Category Archives: God’s plans for us

A Heart’s Desire

Posted on by

My pregnant daughter glowed when she recounted the experience of watching her child’s heart beat for the first time. It happened at a clinic in her university town during an ultrasound test, completely taking her by surprise. At 6 weeks along, she’d expected to see only a tiny, dark spot on the screen, so when the tech pointed out a miniature beating heart, she was stunned.

Birgitta could see it clearly, though her baby was only 1/4“ long with a heart the size of a poppy seed. But never mind it’s miniscule size. Her emotional heart began beating for that little heart right then, and I can tell her from mothering experience it will beat like that until one or the other of them dies.

Research tells us a baby’s heartbeat begins just 21 days after conception. Considering the average baby needs about 280 days of development before it’s ready to be born, this information is mind-boggling. Something else astonishing about a pregnancy is that 2 beating hearts are enclosed in one person’s body. In the case of multiples, there are more.

Birgitta said that at her second ultrasound (at 12 weeks), the doctor began listening for her baby’s beating heart but first heard Birgitta’s. Its regular 60-something beats per minute represented a heart that had been working since poppy seed size within Birgitta, who had been within me, 22 years ago. Since that time it hasn’t shut down for even a few seconds and will probably beat millions of additional times in her future.

As the tech moved her wand across Birgitta’s tummy, gradually her own heartbeat faded and a different beat was heard, strong and steady like the first one but at a pace of 150-something beats per minute. Though small, it was already being faithful to its purpose.

We’ve all heard the expression, “two hearts beating as one,” used in reference to the bond of marriage or a close friendship. The 2 hearts beating inside Birgitta are in as close proximity as any two can be, literally inches apart, yet they’re distinctly separate. They’re definitely not beating as one. And though they’ll always be mother and child, they’ll remain two very different people throughout life.

The Bible has a great deal to say about hearts, the most significant of which is the heart of God. What we learn is that he knows the secrets in our hearts, but regardless of what’s hiding there, he also knows we have a strong longing for him. He put it there when he made us in his image, and when we move to satisfy that longing, he is pleased.

In other words, our hearts beat for him, and his heart beats for us. If there was ever a golden opportunity to hope two hearts might beat as one, this would be it.

“The Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

I can’t deny it.

Posted on by

Hollywood and the Bible have something in common: they’re both full of stories, not to mention the colorful personalities populating them. God’s plots and those of filmmakers could be skewed any way the authors choose, but the movie that sells the most tickets is usually the one with the most reprehensible characters in its script. We’d rather see actors make trouble than watch halo-worthy people do everything right.

God knows that, which is why he’s included so many off-kilter stories in the Bible. It’s more of a tell-all book than a goodie-two-shoes tale. He could have shown us only the holy side of his players, but instead he spells out the whole story, even the seedy parts.

How come?

It’s probably to convince us his Word is about real people, people who may have lived thousands of years ago but are really very much like us. Once we buy into that, we can learn from their rebellious behavior (and its resulting consequences) as much as from their cooperation with God. Probably more so.

Lively guys like superman Samson, bully Goliath, longsuffering Noah, first-man Adam, temper-tantrum Jonah, and dancing David are intriguing. All of them got into massive messes, and as we study those exciting (and sometimes far-fetched) stories, we shake our heads and remember what not to do.

When Jesus arrived on the biblical pages, he continued to acquaint us with people who were out-of-the-ordinary, even strange, putting his words and experiences into everyday contexts. Take his 12 disciples, for example, men of all ages, educational backgrounds, and professions. Some were gracious, others abrasive, but as we get to know them, we can see ourselves in their behavior.

Personally I relate to Peter the most. During the 3 years of Jesus’ ministry, Peter was probably about my age, older than the rest of the men and because of that, supposedly wiser. Instead we’re shown an impetuous character who was often reckless in his responses to circumstances. For instance, betraying and abandoning his dear friend Jesus when he needed him most.

In another incident (this one in John 21), Peter plays the lead in a grilling session that takes place at the beach, and I don’t mean on a Weber. Jesus had risen from the dead, and a handful of his disciples had just finished a spontaneous picnic breakfast with him at the edge of a lake.

Peter, probably unsure of where he stood with Jesus after his 3 blatant lies about him (using swear words for emphasis), was no doubt thrilled to be sharing a meal with him again. After they’d all finished eating, Jesus turned toward the impulsive Peter and zeroed in on him with a thorny Q&A session.

(Concluded tomorrow)

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.” (John 21:12)

Be prepared.

Posted on by

I loved being a Girl Scout. Our motto was: “Be prepared.” This meant we were always to be mentally and bodily ready to face difficulties or even danger by knowing what to do and when to do it.

In an effort to get properly prepared, our leaders encouraged us to earn badges to prove how prepared we actually were. They taught us to make a fire, understand food nutrition, know about leadership, learn water safety, and much more.

As we earned our badges, we accumulated knowledge, and in order to apply it, our leaders role-played with us, testing our responses to different hypotheticals. They figured if we practiced enough, when a moment of need arose, we’d automatically jump in to help in appropriate ways.

Role-playing is a practical way to learn, and most of us do it eagerly. For example, before a couple gets married, they often attend counseling together. The pastor or teacher describes marriage moments they’re bound to encounter and asks how each would respond. The resulting discussions point out potential problems.

Nate and I did plenty of role-playing as we prepared for marriage: “What if we don’t have children? What if we do? If we move away from family, how will we handle that?” We worked to trouble-shoot, hoping we wouldn’t have too many bumps in the adjustment road, once we were married. It was all part of getting prepared.

At the other end of our marriage, as empty nesters heading toward retirement, we role-played once again: “When is it best to retire? Then what? And should we move? If so, what’ll happen when our children and grandchildren visit? And will our money last through old age? Should we travel before we get too old?” We wanted to be prepared.

The thing we didn’t role-play was an “early” death for one of us. “What will your/my life look like, if you/I should die? How can we prepare for that?” Other than life insurance, we hadn’t even discussed it.

Subsequently, when we learned of Nate’s cancer, we huffed and puffed trying to prepare, but death caught up to us before we were ready. When it was all over and I was alone, I stood in my living room on a wintry night and thought, “Now what? I’m completely unprepared for this.”

But God, who’s always ready for everything, had a good answer. “Since you couldn’t prepare for what was coming next, I did it for you.”

And here’s what he’d prepared:

  1. my grieving process
  2. this blog to tend
  3. a book to write
  4. Birgitta and her baby to help

In hindsight I can see he had me ready, so I’m not going to worry about what numbers 5 or 6 will be. And if I’ve learned anything in the last few years, it’s that living within God’s preparedness is a better place to be than role-playing the unknown, all by myself.

 “I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.” (Psalm 57:2)