Spiritual – Page 5 – A Writer's Daughter

Giving Away Bicycles

One of the Susans in my life shares a funny tendency with me. We both go to extreme measures to give away stuff. One of her extreme measures involved chasing down a preschool teacher at the town parade to give her some puppets that Susan was sure were perfect for her teaching. One of my extreme measures was giving away a decades old encyclopedia set. After listing it as a freebie, a man responded; his reason for wanting it was something about caring for his dying uncle. We arranged for the pick-up time and as is often the case in giveaways and resales, there was a delay. I ended up ridiculously waiting an entire Saturday afternoon. His airplane broke down and he had to drive the distance to my house rather than a quick flight. As they say, you can’t make this stuff up!

More recently, Susan and I both had bike giveaway stories. One of my neighbor moms reached out on the local chat that she was looking for a bike for one of her kids. Just a day or two later, I noticed a house with good bikes set out for trash and recycling pickup. I quickly texted the mom who wanted a bike. She went and found one perfect in size and style for her daughter and commented, “And tomorrow’s her birthday!” I replied, “Well, consider that bike God’s special gift to her.”

Susan had been cleaning out her garage and dug out some family bikes that were no longer needed. She set the bikes at the end of her driveway with a “FREE” sign. The first bike went so quickly, she never even saw who took it. Susan had interactions with another taker, finding out a bit of her story. The lady was new in town. Susan offered to pray with her and told her about churches in the area they might try. Turned out that Susan had more giveaway items the new family could use.

John 3:16 is a Bible verse often displayed for its concise Gospel explanation. Pastor Andy Stanley breaks it into four short phrases: God loved, God gave, we believe, we receive.

Susan and I were both purposeful in bringing God into conversation, as Scripture encourages (Ephesians 5:16, 1 Peter 3:15). What we know in the Bible is true stuff and it is good news. Good news is always something to be told! People post that they got the vaccine. They tell everyone about things they get on sale or recommend restaurants that are particularly good. Graduation and birth announcements are printed and sent out. That’s what we do with good news, we share it.

Are you sharing the Good News of Easter? Jesus’ birth was happy news, and His ministry and miracles were inspiring, His death – shocking, gruesome and sad. But the resurrection, coming back from the dead as victor over death and sin for us, is astounding! The accounts of the resurrection in the Bible is full of people running, exclamations, excitement, and energy. And it is still an exciting story to know and tell. Jesus’ final earthly words instructed His followers to go and share the Gospel with people (Matthew 28:19). This is the mission of every Christian*. So, give away the Good News; use extreme measures!

*This is also the mission of every church, a tenet that has lately come under attack.

This Gospel fold-out tract lays out God’s plan us. McLean Bible Church produced it.

It is well, with my soul

In her later years, my mother-in-law enjoyed the calm activity of coloring pages. Many of the fill-in drawings were quite intricate and colorful, especially the Mandalas, but others were plainer. “It is well, with my soul” was a simple page, mostly the letters, but she had taped the finished art up on her kitchen wall. Last week, that transaction of her heart and soul was finalized when she passed from this earthly life. One’s soul is perfect when saving faith has been placed in the God of eternity, as hers was.

The phrase “It is well, with my soul” is not a Scripture; it is a line from Horatio Spafford’s famous hymn, “When Peace Like a River.” The truth of the lyrics is summed up plainly by Psalm 62:1 –

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him.”

Bling

Crows are drawn to bright and shiny things and so am I! Recently I wore the frayed bracelet shown in the photo. As I put it on, I recalled how I acquired it. Years ago, Craig and I were in New York City over the holidays and we passed through Bryant Park. Vendors had set up small kiosks. I saw and liked the hand-crafted bracelet, so Craig bought it for me.

I have always liked jewelry with black accents. The class ring for my high school featured an oval black onyx stone with the school name “W & L” overlaid it in gold. Though I loved the unique and classic design, sadly I did not splurge by buying it. Over the years I have gotten a few inexpensive onyx pieces as well as other costume jewelry in black. Black jewelry is elegant but bright in its own way: a versatile accessory. Bling!

After dressing for the day, I turned to my Bible reading: 2 Peter 1:12-21. There I read, “pay attention … as to light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” While this is a complex passage, we know that light dispels darkness. Spiritually speaking, keeping close to Jesus, the Light of the world, protects us from shadowy evil. I marveled at the connection of the day’s Biblical theme to my morning’s musings over the gold and black bracelet. God’s Word is truly alive and is used by Him to speak into our lives.

Later that day after having breakfast with friends visiting from out of town, I realized I had lost a favorite dangly black and rhinestone earring that I had been wearing. Apparently in putting on and off my mask (see my post, “Mask-Wearing Woes,” Sept. 24, 2020), the earring fell out without my noticing. Thankfully, it was an inexpensive pair but still disappointing to lose.

