Honest Reflections

“For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God that He has chosen you.”  1 Thessalonians 1:4 CSB

I went to my first gymnastics meet yesterday, it was for 6 and 7 year olds.  I had no idea what to expect, my knowledge of gymnastics is limited to watching occasionally on T.V.  I have no gymnastic ability whatsoever, the thought of falling backwards to do a back handspring petrifies me.  Yet I watched these brave young girls dance, twirl and flip like there was no tomorrow. It was truly amazing. They had no fear, they were being watched by hundreds of spectators as they performed their routines.  Their concentration and focus on the task in front of them was inspirational, truly. These young girls had worked hard to be here. They had qualified and were chosen to represent their team. This wasn’t just any meet, this was States.  They were competing against the best in the state.

What I learned yesterday is that each girl on these teams had to be invited to be a member of the team.  That is how it all starts for them, with the invitation. God has done the same thing for us. He has invited us to be a part of His winning team, through Jesus.  We have to accept the invitation before we start the training. Once we do that, our lives will never be the same again. But we don’t have to worry, we have the best coach in the world leading our team.  He’s got our back, literally.

Yesterday, during one of the floor routines, the young gymnast hesitated, looking over her shoulder for her coach.  The coach immediately ran out onto the mat to spot her for her tumbling run. Coach’s are allowed to do that for their young athletes.  They understand they are new to the sport and need a little more help than the advanced gymnasts. God does the same thing for us if we need it.  Just as we’re starting our run, gaining speed, getting ready for that first tumble, He’s there spotting us. He’s got His hand at the small of our back as we leap into the air, tuck our bodies and tumble.  When our feet touch the ground He helps lift us up for the next flip. Before you know it, we’ve reached the opposite corner and are saluting the judges. Cause people are watching how you handle the ups and downs of life.  They’re watching to see if you falter in your walk with the Lord. And you will, but even your missteps will be right steps with the Lord. You can be “shore” of that. He uses all things to the good for those who trust and believe in Him (Romans 8:28 NIV).

Start your run, you’ve been chosen.  The mat is all yours, God is spotting you, go for the gold.  Let the tumbling begin.

“I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born.  I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 CSB

This verse, found in the book of Jeremiah, is God’s call on Jeremiah’s life to be a prophet.  Jeremiah wasn’t thrilled, the very next verse he protests, “Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth” (Jeremiah 1:6 CSB).  But God’s not having it, He tells Jeremiah exactly what he is going to do, then tops it off by touching Jeremiah’s mouth, filling it with the words Jeremiah is to speak.

If Jeremiah wasn’t “shore” of himself before he was called, he definitely was “shore” of himself after.  

God gave Jeremiah a specific purpose in life.  Before he was ever formed in his mother’s womb, God had plans for him.  The same is true of you and I. Before we were ever born, God had a purpose for our lives.  He knows the number of days we will live and what He created us to do with them (Psalm 39:4 NIV).  It’s up to us to find our purpose. I found mine through my life verse, Mark 12:30-31 which talks about loving God with all your heart, mind, body and soul, and loving others as ourselves.  Love God, love others is my life motto. No matter what else I do in life, I strive to do that. Trust me it’s challenging, I fail a lot, but it’s my life mission to do a little better with each day that passes.

Kathryn Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughn found their purpose in numbers.  Brilliant mathematicians in the late 60’s. They were the “human computers” for NASA.  They are responsible for calculating the course for John Glenn’s orbit in space. A feat that changed the space race.  But no one knew how amazing they were, their work was behind the scenes. It wasn’t until the movie “Hidden Figures” came out in 2016 that their story became known.  It didn’t stop them though, they had a purpose, it was specific and they kept on task. They didn’t do it for fame or glory, they did it because it was what God made them to do.  Whatever challenges they faced, they faced knowing they were on a mission that was bigger than themselves.

The same is true of you.  You are on mission, you can be “shore” of that.  There is no one else like you. There is no one else who has the exact same relationships you do, no one who moves through the world like you do, no one who has the opportunities you have.  It’s up to you to discover how God wants to use you in the midst of the life He gave you. Who does He want you to love? Who does He want you to help? Who needs grace around you? Ask Him to show you your purpose.  As you seek to be “shore” of yourself, find your purpose to help guide your path

“May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us, so that the world may believe You sent me.”  John 17:21 CSB

June is beach month, we’re all going on a beach vacation together.  We’re going to be applying Scripture to these six principles we learn from the beach:

1. Be “Shore” of yourself
2. Don’t be “Crabby”
3. Let worries “Drift” away
4. Drown out “Pier” pressure
5. Soak Up Positive Energy
6. “Seas” Life’s Moments

