Monthly Archives: June 2014

A Stoner

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Some people would say I’ve got rocks in my head, probably with rock-solid reasons. There’s no end to my fascination with stones. Despite there being unnumbered practical uses for rocks, their real appeal is their striking colors and patterns, each telling a tale of origin. God gets all the credit, and collecting and appreciating stones is, in my mind, an activity bordering on worship.

???????????????????????????????Tonight Jack and I couldn’t wait to get to the beach, and we arrived an hour ahead of the sunset. At the water line we were greeted with the mother-lode of beach stones as far as the eye could see. Never without a plastic bag in my pocket (available for collection of dog-product or stones, whichever comes first), I dropped to my knees and began picking through the bounty. Speckled, black, pink, gold, fossil-imprinted, pearl-like, striped and flecked. What’s not to love?

While bagging rocks, I sometimes think of the biblical description of the New Heaven. Part of it is a list of the different stones God plans to use in its construction:

  • Gemstonessapphire
  • emerald
  • carnelian
  • chrysolite
  • beryl
  • topaz
  • amethyst
  • jacinth
  • chrysoprase
  • jasper
  • agate
  • onyx
  • pure gold, as clear as glass

After studying descriptions of each of these foundational stones, I realized the majority of them are “see-through.” As someone who is moved by the beauty of earthly rocks, I can’t imagine the thrill of gazing at a city with massive walls and foundations constructed from these precious stones. I don’t think I could even look at it without a bag to breathe into. That’s probably just one of the many reasons we can’t be transported to heaven without first being changed.

I fully believe the wonders of heaven will knock us flat, even before we get a glimpse of God the Father or Jesus the Son. After all, several biblical personalities were given a quick peek, and falling flat was exactly what happened to them.

When I think about the splendor of heaven, I wonder if we’ll be permitted to look into God’s throne room. Revelation 4 describes this incredible scene with beautiful stones, too: “The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones… and the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.”

God has a gorgeous dwelling place planned for us, and while I’m waiting for the transformation necessary to witness it, I’m going to enjoy hunting for beach stones that are, for now, as stunning as I can stand.

“But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye…Those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Please pray about Monday’s infusion #6, completing the first third of my chemo. Thanks for continuing to pray against nausea.
  2. I’m thankful for a good weekend with family and dear friends.

Like it or lick it.

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A bad habitToday I did something I said I’d never do again, but an old habit got in the way of my new resolve. I picked up a packet… no… a box-full of hard-copy photos from the store. I’m embarrassed to say I now have 307 new prints to put into albums.

An old Chinese proverb says, “Habits are cobwebs at first, cables at last.” As the wildlife in our basement enjoys cob-webbing our 196 photo albums, I’m upstairs shackling myself with a cable wrapped around me 307 times. Now I have the undertaking of putting these prints in books I haven’t even bought yet. Worse yet, it’ll put us over the 200-album mark, a dubious honor.

What could possibly be the reason for such idiocy? I do have one. It’s the tiny but potent memory card inside my digital camera. Because I can delete any photo, I take pix with abandon, which is what brought me up against three maxed-out cards that needed clearing. The thought of losing even one good shot nagged me until I finally decided to make 4×6 copies to have and to hold… as is my habit.

My kids have pressed me to give up hard copies entirely, and I promised I would… next time. For now I can’t ignore the cry of my basement albums: “You’ve loved us for so long! Don’t stop now!”

Is photo hoarding a bad habit? Or is it a harmless pastime?

Are there any harmless bad habits?

My 307 pictures got me thinking. How many other bad habits do I have that haven’t been classified as such? What behaviors more serious than album-collecting ought to be stopped? Every bad habit has something tantalizing within it. We can’t lick it because we like it. It feeds us somehow, gratifies something, gives back in some way. If it didn’t, we’d walk away.

Experts tell us the best way to get rid of an undesirable habit is to substitute a desirable one. But since there’s already something desirable nestled within every bad habit, finding an even more desirable substitute can be problematic. It’s one of life’s big challenges.

YumIf I could figure out how to conquer my album-addiction, maybe I could triumph over other bad habits, say, my love affair with sugar. How could there ever be anything more desirable than sugar? For now, I’m just trying to think of something better than stockpiling photos in the basement. After watching Louisa reorganize her computer pictures for several hours, keeping electronic  albums doesn’t have much appeal either.

After all, dusting the cobwebs off my basement albums could be done in three minutes flat. If I’m munching on candy while doing it, two.

”For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7a)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Thanks so much for continuing to pray about my feeding tube pain and the the appointment with a GI doctor.
  2. I’m thankful the tube itself continues to feed me well.

Happy Hope

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At the start of the summer travel season, here’s a re-post affirming that God goes ahead and prepares our way, from May 26, 2010:

In my quest to fly home from England after visiting with Hans and family there, it was all bad news.

My Buddy Pass from friend Kevin was free, though it did put me on standby status. But I’d made it onto the flight over on the first try, so when it was time to fly home, I walked into the airport with confidence. After all, there had been 20 open seats the night before.

The agent glanced at my status and said, “Oooo, ma’m. It doesn’t look good for you today. We’re overbooked, and you’re at the bottom of the standby list. We won’t even check your bag, because you probably won’t fly today.

“Take your bags and find a place to wait,” he said. “Come back in an hour, and we’ll see.”

“Is there any hope?” I said.

“It’s always best to hope.”

Stand-byI wheeled my bags across the airport in search of an empty chair and plopped down next to a woman whose luggage tags matched mine. We were after the same empty seat on the same crowded flight. She eyed my tags and said, “Who knew the airline would strike this morning?” Twenty empty seats: poof.

Feeling powerless, I prayed, reminding God he’d promised to go with me on this first trip after Nate died, preparing my way.

An hour later, I took my bags back to the counter, “Mr. Hope” was gone, but the woman in his place said, “Put your suitcase on the scale, ma’m. You’re listed on this flight.” I didn’t even ask.

As I rushed through the airport toward my gate, loudspeakers urged passengers to heed “the final boarding call.” Stopping to get a boarding pass, I wondered if I’d be plucked from the flight at that point, but the agent just smiled. “Here’s your seat now, love.”

I didn’t look at it but headed for the plane thinking, “It’s always best to hope.” I was the last one to board. While urging people to find their seats quickly, the flight attendant glanced at my seat assignment. “You’re right here,” she said, pointing.

First row.   First seat.   First class.

That trans-Atlantic flight was one pampered ride: a bed-sized pillow, down blanket, gourmet meals chosen from a menu, my own TV, and a travel bag filled with goodies. Though I don’t know how it happened, I do have a hunch:

Kevin’s email the day before the flight had ended with this line: “We’ll be praying for you to get on, and to get a seat in first class.”

When there was no way, God had made one, proving the ticket agent had been right: it’s always best to hope.

”Many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” (Matthew 19:30)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Please continue to pray about my feeding tube, which is acting up again.
  2. I’m thankful to have been able to address wedding invitations with Stina today.