A Proud Day

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Margaret

The Disney cartoon “Dumbo” about a baby elephant is actually a story of mother-love. When Mrs. Jumbo receives a stork-delivered bundle, the elephant matrons admire little Jumbo Junior saying, “This is a proud, proud day!”

The plot line goes downhill from there as they discover the little guy has massive, flag-like ears, which is when the older elephants nickname him Dumbo. But his mother continues in passionate love for her offspring, and every day is a proud, proud day for her. When Dumbo figures out how to use his oversized ears to fly, his mother is nearly bursting with pride.

Children bring big bundles of happiness to their parents, and when they accomplish something wonderful or make an excellent decision, we parents get a thrill just watching from the sidelines.

It was a “proud, proud day” for me this week because of something my daughter Birgitta did. She was officially sworn in with 10 others in a courtroom ceremony, all of whom have been through 6 weeks of intensive training. Their preparation has been done through the local C.A.S.A. program, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate.

Beginning next week, these 11 volunteers will walk alongside one child in the foster care system, becoming a friend and a familiar face through the different stages of that youngster’s time away from his or her parents. This might mean visits to the home, testimony to a judge concerning the child’s welfare, interviews of relevant parties, courtroom observations, time spent paired with a social worker, and other moments when they’ll partner with “their” child.

None of it will be easy, because each “case” is a sad one, and some involve the physical suffering of children. Trying not to get overwhelmed with the enormity of the needs will be part of the challenge for each C.A.S.A. volunteer, and several of them dropped out of the program even before the training period was over.

Families were invited to witness the swearing-in ceremony this week, after which a celebration was hosted by their teacher. And as I listened to two judges challenge the new Special Advocates and thank them for their willingness to serve, it was a proud, proud day.

Today Birgitta was assigned her first case. Of course she’s nervous, wanting badly to do a good job, despite never having done anything like this before. But Scripture says, “God blesses those who work for peace.” (Matthew 5:9) I admire her greatly in her willingness to step out and do something that will be very difficult. She doesn’t have to do it but simply wants to…. with a passion.

It defies logic, and for that reason, I know it is God who has called her to “fly” into this task, and my prayer for her is:

“May the God of peace…. equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him.” (Hebrews 13:20)

Trying Hard

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Margaret

Earlier this week our late-October weather was perfect. With blue skies and light breezes, it was the day we’d been waiting for to have an evening beach fire where the children could gobble down s’mores, enjoy a sunset, and get tired out before bedtime.

By 6:00 pm the winds had picked up and Lake Michigan was working up a good chop, but we did as planned and had a great time. Emerald, still battling a bad cold, was wrapped snugly, content to sit in Louisa’s lap sucking on a pacifier. (Mama Birgitta was attending her university classes.)

As the 3 children raced across the sand toward the ice-cold water, Adam’s one caution was short and clear: “Don’t get your feet wet!”

But when the sun started to drop toward the horizon, so did the temperatures. That’s when the little ones began to feel the full effect of romping too close to disobedience as their wet feet stung with the cold.

By the time we got home, toes were bright red and throbbing. Maybe a lesson in obedience was learned, but it’s probable they’ll have to relearn it again and again.

Skylar, Micah, and Autumn aren’t the only ones with a bent toward doing their own thing rather than heeding the warnings of an authority figure. All of us are in that camp. As adults, when we arrive at the painful consequences of our own poor decisions, we usually feel badly about them and accept blame for the cost of our disobedience. But when we end up waging the same battle again and again, we get downright disgusted with ourselves.

“Wouldn’t it be nice,” we say, “if we didn’t have this natural bent toward insisting on our own way? Life would be so much easier if we’d just do things right the first time.”

Happily, that day will come. Our sinful natures will be history, which is good news for those of us in a continual struggle to hold selfish pride at bay. It’s interesting that the more diligence we demonstrate as we work to tame our wills this side of eternity, the greater God’s approval in the here-and-now. And when he approves, he rewards…. with an increased capacity to fight our self-wills more effectively.

Despite that help for today, though, I’m really looking forward to God’s tomorrow when we’ll no longer have to battle ourselves. Our sin nature will have completely disappeared, and obeying our Supreme Authority will be pure pleasure.

At long last we’ll know what we ought to do and will actually delight in doing it. And that goes for Skylar, Micah, Autumn, and their wet feet, too.

“When we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin.” (Romans 6:7)

Surgery at Midnight

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Margaret

I’m no nurse, but last night I got to assist in a surgical procedure that began at 11:50 pm when my cell phone rang. It was Louisa, calling from downstairs. “Mom! I found a tick in my leg, and it’s sucking my blood!”

“I’ll be right down,” I said, leaving the computer and heading for the stairs. Sure enough, a small but industrious tick had chewed its way so deep into her skin its head wasn’t visible at all.

“We can’t just pull it out,” she said. “If the head detaches and stays under my skin, it’ll just keep sucking!”

As she stood on one leg with the other one propped up, I ran for my glasses, a tweezers, a paper napkin, and the salt shaker. “I’ve heard that salt kills ‘em,” I said. But after 10 minutes of stinging salt poultices on Louisa’s open wound, the tick was still flailing all 6 limbs, continuing to burrow deeper into my daughter.

“What about burning him?” Louisa said. “I’ve heard that works.” But in discussing how to accomplish that without burning her leg, we decided to Google for other suggestions.

Every site we checked favored a slow, steady pull with tweezers. “Get a tweezer-grip as close to the tick’s head as possible; then be careful not to twist, angle, turn, or do anything but pull it straight out.”

In order to be successful, we had to follow those instructions exactly.

The same thing holds true in the parts of our lives unrelated to tick removal. It’s especially important in our relationship with God and the instructions he gives us. As a matter of fact, he tells us that if we show disdain for his instruction, we’re fools. (Proverbs 1:7)

God instructs us on how to live well. By that I don’t mean how to become well-off financially but rather how to live with a rich supernatural peace to our core, no matter what life dishes out. Once we’ve trusted God with our lives, our very next thought ought to be, “What are your instructions for me, so I can be at my best?”

Scripture is full of them, and interestingly, God’s instruction is often paired with his correction. “Poverty and shame come to those who don’t care about instruction; honor belongs to those who heed correction.” (Proverbs 13:18)

That tells us we all need instruction and also gives the reason; right after we “get educated,” we’ll realize we need God’s correction, too. Once we catch onto this, our lives will operate like a smooth-running piston: instruction – correction – instruction – correction – instruction – correction, always moving closer to righteousness.

Last night, after Louisa and I learned exactly what to do about her tick, she followed instructions precisely, and sure enough. After a strong, straight, steady pull, out he came…. head and all.