Seat 19B

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Though I’m not a frequent flyer, I do find myself on airplanes a handful of times each year. Always hoping for a nap, I prefer the window seat with a wall to lean on. Sleeping isn’t guaranteed, though, since most planes are over-sold, giving every passenger a seatmate. Anything can happen.

Last week, sitting on a 747 and eyeing the travelers coming down the aisle, I caught a young man smiling broadly at me. When he stopped at row 19, I knew I’d met my seatmate. “Hi!” he said, sticking his hand out to shake mine. “My name’s Hunter. What’s yours?”

WheatonI had no choice but to talk with him, though I wondered about my nap. But I quickly learned he was a sophomore at Wheaton, my alma mater, majoring in literature, my major. We had fun swapping Wheaton stories, favorite professors, and best books. Then he told me that after graduation he hoped to work in an inner-city with underprivileged kids, bringing practical help and the Gospel along with him.

Hunter and I chatted for 20 minutes, after which he buried his nose in a philosophy book, and I got my nap. My last thought before drifting away was how delightful it had been meeting this godly young student who wasn’t even 21 yet. He’d already committed to going wherever God would take him and felt strongly the two of them would be working with the poor.

Hunter radiated joy in the Lord. Though he had already worked in cities and was acquainted with the severity of problems, he wanted to bring hope and help anyway. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to solve every dilemma hadn’t diminished his enthusiasm because, as he said, his confidence was in God, not himself.

I’ve thought a great deal about Hunter’s words that day and about his bright, joyful delivery. His exuberance was contagious. Nothing discouraged him, not the pressure of academics or his youthfulness or even the gloomy news of global chaos. That’s because his confidence was in God alone.

We can volunteer in aid organizations and give money to Christian causes, but personal grounding in a tumultuous world can only come when our optimism is linked to the Lord. And if we believe he is who he says he is, we can smile as broadly as Hunter.

airplane seatsAs our plane made its way to the gate that day, Hunter re-opened our conversation. “Miss Margaret, may I pray for you?”

This conversation with God lasted till we had pulled into gate C3, till the seat belt sign had been turned off, till people were standing in the aisles, and till the plane doors had been opened. He requested God’s blessing on me, my family, my writing, my future, and my witness for Christ, claiming half a dozen Scripture passages in the process.

I was stunned and delighted by this gift — and challenged to always make sure my hope is in God alone.

“The fruit of the Spirit is…. joy.” (Galatians 5:22)

When We’re Ready

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Every young child loves to “help” his or her mommy. That may be because God placed a drive within them to mimic, or simply because what adults do seems fascinating from the outside looking in. (Think blue Windex spray bottles, shiny sharp knives, and the buttons on the wash machine.)

“Me do it!” or “By my own self!” are often early sentences, and children think of themselves as every adult’s equal.

Spray bottleThe other day, two-year-old Emerald borrowed the spray water bottle from her bathtub toys and went-to-town washing windows. The only trouble was that the window she chose was Birgitta’s flat screen TV, which now is no more.

Adults know the truth about being given responsibility before capability. So they try to walk that fine line between letting children assist and giving them free rein. Take vacuuming, for example.

Isaac assistingMy grandson Isaac, 13 months, loves the family vacuum. With 4 youngsters ages 6 and under in the house, this attractive tool makes an appearance daily, and Isaac longs to be in charge of it.

Of particular interest is the warm vent-air that blows out the side, and Linnea patiently lets him “help” as she makes her way around a room. But turning it over to him would be ridiculous. The tidying-up would remain undone, and dust and crumbs wouldn’t be the only things going inside the vacuum.

We can draw a spiritual parallel when it comes to our relationship with God. Often we think we’re capable of spiritual accomplishments he hasn’t yet trained us to do. Just as children watch their mommy and figure they can do what she does, we look at others doing “great things for the Lord” and wish we could do the same.

It’s honorable to want to accomplish for God. We love him dearly, and in trying to please him, can set our sights on tasks beyond our readiness. Along with that, we can be off in categorizing certain jobs as loftier than others.

His list of what’s important and what isn’t probably doesn’t match ours, and a job we consider to be low-level might be his highest calling for our here-and-now. For example, there’s not a much lowlier task than changing poopy diapers, but doing it faithfully is to participate in the high calling of motherhood.

Isaac moving in to take chargeAnd so, we should patiently pursue whatever God places in front of us with the tools he’s trained us to use. And if we get ahead of him, we can think of little Isaac’s relationship with the vacuum and know that the better plan is to wait till God says we’re ready.

“Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of…” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Last year on St. Patrick’s Day I underwent the Whipple surgery to remove a tumor from my pancreas. I never thought I’d see another St. Patrick’s Day, but here we are, thanking the Lord for this gift.
  2. As our entire family (25 of us) vacation together in Florida, please pray that my bad sinus infection will soon clear so I can participate without passing it along to anyone else. Thanks!

Creative Genius

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My grandson Micah recently turned 5, and like all 5-year-olds he’s a creative genius. For instance, last week as his daddy worked hard pressure-washing the driveway and house, Micah watched carefully. Within minutes of Adam rounding the corner toward the back yard, Micah was playing on the clean driveway, admiring its fresh, bright-white appearance.

Maybe it was the rejuvenated contrast of concrete and joints, but Micah quickly came up with a new idea. After running to a neighboring empty lot and uprooting a fistful of weeds, he planted them (dirt, roots, and all) in the driveway cracks. Though he’d never done that before, pressure-washing day seemed the perfect time to smear dirt into the clean concrete.

His wise father saw this but didn’t chide his son. Surely, though, he was disappointed. Couldn’t it have stayed clean for even an hour?

I asked Micah, “So, what’s that you’re doing there?”

“I’m planting a garden, and I’m going to jump over it.”

MicahWhen he was finished, he brought a big red bouncy ball from the garage and proceeded to jump high enough to clear the foot-tall plants. Back and forth he jumped, till he was flushed with the effort. We cheered him on, snapped photos, and praised his high energy.

*                *               *                  *                 *

Occasionally the parenting years include work that must be re-done and messes that are completely unnecessary. Actually, not just occasionally. Often.

Raising kids is a ton of work and isn’t for the faint of heart. But the interesting thing is that when we feel “stretched to the breaking point,” we usually don’t break. Instead we discover there’s always a bit more stretch left.

Where does it come from? No doubt from God. More than likely it’s him showing up in response to our prayerful calls for help.

When God gives us a big assignment (such as raising children), he doesn’t do it without offering the tools to do it well. As young parents parent, he is parenting them. And no loving parent would ask his children to do something he knows they can’t do.

It’s also true that God-as-Parent wants to be in on every “stretchy” parenting project. He offers to give moms and dads “more stretch” whenever they need it and then hopes they’ll take advantage of his offer. When they ask, he delivers.

Micah NathanAs for Micah’s driveway garden, after he’d moved on to another project, Grandma Midgee plucked up his weeds, brushed away the dirt, and found that the bright-white driveway was none the worse for wear.

“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are.” (Psalm 103:13-14)