A RUG IN DARKNESS

In case some of my other pieces didn’t convince you that God is concerned about every aspect of our lives, this one might do the trick. 

Most who know me know the situation with my pup and his challenges with vision. Recently, we’ve had to concede with some of his issues and try to make the best of a bad situation.  He would come in from the sun outside and walk into the doors, walls, and chairs in his path, rarely letting out a yelp.  I was concerned this would turn into a painful and costly problem in the future for us both.  It seemed that most of his challenges came from trying to navigate thru the kitchen, past the island and fridge.  It is a wide space, but too far to the right or left could lead to a bump to the eyes from the edge of the cabinets or the cabinet doors.

 I remember as clear as day God speaking to me, after painfully watching him struggle to get through the kitchen.  He bumped into cabinet after cabinet, finally reaching the runner in the dining room.  After giving a desperation prayer, the thought came to me to move one of my runners from the hall into the length of my kitchen, making a path from his food dish to the dining room rug.  Immediately I got up and moved it.  For the next several days when I took the dog outside and brought him in, I walked him down the runner from his food dish until he reached his familiar spot on the dining room rug.  To my surprise and because of the independence and adaptability of my pup, on that 2^nd week, once we entered the house, the dog would make it to the runner in the kitchen on his own.  His tail would go up in glee and he would walk with such confidence to the dining room, sometimes running.  Every time I see him make it through that challenging area with confidence, my eyes fill with tears and I raise my hand to thank God for the simple solution to a big problem.  Just to know that the God who created the heavens and earth is concerned about me to that level is unbelievable.

While sitting in that same chair, marveling at the rug, my mind went to some of my own challenges.  I starting thinking about the things that had stumped me of hindered me recently.  Many things I face, I don’t have a solution for or know what my next move should be and I heard God say, just like He had a rug for my dogs problem, He’s got a rug to walk me through my dark areas; will I just trust Him.  In the weeks of our annual church fast, I begin to take those things to God in my prayer and mediation time and to no surprise, He gave me a rug or a solution for them.  These were things that were not magical, no burning bushes or smote rocks with water coming out, but things that I hadn’t thought of or places to look that He showed me.  Who wouldn’t love and serve a God like that.

Do you have any dark areas in your life? Are you struggling trying to find your way through? Go to God and ask for your rug in your darkness, I’m confident that He’ll provide it and lead you through.  Tell Him I sent you.

LOSE MY MIND

Today’s news is filled with incidents where individuals are committing horrendous acts against one another and themselves.  Often the plea to the court is by reason of insanity.  They often say that they heard voices or lost their mind.

I too have been at the breaking point thinking I would lose my mind.  There are situations where I tried to figure out a solution to my huge problems, again thinking I’d lose my mind when nothing would come.  On many occasions when I would actually come up with a strategy that I thought would work, the bottom fell out and the problem became worse.  Before I knew Christ and this happened, I’d lose my temper and control of myself then the situation.  That way of life got expensive and resolved nothing.

After I became a Christian, I discovered what keeps me on this side of normal is Christ.  My love for Him constrains me.  His power keeps me.  By learning of Him and understanding His mind, I’ve actually lost my own mind to give over the how He thinks.

 I took on the mind of Christ through transformation.  It’s a learning process for sure, because His ways of resolving things are like the scripture says as different from how I’d handle things as the heavens is from the earth.  By losing my mind to Christ, I’ve gained a mental peace I’ve never experienced.  When I listen, He gives me directions.  When I obey His instructions, my problems are few and those that arise I can be confident He’ll make a way.  If I find myself at the edge, I remember He said He’d keep me in perfect peace if I keep my mind stayed on Him.

So if you find yourself on the edge of losing your mind more often than you like, take my advice, try Christ.  He’s better than Dr. Phil and cheaper than the going cost of psychotherapy.  There are no 12 steps in His program, there’s just one.  Take a step toward Him and He’ll make two towards you.  If you lose your mind, make the choice to lose it to Christ.

NEW YEAR'S PRESS

As I look back, I realize the weight of facing some of the worst hardships and life altering challenges during the past two years.  I survived emotionally numbing blows in 2012, required to face them on with all nerves alive in 2013, only to relive some incidents afresh.  I lost loved ones and friends dear to my heart.  I saw the true colors of many, left abandoned and like my grandma use to say, up the creek without a paddle, on several occasions. 

It seemed that at every turn, another door was either closed in my face or at my back.  I felt boxed in and forced in a state of bondage.  There were times I called out asking God if He saw me.  I felt as if He was watching me suffer these things as He watched the guards beat Jesus beyond recognition.  I felt my old nature rise and a bit of old Chris resurfaced; the one that jumps into action to take care of Chris and handle people and situations.  I want to keep that old girl under control because she’s dangerous.  The last time I let her have free reign for just 1 hour, it took years and several attorneys to get things resolved.  The reborn Chris just kept saying be still, do nothing, God is not blind nor has He turned His back on you.  It’s God that has brought you to this place and time in life.  Wait on God, my spirit would say.

I started to imagine my situation.  My spirit was feeling as if I’m standing in a paneled room boxed in with no visible way of escape.  Each wall of this room is touching me on the front, the back, and the sides.   I wait with my hands folded behind my back.  I kept hearing a familiar clicking sound.  Familiar in that I know I’ve heard is somewhere before, long ago.  Then I remembered our old camper.  The cabinets and closets in it didn’t have handles and the surface look streamlined and you had to know where to press them to get them to open.  I had trouble with a few of them, just couldn’t seem to get the press right to make it open until several tries. 

