At a family get-together at my wife’s aunt and uncle’s house, my son ran into a problem.
This particular piece of property has a field that’s lined on two sides with acres of hardwood trees. My son brought an aerial drone to use in the field, but even a gentle breeze was too much for it to overcome and it got carried toward the trees. By the time he sent the command to kill power, it was out of range and it maintained a hover as the wind took it away.
He came and found me and relayed what had happened. Thankfully some of the other kids overheard the predicament and a small army of second cousins headed out into the treeline to search. (Walking behind them, it was one of those “my faith in humanity is restored” moments.)
The search dragged on for awhile though, and we didn’t develop any leads. My wife’s uncle had a number of tree stands set up in the area, so I decided to climb up a little higher for a better view.
Nearing the top of the ladder, I stopped and began having a look around. Was that… “I might see something over there!” I pointed off in a direction and someone took a walk over to check it out. I steered them toward whatever it was, and sure enough, they picked up the missing drone! It had automatically killed the power after losing contact with the remote long enough.
My son was very fortunate to have so many people willing to lend a hand. It was hard to find the drone walking around on the ground, even with so many of us searching. Getting a different vantage point made all the difference.
Now remember that you’ve got an advocate working on your behalf, who not only sees from an elevated vantage point, but from every possible vantage point. He knows what your mind is preoccupied with, He knows what you’re searching for, what He’ll let you find, when He’ll show it to you, and the surprise events that are just around the corner.
In the various crises we face with our short-term memories, it’s sometimes tough to remember that God plays the long game in our lives. The attitudes we take in facing today’s events not only are born out of the previous experiences God’s brought us through, but will also shape our future perspective. In God’s multi-dimensional perspective, He’s both having us arrive at a specific point in our lives and preparing us for some future purpose.
From our position on the ground it’s hard (or impossible) to see, but we’ve got someone in our corner with a way better view, guiding us where He wants us to go. We just need to follow those directions.
The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him. And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.” -Isaiah 30:20-21
About this time of year, probably about five years ago, we had some family pictures taken. My wife had a friend with a photography business, and we set up a time at a picturesque area and met her there for an extended photo shoot.
The fall foliage was exploding with color, and we really did have a very nice backdrop. It was one of the first cold days of the season, but for the sake of the photos we tried to make it look like we weren’t cold. The kids were wrapped in blankets and coats while we set up shots, then they ditched them when it was time to take the pictures.
When I get cold, my fingers shrink a little as they try to avoid losing a lot of heat from my hands. The only way I really notice it is when my wedding ring starts sliding around on my finger more than normal. I have to check my ring more often and sometimes keep my knuckles bent so I don’t lose it.
We took lots of different shots that day, and as in any photo shoot, some of them didn’t work out. One of the later shots we took involved all of us throwing handfuls of fallen leaves up into the air. We tried it a couple of times to get all of our throws synched and a good effect for the leaves spreading out and falling, but it wasn’t working. By that time we were finished with that, we were all a little chilled and the novelty had worn off for at least one of the kiddos, so we weren’t super sad when it was a wrap.
I’m not sure when I realized it, but before we left, I noticed that I no longer had my wedding ring on. I checked my pants pockets and my jacket pockets, but there was nothing there. I told my wife and the photographer, and the only thing we could think of was that it slid off during the leaf-throwing scene. We went back and started looking around for it in the area where we had tossed the leaves.
I tried retracing my steps and simulating the motions I had done earlier, trying to narrow down where the ring may have gone. We still couldn’t find it, and we couldn’t drag the kids around much longer in the cold. From a practical standpoint, the ring wasn’t super valuable. It was even scratched up from doing all kinds of activities while wearing it. Obviously, we still wanted to find it. Sure, we could replace it, but that was an original ring from our wedding day. Eventually, we had to call off the search. Before we left, the photographer, who lived nearby, pledged to contact her neighbor, who had a metal detector.
We brought the kids home and got them fed and warmed up, and my wife received a text from her photographer friend saying she had acquired her neighbor’s metal detector. It was sitting on her front porch and I was free to come and use it to look for the ring. After lunch I headed back, grabbed the detector, and headed back to resume the search.
