Several years ago, in preparation for our staff Christmas party my boss asked me to write down everyone’s name on paper for us to draw names for gift giving. While I was in the other room gathering up the paper and a container to pick names from it hit me… Wouldn’t it be funny if everyone got my name? In other words, no one would know that my name would be on every slip of paper and when they selected the gift recipient, they would all have my name.

I could just picture how funny it would be when everyone showed up at our Christmas party with a present for me…. It was a brilliant plan!  So I did it.   For each of the staff members, including myself, I wrote my name. We all drew names out of the hat and I was the only one who knew that they all had my name.  I was laughing inside… I was going to be laughing all the way to the Christmas gift bank until I began to get a guilty twinge. I noticed that one of my co-workers, because he had drawn my name three years in a row, was wanting to trade names with another… they found out that they both had me.  I immediately fessed up.  We all laughed and I rewrote the names and this time did it correctly and our Christmas party went on without a hitch.  We talked about for a few months, laughed about it and then the whole thing seemed to be forgotten.

So…

A few years later, our staff had grown in numbers and my little gift plot hadn’t been talked about for quite some time and I’m pretty sure it was forgotten.  As before, my boss asked me to write everyone’s name down on paper so that we could draw names for our gift exchange.  Well, once again the thought of everyone walking into the Christmas party with a gift for me sounded just too funny.  So I did it again…. I wrote my name on every slip of paper and everyone drew MY name out of the hat.  I truly thought that before the day was over that I would once again be found out, we would all laugh and names would be rewritten and drawn again.  But just like any good sitcom… it didn’t happen the way that I thought it would.  No one seemed to catch on that they each had my name.

After a day or two, no one said anything about it so I knew that I had won.  I was going to get a gift from everyone.  I could just picture how funny it would be when it was time to pass out the gifts that everyone would hand theirs to me.  Then, like a kick in the rear, I realized that I would be the only one who got a gift…. I know, I know, that was the plan, but I love my co-workers; I didn’t want them to .not get a gift.

Because several days had passed, I was too proud or maybe too embarrassed to admit my plan, I  had to find out if they really, truly didn’t know about the numerous duplicate “Nancy” names floating around.  I began hinting but no one seemed to catch on.  So I went to the one staff member that I felt would team up with me…. I still won’t tell who it was…

After much prying and the promise that I would never reveal my source, I was told that yes, everyone knew that they all had my name.  But what I found out beyond that blew me away…. I was told that not only did they all know they had my name but they had plotted against me!  They redrew names and didn’t include me at all.  I was going to show up to the party and not get a single gift!

Now you might think that is completely fair but …. okay, well, I guess it was…… but I couldn’t let them out do me… I had to be a creative thinker and come up with a plan to make them all feel guilty for leaving me out.

I thought and thought and the only thing that I could think of that could possibly make them feel bad was to let them believe that I felt so guilty that I would be receiving all of these gifts, that I went out and purchased a gift for all of them…. but not just any gift…. I wanted to get them something BIG.  Then when they opened their gifts they would be like, “Oh man! But wait, we didn’t get Nancy anything…. I feel so guilty… I feel so bad for trying to out do her…. I feel like such a terrible friend and she is such a good friend… Just look at this gift she gave me.. How will I ever repay her?”  (Maybe a tad over the top but you see where I’m going, right?)

So, my search was on…. I needed to find a great gift for each of them but I had little to spend.  Still yet, I was going to show them.  I began by looking for great items at places like Goodwill and other treasure outlets but nothing.  Then I finally found the store that made my gifts come to fruition.  I drove an hour and a half to a little town that happened to have a store that had great coats for very low cost.  I stocked up.  I bought wool coats, leather coats, team coats, down coats… I was a coat monster….. My husband wasn’t too happy with me but it was worth it….  Those guys were going to feel so ashamed!

I arrived at the party and laughter roared as I walked into the room with my stack of gifts.  Little did they know that the joke was on them.  We ate and talked and then it was time to open gifts.  I made my little presentation… I told how guilty I felt and that I wanted to do something nice.  So they each opened their gifts and they were all amazed at their generous gifts.

