Ever Learning...

I used to think, when I was a child, that once I finished all of my schooling, I would have learned everything I needed to know about life.  Now I know that could not be any father from the truth.  I think I learn more in a day, every day now, than I ever did before in my entire life.  

This past week I was reading several passages written by the Apostle Paul, speaking of his outlook on life.  The first passage is found in Philippians 4:11-13 (emphasis added) and it says, 

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

What I had never noticed about these familiar verses before is that Paul had to learn to be content.  He even states it twice.  This was not by any stretch an easy task for him.  When I looked back at a passage in  2 Corinthians 11:23-27, I was reminded of some of the trials that Paul endured.

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  

So how do I learn to be content, whatever my circumstances?  My "list" isn't quite as impressive as Paul's...ha! a far stretch...but I have known trials.  The key to contentment is really quite simple, according to Paul.  It is linked to an abiding relationship with Jesus.  He gives us the strength to overcome whatever trials and tribulations we may be facing.  He provides us with a joy that far outweighs any sorrows we may be experiencing.  I have felt His peace.  I have known His joy.  And I have experienced both on some of the saddest and hardest days of my life.  He is an anchor that keeps me from being tossed around like a tiny ship caught in a storm at sea.  He is the light that shines brightly in spite of the darkness of the world around me.  

Take some time today, to read a passage of scripture, to meditate on the blessings He has given you, to sing a familiar hymn or worship song.  Draw near to Him and as the Bible promises, He will draw near to you.  Be ready to be taught...not in the way the world educates us, but in a way far more powerful.  Be ready to learn how to live this life to the fullest, becoming more alive in Him each and every day.  

Reactions...

 I stood at the stove, wire whisk in hand, stirring a pot filled with butter, flour and milk.  As the milk incorporated into the thickened flour paste the consistency went from pure liquid to a thick and creamy sauce.  The application of heat transformed it into the perfect accompaniment for the potato dish I was preparing for dinner.

I observed another striking reaction yesterday, as I was out driving to pick up groceries.  The snow that had fallen overnight in the extreme cold temperature was like glitter, covering over everything in sight.  It was gorgeous.  How could something as simple as water and cold air combine to make such a dazzling display?  How could the dreariness of winter be transformed by the simple, gentle coating of crystals on this bitter cold morning?

We see reactions all the time, the application of heat or cold, stress or pressure.  My kids enjoyed watching the reaction of hot, creamy milk poured over chocolate bombs a friend had given us, to blend into delicious hot chocolate last night.  

How do I react to the tests and trials of life?  Do I consider how sorrow or pain or frustration or fatigue might be the impetus or reactant that will help me to learn an important lesson or grow in a positive way?

God uses our difficulties to define and refine us in ways otherwise impossible.  A verse that often comes to mind for me is Job 23:10 which says, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold."

Having faith to keep pressing on through our trials is not easy.  Having faith that God can bring beauty like glittering gold, even out of the most difficult trials, is indeed the ultimate test.  The presence of Jesus in our hearts evokes the ultimate reaction, initiates a total transformation from hopelessness and the ugliness of sin into rebirth and life.  I love the imagery of Romans 8 as read in The Message translation...  

Romans 8:1-2, 9-11 (The Message) 

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!

I'm longing for for deliverance from all the pain and heartache I see around me and I find that in Jesus.  He has begun the ultimate reaction in my heart, drawing me out of the lostness of death and putting me on the path to life with Him forever.  He helps redirect my gaze from my sorrows and troubles to the hope I have in Him.  He helps me to prosper, even in my pain, and uses it to draw me even closer to Him.  Thank you, Lord God, for giving me hope, even when there appears to be none in sight.  Thank you for offering me so much more than what the world could ever offer.  Thank you for Jesus, who came to face our sin head on and to offer us LIFE.  Life in the midst of death, hope in the midst of pain...reactions I see all around me every day, pointing me to YOU.

I Held on so Tightly...

Matthew 16: 24-26

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

I sat in the darkened room last night and remembered... I thought back on the past thirteen years, of hours spent in the rocking chair that sat in the corner, nursing babies back to sleep.  I thought of tears wiped from soft little cheeks, of comforting sleepless little ones, of waiting for sleep to come.  I thought of the toys in the closet that have entertained six children for more than a decade.  I watched the little lambs running across the wallpaper border that my husband and I glued up to the wall in anticipation of our first child...so many years ago.  I have held on to these years, these children so tightly...

On the morning I took my mom to the memory care home, I took a picture of my hand, opened, empty.  I felt empty inside, broken...  God, how can this be?  I've held on so tightly, but she still slipped away...

Are you feeling hopeless, broken, discouraged?  Are you struggling with the things that are out of your control, that slip away from you no matter how hard you will them not to?  Many...most of us have faced loss of some kind, especially in this past year. A loss of our routines and social outlets, a loss of normalcy and of carefree days.  A loss of loved ones, of life itself.  

We are creatures of habits and routines.  We like to have control.  We like to hold on.  But Jesus preached a message that was radically different from what we crave.  In Matthew 16 He spoke of losing our lives...but what did He mean by that?

Are you willing to let go...and let God have the reigns of your life? Do you trust Him enough to open your hands, uncurl those fingers that are gripping on so tightly to the things of this world and merely trust?  Again and again in Scripture He tells us not to fear, just to trust in Him.  

But how can I trust in a God who takes away the things I cherish the most?  How can I trust in a God who allows such terrible things to happen and does nothing to stop them.  I want things to stay a certain way, my way, and never change or be broken.  But all I see around me is testament to a world that never stands still, never stays the same, never keeps to my timeline, my desires, my expectations.  

I went for a walk the other morning with the kids, and in a small patch of ground that was not covered in snow we happened to glimpse a cluster of daffodils, braving the bitter cold to begin a new season of growth.  In just a month these sturdy little shoots will be gorgeous yellow flowers, bowing their tender heads in a bath of warm sunshine.  Spring will come, in spite of the harsh winter that surrounds us today.  What I held onto so tightly in the past year has passed beyond my reach, but new life is just ahead.  "Behold, I am making all things new..."  (Revelation 21:5)

God doesn't promise that I will understand His ways and His timing, He just asks me to trust in Him, to give my life over to Him and believe that He will guide me through it.  Just Trust....two little words that could not be more loaded with meaning, with difficulty.  He asks me to surrender everything to Him and trust that He is good.  From the most basic aspects of watching my children grow and mature to a stage that they will no longer need me anymore, to the more aching realizations that loved ones will pass away forever.  Can I, will I do this?