The best part of fishing can be the fight. Unfortunately, it can also be the most frustrating. When all goes well and the fight is vigorous and victorious, landing the fish, everything is great. When it doesn’t go so well, it can be discouraging. Sometimes a fish will make a run, go in a hole, under a rock or into the nearest pile of brush to try to escape, and many times it works. When it does, they get away with their lives… sometimes taking your tackle along with them.
Speaking of a fight, a husband and father with five kids at home, who plays worship for our church, has a full time job and a honey-do list that never ends doesn’t have a lot of spare time. I see him struggle at times between what he wants to do, needs to do, and loves to do, but he’s pretty good at getting his priorities straight and choosing the best thing. There are times in my life when I need some help in this area, especially when it comes to my relationship with God. Although I love God with all my heart, there are times when it’s difficult for me to manage my time with him. Other things I love or need to do sometimes crowd out what should be my number one priority.
I love God’s grace and I continually remind myself to live in it. It’s not like ‘I have to do x, y and z or God won’t have anything to do with me’… but I always see an obvious improvement in my attitude, level of patience, tolerance, etc. when I make him a priority. It makes me wonder why on earth I would rather be anywhere else.
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Fishing: Passionate Pursuit
My husband’s latest hobby is fishing, and as usual, he has set out to learn everything he can about it. I get to hear about lines, lures, and fishing holes… technique, tackle and tying knots… catfish, crappie and carp. He’s even trying his hand at fly fishing. I go with him a lot, but not nearly as much as he wants me to. I like to fish, but I just don’t have a passion for it like he does… most of the time, I go because I know he wants me to. I always have a great time, but sometimes I just don’t feel like fishing. I think he would fish every day if he could.
There is a big difference in the way we fish. I only go on days that are not too hot or too cold… and forget about fishing in the rain. I fish for a while and if I don’t catch anything right away, I usually give up and start taking pictures, rock hunting or exploring. Joe will go fishing no matter what. He will fish in the heat, cold or the rain. The other day he went when the temperature was around 40 degrees. He said it was the best time to catch walleye. He will stay at it for hours even without a bite. He will continue to change lures or bait until he finally catches something. He rarely comes home empty handed because of his perseverance. Even if he doesn’t catch a thing, he seems satisfied.
I want to live my life for God like Joe fishes. My circumstances should not be the barometer for my level of passion or enthusiasm for him. I want to keep casting my cares on him and learn to be a fisher of men and be content in all circumstances.
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
There is a big difference in the way we fish. I only go on days that are not too hot or too cold… and forget about fishing in the rain. I fish for a while and if I don’t catch anything right away, I usually give up and start taking pictures, rock hunting or exploring. Joe will go fishing no matter what. He will fish in the heat, cold or the rain. The other day he went when the temperature was around 40 degrees. He said it was the best time to catch walleye. He will stay at it for hours even without a bite. He will continue to change lures or bait until he finally catches something. He rarely comes home empty handed because of his perseverance. Even if he doesn’t catch a thing, he seems satisfied.
I want to live my life for God like Joe fishes. My circumstances should not be the barometer for my level of passion or enthusiasm for him. I want to keep casting my cares on him and learn to be a fisher of men and be content in all circumstances.
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Voice of God, Jesus Loves Me and Other Hocus Pocus
Have you ever heard the voice of God? At first, I had no idea what people were talking about when they said things like “God told me __________ (fill in the blank).” As a matter of fact, I thought they were kind of freaky. So far, I have never literally heard the voice of God. I’ve had no omens, no signs, no big booming voice from above that makes things perfectly clear for me.
In the beginning, I had no idea even how to pray. I would try, but my mind would take off like a runaway train… and that’s not even accurate unless you unhooked each car and sent it down a different track. My attempts to communicate with God were frustrating. I would start out and within moments, I was thinking about what I was going to eat, a bill I needed to pay, laundry that needed to be done, the mold growing on the window sill, or whatever. I spent more time shooting up quick apologies and trying to get myself back on track than I spent praying. It was ridiculous. To tell the truth, I still have trouble with it.
Listening to God was even worse. We’re talking dead silence. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I couldn’t hear a thing. When I was praying, I would try to be quiet which was nearly impossible. I wouldn’t be saying a word, but my thoughts were out of control… kind of like when I was trying to pray.
