Good Words

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Margaret

When Nate was under stress, he used to talk to himself, loud enough so anyone could hear if they were so inclined. Inevitably the subject was work-related. Sometimes he was rehearsing how a difficult meeting would go, or he might be sorting through a complex legal predicament.

When I asked him about it, he said self-talk helped him sort out tough problems. It was tantamount to the way I used journaling, for the same purpose. Instead of using pen and paper, though, his journal was verbal.

Today I talked to myself in a new way, not out loud as Nate had done and not through a journal. It was by the pages of a book I wrote that’s about to be published. The final edit was due today, but before I turned it in, my editor wanted me to rearrange the 60 short devotionals into a new order we had both agreed would be beneficial.

I decided to do it by using my 60 hard copies rather than flipping “pages” on a computer, since I needed to see them all at once. I spread them out on the bed and began organizing them by topic but ran into trouble when their titles didn’t remind me of their contents. The only thing to do was speed-read each one and label them with content-clues to help me.

That’s when I started talking to myself. The words of one devotional in particular jumped off the page and came alive with a relevant application to an issue currently heavy on my mind. I started to cry in response to the words on the page and received a blessing from that particular devotional. I didn’t recall being so moved when I’d written it, but today God had somehow infused it with a remarkable power to fit my need.

There’s no end to the ways God wants to help us. He’s never without a fresh idea of how to reach deep into our hearts to uplift and also challenge us, and today he knew I was wrestling with a tough issue I couldn’t sort out in my journal or in my thoughts. I needed his help. So somehow he used my own words on the devotional page to reassure me, ascribing double duty to the effort of writing the devotional in the first place. And amazingly, when I was finished reading (and crying), I felt like I had heard from God, not me.

We have a very clever heavenly Father. Whatever flawed offerings we put into his hands, even if it’s just a simple page of words, can be converted by his authority and power into something valuable and important, something problem-solving or even life changing. It’s all because of his touch.

So my prayer for this little devotional book is that those who read it will experience the same powerful, custom-made influence of God like I did today, and that it’ll be on every page. And if they want to read it out loud, that’s fine by me.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” (Matthew 28:18)

Fragile Love

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Margaret

This afternoon when Jack, Louisa and I were at the beach on what felt like a mid-summer day, we came across a deeply-cut, stick-scrawled message in the sand: “Will you marry me?”

No one else was around. “What do you think?” I said. “Authentic?”

“Well,” she said, “it would be the perfect idea for a couple that loves the beach.”

Then she noticed a second etching. “Look at that big heart!”

Sure enough, there was not one but several hearts, each one a few paces from the other in a long line, much like stepping stones. “I’ll bet he brought her to the beach and led her along the hearts till she came to his question at the end.” Louisa said. “How romantic!”

We walked both directions looking for a big “YES!” but considered it might have been washed away by the waves.

In the 1050’s, Pat Boone sang a song called, “Love Letters in the Sand.” It started happily:

On a day like today
We passed the time away
Writing love letters in the sand.

But by the end of the song it had turned into a tale of woe:

Now my broken heart aches
With every wave that breaks
Over love letters in the sand.

Human love can be fleeting, nearly as fragile as words scratched in sand with a stick. Our feelings for someone can disappear as quickly as the tide can erase sandy letters.

* * * * * * * * * *

As we continue through the season of Lent toward the cross, I’m glad Jesus didn’t approach his mission based on his feelings at the time. If he had, he wouldn’t have died for us, because he sure didn’t feel like it. Instead he summoned up an unshakeable will to do it God’s way rather than his own. And it was for one reason: he loved us.

If only we could love like that! We don’t, because it requires setting aside our feelings to favor someone else. Instead we say, “We aren’t like Jesus! We can’t possibly love like him.” Would he agree with that?

He’d probably say, “You think you can’t love like I do? How about if I do it for you, from within you? Could you do it then?”

And of course the only correct answer is, “Yes.”

Maybe that’s where we slip up. We forget to ask him to love through us, and try to do it by ourselves. The Bible says, “No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11) Similarly, no one can love like Jesus unless the Spirit of God loves through him. By ourselves, we can’t do it.

Today at the beach as we came to the end of our search for more messages, we saw blurred letters in the sand that had been partially washed away by water: “[blank] and Jenna.”

I hope Jenna and her fiance’ will do better than Pat Boone did.

“The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us… love.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Don’t worry. Be happy.

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Margaret

My grandson Nicholas, a new 3 year old, has recently finished potty training and is now enjoying the perks of no more nappy changes, along with the delight of wearing picture underwear.

Katy and Hans motivated him by using a reward chart with happy-face stickers for each success. Taped above the toilet, those lengthening lines of stickers gave Nick encouragement each time he successfully used the toilet.

When we were 3, a happy-face sticker was all we needed to make us happy. As we grew older, we needed bigger rewards like trips to the ice cream store, allowances, a day at the beach, or sleep-overs. Eventually we needed paychecks, new cars, vacation getaways.

Is it ok to seek happiness?

Scripture is dotted with quite a few happy faces. Ecclesiastes says, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” (3:12-13)

We see that it’s ok to be happy, as long as we recognize it as God’s gift. When we begin feeling entitled to it, God will surely withdraw it. Our being happy isn’t his undercard. He’d rather see us obeying his instructions, studying his Word, drawing closer to him, submitting to his will.

But most of us just want to be happy. Sometimes it comes to us briefly but then disappears, making us angry. So what should we do? Are we supposed to find contentment in un-happiness?

Another Ecclesiastes passage provides the answer: “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.” (7:14) God wants us to connect happiness and sadness to him, knowing there are important purposes in both.

This morning I struggled in prayer for more than 90 minutes over some exceptionally difficult issues, pouring out my longings one after another. I ended by expressing frustration to God for his lack of action on my requests after so many years of praying. And I was quite unhappy!

He quickly chided me, reminding me (in my thoughts) that happiness without end isn’t scheduled till heaven. Claiming it now is getting the cart before the horse.

Later, in my Scripture reading, he said the same thing in a different way: “Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.” (James 5:13) In other words, even when he gives a bit of happiness, the point of it isn’t to please us but to motivate us to praise him. When happiness comes, we’re not to hold onto it but are to give it right back to him.