I had never used a metal detector before, but I followed the directions on it and started sweeping around the area. I still couldn’t find the ring, but I found some other weird metal stuff. At least I knew it was working. I covered the immediate area a few times over, trying different settings to try to pick up some kind of reading, but still nothing. Growing disheartened, I decided to widen the search area just a little bit more before giving up. Wouldn’t you know it, a faint reading showed up in an area farther away than where we’d been looking. Bending down for a closer look, there it was, lying on the ground among the leaves! I texted my wife right away to share the good news with her. God was gracious that day.
It reminds me of a series of parables Jesus tells in Luke chapter 15. The most famous of the three is the prodigal son, but there are two other parables earlier in the chapter. The first is about a man with 100 sheep that leaves 99 of them to go after the one that’s lost. Then the one that my lost ring reminded me of is in verses 8 to 10.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’
Then verse 10 is my favorite part: Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
All three of these parables describe the joy in Heaven that explodes when a single sinner repents of their ways and turns to God. The last verse of the parable of the 100 sheep says I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
Let’s not forget what we’re supposed to be focused on while we’re here on Earth. Eternity hangs in the balance, and it’s for good reason that angels rejoice over the conversions of sinners. Not only has that soul been spared an eternity of suffering, but it’s also an eternity of fellowship between God and a believer that’s been gained. While it’s the Holy Spirit that enables it to happen, He frequently invites Christians to be blessed by being a part of that momentous occasion. Be on the lookout for opportunities to help angels rejoice!
Years ago I found myself bringing my toddler son out in our backyard to give him a change of scenery. He was a curious little guy, and sometimes even just bringing him to a different room or out in the backyard kept him busy for a little while.
Our yard at the time was very small, but it had plenty of stuff for my little guy to explore. It was fenced in, had an HVAC condenser unit, a shed, and a little sandbox. There was always something to clean up back there, so I busied myself doing that while my son set about exploring his environment.
I think I noticed a strange look on his face right around the same time my wife came outside to join us. Having “Mom Radar,” she spotted his expression right away and hurried over to him and opened up his mouth. To her disgust, my son had picked up a little Roly-Poly (a pillbug) and put it in his mouth. She fished it out while half laughing and half scolding her husband. If only she were married to someone responsible, he could be trusted to care for the well being of this little boy out in the backyard!
Man, I blew it. Daddy fail. There are other fails, but this is probably one of the more mild ones. I still have the teenage years ahead of me, so I’m probably going to blow it on multiple occasions when the stakes are higher.
This Sunday is Father’s Day. Everyone out there has a father. Maybe you have a fabulous relationship with your dad. You may have had a terrible father. You may not have ever met your dad. Whatever the case may be, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that if he hasn’t already, your dad is probably going to let you down at least once (I’m certainly no exception). Even if he loves you, he’s human, and humans make lots of mistakes. (It’s not a dig at you, Dad!)
I can also guarantee you, though, that not only does your Heavenly Father love you, but He does NOT make mistakes. He loves you enough to rebuke you, to discipline you, and to steer you in the direction He wants you to go in, even if it’s not the direction you’re trying to go. Whereas I try to let my kids be kids and encourage them in some of their interests without knowing what they’ll someday become, the Lord controls different aspects of your life to get you to arrive exactly where He wants you to be, right when He wants you to be there, with the right experience already under your belt.
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. –Proverbs 19:21
“And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty. -2 Corinthians 6:18
Ever see a youth basketball game? If you’re a competitive parent (or even just a parent that enjoys watching a team play as a well-oiled machine), it can be excruciating to watch.
Two of my kids played in a local league this spring. It was their first year playing, and they only practiced once a week. In a case like this it’s important to temper expectations, because they’re not gonna become professional-caliber players over the course of a single season, especially if they’re only practicing once a week.
The games early in the season were somewhere between comical and horrendous. For kids that haven’t played before, or who don’t have much experience, the first few games are for becoming familiar with the rules and the mechanics of the game. “This is how you start a game,” “put your hands up when defending,” “this is what you do during foul shots,” “this is how you set up your defense.” They all get better over time, of course, but early in the season, things are just ugly.
One girl on the team got so excited when she got the ball, she just started running down the court with it rugby style, forgetting to dribble. I saw one boy so focused on getting to his defensive zone that he didn’t pay any attention to the fact that he was clearing the way to the basket for someone on the opposite team, who was dribbling down the court right behind him. One kid can dribble like a fiend with his right hand; he dribbles circles around the opposition, but it’s because he can’t dribble back the other direction. Then there’s the kid that’s super fast. He gets the ball and sprints down the court on a fast break, but he doesn’t look up. By the time he realizes he should slow down to take a shot, it’s already too late and the ball gets away from him, flying out of bounds and thus into the hands of the other team.