The first thing we have to do is be “Shore” of who we are.  We are one in Christ. He is the tie that binds us to God, as well as, the tie that binds us to each other.  Before we can do anything else, we have to be “shore” of our relationship with Him. It all starts with Jesus.  Beginning a relationship with Jesus simply means talking to Him. Doesn’t have to be big, doesn’t have to be fancy.  Just has to be honest. I started mine around the age of 12. One Sunday after church, I was convicted of my need for Jesus. I  honestly don’t know what it was the preacher said that made me realize I needed Jesus. I just knew I did. I ran home from church that day and climbed the ladder to the top bunk of my brother’s bunk beds.  I’m not sure why I chose there, I think in my childish mind I wanted to get as close to God as I could to make sure He heard me. He heard me alright, my life has never been the same since. I just told Him I needed Him, I couldn’t do life without Him, would He please live in my heart.  That’s how my journey with Christ began, and it’s been going strong ever since.

Being “shore” of who you are means being “shore” of your relationship with Jesus. It can start with a simple prayer and turn into a lifetime of adventure.  He will take you places you never thought you would go. He will amaze you in ways you can’t even imagine (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). He will carry you through storms you never thought you would face.  In Him you will find oneness with your Creator. He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6 NIV), fight your battles (Exodus 14:14 NIV), comfort your woes (Psalm 46:1-3 NIV). In Him you will find the peace that surpasses all understanding.  In Him you will find Oneness!

“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 CSB

This verse makes my heart skip a beat.  How the Lord loves us, so much so, He won’t let us stay as we are, AND He won’t stop.  That is what this verse says to me. No matter how many times I mess up, no matter how many times I fall off the narrow path, He is there.  He doesn’t give up on me. He knows where we are headed and He is going to get us there. No matter how bad I think I am, was or will be, it does not deter Him one bit.  He still has a plan for me and He is working it out.

This past week I’ve had several different conversations with friends about the past, specifically sins of the past. I’ve been thinking about the mistakes I made in my life, how they changed me, how I’ve grown from them.  My life is so different from where I was 30 years ago, sometimes I don’t even know who I am. It seems to have changed more in the last 7 years than any other time. I find the person who brings my past up the most to me is me.  I’m the one who continues to condemn myself for those mistakes. God doesn’t. Some people do, but most don’t. It’s me that I have to forgive most sometimes.

It works the same way for others.  When people start following Jesus, they are acknowledging that they are sinners.  That they need Him to make them whole. And when that happens there will be change.  It won’t happen overnight, it will be day by day, but there will be change. They won’t be the same person they once were.  God will be working on them, just like He says He will. They will struggle with forgiving themselves for their pasts, just like we struggle with ours.   If we’ll look close enough, we’ll see it’s true.

The key to both of these perspectives is that God started a good work in me.  He started a good work in you. He has started a good work in us, and He’s not stopping.  God is the one doing the work, not us. It is by getting to know Him better that you will change.  As you take small steps of faith and unveil the richness of God’s glory, you will change. Each day you make time for Him, interact with Him, trust Him, you will change.  Even in the times when it doesn’t feel like God is doing anything, those are the times He’s probably doing the most. And He doesn’t need your help doing it. God has started a good work, and He will see it through to completion.

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  Psalms 56:3 CSB

I was thinking this morning about the first email I ever sent to my husband Ron.  We met playing on a tennis team together. I made the first move, shockingly. We were paired up by our Captain, literally and metaphorically, now that I think about it.  We hadn’t lost a single match, but he was going to be out of town the next week, I was going to have to play with someone else.

I liked him so much, I was willing to send him an email and risk rejection. I asked him to please try and get home in time for the match. Of course, I worded it as sweet as I possibly could, which is not easy for me.  He did make it back. We lost our first match because he was so tired. But who cares about the match, because I got to be with him.

That’s a cute story, but it in no way conveys how hard it was for me to send that email.  At 40 years old, unmarried, having heartbreak after heartbreak, do you think I wanted to try again?  Heck no. You know what helped me overcome my fear of rejection? GOD. No one else, just Him. People had hurt me so desperately by this point in my life, I didn’t trust anyone.  I had put it all in God.

You know what I was thinking when I sent that email?  “Well, if he doesn’t like me God, I know You do.” That is how I overcame my fear, by trusting God.  As a result of sending that email I can now say I have been married to him just shy of seven years. He is the love of my life, my soul mate.  I literally thank the Lord for him everyday; I’m constantly praying for decades more together. But to get to this, I had to get over that.

People miss the in-between, the small steps they can’t see.  Thomas Edison discovered the light bulb. He filed his first patent in 1878 but it took two years to actually begin production.  That was two years of late nights, long days. That’s two years of failures and rejections. That’s two years of sweat and tears.  To invent the lightbulb, which we now take for granted and throw away in hordes. The further we get away from the work it took to make it, the easier it is to take it for granted.  And all of that work took faith. It took willingness to fail, willingness to get rejected, willingness to trust that no matter what, God is always with you.

