Together Again, Naturally

I am struck by an essay entitled Alone Again, Naturally.  Dennis Prager read and discussed it on his show yesterday afternoon.  The author of the piece sings the praises of being alone.  “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle,” she quotes with conviction.  As I listened to and later read her thoughts, I felt that I couldn’t disagree more.  I do need my man and I like having him around.  Yes, there are times when I want my own space, my independence.  I want to “spend my own money on a 10^th pair of black boots or a painting or a wood stove” without asking for permission.  I don’t want to worry about cooking if I don’t want to.  And yet, when I think of the loneliness that misguided freedom means, I shrink from the thought.

Single women “love doing whatever we want to do, when we want to do it.”  I suppose we all think that we would love to do whatever, whenever.  In fact the society around us gives us the feeling that we have a right to feel that way.  We are told to “have it your way” and “if it feels good, do it.”  Yet even a life of singleness presents its responsibilities.  I was single until I was twenty-six and there were few times when I ate breakfast at 11 and lunch at 3.  I usually had a class to attend or a job to do.  Being single and alone does not take away the responsibilities of life.  It only adds to the loneliness one feels when she comes home from work to an empty place where no one waits for her arrival.

As a single person we come to realize “that there is no reason to curl up on ‘our’ side of the bed while we sleep.  We no longer have to take sides.  We can sprawl across the expansive middle.”  Ten years ago I was given the lonely privilege of sprawling across the expansive middle of ‘our’ bed.  My husband had just been diagnosed with cancer and he was in the hospital awaiting treatment.  I found this ‘privilege’ bleak and cold.  The long night seemed to drag on forever.  I missed a companion to keep me warm both physically and emotionally.

She ends her essay by stating, “We love our nests.”  I love my nest as well.  I love those that are a part of my nest, my husband and my children.  They are the ones that make my nest worth tending and they are the ones that make my nest snug, warm, serene, and safe.  I don’t understand the feeling that a woman doesn’t need anyone, especially a man who makes life “a lot of work.”  Having a companion to share the load and to pick one up when she is down, makes life worth the struggle.  It makes life safe and serene.  It makes life warm and friendly.

God reminds us in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 that “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.  For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.”  I do not see it as a weakness to have someone there to lift me when I have fallen.  I see it as a reward.  “But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.  Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.”  Those of us who are blessed with a special bed-warmer will not dispute this.  A warm bed is much more inviting than a cold one.  “But how can one be warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.  And a three-fold cord is not quickly broken.”  I am thankful for my husband and I am thankful for the Lord God who offers the third strand to our cord.  Together we can withstand the struggles this world offers.  Together we can enjoy the warmth and help of a constant companion.  I choose to be together.

Operation Christmas Child

For many years now our children have been filling boxes for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child.  So when I was asked to represent my church out the local information meeting, I readily agreed.  I thought I was there to pick up empty boxes; I did not realize that I would come away encouraged by the impact of the Christmas Child program.  As I waited for the meeting to begin, I thought of how I might challenge others to fill a shoebox.  I thought of the wealth of our material goods and of the many underprivileged children who are blessed when we give from our own abundance.  I thought that the focus of the meeting would be the joy we bring to those who are less fortunate when we fill a shoebox.  However, I took home a different message of encouragement.  The gift of a shoebox is the message of God’s love touching the hearts of children, families, villages, and countries.

The speaker, a fourth generation missionary to the country of Uruguay, shared with us the impact of Operation Christmas Child in his country.  One of the first pictures he shared was that of a family of five children.  These children chose not to attend the Christmas celebration where the boxes were being distributed.  They did not own shoes or proper clothing.  They would feel embarrassed coming.  A group of volunteers decided to pay a special visit to this family.  They brought shoeboxes for each of the children.  Miraculously, inside each of the five shoeboxes were a pair of shoes and some clothing.  This was not planned by the volunteers, but rather by our loving Father who wanted these children and their family to experience His love in a personal way.  Those of us at the meeting were impressed with the fact that God leads every shoebox to just the right person.

