Marking Time

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Margaret

When we were little kids, every birthday was a big deal. Older was always better, and when someone asked our age, we didn’t just say “six” or “eight.” It was “six and a half” or “almost nine.”

Numbers are important to children. I remember hearing a conversation between our Linnea and her friend Nancy when they were 5 and 6. The girls were in a discussion where one was trying to top the other. Nancy said, “I bet my dad is older than your dad. He’s 50!”

Linnea, wanting to throw out a number higher than that said, “Yeah, but my dad weighs more than yours!” Both were right, so each was satisfied. In the minds of children, bigger is always better.

We adults consider numbers to be important, too, though we’ve learned that bigger isn’t always better, as in high blood pressure, high risk investments, high taxes.

We like numbers because they’re a tangible way to check on our progress through life. How many miles per gallon is my car getting? How much will that plane ticket cost me? How many calories are in that dessert?

Some numbers, though, outweigh others: birth dates, death dates, marriage dates. Brooke and Klaus have been married 19 days now, and as the weeks pile into months and then years, 2013 will always be significant to them. They’ll forever see that number as momentous, the year when they officially, legally, willingly altered their status from individuality to togetherness, single to married. If they have children someday, 2013 will be an important groundwork year for their whole family.

This weekend a knock on our front door brought something unique to our newlyweds, a numbers-oriented wedding gift from good friends Justin and Krystal. They delivered a hand-made plaque made of sturdy wood and edged with rope, measuring 30” wide. It simply says, “Nyman, EST. 2013” and will be a constant reminder to Brooke and Klaus of their foundational year.*

This good-looking gift is exceptional in two ways: it was made by the hands of their friends, and it recognizes the value of long-term marriage. Dating a plaque with the year rather than month and day assumes the couple will be stockpiling lots of them.

In 2023 they’ll celebrate 10 years together. In 2038 they’ll have a party marking 25 years, and in 2063 it’ll be a 50-years-married blow-out. Maybe they’ll bring Buster and Krystal’s plaque with them to the party that day so as their guests walk in the door, it’ll be the first thing they see, a reminder that it all began waaaay back in 2013.

“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” (Psalm 112:7)

* [The fish logo is a topic for another day.]

Explosions

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Margaret

Three days ago on the 1^st, looking toward the 4^th of July, Louisa and I were out walking Jack late at night. As we passed the turn toward the beach, a big explosion sounded, not like traditional fireworks, but hole-in-the-ground big. Like dynamite.

It took me back to the days when our 4 sons were young and still living at home. Like most boys, they loved motors, weapons, and fire. Closely linked with fire were fireworks, and over the years they lit more than their share. Thankfully they reached adulthood intact, but I do remember a time when they caused enough neighborhood commotion with their explosions to bring the police to our house.

Apparently not much has changed with today’s boys, and as Weezi and I walked on, a police car sped past us, headed toward the beach. No doubt as they arrived, several youngsters were rapidly on the run.

Police departments have always winked at fireworks being exploded on the 4^th of July, even in states where they’re illegal. Here in Michigan the rule has been that they’re “ok” on July 3, 4, and 5, but “not ok” any other days, a nice mix of grace and law. Still, there have been those who can’t quite comply, i.e. explosions on the 1^st of July and the police pursuit that resulted.

If any society is to function well, laws and penalties have to be part of it. In the Bible we see the same thing, God setting up parameters but leaving it up to us to stay within them.

The most difficult of his rules involve invisible parameters. For example, Scripture says, “Put love of God ahead of love for anything or anyone else.” We might live lives that look like that, but what’s happening on the inside? That part is a lot harder.

We think, “Well, I’m doing pretty good at the Christian life. Besides, nobody’s perfect.” That’s like setting off explosions on July 1^st. Close, but not quite right. The upshot finds us outside of God’s parameters and possibly even on the run the way the beach exploders probably were. Breaking the rules is sometimes fun, but paying the consequences never is.

The good news is that God does heart checks. It matters whether or not we’re making an effort to comply with him or working to dodge his rules. He knows we can’t be perfect, but that doesn’t coax him to lower his high standards, and he hopes we’ll stretch toward them. Doing so requires his help, though, and when we ask him for it, he’s pleased to give it. It also brings us out from under the impossible pressure of trying to be perfect and puts us under God’s generous grace where he chooses to give it.

Salvation itself is the best example of this, a perfect God requiring perfection from us but willingly accepting Christ’s perfection instead of ours. This means we can run toward him and not away from him, even if we break the rules. Maybe especially then.

And that’s an explosion of grace that should bring us all running.

“All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24)

Ordinary to Extraordinary

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Margaret

Summer is the time for vacations and kicking back, the time when people make time for each other. It’s a break from the usual routine and a chance to celebrate being together. And like it or not, concentrated togetherness always presents fresh opportunities to practice flexibility and tolerance. It’s also the perfect time to highlight creativity, even if it pops up in the most unusual of ways.

For example, when our cottage was packed with as many relatives as it could hold a week ago, finding bathroom privacy was difficult. One day in particular I kept my eye on the bathroom door, hoping to soon find it open. Each time I checked, though, it was closed.

When finally I got my chance, something interesting greeted me. The toilet water was a rich royal purple. How this happened I wasn’t sure, but I had to admit someone had been creative, elevating the ordinary to the extraordinary.

The week was full of things like that. There was a pile of votive candles with all the wicks carefully removed, and a skewed roll of re-wrapped toilet paper, twice. Crusty pans were left overnight in the most unusual

places, and Emerald’s first attempt at self-feeding left a mess that matched the crusty pans.

Living in crowded community offers all sorts of let-it-go moments. We can square off with these odd-ball situations by criticizing, confronting, or complimenting. It’s our choice. Responding with a calm determination to find something good about each circumstance encourages us to chalk up the messes to the diverse ages and stages of those living under one roof, and it frees us from stress.

Also, thinking from God’s point of view helps to put things in perspective. The Father, Son, and Spirit are all of one ilk, divinely superior to any other being (such as us). When we humans complicate things unnecessarily and make messes as a result, the Trinity has every right to demonstrate righteous anger, especially if we purposely violate a standard these three have set for us.

We’ve seen this righteous anger repeatedly in Scripture, each time the Israelites chose to rebel and then experienced God’s stiff discipline. More often than not, however, he also offered them an opportunity to try again. Love was his motivation, which is why he patiently forgave them and offered a clean slate. If we wonder what to do when our crowded homes become creatively disheveled, we should follow his example.

It isn’t always easy when we’re the ones on clean-up, but searching for something upbeat in even the most peculiar situation is the route to elevating the ordinary to the extraordinary.