Now, I will admit that I didn’t have this great feeling of accomplishment that I had hoped for… they really thought that I had spent a lot of money and they did seem to feel a little bad.  As much as I plotted and planned, I realized as they opened the gifts and I saw the look on their faces that I never really wanted them to feel bad…..I loved them. (still do)  I was just having fun… albeit over-budget fun (which my husband asked that I please not do again) and at that point, I didn’t want them to feel bad at all.  I wanted them to enjoy their gift whether they had gotten me anything or not.

I think a true gift is just that…. something we want people to enjoy.  It is pleasing to the giver when  there is an appreciation for what was given.  During the Christmas season, it is easy for me to get so caught up in the giving and doing parts that I tend to forget about what a great generous gift God has given to us through Jesus.  Not only is there hope, peace and love in that gift but there is the gift of eternal life and it  was given for us to embrace, appreciate, share and enjoy.

This Advent Season, through songs, stories or other means, be reminded of the great gift that God has given to us. But more so be reminded that he would have given this gift even if your name was the only one in the hat.  He thinks that much of you. 

Can you imagine if people of the Bible would have had facebook?

We’d see things like this-

Joseph: Relationship Status- It’s complicated

“Mary just checked in at the stable in Bethlehem with Joseph.”

Wiseman Status- “Camels packed and ready, gifts loaded, GPS (star) updated… ROAD TRIP!”

Shepherds Status- “Does anyone know what swaddling cloth is?”

“Gabriel just added photos to the album, ‘Do not be Afraid’”

Zechariah’s Status – ” At least I can still write”

Angel’s Status- “Had a great time hanging out with the shepherds tonight.  Thanks everyone for making it so much fun!”

King Herod’s Status- “Anyone want to go with me to “worship” that new king?”

I’m certain Christ’s timing on earth was perfect.  Not just because I think texting, facebook, twitter and more could provide so much false or irrelevant information that we would be overwhelmed trying to decipher what was truly being said and done by Christ, but because Galatians 4: 4-5 tells us it was the perfect time and perfect timing of his arrival.

I know that my enjoyment of technology, electricity, indoor plumbing, word processing, automobiles and other 21st Century perks makes the timing of my life perfect for my abilities… I trust that was the same for Christ’s life.

Something also tells me that had the nativity scene been in our day and age, Jesus’ birth announcement may have resembled this Christmas Card-

 ⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.^[a]

I’m not sure if you have ever had the privilege of teaching a 16-year-old to drive, but lets just say that when I was 16 my parents told me that in order for me to get my license, I had to learn to drive our stick shift Volkswagen.  Two times out practicing in the car, one time with each parent, and they changed their minds and decided it wasn’t necessary. 

It’s funny that we believe that mid-teenage years are the best time to distribute driver’s licenses to kids… I’ve experienced it first hand in the past few years and this is the age when they believe they know everything, are invincible and some even immortal…. and we let them drive. Here’s an example of what I mean…

Quotes In the car while letting my 16-year-old daughter, Allison, practice driving in our church’s pretty much empty parking lot…

Allison:

“I am a good driver…. Now, this one is the brake, right?”

“I meant to do that.”

“Can I just go on and go through the grass?”

“So now, how do I put on makeup while driving?”

“How’s this parking?….. Wait, we’re still moving”

A little later… Still in the parking lot

Me: “Why did you stop?”

Allison: “I just got pulled over”

Same parking lot…

Allison’s friend Lexi who was in the back seat: “Why are you stopped now?”

Allison: “Uh, the light is red…

Lexi: (Playing along) “The light is green now”

Allison: “No, it’s not… that’s the turning lane… Keep complaining and this Disney trip is over!”

Still in the parking lot…

Me: “Okay, Allison, I need to get back to work”

Allison: “Come on, Mom, this is my first road trip…Anyone need to go to the bathroom? I don’t want you to tell me that you have to go down the road twenty minutes from now … now is your chance… And quit whining about being hungry and thirsty….”

