Category Archives: God’s plans for us

The Finishing Touch

Posted on by

Two Hands KinttingWhen my friend Lynn and I were in high school, we took to the art of knitting with a passion. Whenever we were together, our needles were clicking on scarves, ear warmers, simple sweaters, mittens, baby clothes, and eventually ski sweaters with complicated patterns and multiple colors.

Within a few years, though, our zeal for knitting had shifted to college, then careers, husbands, homes, and children. It wasn’t until a decade later, when Nate and I were cleaning a crawl space, that I came across a giant box full of knitting stuff: needles, balls of yarn, pattern books, and partially knit items that were never completed. It surprised me how many I’d left undone.

_____________________________________________________________

GIFWMYBack in the 1970’s there was a movement in Christian circles with this slogan: “Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.” I had a button that read, PBP.GIFWMY, and a book came out by that name. Although the fad passed, the concept remained. I gave up on my knitting and many other things too, but how good to know God will never give up on us.

In thinking of Mary and her time-consuming recuperation from cancer surgery, she might be tempted to sink into discouragement. “My progress has really slowed, and I still have so much pain. And I don’t like dealing with this feeding tube, which I’ll have to manage for quite some time. And when will I get my energy back and be able to resume normal life again? I wish my body would hurry up and heal. I want this to be finished!”

But… GIFWMY: “God isn’t finished with Mary yet.” Actually, it’s true of all of us.

Well, all but one. Jesus did finish.

From his near-death suffering on the cross, John 19:28 tells us he knew the moment his work was done: “Jesus knew that his mission was now finished.” And shortly after that he let the world know it by announcing, “It is finished!” He had done what he came to do, opening a way for us to get to God. His resurrection became the phenomenal exclamation point at that finish line.

The rest of us will never be able to say we have nothing more to do until we’ve moved in with Jesus. Only then will our work be finished, our purpose accomplished. In the mean time, God wants to help us finish what we start, especially in terms of our most difficult challenges. And his desire is to keep us from discouragement along the way. In reference to Mary and her slow healing process? GIFWM*Y. Not by a long shot,

*Mary

“I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Mary’s Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise for a partial solution to feeding tube pain
  2. Pray for continued improvement with remaining, deeper pain
  3. Praise for being released to go home today!
  4. Pray for strength and weight gain
  5. Pray for Tiff, who cleaned their hotel room for 15 days, a former crystal meth addict. They gave her a Bible.

Small Beginnings

Posted on by

Most people are curious about the Mayo Clinic and how it grew to be globally acclaimed in the medical world. Interestingly, its origin was like many other start-ups: really small.

Franciscan SisterThough the Clinic currently employs some 29,000 people, 124 years ago when it began it was just 27 beds in a small building located in the middle of a cornfield. Patients were served by a handful of Franciscan Nuns who were mostly school teachers, not nurses, unaccustomed to blood and bandages.

The only physicians were two brothers, Will and Charlie Mayo, and their father William. Will and Charlie had no hospital experience, and their father was already 70 years old when the clinic was just getting off the ground. By all rights this humble beginning ought not to have grown into a globally recognized medical empire.

There was another problem, too. In the small town of Rochester, many people were critical of a partnership made between Protestants (the Mayo family) and Catholics (the Sisters). But in spite of their sometimes divergent beliefs, they shared an overriding mission: to care for not just bodies but each person as a whole. Protestants and Catholics found common ground in believing their hospital work was more of a ministry than a business.

photo(119)But isn’t that always true when God is the Initiator of something new? He sees to it that insurmountable odds are overcome and the impossible is made possible. If we cooperate with him, taking care not to superimpose our ideas over his, he takes responsibility for the outcome, which always concludes well. But if we insist on tweaking his plans, we’re headed for conflict.

That can be true in business, ministry, marriage, friendship, government, and the church. When we let God lead (which includes us being content to hang back and follow), the results will be spectacular. Opposing sides will find themselves getting along, and divisions will melt away.

The picture of Mayo Clinic’s divergent founders accomplishing something significant in unity is a good illustration of another pair of groups originally in opposition to each other: humanity and divinity. These two were about as far apart as any two groups could be, with no hope for compatibility or unity. It was permanently impossible… until the day Jesus died on the cross.

That willing sacrifice changed everything. As a result, human lives can now intersect with the divine, not as enemies but as friends, a reconciliation that will have dramatic consequences throughout eternity.

Though the Mayo Clinic’s history is a remarkable one, salvation’s story far surpasses it. Not everyone will be part of the Clinic’s story, but all are invited to participate in salvation.

“God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:19-20)

Mary’s Prayer Requests:

  1. For the feeding tube to work well. Since it is currently clogged, pray for an uncomplicated repair at the hospital tomorrow
  2. For abdominal/gas/hunger pains to cease.
  3. Praise for God’s Word, particularly for the book of James Mary is currently studying, and for Barb, who types and sends notes each week from the group study Mary is missing
  4. Praise for a good report from Dr. Truty today and the hope of returning home soon, to rest up for chemo

 

A Love That’s True

Posted on by

No marriage is without its stress points. Whether it’s something internal between husband and wife or something external that life throws at both of them, hard times can either make or break a relationship.

Broken HeartStatistics show, for example, that having a bankruptcy can cause a couple to split up. The birth of a special needs child can do it, too, or in-law problems, a critical spouse, or chronic health issues. And when life-and-death cancer hits, anything can happen.

A couple could blame each other for the dilemma they’re in. They might argue about it and berate each other, harming their relationship. But they could also weather the storm together, clinging to one another tighter than ever.

Mary and Bervin are currently traveling through one of those life-and-death crises, each of them exposed to a mountain of stress and sadness. Cancer has a way of doing that to people. But everything I’ve observed between the two of them points to increasing togetherness rather than a cracking of their marriage bond.

The day of Mary’s surgery (Monday), as four of us said goodbye, she went around the circle giving each of us a strong hug. Coming to Bervin, she passed him by. “I’m saving the best for last,” she said, looking at him. Then after hugging the rest of us, she went back to him and held on tight.

What part does God play in the traumas that come to all married couples? For one thing, he doesn’t waste even one of these experiences. Rough patches in marriage are particularly useful from his point of view, since they tend to polish off our rough edges and make couples look to him for help. At least that’s his hope.

Heading to surgeryGod’s intention is that when trouble comes, wives and husbands will race to put supportive arms around each other, satisfying the other one’s need without concern for their own. By doing so they demonstrate humility, servanthood, and true love, which pleases both their partner and the God who bonded them in marriage. It also primes the pump for a next time, when the one who’s been given the most, eagerly becomes the giver.

Traditional (old-fashioned) wedding vows include this concluding statement: “What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Mark 10:9) In other words, nothing of human origin should be allowed to pull them apart. When circumstances threaten to do that, even if it’s a disease, God hopes husband and wife will cling instead of crumble, coming out the other side stronger than ever.

That’s exactly what’s happening with Mary and Bervin. Mary’s life will never be the same now that cancer has come, and their marriage won’t be the same either. But that’s ok, because it’s going to be better than ever.

“Love… endures through every circumstance.” (1 Corinthians 13:7)

Mary’s prayer requests:

  1. For a peaceful night after a day of difficulty
  2. For pain meds to work without causing nausea
  3. For thorough healing of Mary’s insides
  4. For stamina to meet physical demands