Monthly Archives: December 2011

Up and Out

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Nine days ago I was working at the computer one night when I heard a strange scratching in the kitchen. It sounded like a giant mouse running around in a cabinet. When I went to investigate, I realized whatever it was was running around in the small cupboard above the stove. I didn’t dare open the door.

That cabinet had been a rodent residence before, until I got around to buying mouse poison. But knowing this one probably squeezed in through the fan vent made me hope he might depart the same way.

The next morning it was quiet, but I bought some D-Con poison to put in the cabinet anyway, just in case. The morning after that I checked the poison, and the industrial-sized rodent had returned, had eaten most of the cardboard boxes and also what was inside them.

I closed the door and decided to let nature take its course.

But night after night the scratching returned, 8 evenings in a row. This was one resistant mouse! Then yesterday morning I opened the cabinet and shrieked. Lying down, pressed between the cabinet door and my cookbooks, was a BIG something! In a nano-second I slammed the cabinet shut and wondered what it was! Surely it wasn’t a 9” long mouse! Maybe a rat?

I decided not to open the cabinet again, worrying he might fly out at my face and bite me with his poison-drenched teeth. But later when Mary came, we cracked it open to take a peek. He was still lying there but had changed his position.

Not knowing what to do, we did nothing. I rubberband-ed the cabinet closed, and we decided to sleep on it. When we carefully opened the door today, we got our first good look at him. A baby squirrel! I felt awful. Why would a baby squirrel be running around in winter weather?

He had died, but probably died happy. Three boxes of palette-pleasing poison were completely gone. No doubt he’d looked forward to his special end-of-the-day treat every evening.

“Well,” I said, searching for a silver lining, “at least he won’t have to struggle through a cold winter.”

Sometimes I think that same silver lining applies to people, too. God removes someone from this troubled world, taking them to heaven, and we wonder why a life was “cut short.” Could it be he wanted to spare them from a “cold winter?” That’s a question to which we’ll get an answer only in eternity.

I do know in Nate’s case that he’ll never have to struggle with the winter of old age or die in the cold reality of a long, drawn-out illness. Being spared of those is blessing indeed. But even better than that is his new life of “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (1 Peter 1:8)

It’s already begun!

“Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.” (Isaiah 57:1)

What good will it do?

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One of life’s great privileges is being able to talk to the Almighty. After reading the Old Testament and seeing how he kept a distance between himself and people to the point of causing whole mountains to shake, it’s astounding he allows us to approach him at all. He not only allows it, he encourages it, warmly inviting us to come into his throne room. He even suggests we “come boldly,” bringing requests. What changed from Old Testament to New?

Jesus came, that’s what.

As we celebrate his arrival again this Christmas, we’re conscious of the extraordinary benefits made available to us by his coming, but there’s none greater than being given access to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s free to us, but certainly wasn’t to Jesus, who paid our entrance fee.

One of my great joys during the last 20 years has been to sit with others for extended times in the throne room. This week while meeting with 4 women to pray over a list of requests given to us by the church and individuals, a spirit of discouragement flooded through me. As we got ready to pray, we divided up the long list into 5 parts, one for each of us to cover out loud while the others prayed silently. We do it this way each week, but for some reason this time I felt swamped by all the requests. There were 83 in all, many of which had 2-3 sub-requests within them.

How could we pray for them all in the 90 minutes available?

As the first woman began praying, my mind stayed stuck in the enormity of our task. My head was bowed, but my eyes weren’t closed. They were reading the list: physical maladies, emotional crises, relationship divisions, financial struggles. On and on it went. How could our little band of 5 accomplish anything significant for these hundreds of needy people?

My desire to converse with God was plummeting, but his desire to talk to me was still strong. And talk he did: “Do you think your invitation into my throne room is so you can show me what you can do for these folks? Or is it for Me to show you what I can do?”

And that’s all it took to pull me into the conversation.

I’m thankful for the reminder that prayer is all about God, not me. My part is just to approach him with confidence, believing he hears and answers the requests I bring. And sometimes he does it well before reaching #83 on the list: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

 

Heavenly Sunshine

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When I was a child, we Sunday school kids loved to belt out this sing-songy little chorus:

 

  • Heavenly sunshine, heavenly sunshine,
  • Flooding my soul with glory divine!
  • Heavenly sunshine, heavenly sunshine,
  • Hallejuiah! Jesus is mine!

I always thought the best word in there was “heavenly.” If something was heavenly, I knew it was extra good. I figured heavenly sunshine must be superior to earthly sunshine, which was already pretty nice. Mom fed into my thinking without realizing it when she described something phenomenal as, “Out of this world!”

Although I was young, I was on the right track. Scripture says we should all spend time thinking about what’s going on in heaven. Of course the best thing there is the Godhead, and thinking about our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is always a worthwhile mental investment.

Since Nate died, I’ve been investing a great deal of new thought on his being “out of this world,” and according to the Bible, these thoughts have God’s stamp of approval. Colossians says, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven.” (3:1) Although I can’t detail exactly what Nate is doing, seeing, or thinking, I know all of it is heavenly, so it must be phenomenal.

When we follow God’s urging to think heavenward, the result is that we’re lifted out of our present-day doldrums and planted into the supernatural. And this is a very specific supernatural that belongs only to Jesus Christ. Although he knows we’re currently grounded on earth with its frustrations and limitations, he invites us to pick up one foot and plant it in eternity… right now. When we do, it changes our view of earthly life.

We’ve all heard the expression, “She’s so heavenly minded, she’s no earthly good.” That’s not what Scripture means. We can “think heavenly” without having our “head in the clouds.” Jesus wants us to claim the blessings he died to give us, not just in the hereafter, but today. He wants us to think about him waiting for us and meditate on the home he’s preparing for us. He says when we do, the negative influence of our current troubles will shrink. Even more importantly, he wants us to think about our membership in his family. By accepting salvation, we’ve died to earthly existence and have come alive spiritually. And he means today, right now.

When we practice “thinking heavenly,” we’re transported above the down and dirty parts of everyday living to the coming conclusion of our lives as believers. And that’s ok by me: closer to Jesus, closer to Nate, and closer to all of that heavenly sunshine!

“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2,3)