Lexi: (after we had been sitting still in the car for a while) What are you staring at, Allie?

Allie: (As she continues to stare) Canadians… we’ve driven a lot today….

(I don’t know where she gets this)

Lexi: (playing along again) “You’d better go… Dinosaurs are coming after us…”

Allison: (looking at Lexi like she’s crazy) “That’s all you could come up with??”

As we are still driving around the parking lot….

Me: “Allison, I need to get back to work!”

Allison: Mi nombre es Allison. No hablo ingles.

See what I mean???

It would be ideal(and save me a lot of money in gray covering hair color) if we could teach our kids how to drive from a remote location …Yes, I could sit at my desk and guide her through the parking process. However, I can’t imagine the lack of understanding and trying to teach without actual help or an example…..especially teenagers who struggle with attention anyway. Sometimes… most of the time….we just have to show them what to do.

Here we are still in Isaiah (Isaiah, 42:1, 5-6)

God, through Isaiah, is letting us know that he is sending someone to show us the way…. the way to live; the way to God, himself.  His chosen people, though try as some did, couldn’t meet the mark with the laws… they just didn’t get it and He had promised a solution.  Like Isaiah, God had sent prophets to explain and warn but the people still didn’t catch on.  He loved his creation so much that he needed someone, just like us but more importantly, just like Him, to show us how to react to injustice, how to pray, how to trust, how to believe, how to love and more…. We needed an example…Isaiah was letting the people know that God was going to fulfill his promise of a new covenant with them ( a new way to get to Him) and the Light would come to show us the way. 

That Light was born and we celebrate his life during this time.  How has his example impacted your life? Have you allowed it to?

More Chocolate Tomorrow!

Well, now I’m all grown up and have self control ……. And I also have a job so I can buy an extra calendar or two just in case ….. but, this isn’t about chocolate calendars….it’s not about self-control…..  It is about the Advent Season and the excitement that the countdown brings.

I’ve found myself many times when I’m reading during my quiet time, wanting to read more and then a bit more and even more …. pretty much like the chocolate of my childhood, I don’t want to stop until I’m satisfied.  So to add to my regular Bible reading plan,  I’m opening an Advent reading window a day (while eating a piece of chocolate, of course).  I’m doing this so I can share the “chocolate” that is satisfying to me and hopefully to others to.

So grab your chocolate …. the real stuff.. or not….. and hold me accountable to sharing with you a devotion, insight or story a day until Christmas.  Hopefully,  you’ll enjoy it as much as I will.

So, we’ll begin here in Isaiah…. Isaiah 11:1-5 to be exact

Isaiah is prophesying- He’s telling about a person (Jesus), a descendant of David, who is going to have some pretty obvious qualities about himself…. Godly wisdom, Godly Counsel, Godly Understanding…Just these three alone are enough to make you think He would be the one to follow, but as you move on down into the scripture there is something that I read that makes the whole appreciating Jesus thing even more precious.

It talks about his quality of blindness in Christ… not literal blindness, but instead, it is the ability to look at someone and not see them as others do and not judge them because of the way that they appear.  He judges the heart (That is why the Pharisees stayed so angry at him all of the time) .  In other words, he doesn’t love us just because we are attractive, or physically fit, or big givers of our money, are financially sound, teach Sunday School or sing in the choir or any other deed.   He loves us because we are his creation… made in his image..    That’s an incredible hope for a society who lives in a shadow of Hollywood images and lifestyles … It is also incredible hope for those haunted by their past.

We also find out He also judges by what he knows and sees … not rumor…He waits to know our hearts and doesn’t allow the opinion of another to persuade his thoughts about us.   More hope for those plagued with a history of poor choices or a past (or even present) that has brought about conversations from others.

When Isaiah was prophesying about this Messiah, he painted a picture of a fair and loving Christ that we fortunately now have an opportunity to know…. personally.