I’m thankful for churches and Bible studies, because I learned a lot, and change began in my heart and mind that can only be explained by hearing God’s word. I say this because I was a very stubborn human being and no one could pressure, guilt, coerce or intimidate me into anything. The harder they would try, the more stubborn I would become. I heard preachers who used those techniques in my earliest days and never went back. When I finally found good churches that taught out of the Bible, weird things began to happen to me… things that I thought would never happen.
For example: I started to feel uncomfortable in a bar. If you know me, you also know that I was raised in and around a bar, bars were my main form of entertainment, and I made my living in one for many years. Feeling uncomfortable in one was not something I planned. It just happened… I started to feel like I didn’t belong there. I could go on and on with my list of things that God weeded out of my life, and I know in a way, he was speaking to me, but I really wanted something more… something that other people seemed to have… those freaky people who said things like ‘God spoke to me.’
Like everything else related to God, I seem to be a slow learner. After several years, I learned a way to pray that seemed to work. I would write out my prayers with pen and paper, and somehow, this simple act kept me focused and able to complete thoughts without interruption. I’ve also typed my prayers on the computer, but the pen and paper seems to work best. I’ve gotten better at praying, but sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever be able to ‘pray right’ (if there is such a thing). These days, my communication with God is a weird assortment of approaches, and I realize that I don’t have to be rigid about it… I just need to do it.
Hearing from God was different. When God ‘speaks’ to me, it usually comes to me as an idea… an idea that I am pretty sure did not come from me… like in my last story ‘Stranger than Fiction’. I’m pretty sure giving some stuff that I really wanted, back to someone who didn’t deserve it wasn’t my idea. No.... I have to confess that I am not that sweet, kind, forgiving, unselfish person. The real me wanted to ignore that crazy little idea, keep the loot and run. There are probably more times that I have ignored the ‘Voice of God’ than not. It seems like the more I am around the people, places and word of God, the better I can ‘hear’ him and the more likely I am to listen.
Another thing that freaked me out were people who would talk about Jesus in an almost gushy way… acting (or so I thought) like they had some kind of intimate, loving relationship with him. I thought maybe they were needy and talking about Jesus like that helped them deal with some sort of emotional or psychological trauma. I would kind of roll my eyes and think something like “Fruitcake!” I told you I wasn’t sweet and kind.
For several years everything I knew about God was head knowledge. I went to church weekly and attended many Bible studies. I knew a lot ABOUT God, but I didn’t KNOW God. As I’ve come along the way, crawling, walking, stumbling, falling flat on my face… moving a few steps forward and back, I’ve also become one of those ‘Fruitcakes’. It didn’t happen overnight, but Jesus has made himself real to me in so many ways and brought me through so much trouble, that I can speak of him as if I know him personally… because I do. If you don’t know him that way yet, hang in there… he promises… if you seek you will find… if you knock, the door will be opened.
Some people use the phrase “the blood of Jesus”… and, oh my… the image that used to pop into my head when I heard that phrase was from an old Stephen King horror movie about a high school prank at a prom… terrible. I thought it was creepy and felt very uncomfortable with it even for several years after I started going to church on a regular basis. It wasn’t until a patient, loving woman explained to me that it is the blood that makes all this possible. Without the blood of Jesus we have no friendship with God. I felt better about it but it was several more years before the ‘blood of Jesus’ made sense to me.
I’m always asking why, and God is patient and tolerant. I want to understand and I think about things a lot and I pray and ask God to help me when I don’t. In the last year or so, it occurred to me that we humans are always demanding justice… especially when the wrong has been done to us or someone we love. We want justice, justice, justice… unless it applies to us… then we want mercy, mercy, mercy. We can’t have it both ways. God cannot be good and loving and right and not demand a penalty for evil, hatred and wrong. He cannot be just without justice. Thankfully, he did not draw some kind of crooked line in the sand so that you and I may fall on one side or the other. He gave an ultimatum… all have sinned… a little or a lot… it doesn’t matter. Then he made provision for us because of his love for us. Here it is… your free gift of forgiveness… someone had to pay… and he gave his Son… if you accept the gift, you are forgiven… if not, you stand condemned already. What could be more simple and logical? What could be more just and merciful? Could you come up with a better solution?
Sometimes the things of God seem like hocus pocus, but the truth is simple and powerful.
