Category Archives: God’s character

Calendar Wite-Out

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Most people are chased by a full calendar every single day. If nothing is written on the squares, it’s the exception, and the general rule is that over-commitment is better than under-commitment. That’s not a very good rule.

Wite-outMany of us travel through unique periods of time when God uses Wite-Out on our calendars for us, at least temporarily. For example, when a family emergency occurs. It’s shocking how quickly our calendar priorities adjust to let us rush to the aid of someone we love.

Another example might be if we have to go to court for something or are lucky enough to draw jury duty. At first we scramble and say no-can-do. I’m too busy. But somehow, because the law says we must, we do.

Mary’s situation is another instance of a cleared calendar. The day she heard she had a lethal cancer, her calendar erased itself. Figuring she had only a short time to live, she X-ed out everything except connections with doctors and family. And this, after having been one very busy lady!

But God didn’t allow that to happen without purpose. As Mary spent time preparing for and recuperating from surgery, she suddenly had hours and hours to herself, time the likes of which she’d never known. She slowed down enough to really think. About her history, her future, her possible death, her blessings, her losses, her relationships, her priorities, her Lord and his Scriptures. Quiet, uncommitted time was not wasted time. Actually, it might have been the most spiritually valuable period of her 70 years.

CacophanyIn our pursuit of maximum productivity, it’s easy to let priorities become skewed. But is it God’s nature to compete for our attention with a cacophony of other commitments? He’s told us that if we want a vibrant, life-directing relationship with him, he must be #1. As Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters.” (Matthew 6:24)

Each of us has the freedom to choose who or what we want to be in charge of our lives. A Wited-out calendar might occur because of something difficult or even heartrending, but being given unfettered time to think about and re-orient a life is a really good thing.

Mary is feeling great right now, and today she used the word “happy” in reference to her frame of mind. As the days go by, though, she’s been writing on her calendar again, and every day this week is already jam-packed. So she’s asked us to pray that she won’t become over-committed, and that all she’s gleaned from her cleaned-off calendar will not be lost.

With chemo beginning in one week, God may help her with that project in ways she can’t anticipate now. But because it’s him doing it, it’s bound to turn out really good.

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” (Psalm 37:5)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Praise for organized Bible studies (after a visit with Bible study colleagues today) and the rich friendships that result
  2. Praise for 6 pounds gained!
  3. Pray for God’s discernment concerning new calendar commitments
  4. Pray for the strength to say “no” when she should

Fresh Start (More on Mary tomorrow)

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Back in the 1940’s, housewives began using brand new products called laundry detergents in their wringer wash machines. These chemical compounds promised to clean clothes better than traditional soap ever had, even in hard water, and women were thrilled with the results on laundry day. All the detergents came in powdered or beaded form and were easy to use.

Fresh Start, late 1970'sIn the 1970’s, Colgate-Palmolive came out with the first laundry detergent sold in a bottle rather than a box, though it was still in powder form. They named it Fresh Start and promoted it as the first “highly concentrated” detergent on the market. Each full load needed only one-fourth of a cup rather than a whole one.

This morning in church, our Pastor Jay delivered a fascinating children’s sermon with a bottle of Fresh Start in his hand. The vintage bottle no longer contained detergent but had something far more interesting inside: water from the Jordan River in Israel. A pastor friend of Jay’s had given it to him after a visit there, and this water and the bottle it was in were the focal point of today’s message to the children.

Earlier in the service, Jay had baptized two babies. (Our church baptizes or dedicates, according to the wishes of the parents.) The detergent bottle and river water was meant as a visual to help youngsters understand the symbolism of baptism, the washing of our lives by the Living Water that is Jesus. Jesus himself was baptized in the Jordan River, and ever since, he wants us to see baptism as symbolic of being cleansed from sin.

Fresh StartAmazingly, the Fresh Start bottle with its bit of the Jordan in it was aptly named. It said, “Heavy Duty Fresh Start.” Who wouldn’t want one of those?

Our God is the champion of heavy duty fresh starts, and the bottle put it well: “Cleans your family’s deepest dirt and many tough stains.” That’s exactly what Jesus does for us when we repent of our sins. The Fresh Start label says, “Extra stain-fighting power! Concentrated for strength!” Jesus says the same about himself, though he deals with stains more difficult to clean than those on our clothes. He cleans the invisible ones on our insides.

All of us have been stained by sin, and we spend lots of time working to remove that dirt from our lives. Coming clean doesn’t happen, though, unless we ask God to wash us. After that he’ll give us a heavy duty fresh start!

Pastor JayJay’s detergent bottle even tells us what our lives can be like after we’ve been cleansed by Jesus. Wherever we go, it says, we’ll leave a “clean fresh scent.”

The Lord’s cleansing will smell good to us and to others. And even to Him.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Praise for a weekend in Michigan making wedding plans with daughter Stina, and for time with 3 grandchildren
  2. Praise for feeling good, though very tired
  3. Pray for enough stamina to meet the many demands of this week. (More about this tomorrow)

Rest Well

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Thank you, faithful blog readers, for the hundreds of prayers you’ve breathed out on Mary’s behalf. This sister of mine once said she felt guilty asking for prayer, as if it was somehow selfish to occupy people’s time that way. But she was forgetting how many hundreds of prayers she’s breathed out on behalf of others, and the resulting joy in doing it.

Last night when we talked about what requests she wanted to list at the end of the blog, she said, “I don’t have very many.” What she probably meant was, “I don’t have any pressing needs right now.”

Time to restThis is very possibly God’s summary-answer to many of the prayers prayed over Mary in recent weeks. Maybe he’s saying, “Ok, then. It’s time to rest. Don’t look back on your radical surgery of 6 weeks ago. I’m putting the finishing touches on your healing from that. And don’t look forward, either. The as-yet-unknown reality of chemo- therapy is a challenge for another day, not today. Leave that where it belongs, in the future. For now, just rest.”

While growing up at Moody Church, my sister, brother, and I used to sing this song:

Jesus I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art.

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

[Jean S. Pigott, 1876]

Comfy place to restAs Mary wonders what to pray for, may that mental question-mark be her call to take a deep breath and sink into a comfortable chair to rest, while she ponders the “greatness of God’s loving heart.” And in that same hymn, there’s much more to think about:

 

Ever lift Thy face upon me

As I work and wait for Thee,

Resting ‘neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,

Earth’s dark shadows flee.

The entire song, with its many verses, is really a prayer, as if the singer is trying to convince herself God approves of her resting. He has given her this quiet time of feeling good just to “be” in his presence, wrapped in his loving-kindness. And because Mary is a visual person, the last stanza gives her something to “look at” in her mind’s eye while resting:

Brightness of my Father’s glory,

Sunshine of my Father’s face,

Keep me ever trusting, resting,

Fill me with Thy grace.

After Mary’s chemo begins, her prayer request list may grow long, and we prayer warriors will be ready. But for now, we can all pray she’ll focus on resting well in the open-wide everlasting arms of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 33:27) May these peaceful days nourish her heart, soul, mind, and body.

“Come to Me…. and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Mary’s Prayer Requests and Praises

  1. For God’s leading in a choice of chemo hospital
  2. Praise for God’s grace and for feeling good today