The White Shirt
I am a bit of a klutz. I have never broken a bone but I am forever spilling things. I try to be careful. I try take safety precautions and still there is a mess.
I sat down to dinner wearing a new white shirt. The thought crossed my mind I should change my shirt, put on an apron, or at the very least, tuck a napkin under my chin. “I’m a grown up, I’ll be careful.” Barbecued pork ribs in apricot dipping sauce thought otherwise. Not five minutes and I was wearing a stain of sauce on my white shirt. I should be use to this by now but I was still angry with myself. I’d seen it coming and I still didn’t take precautions.
As I was rinsing out the stain with cold water, hoping it hadn’t set, I thought how much like sin this is. I tell myself: This time I will be fine. This time I will steer clear of any mishap. And there I am again with a stain of sin on me.
When I rinsed my shirt there was a hint of sauce left. It was faint but still there. I smiled. Christ has washed me pure and clean with his blood, there is no stain left when he rinses me. I will probably drip another mess across another white shirt. Try as I might I will have the stain of sin on me again as well. But I know the sin will not set if I confess and repent. I will be washed clean with Jesus’ saving blood.
Dear God, Thank you for washing me clean in your blood. Do not let the stain of sin set in my heart instead gently remind me of your saving grace. Amen
Posted 11/17/2008 @ 12:38 PM | Weekly Thoughts | Read Entry
Keeping It Alive
When my son, Zach, was 2 we asked my mom to come take care of him for our anniversary weekend. It would be the first time my husband and I left him overnight. We were excited for the break and looking forward to a rest and reconnection as a couple.
Mom arrived a day ahead so I could show her the routine. At the end of the day she was tired and went to bed early. I went to pack for my romantic weekend.
The next morning at breakfast mom was quiet. Finally she voiced her concerns. "Lisa, I don't think I am going to be able to do this." I was crushed. I really wanted a break with my husband. We had booked a cute little bed and breakfast. We had dinner reservations. I was not giving up. I took a breath.
"What concerns you most, mom?"
"Well for starters I was exhausted by lunch time yesterday. I can't play with him the way you do. And I know I can't kneel down beside the tub to help him in the bath at night."
I smiled, is that all? "Mom, you know, it's only a weekend. I don't care if Zach is dirty, tired, hungry and cranky when we get home. He just has to be is alive."
Mom smiled. I continued, "I'm serious. Your job is to keep watch. You don't have to do any of the stuff I showed you yesterday. I thought is might help to know the routine, but Zach just wants to spend time with his Gran." Mom agreed to stay and do it her way.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all the things I’m “supposed” to do to be a good Christian. The list seems endless: bible study, service, prayer, fasting, tithing. I can’t do this is my reaction. But all that is needed is an acceptance of grace. “He just has to be alive.”
Jesus alive and living in me is the only Christian requirement. That fact alone gives me days of rest and also the energy to compel me to tackle the endless list. I want to try things on the list for the joy of doing them not for the obligation. And in a happy cycle, spending more time in Christian pursuits makes it easier to accomplish them. I just want to spend time with God and through grace He wants to be with me.
He just has to be alive in me!
Posted 11/11/2008 @ 8:48 PM | Weekly Thoughts | Read Entry
November 4, 2008
November 4, 2008 will be a date we mark in history as the first time we elected a Hawaiian as president. Oh and he happens to be a black man too. I am not a political follower but like many others this election has made me take notice. I got tears in my eyes watching Barack Obama and his family on the podium election night. Look at our new first family! How great is that!?
What I want to record, remember, and write down to read in future is how it felt this week. How it seems like we as a country are on the verge of change. There is a pride in the country as if we have done something right politically as a group. We may not all agree with the new choice of president but there is a feeling of optimism. Maybe we can change, maybe we can move forward together without crushing each other in the process. Not us or them but we together. I wonder if this is the way my parents’ generation felt when Kennedy was elected. All things are possible again. Their generation went to the moon, we just want to get out of an economic crisis and learn to be a better world leader instead of micro-manager of the world’s troubles or worse being a bully.
