Almost Home

     I remember the trips we took as a family when I was young. Do you remember how it always takes forever to get somewhere when you are a child? All the "Are we there yet's?" and "How much longer's?" Sometimes I'd fall asleep, lulled by the road noise, or my parents humming in the front seats. Often, I'd be suddenly jarred awake by a sudden braking or an abrupt turn.
    Finally, when I asked, "Are we there yet?" one of my parents would say, "Almost!" and I would sit up, still half asleep, and look for familiar landmarks. 

    I've been reminded lately of those childhood trips. In many ways, it feels like I've been jolted into awareness. As I look at the world around me and the many tragedies that are taking place, it is easy to tremble in fear. Or maybe you feel like hiding your face and falling back asleep, ignoring the implications. But they're all there- all the landmarks we've been told to look for.

    On every hand we see kingdom rising against kingdom, famines, pestilence, and many fearful sights. The list could go on. It doesn't take much reading of the news to make one wonder what this world is coming to. Yet in Matthew 24:6 we are clearly told "see that ye be not troubled." How? How are we not to be troubled in these perilous times?

    Quietly a peace stole into my heart as I pondered these things. I remembered that time and life have always been a journey with an end and a destination. Perhaps these sudden turns have been put in the road to jolt us awake. Maybe all the disasters I see unfolding on every hand are not something to fear, but rather a message from on high. "See that ye be not troubled, Child, these are the landmarks I've told you to look for. Do not fear, for you are almost home."

    I do not know what the future holds, but God does. I want to look around me, not with fear, but with a joy and peace that comes from knowing God is guiding me all the way, and I am almost home.

Parking Lot Accident

     Dark had already fallen and it was raining. Lights shimmered off puddles on roads and parking lots. I was driving, but perhaps I shouldn't have been, for my mind and heart were in distress about some of the circumstances I was facing.

    I turned into the parking lot of a business. The lot was crowded with other customers, and I was peering through the rain, trying to angle into an empty spot when suddenly I heard a resounding thunk.

    I had hit someone. A woman, dressed in black, was standing outside my window making exclamations. This was the last thing my weary soul needed. I put my car in park, panicking. My mind was flooded with terrible scenarios. I opened my door and began apologizing profusely.

    She was fine, she said. It was only her arm. It had hit my side mirror and bent the mirror back. I was shaken. All my former distress was compounded by this new tragedy, and suddenly it was all too much to handle. Tears began slipping, unbidden, from my eyes.

    In a strange turn of events the woman became concerned about comforting me. Her kindness only made me cry more. I couldn't believe the love she was showing me or the way God had clearly softened her heart.

    When I hurt God, I have found Him to react in the same way. When I have been careless or disobedient, He does not come to me with anger and hate. Rather it is love, again and again, that He shows me. Such tender love that I cannot begin to comprehend! It is a love that makes my unworthiness stand in stark contrast to His glory. Instead of throwing me out, He draws me near, holds me close, and soothes my spirit while I wonder at the fact that the King could care for such a one as I!

    Are you troubled by something in your life? Have the stresses built up to seemingly unfathomable heights? Is there a wrong you have done that needs to be righted? He's waiting to forgive you, to help bear the weights, to give you the strength to scale your mountains. Open the car door, ask Him for His aide or His forgiveness. If you stay inside, shaking behind the closed door, you will never feel His embrace. You won't know the warmth of His love. 

    Take courage. Step out. Ask for what you need, whether it be forgiveness or His hand to cling to. Our God's love is greater than you or I can ever imagine or deserve.

    

Friends

    I heard a story the other day about a little boy that I thought I'd like to share. Truly, the things one can learn from a child! This little chap was being made a fuss over by a group of youth when he spied a girl he didn't know at a nearby table. He pointed a chubby finger in her direction and declared, as only an innocent can, "That's my new friend!
    If only I could obtain that childlike spirit toward others! Imagine if we would cast aside our grown up ideas and standards, forget our first impressions and preconceived notions, and look at those around us as friends! Surely we would feel more compelled to reach out to strangers. Acquaintances would be easier to go out of our way for. Our heartstrings would be tugged to make larger donations to those we saw in need.