He then spoke of a young boy who was growing up in an area of profound racism.  This boy’s mother had forbidden him even to speak to a child with darker skin.  This was the accepted way of life in his village.  He came to the Christmas celebration and received his shoebox.  He sat on the floor playing with the marvellous toys, wonderful toys he had never been able to own before.  As he reached into the bottom of the shoebox, he found an envelope that contained a picture and letter from the boy who had prepared and sent the box.  The giver’s skin color was black.  The boy was amazed and, as he listened to the translator read the letter, tears came to his eyes.  The giver wrote that he prayed that this young boy would understand what Christ had done and that he would accept the love of Jesus.  This young boy and his mother, who also heard the translation, did receive Christ that day.  The boy went on to share the picture of the giver with all in his village.  Today the village no longer lives with racism.  Through the gift of a shoebox God was able to work bringing love where hatred once ruled.

Filled shoeboxes are the first step in reaching a nation with the love of God and His message of salvation.   Before the shoeboxes are distributed, every participating church attends four sessions where the leaders learn new tools for evangelism, follow-up, and spiritual support.  They are also given access to Bible teaching materials.  When the shoeboxes are distributed, the children are given the opportunity to participate in The Greatest Journey, a series of twelve lessons that share the gospel and love of God.  On graduating from The Greatest Journey, the children receive a certificate and a New Testament.  In 1998 when Samaritan’s Purse first came with shoeboxes to the country of Uruguay, the country had only 850 churches and only two percent of the population confessed to be Christians.  After thirteen years in the country, the number of churches has risen to 2,000.  Now, in 2011, six percent of the nation confesses to be Christian.  Operation Christmas Child has founded 668 Bible Schools and many of these schools have become new churches.  God is working in the country of Uruguay through the simple gift of shoeboxes.

Every shoebox filled is not just a gift of love for an underprivileged child, but it is also an opportunity to share the gospel, to share God’s love.  When we fill a shoebox, we take part in the transformation of a child, a family, a village, a country.  God works in mysterious ways and one of those ways is a shoebox packed with love and sent by prayer to a child who needs to know the Good News of Jesus Christ.  If you have children, I encourage you to pick up a shoebox for each one to fill.  Your child can decide what to pack in the box and then he can write a letter to the recipient and enclose a picture of himself.  Through this simple and meaningful act, your child can have a part in transforming the life of a child with the love of God.

 

Wearied and Troubled

You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.

Trust in the Lord forever,

For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

-Isaiah 26:3-4

Considering burdens F.B. Myer wrote, “Before we are thoroughly awake in the morning we sometimes become conscious of a feeling of depression, as if all were not right; and a voice seems to tell a long tale of burdens to be carried and difficulties to be met as the hours pass by. . .  And too often we have yielded to the suggestion and have dragged ourselves wearily through the hours, doing our daily tasks with hands engaged and strength spent by the burdens that we have assumed.”  The key words here are “the burdens that we have assumed.”  Sometimes we carry burdens that God never intended us to carry.  We become wearied and troubled by many things.

I am reminded of Martha who became distracted with much serving.   In her distraction her attention was drawn to Mary who, of all things, was sitting at the feet of Jesus.  What was Mary thinking when there was so much to accomplish?  What was Jesus thinking by allowing her to sit while Martha grew weary with the burden of serving?   Martha was dragging herself wearily through her tasks and her strength and patience were spent.  Jesus calmly answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

When I pause in the tumult of daily activity to complain of my burdens, I sometimes hear the quiet voice of Jesus admonishing me in the same way He admonished Martha.  “One thing is needed.”  C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “I am convinced that many believers suffer in a dungeon when they could walk on a palace roof, viewing the lush landscape and Lebanon.  Wake up, believers, from your lowly condition!”  Our self-inflicted burdens and man-made dungeons keep us from the green pastures and still waters that the Father has provided for us to enjoy.

