Travels

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Apr 162014
 

I have been working on a devotion book for some time now.  It’s a collection of stuff me and my dad wrote over the years.  Much of it written before we had blogs or Facebook pages.  As I was going through the material tonight, I found the bit below and felt I should post it here.  If the book ever gets finished, maybe it will be there too.

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When I was a little kid, my family used to take long trips to visit my grandparents. Often times we would leave late in the afternoon and travel well into the morning hours.  While my sister and I slept in the back seat, Dad was in the drivers seat, in complete control of our destiny.  Sometimes I wish I could do that with God.  I have so much trouble with my own selfish will, I would like to climb into the back seat of my life, go to sleep, and leave God in complete control. If I could I would push a button and give Him permission to annihilate my self, fill me with Himself and control me like a sock puppet.  I think God knows that and appreciates it.  But it’s not exactly what He wants. That would be too easy for me and too meaningless for Him.

Now that I am an adult and have a family of my own, my perspective is a bit different. It is now my children who sleep in the back seat as we travel along and my wife who rides along beside me. While I am grateful to have the children along, it is my wife, my true travel companion, who I most appreciate. She is there beside me, sometimes riding, sometimes driving but always sharing the common goal that is our destination.

People say ”Put God in the drivers seat.  Turn the steering wheel over to God and move to the back seat.”   Well I don’t think that’s what God wants at all.  At best, that makes Him the car owner and me a back seat cushion.  At worst, He becomes a chauffeur and me a back seat driver; yelling instructions and complaining about the direction MY life is taking.  The one makes me irrelevant (The cross proves He loves me too much for that.)  The other does not really put Him in control at all, for I still reserve the right to question Him if He does not follow the direction I think He should.

No, I think He wants me to stay in the driver’s seat. He has given me my life as a vehicle to serve Him.  He would not have me hand over the wheel, but stay in the driver’s seat and at every turn along every mile follow His direction, every moment listening, watching, and asking for His guidance.  “Do we turn here? Should I stop there?  Shall I give that stranger a lift?”  That is what it means for me to daily, willingly, deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him.  Even from the driver’s seat, a one-time once-for-all relinquishing of my will would be too easy for me, and would leave Him with me as the faceless chauffeur.   God won’t be chauffeur and He doesn’t want me to be one either. What He really wants, is a willing travel companion on a glorious journey where only he knows the way.  He’s giving direction; I’m listening and following His instruction.  Sometimes I may miss a turn, but if I am willing to acknowledge it and turn around, He’ll get me back on track.  Following His travel plan, I will arrive at life’s destination at the right place and time.  And when I do, I might even realize that a journey with God is more about the trip than the destination.

-JMS

 Posted by at 10:18 pm

Relating to the Moon

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Apr 142014
 

Tonight, there will be a blood moon.  A blood moon happens when the moon’s view of the sun is completely eclipsed by the shadow of the earth.  Were it not for the faint red light refracted from the earth’s atmosphere, the moon would go dark.

The rain clouds in Atlanta will keep me from seeing the celestial event this evening, but I know how the moon feels.  I have lived days dark in the shadows, waiting for the light to shine again.  Hanging alone in empty space, a faint refracted glow my only hope.  Thank God for the glow.  The red glow of the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son, come to earth to give light in a dark place.

 Posted by at 1:35 pm

Airport Square Dance

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Mar 252014
 

I just spent a weekend at a hotel overlooking the busiest airport in the world.  Not 200 yards away from my balcony perch, a constant flow of airplanes took off and landed on multiple parallel runways.  I marveled at the technology.  I marveled at the wonder of the forces that could hold thousands of tons of aluminium, steal, and human cargo in the air.  And I wondered at the human controllers, somewhere in the center of it all, that kept so many planes, pilots, and passengers safely navigating such a busy, congested slice of earth.

During the busiest times, there were multiple planes taking off and landing every minute.  They were lined up at the terminal.  They were lined up on the taxi way.  They were lined up for take-off.  They were even lined up in the air.  Like some giant orchestrated aeronautical square dance, where all the dancers keep moving almost constantly and nobody gets out of step.  To do so could mean catastrophic death. 

The stress on the pilots must be great.  But the air traffic controllers must have absolute nerves of steal.  How could anyone want that job?  How could a person stand the pressure?  Perhaps because it’s not a person.  It’s many people. Each controller responsible for just his piece of the ground or sky.  Each pilot responsible for one plane.   Each tuned to the proper radio frequency.  Each talking, listening, directing, and obeying without question or argument.  Each doing only the part he is called to do. It’s the only way to keep the stress from becoming debilitating.  It’s the only way to keep the passengers safe.  It’s the only way to make Atlanta’s gigantic aeronautical square dance function. 

I wonder, what miraculous things might we see, if we could apply these principals to our homes, our churches, and our lives?

