christian living, faith walk, forgotten, friendship, life experience, relationships, resilience, spirituality
I didn’t know “seasonal” could describe friendship or that not all friendships last a lifetime.
In my mid-twenties & struggling to understand recent friendship shifts, I observed my mother, a time-tested military wife. She had moved many times, and didn’t have a bestie or a group of gal-pals she reached back to as she was transplanted again. She started where she was, propagating new friendships and cultivating hospitality.
At first, I was sad for her. But my feelings didn’t match her emotions. She wasn’t sad. She had learned to embrace the changes that came with the military lifestyle. Settled and friends took on new meaning. She inwardly mourned the loss of what had been and outwardly embraced the now. She welcomed unfamiliar faces into every home in my memory.
She lived Ecclesiastes 3: There’s a time for every activity under the sun. Like the illustration of planting and harvesting, my mom planted seeds of friendship in the soil of each location.
Do these thoughts about friendship and seasons stir emotions in you?
Have you worked the soil with little to show for it?
For too many years, I carried guilt for friendships that seemed lost in the past, feeling as though I had “failed” to maintain a connection across the planting and harvesting of life.
If you’re in a time of friendship shifting, can I suggest my mom’s habit of tilling the soil of acquaintances?
Reach out and extend hospitality.
- Be the person others can gather with.
- Be patient with the in-between times. They can feel awkward and lonely. Lean into the God who created you. He knows your need for connection. Tell Him how you feel, then keep working the soil. Watch Him provide.
- Be careful that friendship isn’t where you find your security and identity, find it in your relationship with Christ.
- Be a thanksgiver in every season. Send a note or text of appreciation to a friend that enriched your life in a previous season.
Rest your roots in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
faith walk, God first, Prayer, relationships, Ressurrection, spirituality
It was early–the sun wasn’t up. But I was ready. Styled like a first century woman, I wore a long pull over dress tied with a fabric sash, sandals and a long head covering. The retreat location, off the coast of California, resembled the Mediterranean hills surrounding Jerusalem. My character was mourning the loss of the most influential person she had ever known. He saw right through her, knew her story, healed her with redemption and love. This Mary I portrayed heard him teach with wisdom, heal with words, and feed multitudes from a boy’s lunch. She served and supported his travel and teaching. Listening and learning, all while serving and seeing. He spoke of repentance and a kingdom to come–The kingdom of Messiah spoken of by the prophets. This is who she knew him to be.
Like all Jews, Mary celebrated Passover. Individually and collectively, remembering how the blood of the lamb, brushed on the doorposts of their homes, had spared them from the angel of death before their ancestors fled Egypt. This teacher/Jesus she followed was honored with shouts of Hosanna as He entered Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds shouted: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David. Hosanna in the highest.” Longing to be freed from Roman oppression, they didn’t realize he was their sacrificial lamb. That it would be His blood that would save them once for all. They wanted a physical King in their here and now.
From shouting Hosanna; to give us Barabbas, just days later. Jesus didn’t meet their expectations.
At our island retreat, the students had learned all these details. Hearing of Jesus’ betrayal, beating and cross bearing. The trek to Golgotha. The gruesome crucifixion. Hideous Roman crosses. Thieves. Forgiveness. Pain and anguish. Nail-pierced hands. It is finished. Then Silence.
The students had gone off to bed solemnly. The next morning, the outdoor arena filled with tired high school campers wrapped in sleeping bags and jackets–awakened early and asked to make their way to the small amphitheater. No breakfast and no insight about what would happen next.
In our outdoor theatre, the other woman and I waited just out of sight. The youth leader started reading the account of Jesus’ Resurrection, sharing from the different Gospels what happened after the horror of the crucifixion. Gambling for garments. His body removed. A burial place offered. His body prepared. Sabbath requirements quickening. More weeping and sorrow. His body entombed. Expectations unfulfilled. A long night and silent Saturday.
As he read “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James went to the tomb to check on the body”, my fellow scene-mate and I ran into the arena calling out, “He is not there. He has risen.” The dust rising as we moved our feet and carried our skirts. Emotion overwhelmed me as I ran. Imagining all she had seen and experienced.
