Category Archives: Hearing from God

Abundant Giving

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When Nelson drove home from Montana this weekend, he came by way of a visit with my nephew Luke and his wife Emily in Wisconsin. After he got here, he brought in a giant storage bin and two big shopping bags, plunking them down in front of Birgitta. “From Emily,” he said. “For your baby.”

Inside were baby girl clothes to outfit our October baby for an entire year: infant gowns, onesies, booties, hats, dresses, sleepers, bibs, tights, shoes, 3-piece outfits, socks, towels, wash cloths, burping cloths, a snowsuit, and more. Emily even sent a typed inventory of larger items for Birgitta’s “yes or no:” a car seat, stroller, exer-saucer, Baby Einstein cds, Bumbo seat, baby carrier, Boppy, toys, and many other things. Everything was washed and neatly folded, the smaller items in labeled baggies.

As Birgitta held up one adorable outfit after another, we oooed and awwwed with delight at such unexpected bounty, high-quality, well-made baby clothes the likes of which she probably wouldn’t have been able to buy. Because of Emily, Birgitta won’t need to buy anything but diapers. We are humbled by this incredible generosity.

Emily is a stunning example of what God hopes all of us will do but many of us don’t. I remember the frustration of trying to teach our young children to share while I was making a meal for friends who’d just had a new baby. As I was packing up the dinner along with most of a batch of freshly-baked cookies, one of our younger boys said, “Hey! Don’t give away so many of those. You’re not leaving enough for us!”

“It’s important to share,” I told him.

“Why?”

“Because God wants us to, and because if we do, God will share with us.”

My little boy frowned.

Right after that I found this instructional verse for the kids: “Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16)   I made them memorize it, hoping they’d swallow the message. What I’ve learned since then, though, is that I’m not all that good at sharing myself, even now. Rationalizing still comes easy: “I’d better not give that away; I might need it later.” Or, “That item has sentimental value. Wouldn’t it be wrong to part with it?”

Scripture says, “Be generous.” It doesn’t say, “If you feel like it” or “if you’re sure you don’t want it anymore” or “If it has no sentimental value.” It just says, “Give.” God knew it might be difficult for us to share, so he told us how to learn: force ourselves to do it.

And precious Emily has shown us how. In the handwritten note to Birgitta she’d tucked in with the clothes she wrote, “Keep what you want…

…and give the rest away.”

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

 

 

Life Wisdom

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Mentoring programs are big nowadays, but they’ve existed since ancient times. Elijah mentored Elisha. Moses mentored Joshua. Naomi mentored Ruth. Paul mentored Timothy. And of course Jesus mentored his 12 disciples.

I’ve had several impactful mentors through the years, my parents among them. But the one who walked me through my youthful immaturities and stuck with me until she died at 92 was Aunt Joyce (married to my Dad’s brother). She let me live with her family three different summers in the 1960’s, gently counseling, instructing, and (yes) chiding me as needed.

My respect for her grew as I aged and took on more common characteristics with her: marriage, motherhood, and other adult ups and downs. Aunt Joyce never preached. Instead she coaxed me into new ways of thinking for myself. She shared examples from her own life and was careful to include failures as well as successes. The fact that she would disclose her personal struggles to me always felt like a gift.

Aunt Joyce never labeled herself as a mentor, and it wasn’t until we’d been “working together” for years that I realized I was her mentoree. She had others, too, and in her later years complete strangers approached her through church contacts, requesting mentoring. She never turned them away and viewed each relationship as a holy privilege.

One of the reasons Aunt Joyce was an effective tutor was that she never said, “You should… do this or that.” Instead she’d say, “Here’s something you might want to try,” or “I found this approach worked for me in similar circumstances.” She made it seem like the two of us were in it together, a team, even equal at times, though I was always the one getting the benefits. But if my steady stream of questions and needs drained her, she never let on.

Of course the ultimate mentor is God, and he’s willing to partner with any of us desiring to be his mentorees. As with all good mentors, though, he leaves it up to us to take advantage of it.

Adam and Eve had it made with their daily mentoring sessions in the cool of each Eden evening. But despite their Mentor’s flawless guidance, they only agreed with 90% of it. The 10% they tossed aside made a radical difference in their quality of life. We can contradict what our mentors tell us, ignore their counsel, or follow their advice and watch our lives change for the better.

Aunt Joyce lived a long, fruitful life and was a valuable mentor for one reason: her advice was always right-on. That’s because it came down to her from her own mentor, God. Since he was her foundational source, she could give an opinion with confidence.

I tried to follow her example in lots of ways, but the one she most hoped I would emulate was looking to God as the ultimate Mentor… exactly like she did.

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4)

Effective Communication

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When I was growing up, the thought of communicating with someone in another room was done only one way: by shouting. Cell phones were non-existent, and even walkie-talkies were unavailable. That’s why it was exciting to put empty soup cans at both ends of a long string and talk into the cans. Two rooms away someone could actually hear you. Childhood pals sometimes strung a line between their two homes, cleverly talking well past bedtime.

Another pre-cell-phone way to stay connected with friends was epitomized on TV in a series called “The Goldbergs,” aired in the 1950’s. Molly Goldberg would lean our her apartment window and holler to her neighbor, “Yoo hoo!” and the two would converse across the corner of their building.

Cell phones have eliminated the need for such creative communication, but last week my next-door-neighbor and I harkened back to the old ways. Linda knew Birgitta was going to learn the gender of her unborn baby on Thursday. “Maybe you could put a piece of pink or blue paper in your kitchen window. We’ll look out our bathroom window and discover the news.”

And so after Birgitta opened her tell-tale cookie and realized she was having a girl, we hung a pink paper in the window. When Linda saw it, she taped up a response: a baby picture with a pink bow in her hair.

So who needs cell phones?

Something about this primitive but festive way of communicating was very satisfying. It was creative, free, and lots more fun than calling Linda on the phone. In a way, it reminded me of the creative ways God communicates with us.

Sometimes he makes the words of the Bible leap off the page with personal meaning. At other times he speaks through the mouth of a friend or pastor. Then there are our thoughts, which he can shape to lead us to him. Even a potent dream can be used in special ways to influence us for his purposes. Books can also alert us to his messages, and experiences in nature can prompt us to worship him.

Our part is to be sure we’re listening and watching for whatever it is he wants to say. If Linda and I hadn’t remembered to look out our windows, we would’ve missed the happy messages. In the same way, if we race through our days without thinking of what God might be telling us, we could easily miss out.

It’s good to know he’s consistently trying to get through to us and won’t give up trying. And because there’s no end to his creativity, you never know how he might choose to get through. If you pick up a soup can and listen carefully, who knows what you might hear.

“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)