Monthly Archives: October 2013

The Webinar

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Once in a while each of us faces a task with apprehension. For me, it was the webinar I was asked to participate in on October 9. (Growing Pains)

Having no reference point for this newfangled communication tool, I was nervous about how that day would go and wasn’t sure how to prepare. The plan was for 3 of us to have a one hour discussion about grief: Tim, the moderator, Dave, who’d lost his daughter in an accident, and me, having lost my husband. We’d also be answering questions that came in live, online.

I was reluctant to say yes but sensed God wanted me to, so I did.

A few days beforehand, our moderator set up a video conference call on Google+: Tim, Dave, Dennis (the control room guy), and me. Getting set up for this cyber-meeting was a challenge I couldn’t meet. Despite help from webinar techs over the phone, I failed at my end, the only participant not visually present.

Speaker buttonInstead I put them on speaker-phone, and Tim did the same, allowing me to be present…. sort-of. We spent an hour getting acquainted, troubleshooting, and following Tim’s Power Point outline as best we could from different locations. When we finished, Tim gave us instructions on clothing that would please the cameras: “no black, no white, no red, no stripes, no checks, no colors lighter than your skin tone.”

To the WebinarI’d already spent the better part of 3 days shopping and had bought several outfits, planning to return the ones I didn’t wear. One ensemble was black, another white, another red, and the last checked, all on the no-no list. In the end, they approved a blue silk vest and white shirt. I appreciated their cheerful tolerance of my clothing violation.

Now that the webinar is history, I look back and see how focused I was on doing well for all the wrong reasons. Worrying about my wardrobe or clearing my throat during filming or spilling my water at the table had loomed larger than the over-arching purpose of the project, which was to encourage people journeying through grief.

Such self-focus could have sabotaged my part, and I’m thankful for God using multiple prayer times that day to tug me back to center when I was leaning sideways. After all, the webinar opportunity came from my book, which came from my blog, which came from God. All three belong to him, and if they accomplish anything good at all, it’s only because he’s behind it.

The webinar

(webinar, audio only)

To think the failure or success of that webinar depended in any way on my effort was to own something that never belonged to me. And there’s a beautiful flip side to knowing all the results belong to God:

Whatever he does prospers.

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:11)

Touching Jesus

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Last Sunday while still in Colorado, our group of ladies wanted to attend church together, so 3 cars headed for downtown Colorado Springs and the Presbyterian church of our hostess. Since she had a part in the service, she and her husband left early, and I went with them, hoping for a quiet prayer time on a lovely morning.

Pike's PeakI found a bench not far from the church’s main entrance, appreciating a view of the distant Rocky Mountains and a snow-capped Pike’s Peak. It wasn’t long before families began arriving for the service, walking in groups from nearby city parking. As they came close, I marveled over the enthusiasm of youngsters racing ahead of their parents. “We want to see Jesus!” they said, breaking into a run. Others shouted, “We’re going to Jesus!” or “We’ll meet you by Jesus!” All I could think was that this church must have had a cracker-jack Sunday school program.

Jesus loves me. Once inside, I saw what they’d been talking about, a  full-sized bronze Jesus holding a young child. Although his arm was wrapped around the toddler sitting on his knee (with the toddler’s arm wrapped around him), his other arm was up and open, welcoming anyone who might want to climb on the other side of his lap.

Feeling good

 

Children were crawling all over Jesus, some sitting on his knee, others clinging to his back, one up on his shoulders. He was “polished” with the evidence of many embraces, and comparing that scene to Scripture’s picture of Jesus relating to children, these kids had the right idea.

In Luke 18 Jesus rearranged his disciples’ priorities, telling them they had it all wrong by trying to keep kids away from him. “Don’t stop them!” he said. (v. 16) “My kingdom belongs to those who believe in Me with exactly this kind of open-mindedness and acceptance.”

But the disciples had a different agenda, thinking his preaching mattered more. What they didn’t realize was that he was preaching: to them. “You see these little ones? Watch how I’m delighting in their presence, loving them, blessing them. And take a lesson. You’re no more important than they are. As a matter of fact, why don’t you model yourselves after the eagerness and confidence they have in me. Then you’ll be on track for my kingdom.”

The statue of Jesus I saw last Sunday was originally commissioned as the centerpiece of a playground, the artist intending that children climb all over him. She named her work “The Embrace of Jesus,” hoping little ones would feel Christ’s embrace and then respond to his love.

Come unto Me.Since the adults in this church loved the sculpture as much as the kids did, eventually it was moved inside. And as I stood next to this life-sized Jesus, it was satisfying to realize that his empty knee and outstretched arm were big enough even for me.

Room for all“Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” (Luke 18:17)

Travel Perks

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Last weekend my trip out west included 3 airports: Chicago, Albuquerque, and Denver. Many months previously, I’d bought 3 one way tickets online, the best way to form my travel-triangle. It was a laborious task but concluded well, except for one thing.

As I was studying computer pages that night long ago, my frequent flyer miles popped up in a side column: “Would you like to use miles to purchase this ticket?” I’d never done that and wasn’t sure, but it sounded pretty good. So I “spent” 25,000 miles and “bought” the Denver-Chicago leg for free.

Priority luggageSomething funny happened after that, though. When I clicked “yes” on choosing a seat, the computer pictured only the front section of the plane. Apparently I’d “bought” a priority ticket. When the next screen prompted me to select from a dinner menu, I knew I had. A flight less than 2 hours doesn’t usually include dinner with its mini-pretzels.

During my 5 days out west, I was surprised at how often I thought of that priority seat waiting for me: 3A, front row. Though I didn’t tell my girlfriends about my mistake, I got gladder and gladder, thinking of all those first class travel perks.

Many of us move through life in economy mode, sometimes wondering what it’s like in either direction (up or down). But God gives and also takes away as he considers what’s best for each of us, so that wherever we “land”, we’ll be where we should be. This reasoning presents problems, however, especially when we think of suffering children or deprived older adults. The world is full of painful shortages, and it’s difficult to come to terms with why God allows them.

As always, our example should be Jesus, a royal king who forfeited his wealth and power to become poor in all categories. He did it willingly, eagerly, although not as an experiment or a contest. He did it out of love so that the rest of us could one day become rich beyond measure, actually sharing his unlimited inheritance. From what I read in Scripture, our future lives will be worth all the shortages we experience in our present lives. The words “priority” or “first class” won’t be good enough.

First classAs for my plane ride? Shortly after take-off, a flight attendant offered heated, moist hand towels to freshen up before dinner, followed by a small china cup of warmed cashews/almonds/pecans. A gourmet dinner tray held more than I could eat, and I appreciated the linen napkin with embroidered buttonhole to attach like a classy bib. If I’d asked for a box of Godivas, they probably would have produced it.

Airline pretzelsThe bottom line, though, was that if I’d been sitting in the cramped back row with a tiny pretzel bag, I’d have made it to Chicago just fine.

 

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)