Uplifted in a Broken Down World

     This past week, I’ve been wrapped in the present of spending time with my Grandbaby (his mommy and daddy, too) as we wait for the birth of his Little Sis.   Last Sunday, the temperature soared to seventy, so Zachariah “helped” his daddy trim the trees and prune the roses.   While Daddy burned the fallen branches, Little Man, his Mommy and Grammy walked the neighborhood.   Many homes we passed had their families spending the day similar to ours.   The aroma of fresh fires filled our path.   At the top of one street, a yard’s fire fragrance stopped us in our tracks.   Without a doubt, the family dwelling in that home was roasting hot dogs over the fire of their fallen branches!!!   Yep, that fire got our tummies hungry, but also, this Grammy’s soul a wondering.  

     Do the fires, the branches of our lives endure, just burn our hearts; or do they, also, bring nourishment to our souls?   Are the fires (trials and tribulations) which burn our lives meant to, exclusively, leave smoldering ashes in their ruin; or should they, inclusively, feed our hunger for God’s providence and nourish our faith and trust in Him?

     When our days and dreams seem up in flames, our focus, so often, is to automatically reach for a fire extinguisher.   Shouldn’t it be to instinctively grasp God’s promise?   “…when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.   For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”  Isaiah 43: 2-3 (ESV)

     As humans, we wish our lives to escape all fires.   As children of God, we need to remember that God says, “when you walk through fire you shall not be burned”.   Short and simple, God doesn’t promise us escape from earthly fire, but rather, that we will not be burned and consumed by it.  

    While pondering the reality of God’s promise, my Grandbaby brought another smile to my face.   Zachariah is in awe of “red fire truck”.   With eager excitement, he stands by the window hoping “red fire truck” will pass by.   What about us?   In comparison, God should be our “red fire truck”.   With zeal, do we stand watching for God and believing He races to all life’s fires and is our saving force?

     Throughout the New Testament, Christ’s feats are documented and hailed – water changed to choice wine, scanty food to portions feeding masses, blind eyes to seeing vision, paralyzed to running free, dead bodies restored to breathing life, storm calmed to gentle breeze, etc., etc;, etc…   Who wouldn’t flock to a shepherd of these feats?   However, are these feats the greatest reason for magnetic draw to Christ; or should it be, not Christ’s feats but His feet?

     Christ’s feet – let’s walk through an analytical examination and evaluation.   The feet of Christ carried Him into the midst of needy masses.   He did not have to travel there, but the soles of His feet were centered in, and dedicated to, “soul”y walking with all in need.   Whenever surrounded by the down and out, Christ lifted them up and welcomed all into the foothold of membership in His Father’s family.   Was not this more lifesaving than wine, walking and windstorms?  

     The greatest shepherding of Christ’s feet was their journey up Mount Calvary to surrender in crucifixion so we, Christ’s flock, could be forgiven.   Nailed feet, not nailing many feats, mark Christ’s most significant gift and triumph.

          The worldly acclaim Christ for His feats, seeking their repeat.   Christ’s sheep, bound for heaven, give praise to their Shepherd for where His feet led them.    Nothing greater is there to ever seek.   Given once, it needs no repeating.   On every scale of measure, the defeat of all sin remains Christ’s most piercing footprint.

This is not the blog “I” expected to post today. Instead, I’m convinced it is the sharing “God” wants offered. it’s been one of those weeks where God takes all power and decisions out of my hands and, as needed, nudges me (more accurately, pulls and kicks me!!) to the path He desires me to blaze.

Honestly, I can almost hear God’s “uh hum”at this very moment. Shamefully, I have to admit, God had to work hard to pound His message into me this week. How did God secure His way over mine? Let me just say, the handwritten draft of my chosen blog for this week, as well as my computer, is 321 miles away and, therefore, completely out of my hands to either proof read or post.

It all began midweek when I texted Jane, a very dear friend who for many of my career years was not only my right hand but,also, my pointer finger to God’s will and way. My text to this earthly angel said, “unfortunately, the only way to confirm we have faith is to have it tested. However, not an easy thing to have happen.”

It’s true. The only way we can absolutely know our faith is genuine is to go through difficult, devastating and, sometimes, physically defeating trials and refuse to give up on God carrying us through and, ultimately, using all dire moments for good — ours, others and His. We solely confirm our faith is real when it is “soul”y all we have left to cling to; but grasping its source (God) is the lifeline to which we holdfast to survive today while hoping to thrive tomorrow.

Whenever we face a challenge, the devil likes to divert our focus from our faith to our fears. This is a pretty easy way for Satan to take us out of God’s hands and catch us in his snare. At our hardest moments, when we most doubt our strength to endure, is when we most need to look to faith for our answer, not our questions. Struggles certify our faith when we realize faith has to be blind to be real. Spiritual insight, not physical sight, is the substance of faith. When we firmly rely on faith, maybe, we can’t see how things are going to proceed; but we clearly perceive God will never recede from caring and carrying us.

