For Shirley

My friend lost her grandson.  He was still young, early 30s, and her heart is broken.  When he was a baby, she cared for him, took him to church, and poured so much love into him.  His name was Kelly and as I agonized last night over this situation, wondering what words I could use to comfort her when his final breath was taken, I realized I had none.  

Sigh.

I tried to think up ways to say "I know how you feel" but I don't.  I haven't lost one of my grandchildren.  I thought maybe I could say something to the effect of "The lessons you taught him as a child will not return void."  But, I didn't know him so how can I vouch for this Biblical truth when I wasn't a part of the village that raised him?  

I thought I could just go to her and hold her and let her lead into the next part.  Maybe she'd cry.  Maybe she'd share some more stories with me.  Just the other day she showed me his high school picture and I must say, he sure was a looker!  Maybe she'd have more photos and tales to go with them that would help to heal her heart as it aches for the little boy that she used to hold in her arms.

Lastly, I thought to myself what would I want at a time like this?  What could my new friends offer who really don't know my past, my family, and what made us function and dysfunction?  What would I want from folks who are trying to help when I could barely stand, much less carry on a conversation, trying to introduce them to my beloved when my soul felt like it was being ripped apart?  Certainly not platitudes and Bible verses taken out of context.  I would not want my grief to be contained because of fear that they would think I really have lost it.  I would not want sympathetic smiles when they could not possibly know the extent of the anguish I was feeling.

So, for now, I will do nothing.  For this day, I will pray for my friend's heartache and I will plan something for another day when she has had time to process this loss.  And then, one day soon, I'll give her that hug.  Hopefully I will get to listen to those stories of Kelly and see more images of this young man who is no longer with us.  I will learn from this experienced woman more about grief than I have been exposed to and how she loved through it all.  For you see, love is the greatest and Shirley has that so deeply engrained in her that I just know that she will stand tall along this pathway that she never wanted to walk down.  Though I cannot go the whole way with her, I will meet her on down the road to let her know she's not on this journey alone.  And until then I shall leave her in our Father's care and comfort.  After all, He does know what it's like to lose a child.  Who better to commiserate with and to cry with than God Himself?  May He bring peace through the turmoil is my earnest prayer, asked in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

That's Me Jesus Is Praying For!

In John 17, Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, doing something that--if you will allow yourself to be transported back in time--just may have you thinking differently the next time the tempter comes along and tries to tell you that you are worthless, useless, and not really a child of God. For in this prayer, in this last conversation with His Father before going to Calvary, Jesus had you on His heart. He did!

"But Stef: I wasn't even alive then. How can this be?"

Oh, my precious friend, I assure you that it was! For you see, long before the world came to know you, long before the garden, and long before the world even existed, you were on His mind. He knew all about you--from the size of your shoe to the tint of your hair. He knew you'd need extra support in certain areas of your life while in other parts your independence would shine forth. He knew the road you would travel and even though it may have been different than His original plan, He allowed you to traverse it so that you could decide for yourself what truth is.

For the next few minutes, I want you to pause your life and go back. Go back to the garden with me, with Christ. Hear Him earnestly crying out to our Father on your behalf. Feel His love as He tells God how much He loves you and how He longs for you to complete the circle in heaven with Him and God. And get this: He doesn't just want you there as a bystander. Un unh! He wants you to have the same portion as He has! Unfathomable? I agree!

So, are you ready? Ready to remember your heritage and stop the lies that no one cares about you? I assure you: Someone does. And even as you read these words right now, He's still praying for you, interceding on your behalf for that silly thing you just did that the devil is beating you up over. Jesus knows the world is not your friend because it wasn't His friend either. However--or perhaps in spite of this--Christ knew the battles you would face, the power you would need, and the encouragement to keep striving until the day He comes back for you. Read this chapter and replace my name with yours. Revel in it. Read it again. And again. And again until it finally sinks in: Jesus loves you. You! Let Him fill you with joy today as these words permeate and penetrate into your soul. You are worth it. How do I know? Hmn hmn hmn. Oh yeah: the Bible tells me so! But don't just take my word for it, Precious. Read for yourself and see!

When Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.  And this is eternal life, that Stefanie knows You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do.  And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.

“I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours Stefanie was, and You gave her to Me, and Stefanie has kept Your Word. Now Stefanie knows that everything that You have given Me is from You.  For I have given her the Words that You gave Me, and Stefanie has received them and has come to know in truth that I came from You; and Stefanie has believed that You sent Me.  I am praying for Stefanie. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for Stefanie is Yours. All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  And I am no longer in the world, but she is in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep Stefanie in Your name, which You have given Me, that Stefanie may be one, even as We are one. While I was with them, I kept them in Your name, which You have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to You, and these things I speak in the world, that Stefanie may have My joy fulfilled in herself. I have given her Your Word, and the world has hated her because Stefanie is not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not ask that You take her out of the world, but that You keep her from the evil one.  Stefanie is not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify her in the truth; Your Word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent her into the world. And for her sake I consecrate Myself, that Stefanie also may be sanctified in truth.