It’s been interesting to observe how the officiating has changed over the course of the season. Early on when things were just dog-ugly, the referees were pretty lenient. There were lots of “teachable moments” that occurred, but you’d have to do something pretty egregious to get the whistle blown. Double dribbles, travels, over-the-back fouls…the refs let them get away with stuff in the beginning because the kids were still learning a lot about how this whole thing worked. As the weeks went on, the officiating got a little tighter because the kids got enough experience to be able to know better. “Oh that’s right, I can’t do that. I’ll have to play cleaner next time.” Over the course of a season, there’s a vast improvement from the first week to the final week. Even a small amount of consistent practice and playing according to instruction helps the players become much more proficient.
Superimpose this metaphor on the Christian life. Early in our walk with God, there are probably times He feels just like a coach of a youth basketball team as one of his players dribbles the ball in the wrong direction and takes a shot at the wrong basket. Even if that player is terrible at what they’re doing, they can improve by leaps and bounds if they’re willing to be shaped and molded and to follow the coach’s instructions. Same thing with Christians. In the long run, a kid with mediocre talent and a willingness to be shaped will be more valuable than a kid with a lot of talent and a stubborn resistance to the coach’s instructions or strategy. With dedication and time the kid will mature and have a greater awareness of what’s happening on the court, and as they develop more skills they’ll have more opportunities to make a positive impact for their team. Same deal for those that follow Jesus.
Wherever you are in this metaphor’s spectrum, don’t rob yourself of the opportunity to be shaped and get better. Our coach is willing to work with you one on one to get you thinking more like Him, to work on your weak spots, and to get you doing drills that will prepare you for the next challenge. Spend time with Him, preferably way more than once a week, and you’ll probably notice yourself developing more awareness of how events are unfolding around you and a greater capacity to help your team out. You’ve got some talent in raw form; let’s see what happens when Coach guides you to where He wants you to be.
Every year in early November, our church does a harvest/fall festival. Kids are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes and there are a lot of games and opportunities for kids that are elementary age and younger to win candy. It’s a community outreach that brings a lot of families onto the church grounds, and it’s usually a lot of fun for the kiddos.
One of the recurring attractions is a giant inflatable obstacle course. It’s set up so that two people can go head-to-head through tunnels, barriers, walls, and some other weird stuff. All three of my kids have done this, and I think I accompanied each of them on their first time through.
The girls each thought it was okay, and they still go on it most years, but my son is the one that wants to take on his old man each year. He’ll wait in line for a long time to make sure he gets a shot. When he was little, I’d hang back as we were going through the course and make sure he got past a certain set of obstacles before clearing it myself. As the years went by, I’d have to hang back a little less each time. Now I’m not hanging back at all. Once we start, it’s an all-out dash to the end. I’m vaulting over stuff, bouncing off the walls, and leaping up as high as I can on walls to keep up with him.
The final challenge on the course is always climbing up a steep hill and then sliding down the other side. The last time we raced on the obstacle course, we arrived at the last challenge at the same time and started scrambling up the wall. We got to the top at the same time, but when he hesitated to swing his feet around in front of him for the slide down, I plunged right on through, going down the slide head first. I hit the finish line having given my best.
I’m pretty sure this was my last year taking the crown. As he gets bigger and faster, I’m getting slower and less flexible. If I win next time (a big “if”), it will likely be because I’m able to have a cleaner run than he does. It’s a fun tradition, but I know my time as obstacle course champion will soon be over.
The Bible compares the Christian life to running a race. First Corinthians 9:24-25 says Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
For all of us, the race we’re running will one day end. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you’re no longer in the race simply because you’re no longer able to physically do the things you used to be able to. If you’re still breathing, God’s not done with you and there’s more work for you to do. I encourage, and even plead with you, finish your race strong! When you get to the top of that final obstacle, don’t stop to admire the view or get your legs in front of you; dive headlong with abandon over the peak of the challenge God commissioned you to face.
Last year as part of the effort to escape the oppression of COVID, our family went to the beach for an overnight. We had a lot of fun, got some sunburn, stayed in a hotel for the first time as a family, and ate some treats that we don’t normally have.
