Community Living

Back home in Michigan now, my mind and heart are often still in Hawaii, where two of my children and one grandchild remain. My stay there, acting as a nanny for Emerald, was positive in every way – except one.

Although I lived in a lovely guest room by myself, after the first few days I discovered I was going to have to share my space after all, with some very unwelcome roommates… three gecko lizards.

geckoHawaiians love their geckos. “They eat mosquitoes and other pesky insects,” I was told, “so we’re always glad to see them. We never hurt them.”

But being from gecko-free Michigan, I felt differently. Though there are no snakes in Hawaii (good news for my phobia), a lizard’s tail comes pretty close, not to mention its beady eyes.

My three roommates were different colors, so I could tell who was who – tan, grey, and green. Occasionally I’d see them together, climbing up and down my room walls on their sticky toe-pads with who-knows-what intentions. Their chirping, which sounds much like their name, would often startle me with how close it was, and I’d freeze until I could see where they were.

Because my bed was in the corner, I worried I might wake to find all three lined up on my pillow watching me. It was a terrifying thought and sometimes kept me from sleeping. Lizard-related dreams were frequent. And I’d often hear them scampering around the perimeter of the ceiling, just behind the beams.

FullSizeRender (4)In the end, though, I had to admit that my gecko roomies probably wouldn’t harm me, and despite disliking them, I would have to co-exist with them for the duration.

Life continually asks us to co-exist with situations (or people) we don’t like. God often sets it up that way on purpose, expecting us to handle it with grace.

Why would he deliberately do such a thing? Because working to co-exist with something or someone we struggle to get along with is good for us, tugging us away from a natural me-first mind-set. It forces thoughts about another, though what those thoughts are is up to us. We can fight against acceptance or work toward it, our choice.

I had no trouble being irritated with the geckos, but the truth was, most of my objections were in my own head – fabricated by my dislike of them. It didn’t help the situation to think negatively, though, and could have worked in my favor had I tried to accept them as the Hawaiians do. None of what I worried about came to pass anyway.

But all is not lost. Back in Michigan now, God is giving me a fresh chance to learn the same lesson. Once again I’m hearing the scampering of little feet around my bedroom ceiling, and not just three sets of them. This time there’s a whole army — of squirrels.

Let us pursue what makes for peace. (Romans 14:19)

 

Trouble with Tides

I’ve always thought the Great Lakes were akin to the ocean, just minus the salt, dangerous wildlife, and surfing waves. But now that I’ve been “playing Hawaiian” for a few weeks, I see I missed one other difference: tides.

Tide calendarThe ocean ebbs and flows in a systematic way, first programmed by the Creator. Whether it’s the moon’s pull or the earth’s rotation, tides are predictable enough to be put on a calendar. Recently when Emerald and I packed up for a beach trip, I studied the tide times posted on Birgitta’s room wall – “out” when we got there and “in” when we left.

IMG_1972When we arrived, we set up camp a safe distance from the water where a tide pool surrounded by black lava rock was the perfect place for a three-year-old to play. Ankle-deep in some places, waist-deep in others, the water was sun-warmed and a perfect place to play. It was puzzling, then when I felt a surge of water rush around my ankles like the jets in a Jacuzzi. But being from the Midwest, I didn’t think of the tide.

Within a few minutes, though, I remembered. Each wave bounced with greater force across the rocks, insisting that the water level rise. We had to scramble to save our towels and snack bag from being swamped.

IMG_1974Again and again we returned to the water, only to have to run out and throw our items higher on the sand. The water rose quickly, accompanied by forceful surges beneath the surface, some strong enough to take us off our feet. Our water toys raced past us, heading for the open ocean, and we had to think fast to snag them.

Though neither of us was in real danger, we couldn’t seem to get ahead of the tide. We’re lake people and were completely unprepared – because we’d never had this kind of experience before. Though we’d checked the tide calendar, it hadn’t taught us what to do.

In our spiritual walks, God offers to give us experience we’ll need to navigate turbulent circumstances, but many of us prefer a quick glance at the Bible, preferring not to have the hard experiences that teach us best. We say, “Yes, I get that, Lord,” much like I thought I understood the tides from looking at the calendar. But teaching that will serve us best is enduring the hard things God allows, without complaint. We can know with confidence he’ll educate us properly if we let him do it his way.

IMG_1985That day at the tide pools, the water eventually stopped rising, and it was safe to go back in, though not where we’d been before. Shallow had turned to deep, and we moved to newly-flooded mini-pools instead. The next time we go, the tide calendar will mean much more – because now we’ve had experience.

Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. (James 1:22)

I stand amazed.

IMG_3834Emerald still has a fascination with bubbles. Every day she asks if we can blow them, and each time it’s as if she’s never seen them before. She “stands amazed,” which for her means an open mouth and a wildly-waving right hand. As bubbles swirl around her, joy bubbles out of her.

Once in a while, though, a stray bubble pops in the wrong place – not on her nose or forehead (which she loves) but in her eye. She crumples to the ground in tears, rubbing her face and hollering at high decibel. “The bubble hurt Emerald! The bubble hurt Emerald!”

IMG_3850Might there be a spiritual parallel to this soap-in-the-eye dilemma? We all say we love the Lord. We trust he’s telling the truth when he says he’s always working for our good.

So we pray and ask for things he’s encouraged us to ask for – protection from evil, strength to endure temptation, life-guidance through prayer. We have confidence in his amazing power and expect him to act on our behalf. Then suddenly a situation arises that makes us raise our eyebrows at him. We might be left unprotected and become injured; maybe we fail at resisting temptation and give in; or he might seem silent when we desperately need his help making a decision.

And suddenly our bubble of amazement pops – bringing a hurtful sting. Our faith crumples, and we cry, “Lord, you hurt me! You hurt me!” Who would stand in awe of that?

There’s a wonderful old hymn that includes these lyrics: “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean.”

It continues: “How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be! How marvelous, how wonderful, is my Savior’s love for me!”

It’s easy to smile as we sing those words, nodding affirmation and feeling his love. But when life goes awry or gets really hard, our raised eyebrows quickly form a frown, and we feel like wagging a finger at God. Instead of amazement, we want to lay blame.

The truth is, we don’t understand why the Lord does what he does any more than Emerald understands why soapy water creates her beloved bubbles.

Bubble-ologyAnd maybe that’s exactly what’s at the heart of her amazement. Because she doesn’t understand it, she’s in awe of it. And though a bubble in the eye is a set-back, her fascination doesn’t diminish, and the expectancy of joy quickly returns.

Even as the sting lingers, she jumps to her feet. “More bubbles? More?” Her mouth drops open, her right hand starts waving, and once again she stands amazed.

Can we say the same about God?

They were completely amazed and said again and again, “Everything [Jesus] does is wonderful.” (Mark 7:37)