Then I heard God say to press with my hands behind me, and a door opened.  I stepped back and God began to give me insight into why things happened this year.  No great mystery, it was His will and it was what was best for all involved.  He showed me how the past two years were a proving year for me.  He showed me how much He loved me and had invested in me.  It was a year during which I was being branded for His purpose for my life, to write of His glory, as John was banished to the Isle of Patmos to write the book of Revelations.    One mistake was to believe in the word of people and depend on them for help and not look to God first then He would send the help I needed.    

 I found myself back in that paneled room and I was instructed to press again on a place in front of me.  As I did, a door opened.  As I stepped out the way wasn’t clearly marked and a bit foggy and unstable in places.  God whispered, if I trust Him, He’ll lead me and show me the way.  To be successful, I’d have to get rid of the useless baggage from the past year that would hold me down or cause me to fall.

Beyond the love and investment God has placed in me, I take away from this image that even when people and situations seem to have us boxed in, all we have to do is look and wait on Jesus; then press, and He’ll open a way of escape.  If we trust Him, He will lead and guide us through our day to day life.  To be successful, I must press the door closed on the past and focus on today with Christ. 

For 2014 join with me in my resolve, like that of the Apostle Paul described in Philippians 3:1-15, to forget those things which are behind, and reaching for those things ahead, then press the mark, for the prize, which is the high calling of God, in Christ Jesus.  Let’s do a New Year Press.

ARE YOU A SCROOGE

I watched one of my favorite holiday movies, a Christmas Carol.  I love the 1938 versions.  One thing I always take away from the story is how Ebenezer Scrooge had more than those around him in during an impoverished period in London, but he was the meanest and most miserable person.  He was so unpleasant that his name goes down in history to represent the worst in people when given to someone.  He was such a miser with money that he misused the money by not using it.

We rarely remember that he turned his life around and made amends with others at the end of the movie after being visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

Ebenezer Scrooge became repentant after a chain of events occurred.  He first fired his loyal employee, Bob Cratchit, who has many children, one, tiny Tim, who was very ill, and a wife.  Bob holds no grudges even after receiving the harsh news of Mr. Scrooge’s decision.  Instead, in the spirit of hope and belief in the holiday spirit, he goes home spends all his earnings to provide a memorable Christmas for his family, not knowing what the future would hold.  I love at the end how Scrooge talked back to the future ghost, telling him that these things he saw can be changed if he alters his behavior.

Are we a scrooge? Are we blessed to have things but forget to have compassion on others?  Are we holding on to blessings that were intended to share and bless the lives of others around us?  Should the ghost of Christmas past visit us to show us how we became so unpleasant?  Would our Christmas present ghost show that no one finds pleasure in being in our company because we’re mean and unforgiving?  If we chose to continue, our Christmas future ghost would also show us headed down a road similar to Scrooge of separation and doom.  Just as Scrooge turned his life around, we too, can change our future.

During the season we should remember that we all have received the best gift; the gift of life from Christ.  Love and blessings are only good if they are shared and given away.  It’s an odd thing that the more you give of these, the more you get them back.  If you don’t have the money like Scrooge or any gifts under the tree to share, we can be innovative and give the gift that never grows old, we can give ourselves.  Remember, Christ gave himself to us as a sacrifice because of His love for us.  Let’s sacrifice a little of ourselves to help others.  Let’s not be a scrooge this season, let’s show love.  Give the gift of love, give a little of yourself to someone. 

CHRISTMAS 2013

While I sat in the garage looking at the boxes of decorations and Christmas tree in a box, a flood of emotions swept over my soul.  I look back and painfully remember all the people and things so dear to me that I lost.  I began to sink in my spirit because the loved ones I shared my life and heart with are no longer here to bring me joy on Christmas morning.  Christmas was always my favorite holiday.  It’s a time when memories are made and family and friends gather near.

As I drove through the neighborhoods and saw the beautiful decorations and listened to the holiday tunes on the radio, emptiness came over me.  I didn’t feel the same when I watched Charlie Brown or White Christmas on television.

Many of the traditional things that marked this season, my personal favorite, the Christmas tree, will not be observed this year.   The old traditions are no longer significant and I am forced to create new ones.  There will be no smell of peach cobbler cooking in the kitchen or that secret present to open on Christmas morning.  There won’t be a fire in the fireplace as we sing merry Christmas baby or jingle bell rock.  I asked all my loved ones to let me be alone this Christmas to seek God’s face, who alone could heal and help me this holiday.   The worst emotion to me is to be in a room filled with people but still feeling all alone in the world. 

The song, Silent Night, Holy Night came on the radio and my heart began to burn.  How selfish and blind I had been.  Christ is the reason for the season.  He is the gift that keeps on giving.   

There was no Currier & Ives setting around the manger where Christ laid and He wasn’t welcomed with opened arms.  His mother and father were on the run from an angry King that sought to kill Him and hid in a manger where He was born.  There was no smell of spices and rum cake; there was the smell of sheep and oxen in their nostrils. 

Yes, I had lost loved ones and my life is forever changed, but the real reason for Christmas is Christ who loves me the best and has never left my side.  He has shown me an undying love by giving me the gift of redemption. 

Let’s regain the real meaning for Christmas, by first putting Christ back in our celebration.   We look for gifts to give our loved ones that would enhance their lives and bring them joy.  What better gift than to give them the gift of the knowledge of Christ, their Savior.  Share with them the true story of Christmas.  When times get hard and the storms of life begin, the X-box game machines and diamonds won’t bring them peace or help solve their problems, only a relationship with Christ will accomplish this.  Deck the halls then go tell it on the mountain and over the hills that Jesus Christ was born.