On the Way to Wonder

Calendar Wisdom: “A Christ-centered life is like a good watch: open face, busy hands, pure gold, and full of good works. (Unknown author) ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)’” How interesting in these days of sheltering that the unknown author compared our life of faith to a watch and not a calendar. A watch is present oriented, walking with us on our wrist or attached somehow over our heart. Our faith engages in the present and leaves the future in God’s hands. I would understand an “open face” as the life of integrity that I pray characterizes my actions. “Pure gold” refers to actions tried by fire so they are pure. And what good works does God have for me today…ah, I am already slipping into the future. May your day be met with integrity, shine like gold, keep your hands busy and bring glory to God.

Calendar Wisdom for Monday: “Study the Bible to be wise; believe it to be safe; practice it to be holy. (Unknown author) Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies. (Ps. 119:97,98)” King David wrote that. I open news reports of our world and read of the demonstrations against sheltering. We are tired of the orders and tired of isolation. The “law” is becoming the bad guy. King David of Psalms delighted in meditating on law, believing it and practicing it. Even as an outlaw, he refused to kill “the kings anointed” to get to where he was destined to go. What was the difference? David trusted the God whom he believed held his life and gave “law”. As he studied, as his faith grew and as he practiced, his life grew from being a shepherd boy, a harpist to the king, the head of the king’s soldiers, an outcast and outlaw, to finally all the exploits as king in his later life. Life was not always easy, but he trusted God’s ways. Perhaps the question I need to ask myself as I start this week is whether I am focused on my comfort or trusting the God who directs my paths? Study, believe, and practice. A thought provoking formula to start another week of sheltering. May I focus on God’s eternal truth and not passing “orders” from fallible politicians.

Calendar wisdom: “Pray for a good harvest, but keep on hoeing. (unknown) The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers.. 1 Cor. 3:8,9” This seemed to jive with a Proverbs verse today, “From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. 18v20” We seem to be tottering on the verge of Spring, on the verge of relaxing sheltering, on the verge of…tomorrow and all the hopes and dreams attached. How appropriate to “pray” “but keep on hoeing” or working. Easter season is a bit like that. All the prayers for a better tomorrow are realized but in a way different than expected and require we keep on hoeing to get to the harvest. How does that tie with Proverbs, I ask? Jesus said that goes into a person passes through, strengthening and feeding, but what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, the “soul” as it were, of the person. Hateful, angry words destroy relationship. Loving and forgiving words build relationship. As we wait today for Spring, release from our homes, the coming kingdom, may we continue to pray, to hoe, and to bless others with healthy fruit from our mouths and….hearts! Lord of the Harvest help us!

Yesterday I wrestled with formatting Sunday’s service. For fun I added a musical prelude and mentally enjoyed hearing music as I enter church and settle my soul for worship. “Prelude: an action or event serving as an introduction to something more important.” An introduction. The calendar for today, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. By Eleanor Roosevelt. You do not have because you do not ask…Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:2, 7-8” The prelude, that which comes before, impacts the direction life takes. The prelude thus becomes extremely important. As I draw near to God’s truth rather than to my own inner self-truth, I impact the direction of my day. Easter morning the women drew near the tomb thinking Jesus dead, but instead found a missing body. Easter evening they drew near to each other to share news and encourage each other in the face of the fear eating at their hearts and trying to be the prelude to their lives. I ponder what prelude I am playing in my mind as I enter today: the failures of yesterday or the voice of God telling me, “Peace be with you” because I am with you, even when you don’t see me.

