Even Nature Knows

For years we have traveled to Garden City, SC, to the condo of a dear friend, to enjoy our favorite vacation spot during Spring Break. We spend the week swimming in the ocean, collecting shells, sunbathing, building sandcastles, watching the dolphins leap by, feeding seagulls, avoiding jellyfish, delighting in sun and moonrises, catching anoles, starfish and coquinos, flying kites, playing football, frisbee or bocci or just praying, walking and breathing in the Good Lord at the ocean shore. We love to be there.

Typically when we go it falls on Holy Week. With Easter coming the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox, we always get to see the full moon rise red out of the ocean then hover over a calm sea ... once with a halo and moonlight reflection in the ocean that looked like the cross of Christ.

But with all the fun we're having at the beach, often times we forget it's Holy Week. Never Easter, of course, but Maundy Thursday to celebrate the Last Supper and Good Friday often would succumb to sunny days at the beach, seafood buffets and late night dips in the hot tub.

Until one year we got a nice reminder from nature about the significance of the holiday. In 1999, we visited Garden City with Brad's parents and brother's family. We were having a great time together and the weather was so cooperative giving us warm temperatures and lots of sunshine. This particular Good Friday we were out on the beach as usual when suddenly a fog rolled in ... nothing like we'd ever seen before. It came out of nowhere thickly settling over the beach. It was so dense, we couldn't see the water anymore from our beach chairs. Brad and Anton were trying to play football and were having trouble seeing each other to catch. Looking at the time we noticed something interesting ... it was noon. We headed up to the condo to wait out the fog. And promptly at 3 p.m, it lifted. But the rest of the day remained gloomy. When we realized the fog was from noon-3 p.m, we realized the significance.

Luke 23:44-46 says: "It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon while the sun's light failed and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus crying with a loud voice said, "Father into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this He breathed His last."

Good Friday was very different for us that day. We all took notice of what nature was trying to remind us: an innocent man suffered and died on a cross nearly 2,000 years before for our salvation. God came down from His throne in Heaven to die for us. That is some profound kind of love. It was overwhelming and deep for us all. And we have never forgot it.

Likewise, we have not forgotten our sunrise service on the beach one Easter morning a few years ago. As the seagulls began to cry with the dawn, the sun just peaking over the horizon, we burst into singing my favorite hymn, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today." The church we worshiped with that morning had a large wooden cross standing in the sand and the sun rose behind it. I took a picture of that moment and it's on this blog page all the time. It was a beautiful, breathtaking moment in time.

I am grateful to God for these reminders in nature of the importance of the events that week. A horrifying death ... and triumphant, glorious life!

Seeing Stars

The first time I saw one, I thought they were so cool looking. The first time I stepped on one barefoot, I screeched in pain. The first time I stepped on one in my shoe and rolled my ankle I thought, "What good, exactly, is this thing?"

I'm talking about the sweet gum seed pods. They are spikey, round, hard pods about an inch or so in diameter that carry the seeds of the sweet gum tree. The Good Lord created them with this hard spikey outer shell to protect the more tender sweet gum seeds within.

The sweet gum tree is a beautiful hardwood native to the Southeast with leaves shaped like stars that turn purple, gold and red in the fall. Interestingly, its seed pods are star-like as well. Spray-painted gold and covered with glitter, they could make great Christmas ornaments, but step on one just once and you'll curse the tree they came from.

When I'm out for a walk and find them in my path, I kick them away to prevent others from accidently stepping on them. I've heard of people putting the seed pods in places they don't want dogs or cats to go to keep them away. Others plant them around garden seedlings underground to keep away slugs.

