January 5, 2018

Spend Time Wisely

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12

We think we’ve got all the time in the world, don’t we? That little cliché rests deep in our hearts. We’re certain we can procrastinate, put off, wait another day for whatever it is we know we should do.

Then one day, sometimes without warning, everything changes. Sudden death, illness, divorce, job loss. The list could go on and on. But there is one thing they all have in common: You and the life you imagined have changed forever.

Have you ever known someone who retired and then, within just a few months, was dead? All their life they’d dreamed about retirement. They were going to sleep late, lounge in the recliner, watch endless TV. It was going to be the perfect life. They just never expected death to come so quickly.

Or what about the man who worked hard year after year so that one day he could retire and travel tirelessly with his wife? It was going to be the perfect life. Except that in his relentless pursuit of the future, he put off medical checkups in the present. By the time the doctor found the cancer, it has spread. Stage IV, they called it. He won’t live long enough to take all those trips he postponed.

We tell ourselves we’ll play with our kids or grandkids “one day.” We promise to call, to write, to visit “one day.” We’re going to volunteer at the food pantry “one day.” We’re going to read the Bible all the way through “one day.” Do you see a pattern here?

None of us are promised anything beyond this moment. Yet we live our lives as though we’ve got forever to get around to doing what we’d always intended to do. Why is that?

We are a people who like to procrastinate. We settle down into our comfortable lives of today and dream about a tomorrow that may never come. We put off living until it’s too late. Then we look back and wonder what took us so long to realize what really mattered.

People matter. Giving matters. Helping others without expectation of anything in return matters. Sitting there watching mindless television doesn’t really matter. Playing video games doesn’t really matter.

We’ve got our lives so messed up sometimes. We neglect what energizes us – time with God, sleep, giving back – and focus on what drains us – gossip, drinking, gadgets.

It’s not that zoning out in front of the TV is all bad. Nor is playing video games or any number of other escapist activities. It’s when those things consume us to the point that we neglect what matters most that we need to step back and remember how fleeting life really can be.

Each of us has the same number of hours each day. How are you spending yours? Are you moving forward, giving back, spending quality time with those you love? Or are you turned within, just trying to get through the days while you wait for a perfect tomorrow?

Don’t wait. Take that trip. Play with your kids. Serve others for Christ. We don’t know how long our journey home will take so make every day count.

December 1, 2018

Only God Understands

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

– Psalm 91:14-15

We never know when trouble will slam into us, knocking the very breath from us and sending us onto a path we never expected to take. We cling to God because He is the only One who can carry us through to safety.

Yesterday a dear friend went in for what was supposed to be a routine procedure. The doctors found something and now she faces major surgery on Monday. What?! It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Another sweet friend tripped and fell earlier in the week. She’s got a broken shoulder and a husband who was already facing surgery of his own. Their plans didn’t matter in that moment of disaster.

The father of another friend was admitted into rehab yesterday. It’s the best place for him, though her mother is beyond distraught. He fell again, this time with breaks, and he needs strength if he’s to continue to stay at home. It’s an impossible situation. My friend just had surgery earlier in the week. She can’t carry the load and, yet, she must.

My heart aches for them all. I know how quickly life can turn, how a normal day can end in the ER. I understand the tears that come when you’re doing what you must but it’s hurting the people you love the most. Tough times. Tough decisions. You are overwhelmed.

God knows. God understands. God will carry you through the storm.

We can walk beside the people we love and help in so many ways. We can bring food, offer to drive or sit with someone. We can certainly pray. We can send cards or buy groceries. There are just so many ways to help. But we can’t truly know what they’re suffering. Only God truly understands.

We think we know. We’ve gone through tough times. Some of us have spent endless hours in hospitals and rehab, coordinating home health and doctors and dressing wounds and dispensing medicine. And we do know. Except we don’t. Because every journey is different. Every person is different. Only God truly understands.

Life happens, as they say. It’s filled with peaks and valleys and just long, hard days in between. Lean on God. Trust Him. Don’t expect to have the strength to make it through on your own. You don’t and you won’t. But He does. When the days are long and your shattered heart can’t take another step, He will carry you. I promise. God truly does understand.

November 22, 2018

Be Thankful

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. – Psalm 100:4-5

The day is coming to a close. It has been a day full of food and laughter, memories and shared stories. We have remembered those who have gone home. We rejoice with those who remain. Family. Friends. We all gather together by choice and through love.

Today we remembered to be thankful for all those who share our days, whether it’s those who are part of every day or those who traveled to be with us. We remember all our blessings.

But what about tomorrow? And all the tomorrows that will come? Will we be any less blessed on those days than we are today? Will we remember to be thankful when we are overwhelmed by ordinary life? Will we remember to be thankful on the hard days, the long days, the days of heartbreak? Are we any less blessed on those days than on this day of Thanksgiving?

