A Picnic to Remember

Today we went to the state park with our homeschool group. As our girls and I headed toward the picnic tables where our group was located, we were met on the path by a young woman who was severely handicapped, both mentally and physically. I did not realize the extent of her deformities, however, until she turned and fully faced me. The sight of her mangled and partially amputated body literally took my breath away. Trying very hard not to show my anguish over her physical condition, I smiled and stopped to greet her. Unfortunately, she could not speak.

I looked to see who was caring for this precious lady, and there, to my right, was a middle-aged woman preparing a lovely picnic for another 4 or 5 severely handicapped individuals. She was their caretaker for the afternoon, and was treating them to a lovely time at the park. What a beautiful servant of God. I found myself staring at her in amazement, as though I were looking at an angel in disguise, a beautiful picture of God's mercy and compassion.

Tonight, I regret not stopping and talking with this woman. I would have loved to hear her story, but something tells me I will get the chance in Heaven.

Farewell Cable TV

A couple of weeks ago, our family made the joint decision to disconnect our cable TV service. (Yes, you read that correctly - no more cable.) We don't watch much television, but for the times that we do, we all agreed our time could be better spent.

So, we contacted the cable company and were assured it would be disconnected promptly. However, a week went by and we still had cable TV. Maybe they had forgotten to cancel it. But no, the new cable bill reflected a substantial discount from our cancelling it. Bottom line...someone had forgotten to physically turn our service off and we now had free cable. Satan works in clever ways.

I decided to call the cable company to tell them of their mistake. After telling the sales associate our situation, she became very quiet on the other end. (You know she was thinking what a nutcase I was for bringing such a mistake to light.) After a few moments, I decided to break the silence by saying, "I know, I know... but when God tells you to do something, you better do it."
"Yep, I guess so," was all she could say.

They'll be here tomorrow to disconnect the line, and you know what? I'm actually looking forward to it.

Drawing Near the Thick Darkness

"Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking,and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses,"You speak with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was." Exodus 20:18-21

While reading Scripture last night, this particular passage caught my attention. It made me think of all the times I have stood trembling at the foothills of a frightening "storm" in my life, terrified that the "thunderings and lightning flashes" would consume me. Just like the Israelites, I wasn't sure I was willing to endure the scary stuff just to have an intimate experience with the Creator of the Universe. I mean, what if getting closer to God meant losing someone I loved, losing my health, losing my job, or losing my marriage...these were all major "storms" that frightened me. But I am learning as Moses says, not to be afraid of such storms.

For we see in this passage that God does not bring trials into our lives to destroy us, but rather to test us, and teach us to reverently fear Him so that we may not sin. These are crucial elements in the life of any believer. Crucial elements that draw us closer to our Maker.

So I have purposed the last few years to stop resisting the trials in my life as the Israelites did, and model my behavior after Moses, boldly drawing near the thick darkness, fully confident that God will meet me there.

Spiritual Slide Shows

You know the feeling you get when you sense that others don't appreciate your vacation photos quite as much as you do? Where maybe you've just returned from this amazingly incredible trip, and the only thing friends seem capable of saying is, "Gee, looks like you had a nice time." And you think to yourself, "A nice time?! Are you kidding me? It was sensational! Can't you see from my pictures how great it was?!"

I think the same frustration can sometimes hold true when trying to share with others the incredible things the Lord is doing in our lives. We may find our words (like vacation photographs) falling painfully short of the actual experience, and folks around us merely nodding their heads in polite agreement. It's like showing a spiritual slide show that no one but you is really interested in. We expect others will jump up and down with excitement upon hearing the news of our spiritual revelations, but they don't. For they did not experience the lesson as we have.

It is in these times that we should remember that just as all vacation photos need not be shared, not all spiritual lessons need to be proclaimed from the rooftops. There are many lessons the Lord intends for us to treasure privately. For example, this week there was an important lesson the Lord taught me, one that I originally thought I would share on this blog. But after a few minutes of typing, I realized I could not adequately put into words what the Lord was doing in my heart, so I abandoned the project.

Posting my spiritual lesson would have been like posting all the photographs of our Grand Canyon vacation. It would have cheapened the experience, and most likely bored you to tears. What was important to me this week, most likely would have been inconsequential to others. And that's okay. It actually should comfort us to know that our God is such a personal God, and many times has customized lessons just for us.

So I have chosen to keep this particular lesson to myself, something I'm sure I will privately review over and over again in my mind...kind of like families watching slide shows of their own vacations...something only they could truly appreciate.

Cozy Corners

Give a child a good book to read and you may find them in the most interesting places!