    So often feelings of inferiority and self-doubt get in our way. "They won't' like me," "They don't care about me," "They're not my type."

    I don't want to repeat old mantras, but there really is something in forgetting about yourself and focusing on others.

    Try it sometime. Look around and say, "That's my new friend!" You may find that even just saying the words will bring a smile to your heart.

Stickers

    Randall sat on the floor of the kitchen and sobbed. He clutched the little sheet of stickers to his chest and pleaded with his mother.

    "But I want another one!" he cried, kicking his heels against the floor. "Please, give me another one!" His face was red from the exertion of displaying so much emotion.

    "No, you already have one, and that's enough," Randall's mother responded. As the torrent of tears continued to wage, I admired how she calmly dealt with her son.

    I've been on the floor screaming about stickers before. Maybe you have, too. 

    Sometimes we get so wrapped up in looking at ourselves and what we've been given. Then we look around at other people, or we look into our own ideas of what we'd like to be, and we start complaining. I've not been given enough. I don't like these gifts as well as those. I want some bigger stickers.

    I couldn't believe Randall was crying because he wanted another sheet of stickers identical to the first. It seemed so foolish to me! Yet I think my disappointments and frustrations must sometimes seem equally foolish to God.

    What He has given me is enough. If I need more stickers, I can trust that He will give me more. The sheet I already have contains the stickers I will need to complete the next page of my sticker book of life. Maybe I  think blue stickers are prettier. But it is orange, not blue, that I need to fulfill my purpose. Many times it seems harder to let go of my ideas than to stubbornly plead for different stickers.

    God sees everyone as equal. Not because we have the same stickers, but because we have what we need. We may not get the biggest stickers or the ones we think are prettiest. Maybe someone else has two sheets and I only have one. It doesn't matter. Their stickers wouldn't fit in my sticker book. What I have been given is perfect for me.

    Randall has grown into a fine young man. I believe that he will be able to submit to God's purpose in His life, not because submitting comes naturally to him, but because his mother began teaching him that giving in is a necessity at a young age.

    If you can submit to the sticker sheets God has given you, you will someday look back on life amazed at the joy your willingness has wrought.

Jamaican Sunrise

    I scoffed at pictures of Jamaica. "No way does it look like that! It's all bound to be photoshopped!" 

    Until I got a chance to visit and see it for myself.

    I was stunned at the magnificent peaks and the dramatic plunges to the valley floors. The water really was the same blue the pictures had shown. The scenery was clear, refreshing, striking.

    Only one thing was left to make the experience complete: a sunrise over the ocean. That would surely be the stamp of perfection.

    And so we arose at some unearthly hour of the morning, wrapped blankets around our shoulders, and stumbled blearily down the path to the spot we had chosen the night before. We made sure to face east (a harder task for those of us who are directionally challenged than you may realize) and gazed into the paling night, waiting for the sun to edge its way over the horizon.

    As time passed and the sky grew lighter, we could begin to make out individual blades of grass, rocks, and trees. But another problem arose. It seemed the sun was coming up in glory and splendor, all right, but not over the ocean. Instead, an arm of land jutted out just at the worst possible spot, and it was there, behind the mound of trees on the land, that the sun was rising.

    We couldn't believe it. We had tried so hard! We'd made sure we knew what time the sun would come up, checked our directions, set multiple alarms, got out of bed and down to the overlook at an appropriate time, and yet? Nothing. 

    I'm sure you can relate. You have those days too. The times when you've struggled and strained to do everything right, but somehow it still ends up wrong. Exhausted from your efforts, you gaze in dismay as all your hard work comes to nothing.

    Sometimes one is tempted to blame God: "Why can't You make this come out right? I've tried so hard to do everything I should!"

    Other days one is tempted to place the blame on those around us. And then there are the times we take more blame on ourselves than we ought. We feel worthless, like a complete failure. All our best efforts have not been enough.

    I can't speak for you, but I can tell you what those situations usually mean for me. Often it is God's way of reminding me how much I need Him. All my carefully laid plans that collapse into frustration are evidence that nothing can be without the touch of God.

    Relax. Lean into His embrace. Remember you can't do it alone, and bask in the knowledge that His power is great enough to take care of every problem you face.