Party City

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Margaret

This weekend was a birthday triple-header for our family: Jack turned 77 in dog years, Lars turned 39 in human years, and Emerald turned one precious baby-year. And the one with the smallest number was the biggest deal.

Although Emerald won’t remem- ber the fun we had in her honor, the party was important for 3 reasons: (1) her extended family had a good time getting together; (2) birthday photos will someday show her how joyfully we celebrated her life; (3) we celebrated Birgitta’s year-one survival as a single mom.

Emerald was battling her first-ever illness (a snotty cold and cough), but Birgitta followed through with her plan to visit a local pumpkin farm. Cold windy weather wasn’t ideal, but her sunny personality shone through anyway, even as she smiled through watery eyes and a runny nose.

First birthdays are always special. Buying toys and mini-clothes for a 12 month old is a happy project for any of us, and watching them finger their first hunk of birthday cake is one of the most photographed events of family life.

I remember well our firstborn’s first birthday. It was a double-party with his cousin Julia and a dozen couples with their children. Mary and I cooked two menus: one for the little people and one for their parents. We had games for children and also adults, along with prizes, family photographs, party favors, and 2 homemade cakes. I stayed up till 4:30 am decorating my school bus.

Overkill for sure.

Most of us find it’s easy to get caught up in celebrations. Years ago, we knew a couple that lived from party to party, doing their best to endure regular life in between. We attended one of those, and well after midnight watched the hostess literally tugging on guests who were preparing to leave. “Please don’t go yet!” she said. “Just one more hour!”

Most of life can’t be about merrymaking. That’s because we’re duty-bound to many commitments that aren’t very much fun. That’s especially true for those of us trying to follow biblical guidelines: “May you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands.” (1 Kings 8:61)

Being faithful to the Lord includes things like working steadily on troubled relationships, following through on commitments, reaching toward blameless character, and repeatedly asking God’s forgiveness for personal sin. None of these would fly as good party themes.

That’s not to say there aren’t party times coming. Scripture promises good eating, lots of singing, a spirit of rejoicing, grand adventures, and satisfying relationships…. eventually.

Since God has always been faithful to us, these duty-bound days should be used to be faithful to him as an effective lead-in to the celebratory days ahead. And maybe it’s even ok to make a big deal out of birthdays now, if we’ll just view them as foretastes of the great parties in store for later.

So… Happy Birthday, Emerald, Lars, and Jack!

“He always stands by his covenant — the commit- ment he made to a thou- sand generations.” (Psalm 105:8)

Travel Perks

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Margaret

Last weekend my trip out west included 3 airports: Chicago, Albuquerque, and Denver. Many months previously, I’d bought 3 one way tickets online, the best way to form my travel-triangle. It was a laborious task but concluded well, except for one thing.

As I was studying computer pages that night long ago, my frequent flyer miles popped up in a side column: “Would you like to use miles to purchase this ticket?” I’d never done that and wasn’t sure, but it sounded pretty good. So I “spent” 25,000 miles and “bought” the Denver-Chicago leg for free.

Something funny happened after that, though. When I clicked “yes” on choosing a seat, the computer pictured only the front section of the plane. Apparently I’d “bought” a priority ticket. When the next screen prompted me to select from a dinner menu, I knew I had. A flight less than 2 hours doesn’t usually include dinner with its mini-pretzels.

During my 5 days out west, I was surprised at how often I thought of that priority seat waiting for me: 3A, front row. Though I didn’t tell my girlfriends about my mistake, I got gladder and gladder, thinking of all those first class travel perks.

Many of us move through life in economy mode, sometimes wondering what it’s like in either direction (up or down). But God gives and also takes away as he considers what’s best for each of us, so that wherever we “land”, we’ll be where we should be. This reasoning presents problems, however, especially when we think of suffering children or deprived older adults. The world is full of painful shortages, and it’s difficult to come to terms with why God allows them.

As always, our example should be Jesus, a royal king who forfeited his wealth and power to become poor in all categories. He did it willingly, eagerly, although not as an experiment or a contest. He did it out of love so that the rest of us could one day become rich beyond measure, actually sharing his unlimited inheritance. From what I read in Scripture, our future lives will be worth all the shortages we experience in our present lives. The words “priority” or “first class” won’t be good enough.

As for my plane ride? Shortly after take-off, a flight attendant offered heated, moist hand towels to freshen up before dinner, followed by a small china cup of warmed cashews/almonds/pecans. A gourmet dinner tray held more than I could eat, and I appreciated the linen napkin with embroidered buttonhole to attach like a classy bib. If I’d asked for a box of Godivas, they probably would have produced it.

The bottom line, though, was that if I’d been sitting in the cramped back row with a tiny pretzel bag, I’d have made it to Chicago just fine.

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Extravagant Giving

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Margaret

I love the word “lavish”. Even the definition is fun to read: open-handed benevolence; giving in great amounts without limit; generosity occurring in profusion; abundance poured out.

The word originally comes from Latin, lavare, which means “to wash, as in a downpour of rain.”

Although “lavish” is used in Scripture only a handful of times, God’s lavishness threads through the Bible in his actions. That’s still true today, and I’ve kept a journal detailing the lavish blessings he’s rained down on our family over the years, an effective antidote for any ingratitude that might creep in.

The road-map to God’s lavish provision often looks something like this:

A need appears.
We attempt to meet it.
Our attempts fail, and the need increases.
We try harder to meet it.
The need escalates to crisis level.
We realize we can’t meet it and turn to God for rescue.
He meets the need lavishly.

A perfect example took place when Nate was battling his cancer and fading fast. Our 7+2+2 children had come from far and wide to be with their father, all except Hans who lived with his family in England. Visa problems and UK re-entry issues made a trip to the States impossible. The story of God’s lavish provision is written up in a blog from that time. (Then God stepped in!)

It seems God relishes opportunities to pour “a profusion of generosity” on his children and is watching us for two things: a willingness to (1) trust him, and a determination to (2) wait for him. We say, “Oh, that’s easy!” when in reality the opposite is true. Both are difficult and take repeated practice.

God knows we struggle to trust and then wait, so he details a variety of examples in his Word, showing how good it can be. One of these (taught in every Sunday School) is the feeding of the 5000. While growing up I viewed this as a nice miracle Jesus did so those he was teaching wouldn’t have to leave the meeting for dinner. Of course there was much more to it.

Just before that big picnic, Scripture tells us Jesus and the disciples had been so busy, they hadn’t even had time to eat. We don’t know how many meals they’d missed, but surely their stomachs were growling when Jesus suggested they separate themselves from the multitude so they could rest (and presumably eat). When the crowds continued to follow, their hope for rejuvenation evaporated.

But fast-forward to the other end of the miraculous feeding that satisfied every appetite, and we see 12 full baskets of extra food, one per disciple. Jesus caused it to work out exactly that way (another miracle) not just to provide for their next meal. He wanted to use the leftovers to make an important point:

“Trust me with your needs, men; then wait expectantly, and I guarantee you’ll see what ‘lavish’ looks like, every time.”