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
In the beginning, I had no idea even how to pray. I would try, but my mind would take off like a runaway train… and that’s not even accurate unless you unhooked each car and sent it down a different track. My attempts to communicate with God were frustrating. I would start out and within moments, I was thinking about what I was going to eat, a bill I needed to pay, laundry that needed to be done, the mold growing on the window sill, or whatever. I spent more time shooting up quick apologies and trying to get myself back on track than I spent praying. It was ridiculous. To tell the truth, I still have trouble with it.
Listening to God was even worse. We’re talking dead silence. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I couldn’t hear a thing. When I was praying, I would try to be quiet which was nearly impossible. I wouldn’t be saying a word, but my thoughts were out of control… kind of like when I was trying to pray.
I’m thankful for churches and Bible studies, because I learned a lot, and change began in my heart and mind that can only be explained by hearing God’s word. I say this because I was a very stubborn human being and no one could pressure, guilt, coerce or intimidate me into anything. The harder they would try, the more stubborn I would become. I heard preachers who used those techniques in my earliest days and never went back. When I finally found good churches that taught out of the Bible, weird things began to happen to me… things that I thought would never happen.
For example: I started to feel uncomfortable in a bar. If you know me, you also know that I was raised in and around a bar, bars were my main form of entertainment, and I made my living in one for many years. Feeling uncomfortable in one was not something I planned. It just happened… I started to feel like I didn’t belong there. I could go on and on with my list of things that God weeded out of my life, and I know in a way, he was speaking to me, but I really wanted something more… something that other people seemed to have… those freaky people who said things like ‘God spoke to me.’
Like everything else related to God, I seem to be a slow learner. After several years, I learned a way to pray that seemed to work. I would write out my prayers with pen and paper, and somehow, this simple act kept me focused and able to complete thoughts without interruption. I’ve also typed my prayers on the computer, but the pen and paper seems to work best. I’ve gotten better at praying, but sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever be able to ‘pray right’ (if there is such a thing). These days, my communication with God is a weird assortment of approaches, and I realize that I don’t have to be rigid about it… I just need to do it.
Hearing from God was different. When God ‘speaks’ to me, it usually comes to me as an idea… an idea that I am pretty sure did not come from me… like in my last story ‘Stranger than Fiction’. I’m pretty sure giving some stuff that I really wanted, back to someone who didn’t deserve it wasn’t my idea. No.... I have to confess that I am not that sweet, kind, forgiving, unselfish person. The real me wanted to ignore that crazy little idea, keep the loot and run. There are probably more times that I have ignored the ‘Voice of God’ than not. It seems like the more I am around the people, places and word of God, the better I can ‘hear’ him and the more likely I am to listen.
Another thing that freaked me out were people who would talk about Jesus in an almost gushy way… acting (or so I thought) like they had some kind of intimate, loving relationship with him. I thought maybe they were needy and talking about Jesus like that helped them deal with some sort of emotional or psychological trauma. I would kind of roll my eyes and think something like “Fruitcake!” I told you I wasn’t sweet and kind.
For several years everything I knew about God was head knowledge. I went to church weekly and attended many Bible studies. I knew a lot ABOUT God, but I didn’t KNOW God. As I’ve come along the way, crawling, walking, stumbling, falling flat on my face… moving a few steps forward and back, I’ve also become one of those ‘Fruitcakes’. It didn’t happen overnight, but Jesus has made himself real to me in so many ways and brought me through so much trouble, that I can speak of him as if I know him personally… because I do. If you don’t know him that way yet, hang in there… he promises… if you seek you will find… if you knock, the door will be opened.
Some people use the phrase “the blood of Jesus”… and, oh my… the image that used to pop into my head when I heard that phrase was from an old Stephen King horror movie about a high school prank at a prom… terrible. I thought it was creepy and felt very uncomfortable with it even for several years after I started going to church on a regular basis. It wasn’t until a patient, loving woman explained to me that it is the blood that makes all this possible. Without the blood of Jesus we have no friendship with God. I felt better about it but it was several more years before the ‘blood of Jesus’ made sense to me.