Have you pushed Christ aside because of a sin, a past, a hate, a bitterness or just an esteem that feels undeserving?  Look at how he see us… it’s different than what we are used to …. allow him to show you that love.

What about those who have experienced his love… How is your love? Is your love blind toward others?  Is it based on what you feel is attractive or not so attractive (appearances, financial status, hygiene, rumors, lifestyle, political positions)?  Today is a great day to practice blind love… to try to see the heart of a person rather than what the world sees.

So, I’m off to buy more chocolate…. I love this time of year!

¹ Out of the stump of David’s family^[a] will grow a shoot—
      yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
 ² And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
      the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
   the Spirit of counsel and might,
      the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
 ³ He will delight in obeying the Lord.
      He will not judge by appearance
      nor make a decision based on hearsay.
 ⁴ He will give justice to the poor
      and make fair decisions for the exploited.
   The earth will shake at the force of his word,
      and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
 ⁵ He will wear righteousness like a belt
      and truth like an undergarment.

As far as the reasoning for why these conversations are happening and since I seem to be claiming this “oh” gene (which, by the way, lies dormant in my parents), I’m beginning to believe that I’m wired that way.  I’m not just thinking this because my husband has been trying to tell me this for years, but because I am seeing it in my children more and more and that helps establish the theory that it may just be a wiring issue with me… yep, born that way.

Here are a few of many examples of what I mean…. these conversations include my 16-year-old (Allison), my 18-year-old (Catie) sometimes my 9-year-old, my husband (Chris) and me….

Allison:  So are Vera Bradley and Vera Wang related?
Me:  How does that even make sense? They just have the same first name.
Allison:  I know… Are they related?
Me:  ?? (silence)
Catie:  So, are they related?
Chris:  Yes girls, they are sisters!
Allison and Catie:  Oh…

OR

Conversation in the car in the dark:
Allison: Mom, are my contacts in?
Me: Allison, how on earth am I supposed to know?
Allison: What?? I thought you said the eye place called you and said they were in.
Me: (short pause) Ohhh, I thought you meant in your eyes.
Chris: Oh, brother

OR

Conversation in the car-
Allison:(who was sitting behind me) Mom, I just sent you a picture.
Me: Okay, text or email?
Allison: Text. Did you get it?
Me: No
Allison: Now?
Me: No
Allison: I sent it. Now did you get it?
Me: No, Allison.
A few minutes later…

Allison: Did you get it, mom?
Me: No

After a few more minutes of the same dialogue….
Chris: Wouldn’t it have been easier for you to just hand your phone to mom and let her see the picture?
Me and Allison: Oh…

OR

Conversation after taking photos of my daughter who was climbing out of a tree….
Allison: Mom, help me
Me:  You’ve got it… Come on down
Allison:  I’m scared. I’m afraid I’m going to break something.
Me:  You’re not going to break anything. This tree is strong and sturdy …. You couldn’t break it even if you wanted to
Allison:  I’m talking about me, Mom! I’m afraid I’ll break my arm or leg!
Me: oh…

AND

Regarding a glitch in our van’s brake lights, to stop concern about the battery dying, Chris and I decided to trade cars for the day. Our phone call:
Chris: Hey, I’m not going to trade cars now. I put a band aid on it so it is temporarily fixed… at least until I can get home tonight.
Me: Wow, that is hilarious
Chris: What is?
Me: That is so funny, kind of ironic, that you used a band-aid to fix it.
Chris:(with laughter) I didn’t use a real band-aid. It was a figure of speech
Me: Oh….

This genetic flaw seems to have been passed down to my poor children and unfortunately, the “voice of reason” gene that their father so perfectly owns, lies dormant or at least will be a late blooming gene.    I hope they are late bloomers because I will have to say that the wisdom of the “Oh” gene is about a 1 on a scale 1-10 while the “voice of reason” ranks way up there with a 9.9-10…. It just comes in so handy… and it has saved our family embarrassment over and over.  (Well, not counting that I’ve just now posted our conversations for the world to read.)