There is not a journey without a step. You cannot overcome fear without trust in God.

“I pray that He may grant you accordingly to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit.” Ephesians 3:16 CSB

This is key to understanding the power God has given each of us.  The word “being” in its original form is anthropos, in this verse it means “metaphorically, used of the internal man, meaning the mind, soul and the rational man.”  This is your spirit, the essence of who you are as a person, being strengthened by God’s spirit. That is where the power comes from for you, it’s up to you to tap into it.

What is it?  

It is God’s glory in this verse.  I love what glory means in its original form: gift.  We are to tap into the gift of God’s glory to receive His power.  The ultimate gift God has given us is Jesus. If we tap into Jesus, we are given His power in our inner being.

The other day, my husband and I were at Walmart.  He pointed out to me that they have installed charging units for electric cars.  It’s fascinating how the world is changing around us so quickly. Charging stations for electric cars at Walmart…who would have ever thought?  But they are there. I personally don’t drive an electric car, but I have friends that do. I know they need to be charged often. I know they don’t go very far in between charges.  It would be difficult for an electric car to make a cross country trip. One would have to plan out stops along the way to make sure they could get charged back up.

We are the same as the electric cars.  We need charged up often to get going. Without an influx of electricity, we aren’t going to make it.  Just like someone driving across country needs to plan out stops to get charged back up, we need to plan refills in our life as well.  We need to plan daily time with the Big Guy to give us a jolt. We need to put in place ways for little top offs throughout our day. A worship song here, a podcast there, all fuel to the fire for our inner power.  It’s not enough to know where the charging stations are, we have to plug into them to receive their power. If we want God’s power in us, we have to plug into it, repeatedly to keep our engines running.

“May the Lord of “peace” himself give you peace always in every way.  The Lord be with all of you” 2 Thessalonians 3:16 CSB

I love what my Bible dictionary says about the original word “peace”, “the opposite of war and dissension.”  This particular use of it in this verse is even better; “gospel of peace” meaning “gospel of bliss, meaning it leads to bliss”.  How about that for peace? God wants to give you bliss in your life, in every way.

But what is bliss?  What would that look like for you?  It’s different for every person. I thought this the other day as I was waiting for my students to show up for a private tennis lesson.  It’s a brother and sister who I’ve been teaching for the past year. On this particular afternoon it was hot, sun was beating down and it was obvious they weren’t thrilled about having to hit a tennis ball.  As I watched their grumpy faces approach the court, I realized they had probably been fighting with Mom the whole way to the courts. Meanwhile, I’d been there for 15 minutes hoping they didn’t show up because it was so hot and I was tired.  None of us wanted to be on the court because of the heat. None of us were feeling blissful.

But the bliss was in the relationship.

I love these kids.  I admire their Mom that week after week she battles their complaints and gets them to the court.  I admire these kids because they don’t ever complain verbally, even though I can see on their faces they aren’t thrilled.  I realized as I waited for them yesterday, I was grateful I had this on my calendar, otherwise I would have been sitting studying, not getting any activity.  That’s not healthy either. I realized, it’s why we need people in our lives. It gets us out of ourselves, it helps us focus on others. I realized quickly, the three of us needed to make the best of this situation and have some fun.  I quickly changed my strategy and turned it into a day of games. We found bliss on a hot tennis court, with the sun beating down on us, a place none of us wanted to be at that moment, we found bliss.

Isn’t that what bliss is?  Making the most of a bad situation.  Finding the good in it and focusing on that instead of the bad.  Isn’t peace trusting that no matter how hot the sun is, God is with you?  He’s in the midst of the battle (Isaiah 41:10). He’s fighting for you, not against you (Romans 8:31 NIV).  His love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:3 NIV).

I know there are very dark days. I know we all have dark nights of the soul that seem impossible.  I know that a hot tennis court seems like a vacation from the heat in your life right now. But I also know this, our God is bigger, our God is brighter.  Our God is here to bring the light, the light of the Son into every dark crevice on earth. He’s got the power, He’s got the peace, He’s got the bliss!

“Jesus said to him, “If you can?  Everything is possible for the one who believes.”  Mark 9:23 CSB

Can you imagine saying to Jesus, “If you can?”  I can’t, because I believe Jesus can do anything.  That was my first thought, my next thought was, “I say that to Him all the time.”  I literally doubt Jesus can do everything. I know I do, because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have fear, I wouldn’t have doubt.  I wouldn’t wonder sometimes what is going on, because nothing seems to make sense. I would just trust, knowing Jesus has it.  But I have trust issues, with Jesus.

If we did a poll, and were all honest, I think we all do.

We all have those situations in our lives where we’re not quite sure what is going on.  Everytime you pray, it seems to get worse not better. The minute you give it to God, you immediately pick it back up, not leaving it with Him.  Trust is such a fragile thing, it can be so easily broken. I recently watched Brene Brown’s, “7 Super Tips” on youtube. Tip number four was about trust:

“Trust is built in small moments.”