These sweet gum pods remind me of a few people I know. Not in appearance, mind you, but in personality when it comes to hearing about Jesus Christ. Hard, spiky folks rejecting the gift of grace. I've talked to a few of them about Christ only to get turned away, sometimes with nasty comments questioning my intelligence in an invisible God. I press on in faith - hopefully with gentleness and reverence as 1 Peter 3:16 says and not the passionate directness I more likely employ - in efforts to open their hearts to the mercy of the Almighty and salvation. I know the seeds are there within them, so I pray for them regularly, hoping the Lord finds another to water, soften and get them to grow in Him.

Every single person on this Earth is God's child. We, as Christians, need to find ways of loving them, praying for them and gently sharing the love of Christ with them. We also need to be prepared and educated enough to answer their questions as 1 Peter says a verse prior to the one above. It's what we're required to do, according to Matthew 28:19-20.

I know I'll encounter more and more sweet gum seed pods as they drop in my back woods, in the yard, on sidewalks ... and spiritually in my life. I'll be prepared for the latter with the Word in hopes they hear it, embrace Jesus and grow into strong Christian soldiers who will "shine like stars in the world" [Phil 2:14] ... without the spray paint and glitter.

Good As New

This morning as I was changing my sheets, I noticed a large split in the seam of my fitted gold sheet nearly top to bottom. I'd seen the hole earlier, but this morning knew something had to be done. Pre-Recession, I might have just trashed it and got another fitted sheet to match. However, luxury is not a word in our vocabulary right now. So I got out the sewing kit and in 30 minutes the seam was repaired. As I put the sheet on the bed, I noticed an opposite seam splitting. So rather than wait until it got worse, I repaired it as well. The fitted sheet was as good as new.

Later in the morning, I went to put on a pair of copper loop earrings when I noticed how tarnished they were. My first thought was trash them, but instead I got my jewelry cleaner and polished them up as good as new.

It was then I realized how disposable I'd become in my thinking. If something had become less than perfect it was time to throw it away and get something new.

Then I saw my palm tree. I think it may be dying. Just recently we were hit with a stretch of temperatures in the teens. When I bought my palm tree last summer it said, "Hardy to 20 degrees." Knowing our bitter temperatures of late could be detrimental to the palm tree, I covered it each night to keep off the frost. The first few nights it seemed to do okay, but two days ago the fronds started dropping. I cut off the fronds that snapped to the ground. Then I prayed to God to save what is left of the tree. I love to look at my palm tree. It makes me smile. And it's not something I want to toss or replace. I'm doing what I can to help it, but wondering if the palm will grow and thrive.

When I think of my many faults and weaknesses, I wonder if the Lord ever says to Himself, "Time to toss her and replace." I do think a time will come when He does just that, but for now, He's sewing seams, polishing what's tarnished, cutting off what's dead in me and hoping I will grow and thrive. I hope with the years left in me, I can be useful for God's Kingdom, growing it and sharing our Father's love with the lost and lonely. All of us, no matter how used, worn and broken, can be healed by the Father ... good as new. Praise our Lord Jesus for that!

Snuggling When You're Not Sick

When my children were little, getting them to sit down and snuggle was a next to impossible. Filled with boundless energy, they had people to see, things to do, places to explore. So any moment where they might actually want to sit next to me and cuddle, I delighted in it. And typically anytime they were ill was the most common time for that cuddling. With little energy for anything else, we'd sit on the couch together and snuggle, reading books, talking or watching television together. It may sound twisted since my children were ill at the time, but I loved those moments.

I have noticed on my spiritual journey that I am much the same as my children. When things are going well, when I'm too busy, I have a tendency to not find my quiet alone-time with God - to "snuggle" with the Creator, as it were. And inevitably when I am ill, whether physically or spiritually, I'm all about the snuggling. I wonder if God wraps me up in His mighty arms, me sitting there ill on His lap, and if He smiles, thinking how much He enjoys this time with me ... and wishes it were more often.

I'm thinking God doesn't deserve that. I think He deserves the well me and not just the sick me. He is so special, important, awesome and loving, that I should be able to cozy up to Him every day to talk and read His Word. I work my schedule around many ridiculous things, truly, like some insignificant television series for example. Surely I can fit snuggling with God in there. We could talk about what I'm up to, what I need to fix, needs of my friends and family and how I could serve His children better. And what better time to do that than when I'm healthy!

