Yearly Archives: 2011

What do you want most?

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In the days leading up to Christmas, family members focused on shopping for gifts, asking those on their list what they’d like most. Some insisted, “You don’t have to buy me anything.” Others said, “It doesn’t matter; just don’t spend too much.” Teens had long lists ready, and children changed their answers day-to-day.

When we asked 3 year old Skylar what she wanted most, her answer was always the same: “A calendar.”

“A calendar? Really?”

We asked again and again, but she stuck with her answer.

So I bought her what she asked for, a wall calendar with doggie pictures on each month. When she opened it Christmas morning, she studied the cover, turned it over and checked out the 12 different doggie pictures, then tossed it aside.

I couldn’t help but say, “Skylar, are you glad you got a calendar?”

“Sure, Grandma Midgee!” she said, reaching for a new gift.

Of course her calendar gift was more for grown-up laughs than childhood pleasure. All of us know Skylar has no concept of what a calendar is all about. The passing of time agitates adults week-to-week and day-to-day but is a non-factor with children. For example, if Skylar is asked, “When is your birthday?” she answers, “Um… I think it’s today!” We giggle at her lack of calendar savvy and remind her it’s not for 7 more months. But eventually her life will be dominated by a calendar just like the rest of us. For now, though, it’s lucky for Skylar.

Recently our family round-tabled the tabloid prediction that the world will come to an end on 12/12/12, about a year from now. Very few people will line up behind that idea, and Bible-believers understand that only God knows the exact date that time will end and calendars will become unnecessary.

But what does God think of our current obsession with charting our lives according to calendar dates? Is he laughing at us the same way we laughed at Skylar? He might be thinking, “You have the emphasis in all the wrong places.”

Maybe he wants us to believe there’s only one truly important date, the one on which time ends for each of us, whether by death or his return. Despite not being able to circle that date on a calendar, the rest of our lives would be aligned “decently and in order” if we focused on the knowledge that time will, indeed, end.

In 2012 I’ve decided to focus less intently on my wall calendar and more specifically on God’s over-arching purposes for the upcoming year. Skylar has been a good example for me: January 1st is almost here, but her doggie calendar is still in its cellophane sleeve.

“With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands.” (Psalm 119:58-60)

Keep it simple.

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One of the delights of being around children is listening to their logic. Skylar, age 3, came downstairs after nap time in a pensive mood. Having spent two weeks away from her “brown house” in Florida while visiting Grandma Midgee in Michigan, her thoughts were on home.

She was thinking about the different doors at her house, counting out loud. “I have a door in front and a door in back. I have a door to my porch and one to the garage.”

“What about the door to your bedroom?” I said.

“Yes, and Micah has a door to his room, too,” she said, “and Mommy, too.”

Then her brow furrowed as she thought for a minute. “But Daddy doesn’t have a room, so Mommy shares her room with him.” Then she added, “She’s a good sharer.”

In one sense, being a thoughtful child is a confusing existence. There’s much children don’t know but are on a quest to find out, struggling to put the mental pieces together without necessarily having all the information. But as Skylar ended the above conversation, she seemed content with her own conclusion.

A child’s mind somehow resists becoming confused. Kids have an incredible ability to line up what they know, accept the facts at face value, and rise above uncertainty.

Sometimes in studying the Bible, I’ll search for the answer to a spiritual question but end up more confused than when I started. Scripture can be perplexing, resulting in doubt. But God keeps it simple for those of us who need that:

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:12) Simple.

And, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31) Simple.

Salvation is simple, clear-cut and plain. But how about living the Christian life? That gets complicated. Maybe, though, it isn’t as problematic as we think. Maybe we’re the ones making it that way, not God.

Most of us lean into an all-or-nothing philosophy, so when he sets forth his clear-cut path toward righteousness, we aren’t happy unless we can reach perfection, which of course we never can. But shouldn’t we believe him when he says he understands and knows our spirits are willing but our flesh is weak?

Maybe we should simply take a lesson from Skylar: accept at face value those things we know to be true, then move forward without complicating the facts. Simple.

“There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple —in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.” (1 Corinthians 7:29-31 The Message)

 

 

All Fired Up

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As we gradually create new holiday traditions without our beloved father/husband, Christmas Day saw another “second annual:” the beach bonfire. With an overcast sky and sideways winds we wondered if we should pursue it. Temps were in the 30’s, but when the children woke from naps, we decided to try.

Nelson and Klaus went to the beach an hour before sunset to stoke up the fire, and when the rest of us arrived, it was roaring, successfully fighting the cold winds to keep us warm. We took turns standing in the sweet spot out of the way of sparks and smoke but in the path of warmth, nursing cups of hot chocolate and coffee. This year we also pursued s’mores, a big hit with the small fry.

To top everything off, God painted a spectacular winter sunset in Christmas colors at just the right time. We stood around the fire appreciating our hats, coats, and the view when Skylar said, “How ‘bout we make a sand castle?” The sun had set, the temp had dropped, and none of us wanted to kneel in the wildly blowing sand to build with gloved hands, so we distracted her.

Instead the fire was our focus, and I thought of how that’s been true for millennia: fires for warming, cooking, light, and in vehicles (from cars to rockets). But fire can be tricky. We can add things to make it bigger (gasoline) or to calm it (water). Sometimes it works best to subtract things (oxygen). Whether or not we want to increase or decrease a flame depends on what we want it to do for us.

The Bible highlights fire in both the Old and New Testaments, using it as a symbol of God’s presence, the truth of which does a great deal for us. When the children of Israel traversed the desert for 40 years, he personally led them by cloaking himself in a pillar of fire, a constant, sure reminder he was there. And who could forget the fire he sent down to pulverize Elijah’s sacrifice (and the water around it) as a demonstration of his superiority.

God also used fire in judgment (consuming Sodom and Gomorrah) and in animal sacrifice (obliterating sin). He even referred to the tongue as a destructive fire, especially in tale-bearing and gossiping. And then there’s God’s predicted judgment of the earth, a fiery destruction the likes of which we’ve never known. But worst of all will be the lake of fire for the devil and those who align themselves with him.

Fire destroys, but it can also purify. We sometimes refer to people as having had a “baptism by fire” in reference to hard times, yet God labels those very things “cleansing fires” sent to purify our hearts. Just as we can boil the impurities out of contaminated water, so he refines our imperfections, preparing us to one day meet Jesus.

In that sense, turning up the heat is his expression of deep love for us.

”Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)