A Belated Christmas Gift

"You shall not steal." Exodus 20:15

This morning while rummaging through my top desk drawer, I came across an unused gift card worth $30. My initial thought was, "Oh, good! Today is grocery day and in this season of our lives, every little bit helps!" However, my elation quickly diminished as I remembered who the gift card really belonged to. It was given to our girls as a Christmas gift by a family member. I had put the card in my desk for safe keeping on Christmas morning so it would not be mistakenly thrown away with all the wrapping paper and had completely forgotten about it until today. (Obviously our girls had forgotten about it too!)

As I closed my desk drawer and headed toward the girls bedroom to tell them the good news, something strange happened...something ugly. I became tempted not to tell the girls that I had found the card and quietly use it to help pay for groceries. My "practical" way of thinking was actually tempting me to sin. For about 2 minutes I actually entertained the thought of keeping the card from the girls. Here's how the conversation in my head went:

"Wow, Lord, an unused gift card. Thanks!"
"Yes, that's great, but it's not yours, Sherrie."
"Well, technically no. But as their parent, don't I have the right to decide what the best use of this gift card should be? You see Lord, if I give it to the girls they might spend it on some frivolous toy that they don't even need. And right now Lord, wouldn't You agree that groceries supercede more toys? Besides, they have completely forgotten about this giftcard. They won't even miss it!"
"It's not yours, Sherrie. It was a gift given to the girls. What they do with it is between Me and them."
"Well, yes Lord, but..."
"Haven't I already given you money for groceries this week?"
"Uh, yes Lord, you have." (My husband had handed me just enough cash for groceries earlier this morning.)
"Then why are you considering stealing this gift from your children?"
"STEALING?! Lord, that's a bit harsh don't you think?"
(silence)
"Well, when You put it in those terms, I certainly can't keep the card. Oh Lord, You always have a way of calling my behavior what it really is. In my mind it was practical, in Your mind it was stealing. I'm so sorry, Lord."

As I proceeded to the bedroom to show the girls their belated Christmas gift, my heart suddenly became filled with joy at the thought of seeing their reaction. They squealed with delight. "What should we do with it?" they asked each other. "Let's save it!" they agreed.

The Lord was right. I was wrong. They would not rush out and spend it unwisely. It was between them and the Lord, and they had made a good decision. And the weight of my conviction only increased as I walked away and heard them call out, "Hey Mom! How do you tithe off a gift card?!"

Happy Holidays! (Or shall I say, Holydays!)

Agony by Leonard Ravenhill

He's No Fool

Last week for April Fool's Day, one of our daughters asked me for some ideas on how she might pull a prank on her dear old dad. I told her, "Well, first you need to think of something he uses every day where you might plant a surprise for him." Now in my mind, I was thinking along the lines of his toothbrush, shoes, pillow, etc. So you can imagine how blessed I was when she cried out, "His BIBLE!"

Spoiled Rotten

As our girls and I were grocery shopping this week, we were suddenly startled to hear a young child one aisle over, yelling at the top of her lungs, "I hate you!" As we turned the corner we soon realized it was a girl about age six lashing out at her own mother. The problem? Her mother was not buying her the Easter gifts and treats that she wanted. The young girl's ranting and raving then continued to escalate, until it was loud enough for the entire store to hear. On and on she went about how absolutely horrible her mother was for purchasing second rate Easter items.

But just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I witnessed something that literally made me sick to my stomach. In her sweetest possible voice, the mother gently leaned over to her daughter and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry honey! I didn't know you didn't like the things I picked out for you. I will get you whatever you want," and proceeded to hand her daughter a giant, lavender teddy bear. "Will this make you happy?" the mother asked. The girl quickly grabbed the bear from her mothers hand and nodded her head. In the background I saw grandma, smiling in approval. Oh dear, this was a generational problem I was witnessing! The store was once again quiet, but at what cost?

I pushed my cart not knowing what to do. One one hand, I wanted to run over to this woman and give her guidance from God's Word. But on the other hand, I wasn't in the mood to get chewed out by a total stranger! Besides, what would I say? "Um, excuse me, I see that your child is completely out of control because you've spoiled her to death, and if you don't do something now you're going to greatly regret it later! Yes, I'm sure that would have gone over real well.

After praying about it...I think the Lord is instead leading me to make up a little homemade tract that has some gentle words and Bible verses regarding God's love and His plan for the family. So that the next time I find myself in this situation (and you know that I will!) I can lovingly approach the mom, give her my little booklet for later reading, and hopefully she'll be thankful that I took the time to try and help her. If not, I guess I'll just run like the dickens!