The Last Night in Haiti

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Mar 052014
 

The last night in Haiti is always so full of a mix of emotions.  It’s sad to say goodbye to my Haitian friends and family, yet I look forward to the reuniting ahead.  I always have things I wish I had done better or different.  Yet I am also happy about things that went better than I expected.  God always shows Himself in surprising and amazing ways.

Only He knows the true outcome of this trip.  Still, a big part of me so wants to know.  Perhaps when I get to Heaven, I will know.  Maybe there is a place in Heaven, already prepared, where me and my Haitian brothers will sit, reminisce, and praise God for the time He spent with us on the Haiti Youth Retreat, 2014.

 Posted by at 11:02 pm

Declaration

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Feb 272014
 

Every atom, of every molecule, of every drop of rain that falls was created by God Almighty, the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit who dwells in me.

 Posted by at 10:55 am

The Weight of Beauty

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Feb 132014
 
Our apple tree covered in snow

Our apple tree covered in snow

The view out my window this morning is beautiful. Last night while I slept warm in my bed, yesterday’s day of freezing rain, ice, and sleet gave way to a sprinkling of snow. The ice on the trees provided a perfect place for the snow to rest. Now every limb of our apple tree is enrobed in perfect white. As I stare at the site, my eyes feast on a rare and wonderful winter celebration.  But the tree . . . the tree feels only a cold and heavy burden.

Stuck At Home

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Jan 292014
 

It’s another snow day in Atlanta.   This one caught some people by surprise.  The roads are an icy mess.  It all started yesterday about mid-day when, as the snow began to fall, people watched from their office windows, waiting anxiously for the word to abandon the office and head for home.   For many, the word came too late.  A big city full of people all headed home at the same time.  With accidents collecting on the roads just about as fast as the snow and ice, the situation soon turned to complete gridlock.  Millions of people were trying to get home or to their kids at school, but nobody was going anywhere.

At home in the snow

At home in the snow

 

Interstates became icy parking lots, packed so tightly with cars that salt trucks could not even get through to do their job.  People abandoned their cars and took shelter in nearby grocery stores, sleeping in aisles.  Some children had to spend the night at school, others spent the night in a school bus.  People are stuck at work.  People are stuck at school.  People are stuck on the road.  And some people, are stuck at home.

As is the case with most things in life, it’s all about where you’re coming from, where you are, and where you are going.  I am one of the fortunate ones who made it home from work yesterday afternoon.  The office is closed today and I am stuck at home.  At home, the snow is beautiful.  At home it is warm.  At home, it is quiet and peaceful.  This winter snow, like other things in life, is either a trial or a blessing, depending on where you are.  And if God is with you, no matter where you are, you are always home.

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
   -John 14:23

Deflated Santas

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Jan 012014
 
Deflated Santas

Deflated Santas

I went for a walk down my street this morning.  It’s January 1st, the first day of the year.  Christmas and the New Years Eve parties are over, so all the Christmas lights were off.  Some of the yard decorations were knocked over.  Decorations had fallen off the trees.  And those big blow-up Santa’s were now just a flattened heap of red and white vinyl.  Deflated Santas, with nothing to fill them and no power to hold them up, they will be stuffed back in the attic for the next 11 months.

My New Year’s Resolution:  Not to be a deflated Santa.

 Posted by at 10:22 am

Building Material

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Dec 212013
 

Marshall and I met for lunch last Thursday. It was the normal meeting, at the same place, at the usual time. But as I stepped up to the counter to order my food, I noticed something a little unusual. The guy next to me was evidently ordering for several of his coworkers. He had a list of items to order. A number 1, a number 4 with extra pickles, two number 3s . . . it was all written down . . . on a 1″ X 4″ section of wood. I smiled.

As I watched this guy read his order off a section of lumber, I thought about the times I had used a piece of wood like a piece of paper, then I began to think about this guy. One can learn a lot about a person just by the tools they use. Judging by the material this guy used for a notepad, I could make some pretty good assumptions about what he has been up to. He is probably a carpenter, working on some project with others. Lunch time came along, so he grabbed the material he was so intimately used to using, and scribbled the needed information on it. It was a short piece of wood, so that means there was probably a saw nearby. The crew had been measuring and cutting. There’s a good chance he even used a carpenter’s pencil to write down the order.

The incident struck a chord with me because I can relate. I’ve been there. Done that. I’ve just never brought my wooden “notepad” into Chick-fil-A and laid it so carefully on the counter like this guy did. The way this guy handled the wood, placed it neatly on the counter, straightened it, touched it gently as he read from it, I could tell he loved his craft, and cherished the rough, natural, unfinished material he worked with. He would not have used a piece of paper to take the order even if he had it handy. The wood was a part of him. It was the stuff he used to build his dreams.

This morning, as I write about the carpenter, I can’t help but think about my Heavenly Father, and the rough, natural, unfinished material He uses to build His Kingdom. How 2,000 years ago, He wrote a Message using that material. Flesh and blood. The message of Christmas. A God who loves us so much that we are a part of Him, and the stuff He uses to build His dreams.

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