Yearly Archives: 2011

God’s promises… for who?

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Yesterday’s blog was about a surprise gift from God that came when least expected, but that was only the beginning.

During those days I’d been crying out for some sense of God’s presence. Did he know how severe our situation was? Was he watching? Did he care? Would his promises apply to us?

I believed the verse that says, “receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) but God didn’t seem to be following through on that. Talking to him without hearing back reminded me of talking on the phone with a child at my elbow who was also talking to me. Although she saw me standing quietly with the phone against my ear, seemingly available to her, I was really listening to someone else, irritated by her questions.

Was that God? Listening to others? Irritated by my talking to him?

Desperate to hear from him, I’d taken a long walk in the early morning darkness, begging out loud for his response. “You’ve just got to help us! Tell me something, show me something, do something to prove you’re still there!”

And then the box came.

As I dug through the layers of colorful little-girl clothes, I came to the bottom and found a white envelope with my name on it. Opening it, I was shocked when a pile of paper money fell to the floor, along with a hand-written note:

“Here is a gift for you made possible through the grace of God, who has given me an abundance over the past couple of months. God hopes that those He helps will share with those around them. I would like to share with you.”


I gasped at such unexpected generosity from my new friend Becky and was humbled by her gift. Stooping to gather up the bills, I counted out $341, an absolute fortune! She and I were just in the getting-acquainted stage of our friendship, though, and I felt  I couldn’t keep the money.

Calling to express my amazement and explain why I shouldn’t accept her lavish gift, I was stunned by her simple response: “How many times a day do we both tell our children to be nice and share? That’s all I’m doing.”

Becky convinced me to keep the money, and I was exceedingly grateful. A second gift that day was that God convinced me he was very close, hearing every prayer, aware of our needs (the clothes, the money) and even our wants (the flowered dress). These gifts, funneled through Becky’s willingness to be his instrument of ministry, persuaded me that his promises were true after all.

And they even applied to the Nymans.

“You … answer prayer; to you all people will come. You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth.” (Psalm 65:2,5)

 

Shiner Stories

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In a family of 7 children, injuries abound, not from brawling but from childhood clumsiness and crashing into obstacles. A black eye is a common occurrence with kids, and ours never stopped running into things.

This photo of Louisa tells a shiner story of high impact with a coffee table, but that tale is insignificant compared to a second story told by the same picture.

It was 1991, and our family was in a financial free-fall. Every day brought more bad news, making it difficult to believe Jeremiah 29:11.

During those days, that verse was popping up frequently in sermons and had become the mantra of several Christian organizations: ”I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I really wanted to believe God’s “hopeful future” applied to us Nymans, but it was becoming more and more difficult.

One day 3 year old Louisa, 1 year old Birgitta, and I were pushing our shopping cart through K-Mart when I spotted a display of little girl dresses. Louisa had a Sunday school program upcoming with nothing cute to wear, and I began sliding hangers on the store rack while simultaneously thinking, “Stop it. You can’t afford these.”

But it was too late. A darling dress was already in our cart, black with pink roses and a satin sash to match. Weezi began jumping up and down. “For me?”

“For you!” I said, picturing her on the church stage feeling special.

While in the check-out line, however, common sense took hold of me. “I guess we’re not buying this,” I told the girl, handing her the dress.

That afternoon, while the girls napped and I had a pity party, next-door-neighbor Becky called. “My sister sent me a box of girl clothes, and since I only have boys, I thought maybe you’d want them.”

“Sure,” I said, offering to run over, but before I could, she was on my porch struggling under the weight of a giant box. We set it down in my kitchen, and she headed home. When I opened it, I gasped. Lying on top was a black dress with pink roses and a pink, satin sash (see photo). It was nearly identical to the dress I’d left behind at K-Mart. This time I let the tears come, a joyful response to God’s unexpected surprise.

Sometimes he lets us run into life’s sharp edges so forcefully we end up with shiners. But then there are times when he carefully moves us past each obstacle toward spectacular surprises that take our breath away.

The trick is being willing to accept whatever he plans, whether it’s a painful shiner or a joyful surprise. Our part is to trust his timing and judgment, especially on our tough days. I’ll take a shiner any day, though, if I know a gasp-worthy surprise is coming, too.

And amazingly, the day I found Louisa’s pretty dress, a second gasp came right after the first…

(tomorrow’s blog)

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who…crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things.” (Psalm 103:2,4,5)

 

It wasn’t easy.

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Some men go through life without having children, and some have only boys. In both cases, they’ve been spared one of life’s more difficult moments. They’ll never have to “give away” a daughter on her wedding day.

Little girls idolize their daddies. That’s the way it should be, since Daddy is their first reference for what God is like. In a best-case scenario, fathers evidence God-like characteristics toward their daughters: patience, kindness, love, goodness. If a daughter grows up in a relationship with this kind of daddy, it’s twice as easy for her to later relate to God as her loving heavenly Father.

Most fathers are fiercely protective of their daughters. Heaven help the person who intentionally harms them! This is what’s behind a father’s mistrust of boys who come calling during the dating years. Fathers see themselves as earth’s best security force for their little girls, no matter how big they get.

Then comes the greatest of all fatherly challenges, a daughter’s wedding day. Even if a man approves of his potential son-in-law, that walk down a church aisle to place his daughter’s hand in that of a young man can weaken even the strongest dad.

I remember my own wedding walk down the long aisle of Moody Church. Clutching my dad’s arm gave me a sense of security, and I knew if I got wobbly, he’d stabilize me. But what was he thinking? I never asked.

I did ask Nate, though, about his similar experience. He walked our Linnea down the aisle wearing an expression that said, “This is hard!” When we talked about it later, he said, “It was much harder than I thought it would be.”

And that’s the way it is for fathers who love their daughters.

But even in cases of poor fathering, no one needs to be without a perfect Father. God invites us to be his children, an offer that didn’t come without a “giving away.” Unlike earthly fathers who give away their daughters on a happy wedding day, God gave away his Son to an awful fate, a wrenching death he didn’t deserve. There is no greater sacrifice. Surely that day was excruciating for the Father, and yet he followed through.

Today we are able to reap the benefits of being children of that perfect Father. He is devoted beyond human capability and will never make the wrong call on our behalf. And if we wobble, he will stabilize us.

Although I was eager to have dad give me away on my wedding day, I don’t ever want God to give me away. And happily, he has promised he never will.

“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)