Ordinary to Extraordinary

Summer is the time for vacations and kicking back, the time when people make time for each other. It’s a break from the usual routine and a chance to celebrate being together. And like it or not, concentrated togetherness always presents fresh opportunities to practice flexibility and tolerance. It’s also the perfect time to highlight creativity, even if it pops up in the most unusual of ways.

For example, when our cottage was packed with as many relatives as it could hold a week ago, finding bathroom privacy was difficult. One day in particular I kept my eye on the bathroom door, hoping to soon find it open. Each time I checked, though, it was closed.

When finally I got my chance, something interesting greeted me. The toilet water was a rich royal purple. How this happened I wasn’t sure, but I had to admit someone had been creative, elevating the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Wick removal programTP off course

The week was full of things like that. There was a pile of votive candles with all the wicks carefully removed, and a skewed roll of re-wrapped toilet paper, twice. Crusty pans were left overnight in the most unusual

Needing a soakEmerald's self-feed

places, and Emerald’s first attempt at self-feeding left a mess that matched the crusty pans.

Living in crowded community offers all sorts of let-it-go moments. We can square off with these odd-ball situations by criticizing, confronting, or complimenting. It’s our choice. Responding with a calm determination to find something good about each circumstance encourages us to chalk up the messes to the diverse ages and stages of those living under one roof, and it frees us from stress.

Also, thinking from God’s point of view helps to put things in perspective. The Father, Son, and Spirit are all of one ilk, divinely superior to any other being (such as us). When we humans complicate things unnecessarily and make messes as a result, the Trinity has every right to demonstrate righteous anger, especially if we purposely violate a standard these three have set for us.

We’ve seen this righteous anger repeatedly in Scripture, each time the Israelites chose to rebel and then experienced God’s stiff discipline. More often than not, however, he also offered them an opportunity to try again. Love was his motivation, which is why he patiently forgave them and offered a clean slate. If we wonder what to do when our crowded homes become creatively disheveled, we should follow his example.

It isn’t always easy when we’re the ones on clean-up, but searching for something upbeat in even the most peculiar situation is the route to elevating the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Royal

As for the purple toilet water? I would never have guessed.

It was Nelson.

“God is not a God of disorder but of peace.”               (1 Corinthians 4:33)

Building a House

Skylar's birthdayIt’s been a week of celebrating for our family: Klaus and Brooke’s wedding, three family birthday parties, out-of-town company, and unnumbered festivities wedged in between. But when all the excitement is over and life settles into its new normal, what will be remembered most?

Today I re-read the notes Nelson used to officiate the wedding, taking another look at his more serious comments to the bride and groom. He agreed to let me quote him here, as he addressed Brooke and Klaus:

Happiness!Although having fun together, having good chemistry, and having lots in common are great places to start a marriage, these are not the bedrock that will hold you guys together over the long haul. Consider the words of Christ from Matthew 7. “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house. Yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

Today you’re starting to build a house. It’s a spiritual house. From this day forward, you’re not building alone, but together. The Lord uses everyday images to teach these simple principles. Consider the big beautiful houses built right on Lake Michigan. What if a builder constructed a multi-million dollar house and then set it on a sand dune without a foundation? It would be certain failure.

But the Lord’s words are reassuring and empowering on this wedding day. He says that while “the winds blew and beat against that house” the house didn’t fall. We might say, “When trouble comes into your lives as a couple, you won’t fall, because your foundation is on the rock.”

That rock is Jesus Christ and your building blocks are his words. The Christian couple stays together because their faith is in someone far greater than each other. Walking this faith out one day at a time is building on that solid foundation. Marriage is meant to last a lifetime, not a week or a year or even ten years. It goes well into the unknown future.

Many marriages begin with a contract contingent on the performance of the individuals. “If you make me happy, I’ll love you.” It’s performance based. This may work for a few years, but when storms come, people pack up and leave. They’ve built on sand and the house collapses.

A God-centered marriage will last a lifetime because it doesn’t stand based on the performance of either person. It’s built on the bedrock foundation of Jesus Christ. Today you’re starting to build that house.

           *            *            *            *            *            *            *

!Although our recent wedding day included lots of wonderful words, these from Jesus surely are the most significant, not just for Brooke and Klaus but for all of us.

 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.” (Matthew 7:24-26)

Tying the Knot

Brooke and Klaus have spent many months preparing to be wed, not just by gathering decorations, organizing the ceremony, and planning a menu but also by talking with counselors and pastors before ever getting engaged, in an effort to troubleshoot before trouble comes. They arrived at their wedding day more prepared than any couple I know.

The ceremony.

Part of the reason for this is that they’d been through several relationship challenges during their 3 years together. These they viewed as blessings in disguise, warnings to show them where weaknesses were hiding. Their desire was to stand together on their wedding day with the wrinkles smoothed out as much as possible.

Prayer time just beforehand

The result of their counseling was wholehearted, individual dependency on God, and part of their vows to each other last Saturday highlighted promises to keep Jesus Christ as their top priority, to go to him first, should difficulties arise. And just before the ceremony, they went to him in a fresh commitment, and also to request his blessing on their day, their guests, and their lives together. I admire them both greatly.

Because they had put first things first, their wedding day was carefree and joyful, a barefoot bride facing her groom in a lush outdoor setting with guests seated comfortably on bales of hay. Tears from both of them during the ceremony testified to tender hearts for each other and deep sensitivity to God. Nelson, who was officiating, reinforced that: “As long as you both keep Christ at the center of your marriage, you can’t fail.”

Triple cord

On this day when Brooke and Klaus “tied the knot,” they chose to symbolize the importance of tying themselves to the Lord by braiding three cords together. They want their marriage to be a trio with God rather than just a duo. Nelson explained: “Two people who are bound together in Christ are stronger than the individuals themselves.”

Of course we all know that life frequently dishes out the unexpected, and this young couple won’t be exempt. But I do think they’ll do well, mostly because they tied their knot in a triple cord with the One who has the power and ability to hold them together. May God use their relationship to coax the rest of us to do the same.

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

Done!