I hope you read Scripture often. I believe it is God’s perfect writing. You may not agree but would you still consider regularly reading the Bible (or listening with apps)? It will shed light on dark things; you too will experience how the Word meets your world.

Sunday Exuberance

Here are some brief thoughts from this morning.

One of the upsides of churches’ COVID response is more children attending the worship service since Sunday Schools are cancelled or abbreviated. In the service we attended today, I noticed a preschooler bounding into the sanctuary, zigzagging through the spaced seating, wildly waving his baggie of snacks or church kiddie activities. His mother trailed quite a few steps behind him, carrying his baby brother.

I thought about this little guy’s exuberance. Wow, shouldn’t we all be running into the worship service, dancing with joy at the experience of being with the people of God on the Lord’s Day?! Of course, there is reason for decorum too in God’s house but attending church ought to be fun and I love his evident happiness. It reminds me of the verse from the old King James version, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

This is not the church we attended today but it’s the first place we were able to return to ‘in person’ back in late May.

Mask-wearing Woes

Mask wearing is now a routine of daily living. Regardless of local law, mask requirements are entry policy into most public spaces these days. For many of us, including me, mask-wearing looks weird and feels strange. Recently, two friends from the medical world who regularly wear PPE, remarked to me about their mask aversion in private life but for the foreseeable future, mask-wearing is in! The bright spots in this masquerade are the American spirit of creativity, ingenuity, and entrepreneurship in mask production and … we are all set for Halloween!!!

Early on, I experienced mask challenges. I started with a quasi-mask: a sideways-turned hairband but decided that straps around the back of my head messed up my hair. I broke down and bought the cheap blue industrial style until I had time to sew up some fun masks with my own fabric. The ear loops worked better for me except for the earring issue. Another learning curve was lipstick. I hated not putting lipstick on at all, but the creamy types rubbed off, so I switched to paint-type lipsticks that dry. For recent air travel, I splurged on a heavy-duty snug-fitting type of mask, which apparently kept me COVID-free.

My dad cheerfully sports his Pittsburgh Pirates mask.

A major fallout of mask-wearing is communication. Masks muffle clarity: it’s like you have cottonballs on your mouth, which you do!! My husband and I have misheard conversations including medical directions and food orders. When a second language, cell phone dynamics and less-than-sharp hearing are added to the mask mix, it sends me through the roof!!!

In my last post, I discussed how God created us with five rich senses with which we amazingly engage with people. Masks, I believe, disturb yet another of our God-given, wonderful human gifts. And that is our perceptive ability to read people and their moods and emotions. We perceive through the observation of facial expressions and tone of voice. That sensory ability is greatly diminished when a mask conceals expressions and dulls voices. Eyes peer out (if they’re not also in a hat and sunglasses, making them a regular bandit) but much is lost to the observer. I am especially concerned about children having a prolonged gap in observation and practice during their developmental years, as the mask mandate persists. As a sidenote, I call on Dave and Mark, designers/inventors I know, to develop a transparent mask that meets protection protocols!

This drugstore sign made me laugh – an oxymoron, don’t you think?

To be honest, I do not have answers to the mask mess. With long practical use in the medical world, and some assuring data about at least temporary protection, we are likely going to be wearing masks for quite a while yet. I am trying to put on a happy face, along with my lipstick that you can’t see, as I wear mine.

It does not matter to God if you wear a mask or not. I am not speaking about conformity or rebellion but about how God sees us. We present a desired exterior façade of ourselves which may fool others but never fools God. Not only did He create our bodies and faces, but He sees our hearts and our intentions. The Bible says man looks on our outward appearance, but God perceives the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Psalm 139 details God’s intimate knowledge of us, to the point of knowing our words before we say them. This is scary yet assuring. God knows us completely, our best and our worst, yet He loves us wholly. He is compassionate too, fully grasping our pain, loss and fears. In the end, that we cannot disguise our true selves, is deeply reassuring.

It was a beautiful evening at a picturesque spot but my smile, not my mask, covers an undercurrent of discord.

Pandemic Postcard

Last Tuesday I received the blue and green postcard shown in my feature photo. The state of Virginia sent it to our household offering services for anyone suffering emotionally or psychologically due to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Getting that mailer, realizing that the state formed a helpline, surprised me and yet it didn’t. Just within the past week I’ve had conversations and seen discussions or posts about depression among teenagers, demise and death among the elderly in quarantine, of suicide attempts, and concerns about children’s social development. Many talk half in jest, but with a note of truth, about the summer that wasn’t or about cancelling 2020. I have heard “Will I ever see them again?” or “Will I ever go there again?” Even Dunkin’ Donuts is jumpstarting Pumpkin Spice Latte season early this fall to boost public morale! We seem to be at a breaking point. What is wrong?