We like to compartmentalize, don’t we? Today we’ll be thankful. Sunday we’ll attend church and worship God. Monday we’ll work. Tuesday we’ve got a club meeting. Wednesday the kids have something at school. Each and every day is filled with life. But are we thankful?

It’s hard not to compare our lives with the lives of others. There are parents who would give anything for another day with their child. There are people who are fighting hard to live. There are people who pretend all is well when the reality is they are hurting, lonely, desperate. Do we see them? Do we try to understand?

And are we thankful? There are blessings in every day. I won’t lie. Some days it’s hard to find them. It takes effort. It takes doing what we’d rather not do as we wallow in self-pity. It means really looking around and seeing life as it really is. Do you have a home? Do you have food? Did you notice the sunset? Did you hear the birds chirping? And on and on. There are blessings everywhere but do we see them?

God is good. We hear that a lot. It’s true. God is good. But here’s what we don’t always understand: God is good regardless of our circumstances. God is good even when we are sick. God is good when we are hurting. God is good even when we can’t feel His Presence.

I hate it when someone responds to good news with “God is good.” Yes, He is. But God is still good when the news is bad. God is good even when He answers no. God is good when we are dying. God is good all the time.

And we always have reasons to be thankful. Always. Today I am thankful for family. I am thankful for shared memories and laughter. I am thankful for my Mother’s recipes and good food.

What about you? What are you thankful for? Was your day filled with joy or riddled with strife? Was your day spent in a large gathering of family and friends or was it spent alone? Did you take time to praise God? Did you remember to thank Him? It’s amazing how your attitude changes when you fill your heart with gratitude.

God loves us no matter what. God is good no matter what. Worship Him. Praise Him. Give thanks in all circumstances. He loves you and me. That is surely something to be thankful for.

November 15, 2018

All Are Welcome

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. – Psalm 5:4

She was pushing every one of my buttons. I struggled for patience. I wanted to be welcoming. I wanted to be inclusive. I wanted to be kind.

Later, I struggled with my own response to this woman. It was the first time I’d seen her at church. It was her first time in our Sunday school class. I am usually glad to have anyone join us. We have so many who have come from brokenness, myself included. All are welcome. So why did I respond so differently to this woman?

It took me much of the afternoon until I finally realized what it was. I was shocked. I usually pick up quickly on such things. My only excuse is that I wasn’t expecting to find it in church. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see it in a Sunday school classroom.

She was high. I don’t know her story. Her body could have been filled with prescription drugs. Or maybe it was something illegal. I don’t want to judge her based on the condition of her mouth, which is a signal for someone who has or was a meth addict. But her body language was so obviously that of someone who was on drugs.

My ability to read body language is both a blessing and a curse. It causes me to see the real meaning behind words. It helps me to understand when someone is hurting, even as they protest that they are fine. But it also causes me to see when someone isn’t being who they’re proclaiming to be.

I reminded myself again and again, in prayer and thought, that she is God’s child. God loves her just as much as He loves me and every other person in that class and in that church. But it’s so hard to come face to face with someone in the throes of addiction.

As I said, our class is filled with broken people. I’m sure that’s why someone led her to this class. We are a group of misfits, if you will. We are people who understand heartache and addiction and depression. We are a people who understand grief and being alone and that makes us more compassionate, more welcoming, more forgiving. People who have walked through a tough valley or two truly understand what it means to be saved by grace.

I struggled with this. How can I reject, even if only in my heart, someone God loves? My heart, of course, is where it matters. What does that say about me? What does that say about my faith? Do you understand what I’m saying? Have you been there? Have you struggled to love someone as Jesus does? Have you struggled to welcome someone who is in the throes of addiction?

This was different for me. I have gladly welcomed those who are homeless, even when their own choices led them to that place. I have opened my arms to those who are in recovery for addiction, for anger, for brokenness. But I seem to have no tolerance for someone who shows up, disrupts the class (and, yes, she was disruptive), and thinks it’s okay.

I don’t know if she’ll be back. I won’t turn her away if she comes. Jesus wouldn’t do that and I won’t either. But I will alert our security team, many of whom are also in law enforcement. I will make sure her movements are monitored. My first priority is to love like Jesus but that means making sure the children in our church are safe.

God welcomes us all. He loves every person, no matter what their circumstances. And, certainly, it’s okay to bring your brokenness to the body of Christ. But it’s not okay to be high on drugs. It’s not okay to show up drunk. If you need help, we’ll help you. We’ll love you. But we won’t enable you. We won’t tell you it’s okay to be disruptive because you’re too high to function.

There’s a time and place for everything. Church isn’t where you come to feed your addictions and pretend no one notices. It’s where we all come to heal. It’s your choice. But when you bring that into our midst, it becomes ours.