Parts

The TV happened to be tuned to ESPN this morning and I was way too lazy to change the channel. So I kept grading my papers and let the football talk fade to background noise.

Until they started talking about the players that are injured.

Then I started paying attention.

I’ve heard dozens of pastors talk about spiritual gifts and how each of us is gifted differently. 1 Corinthians 12 tells how each part of the body is so important. How we all can’t be heads, or hearts, or hands. It’s made sense to me. I’ve never been particularly fond of my kidneys, but I’ve understood they’re necessary. That I wouldn’t be the same if I had something else in their place.

But today when the commentators started talking about these hurt players, when they began listing the injuries, something new clicked.

There are guys who are not able to do their (very well-paid) jobs today because of a fractured rib. Because one of them pulled his hamstring. One of them has a concussion. One blew out a knee. One hurt his back, another his wrist, another his ankle, and one guy is honestly not playing because of something called “turf toe.” His toe, one single toe, is preventing him from doing what he does best.

I imagine those guys want to play. They would probably do anything they could to heal that injured body part, whether that means rest or painful rehabilitation. They want to perform the way they’re capable of, the way they were designed to.

So if we, as the church, are one body- this group of believers who each play a different part, who each have the ability to either support or bench the entire group- then shouldn’t we stop and take an inventory of ourselves and our members? Shouldn’t we be aware of when we’re hurting? When we’re strained? Twisted? Broken?

Shouldn’t we be so intimately aware of each other that we know who needs rest and who needs stretching?

I think sometimes we ignore 1 Corinthians 12:26- “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” Our body stumbles and limps and we “press on” and think, well at least our head is still wise, at least our heart is still pumping, the big name parts are still going strong. But the fact is, we’d feel so much better, we’d be so much more effective, if we would take a day or two to simply sit and focus on healing that hurting toe.

Cause and Effect

“Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”

John 14:19

On this Easter weekend, between bites of chocolate bunny ears and cooking meals and attending services and laughing with family, I urge you to take a minute and ask yourself if you fully trust that small and mighty statement-  ”I live.”

My answer was no.

The whole verse, I’d argue the whole of scripture, hangs on those two words. If you look in my Bible you’ll see they are underlined, but if you could read my heart, you’d find them crossed out.

I’ve tried to rewrite the beginning of that sentence so many ways-

“Because you try…” “Because you love…” “Because you forgive…” “Because you desire…” “Because you believe…” “Because you suffer…” “Because you hope…”

- none of them could be further from the truth.

It is not because I have done anything. It is because He has done everything.

Because He lives, I will too.

Toddler Theology

The first conversation of our morning:

A: Hey Mommy- guess what.

Me: What, baby?

A: It’s always going to be Jesus’ birthday. On Christmas, it’ll be Jesus’ birthday. On Saturday, it’ll be Jesus’ birthday. On Halloween, it’ll be Jesus’ birthday. On Tuesday, it’ll be Jesus’ birthday. On Thursday… On Sunday… On Wednesday… On summertime… On Monday… On Easter… On my birthday… On Friday, it’ll be Jesus’ birthday.

Me: You’re right.

A: Yep. And everyone is part of Jesus’ family… even you, and me, and Daddy. You know God died on the cross for us, and chose to get back up, right?

Me: Yes, I know that… but thanks for reminding me.

A: Sure. Hey, can I have some of your lipstick?

“At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”

- Matthew 11:25-26

Love via Clothes

This past week, my best friend lost her dad. And although the loss wasn’t mine, it felt like a brick wall. Memories flooded in with the grief and my inability to do or fix anything, left me asking those questions we ask when facing pain and mortality.

I knew most of the answers, but I didn’t feel them. I wanted to know that God loves us. And the idea of picking and choosing random verses provided me with no comfort. I didn’t need words, I needed context.

So I did the only thing I could think to do, I went back to the beginning, to Genesis, and found hope and love in an unlikely sentence.

“And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” - Genesis 3:21

It may not sound like comfort to you, but it is exactly what I needed to hear. Why? Because we all know the first story- Adam and Eve took a bite of the forbidden apple committing the original sin, they realized they were naked, they covered themselves with fig leaves, God punished them with pains of childbirth and working the land, He banished them from the Garden of Eden, and paradise was lost- but I hadn’t paid attention to what happened between the punishment and the banishment.

God clothed them.

Am I the only one who had imagined Adam and Eve wearing the fig leaves on their way out of Eden? They didn’t.

Although God was disappointed and angry in their choice, He still loved them. He loved them enough to not send them out into the world wearing leaves.

This verse, more than any other, makes God seem like a parent to me.

Because I know there will be a day when my daughter has to receive a punishment that I won’t be able to prevent, a consequence for a poor choice she is bound to make, and while I won’t stop it from coming, I will do everything in my power to prepare her for it.

