Monthly Archives: February 2013

Funny how that works…

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Jack's delightI absolutely love winter. My heavy black coat thickens into a super-coat, and the panting heat of summer is long gone. Snow is like the frosting on my wintertime cake, and I like to burrow in it, roll in it, and wriggle upsidedown happy-dancing in it. Truth be told, I’d like to live outdoors through the entire winter except for one thing: the people I love are inside.

The newest person inside the house is the baby who arrived last October. I didn’t stress much at the time, figuring her position on center stage would be short-lived. After 3½ months, though, she’s still the main attraction, and I have definitely slipped in the rankings. Most of the sweet-talk is still going her way, and the general public races to greet her first now, instead of me.

But something odd has happened in the last week. Deep inside me I sense the beginning of a strange affection for this mini-human. Unlike me when I was 3 months old, she can’t walk, run, stand, or even sit up. She’s virtually helpless, and my heart goes out to her. She doesn’t even realize she could reach the dog treats if she tried.

So finally I decided to reconcile myself with the fact that she’s here to stay, and along with that, I might as well get in sync with the others in our house. Now when I hear Midge or anyone else cooing or sweet-talking the baby, I no longer push in for my share of the love. Instead I’ve begun a little cooing of my own. Though it sounds more like a squeaky hinge, in my head it’s cooing.

Love

And it’s funny what began happening. Last week when I gently laid down next to the baby on her play mat, both Birgitta and Midge ran for their cameras. “Look how cute he is!” they said, actually referring to me this time. “He wants to be with the baby. What a sweet doggie!” And click-click went the cameras.

Later that day I gave the baby two gentle kisses on her tiny hand, which was a special gift to her, since I give out only about 5 kisses per month. (By the way, she tasted very good.)

You know, sometimes when we want something badly (like I wanted all the attention), it escapes us. No matter how we try, we can’t make it ours. Then when we give up and surrender the thing we wanted most, it somehow comes to us! It doesn’t make sense, but that’s what’s happened to me.

Making a snow angel

And I’m so thrilled about it, I think I’ll go out in the snow right now and celebrate with a nice long happy dance!

“Give, and you will receive…. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (Luke 6:38)

From Good to Groaning

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Garden of EdenI like to think about what life must have been like in the Garden of Eden, not just to wonder what a sin-free world looked like but to get a glimpse into our own futures. Someday we’ll be living on the New Earth, which will probably be much like Eden.

 

Good morning!

This morning, as I was waking up, I looked out my bedroom windows to see an unspoiled snowy landscape here in southwest Michigan. It struck me that Adam and Eve never saw snow when they woke up. They were comfortable living naked, which speaks to warm temps both day and night, probably a steady 72. So apparently snow and freezing weather wasn’t part of God’s original plan for humanity.

But what else wasn’t in the garden? Melting ice caps, oil spills, flooding, drought, forest fires, tsunamis, and super storms.

Has nature run amuck?

Although we humans are endangered by, and sometimes fearful of these climate extremes, God isn’t nervous about them at all. He has complete control over the weather (which includes global warming) by merely a whispered word. His power over our globe is not only unequaled, it’s absolutely sovereign.

So why doesn’t he do something to reign in all the wild extremes?

God knows that every dysfunction in the natural world is a result of the rebellion that got started in his unblemished garden. Our rebellion. If we’d have done things his way, none of nature’s negatives would have come to be. The fact that we’re experiencing them now is just a long-term natural consequence of our flawed behavior. God admits that through Scripture: he originally labeled our planet “good” but has now down-graded it to “groaning.” (Romans 8:22)

He also recognizes that nature isn’t the only thing groaning. We are, too: “We believers also groan… for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope.” (v. 23)

And therein lies God’s reason for not speaking words that will still the storms and save our planet. He wants us to get excited about the future when he’ll re-balance nature and return everything to the way it was in the beginning. He wants us to long for it, hope passionately for it, and get others excited to do the same. He’s hoping we’ll believe the words of Scripture about the New Earth and speak confidently to others about our God’s abilities and his faithfulness to his promises.

Outside my windows

So when I’m tempted to admire the snow blanketing my neighborhood, I should remind myself that running around naked in it wouldn’t be any fun at all. Brrrr.

”Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.” (Romans 8:20-21)

Leaning into Fantasy

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A dear friend from our old Illinois neighborhood called and left a message the other day. “I have some news for you.”

Our old house

Nate and I moved from there 4 years ago this month, selling our home after having had it on the market for over 4 years. But it took us about that long to get used to the idea of moving anyway. After living there nearly 30 years, it was tough to leave, but we loved the much-smaller cottage we were moving to in Michigan, a beach community that had been our family’s gathering place for 3 generations.

When I re-called my neighbor she said, “Would you like to move back to the neighborhood? Your old house is up for sale!”

That was about the last thing I’d expected to hear. The mid-20’s couple who’d bought our 6 bedrooms had planned to fill the rooms with children, and in the last 3 years had had 2 of them. Hearing that they wanted to move was a big surprise.

Our family had loved living in that century-old farmhouse with its secret closet, 2 stairways, strange attic, and other unique features, so my neighbor’s question was tempting. Move back to my old friends? Our beloved church and pastor? Shopping areas that were 1 mile away instead of 25?

It was a delicious thought.

But later, when Birgitta, Nelson, and I talked it through, the reality wasn’t as tasty. For one thing, Nate wouldn’t be there. He and I had done life together in that home, from weathering storms to bringing new babies there. Without him, that houseful of memories would seem empty and sad. And of course I don’t need such big digs.

Our kitchenTheir kitchen

Whether we like it or not, time keeps marching forward, and circumstances change, some for the good, some for the bad. We can’t go backwards hoping to recreate what we had. If what we had wasn’t good, we don’t mind. But if it was, we have to firmly deal with ourselves to make sure we don’t yearn for something that can’t be ours.

God’s counsel on this is to be future-focused, “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” (Philippians 4:13) In that same passage Paul says, “Our conversation is in heaven.” (v. 20,KJV)

Living and belonging there will be more important than anything we’ve known here, and it’s all still in front of us. Leaning backwards to recapture something that can’t possibly compare with what’s ahead is to set ourselves up for a big letdown.

And so, after we took a visual tour of our old house on Zillow.com, we stopped entertaining the idea of living there again and began listing the many reasons we’re glad God put us exactly where he did.

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)