I’m always asking why, and God is patient and tolerant. I want to understand and I think about things a lot and I pray and ask God to help me when I don’t. In the last year or so, it occurred to me that we humans are always demanding justice… especially when the wrong has been done to us or someone we love. We want justice, justice, justice… unless it applies to us… then we want mercy, mercy, mercy. We can’t have it both ways. God cannot be good and loving and right and not demand a penalty for evil, hatred and wrong. He cannot be just without justice. Thankfully, he did not draw some kind of crooked line in the sand so that you and I may fall on one side or the other. He gave an ultimatum… all have sinned… a little or a lot… it doesn’t matter. Then he made provision for us because of his love for us. Here it is… your free gift of forgiveness… someone had to pay… and he gave his Son… if you accept the gift, you are forgiven… if not, you stand condemned already. What could be more simple and logical? What could be more just and merciful? Could you come up with a better solution?
Sometimes the things of God seem like hocus pocus, but the truth is simple and powerful.
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Stranger than Fiction
Alex and I went to Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. We had one of the strangest experiences I think I’ve ever had. I was looking for a ball to sit on an old iron candle stick I had out in the garden. We started in the clearance section because everything was 80% off. As we were browsing we found a few things that we liked and put them in the cart. When I shop at Hobby Lobby, I always put what I like in the cart and then at the end I usually have to go through and decide what I really need or want so I don’t spend too much money. I hadn’t been there in a while, and it is so much fun to go with Alex because we have a blast making fun and cracking jokes about some of the weird stuff we find. We tease each other and say ‘You REALLY need this’ about something totally outrageous, pose with objects, put on masks or whatever. They have some really strange stuff.
There were a lot of aisles on clearance… we must have arrived soon after they lowered the price to 80%. We found an awesome bowl that I actually wanted to buy when it was 50% off, but didn’t. The original price was $49.99 making it now $9.99. I put it in the cart and then saw a plate that I liked that was even less. As we were walking away I had the plate in my hand and a woman came up behind us and said in a very nasty tone ‘That’s mine.’ I said ‘Pardon me?’ and she said ‘this is my set… my cart was here’. There was no cart in sight. The aisle was completely empty the entire time we were there. I told her I got it off the shelf and she turned away and screamed ‘Mom!’ We went around the corner, but we could hear her frantically telling her mother how we had taken part of her set. She was so upset that I walked back around the corner and gave her the plate. She took it and didn’t even say thank you.
I went back around the corner and then we heard her scream out ‘Oh my God! Did she take that too?!!’ Then she came around the corner and looked in our cart at the bowl I had in the cart and went away babbling something like ‘I can’t believe it… she took that too.’ Then she came back with the plate and said ‘I don’t want this! I want that!’ She didn’t even give us a chance to respond, but walked back to her mom yelling ‘I can’t believe it!’ over and over.
By this time I was beginning to get angry and I had to walk away. I thought that I should have never given her the plate and I sure as heck wasn’t going to give her the bowl. As I was walking away, a thought occurred to me: All of a sudden, it was like God was reminding me that this was only a material thing and in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter one little bit. I picked up the bowl and went to give it back to her. She was still ranting and pacing up and down the aisle while her mother was standing there like she didn’t know what to do. I handed her mom the bowl and told her that I’m giving it back to her because of Jesus. She looked at me and said very enthusiastically ‘YEAH!’ and that was all. I walked away.
I felt kind of sick inside and so did Alex. We were so distracted by what just happened that we couldn’t really concentrate on what we were looking for. Alex was very upset at the woman’s unreasonable behavior. We got far away from them and rehashed the whole thing and had a good laugh about it. We prayed a quick prayer for her. That and the laugh made us both feel better. I told Alex that if she had calmly come to me and explained what had happened, that I probably wouldn’t have even hesitated to give her the things she said she had picked out. Her manner was rude and she seemed like a spoiled little brat who always got her way. Her calling out to her mom like she would fix it for her only enforced that feeling. She didn’t deserve to have the items… at all. The only way I could rectify the whole thing in my mind is to remember what I have that I don’t deserve… which is everything.
I made enough bad decisions when I was younger to have lost my freedom, health, sanity, children, family and even my life. I don’t know why I didn’t get what I deserved. Instead, I got (and continue to get) the mercy and love of a God who cares more for me than I can even imagine and who has used every terrible thing in my life for my good. I get peace, joy and hope in a world that can seem pretty hopeless at times. I get the opportunity to share that hope with my family and friends and even get to see some of them come to know the pure good that comes from knowing God through Jesus Christ. I get to watch my children survive terrible things that happen to them when all I can do is pray for them. I hear of desperate acts all around me… crimes and even suicides committed by those who have no hope and I can pray for those affected and thank God that I know what true hope is.
