Category Archives: God’s plans for us

Threescore and Ten

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Today my sister Mary turned 70. Although she and Bervin were in Minnesota, I was thankful for the phone conversation we were able to have about this special day. Time on the phone was no small favor, since her loving, loyal children all checked in with her, too, making extra chat-time hard to come by.

My only question was, “How do you feel about turning 70?”

MaryBased on Scripture’s verse about a good length of life being threescore and ten years, her immediate response was, “As of today, I’ve had my allotted 70 years, so anything after this is a bonus. My overarching emotion is gratitude for the years I’ve had.”

She talked about the high quality examples in the generation ahead of us, our parents, aunts, and uncles. “They all got old, but none of them got old-and-crotchety. They didn’t complain but instead did a great job modeling how to positively handle aging.”

She talked about the skill of counting blessings. “It isn’t easy when life seems to be falling apart, but the Bible tells us to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances. It’s a mandate for us to dwell on the positive. God has been good to me, but he is good to everyone,” she said. “And he wants us to watch for his goodness.”

Mary and I have weathered a number of setbacks together, and I know she’s had reasons to worry during the night. But as she reminded me today, it’s best if we don’t brood too long over the hard times but choose instead to look for marks of God’s involvement. “They’re always there.”

Of course we couldn’t talk about turning 70 without touching on the physical losses. She said, “Yesterday we were watching little kids sled down snowy hills with abandon. I had to admit those days are over for me. But we oldsters get nearly as much pleasure from watching them as they get from sledding.” In other words, it’s not a bad thing to act our age. “I’ve decided I’m not going to dwell on all the things I can’t do, but all the things I still can.”

Then she added, “As the years go by, I know the aches and pains will begin piling up, and we have all that ahead of us. But we also have God’s promise that we won’t go through any of it alone. I agree with that blog post back in 2009 (Flashlight or Floodlight?) that it’s best if we don’t know what’s coming,” she said. “Worrying about tomorrow can subtract the happiness from today. It’s not wise to look too far down the road.”

Happy Birthday!Amen to that.

“All glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.” (Jude 1:24)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!

Seasonal Sisterhood

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Unlike most women, I don’t like shopping, not for clothes, food, household items, or anything else. It’s time-consuming and often unfruitful, which then requires a second day’s effort on the same task. The result of all my negativity is that by the time I finally venture out with a list, there are 8 or 9 stops on it, almost enough to debilitate a non-shopper. And during the holidays? The list covers both sides of the paper.

Red doorMy irritability showed recently as I walked into Target, ready to tackle item #6. Taking time for a quick bathroom stop, I stood in front of the red door pushing the button on my car key’s remote control.

When it wouldn’t open, I stretched my arm out straight, much like a TV watcher, clicking my “unlock” button like crazy. It was the word “PUSH” printed on the door that straightened me out, and I wondered how many people behind me were enjoying a good laugh.

When I finally had a cart, I realized I’d left my list on the car dashboard. But heading back to the parking lot, I found out there were other shoppers worse off than me. A woman two parking spots down was in such a hurry she jumped out of her car, slammed the door, and raced toward the store without turning off her engine.  I decided to get in my car and wait a minute to see what would happen.

As I sat there, another holiday shopper pulled into the spot in front of me. Then she did something funny. She wrapped her arms around her steering wheel like she was giving it a hug, putting her face on her arms. Was she crying? Napping? Praying?

Deciding she just needed a moment, I left her alone and headed back to Target, this time with my list. Immediately inside a woman was wrestling her cranky toddler into a cart, his pajamas sticking out from under his jacket. Her preschooler was standing next to her, also still in pj’s.

Parking lotThese women all belong to The Sisterhood of the Over-Committed when it comes to Christmas prep. It’s the extra baking, entertaining, gift-wrapping, decorating, addressing Christmas cards, and for moms of school children, attending programs, keeping track of holiday clothes, parties, grab bag gifts, and teacher presents that make December an over-committed month. It’s what brings women together in a Target parking lot, all of whom have been pressed to the point of acting irrationality.

God is hoping the birth of Jesus will be our #1 priority at this time of year, not just in our hearts but in our actions.

Jesus cameBut when we get spread too thin, much of the joy he wants us to experience evaporates, and we can’t wait for the season to end. Surely this isn’t the way to celebrate our Savior’s arrival.

Tomorrow: a few suggestions to lighten the holiday load so there’s more time for Jesus. Also, the end of the car-left-running story.

“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling….” (Psalm 127:2)

Fit for Use

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The morning after Thanksgiving, while unloading the dishwasher, I noticed that nearly every piece of flatware we owned had been used the day before. The silverware basket was bulging with its load and represented about 10 pounds of knives, forks, and spoons nestled together in close quarters. But when I slid them out of the basket, each piece was sparkling clean.

UtensilsSince one of my sister’s 30-somethings and one of mine had signed on for Thanksgiving “clean-up”, they had done all the dishes the night before. And as I looked at that pile of sparkling knives, forks, and spoons, it was a marvel the dishwasher had transformed them so easily and thoroughly. The last time I’d seen them, they’d been gunked up with bits of turkey, greasy stuffing, and mashed potatoes. And they were unfit to use again until each had been dealt with “personally” by being cleaned. That included being stuffed into the dishwasher basket, followed by contact with soap, water, and heat.

The same is true of our inner selves. Each of us is continually fighting against smudges on us that are rightfully called sins. If we accumulate too many of them at once, we become unfit for God’s use, much like the dirty silverware. Every sin has to be dealt with personally, one at a time, and if we ignore them and let them pile onto us, the purposes God originally planned for us cannot be achieved.

Just like there are specific purposes for clean knives, forks, and spoons, each of us has a purpose, too, something God intended from the beginning. And within us he has established the abilities and talents we need to get his intended plans accomplished. Not only that, he made us so that we’d experience rich satisfaction in carrying out the very things he had in mind for us to do.

But just like dirty silverware has no purpose until it’s been cleaned, we, too, have to be clean to be used.

Fit for useThankfully there’s a way to get that done, and it’s linked to Jesus Christ. If we maintain a tender conscience toward our own sins, labeling them for what they are, he invites us to come to him for cleansing and promises to do it. Just like that dirty silverware, we can get sparkling clean again, becoming fit for his use because of his willingness to forgive us.

This Thanksgiving we decided to go casual, which is why I used my stainless steel flatware. I do own some sterling, but it seemed out of place with the rest of our décor. Maybe there is a place for the far more valuable sterling, though; once we’ve sought forgiveness and received clean-again status from the Lord, he views us as having the same sterling character as his Son. And that, he can use.

“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)