This was the first time in a few years that we had been to the beach. My son, 9 at the time, was now big enough to try using a boogie board in the surf. Since he was only 6 years old the previous time we’d been at the beach, he was a big kid now. In fact, he had even stopped calling me “Daddy” by this point. He was all kinds of excited that he had the chance to try out something cool.
Remember what it was like being a kid? When I was young I used to be the one that was rearing to go, but now I’m the slow parent. We stepped off the boardwalk and onto the sand, and he was ready to hit the water. My wife and I, on the other hand, still had to find a spot to set up blankets and umbrellas, then apply sunblock, then blow up whatever inflatable thing we had brought, have a drink of water, etc. Since my son was chomping at the bit to get started before I was ready to join him, I sort of explained what he needed to do in order to get going on the boogie board, and then he took off to give it a try.
He didn’t quite realize that you can’t really boogie board in the water that’s super close to the shoreline, where all the waves kept crashing. Being the enthusiastic guy that he is, he had fun giving it a try, but he wasn’t really able to get going for any significant distance.
After his old man finally got in the water, I gave it a try from some deeper water. I took a few test runs to make sure I was giving him accurate information. I found the technique that was working for me, then tried passing it along to him. In order for him to really get going, he had to come deeper, past the point where the waves were breaking.
He was fine with the idea of coming deeper, but it was tough for someone less than half my weight to do while holding a very buoyant board. As I stood in water that was probably waist deep for me, it was hard to watch him try to fight through the surf to get out deeper. His first attempt was a victim of poor timing; he ventured into the water at just the right time where the wave hit him while he was off balance. It knocked him down and pushed him back to shore. He got back up and gave it another try, but he tried again too soon. I would have said something to him, but I figured he’d see the next wave coming and hold off until it passed. Nope. The same thing happened and he had to pick himself up again. From where I stood, I could see he was having second thoughts about this. Holding the board made it so much more difficult to get out past the crashing waves when he ordinarily could’ve just dived through them or gone under them.
On the third try, with mounting failures fresh in his memory and fear building in his mind, I watched him enter the water much more tentatively. A wave approached him and it hit his board hard, reminding him of just how powerful the waves could be. I called to him, encouraging him from where I stood, but I could tell he wasn’t going to hang in there a whole lot longer. Moving slowly when he should’ve moved quickly, more waves bullied him. Struggling to keep a straight face, his eyes grew wide and he called out to me in fear, “Daddy, I don’t like this!”
It was a heart-wrenching moment. I moved quickly to him and helped get him steady. While still standing in the zone where the waves crashed, I told him I could help him get past the crazy part, but he was no longer willing to give it a try, he just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. It pained me to see him give up, and I tried several more times to convince him to give it another go, but he had made up his mind to stick to the shallows.
The part of that experience that sticks out the most to me was when my little guy’s enthusiasm melted away and he went back to calling me “Daddy.” He gave up on something that I know he would’ve enjoyed if he’d just done things a little differently. I could’ve forced him to do it, but I wanted him to want to do it, and it didn’t seem right to make him try something he no longer wanted to do (especially since it could have resulted in him fearing the ocean for years to come).
In the Bible, God goes by many names. One of them is “Abba.” The word “Abba” is something that Hebrew-speaking children call their fathers…it’s like saying “Daddy.”
The word Abba isn’t used often in the New Testament. It’s only used by two people: Jesus and Paul. Joachim Jeremias, a German theologian, remarked on Jesus’ use of the word. He writes “[Jesus] spoke to God as a child to its father: confidently and securely, and yet at the same time reverently and obediently.”
It makes sense that the Son of God talks to His Father that way. The part that’s crazy and amazing is this verse that Paul writes in Romans 8:15 and following. Paul’s writing about how we’re changed once we receive the Holy Spirit, and he says The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
This means that we (Christians) are adopted into the family of God. Not only that, but we’re loved and accepted to such a high degree that we’re given the privilege of calling God the Father “Daddy!”
The next time you’re overwhelmed or just having a hard time in general, remember that not only can you call on your Heavenly Father…you can call on your Heavenly Daddy. If you tell Him “I don’t like this,” know that He sees you, He’s got you, and He can get you where you need to be.
God, thank you so much for understanding us so well and for giving us so many illustrations by which we can get a better sense of Your love for us. You’ve assured us we’ll have hard times in this life. When we do, remind us to call on You, seek comfort in You, and remember that You’ll give us what we need for each day. Amen.