Although “stay home, stay safe” is positively promoted, long-term isolation is dangerous. For more than five months now, people have sheltered in place ordering food and supplies on-line, worked and learned from home, socialized virtually and watched streamed church services. With the internet and social media, it seemed that folks could live normally in a distance bubble, but the outcomes reveal differently. People aren’t healthy alone.

Yes, we have texting threads, phone calls by the hours, Facetime and Skype with video chats, ZOOM meetings and the like for interaction but it’s not the same as being together. God created us for community with Him and with humankind (Genesis 1:26-27, 1 John 1:3). Experiencing friends and family in person, not just through screenshots or phonelines, keeps us alive. Think about how God gave us five senses. You can remember the scent of your grandparents, the smells of dormitory life, and the odors of sweaty teammates. Flavors are memorable too: holiday dinners, romantic coffee dates, bitter medicine, childhood popsicles. Human touch is necessary as well, yet we have gone from being hug happy to physical aversion.

It is not easy to decipher the many messages about the Corona virus and its contagious nature. We do our best to stay informed, to choose reasonable precautions and to obey regulations. But if it is safely possible, choose to be with your friends and family. Make coffee dates with friends at outdoor cafes. Meet up with folks for picnics. Open your windows and doors and have company for dinner. Take long walks with neighbors. I do understand that some of you reading this cannot do these things because of restrictions at your residence, employment regulations, severe health risks or other restraints. We all must reach out in secondary ways when ‘in-person’ isn’t possible but I hope that you’ll have that chance to visit, to sit together, to share a meal, to see, smell, touch those to whom you are close. Virginia cares … and so do I!

A Higher Authority

For years one of the core values of my church was “People Matter to God and People Matter to Us.” That tenet is still core in Scripture and to The Church. All human life has intrinsic value because people are created by God and people are made in the image of God, as earthly copies of Him. All people matter!

Few Americans condone police brutality, violent riots and destruction of property. Most of us grieve over inner city poverty, crime and substandard schools. No one applauds fractured families and unparented children. There is also the plight of the rural poor and their lack of opportunity as well.

Despite abundant concern, few new solutions seem to be emerging. Mostly we hear about providing more of what has already been unsuccessful. More regulation and updated policy are not likely to stop looters, end rampages, cease dishonesty or bias within government or prejudice in law enforcement. These problems matter – they are matters of the heart.

Unless one commits his or her heart to something other than oneself, attitudes and actions of selfishness, survival, mistrust and prejudice will prevail. My pastor used to joke about the Hebrew National motto that touted: we answer to a higher authority. Submitting oneself to God’s ways, His authority, is the only solution to our hearts that tolerate insensitivity, partiality, defamation, destruction, and even murder? (see Matthew 5:21 -22).

It says in a New Testament book called James, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Submit yourselves, then, to God.” (James 4: 6-7) Actually, I recommend reading the entire chapter 4 of James. It begins with “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” and ends with, “Who are you to judge your neighbor?” Once again, God’s Word is spot on!

Postscript – We may wonder if this is a matter to us or an issue for others? Scriptures point out our need to consider. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). King David the prolific Psalmist asked, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,” (Psalm 139: 23-24a).

Our friend Randy Wyant (idophoto.com) captured these cloud shots at the beach. We wondered if the double halos were a jet trail left by some pilots we know “makin’ lazy circles in the sky” (Oscar Hammerstein, “Oklahoma,” 1943).

Brevity

On my pre-pandemic commute, I passed a street named Brevity. Brevity sounded like a profound topic for a blog post until life as we knew it was upended, continuing to this day. With the utmost of brevity, I share these words.

It is not whether you test positive for COVID19 or not. It’s not poverty or prosperity. It’s not black or white, or left or right. It is know Jesus or no Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

As someone who knows Jesus, let me be quick and clear to say that Christians are not perfect and don’t always get it right, but we desire to follow the life and message of Jesus, as written in God’s Word, the Bible.

The Apostle Paul summed it up this way: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2

Lexicon Part 2 – Variations in Rhythm

In the second of this “Lexicon” series, I contemplate the word rhythm. Its plainest meaning refers to the beat of music or patterns in sound. In that use, rhythm denotes syncopation that is harmonious, repetitive and predictable, or at least pleasant in digression. In a wider scope, rhythm describes motion and patterns in life. The term Circadian rhythm refers to long cycles in life. I hadn’t heard it for a long time until the other day I read it in a newspaper article about adjusting to Daylight Savings time.