But you know, so often my conversations with God are also laced with the Epiphany Factor.  Common sense can’t always play a role in conversations with God because he is so much bigger than that, but I do tend to forget so much when I talk to him.  I forget to be quiet.  I forget to get rid of barriers between us.  I forget that when he makes a promise he keeps it.  I forget that he loves me., etc.  Many times God has to jump in and, either through his word or his people, stop me and be a voice of reason.

In the Book of Job, Elihu, to a certain degree, was like that; the voice of reason.  After listening to Job and his friends, Elihu spoke some things that he felt needed to be said.  Job was wondering why God wasn’t filling him in on the reasoning of why he had to endure his suffering and wondered why God was being to quiet.  Elihu piped in and stated that God was indeed speaking ….. he was pretty much always speaking but Job wasn’t prepared to listen.

Now, we know that Job had been listening and that God doesn’t always answer our prayers in a way we can understand.  He is not always going to tell us why we have to deal with things certain things or go through certain experiences, so Elihu wasn’t completely correct there.  He did say, however, that God does speak to us in many ways, we just have to not try to put words in his mouth. He uses things to get our attention and sometimes we don’t understand what he’s trying to get from us because of our pride…. we can’t make out what God wants because we are caught up in our suffering.

I find myself in that same situation so many more times than I like to admit… even though what I experience may not be as great of a suffering as what Job went through, I will often find myself so caught up in my own suffering or uncomfortableness that I can’t hear why God is allowing me to go through it.  When I finally let go of myself and allow God to be there, he may not show me exactly why I have to experience what I do, but he at least is there to be a compassionate, protecting, listening and mighty friend who comforts me and provides a peace that I can only get through him.  Job’s epiphany factor came a few chapters later when he realized that God’s ways are best…. when I remind myself of that I so often will be given the “voice of reason” and a brand new outlook.

I’m not sure what you may be dealing with today but should you be in a place where God seems quiet or distant, a great start may be not asking why but by asking for his help in taking the focus off of your suffering and allowing him to consume it.  I may provide a peace like you’ve never known.

Job 33

¹³ So why are you bringing a charge against him?
Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?
¹⁴ For God speaks again and again,
though people do not recognize it.

Sometimes my kids ask for something and because I find educational value in what they’ve asked for, I will get it immediately… okay, maybe it’s just because I think it would be fun…… but the point is this, sometimes I just get it for them … A couple of years ago my youngest just had to have a butterfly habitat. You know, the kind where you watch caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies right before your very eyes… Yep, we got it and once we got it home the conversation between my husband and I went something like this….

Me: Great, we’re going to have to take this back.

Chris: Why?

Me: They didn’t give us everything.

Chris: Here let me see… (He takes it and looks at it)… It’s all here

Me: No, it’s missing the caterpillars

Chris: You have to order them

Me: Order them?!

Chris: Yes… what, you thought they came in the box?

Me: Um, Maybe…

Chris: How  could they have survived in the box like that?

Me: Freeze dried.

Chris: Freeze dried?  That would kill them

Me: Are you sure?

Chris: Yes, I’m pretty sure.

Me: Doesn’t it work for Sea Monkeys? ….(the thrifty side of me totally kicked in) Ugh, I don’t want to buy caterpillars

So the Butterfly Habitat sat empty until one day I happened to luck into a cute, little, furry caterpillar crawling across the driveway.  I grabbed it, ran inside and announced my find to the family.  Nobody shared my excitement but it didn’t deter me one bit… I was going to watch it turn into a beautiful butterfly and they would all be sorry for their lack of enthusiasm.  It lived in the habitat for a day or so.  Apparently caterpillars eat more than air because I had no clue what to feed him and, well, lets just say he went on to his eternal reward after grass didn’t satisfy his caterpillar metabolism.  No worries though… I did a little research and it was a terrible caterpillar that was a moth larvae that has been a horse killer here in Kentucky….. so, I’m actually a hero… but that is not the point… The point is, I didn’t want to buy caterpillars but the habitat doesn’t work if you don’t.  Fortunately my 6-year-old quickly forgot about the habitat and we went on with life.

