Monthly Archives: November 2014

Siblings History Tour

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I believe God is in charge of putting every family together. That’s just the natural outcome of believing he’s also in charge of creating every life. He has a specific plan for who should live with whom, and sometimes he has to go to great lengths to gather specific family members together.

SiblingsIn our case, he set up a sibling group of two girls followed by one boy. Mary, Tom, and I knew that no matter what happened, our folks would always love us. Being confident of this was a blessing we only fully appreciated when we became parents ourselves.

As happens to most families, we each went off to college and then into marriages, and our together-times as siblings became characterized by the crowds of children that followed. But yesterday the three of us spent a day together as siblings, tracing our shared childhoods in a meaningful trip down Memory Lane.

We recorded our reminiscences as we went along (should any of our younger relatives be inclined to listen) and even learned a few new things about each other. What a delightful day it was!

Mary and TomAs we wove a path through Chicago’s streets and into the suburbs, we stopped at each of our childhood homes, along with favorite old hang-outs and the houses of friends.

We visited our old schools, kindergarten through high school, and though security said no to our requests to wander the halls, we did coax the high school guard to take our picture in a hallway that had changed very little since the 1960’s when we attended there.

As for looking back and remembering, I think God is all for it. Reminiscing, I believe, is one of the purposes of his written Word. He frequently prompted the children of Israel to remember what he’d done, in an effort to convince them he would continue to do wonders in their lives if they would only trust him.

Sibling history tourThe same goes for us. He wants us to look back, especially when times are tough, recalling how he worked on our behalf in the past. From that we gain confidence in his continued efforts in the future. Just as he encouraged then, he will always encourage. Just as he strengthened then, he will always strengthen. Just as he provided then, he will always provide.

Those are comforting thoughts during these days of uncertainty for Mary (and thus for the rest of us). No matter the details, God’s encouragement, strength, and provision will always be present.

Mary, Tom, and I ended our time together yesterday with a meal at The Corner Bakery, purposing to travel through “Part Two” of our histories (colleges, early apartments, newlywed days) on another day. There are more memories to uncover and more blessings to recall.

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way… (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Please pray for safe travel tomorrow as our entire family gathers in Arkansas for Thanksgiving, at daughter Julia’s home.
  2. Pray for each family member as we all try to adjust to this uncertain time. May each of us learn to count blessings every day, no matter what. 

God’s Waiting Room

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Life is full of waiting. We wait for paperwork to arrive in the mail, investments to grow, and phone calls to come. We wait for our kids to graduate, our incomes to go up, and the scale to go down. We wait in government offices, theater lobbies, bus stops, and airports.

None of us are any good at waiting. We want results, and we want them yesterday. With the whole world on fast-forward, it irritates us to have to push the pause button, especially when anxiety is running high.

WaitingThe waiting rooms of doctors’ offices might just as accurately be called “anxiety rooms.” As a person waits, she may have an open magazine on her lap, but her mind is far away, pondering the what-ifs. Whether we’re upset about new symptoms, waiting for a specific diagnosis, or wondering what our treatment will be, the feeling is the same: apprehension.

I remember waiting to hear what was physically wrong with Nate, wondering if our lives might radically change with what we would be told. Mary had to wait, too, through 6 long months of chemo and the scans that followed, to find out what was happening inside her body.

Tomorrow Mary, Bervin, and Luke will move into yet another waiting room as they meet with Mary’s oncologist to discuss any remaining options available to her. And as a result of whatever they’ll learn, in a sense she’ll be waiting again.

I have a friend who also had cancer and suffered through lots of nervous waiting. Asking for prayer as she awaited information, she sent a group email that included an interesting choice of words: “I’m in God’s waiting room.”

The minute I read that I knew she was going to rise above her circumstances, because she had lined up with God’s sovereignty over her life, even a life involving cancer. Mary has done the same, and Nate did, too. No fidgeting while waiting, no “why me,” no “how could you!” and no anger. Sure, all of them had questions and struggled with nervousness, but they fixed their gaze on their all-wise heavenly Father as they waited.

God's waiting roomWhile the world’s waiting rooms are marked by angst and dread, God’s waiting room has divine purposes for each occupant. Instead of magazines to read, he offers security. Instead of stale coffee, he hands out contentment. Instead of frayed nerves, he provides peace.

When we learn of cancer, life comes to a screeching halt, but God never stands still. He continues to energetically put a plan in motion that will eventually pour considerable blessing into people, even those with cancer, and especially those who commit to obedient stays in his waiting room.

“Since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” (Isaiah 64:4)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Pray for clarity and wisdom tomorrow in the 2:00 meeting with the oncologist (and the wait beforehand).
  2. I praise God for a delightful day spent with my two siblings, Tom and Margaret. […tomorrow’s blog]

 

Overloaded

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Not too long ago I was waiting at a light when a spectacular semi-truck turned in front of me. It had more tires than I’d ever seen on one vehicle, all doubles, 4 to an axle except on the cab. As it drove past, I counted: 36 wheels.

Big heavy load.All I could think of was how difficult it must be to keep that many tires in good shape simultaneously. Are they wearing properly and balanced correctly? Are their lug nuts snug? Rotating those tires must be a nightmare similar to playing Mancala with game pieces too heavy to move.

Why so many wheels?  The answer: tons of weight inside.

It made me think of all the excess weight we carry, not in pounds but in burdens. Trouble comes when we try to carry too much on only 2 wheels.

In the book of Exodus we read how Moses tried to lead a million obstreperous people through miserable circumstances. He was doing the best he could, but it wasn’t good enough. He didn’t have enough wheels to hold up his heavy load, and it was ruining him.

God saw the problem and brought Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, to the massive Israelite camp at exactly the right time. In learning how burdened Moses was he said, “The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” (Exodus 18:18)

The heavy weight was redistributed to helper-judges, which then gave Moses the 36 wheels he needed to continue moving the massive group forward.

Moses leadingYears later he again found himself weighed down by the impossible burden of his role. The people were crushing him with their complaints, so once again he went to God. “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.” (Numbers 11:14) It was time for a new set of tires. God provided them again in the form of many able helpers, and Moses’ load was lifted.

What about our 21st century loads? More often than not we drag under our heavy burdens while trying to give the impression we’re living feather-light. When others see us bent beneath our loads and ask if they can help, we say, ”No thanks. I’m just fine.” After all, we don’t want to add to their loads. But as we learn in Scripture, if we accept the help of others, a blessing comes to them as well as to us.

Moses modeled what to do when we’re overloaded. Step 1: ask God to lighten it up. Step 2: listen for how. We’re to avoid the extremes of either asking no one, or asking many of the wrong ones, because our best burden-lifter will always be God.

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19)

Praising and Praying with Mary

Thanks and praise for peaceful sleeping at night, a direct answer to your prayers. Please pray for my increasing fatigue, that God will give rest and rejuvenation to match the need.