“I do not ask for Stefanie only, but also for those who will believe in Me through her word, that Stefanie may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that Stefanie also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to her, that Stefanie may be one even as We are one, I in her and You in Me, that Stefanie may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved her even as You loved Me.  Father, I desire that Stefanie also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  

"O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and Stefanie knows that You have sent Me.  I made known to her Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in her, and I in her.”

Now, don't you feel better? I know I do.  See you next time!

Whole Lot of Shaking Goin' On? I wish!

According to my Google feed and Facebook reminders, today is International Day of Peace.  According to ibtimes.com:  “The UN inducted the peaceful holiday back in 1981, devoting the day to 'commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.'”  

As I ponder the events of the last few days, peace would not be a word used to describe the atmosphere around them.  No, don’t stop reading because you think I am going to get all political and discuss racism and the Black Lives Matter Movement or defend the police departments or any other such arena.  Bear with me for just a couple of minutes, will you, please? I’ll try to not keep you too long.

What strikes me the most here lately--if I was using a word to define it--is that there is an air of non-concern, of aloofness.  Not that folks aren’t participating in debates, riots, and so on.  But rather, that there just does not seem to be any accountability for actions that we all choose to partake of.  We profess to being a Christian nation and yet our actions are showing that this quality just isn’t measuring up.  Our peoples, our friends, our families, neighbors, churches, and places of employment are divided.  Few agree on who is right, who’s wrong, and who needs to change.  Finger-pointing has reached an all-time high as--again--we profess to being Christians but...our fruit baskets are empty.

We can’t just say the words that are politically correct, friends.  We can’t in public declare one thing while behind closed doors we’re plotting on one another.  Instead, we should be praying for one another, for healing, for peace, and for unity.  We can’t just say we are “Christians” and then perform acts that must make our Lord bow His precious head in shame.

Are you familiar with this verse, the one pictured?  I’ve heard it for most of my life and must admit to feeling fearful each time.  It’s from James 2:19 and reads as follows:

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Why aren’t we trembling, brothers and sisters?  Why aren’t we shaking in our boots at what is going on in our nation, in our schools, communities, and yes, in our homes?  Why aren’t we at the bare minimum giving God due diligence and standing with Him as we strive to figure this vapor of life out and how to live peaceably with one another?  For when all is said and done, that’s all that will be left:  a faint disturbance of air where we once were.  Dissolving into the wind, and leaving behind a trace of...of what?  A sweet-smelling savor?  Oh, God!  How I hope to!  Rather than the stench of an unpleasant odor, may my life be one where someone remarks to another, “Did you smell that?  Its fragrance reminds me of...of...of flowers.  Sunshine.  Love.  Happiness.”

And may the one spoken to reply “Oh yes!  I know what you mean!  It’s been too long since that scent has been around.  Reminds me of better times when all was right with the world--or at least my world--because Stefanie was in it.”

Okay, okay.  Stop queuing up “You’re So Vain.”  I’m really not.  I’m just on a mission to matter, to make a difference, to motivate others to good works, as I’ve been instructed to do.  Lesson’s over for today, class.  For your homework, I want you to consider the heart of the matter, today on International Day of Peace.  Love one another.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  Do unto others as you’d have done unto you.  Yep:  you have to make the first move.  If peace is to have a chance, it’s got to begin with you.  Stop following the crowd and lead by example.  Who knows?  You might just one day have a movement named after you!

Let’s pray!

Oh Father, what a jumbled mess this blog is today.  Too many thoughts are running through my mind, jockeying for position as I endeavor to share the key point of why we Americans aren’t trembling, why we aren’t afraid of the consequences of our actions, of knowing You are watching our every move, reading our every thought, and waiting to see if our salvation is true or if self-reliance is going to rule our lives.  We say we’re Yours, Father, but we act like...dare I say it? Bastards.  We act like we’ve never heard the truth taught to us for so long.  We damage and destroy lives and property, fighting for “our rights” as humans--regardless of our skin color, social status, or citizenship.  

Have we forgotten this world is not our home, that we are all pilgrims, aliens?  Have we learned so little, Lord, that we think we are entitled to what belongs to another?  

Oh Lord!  

I cry out to You for mercy on my nation, on my neighbours, but mostly on me.  May I tremble with reverent fear as I await Your deliverance, Lord.  May I love better than ever before.  You are God.  Alone.  You are in control even when the world’s events seem to be so off-kilter.  You’ve got us, Lord, the ones Who you called.  How I hope our election may somehow find favor in Your eyes as we all purpose to do better, to love You above all others, and then?  And then to love our neighbor as ourselves.

In the name of Jesus Christ I pray these things, Lord God.  Amen.