Beautiful sunset, bad vantage point
The sunset was beautiful this evening. At least I think it was. There was so much stuff in the way it was hard to see it. But I could see enough to know there was beauty there, even if the worldly stuff was in the way. Just imagine what it would have looked like if the view of the heavens was unobstructed. Someday, it will be.
Peering past the cradle of creation,
God saw the claws of evil sink deep into the stories of so many yet to come.
Evil spirits, long sent in exile,
Would pile their garbage on a beautiful world, invoking rash behavior from all but One.
Prophets penning clues of our salvation,
Spoke of apples and sins and battles won and lost by a special chosen some.
When evil would do its act most vile,
Good had a secret purpose, three days later turning death to living victory by the Son.
Over the course of my life, there have been several occasions where I have been acutely aware of something very bad almost happening. This morning, I experienced it again. Every time it happens, I have questions. Was it coincidence? Was I lucky? Blessed? Miraculously spared? If so, why me and not others? Why this time? Can I expect it every time?
Last night, I set the coffee maker to make coffee automatically at 6:10 AM this morning, which it did. Typically, when the alarm goes off around 6AM, I hit the snooze and sleep in until after 6:30 or so. But not this morning. I got up, poured a cup of fresh coffee, then set the pot back on the warmer, which stays on for 2 hours. I sat down in the next room and started sipping my coffee.
A few minutes later, I heard a popping sound coming from the kitchen and decided to get up and investigate. I found the coffee boiling. I quickly snatched it off the warmer, then reached to turn the off switch. The power light was already off. Still, the warmer glowed brighter red as acrid smoke started spilling out from its plastic frame. I yanked the plug just in time to prevent a melt down, and quite probably, a flame up.
With the crises averted, I thought of all the times I slept late while the coffee sat on the warmer. I thought about the times we had left the house, perhaps rushing to church with the warmer on, trusting in the technology to turn it off after two hours. I thought about all the times when something really bad could have happened, but didn’t. I can’t explain why more people aren’t saved from more disasters. What I can say, is I think more people are saved from more disasters than they will ever know.
It is so refreshing, and necessary, to get away from the stresses of life. To relax in solitude, or blend in to the crowd and live life in the slow lane. We all need it. However, I am convinced that it is not the place we were meant to live on a regular basis. Not for the long term. On multiple occasions Jesus got away for a while in order to rest and recharge. Even so, He did not stay away too long. His ministry was to the people. To us. How could he minister unless he was with the people. How can we?
There are times when I have felt overwhelmed. Most of those times, it was because there was just more going on than I could handle. This morning I found this bit of scripture, which brings a whole new perspective to being overwhelmed. Hallelujah!
An evil person suffers much pain, but the Lord ’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him.
– Psalms 32:10 NET
He sat in the corner of the fast food restaurant, squeezing the contents of a handful of ketchup packets onto his tray. When he finished emptying the last packet, he quietly rose from his seat and went to the counter for another hand full of ketchup packets, then back to his seat, where he opened each one and squeezed every possible drop of its contents onto the tray. The process repeated and continued as the mound of ketchup grew larger and the french fries grew colder.
The man loved ketchup. He never seemed to be able to get enough, so this time, he had decided to take all he wanted. Even as the red mound grew to cover half his tray, it never occurred to him that it might be a little excessive. People at nearby tables began to stare, whisper, and point. They had similar problems in their lives, only not with ketchup.
For us living in the USA, today is Independence Day. It is the day when we celebrate our declaration of independence from England. We celebrate it because independence is a big thing for us in the US. We are proud of our independence. That self reliant leave-me-alone-I-can-take-care-of-myself kind of spirit. Today we shoot fireworks to celebrate, but all year long we teach it to our children and proclaim it to the world. Live free or die. Work hard. Do your own thing. Learn to be independent. From the time we are very little, we are taught to fight for, obtain, and hold on to our independence. That is my problem.
