Memories are made of this.

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Margaret

Make new friends,
And keep the old.
The one is silver
And the other gold.

The week just past has been golden. My sister and I are close-in-heart to three cousins (Gloria, Patti, and Jan) who live 2000 miles away. In addition to being our relatives, they’re also our friends. Old friends, gold friends, of 60+ years. And they were just here for a visit.

In the last few days we’ve shared one adventure after another. For people our ages, ordinary living can escalate into excitement without too much trouble. Take electronic tasks, for example. Buying tickets on line, hooking a computer to a TV, and transferring photos electronically all led to good memory-making and sometimes even success.

Throughout the week we’ve been stockpiling memories, not because we’ve spent lots of money, filled the agenda with events, or pursued unique thrills. All we did was come together with a loose plan to learn the latest about each other.

Anyone can successfully make good memories with relatives or friends if they’re willing to do two things: spend time and expend effort. If we expect to grow closer to our favorite people, we have to commit to those two things.

This is true even with God.

If we want to steadily become closer to him as a Friend and Relative and make fresh memories with him, it requires the expense of time and our making the effort.

Gloria, Jan, and Patti put forth a major effort to travel across the country for this visit: clearing busy schedules, making arrangements to be absent from their homes, paying for plane tickets, and adjusting to the changes of three time zones. Mary and I do the same when we visit them in California. Are these memory-making trips worth it? All 5 of us nod simultaneously.

The loftier question is how much arranging and adjusting are we willing to do to make fresh memories with God? Are we content to merely put him on a pedestal and worship from a distance? Or are we so excited about his invitation to be his friend that we’re willing to carve out time and make a wholehearted effort to pursue that?

Gloria, Jan, and Patti left for their homes today, and after a week together, we’re now up-to-date all-around. Our memory banks are full with new understanding of what each is thinking and what specific challenges each is facing. During scores of hours we shared our hearts with one another, which included current hopes and dreams. As a result, now that we have all the new info, each of us knows how to better connect with the others, as well as how to pray more effectively.

But are we just as eager to connect with God on such an intimate level? He’s got the time and will make the effort, if we will. And when we’re willing, the result will be pure gold.

“A friend loves at all times.” (Proverbs 17:17)

Hard Times

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Margaret

When I was 5 years old, I was still riding an old tricycle but passionately longed for a two-wheeler “like the big kids” and would have done anything to get one. Then someone at school put the word “possibility” on my dream when she told me if I sold a bunch of newspaper subscriptions, I could earn myself a bike for free!

I wasn’t sure what a subscription was but knew I could figure out how to sell them if it meant I’d end up with a new bike! From that day forward, I began pestering my parents with the idea. Although they didn’t think I could do it, they got tired of my badgering and eventually agreed to make the arrangements.

Going door-to-door in our neighborhood was safe for a 5 year old in 1950, and it didn’t take long before I’d sold enough subscriptions (20) to earn the bicycle. I’ll never forget the beauty of that big classy bike with its shiny maroon paint. It was too tall for me to do anything but stand as I rode, but that didn’t matter. We were perfect together.

It wasn’t long before I begged Mom to let me take it to school, even though we lived just across a field from there and usually walked. I wanted to ride the long way around on the road, like other kids did, and finally Mom said yes.

But that day, some time during school hours, my bike was stolen. It disappeared from the bike rack without a trace, and I was devastated. Dad called the police and filed a report, but my beautiful new bike was never found.

All of us can point to raw experiences in our childhoods, and sometimes the resulting wounds fester for years. Although there are far worse things than getting a bike stolen, it was a big deal at the time. Looking back on a broken-hearted little girl, I could say, “Where was God when a thief made off with that bike?”

We could ask the same question about every injustice in this world today, but his answer would always be the same: “I was right here where I’ve always been.”

The fact that God doesn’t stop all injustice doesn’t mean he’s choosing to be mean to us. It can only be that he sees a positive purpose in each negative challenge. Not that child abuse or other travesties are positive. Of course not! But running to the Lord whenever we feel crushed by circumstances is always an uplifting thing to do. If we’ve been wounded, he stands ready to heal with comfort.

As for me, after my bike disappeared I couldn’t summon up enough enthusiasm to start selling all over again. Instead I played upon two sympathetic parents who eventually bought me another bike. But nice as it was, it never compared to the love I felt for my first two-wheeler.

“You, God, tested us… We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” (Psalm 66:10,12)

Glad to see you!

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Margaret

Put a dog in front of a mirror and he has no interest in looking at himself. But put a 4 month old baby there, and she lights up with excitement.

Emerald can’t rejoice enough at her reflected duplicate. Somehow at this early age she’s figured out that the face in the mirror will change in response to her smile. She’ll grin and giggle at her grinning, giggling reflection until we get tired of holding her up to the mirror.

This charming phenomenon seems to be universal with babies. They’re social beings from the very beginning, genuinely appreciating the responsive expressions of others. There’s only one source for this: the Creator himself. As he “knits them together in their mothers’ wombs” (Psalm 139:13), part of what he does is install a people-oriented piece that causes babies to relate to other faces.

Emerald has the sense to know that if you smile at someone, they’ll smile back at you. Daily she tests it in the mirror, and it works 100% of the time. The same thing happens when she smiles at us. We can’t help but smile back at her.

Why is that? Scripture gives us the answer: “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart.” (Proverbs 15:30) God wired each of us to respond to what we see. And if I would scowl at Emerald, she wouldn’t smile back but might look puzzled or even turn her lower lip down and start to cry.

God watches us closely, and that includes our facial expressions. He’s made our features unique, and the way we use them to express ourselves is probably of interest to him. Surely he’s pleased when we give smiles and “cheerful looks” to others, since it brings them joy as Proverbs says. And beyond all doubt he’s gratified when we turn toward him with a pleasant expression.

But we should check ourselves on that. As we approach Bible reading or church attendance or a prayer time, do we do it because we feel we should? Or because we feel guilty when we don’t? Or do we do it with joy, looking toward the Lord with an expectant smile? Our expressions reflect what’s in our hearts, and the question that should weigh heavily on all of us is, “What will God reflect back to me if I look toward him with dreary obligation or a sense of false guilt?”

Scripture tells us that just as Jesus was a reflection of his Father, we’re to reflect Jesus, not just in facial expressions but in what we do, where we go, who we’re with, what we wear, what we eat, what we think… all of it.