Last Christmas, however, a package arrived in the mail and my cousins had sent my now 7 1/2-year-old a brand new habitat as a gift.  I will admit I felt the excitement jump back into my spirit when I thought about the caterpillar metamorphosis process, but still, there were no freeze dried caterpillars. So with constant urging and a pitiful looking sad face from my youngest, I broke down and ordered the caterpillars a few months later… okay, it was a lot of urging.

So the caterpillars, a.k.a. The Chrysalis Brothers, arrived and we watched them grow from tiny, little caterpillars to gluttonous, lazy, about to burst, huge caterpillars… it was actually pretty amazing at how fast they grew.  And soon they began to take their spots and form their very own chrysalis at the top of their habitat jar.  Again, amazing to see God’s creativity in their little lives… so for days they sat and we waited for them to step out and show themselves as the beautiful Painted Ladies they were supposed to be.  It happened and though we didn’t snuggle them or call all of our family with our excitement, we did find great pleasure in watching them mature and be able to fly.  So interesting to have such a close-up view and watch.

The instructions said that we were to let them go after a couple of days of observation so they could go into the world and multiply. We knew that day was coming… there was a sense of accomplishment with a bit of disappointment for having them for such a short period.  We let them go and they flew like they couldn’t possibly fly in their small habitat…now they had the whole world… or at least the neighborhood and it was actually beautiful to watch.

Watching them was a reminder to me that change is difficult… even when it is good change…. it often affects more than just those experiencing the biggest change.  But when God ordains the change there is so much to be excited about and so much to be expected that staying in the little “habitat” inhibits what God can do.

In Acts 11, Peter experienced others wanting him to stay in his “habitat” when he began eating with uncircumcised men. The circumcised believers began to complain until Peter told them how God ordained what he was doing.  Then the men who had complained opened the habitat door and allowed God to do his thing.

I can totally relate to the complaining men….

My neighbors are moving tomorrow….These aren’t just any neighbors… these are two people with whom I spent time with daily at work (I worked with both of them for several years) We’ve spent the day at the office together only to bring our families together at night for dinner.  We have shared quite a few Thanksgiving and Easter dinners together, prayed together, we’ve each been included in each other’s family holiday times, spent accumulated hours talking on the porch or making s’mores at their fire pit and we’ve borrowed everything from mayonnaise to toilet paper. …. these aren’t just friends or neighbor’s … they are unrelated family.  They are also in ministry and God has called them to another place.

You know, it’s easy to be selfless when it doesn’t really matter… the Chrysalis Brothers left and though it was fun watching them and would have been fun if we kept them longer, it was also fun to let them go…. But when it matters, it is easy to be selfish… I don’t want my neighbors to go…. I want more hours of talking on the porch….I want those shared times together… I want to hide their “for sale” sign and I want them to stay…but God has called them to where they are going.  They need to go to experience God’s freedom.

I love them and will miss them terribly, but I know that doing what God calls us to do is the only way we can truly see the beauty of the flight.  If we keep them from that then we only see a bit of what God can do.  I must open the “habitat” and let them go… didn’t say it would be easy… I know they will be such a great addition to the state of Missouri.  I love you, Howard and Shirley.  You can fly away now…. Godspeed.

Acts 11

¹The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him ³and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened: ⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. ⁶I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. ⁷Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

⁸“I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹“The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ ¹⁰This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

¹¹“Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. ¹²The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. ¹⁴He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. ¹⁶Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with^[a]water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?”

¹⁸When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

I wear glasses… If you know me then you probably know that I don’t wear them often… I do see much better with them on, but because of that little annoying piece that fits across my nose and those other annoying pieces that go behind my ears,  I can only wear them for a short period of time.  Without them I can function very well, so they tend to get stashed away often… as they have been for almost a year.  However, during the past few weeks… maybe because of age, maybe because of tired eyes…. I was reminded how much I need the less blurry view of life.   Now, I probably would have gotten them out again but when I went to get them out last time a lens was missing, so they ended up staying in the junk drawer. Unless I wanted to walk around with one eye closed, then the one lens would do me no good ( I know, because I tried it) so I thought it to be pointless.