I recently read a little book by Andrew Murray called Absolute Surrender. It reminded me of what I knew the Bible proclaims. Independence is not the answer. It is not the best way to live. The best way to live a happy, joyful, holy life is not independence. It’s in dependence . . . on God. Today, I celebrate my “In Dependence” day.
de·pend·ence
Noun
1. The state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else.
Synonyms
dependency – reliance – trust – confidence – subjection
I have been thinking about rainy days lately. In recent weeks, we have had our share of cloudy days. A few weeks ago, the basement flooded again. We had allowed the gutters to get clogged, so the rainwater just poured beside the house and made a mess. But that is not really what I have been pondering.
What has been on my mind, is that not all rainy days are bad. I remember one drizzly day long ago. Tammy and I were not yet dating. We connected with friends, took a long walk on a damp day and enjoyed each other’s company. Our clothes were nearly soaked as we walked along a railroad track. I can’t really explain why it was such a wonderful day. Perhaps deep down we knew there is something special about a person who will walk in the rain, just to be with you.
I also remember a day a few years ago at Cloudland Canyon State Park. We went to bed one night planning a hike for the next morning. When we woke up, it was raining. I was disappointed. I thought the rain would ruin the hike. When it slowed to a sprinkle, we decided to go anyway. Packing snacks and a rain poncho in our backpacks, we started out. I figured we would get drenched. That’s not what happened.
While we hiked through the woods on the way to the canyon, the occasional sprinkle gave way to a cool, gentle mist. As we approached the canyon overlook, I thought we wouldn’t see anything. I was wrong. What we saw were misty clouds gently floating in the canyon, giving an occasional glimpse of the far side canyon wall. It was as if we were standing on an island in the clouds, and it was magical.
If there is any point to this post it is simply this: Not all rainy days are bad. Some can be wonderful, or even magical, if you give them a chance.
It once was a yard. The lap that cradled a home. A place where children could play under the shade of big magnolia trees while the breeze shared the lemony scent of the huge white blossoms. Now the chainsaws and bulldozers are hard at work cutting it all down and clearing it off. Turning the tree filled home place into a mini mart, or a gas station, Or an addition to the school buildings . . . or a parking lot.
It makes me sad every time I see trees cut down. Especially big trees that have grown for decades, only to be destroyed in a few moments by a man with a saw. Does that make me short sighted? Complacent? Resistant to growth and change? Does that make me stand in the way of progress?
I don’t think so. I know that not all progress is good. It depends on the direction you’re going. Sometimes it’s easiest to make progress when you’re headed toward the wrong goal. Not all growth is good. Cancer is a growth. Not all change is good. It depends on how it changes. Rust is change. So is decay.
I want to have the right attitude toward progress, growth, and change. I want to have the wisdom and courage to support them when I should, and reject them when it’s right to do so. God help me progress toward your kingdom. Help me to grow in my relationship with Jesus, and change into the likeness of Christ.
Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 3:12-14 NET
The black widow spider was lurking under the water meter lid. It was a perfect place. A dark, hidden recess in the ground. Protected from the elements and almost never visited by man. Almost.
Typically, it is not my job to check the water meter, so I very rarely open the lid. However, yesterday I had to do some work on the outside water faucet. This particular faucet can only be cut off from the main at the water meter, which meant I had to open the lid and stick my hand down inside that hole in the ground if I wanted to turn the knob on the main shut-off.
I don’t know how every water meter lid works, but most all of the ones I have seen have a little hole by which you can grab and remove the lid. I assume the water department has a little tool they use to stick down in the hole and lift the lid. The tool I have . . . is a finger. So, with a little trepidation, I stuck my little finger into the hole on the lid and flipped it over. When I did, I got a big surprise. There on the underside of the lid was the biggest black widow spider I had ever seen. She was kicking and wiggling in her nest, very unhappy to be disturbed.
Thankfully, I was careful to flip the cover over and expose it rather than grab underneath the lid to lift it off. Otherwise, she may have bit me. I survived, unharmed. A can of wasp spray made sure she did not. This whole incident did remind me though, that some pretty nasty things like to hide in dark places.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
– Ephesians 5:8-16 NKJV