November 25, 2018

Living a Thankful Life

“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” – Psalm 50:14-15

The news was awful. A shooting at a mall in a Birmingham suburb. A 12-year-old girl was an innocent victim. She could have been anyone’s daughter, anyone’s friend. Shock waves echoed.

But what was so amazing is how her mom wrote nothing but positive on a Facebook post that was shared repeatedly. Rather those focusing on the scary, the painful, the awful thing that happened to her daughter, she used the post to thank those who helped her daughter and reached out to her. I wonder how many of us would have done the same thing?

She thanked the strangers who rushed forward to tend to her daughter’s wound. She thanked the nearby store clerk who snatched a new shirt from the rack so it could be used to help stop the bleeding. She thanked first responders, medical staff and all those who reached out. She saw the good in an awful situation.

Her daughter should be fine. We are thankful for that. It surely could have ended differently. And we’d be naïve to think there won’t be trauma that lingers for her daughter, herself and the grandmother that was there when it happened. We are all learning to be fearful, watchful, careful in places that once felt so safe.

I don’t have any answers. I’m not diving into the gun control debate. I own guns. I am trained and prepared to defend myself against a threat. But, gosh, I wish we lived in a world where it wasn’t necessary. Don’t you?

But I am thankful for good people who come forward in the midst of chaos. Think about it. Shots were ringing out and yet people rushed forward to help an injured child. No one would have blamed them if they’d fled to safety. But they stayed to help. That’s good making a difference in the midst of bad.

Today several people showed up at a friends’ house and built a ramp. Her elderly parents certainly need it. And last week she fell and broke one ankle and severely sprained the other. She needs it too. Good in the midst of a horrible situation.

I have been the recipient of kindness and I have tried to extend kindness to others. It doesn’t take much to bake an extra cake, drop off a few magazines, or make a phone call. But it means the world to someone else. It matters.

When we learn to be thankful first, it’s easy to extend grace and kindness. We become aware of all that we have. We know that in the midst of awful there is good and we are thankful for it. We cling to the rock, our Savior, the One who never leaves us to face anything alone.

No matter what today or the days that come might bring, be thankful. Find the good. Remember to thank God for His Presence. Don’t ever take your blessings for granted. There’s always something to be thankful for if you open your heart and look.

May 19, 2018

Show the World Jesus

Jesus wept. – John 11:35

It happened again. That which we vowed wouldn’t, did. Students ran for their lives as a student-gunman aimed to kill those in a place that should have been safe.

Shootings within our schools simply shouldn’t happen. But they do. Why? Our hearts cry out in anguish. It is so senseless. Young lives cut short. A teacher gone too soon. Others suffering in hospitals. Lives that will relive the trauma forever.

Jesus wept. It’s the shortest verse in the Bible. It’s very simplicity draws us closer to the One who came to save us all. Jesus had the power to save Lazarus from death. And though He knew He would raise His friend from the dead, still Jesus let Lazarus die. He let Mary and Martha suffer.

But Jesus is not a Savior from a distance. He stands beside us to comfort and strengthen us when the senseless dramas of this world threaten to destroy us. He mourns with us.

Why did this happen? How can we stop it from happening again? I wish I had all the answers but I don’t. No one does. Is this pure evil or does it stem from the brokenness of people who are hurting so badly that they want others to hurt badly too?

Our mental health system fails kids every single day. So do the social service agencies designed to keep them safe. We are so focused on saving the family that we send children back again and again to places where they aren’t safe and nurtured and loved. We ignore obvious signs of distress because we don’t want to get involved and we don’t want to provide the resources to help children who are hurting. We’d rather look the other way than deal with the stigma called mental illness.

I don’t know this young man’s story. All the details haven’t begun to show themselves. Maybe we will never know it all. But I do know that a young man wearing a trench coat in the Texas heat should raise a few questions. It’s not normal. It’s not okay.

We’d rather not know. We prefer to isolate ourselves in our own little worlds rather than extend a helping hand. We prefer to talk with our friends, to gather with those who are like us, than welcome someone who is different, someone who is alone. We marginalize people who desperately need to belong somewhere, to someone.

Maybe the answer isn’t in big programs with lots of money thrown at them. Maybe the answer lies a little closer to home. Maybe it’s found in our hearts. Can we be the people who extend kindness to those who seem the least deserving? Can we reach out to those we don’t particularly like so that they can come to the altar of Christ?

It all begins with Jesus. It all ends there too. We have forgotten how to love the lost, the lonely, the poor and the rejected. We have forgotten that they are our problems, our challenges, our responsibility, because Jesus said it was so. Jesus told us to love one another. Why do we think He didn’t mean us?

Once again we have children hurting, parents grieving and a town shattered by violence. Instead of looking to others for answers, maybe it’s time we looked inside ourselves. Ask Jesus to meet you there. Open your eyes and your heart. People everywhere are hurting. Extend a helping hand. Show them Jesus by your words and your actions. Live your faith, one hurting person at a time.