I'm feeling pretty good right now. I think I'll go thank Him for that.

Solomon Syndrome

Imagine being unfathomably wealthy. Imagine being better than everyone else at what you do. Imagine being edified, even idolized, for it regularly. Imagine not having a single need that you cannot meet yourself.

I'm not talking about Solomon, as the title of this implies. I'm talking about Tiger Woods.

These last couple weeks, Tiger has had something of a public relations nightmare as rumors have circulated about his infidelity which he confirmed in his own statement about taking a leave from the sport which has graced his life. When this all came out in the news my son said, "Why has this happened? Tiger had everything: money, he did what he loved and was good at it; he has a beautiful wife and children. Why would he do this?" I just looked at him and said, "It's the Solomon Syndrome."

As Solomon is one of my son's favorite Biblical people because of his wisdom, this resonated with Anton. Solomon had everything: wisdom, wealth and honor to the point where God says "no other king will compare with you." (1 Kings 3:13) On top of all that, Solomon had God. He not only had the teachings and life lessons of his father, King David, but he had direct contact with the Father through a dream where God told him in 1 Kings 3:14 "If you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life." Later God reaffirms and enhances this in 1 Kings 9:4 "As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my ordinances over Israel forever, as I promised your father David saying: 'There shall not fail you a successor on the thrown of Israel.'"

Biblical history tells us Solomon didn't do as God commanded. He married countless women, many who worshiped idols, prompting Solomon to worship these false gods. As a result, Israel was divided and the kingdom collapsed. Solomon wrote a book on his vanity called Ecclesiastes, having learned that finding joy in accumulating things of the world is akin to "chasing after the wind." He ends his book with these words: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing whether good or evil." (Eccles. 12:13-14)

When Tiger made his most recent statement, Miami Heat basketball player Dwyane Wade said, "One thing people don't understand is that we're human. You're not born with a menu on how not to do things wrong. You going to make mistakes like every human being."

But Dwyane is wrong. We are born with a menu that tells us how not to do things wrong. It's called the Bible. It's just we choose to do wrong anyways.

God knows what we have to deal with as humans. For heaven's sake, he was one in Jesus Christ and dealt with every temptation we did (Hebrews 4:15).

We can do the right thing. We can. Tiger said in his most recent statement "I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person." He does. We all need to focus on that. The issue is, what are you using as your guide to do that? Where is your focus? Scripture (Joshua 1:8) tells us Joshua was encouraged by God to "meditate on [the book of the law] day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it."

When the news of Tiger first came out, my husband asked: "Do you think Tiger has Jesus?" I said I didn't know, but thought perhaps he should try to contact him to tell him. My husband laughed, seeing that task as next to impossible. But somebody needs to.

Our family is praying for Tiger. We're praying if he doesn't know Christ, he finds Him. We're praying he find Scripture and reads it thoroughly. We're praying he acts in accordance with all that is written in it. We're praying he becomes that better husband, father and person he wishes to be.

Imagine a Tiger Woods, with all the blessings he already has, filled with the Holy Spirit? What couldn't that man accomplish in Christ's name? How many could come to know Christ through him?

Imagine...

[Wise Solomon painting by Lars Justinen]

Winning in the Unseen World

Anyone who has been called by God to do a great thing for the Kingdom of Heaven better get ready for a battle, because Satan will try his hardest to shake you and make you second guess yourself. He will try to find that spot in you that you think is strongest to make it weak. He will try to find that place where you feel peace and joy and bring it sorrow and grief. Whatever he can do to derail the Lord's plans for you, he will attempt. Sadly, oftentimes, he succeeds.