We left the incident behind and continued shopping. I didn’t get the bowl or the plate but I did get a reminder… a reminder to have grace for others because of the endless mercy and grace given to me. I wish I could remember that all the time.
John 1:16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
There were a lot of aisles on clearance… we must have arrived soon after they lowered the price to 80%. We found an awesome bowl that I actually wanted to buy when it was 50% off, but didn’t. The original price was $49.99 making it now $9.99. I put it in the cart and then saw a plate that I liked that was even less. As we were walking away I had the plate in my hand and a woman came up behind us and said in a very nasty tone ‘That’s mine.’ I said ‘Pardon me?’ and she said ‘this is my set… my cart was here’. There was no cart in sight. The aisle was completely empty the entire time we were there. I told her I got it off the shelf and she turned away and screamed ‘Mom!’ We went around the corner, but we could hear her frantically telling her mother how we had taken part of her set. She was so upset that I walked back around the corner and gave her the plate. She took it and didn’t even say thank you.
I went back around the corner and then we heard her scream out ‘Oh my God! Did she take that too?!!’ Then she came around the corner and looked in our cart at the bowl I had in the cart and went away babbling something like ‘I can’t believe it… she took that too.’ Then she came back with the plate and said ‘I don’t want this! I want that!’ She didn’t even give us a chance to respond, but walked back to her mom yelling ‘I can’t believe it!’ over and over.
By this time I was beginning to get angry and I had to walk away. I thought that I should have never given her the plate and I sure as heck wasn’t going to give her the bowl. As I was walking away, a thought occurred to me: All of a sudden, it was like God was reminding me that this was only a material thing and in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter one little bit. I picked up the bowl and went to give it back to her. She was still ranting and pacing up and down the aisle while her mother was standing there like she didn’t know what to do. I handed her mom the bowl and told her that I’m giving it back to her because of Jesus. She looked at me and said very enthusiastically ‘YEAH!’ and that was all. I walked away.
I felt kind of sick inside and so did Alex. We were so distracted by what just happened that we couldn’t really concentrate on what we were looking for. Alex was very upset at the woman’s unreasonable behavior. We got far away from them and rehashed the whole thing and had a good laugh about it. We prayed a quick prayer for her. That and the laugh made us both feel better. I told Alex that if she had calmly come to me and explained what had happened, that I probably wouldn’t have even hesitated to give her the things she said she had picked out. Her manner was rude and she seemed like a spoiled little brat who always got her way. Her calling out to her mom like she would fix it for her only enforced that feeling. She didn’t deserve to have the items… at all. The only way I could rectify the whole thing in my mind is to remember what I have that I don’t deserve… which is everything.
I made enough bad decisions when I was younger to have lost my freedom, health, sanity, children, family and even my life. I don’t know why I didn’t get what I deserved. Instead, I got (and continue to get) the mercy and love of a God who cares more for me than I can even imagine and who has used every terrible thing in my life for my good. I get peace, joy and hope in a world that can seem pretty hopeless at times. I get the opportunity to share that hope with my family and friends and even get to see some of them come to know the pure good that comes from knowing God through Jesus Christ. I get to watch my children survive terrible things that happen to them when all I can do is pray for them. I hear of desperate acts all around me… crimes and even suicides committed by those who have no hope and I can pray for those affected and thank God that I know what true hope is.
We left the incident behind and continued shopping. I didn’t get the bowl or the plate but I did get a reminder… a reminder to have grace for others because of the endless mercy and grace given to me. I wish I could remember that all the time.
John 1:16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Never Underestimate the Power
Last Sunday, we took off for a kayak trip on the Wildcat Creek, to put in at Burlington and get out at Adam’s Mill. The bank at the put-in was steep and Joe helped get everyone into their kayaks. The river was beautiful… flowing nicely and winding back and forth. The trees arched over the river forming a canopy for most of the way. With bend after bend and as narrow as it was, there were a lot of log jams along the way. If you know anything about kayaking, you know that log jams can be dangerous and are nothing to mess around with. We had thirteen kayaks with us.
