Monthly Archives: September 2011

Happy with Haphazard

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Recently, I was cruising down an expressway when a pickup loaded with living room furniture passed me on the right. A second vehicle followed him, with an 18-wheeler after that.

All of a sudden the top item on the pickup’s pile let loose, a square-shaped easy chair upholstered on all sides. It fell off the truck, tumbling end-over-end behind him, heading straight for the following car. That driver stood on his brakes as my lane of traffic flew past, swerving to avoid the chair, ending up on the shoulder.

Behind him the 18-wheeler, which I saw in my rear view mirror, slammed on his air brakes producing a cloud of blue smoke as he veered into the center lane and stopped at an angle. I wondered how many vehicles had hit or bumped each other as a result, and was sharply aware of the split-second choices each driver had been forced to make.

The pickup driver continued on his way, unaware of the havoc he’d caused. If he eventually went back for his chair, the venom awaiting was surely plentiful, not to mention policemen with tickets.

As I continued driving, I thought about that freak accident and the person who caused it by not securing his load. We’ve all met people who travel through life leaving chaos in their wake, damages of all kinds. The question is, might that be me?

Am I careful to speak and do with an eye on what will be left in the rear view mirror? Have I ever gone for a laugh without considering the fall-out for every ear in the room? Have I avoided an uncomfortable social situation when I could have been a blessing? Have I backed away from a demanding conversation without considering another’s need?

If we aren’t careful, we can tumble through life knocking into people and stepping on their feelings like that bulky chair blasted helter-skelter down the highway. And what about God? Do we sometimes do that to him, too?

I wonder if leading a life marked by carelessness, tardiness and messiness might not qualify. I so admire Jesus for never evidencing any of those. He was never confused, never in a frenzy, never disorganized. He lived an intentional, controlled life, and as a result accomplished every good thing his Father gave him to do. He solved problems, touched tenderly, brought healing and spoke love, the opposite of leaving chaos in his wake.

I want to please this same Father, though I know I’ll never perform to the level of his Son. But the question “What would Jesus do?” is a good one. I know what he wouldn’t do. He wouldn’t trample over people, knocking into their feelings like a chair tumbling down the highway.

Jesus “received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (2 Peter 1:17)

Skipping Through LIfe

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Jack and I had trouble leaving the beach on this summer-like day perfect for wading. Strolling Lake Michigan’s wave line, I found 9 pieces of beach glass and an abundance of “Indian beads.” The water was smooth with gentle inch-high mini-waves tickling the sand, sparkling with sunshine. I looked up at several jet-stream clouds in a blue sky and thanked God I wasn’t on an airplane moving away from where I stood, pretty stones in my pocket, feet in the water.

Searching for a reason to stay, I decided to skip a few stones, hoping to break my record (though I couldn’t remember what that was). Side-arming flat rocks close to the water, it was fun hunting for good skippers: flat on both sides, thin, not too lightweight, rounded edges. How many thousands of stones had I skipped into this lake? I remember the day Dad taught Mary and me to do it, captivating us with his successful demo (though we didn’t care much about his talk of trajectories and angles).

I also remember teaching our first two boys to skip stones. They took to it immediately as most kids do, flinging rocks into the water like baseball machines fling balls into a batting cage. They’d shout for our attention. “Mom! Papa! Watch this!”

When a stone didn’t skip as they’d hoped, they’d yell again. “That wasn’t a good one! Watch this one! Are you watching?”

Every parent hears this oft-repeated refrain from their kids. “Watch me! Watch me!” We hear it so often it can drive us loony, pulling us from other conversations or thoughts of our own. “Look at me!”

In a way, though, we adults do the same thing. We walk through life wanting to be noticed, and more specifically, appreciated. If we’re skipping along well, we want others to see. If we’re sinking, we want others to care. We don’t shout it to a crowd like children do, but we pray it out to God in private. “Lord, do you see the injustice coming at me here? Are you aware of this other trauma unfolding in my life? Have you looked at my stress level? Examined my pain? Observed my heartache? Are you watching?”

Thankfully his answer to all of the above is a resounding, “Yes!” Although parents become irritated with too many “watch me’s” from their children, God’s patience is bottomless, limitless, boundless. It’s watertight.

He sees us every minute of every day… and night. And unlike weary parents who sometimes look over at their kids just to stop the “watch me’s” from continuing, God watches with genuine interest and sincere compassion each minute that he’s looking at us.

In other words, always.

By the way, the best skipper I had today was only 6, but I know God was watching.

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a)

Keeping Secrets

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A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about a wedding gift I’d lost track of before attending the wedding. (July 19, “Keeping Track”) The day before the event, I was sure God would let me bump into it, because he’s famous for his 11th hour rescues. But I went to the wedding with a check instead of the vase I’d chosen from the bride and groom’s registry, disappointed in myself and in God.

It’s been several weeks since that happy occasion, but I’ve continued to hunt for the gift, hating the fact that my brain wasn’t sharp enough to remember where I’d put it. God knew where it was, since there’s no secret he doesn’t know, but he wouldn’t tell me. And why was I surprised? He’s all about secrets.

Most of the “why’s” behind life’s unanswered questions are secrets known only to him. Of course he’s God Almighty and doesn’t have to answer to anyone, but there’s another reason behind his secret-keeping.

He’s trying to set an example for the rest of us.

Jesus gives three illustrations of when secrecy should trump openness. The first is our gift-giving. God’s recommendation is that we keep it under wraps. To make his point, he tells us we shouldn’t even let our left hand know what our right is doing. In other words, we should make a big effort to give gifts in secret with no one’s knowledge but God’s. He keeps the books and won’t miss seeing what we do.

Jesus’ second teaching on keeping secrets applies to fasting. Although biblical fasting remains mysterious in terms of how God applies it to our lives, he clearly states we’re to look and act nourished while depriving ourselves of food, keeping it a secret whenever possible. God sees, and that should be enough. After all, he’s the one who will respond to it.

The third secrecy-subject is prayer. Although praying out loud in groups is appropriate, the majority of our prayer ought to be done in secret, one-on-one with God. His instructions are, “Get alone. Shut the door. Pray in private.” He’ll hear us perfectly, and we’ll hear him better then, too.

Giving, praying or fasting with the hope of being noticed negates God’s plans for us. He wants to shower us with goodies he calls “rewards”, but he says he’ll hold those back, if our motives aren’t pure.

And he makes no secret of that.

As for the lost wedding gift, I finally gave up searching, and immediately after that, I found it, nestled in the corner of a 2’ x 3’ box I was about to pitch. God waited until I quit making demands of him, and then he showed me.

We’re not privy to most of his secrets, but once in a while he does let us in on one. Woo hoo!

“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)