I have a friend going through a spiritual battle. And I'm not even sure he knows its a spiritual battle as of yet. He is doing great things for the Father, bringing so many of God's children in a closer relationship with Him. So as a result, he is going through many trials of late: physical, emotional and vocational. It's not fair, all he's going through. But I'm not surprised. If I were Satan, I would be working extra hard to try to stop him, too.

Reading "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis is a fictional account about how Satan's army of demons can work on unsuspecting humans. It's eye-opening to anyone who doesn't think these battles take place in an unseen world. But Scripture backs it up. In Daniel 10, we see a weary Daniel waiting weeks for the answer to a prayer. When an angel finally shows up with the answer, he explains he was late because he was doing a spiritual battle and couldn't get away until the archangel Michael showed up to help. In 2 Kings 6 we see Elisha begging God to open the eyes of his attendant who was fearful of an attacking Aramean army. When the attendant feared the worst, Elisha said, "Do not be afraid for there are more with us than there are with them." After Elisha's prayer, the attendant saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. This was a spiritual battle.

James tells us to "consider it nothing but joy" when we face trials of any kind for the testing produces endurance, maturing us in the faith (vs. 2-4). When you're in the midst of these trials, it sure is hard to find joy. But perhaps there is joy in this: if you are going through some ugly right now that just doesn't seem to make sense or is almost overbearing, it could be you are doing something so wonderful for God that Satan's just working extra hard on you. Check out Job's story for example. Glory to God! You must be doing a good job, or Satan wouldn't be wasting his time.

Persevere, saints. Don't give up. Keep praying. Keep reciting Scripture. Keep glorifying God. We know the victory is already won ... and already His.

Worthy

I read something this morning in World magazine that dug deep into my heart to the point of causing me to tear up. The story [The Death Of An Archdeacon, Nov. 7 issue] told about the increasing death toll in southern Sudan. While a peace agreement has been in place since 2005, the government there continues "its forced Islamization and Arabization" with little patience for Christians. One such Christian was Archdeacon Joseph Mabior Garang of the Episcopal Church of Sudan. One late August morning while leading a prayer service, the militia attacked his town, killing 43 people and injuring 62. Mabior was one of those who died. Mabior was shot twice in his legs. The part that got me was what happened after he was shot.

Writer Faith J.H. McDonnell says "30 men and women from the church and town, including tribal chiefs, soldiers, a university student and other youth leaders, and several of the town's oral historians, covered Mabior with their own bodies. All 30 gave their lives in their effort to protect him. Mabior died two hours later."

I called to my husband who was reading in another room to tell him about this and said, "I don't think I even know 30 people in one place who would do this for me." Imagine 30 people jumping in the line of fire to protect this man. Imagine him watching as each was killed in his place. My heart just aches thinking of it.

How awesome a man he must have been that they went to protect him. How much they must have loved him, a man worthy of giving their lives for.

We have one who seeks our life because of our love of Christ, and not our earthly lives so much as our eternal ones. Beth Moore once wrote of him: "We have a powerful enemy who - let me say this clearly - absolutely hates us." Peter tells us he prowls around like a lion seeking to destroy us: our adversary, the evil one, Satan.

While Satan attacks on a regular basis, it's important to remember Jesus already stepped in the line of fire for us. He died to save us, Romans 5:8 explains.

I try to visualize Satan coming for me again and again and watch as Jesus steps right in front of me. I see him hanging on that cross in utter agony for me. It's a powerful image, one that drives a person to their knees to beg for forgiveness.

What's so amazing about this is Jesus did this for every single person, every single sinner. Some don't acknowledge it; some don't absorb the depth of it; and some don't even know about it. Sadly, some think they are too unworthy to have had Christ die for them.

Well, we all are unworthy sinners, but God certainly doesn't think so. He apparently finds us worth dying for. He must love us very much.

I pray everyone comes to know and understand this.

And I pray for the people of Sudan.

[Photo shot by Rev. John C. Daau as found on www.theird.org]