What a blessing it is to hand over our burdens to the Lord Jesus and to let Him handle them and lay them aside as He will.  How peaceful it is to follow Him as He leads us beside still waters and makes us to lie down in green pastures.  How restful to allow Him to restore our souls.  May we rest in His presence and feast at His table with cups that run over knowing that He has all things in His control.  Knowing also that He only wants our faithful performance in the daily tasks He lovingly gives us and not our frenzied activity in demands of our own choice that fill us with stress and pressure.      

Moss-Covered Paths

My soul, wait silently for God alone,

For my expectation is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense;

I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength,

And my refuge, is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:5-8

The purpose of our trials is not only to test our worthiness but also to increase it, just as the mighty oak is tested by the storms as well as strengthened by them.

Sometimes I dare to ask the question, “Why can’t life be easy?”  That question comes more readily to my lips when my children are facing difficult circumstances.  My mother’s heart wants life to be pleasant and effortless for my little (and not so little) chicks.  I want their journeys to be “moss-covered paths laid out through the meadows” where they can skip and run with ease.  Yet they are often sent to “carve out their own paths with their own hands.”  And my heart cries out for them and the difficulties they face.

I have lately been pouring out my mother’s heart before Him and wondering why He doesn’t seem to answer my prayers.  Why does life continue to lay stones in the path?  Why does the hard work and difficulties remain?  And He has gently reminded me that His ways are best.  Do I trust Him?  He knows what He is doing.

The August 3 reading in Streams in the Desert affirms, “Some people always avoid things that are costly, or things that require self-denial, self-restraint, and self-sacrifice.  Yet it is hard work and difficulties that ultimately lead us to greatness, for greatness is not found by walking the moss-covered path laid out for us through the meadow.  It is found by being sent to carve out our own path with our own hands.”

The question is then asked, “Are you willing to sacrifice to reach the glorious mountain peaks of God’s purpose for you?”  Am I willing to allow my child to sacrifice to reach the glorious mountain peaks of God’s purpose?  I still long for each of my children to experience a gentle and carefree life, but really I long for each of them to become the person God plans for them to be.  I long for them to be strong and worthy.  I want to allow Christ to lead them to greatness.

Therefore I should not hope for an easy life for each of them.  Neither should I pray for a life filled with “moss-covered paths.”  Rather, I should pray that they each become stronger.  I should pray that their power would equal their tasks.  As Phillips Brooks writes, “Never pray for an easier life – pray to be a stronger person!  Never pray for tasks equal to your power – pray for power equal to your tasks.  Then doing your work will be no miracle – you will be the miracle.” 

Joy

Let the eternal Truth be your sole and supreme joy.

-Thomas A Kempis

This morning our water heater was not doing its job of heating water.  Now, what can be worse than a cold shower?  My initial reaction was to complain.  However, before the complaint escaped, I thought of my daughter’s last email from Papua New Guinea.  She shared the joys of bucket showers.  Bucket showers do not sound like hot showers.  In fact, they sound rather cold.  And, if I were in Papua New Guinea or some other foreign field, I would probably not bemoan the experience of a cold shower.  The adventure of it would be just one more delight.

After my cold shower, my quiet time reading from The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges found me in the chapter of Joy.  Joy.  It is an emotion that often evades us in our North American culture.  We are too accustomed to lamenting about how life should be rather than rejoicing in how life is.  Doubt, worry, and despair weigh us down with heavy hearts and we become discouraged.  Murmuring becomes a way of life.

But this is not the life God would have for us.  Hebrews 12:1 calls to lay aside those weights of discouragement that encumber us and to run the race with endurance.  Laying aside those weights frees us to run with delight.  The joy we experience gives us the strength to continue moving forward.  Joy comes in part by laying aside weights, but real and full joy comes from our focus.  We are to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.  He and the life He has given us bring real and abiding joy.  In His presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.  (Psalm 16:11)

Jerry Bridges reminds us, “We can go through life bored, glum, and complaining, or we can rejoice in the Lord, in our names being written in heaven, in the hope of an eternal inheritance.  It is both our privilege and our duty to be joyful.  To be joyless is to dishonor God and to deny His love and His control over our lives.  To be joyful is to experience the power of the Holy Spirit within us and to say to a watching world, “Our God reigns.”