Monthly Archives: June 2014

Don’t fence me in.

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On the way.Today was a sunshiney day, so 7 of us took advantage and went to the beach. Emerald loves it there, and we had a good time dodging small waves, pouring water, and burying tiny pink toes in the sand. Each time we go to the beach, though, she has a strange ritual. As we’re on the boardwalk headed toward the sand, she stops repeatedly to play with the fence, endlessly fascinated with squeezing the flexible cables.

I have a hard time coaxing her to head for the water and sand. After all, there’s the slow-flowing creek to dabble in, sand cakes to make (and smash), seagulls to chase, and pretty stones to collect. And yet, unable to see all this from the walkway, Emerald gets waylaid by the cables every time.

???????????????????????????????But don’t we all do that now and then? It’s especially true in the spiritual realm. We get excited about spending time on all kinds of temporal things and lose sight of eternal ones. We might devote hours to chatting with good friends but only minutes with the Friend of Scripture. We find chunks of time for pleasure reading but ignore Bible reading when that could be pleasurable, too.

Why is this? Maybe we have good intentions, recognizing the importance of prayer and Bible reading, but are waiting for circumstances to be just right before starting. I’ve done plenty of that in my day. Maybe we think prayer and Bible study need to be done in partnership with other people and no one else is available when we are. Or we may lead lives of continual interruptions, thinking that so many disturbances would be an insult to such lofty spiritual disciplines.

Or we might just feel plain old incompetent.

I don’t think God gets angry with us when we have trouble getting past the “cable fences” of life to get to the wonders of him and his Word, but it’s possible he feels bad for us. He knows we’re missing out and wishes we’d come closer to receive everything he wants to show us and give us.

If I let Emerald play with the cable fence to her heart’s content without insisting we continue on toward the beach, she might enjoy herself there for a while and then turn back toward home, thinking she’d had a great afternoon.

Digging inBut today, for example, as we emerged from the walkway to that great expanse of shoreline, she raised her arm, pointed, and said, “Wa-wa! Wa-wa!” That’s when she realized it had been worthwhile leaving the fence.

Jesus prayed, “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do. I have revealed you to [my followers], and I will continue to do so.” (John 17:25-26)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Though I haven’t had the vomiting after this week’s chemo as I had before, a mild nausea seems to be hanging on, taking away my appetite. Please pray it will disappear.
  2. I’m thankful for a day in Michigan with several of our grandchildren.

Reaching Up

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Veggie TalesEmerald has discovered TV, and of the few videos she’s seen, Veggie Tales is her favorite. Even if we’re in the kitchen and I begin humming the Veggie Tales theme song far from the television, she immediately goes into a bouncy little dance, pumping clenched fists up and down in a move her Auntie Louisa taught her.

My supply of children’s TV is all on VHS tapes, but thankfully we still have the old VCR, and so far so good. I like Veggie Tales because they focus on teaching character traits, using Bible stories (and vegetables) to flesh them out. Emerald isn’t partial to one tape over another, as long as they all include the music she loves.

photo 3(1)My TV is mounted five feet high in a purposeful move to prevent the 90 curious fingers of 9 grandchildren (ages 5 and under) from reaching the controls. Poor little Emerald has to crane her neck straight up to watch Veggie Tales, but that hasn’t stopped her from bonding with Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber.

Once in a while, when the TV is off and she’s nearby, she’ll reach up, look at the black screen and say, “Bob?” hoping he might appear. I sometimes wonder what’s going on in her head with the complicated reality of television bumping up against her non-existent understanding.

Maybe that’s how it is between us and God. We try to understand everything Scripture says about him, but it’s all fairly complicated and beyond our reach. Certain parts of the Bible have stymied scholars for centuries, and even when all sides of the debate are presented, we still walk away scratching our heads. We’d like to “get it,” but generally the only thing we “get” is confused.

photo 2(3)Maybe it’s enough if we just keep watching and reaching the way Emerald does. She looks at the screen and sees Bob and Larry there, not caring about the how or why.  And when the TV is off, she’s eagerly anticipating the next time she’ll be together with them.

The same holds true for us. We don’t need to understand the how or why behind a complex God who is well beyond our understanding. We just need to keep looking up, keep reaching for him, and eagerly anticipating the next time we’ll be together.

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Thankful tonight for people willing to donate leftover tube feeding formula. At $900 every month, that’s a big savings.
  2. Please continue to pray for an earlier appointment with the tube specialist to ease discomfort. Still scheduled for July 2.

Talk to me.

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The brainWe all know God hears us when we pray. Scripture says he sees our requests as they’re forming in our brains, way ahead of their reaching our mouths. By the time the words are rolling off our tongues, he’s already got the whole paragraph.

These promises are from Isaiah 65, and in context God is (1) speaking to the children of Israel and (2) referring to our perfect existence in the New Heaven and Earth. But I view these verses not just for Israel but also for us, and not just future-distant but for now, based on God being immutable and absolute. What he promised for them, he can also do for us. And what he guarantees in the future, he can also do now.

God is today who he always has been.

Literally hundreds of us have been calling out to him to answer prayers concerning my sister Mary as she walks a road common to many: cancer, surgery, and chemo. (So far, radiation has not been recommended.) For a month we’ve been praying against the ravaging nausea most chemo patients experience, and this morning we learned God answered in the affirmative.

YesWe can rejoice that Mary reported no vomiting has taken place since her infusion yesterday, and only mild nausea has come and gone during the last 24 hours. This surely is God having said yes. He hasn’t told us why she suffered horrible nausea before, and he hasn’t promised she won’t again.

But for today, we can lift our hands and rejoice with Mary singing, “Thank you, Father!”

Prayer is mysterious, but one thing is certain. It is an interaction with The Almighty. Though he doesn’t give us all yeses, sometimes he does. Skeptics say, “You mean there’s no rhyme or reason to it? It’s just random? Why would you ascribe a lack of nausea to answered prayer?”

We have some very good reasons:

  • Because God says there is power in prayer.
  • Because God promises to listen to our prayers and answer them.
  • Because Jesus told his disciples to pray.
  • Because Jesus himself prayed.

And since we believe those 4 things, we continue to pray.

In the same biblical chapter quoted above, the Lord also reprimands those who choose not to talk to him through prayer. He says he had tried to engage his people in conversation, but unbelievably they weren’t interested. God said, “I called, but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen.” ( v. 12) And he follows that with some pretty harsh judgment over this group.

Today God is still calling all of us to communicate with him, and so we continue to pray for Mary and many others, because when he answers in the affirmative, he makes our hearts sing!

“Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m praising God for answered prayer about my nausea! Nothing but mild twinges this time, and I even ate dinner!
  2. The feeding tube continues to be a problem. Pray for an earlier date with the specialist.