus identified as the “greatest commandment”, I am reminded that it involves every part of me . . . loving God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength (Mark 12:30). So, if I’m going to do that well, I need to use all the power I have to keep all four of those parts of me operating as well as I can. And only a sharp mind allows me to study God’s Word and maintain an undivided heart that is fully devoted to God (Psalm 86:11). 

Time to do some more reading and a dot-to-dot picture or two . . .