From within the crowd of huddled students, several male counselors-also cast members-stood up, responding to us with disbelief–a harsh contrast to the women’s exhilaration. However, one, portraying Peter, jumped from his place, climbed over students, running past me and out of sight, saying he had to see this revelation for himself.
At the week’s beginning, Jesus was the celebrated Messiah. Friday, they crucified him as a liar. Saturday’s despair and disbelief contrast with Sunday’s victorious discovery–A Risen Lord and Savior. Truth met even those who doubted His appearances to them.
Truth also meets us where we are and sets us free.
As I pondered the experience of the Mary I was portraying, I realized she didn’t know who was standing before her-at first. The filter of grief lifted as He called her name. “Mary.” I am Alive. Whole. Not yet ascended. His teaching and truth affirmed in an instant. She knew his voice. Hope restored. Faith bolstered. Prophecy fulfilled. What a gift His appearance and His resurrection. From death to life. Forever.
I may have portrayed Mary Magdalene, but I can identify with each of the ones who encountered Jesus: Healed. Fed. Amazed. Mother. Sibling. Pharisee. Doubter. Betrayer. Thief. Soldier. Sleepy students. Peter said let me see for myself. Like Mary, I don’t always realize who is standing before me. In my weak ways, I forget what it means to encounter the living Christ.
Lord, may every day’s resurrection celebration remind me anew all that I am because of you:
Unblemished–because of your blood sacrifice. 1 Peter 1:18-21
Sealed–I cannot be ripped from your love. Ephesians 1: 13-14
Worthy–because Your Holy Father sees me through the filter of You, Jesus Christ. Revelation 5:12-14
I wonder, have you encountered him? Have you seen Him? Do you know the truth of his resurrection, and do you believe? He came that we might experience the depth of his Grace, the powerful salvation of our souls by the protective blood of the lamb. Prophecy fulfilled. Life, breath and days in his hands forever more.
May we like Mary, run and tell others what we know to be true–He is Risen.
Hallelujah, what a Savior.
faith walk, God first, perseverance, spirituality
I sat at my new desk and the first thing he said to me was, “Take out a pen and paper. I want to see that you are taking notes. This is how I want you to do the following tasks.” Intimidating? You bet. Fear of forgetting? Absolutely. I didn’t want to do it wrong in front of him or the others in the office. I wanted to impress my new boss by remembering the things I needed to do.
So how does one commit to memory the important things in life? I used to have all my friends’ and family’s phone numbers memorized. Probably because I had to write them down. Birthdays and Anniversaries. The digital age has changed that practice of remembering. Copy and paste doesn’t do much to help my memory. I spent many childhood Sunday mornings looking up verses in the Bible, as my teacher called them out. I had to have the books of the Old and New testaments memorized to accomplish the task. If I was quick, sometimes I got a prize–I could flip pages fast for chocolate! Result? Books of the Bible memorized.
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:11-12 ESV What a verse. I never want to forget all He has done for me.
So, how do we remember something, anything? Repetition. My almost 3-year-old granddaughter knows this very well. She learns everything right now through repetition. Oh, to learn again like a toddler. I must repeat it to remember. Say it again and again. Sing it again and again. Write it again and again. Tell someone again and again. I remember by repeating.
Are you training someone new at work? You get this. You might be the one getting trained. You get it. Moms with kids. You get this, too. Teaching and training feels never ending. Coaching someone toward a goal? They need repetition. New years headlines are full of articles telling us how to start a new habit. You guessed it – repetition.
In the Old Testament, God told the Israelites how to remember. He was the ultimate coach, teacher, mentor and parent. Deuteronomy 6:6-9,12 says, “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates… then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
These are actions of repetition – the same thing written or told many ways, talked about in many places often and over again. Just like God was telling the Israelites to repeat what He had done – sparing their lives in Egypt and parting the waters of the sea, his challenge was to remember and repeat his mights deeds.
Lord, keep me humble, so I never stop telling of your wonders and ways. May I never grow out of remembering and repeating all you are and everything you have done.
I want to remember, ponder and meditate on the things of the Lord. I’ll be writing this Psalm out and reciting it for a while. Repeat to remember.
christian living, faith walk, perseverance, resilience
You’ve heard the phrases: I hope I get that pay raise. I hope my kids do well in school. I hope the neighbor’s stolen car is found. I hope my team wins. I hope the surgery goes well. I hope the drive through is quick today. The word hope get applied to many situations.
