Monthly Archives: January 2014

Button-Button

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When Mom was a little girl, she played a game called Button-Button. Although there are several versions, most consist of hiding a button in someone’s hand while the “it” person says, “Button-button, who’s got the button?” and tries to find it.

Button spinnerDad talked about using buttons for homemade spinner-toys on strings (whirligigs), and we grew up watching Mom collect every spare button in her button-box, a heavy wooden drawer divided into twenty 3” X 3” sections.

Button boxWe kids loved studying the wide variety of buttons, some of pearl or glass, others of leather or covered with fabric. Mom organized them by color, including silver, gold, and bronze.

Today while babysitting Emerald, I pulled out my small collection of buttons, thinking we might have some fun with them. Immediately she tucked two small ones into her mouth, and it took a graham cracker to convince her to spit them out.

We had fun counting them, sorting them, and organizing them into muffin tins. She also enjoyed dropping them down my shirt and watching them fall out the bottom, simple pleasures with ordinary items.

sink bubblesI’m fairly sure God is in favor of us slowing down enough to enjoy many other simple pleasures: the sparkle of sink bubbles, the ticking of a clock, the scent of a newspaper, the smoothness of a clean counter-top, the sound of the wind. But most of us find ourselves racing through our days at such high speed we miss out on not just these ordinary blessings but also something far more significant.

Charles E. Hummel authored a book titled Tyranny of the Urgent: He wrote:

“Don’t let the urgent take the place of the important in your life. Oh, the urgent will really fight, claw, and scream for attention. It will plead for our time… But the tragedy of it all is this: while you and I were putting out the fires of the urgent (an everyday affair), the important thing was again left in a holding pattern. Unlike the urgent, it patiently and quietly waits for us to realize its significance.”

Button games aren’t that significant, but spending unhurried time with grandchildren (and others) is. And at the top of that list ought to be deliberate time with God. As Mr. Hummel said, “The Important” patiently and quietly waits for us to realize its [His] significance.

Buttons and more buttonsThe picture of God doing this, patiently, quietly waiting for us to notice him on the sidelines, should prompt us to quickly reach for him. Though I’m sure he approved of Emerald’s and my button games today, it might be a good idea for me to place a few of those buttons around the house as reminders of The Important One waiting to spend unhurried time with him.

“O Lord, I know it is not within the power of man to map his life and plan his course — so you correct me, Lord; but please be gentle.” (Jeremiah 10:23-24)

Joining the Dance

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Off to ballet classAt 5½, Skylar Grace (my oldest grandchild) is forging ahead in the process of exploring new activities. She’s devotedly taking ballet classes and last week demonstrated some pretty smooth moves, naming them as she went: pirouette, arabesque, plie’, bow.

Though I haven’t seen any of her per- formances in person, I’ve watched videos and stills, and do get the drift of all she’s learned. She loves her teacher and is thrilled when it’s time to go to class. Last week I got to drive her there, and as we pulled up to the dance studio she said, “Don’t take me in, Midgee. I can go by myself.”

After she hopped out of the van in her pink outfit and slammed the car door I said, “You sure look cute in your tu-tu!”

Turning back to face me, she put her hand on her hip and said, “Midgee, this isn’t a tutu. It’s a leotard.” And off she went.

Skylar knows her ballet terminology and has been practicing her positions for many months. She’s beginning to evidence genuine grace, because she listens carefully in class and faithfully tries to emulate her teacher’s movements. But ballet is a complex discipline, and if she sticks with it, achy muscles and bloody toes will be part of her experience.

Working hard

Very few of us are willing to put in the hours necessary to become good at ballet or anything else that’s an uphill climb to learn. We prefer instead to dabble, hoping for quick results, and when it doesn’t happen, we often drop out. Paying the obligatory price to become proficient (hard work over the long haul) quickly becomes distasteful.

Spiritually speaking we sometimes do the same thing, wanting to live blamelessly before God but only dabbling in the discipline it takes to get there. For instance, we might set a goal to memorize one Scripture verse each week but then skip the review process, expecting the words to “stick” anyway.

Or we promise we’ll be honest with God but then refuse to let him have control over one category of our lives. Or we commit to reading the Bible from cover to cover no matter how many years it takes but get bogged down in Leviticus and throw in the towel.

Our worst enemy, Satan, jumps in the way every time we move one step toward the Lord. He’s thoroughly evil, fighting us with invisible weapons we can’t stand up against… unless we use Scripture and prayer. But if we’re determined to work against his deceit by “following hard after God” (as Tozer would say), we’ll become strong in our faith and will still be standing at the end of his tests, maybe even up on our toes.

Worn from practiceMaybe we should simply copy Skylar’s example in ballet class: listen carefully, follow the leader, and practice all the moves. And if we get “bloody toes” in the process, we shouldn’t let that stop us.

“My soul follows hard after You.” (Psalm 63:8)

Singing in a Storm

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It’s no secret that much of our nation is enduring peculiar weather this winter, putting most of us in a deep freeze. Though we’ve known winters with occasional sub-zero temps or record snows, we’ve never known such extremes: in snow depths, expressway ice, sub-zero double-digits, and a winter start-date weeks ahead of schedule.

???????????????????????????????Last weekend when my plane made a harrowing landing in a blizzard (yesterday’s post), I saw an impressive sight on the ground: 15 (yes, 15!) plows and trucks waiting on the sidelines to move in for runway cleanup. Some had blades as wide as my living room.

Yet fifteen minutes after landing, we were reloaded and back at the end of the runway, ready to leave Pittsburgh for Chicago. Plows were sidelined but waiting at-the-ready to clear snow again. First, however, we were treated to a de-icing.

Runway de-icingI’d never experienced that, and it was fascinating to watch two tank-style trucks move from plane nose to tail, dowsing us with chemical sprays that would make it impossible for ice to form on our wings (adding drag to take-off).

Our light-hearted flight attendant, already buckled into her jump seat, kept us focused on her one-woman comedy act as de-icing took place, bantering about it being much like a car wash. “But de-icing is better,” she said, “since the chemicals smell like pancake syrup. Enjoy the sweet experience!”

As we positioned for take-off, she surprised us again, belting out a song from start to finish: “Love will keep us together.” It wasn’t lost on her that 28 of us had been through an unnerving landing just a few minutes earlier, and she said she didn’t want us to turn against Southwest Airlines. She also knew that the same blizzard was still raging, and we were headed right back into those potholed skies.

They say attitude is everything, and though that isn’t a quote from Scripture, it is a biblical concept. Our stewardess helped us look on the bright side of a potentially dark situation much like God’s Word recommends we count our blessings no matter what’s happening around us.

???????????????????????????????But how do we maintain a sunny disposition when a storm looms? The only way is to stay close to the Lord throughout each day. It may sound Pollyanna-ish but is actually God’s specific instruction. Scripture says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)

He doesn’t ever want us to stop hoping for positive outcomes. Because he’s the God of hope, we can “abound” in it, if we partner with him. So when we’re threatened with an internal blizzard, we should think of that flight attendant singing her song as we headed into a storm, a reminder that we can face adversity with joy.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” (James 1:2)