“Words, words, words,” is piece of the lyrics sung in My Fair Lady. Proverbs 16:24 shared with me this morning, “Pleasant words are honeycomb sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” In college I took a sociology class that presented the idea that language, words, while they differ from culture to culture, present universal concepts held deep in people’s souls. During this time of sheltering and social distancing, our youngest daughter is with us, adopted late in our lives, of a different cultural background with two generations between us. Words have flown and often misunderstandings have arisen. But we seem to be able to heal misunderstandings with “pleasant words” that soothe the wounds like honey because under all the struggles is a relationship of love. As I listen to the words flying around in the press about politics or the virus, I realize how often I ponder the motives behind the words and throw my hands in the air and singing with Julie Andrews, “Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words! First from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do? Don’t talk of stars burning above; if you’re in love, show me!” Jesus is the Word of God. He not only talked of love but he showed me his love that walked through death. We do not have to doubt his motives. What a comfort today when we are so overwhelmed with words.

Today is April 15, halfway through April. We are “almost there” to the beginning of May … and… some form of let up from sheltering? Warm days? Never catching the virus? We’re almost there. Isn’t there a song like that? I first looked up “Half Way There” and found a tune by Rush Time talking about being half way to worldly wealth and happiness. Nope, a bit modern. Next I looked up “Almost There” and found my familiar tune by Andy Williams. As he crooned and memories shot through my mind of young adulthood, pictures flipped past of Andy aging, handsomely I might add. Reality of the “no longer” aspects of life tempted me to dismiss the wonderful memories. Almost there.

Today we live in the shadow of the cross, awareness of our forgiveness, memories of the wonderful Gospel stories of Jesus healing the sick, welcoming children, walking on water and calming storms of life but in truth we are halfway there, or almost there depending on our age. The river Jordon and recovery from Covid-19 are in front. Memories are behind.

My little calendar quotes John 14:1-3. Jesus has gone before me to prepare a place for me and will return to take me to be with him. I’m almost there. I cannot go back and the future has some serious challenges. Almost there. Prov. 15:13 has been made into a song also, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” As we face the challenges of the day, may the tunes that encourage you dwell richly in your heart and the promises of God’s presence dwell richly in your soul. May a friend call and remind you that you are not alone on this journey of life. We are halfway through the month. We are almost there to our goals. We are accompanied by friends and strengthened by God.

At noon, I will post a virtual Bible Study starting the book of Daniel, a young man caught in political chaos, captivity in a foreign country, and trying to live with integrity with his faith. Welcome!

Calendar wisdom for today: “We make our decisions and often our decisions then make us. (unknown) Dear Lord, I sometimes forget that decisions I make today have far reaching influence. Please direct my path and help me be willing to have You involved in every decision that I make. Amen. (unknown)” Decisions are certainly in our thinking as we ponder when which authority over what will make a decision to give us more freedom to move under what constrictions. But what will be the repercussions or perhaps rebound affects? My underlined “pay attention” verse in Proverbs 14 is verse 12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” My sophomore year of college I transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara and had a dorm room looking out over the Pacific Ocean. The ocean was always calling me even as I listened to the waves at night. A walk on the beach vs. hit the books! The struggle was real. My roommate had that verse on a paper on her closet door. It has stood by me and reminded me to listen to others and seek advice from elders. May we pray for all our leaders today who are making decisions about health, wealth, education and service during these days. Help us be wise.

The Day After Easter we move into the Easter season. That is the six weeks after Easter when, faced with the empty tomb and the missing body, we focus on the Scriptures that testify that Christ is risen. Calendar wisdom, “The refiner is never very far from the mouth of the furnace when his gold is in the fire. By C.H. Spurgeon ‘…I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will all on my name and I will answer them: I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ;The Lord is our God.’”     Yesterday we looked at the idea of Jesus, MIA, ie the empty tomb, that for many grows into the reality that He is risen. As we learn to trust not eyes, ears, nose, finger and touch but learn to trust and navigate with scripture, heart, soul, and prayer. God’s gold is refined and I think it often feels like trial by fire. In the face of Covid-19, tornadoes, and financial distress, people expressed love, concern, and compassion yesterday. Our lives now testify our faith and belief that Jesus is no longer MIA but is risen! Praise the Lord!