The other day, however, I decided to do the unexpected… clean out the “company’s coming” cabinet.  The “company’s coming” cabinet is the cabinet that has very useful hiding spaces for last minute toss-ins just before I open the door to my home.  Now, what inspired me to clean it out?  I’m not exactly sure but regardless of the reason, I began working through the camera instruction booklets, SD cards, marbles, pens, rubberbands, coins, and then something landed in my hand that was so amazing that it almost seemed to twinkle…. it was the lens to my glasses.  I was so excited I could hardly stand it.  I would finally be able to see details again…. then it hit me… In one of my “trying not to be a hoarder” impulsive moments,  I, long ago, when the lens was no where to be found, threw my favorite glasses in the trash.  Sure, I had found the lens but it was pointless… the glasses were long gone.  So along with some inked out pens and old rubberbands, the lens was sent to the bottom of the trash bag.

The following day I was getting some scissors from my “no place else to put it” drawer and as I reached to grab them I saw  something sticking out between two drawer dividers… could it be?  Yes, it was my favorite eyeglass frames!  But, in my excited time of finding my faves, I remembered that I had thrown away the lens.  It wasn’t too late though, the trash had not been taken away yet, but was it actually worth digging through trash to recapture the lens?  Of course,  I could pop that baby back in the frames and voila…no new glasses… I’d have my old ones for my tired, blurry eyes and look stylish as well.   So the digging began…. I was pretty sure that I knew which bag it was hiding in, so my husband and I began to dig… We searched the bag but nothing… except, there was one other bag that was inside the larger bag… we began digging through it…. There, at the bottom of the little bag, hidden underneath a few broken pens and some dryer lint, was the precious lens.  This was the key to clearer vision.  We retrashed the trash and I eagerly grabbed my glasses and went to the table to begin the lens popping-in procedure.  I put the lens on the frame and popped  the lens completely through the frames and onto the table… there was absolutely no tension… there was no tension because the lens was too small… the lens was too small because it was not my lens.   All of that for nothing…Maybe had I looked for the frames before throwing away the lens, maybe had I looked through the lens before I decided it had to be from my glasses… had I done either of those two things I would have saved a lot of time and would have also not ended up at the same place where I started.

So often we spend life just like that…Walking around with blurred vision looking for something that will make things clearer.  We search and find a piece here and a piece there and think we have a total solution … only to discover that even when they are placed together we still have blurred vision… it wasn’t the right thing.

Maybe our blurred vision isn’t actually lenses and frames but instead a need for something to fill a void.  We end up constantly searching for something of importance … or something to make our lives important… or just something to make ourselves happy. … Our vision is distorted because we hope to “see” clearer by a new career, a new relationship, a new family, a new car, new “stuff”, a new whatever….. we keep searching for it and maybe, like the discovery of my lens,  we get a twinkling “hallelujah” moment or two … thinking we’ve found the answer…..only to realize that it wasn’t the true answer and then we still feel the same way we felt before…. Correcting my blurred vision could have been an easy fix… another examination, a new prescription… even used the same old frame if I had chosen to do so…but instead I chose to keep searching

In Jeremiah 29: 11-14, Jeremiah has written a letter to the Israelites who were in exile in Babylon.  He more or less told them that God said that during this time of exile they were not to listen to those around them (prophets and diviners) because they will deceive… the Lord knows you, knows your situation and has a plan to prosper you…. let Him be who you find peace in…

It doesn’t matter how hard we’ve looked, who we’ve listened to, what we have pieced together on our own, how long we have “worn” the pieced together “glasses”, or if we have been completely broken or stubborn…..God is always ready to show you his way of giving you a clear vision….He says you’ll find it if you seek it with all of your heart.

It is really that simple.

Jeremiah 29:11-14a

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.