Bottom line, are not our trials and tribulations the beginning of possessing a life of faith? Not that I wish myself, or anyone else, a life of storms; but no greater time than in the midst of a storm can a vessel (be it a ship or a child of God) rely on and prove the life saving, steadfast power of its anchor. As Christians, our anchor is God; and the rope by which we are attached to God, our anchor, is faith.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

     So often, we are instructed to set time apart for God in our lives.   Maybe, what we really need to learn is to settle God into every part of our lives.   Think about this.

     Does God, solely, message us to stop our lives, withdraw and, in isolation, spend mi-NUTE pieces of time with Him?   Or, might God be “soul”y calling us to, first and foremost, permeate Him into every minute of our hours on earth.   Neither is wrong, and both glorify our Heavenly Father.   Biggest contrast is in our intake, not God’s outlook.   Trying to “set time apart” conveys a scheduled adjustment that stops our normal routine.   “Settling God into” brings immersion of our Creator’s presence into every breath of our existence.   It’s more a varying concept of time “for God” compared to time “with God”.   It’s the way we think and feel, not the way we act, that might make one more longed for than the other; but neither is without favor in God’s sight.   Our reaction, not God’s, really measures difference.

     Do we feel it’s enough to give God an inch of our time in return for Him getting us through every pinch of worldly stress and storms?   Alternatively, do we comprehend God is the source of every breath we take; and be it a good, bad or indifferent moment in our lives, we need God in our midst to back us up and lead us forward to the reality of our dreams – both the fleeting ones on earth and the eternal, one and only, aspiration of being with God, forever, in heaven?

     From what lens do you view God in your life – “setting time apart” or “settling God into”?   Is there a “better” answer in this either/or dilemma?   Probably, there is not.   Not a “better” answer might there be; but I do believe there is a “BEST” response.   Choose them both!!!   Let’s set a time apart for God in our daily lives; and let’s, also, settle God into every part of our lives.

     “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)

     Recently, my daughter shared a video of my just turned two year old grandbaby.   Like a proud Grammy, let me say, it was adorably priceless.   Like a child of God, let this old lady declare, it was a pictorial parable.

     Zachariah, holding sippy cup in hand, had discovered new challenge.   Carefully, he placed a cheese-it on the sippy cup, right in front of the sippy spout.   Next, he opened wide his mouth and bringing the sippy up to his far reaching jaws, he finagled the cheese-it over the spout mountain and into his mouth.   Completely delighted at the challenge having been surmounted, little man giggled and repeated his conquered feat.  

     Sheer delight and deep enlightenment were both shared in Zachariah’s accomplishment.   In whimsical glee, he’s maneuvered climbing his first mountain.   This Grammy wore a joy filled smile as little man endeavored, and succeeded, in scaling his cheese-it mountain.   However, deep enlightenment, a short time later, enveloped the escapade.

     How do we, adults, tackle and surmount our mountains?   Do we wear our years of facing challenges like a child, with energy, optimism and wisdom; or do our years wear on us?   A child discovers a mountain with full steam ahead curiosity and wonder.   Too often, we, adults, retreat and succumb to defeat because the fire needed for blazing forward has long been doused by tears of “what’s the use, I’ll only fail, again”.  

     For a child, climbing mountains makes him strong and like his earthly daddy.   For too many adults, climbing mountains is considered a sad, unwanted and aging showcase of being unable to climb physical heights or measure up to the standards set by our heavenly Father.

     A child surmounts mountains by trying and believing.   A mountain of adults turn away from all challenge because they’ve lost confidence and trust that if God leads you to it, He will get you through it.

     Read, re-read and read again the warning of Matthew 18:3.   Then, stop looking in your man made mirror.  Seek, instead, the reflection of a child – a child of God, who has been promised when mountains are too hard to climb alone, the Holy Spirit’s wings are waiting to be climbed onto, and once on board, together all peaks can be surmounted.

     “Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter  the kingdom of heaven”. Matthew 18:3 (NIV)

     When Hubby went home to heaven, I was charged with the responsibility of caring for his many plants.   Forget about helping them grow.   Those first few months, the real challenge was just keeping them alive.   Like a true amateur, I watered each and every one to the state of drowning.   Let me just honestly admit, they were floating in mud, not strongly rooted in rich soil.   Many a time, I, ignorantly, expressed gratitude that the flower pots each came equipped with a saucer for all the runoff water.   Occasionally, there was an overflow flood; but, for the most part, the saucers prevented a deluge.   Not till I talked with the county’s revered green thumb did I realize my knowledge, not my thumb, was green when it came to plants.

     My way of watering was not nurturing Hubby’s plants.  It was, literally, drowning them.   However, the real death knoll to them was my abundant watering was cutting off the plant root’s air pockets.   Simply stated, the roots couldn’t breathe.  They were experiencing death by asphyxiation!!!  