We came to a log jam that looked impassable so we all beached on the right side to look for a way to portage the jam. Cheyenne was coming down… and there wasn't much room left for her kayak on the beach. As she came, looking for a place to put ashore, she got caught in the current and was headed sideways for the log jam. Joe went splashing into the water to save her from what could have been a dangerous situation. He grabbed her kayak and sent her back to the beach. Since he was already wet, he decided to stay out in the river to help guide whoever needed it through the opening in the jam.
Sometime during the commotion Jake had gone through the narrow opening in the jam and was already on the other side. Several people got the idea that they would also go through too, and that’s when the trouble began. People were coming at it from all different angles and getting caught in the current. Jina and I got shoved to the far side of the river and had to back paddle upstream to get back across the river. Joe helped Alex through and then Jina and I went through on our own so there would be adults on the other side when the kids came through. Nancy was lined up to go next when all of a sudden Jessica came toward the opening at the same time. Joe lunged toward Jessica as her kayak was heading sideways toward the log jam, worried that hitting the jam might cause her to capsize. The current carried her through, but then Nancy became lodged against the jam. Joe had lost his footing as he lunged for Jessica and was feeling his way toward Nancy when all of a sudden, he fell into a drop off and went down in the river to his neck. The water was over his head and he had his paddle in his hand. It looked like he was in big trouble.
I was already way down the river showing the kids where to beach until everyone was through the jam. I saw what happened and began to paddle like a madwoman back upstream. I made it to the shore just on the other side of the jam. Jina, also down stream a way paddled right up to the jam against the current to help Joe if she could. By this time, Joe had managed to get himself in a position with his body across the logs so he wouldn’t be pulled under. Nancy was still stuck against the jam. Joe helped get Nancy around the jam and decided to hang on the back of her kayak as she paddled to the bank. He got out and probably thanked God… I know I did. Joe gave me a hug and headed back around the jam to help the rest of the kids.
Later, we all discussed how very serious the situation could have been and how very well everything turned out in spite of all our mistakes. At first, when Joe told the story, he told it kind of proudly… as if his own knowledge and ability had saved him from disaster. A few days later, he told me about an eye-opener he had the night before. He was lying in bed wide awake, when all of a sudden, he felt the same downward pull on his legs that he felt after he lost his footing at the log jam. He says it was not a dream or memory, but that the actual feeling came over him again. Joe had actually been thinking of going through the jam like you normally should in most river situations… feet first – downstream – head up and back. He realized that, in the river, when he felt that pull on his legs ‘something changed’. He had no fear or thoughts that he might die and he really didn't have time to think about it, but for some reason he shifted his body position from feet forward to leaning his body forward with his arms out which caused him to splay against the logs that were not visible above the water. If he hadn't done that, things may have come out very differently. Reliving the moment in bed that night convinced Joe that it was God who guided him to do what he needed to do. He now tells a slightly different story.
It’s funny how we like to take credit for so much in our lives. It is so very ‘human’ to think this way. Drawing nearer to God through Christ, we begin to realize that even the breaths we take are given to us. Every moment of the life we live is already known by him from beginning to end. I started to name this story ‘Never Underestimate the Power of the River’, but as you can see… I shortened the title. Never underestimate the power of God… or overestimate our own.
We came to a log jam that looked impassable so we all beached on the right side to look for a way to portage the jam. Cheyenne was coming down… and there wasn't much room left for her kayak on the beach. As she came, looking for a place to put ashore, she got caught in the current and was headed sideways for the log jam. Joe went splashing into the water to save her from what could have been a dangerous situation. He grabbed her kayak and sent her back to the beach. Since he was already wet, he decided to stay out in the river to help guide whoever needed it through the opening in the jam.
Sometime during the commotion Jake had gone through the narrow opening in the jam and was already on the other side. Several people got the idea that they would also go through too, and that’s when the trouble began. People were coming at it from all different angles and getting caught in the current. Jina and I got shoved to the far side of the river and had to back paddle upstream to get back across the river. Joe helped Alex through and then Jina and I went through on our own so there would be adults on the other side when the kids came through. Nancy was lined up to go next when all of a sudden Jessica came toward the opening at the same time. Joe lunged toward Jessica as her kayak was heading sideways toward the log jam, worried that hitting the jam might cause her to capsize. The current carried her through, but then Nancy became lodged against the jam. Joe had lost his footing as he lunged for Jessica and was feeling his way toward Nancy when all of a sudden, he fell into a drop off and went down in the river to his neck. The water was over his head and he had his paddle in his hand. It looked like he was in big trouble.
