Category Archives: God’s character

Beach Bums No More (…conclusion)

Posted on by

When Scripture describes the Lord as “God of all comfort,” what does it mean? Isn’t it true that when we need comforting, we can get it from many sources? It can come through friends, family members, sermons, books, magazines, a tasty meal, even just a good night’s sleep.

A more accurate way to think about the God of all comfort is to recognize he’s the only One with access to ALL comfort, i.e. all kinds of comfort. His soothing touch can come in a thousand ways, but there’s never any “Whoops. I should have tried something else.”

A case in point was when I was newly crushed after losing my long-term beach buddy, sister Mary (preceding post). Unbeknownst to me, it was several years earlier that God had set up gentle comfort for me during this time.

Beach walkwayBack in 2013, our home association began building a sturdy walkway and deck leading from a small, sandy parking lot to the beach.

As Mary and I arrived one day, workmen were digging deep, round holes to establish strong pilings that would hold up the walkway. After digging the holes, they put in plump, white pipe-like forms resembling giant versions of what’s under a kitchen sink. Each was 12″ in diameter.

Next they stood hefty wooden 6” X 6” posts inside the “pipes” and poured in concrete for stability. As Mary and I left the beach that day, the crew had just finished, and she couldn’t resist the wet concrete. “Hey,” she said, “let’s leave a fingerprint.”

Walkway supportMary bent over the first post and firmly pressed in her right thumb, making a mark that only she could.

In the weeks that followed, the walkway was completed, and neither of us mentioned “her impression” again. We actually forgot about it, but of course God didn’t. Instead he filed it under “All comfort,” saving it for use three years hence.

*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *

Sunset buddies

 

The day finally came when Mary and I sat side-by-side at the beach for the last time. She talked about what was just ahead for her, with terminal cancer. “I hope I don’t die during the summer. That would be hard. September or October would be the best time.”

God gave her that wish. She died in September of 2016.

After that, it was difficult to think of being alone on the sand without my beach buddy, but eventually I did go back. Sitting in that peaceful place, though, where she and I had shared 70 summers, was painful.

A markThat was the moment when God dipped into his file of “All Comfort” and eased my grief with one sweet thought. He reminded me of Mary’s permanent mark on this cherished place, still there where she put it – a small thing, but it brought big comfort on that hard day.

Though God had access to all kinds of comfort-choices, he picked the one that worked.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3)

Beach Bums No More

Posted on by

IMG_4053Not a day goes by that I’m not grateful to live near Lake Michigan. Even on days when I don’t go to the beach, I can smell the lake’s fresh water and hear the music of its waves.

And with beach rocks all over the house (around clocks, picture frames, mirrors, and on door mats), my thoughts are never far from the shore. All my neighbors feel the same.

1951Mary, Tom, and I grew up spending summers on this same shoreline (left: 1951) and raised our collective brood of 17 children here. But the most authentic beach bums in the whole family have always been Mary and me.

Neither of our husbands enjoyed baking in the sun, and both were glad they didn’t have to — since Mary and I had each other to do that. Despite too much sun exposure (and the dermatologist bills to prove it), the gains have more than outweighed the losses.

Mary and I moved through 70 summers side-by-side, but then my beach buddy got terminal cancer. God graciously gave us one last summer together, though, before he carried her to heaven.

M & M.During that time we both understood that we wouldn’t be sitting on the sand together much longer, and Mary wanted to talk about it. The soothing sound of the waves made those difficult conversations easier as we faced the reality of what was just ahead.

And then… how well I remember the moment she let me know her beach days were over. Though it came as a shock, she did it gently. It was probably just as hard for her to say, as it was for me to hear.

We’d been to the beach the day before, and on this perfect weather-day we’d agreed to go again, around 2:00 PM. I drove the few blocks to her cottage to pick her up, since riding bikes was no longer an option. But when I got there, she was seated in a chair on the lawn, dressed in regular clothes.

“You know,” she said, “I think I’m going to skip the beach today. Is that OK with you? I’ve been thinking about taking a nap instead.” Not once in all the years had Mary every turned down an invitation to go to the beach.

We locked eyes and in that instant we both knew what she had just said – our beach-buddy days were over. “Sure, that’s fine,” I said, with a heavy ache growing inside. “A nap sounds like a good idea.”

I sat down next to her in the yard, and we talked for a few more minutes. She chose the topic: her own funeral. She’d always been a realist, and her practical side was eager to sort out the details.

After 20 minutes or so, she stood up slowly and said, “Well… I’m pretty tired, so I think I’ll go lie down for a little. Greet the beach for me!”

But the beach didn’t factor into my afternoon either. It would have been no fun at all without my beach buddy. Instead I just went home and cried.

(…to be continued.)

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.” (Psalm 55:22)

Endless Ideas

Posted on by

Emerald beach girlAfter having granddaughter Emerald with me for a week, my appreciation for children has had a fresh infusion of delight. The two of us fell into a happy routine of church day camp every morning and beach time every afternoon.

Between those events, we dug out the old craft bin and generated original artwork. We also refreshed our fairy garden in the front yard and arranged plastic animal families on the back deck.

 

Emerald's artwork

Whenever Emerald said, “Hey, I’ve got a good idea!” I knew a blessing was about to come my way. Parents frequently have too much to do and are flying fast through their days. But grandparents often have the time to say, “Good idea! Let’s try that.”

One evening while I was tidying up my sewing box, Emerald reached for my old pin cushion and said, “MeeMee, can I use this? ‘Cuz I’ve got a good idea!”

 

 

Pin cushion.I handed her the tomato-shaped ball full of straight pins. Without saying a word, she carefully removed all the pins and put them in a neat pile. Then, while softly singing a variety of songs, she began sticking the pins back into the tomato in what seemed to be random order.

When she finished, however, she turned the pin cushion toward me and said, “Wasn’t this a good idea?” I had to agree. My pin cushion never looked cuter.

Pin cushionI’ve used that tomato since it belonged to Mom many decades back, and never once did I think of making a face with the pins. Leave it to a child…

Sometimes God impresses us in a similar way — but better. And he seems never to do anything the same way twice. After all, look at his measureless originality in creating mankind. Even identical twins aren’t identical people. And because he never runs out of new ideas, he often works on us or leads us in ways we’ve never seen before… and may struggle to understand.

This might be why we sometimes resist what he’s doing. “It doesn’t make sense,” we say. “It just isn’t logical.” But God’s logic stretches so far beyond ours that even if we lived well into our 100’s and had the wisdom of age, we’d never figure him out.

So, when we ask God to guide us in some way, we can skip suggesting how he might do that. Instead we should leave the how-to up to him, while watching for something completely unexpected to happen. And that will most likely be related to our request…

…because when God says, “Hey, I’ve got a good idea!” it’s always a really good one.

“Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” (Jeremiah 33:3, The Message)