A newer use of the word rhythm in today’s lexicon aligns the concept with routine. Some young newlyweds I know felt that it took a few months for them to find the rhythm of living together. Another young married couple setting up house chose to run the dishwasher nightly and awaken to the cleaned load each morning, as a positive “rhythm.” A recent issue of Victoria magazine, in describing an upcoming winter feature, stated “Rhythms of Repose: Amid the cadence of a quiet pastime or treasured ritual of daily living, find a calming breath of serenity …” (Victoria, January/February 2020, p. 11). Rhythm is a predictability that gives life calm.

My Pastor mentioned rhythm in a podcast explaining the importance of personal and corporate worship (“Pray the Word” Podcast # 880, David Platt, January 6, 2020.) Platt’s explanation focused on both the idea that worship should be regularly scheduled into our lives, and furthermore that within worship itself, there is rhythm. Complete worship always pairs revelation (teaching and learning from God’s Word) with personal response (letting the Word soak into your heart for God to use it and grow you.) Today’s sermon further elaborated on the “rhythm of gratitude” in worship (Mike Kelsey, 4/19/2020, www.mcleanbible.org/sermons). Clearly, spiritual rhythm is a thing and without the frequent rhythm of a worship structure, you’re out of sync. The beat won’t go on.

I wrote most of text above on a return flight from a wonderful late winter visit to my parents in Florida. The Corona virus was just beginning to be newsworthy. I remember being encouraged by the bustling airport and many families still arriving for Florida vacations as I departed. Only days later my district, with no forewarning, shut down school for a month. Shortly thereafter, governors closed schools statewide, in Virginia’s case, for the rest of the academic year! Talk about losing all sense of daily and work rhythm in life! It has frankly been that upheaval that has kept me from finishing this blog post. I may have more time on my hands but our new normal feels anything but normal and I accomplish less in the offbeat fallout.

As I observe Americans responding to the COVID19 outbreak, I notice something that concerns me greatly. Few seem to approach the crisis spiritually. There’s our wonderful American spirit of hope and triumph. We have some of the world’s best scientists and healthcare professionals to guide us. We protect our entrepreneurs as they improvise business practices and creatively provide needed resources during the shutdown. It is all so positive and encouraging but our hearts, as a nation, don’t appear to be seeking God in response. Maybe most folks are out of a spiritual rhythm; acknowledging the God of the universe in crisis or calm isn’t firmly regulated in their lives. I pray that whether we’ve reached the apex of the outbreak or not, people turn to God. “Call to Me, and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.” Jeremiah 33:3, Psalm 46:1, Zephaniah 3:17

A friend who’s both a teacher thrown into on-line instruction and a mother thrown into homeschooling organized her daughter’s day.

Shadow of Death

I crisscrossed the roads of Norfolk and Virginia Beach quite a bit this winter when I stayed there to help my daughter with her new baby. One afternoon as I headed back to her house following the directions of a navigation system, I drove past some city services buildings and noticed an unusual display of t-shirts. It took me a second, but I soon realized that it was a memorial for the victims of the Virginia Beach shooting on May 31, 2019. The complex was just a couple of miles away from my daughter’s home. It was a sobering thought for me. She and her husband had also spent time in Pensacola, FL for Navy training a few months prior to the shooting at that Naval Base. Life nears the “shadow of death” more closely and more often than we realize.

Many near miss or divine intervention stories emerged from the events of 9/11. People overslept, missed the bus, or had traffic tie-ups that kept them from being at the office on time, resulting in escaping the horrific tragedies at the Pentagon and the Twin Towers in New York. Unplanned circumstances saved the lives of quite a few that day. They too narrowly passed by the “shadow of death.”

I faced the Corona dilemma early on when a new student from an affected region transferred into my school. At the time, school officials had no enforced policies in place. Our principal gave us only vague assurances from the school district. I contacted a friend who works in the international enrollment office and she confirmed that the county had no regulations for them to implement. Those of us who were to work closely with the new student had concern but we accepted the risk. We too were “in the shadow.”

I love Golden Books. We often read this depiction of the 23rd Psalm.

The Corona virus pandemic brings a seemingly tangible danger to our world. Although there is a wide continuum in how folks perceive their personal risk, the virus and its potency are real. The daily stats, new policies and lifestyle changes indicate a threat. Risk has moved from the cloudy shadows into clear view and many are shaken by the fear that they could get sick or that loved ones could die.

The phrase “valley of the shadow of death” is taken from the Twenty-third Psalm. Verse 4 of the short chapter states, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” For centuries this passage has comforted its readers with promises of God’s protection and provision. Believing that God leads us results in calm and rest. David, the shepherdboy turned king who was inspired by God to write these words, explains a conditional peace. These promises are given to those who call the Lord their Shepherd, who are in God’s flock. Times of crisis remind us to check our status. Are you truly one of God’s sheep, living safely in the boundaries of His Fold? Now is the time to make sure that your life and soul belong to the Light of the world, Jesus (John 8:12).