     Next, came the realization that the saucer was not there for run off but for drawing up purposes.   In other words, that dish, under the flower pot, is not a saucer to catch surplus but a cup from which the plant is to drink its nourishment.  

     Finally, and of greatest importance, it comes down to roots – the part of a plant conveying water and nourishment to the rest of the plant.   A strong, healthy plant is nourished from the bottom, its roots, not fed from the top.   Top watering results in short, weak roots.  Only by stretching deep to find water, do roots grow big and sturdy.

     Can’t this also be said about humans?   For our roots to grow and support us through all seasons of life, don’t they also need to stretch deep down to find life giving water?   To stretch ourselves beyond a superficial level of life is not easy; but it is from where a healthy, happy and Holy life grows.  

        We all need to ask ourselves the following.   Are we looking to be fulfilled by a deluge of worldly food raining down on us; or are we willing to stretch ourselves through life’s dirt and be deeply rooted in the reign of the greatest root of all — the Root of Jesse, Jesus Christ?

     Today’s trend on earth is for mankind to profess we are absolutely right, not to confess God constantly absolves us of our many wrongs.   Christians are called to be witnesses of God’s granted mercy when we plead guilty; but, instead, current populous testimony swears by the oath of not guilty of any wrong doing.  

     When our being rains, “I’m right” as our chosen weapon to surf the waves of worldly showers, God does not reign as our navigator, who forgives and delivers us from all our man made storms.

     God is perfect.   Man is not.   Why is this so hard to accept and live by?   What’s even worse, man, so often, rises up his right by calling down others’ wrongs.  On many levels, wicked wars, not prolific peace, prevail.   This brings me to wonder, is there a deeper “union” message hidden within the angels joining of two phrases – “peace on earth, good will toward men”?   Once more, I hold no answers.   God has not called me to be a know it all.   Instead, He beckons me to ponder that “NO” is not the all. 

     If man continues the worldly power struggle to rise and govern by knocking down all others, he will, indeed, in the end stand alone – alone, without the providence of God.  

     Each and every one of us has a choice to make – knock others down or kneeling down to God and asking Him to lead as we stand behind Him, and His word, and follow.

     To ultimately go forward to eternity in heaven, our lives must go back to Biblical, not political, direction.   We have a leader to show us how to do this.   Jesus Christ stands as the example of who and how we are called to be.   “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”  1John 2:6 (NLT)  

The thought God whispered to me just now – We are not called to question God but to ask for understanding!!! May this enlighten all our lives today as we struggle through tumultuous times in America. God is and will carry us, whether we see calm or chaos in the darkness. The SON will ultimately shine!!!

     Please, God, when my heart is broken, help it scar not callus…  

     If you are a human being, who walks the planet Earth, and are at least old enough to be in middle school, then it’s pretty safe to bet my bottom dollar that your heart also knows the pain of being broken.   Regardless, the extent or depth of the fracture, not just physical but also emotional, mental and, even, spiritual suffering occurs.   I don’t proclaim to possess the market on heartbreak, but neither have I been spared its cutting sword throughout my life’s journey.   We live in a fallen world where Satan’s strategy is that if he can break a heart, then maybe a broken soul can follow.

     I was 15 years old, sitting in Sister Ivo’s high school Biology class, when my mind wandered on subject but off course.   Class discussion was on how the body heals through the formation of scar tissue.   At the time, my feet were trying to break in a new pair of skating boots.   My open blisters were only no longer a pain when, with time, covered with hardened skin.   The class bell rang before I had the chance to ask Sister Ivo if this covering was scar tissue.   I remember that day vividly, but years passed before the wisest teacher of all, God our Almighty Father, brought enlightenment to my wondered question.   Upon His revelation was born my prayer: please, God, when my heart is broken, help it scar not callus.

     Both scars and calluses take time to grow and soothe a break.   Herein, ends their significant similarity.   It’s their difference that really matters for a healing outcome.  

     Calluses are thick and hardened skin that covers up broken or tender skin.   Scars are more like a glue that binds cuts and brokenness back together.   Calluses are numbed, unfeeling areas whose effect is providing insensitivity to what they cover.   Scars blend into surrounding areas, soften, and often, fade away as time moves onward.   Calluses, when soaked by water, become soft and fall prey to worldly scrapes and scratches.   Scars, in the deluge of a storm, are stronger than original skin, producing outer, and inner, security for which our lives pray.  

     Our broken hearts are meant to scar not callus.   A calloused heart is hardened, insensitive and unable to feel both God’s and fellow Christians’ love keeping it alive.   However, every corner of a heart can be scarred, but its center will always keep flowing with love.        In a perfect world, hearts would not be broken.   The world in which we live is anything but perfect.   So, yes, our hearts will be broken.   However, our choice is whether to hold our broken hearts together by scars or calluses. May we all understand the difference and beg God for scars, not calluses.