We may be tempted to put all the weight of change on our new President Obama. That would be a dangerous thing to do. He is one man he can’t do this all alone. But he is a man willing to take the bull by the horns and lead. We are going to have to be the hands all around helping to put things in action, and willing to compromise for the good of the whole. As Obama said in his election night speech, Yes We Can.
Posted 11/9/2008 @ 2:30 PM | Weekly Thoughts | Read Entry
Knit Together
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
Proverbs 31:13
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us, establish the work of our hands for us, yes establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 90:17
Hands busy with God’s work. Count me in! Sign me up for something big and wonderful. I’d like you to do something small and comforting. Oh. Really? I thought God’s work would be different.
My hands are often busy knitting. Does this count as busy hands for God? Knitting seems like an indulgence because it is so satisfying. I don’t even see it as work since it gives me such pleasure. Somewhere I picked up the idea doing God’s work had to be filled with sacrifice. I assumed the work He’d give me would be difficult, or dirty, or not much fun. The task he set would be impossible. Yet we are each given so many different talents. He fits the task to the talent. The job is not an impossible, dirty job for the right person. Find pleasure in my work. When I read the verse in Proverbs (31:13) I was ignited. Knitting counts! I’ll to something small and comforting.
I have been knitting for Guideposts Knit for Kids program for three years. Soft yarns, lovely colors, technical expertise, and rhythm of working stitch after stitch. It all comes together in love. I enjoy the craft and I love those I knit for. Even when I do not know who will receive the sweater I am making I know my stitches are created in love. I have time to meditate on God and his blessings in my life as I work. Sweet things come to mind as I knit. I send off my woolens with a kiss and a prayer, knowing just the right person will receive a small comfort.
My other assumption about God’s work was it should be very public. Many people should see what you are doing and therefore many will come to Christ because of you. But what if your thing is not very public. My work is not public. I knit one sweater at a time to send off to children I will never meet this side of heaven. That’s a pretty private thing to do. This is why is seemed a guilty pleasure because it’s hidden thing and I love doing it. Someone may ask when they see me knitting, Who is the sweater for? I say, I am giving this to a child I’ve never met. I knit for Guideposts. How can you do that, just give it away? There it is the opening, this is where it starts. I tell them who really gets this sweater. This is the work I do for God. I’d like you to do something small and comforting.
Dear Father, My hands are eager to do your work. May I find joy in the tasks you have given me to do even if you are the only one who sees my offering of work.
Posted 10/26/2008 @ 12:12 PM | Weekly Thoughts | Read Entry
Harvesting Comfort
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; stuck down but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Two for one sale! I tossed a couple pints of red raspberries in my shopping cart. Yum! Later as I unpacked the groceries I popped raspberries in my mouth one at a time, so sweet and delicious. The taste brought back a vivid childhood memory of picking berries.
When we moved to Maryland I discovered raspberries grew all over my wooded neighborhood. For anyone with enough patience fruit was there for the taking. The only catch: raspberries have nasty thorns on their vines. The berries grew everywhere but dealing with the stickers was tricky business. I put on my jeans and a long sleeved denim shirt, grabbed a plastic bucket and set out. I started picking by the side of the road. When I’d found all the ripe berries there I carefully made my way over the vines and further into the thicket to search for more fresh fruit. Pretty soon I found myself surrounded by thorns, but sweet berries were within reach. I sampled a few and then a few more and finally started to fill my bucket to the brim. What a tasty harvest.
Some times surrounded by the nettles of life—worries and frustrations—I feel stuck with no help. However when I look carefully I see sweet comfort within reach. I find fruit when I look in Scripture. I find solace when I go to God in prayer. I see fresh renewal by observing nature. I reach out for love from my family. I am surrounded by God’s comfort even in the mist of life’s sticky problems. I have to look beyond the thorns and see the fruit waiting for me.
Dear Father, Open my eyes to the sweet comfort you offer me. Show me the fruits you have laid out to sustain me. Thank you for caring for your child even in times of frustration. Amen.
Posted 10/22/2008 @ 10:58 AM | Weekly Thoughts | Read Entry