For instance, I talked the other day about my neighbor Reva accepting my offering of mud pies to her.  That was a small moment of trust. I was probably 5 years old when that happened, yet I have never forgotten it.  It is one of those moments that has always stuck out in my head. Not because she accepted the mud pie, but because she accepted it with love, unconditional love.  It was a love that told a five year old, this lady can be trusted. It was a small moment of trust.

But it could of gone the other way, if she had ridiculed me it would of been a betrayal.  Just as trust is built in small moments, so is betrayal according to Brene. And I have to agree, it is those small moments that make or break relationships.  It is those small moments that make or break our relationship with God. When we offer our mud pie to God, the best we have after a long day on the battlefield of life, He accepts it.  Unconditionally, with love and says, “Well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). We are the ones who betray the trust in those small moments when we don’t offer the mud pie.  We aren’t truly believing He can do something with it. We aren’t trusting it will be received with His unconditional love and grace. But it will, everything is possible to those who believe.  His words says it, we’re to believe it.

“You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy, at Your right hand are eternal pleasures.” Psalm 16:11 CSB

God is life, with Him is abundant joy and eternal pleasures.  No matter what you’re going through in life, He is with you. I was reminded of this last weekend when I watched the Brene Brown special on Netflix, “Call to Courage.” It really would be worth the hour and ten minutes it takes to watch.  At one point she is talking about her God moment which led her to her current path. The moment she described was not when she was on a mountaintop, it was when she was in a valley. When she was at her lowest is when the moment happened.

We all have that moment in our lives when we’ve hit rock bottom.  When we’re done. When we’re curled up in our p.j.’s on the couch, peanut butter jar in one hand, spoon in the other, hiding from the world.  I know I certainly have, more than once and probably not for the last time, unfortunately. But God always shows up. As I listened to Brene’s story unfold, I could see God chasing after as she was sinking, right there ready to catch her when she needed Him too.  That’s how cool God is. He did it for her, He’s done it for me, He’ll do it for you. Just trust Him.

Easier said than done.

I struggle with trusting God.  In fact, recently God has been showing me how much I don’t trust Him.  In ways I didn’t even realize. But in order to take the next step in my life, I must trust Him.  And I find it difficult. I’m tired of being hurt and beat up. Following Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart.  People have lots of opinions about people who follow Jesus, whether inside or outside of the church. You get blamed for them all when you follow Jesus; good, bad and ugly.  There is some ugly out there that no one ever wants to see. I’m a little battle weary these days. I need some rest. I can’t do it by myself anymore, I can only do it with Jesus.

But you know what, I’m living in abundant joy.  I feel more alive than ever. I can see God working everywhere.  I literally can’t wait to see what He’s up to next. Because even if I’m having a hard time trusting Him today, I haven’t forgotten all He has already done for me.  I’m in good hands. And so are you. That I know.

“Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the ways of righteousness.”  Proverbs 16:31 CSB

Hair, in its original form in this verse means “crown of splendor”.  I gave this verse to my mother once in a card, she wasn’t pleased. Gray hair isn’t always a woman’s preference. But a woman who walks with the Lord, it is her crown of splendor for her faith.

I know a woman who has modeled righteousness for me my entire life.  She was one of my mother’s best friends. Today is her 97th birthday.  She lived down the hill from us in Tidal. When Reva came to visit, and I offered her a mud pie as I played outside one sunny afternoon, she accepted it without hesitation.  Reva is an incredible woman. She wears her faith so quietly, you can easily miss the depth of it. But she’s a country woman, and country women know a thing or two about faith.

They understand why God uses farming analogies so often in the Bible.  They know you have to till the land and prepare it for the seed. They know the seed has to have enough water and sunlight to make it grow.  Too much of one or the other will kill it. They know it takes months of growing before it can be harvested. They know the work it takes to bring in the crops.  I can see my mother canning vegetables in our basement, steam rolling all around, sweat dripping off of her face. But the Lord had provided. The months of praying and waiting had come to fruition, God had blessed us.

I have a picture of Reva and my Mom standing together on Reva’s front porch in my guest bedroom.  Mom’s smile beaming to be back with her friend. How I loved those visits on her porch. Getting to sit under the tutelage of such spiritual power houses, not even realizing the privilege at the time.  Listening to them talk as they discuss a lifetime of ups and downs that they had shared together, yet neither of them losing their faith. Their trust in God unswerving, their actions speaking louder than any sermon ever preached.  A lifetime of sharing the gospel, one act of love at a time.

God has given them crowns of splendor for their lives lived in righteousness. He does the same for us.  We may color it, but the gray is still there. It marks a life well lived in Christ. It’s His crown of splendor.