With my confession I will say that there are many who never wavered in their faith in their team.  Regardless of the poor performance or embarrassing losses, they still never missed a game, still wore blue and white… even at away games and they still cheered as loud as before.  They withstood the test and their belief in a team held firm.  And because of that they can say that they were faithful during the hard times and now it has paid off.

A test of faith pays off when we hang in there and hang on to hope.

There is a passage where Jesus tests a woman who had come to him for the healing of her daughter.  The only issue (which really wasn’t one to Jesus) was that she wasn’t an Israelite… she wasn’t one of God’s chosen people… she was a Cannanite woman.  She was begging for help and Jesus pretty much appeared to ignore her.  Finally, his buddies had had enough and begged him to get rid of her.  So then, Jesus  says something that was directed to the woman…He said it wasn’t fair to give the children’s bread (Israelite’s healings) to the dogs (those who weren’t Israelites) and she retorted that even dogs get scraps.  She was telling him that she believed even a crumb of what he could do would be enough to help her daughter.  He tested her faith and she showed him that her faith was hanging on to the hope of what he could do….Jesus was pleased and he healed her daughter.  That was the pay off for hanging on to hope.

Maybe you are dealing with something and you feel as if God is ignoring you….. or maybe you don’t feel worthy …. maybe you feel like your issue is not deserving….. But God is totally aware of your need…..Maybe He needs to see where your faith is… maybe he needs to test and see if your faith is true blue ….. Keep in mind though, I used the word “hanging”…. no one said it was easy… I know it is not easy, and sometimes it may seem if you are losing your grip…… hang on to hope.  The pay off is amazing.

Oh yeah,  “Go Big Blue!”

Matthew 15

²¹Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²²A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”

²³Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

²⁵The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Today is Penguin Awareness Day.  I’m not really sure who this day is aimed to make aware.  Thanks to comical little penguins from cartoons and comic strips….Opus, may you rest in peace…. or possibly a nice documentary like, “March of the Penguins” or even for the retro crowd, a Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom episode, most everyone I know is aware of penguins.  About 10 years ago I even became aware that some lived off of the coast of South Africa.  So what are we needing to be made aware of????

Somewhere in some antarctic, uncharted territory are they, like “Kentucky Fried Chicken” Chickens are believed to be, being unethically bred and slaughtered?  Are they in need of counseling as they live in great big groups and struggle to get along?  Are they a gifted group of performers that need recognition or just a lucky break? Wait, maybe the whole awareness thing is aimed toward the seals that gobble up the penguins.  Maybe that would explain the whole black and white awareness ribbon I saw on the killer whale today. (Just kidding)

I suppose there could be some significance to the whole penguin awareness thing… maybe they are gradually becoming extinct… I don’t know…. oh, I get it…. that is the the whole point… I just said, “I don’t know”…..  I’m aware but not fully aware, therefore the need for Penguin Awareness Day!  I feel so relieved to know that my little black and white awareness ribbon has significance.

The reality of it is that often we believe we are aware of something just because we know a little bit about it.

I was reading this morning about Jesus in his hometown.  The people were aware of Jesus.  They knew him as a carpenter’s son.  They knew his mother and siblings.  They knew him but they didn’t know him.  What a shame…. it still happens today.  Some know him and are aware of him but the never know him in a relationship and therefore aren’t aware of who he really is.  That need for awareness is totally legitimate… the awareness of something more than an hour at church, a unpleasant experience with a “Christian”, or an attempt to read a hard to understand version of the Bible… those experiences may make us aware of his name and then we can claim to be aware but it is the investment of seeking and a commitment to him that makes us aware of who he really is …. we begin to see faith at work….   I don’t know… I’m seeing a red, white and black ribbon in the making.

How’s your awareness? How’s your faith?

Have a great Penguin Awareness Day!

Matthew 13:53-58

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.“

⁵⁸And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

(Disclaimer:  There really is a Penguin Awareness Day.  According to most calendars it falls on January 20th.  However, to my knowledge, there is not a representing ribbon for this day, but I think black and white would make sense.)