Category Archives: Obedience

Us Oldsters

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The writer’s conference I’ve been attending this week is full of stories, and not just the ones all of us hope to write. Each attendee comes with a life-story of her/his own, some with longer chapters than others. As I sat in the back row of the auditorium in tonight’s general session, I realized most of the 150 people there were “of retirement age.” Many, like me, were older still.

Wondering why, I settled on several reasons: (1) younger people are running faster in the rat race of life and aren’t free to attend; (2) small children keep families closer to home; (3) tight budgets prohibit spending on conferences.

WritersBut maybe being older just means there are more stories to tell. After all, we’ve witnessed hun- dreds of answered prayers, weathered lots of life-altering chal- lenges, and experienced God’s rescue again and again. As a result, we’re ready to get our stories “out there” to encourage others. But are we too old?

As we’ve been sitting through classes, meetings, and editor-interviews, we’ve learned that no matter how old we get, God always has new plans for us. Many a would-be author has “launched anew” at a writer’s conference such as this, encouraged by speakers and other writers to share what God has taught them over the years.

Red pencilThat’s not to say it’s easy. When editors mark up our manuscripts with red pens, it can be demoralizing. We get tempted to call it quits and spend the rest of the conference in our rooms.

But if we’re willing to accept criticism as help, and follow through on corrections, we’ve moved one step closer to doing what God wants us to do with what he’s taught us.

Many conferees are out of their comfort zones here, enduring stressful meetings with editors, eating unfamiliar foods, sleeping in stripped-down dorm rooms, and struggling to walk the long distances between buildings (several using canes). But they’re here anyway.

Most of us are getting weary now that we’re at the half way point. Our brains have been stretched, and we’re all talked out. Sleep is short, and new experiences are draining. No matter how old or tired we’ve become, though, when God supplies a new beginning, he provides the energy to complete it. Though the devil keeps whispering in our ears (“You’re too tired, too old, too non-professional…”), we have to close him off and keep going, pursuing what God is calling us to.

We may be “of retirement age,” but we’ll never retire from following God’s lead.

“My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I thank the Lord for a slow-paced day in Michigan today.
  2. Please pray against my rising dread over Monday’s chemo. I get nauseous just thinking about it. Pray I’ll get better at taking one day at a time.

Silly Questions

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A shopping trip for a new outfit normally doesn’t escalate into touch-and-go excitement, but Friday was different. As I pulled into a parking space facing the big glass doors at Carson’s, a security vehicle screeched to a halt in front of me.

Security carOne man jumped out and ran at top speed across the lot and around the corner of the store. The other put pedal to the metal and screeched in the opposite direction.

Once they were gone, I went inside to start my hunt for clothes, but something funny was going on at the cashier’s desk. Authorities were quizzing two 20-something girls, when all of a sudden the man who had jumped from the security car burst through the double doors, flying past the cashier, the girls, and me, and disappeared into the store.

Later, questioning the cashier, I learned a team of 3 shoplifters had been foiled in their attempt to steal clothing. “They always work in teams,” she said. “One is the look-out, another makes a purchase to distract the sales staff, and a third heads for the door with the stolen goods.”

Security monitorsThis time, though, cameras had been following the girls as they’d moved through the racks pretending to shop. Something about the way they repeatedly glanced at the cashier, whispered among themselves, and showed signs of nervousness tipped off security. And as the girl with the clothing stepped from the store, those watching were ready.

Shoplifters are willing to risk arrest for one of several reasons: financial gain, rebellion toward authorities, or just for a lark. If this team of girl-thieves had known their every move was being monitored on closed circuit TV, would they have done it?

Silly question.

But maybe that question is pertinent for all of us. What do we do when we think no one’s watching? If we believe in God and his omniscience, that’s just one more silly question, because never is there a moment we’re not being watched.

And two more questions that ought to be silly but often aren’t: Since we know we’re being watched, does it make a difference in how we act? And if not, why not?

These would have been good questions for those 3 girls to talk through in reference to the eyes of security cameras before they attempted their crime. But it’s even more important for the rest of us to ask the same questions of ourselves, in relation to the eyes of God.

“God watches how people live; he sees everything they do.” (Job 34:21)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m thankful for my week off of chemo, spending Monday with friends rather than at the hospital.
  2. I’m thankful for a weekend in Michigan and the vibrant green of spring.
  3. Please pray I’ll keep focused on God and his plans rather than my own

Blind Trust

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Today while driving from southwest Michigan to Illinois, I paid close attention to the signs: route 94 to the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan Expressway to Lake Shore Drive to Michigan Avenue to my destination in the Loop.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe closer I got to downtown Chicago, the greater the importance of trusting the road signs. If I used a natural sense of direction instead, I couldn’t have gotten where I wanted to go.

One spot on the route became particularly tricky. The goal was to get from the Dan Ryan (on the west) to Lake Shore Drive (on the east). Though my brain wanted to make a right turn, west to east, the signs said, “Stay left.” The only way to successfully make the transition was to blindly trust the directions.

Chemo confusionMy reason for the trip was to spend the day with Mary as she endured her third infusion treatment. As it turns out, chemotherapy goes better with a little blind trust, too. She had to surrender to the instructions, even when they made no sense.

For instance, when the hospital staff said, “Doing a blood draw will be a help,” it was only later, after the results, she learned they couldn’t have proceeded with chemo unless the counts had been high enough. And when killer-poison was being dripped into her veins they said, “This will extend your life.” Only blind trust will cause her to believe that.

Our spiritual lives require a bit of blind trust, too. When he says the trials that weaken us will make us stronger, it seems he’s directing us up the wrong ramp. Or when we hear, “The person who loses his life for my sake will find it,” we scratch our heads and say, “Huh?”

photo(5)Maybe the key to all of these “blind” situations is to look at who or what is being trusted. Have the road signs been put up by way of accurate maps? Has the chemo staff been well trained? Is our God trustworthy?

If all the answers are yes, then blind trust is the way to go. The only way.

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Praise that when fatigue sets in after chemo, I have the freedom to rest.
  2. Other than nausea and fatigue, praise that I haven’t experienced any of the many other side effects of chemo.
  3. Pray that the new nausea medicine will work this time.
  4. Praise for a week off chemo next week; pray that blood counts will rise again.