Party City

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One little candleThis 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.

Our little pumpkinEmerald 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.

Nelson turning oneI 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.

Something newSince 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!

 

 

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

 

A Sticky Mess

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Bumbo babyEmerald is a petite little girl who still fits nicely into her Bumbo seat. Although she can twist her way out of it, when she’s up on the counter, we’re monitoring her closely.

Usually.

Yesterday while I was making her lunch, she was happily fingering a basket of sippy cups and bottles next to her. But in 30 seconds, a mysterious pink liquid began sliding out from under the basket.

Sticky mess.

 

Somehow she’d undone the child safety cap on a bottle of infant ibuprofen, then set it back into the basket upsidedown, which released the syrupy liquid till the bottle was empty.

Of course she had no idea what she’d done, but she’d wasted valuable medicine, created a sticky mess, and postponed lunch for clean-up time.

Once in a while I act that way too, getting into things that will end up the same way: wasteful, messy, and time-consuming. The only difference is, I’m old enough to know better.

Scripture warns us to count the cost of whatever we do. We’re to be industrious, yes, but we’re also to commit our decisions, plans, and behaviors to God before plunging in on instinct alone. When we ignore that counsel, we pay a hefty price.

Even worse than having to pay, though, is the loss of God’s approval. If we want him to be on our side (or more accurately, if we want to be on his side) we have to do things his way. Those of us who give lip service to obedience but do things our own way regardless, have a problem with pride.

The Bible doesn’t mince words on this subject. We read, “God opposes the proud.” (James 4:6) He isn’t just neutral when we put our plans ahead of his; he stands in opposition to us. And if there ever was an uneven match, “God-versus-me” is it. I want to do everything possible to avoid being part of that scenario.

As always, though, God doesn’t issue an edict and leave us hanging. Right after he lets us know what not to do, he tells us what to do: “Submit to Me.” (v. 7)

Sounds easy, but isn’t. That’s because pride is stiff-necked and expertly resistant to humbling, and the devil is behind it, relentlessly tempting us to put ourselves first. Maybe that’s why God’s next instruction is, “Resist the devil, and he will flee.”

Working backwards, then, if we want no part of the devil –> we’re to resist him –> which helps us submit to God –> which helps us kill pride –> which brings on humility –> which allows us to be on God’s side.

All gone.So when my plans result in a sticky mess, I know it’s simply the Lord saying, “Let’s clean this up and try again.”

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:6-7)

Who knows?

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Skylar, Autumn, MicahHaving long-distance relatives isn’t ideal, since our together-time has to be minimal. But this week I’m pleased to be under the same roof with 6 of our out-of-town relatives: daughter Linnea, her husband Adam, Skylar, Micah, Autumn, and their baby brother who’s riding along in his mommy’s tummy. On our next visit, we’ll get to see and hold him, too.

When Nate was still with us, two of our grands had already been born, Skylar in Florida and Nicholas in England. But when he died, those two were still just babies, 15 and 10 months respectively. Nate never got the chance to watch them grow and change or to meet the other 6 (almost 7) that followed.

I consider it a huge blessing to have known them for as long as I have, even though the oldest is only five. But we can carry on conversations, play games, read together, share stories, bake cookies, and go places. Nate has missed out on all of it.

Or has he?

What’s the probability that he knows his 7 additional grands? Randy Alcorn wrote a book (based solely on Scripture) entitled HEAVEN. He makes a powerful case for Nate’s awareness of his grandchildren, citing passages in both the Old and New Testaments to substantiate that those in heaven know what’s transpiring on earth.

The girlsFor example, based on Revelation 19 he writes, “Heaven’s inhabitants are shown praising God for specific events of judgment that have just taken place on Earth. The saints in Heaven are clearly observing what is happening on Earth. Those on Earth may be ignorant of events in Heaven, but those in Heaven are not ignorant of events on Earth, at least some of these events.” (p. 24)

Another passage in Luke 15 refers to rejoicing that goes on “in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” Alcorn writes, “Notice this Scripture does not speak of rejoicing by the angels but in the presence of angels. I believe it logically includes not only God but the saints in Heaven… If they rejoice over conversions happening on Earth, then obviously they must be aware of what’s happening on Earth… down to the details of specific individuals coming to faith in Christ.” (p. 25)

One boyAlcorn cites many other verses on which he bases his conclusions, making a strong case for heavenly minds being far superior to what we now have on Earth. The bottom line, if I believe Scripture, is that Nate does know all of his grands and hasn’t missed a thing. Theologians might debate that into the ground, but as one half of a grandma/grandpa pair, I want to believe it.

As we enjoy each other during these two weeks together in earthly Michigan, I like to think Nate will be having just as much fun watching from his heavenly vantage point.

“This is the plan: At the right time [God] will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.” (Ephesians 1:10)