I was already way down the river showing the kids where to beach until everyone was through the jam. I saw what happened and began to paddle like a madwoman back upstream. I made it to the shore just on the other side of the jam. Jina, also down stream a way paddled right up to the jam against the current to help Joe if she could. By this time, Joe had managed to get himself in a position with his body across the logs so he wouldn’t be pulled under. Nancy was still stuck against the jam. Joe helped get Nancy around the jam and decided to hang on the back of her kayak as she paddled to the bank. He got out and probably thanked God… I know I did. Joe gave me a hug and headed back around the jam to help the rest of the kids.
Later, we all discussed how very serious the situation could have been and how very well everything turned out in spite of all our mistakes. At first, when Joe told the story, he told it kind of proudly… as if his own knowledge and ability had saved him from disaster. A few days later, he told me about an eye-opener he had the night before. He was lying in bed wide awake, when all of a sudden, he felt the same downward pull on his legs that he felt after he lost his footing at the log jam. He says it was not a dream or memory, but that the actual feeling came over him again. Joe had actually been thinking of going through the jam like you normally should in most river situations… feet first – downstream – head up and back. He realized that, in the river, when he felt that pull on his legs ‘something changed’. He had no fear or thoughts that he might die and he really didn't have time to think about it, but for some reason he shifted his body position from feet forward to leaning his body forward with his arms out which caused him to splay against the logs that were not visible above the water. If he hadn't done that, things may have come out very differently. Reliving the moment in bed that night convinced Joe that it was God who guided him to do what he needed to do. He now tells a slightly different story.
It’s funny how we like to take credit for so much in our lives. It is so very ‘human’ to think this way. Drawing nearer to God through Christ, we begin to realize that even the breaths we take are given to us. Every moment of the life we live is already known by him from beginning to end. I started to name this story ‘Never Underestimate the Power of the River’, but as you can see… I shortened the title. Never underestimate the power of God… or overestimate our own.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Fruit Salad
I'm volunteering at the local homeless shelter now and I love it. Kiwis (see previous post) fit in very well there. I've met so many wonderful people and they don't seem to have expectations that I'll never be able to meet. It's refreshing... kind of like fruit salad. It's sad sometimes when the world seems less judgmental than the church.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Fruit
All this business about fruit can be really perplexing. If you are a ‘good Christian’, ‘growing in the Lord’ you will ‘produce fruit’. The Bible is very specific about this fruit “Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control”. Seems pretty straightforward doesn't it?
Unfortunately, there are some who want to more specifically define ‘fruit’, insisting upon specific ‘signs’ of a fruitful Christian. Here are a few examples:
1. You will attend church every Sunday
2. You will attend Bible study at least twice a week
3. You will tithe regularly
4. You will attend every prayer meeting and pray Spirit led prayers out loud
5. You will spout Bible verses in every sentence.
6. You will appear at every church gathering with a happy countenance, never tired, frustrated, or emotionally affected in any way other than joy, joy, joy.
7. You will have a ‘servant heart’ also further defined as: you will automatically clean toilets, empty trash cans and various other ‘servant hearted activities’
I know you can help me expand the list.
Now, some of these are perfectly good and reasonable expectations to a certain degree, but when they become some sort of litmus test to qualify or disqualify you for any kind of service, it seems a little perilous. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could ever perfectly live up to this list. I’m a 46 year old mother of 10 children. I’ve been a mom for 28 years, and I still have five children at home. The youngest is five, so I have quite a few years to go. The other day I looked up and noticed that cobwebs had grown all over the house without my even noticing. I wash my windows about once every two years and my whole bathroom would probably glow in a UV light. I would never notice that the church bathroom is a little dirty… compared to mine, it sparkles.
Sometimes I feel like I’m a kiwi vine and someone is trying to make me into a peach tree. No matter how I try, I cannot produce peaches. Are my kiwis going to rot on the vine because everyone wants peaches? Is it because they are brown and furry? Don’t they realize that peaches are furry too? Kiwi skin might be a little tough, but it serves a purpose. Kiwi fruit is a weird color, but it is packed with vitamins and nutrition and it tastes good. Wouldn’t it would be a shame to let it rot on the vine? What kind of fruit are you? Is your fruit ‘popular’?
I’m starting to wonder if maybe some can’t see the forest for the trees… especially when they’re only looking for peach trees.
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