I will remind her I love her and I will feed her and I will clothe her and I will pray over her and with her for as long as I can. And then I will wait for her to come home.

God knew what we would be facing. He knew the labor and the pain and the hurt and the sickness and the betrayals. But before sending us to face our consequences, He prepares us.

He has told us He loves us. He has fed us. He has clothed us. He has prayed for us and over us and with us.

And while we walk through the hurt and the pain of being sinners, God is waiting for us to come home.

“And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”

- Deuteronomy 8:3-10

Blessed for a Reason

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:1-3

It’s easy to see the many blessings

Good news for the poor, bind the brokenhearted, liberty to captives, open the prison of those bound, proclaim the year of favor and the day of vengeance, comfort those who mourn, give a headdress instead of ashes, gladness instead of mourning, praise instead of a faint spirit, oaks of righteousness.

while overlooking the reason they’re given.

That he may be glorified.

Praying

If you read this blog, then you probably already know where I go to church, who our pastor is, and what is happening in his life.

If you don’t know any of that, then here are the answers- the Village Church, Matt Chandler, and a small mass is being removed from his frontal lobe by a neurosurgeon at noon on December 4th.

Whether you knew it coming in, or are just learning of it now, please join me in praying for Matt and his family.

I am specifically praying for Matt, his wife, his parents, and his children to be wrapped in peace that surpasses all understanding.

Not numbness to the situation, not fearlessness, not denial, but the pure, unbridled peace that comes only from knowing God.

“Only God gives inward peace, and I depend on him. God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe, and he is the fortress where I feel secure.” Psalm 62:5-6

Ten (Not So) Little Words

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8.

Simple words that I can’t get out of my head or my heart. I’ve known the verse for a long time but truth be told, I never gave it too much thought.

My first reaction, my instinctual response, has always been that “forever” is the hard part. That this verse was written for people like me who struggle with the unknown. People who are slightly afraid of the future. I’ve thought it was meant only as a truth to hold to when looking forward.

But my thinking has changed.

It’s like the verse is playing on repeat in my mind. And each time it starts over, I struggle with a different part of it. I feel comforted by a different word. I feel angry and hurt and lost and hopeful in a brand new way.

I’ve think I have finally come to understand the beauty of the sentence in its entirety.

See, I need to know who Jesus was yesterday and who He is today just as much, if not more, than I need to know who He will be tomorrow.

Because there are days when I am angry at the past and my only comfort is to know that the Jesus who is loving me right now, the Jesus who I’m trusting with my tomorrow, He was there yesterday. He was completely in control and faithful and loving me yesterday. Even when I felt alone and abandoned.

And then there are days when I can’t see past the next minute. When each new moment of the day feels like a personal attack on my heart. Those are the times when I cling to the fact that Jesus doesn’t change who He is. He is as faithful today as He was yesterday and if I can lean on that truth, I’ll make it through.

Forever isn’t the only scary time. Yesterday hasn’t always been perfect. And God knows, I’m often fighting just to get through today.

But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Timing

I snicker when I hear people talking about waiting until “the right time” to have a baby. Ha! Like there’s ever going to be a day when you look at your calendar and think, “Next April looks like a great time for less sleep, more poop, and an onslaught of obnoxiously colored toys to fill our house.”

I’m such a hypocrite. While I’m laughing at those people, I’m having the same thought a hundred times a day.

Only instead of a baby, I convince myself that now isn’t the right time to volunteer. To take a mission trip. To have that hard conversation. To start a business. To be honest with myself. To travel. To forgive.

The excuses are always the same: There’s too much going on. Next month would be better. I haven’t prayed long enough about it. We need a little more money in savings to feel comfortable. If I can’t give it my full focus/attention/heart, then it’s better to not give anything. I’m not ready.

Procrastination is an art I’ve mastered and I’m trying to unlearn.

Today, I’m thankful for those who didn’t wait until everything was “perfect” to do what they’d been asked.

“Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.” Ezra 3:3

“On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.” Ezra 3:6

Theology Thursday

Abby and I snuggled together on the couch. I couldn’t decide which Bible story to teach her so I chose a different direction.

I asked her a simple question: “What do you know about God?”

And she gave me the most perfect and simple of answers: “I know that He loves me even when I disobey.”

Ahh, pretty soon the teacher may be the student around here.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:15

Love Language

Words are the language of my heart. Spoken, written, whispered, read. I take them in and hold them dear and worry them smooth.

They come so frequently and without warning or notice that I covet the rare moments when I feel a phrase being grafted to my soul.

Today, a flutter as my eyes read this:

“He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.” (Job 36:16)

Wooing. Jaws of distress. Spacious. Free from restriction. Comfort. Laden.

They are all there. On the page. In my heart.

Words of love from a man that has loved me since the beginning of time.