How do you use hope? I have hoped for restored relationships and renewed health. But what does it mean to hope? Where does it come from? Is it anything like a wish? Are hope and wish interchangeable?
Hope /hōp/ noun 1. a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
Wish /wiSH/verb 1. feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that is not easily attainable; want something that cannot or probably will not happen.
As kids, we wished on stars, hoped for school delays and threw pennies in a fountain. We weren’t devastated when the “wish” didn’t come true, we moved onto the next wish. As grown-ups, we want our wishing and hoping backed by guarantees, better odds, an even playing field, and yet, experience tells us, outcomes aren’t guaranteed. There isn’t an a+b=c equation for life. So how do we find genuine hope?
As I’ve walked with God, growing in my faith and understanding of His character, mentions of hope in the Bible jump out at me. I pay close attention and read them again. How does faith change my understanding of hope?
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5.
Faith gives peace, suffering produces endurance and it allows character building, which causes us to rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not a formula, but not a wish either. Faith and hope are active, not passive, and they begin with God, not me.
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Psalm 42:11
The psalmist reminds himself of God’s salvation. When I’m lacking hope, what do I remind myself of?
“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.” Psalm 119:114
God is a trustworthy refuge and shield. His word gives hope. I can trust/hope in His word.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Next time I’m tempted to wish something could be different, I’ll recall these verses and balance my thought with the God of hope. He is hope. When I’m hoping, it’s in Him, for His honor and glory alone. Hard things aren’t discounted , simplified or overlooked rather, they are looked at through the lens of hope, not my own wishing. Hope is me depending on God. Trusting in His character. His word.
Let’s enter 2022 with renewed hope and faith in God.
Action step: Look in your Bible concordance for the word HOPE and list verses you find. Write them out. Ask God (prayer) to build in you a confidence in Him, in Hope.
christian living, faith walk, Prayer
Have you ever felt like someone could read your mind? Like they were in your head? I’m at a loss for words again today. I can’t pinpoint the whys of it, but a favorite author’s words make me think she had visited my thoughts. Michele Cushatt, in her book I AM, says, “Today I sit… desiring to write words of both challenge and inspiration. And yet I feel near paralyzed at the thought. My Bible sits open, its nearness reminding me of its significance…. Who am I to unpack the mysteries of God and speak with authority on His love and grace?”
She talks about qualifications and ordinary people, like herself, like Jesus’s disciples, like me. As Michele pointed out, a lack of words comes from a sense that I am not “qualified enough” to share Truth from God’s Word, the Bible. In fact, she points out that even Jesus’ disciples, the 12 closest to him, were not skilled in the ways we might think necessary to be emissaries of the Gospel of Truth. They weren’t scholars or teachers, but ordinary individuals: fishermen, laborers, tent makers. Everyday, hard-working men.
So why is day 20 titled I AM Clothed? What does clothing have to do with words or qualifications, or walking with Jesus? I needed to hear her answer. The same words that Jesus shared with his disciples before He left them to carry on His ministry: “… you will receive power when the Holy spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 Michele reminded me that, “Jesus promised his disciples that they would be clothed with exactly what they needed to do the job. The Spirit of God.”
I too am clothed by God’s Spirit as a disciple of Christ. You are clothed by His Spirit-if you also trust in Him. He qualifies us. He is with us as we read His Word. To paraphrase: Study is important. Education is important, but God’s word isn’t just for the scholarly and seminary educated. Michele’s reminder, “With the Spirit of God… even those of us who call ourselves ordinary will discover extraordinary revelation at the feet of Christ Himself.” Thankful for her reminder of Truth. It encouraged me to know I’m not the only one who struggles to get words on a page.
God knows my thoughts, my desires: to have His words in my heart and mind, that whatever tumbles out is from the Holy Spirit, who clothes me, and you, for every good work.
What do you need to see yourself “clothed” and equipped to do?
Ironically, I had penned words in the margin of this book-“Lord, make me an eager student of your Word. Draw me to the well that never runs dry. Cause me to crave your Word like a parched woman craves water.”
This is my prayer today, these are my words, for you and for me.