Boy, I’d really like to get away from politics and get back to telling stories about doing SERE stuff in the Air Force or jumping out of airplanes or something, but the world just seems to insist on going crazy.
It looks like it’s happening again. Another Virginia county’s school system is passing policy changes that will result in boys being authorized to use the girl’s restroom (and vice versa). Before you tune out on me though, hang in there just a bit longer.
You know, at some point you have to ask…since this fails the common sense test, what’s really going on here?
A little background first. Prince William County Schools Superintendent Dr. LaTanya McDade is citing safety as a reason to create an environment that physically endangers students. (Here’s my last post, which shows how well that idea works.) At a school board meeting earlier this month, she said “All Prince William County students have a fundamental right to access educational programs and facilities that are safe and supportive of their physical, emotional, social and academic needs…” She also said “It is our mission to ensure every school community is inclusive, appreciates diversity, students have a sense of belonging and are affirmed in their identity.”
Affirmation is that important, huh? Affirmation is supposed to be used when somebody does a good job at something. To the parents out there…if your kid comes home and tells you about some kind of destructive behavior they’re getting into, YOU are the one with more life experience and YOU are the one that can help guide them. You don’t need to let them figure everything out by themselves. I’m all for letting kids make their own mistakes at the smaller level so they learn about consequences and critical thinking, but I’d say that no-questions-asked affirmation isn’t always the way to go, you know? “Hey, Mom/Dad, look, Johnny from school gave me a cherry bomb and said I should light it and throw it into traffic!” “Oh, wow, that’s wonderful news! Here’s a lighter!”
Now, the school system has some legal basis for doing this. A lawsuit settled in the Virginia Supreme Court established that public schools cannot use gender identity to deny a transgender student the right to access the school’s programs and facilities consistent with the student’s gender identity. Whether you agree or disagree, the court is saying “hey, you need to provide every student an opportunity to use school programs regardless of what gender they claim to be.” The decision effectively made this the law in Virginia. That being the case, I’d expect more Virginia school systems to start heading this direction.
The “Common Sense Fail” comes in recognizing the status of a non-binary student but still forcing them into using a binary system. If you have an X and a Y chromosome but identify as something other than a male, you shouldn’t get to compete in girls’ sports. That same person gets to use the girl’s restroom because it makes them feel affirmed, yet there’s apparently no concern for the other girls who feel uncomfortable or afraid to be alone in the bathroom with that person.
To inject some common sense back into the debate, if you’re going to recognize an unlimited number of genders, that’s fine, but you’re going to need to provide separate bathroom facilities for each of them. You’re also going to need to have separate sports leagues for each of them. Prohibitively expensive? Yep. Wildly impractical to have a league that has only three athletes in the whole county? You betcha. Fairer and safer for the girls and boys in school? I think so.
It’s not about fairness though, is it? Nobody’s actually interested in solving this problem, they’re interested in exacerbating it. Our kids can’t even perform basic math proficiently. Meanwhile, China’s out there firing hypersonic missiles. Don’t worry, though…at least the U.S. has its first transgender four-star admiral. That leads me to the deeper question…what’s this really about? What’s the real reason this is happening? Like I said two posts ago, there’s opportunity in chaos, but who’s poised to take advantage? Those that are dividing are looking to seize something they don’t yet have, while those that are trying to unite are trying to make more opportunity available for everyone.
Another point to ponder. The Virginia Supreme Court has effectively legislated from the bench. The Court has decided what the law should mean. If you live in Virginia, the only way to alter this reality now is to elect politicians that will write laws that modify the current situation. If you’re legally registered to vote in Virginia, you have the opportunity to do exactly that in less than two weeks. Only two states are holding gubernatorial elections this November, and Virginia is one of them (New Jersey is the other). You have the chance to help choose who will make the laws over the next four years.
Lord Jesus, thank you so much that we can rest knowing You’ve got your hand on the wheel. I pray for protection for all those that will be affected by this policy change, for good people and common sense to prevail, and for God-fearing people to be elected, not just at the state and local level, but at high levels as well. Amen
I used to have some pretty good hearing. Then a few decades rolled by.
My wife and I are normally pretty strict about the amount of “screen time” our kids get. Just seeing how mesmerized my son gets by anything electronic, we recognize we need to actively manage just how much time the kids are staring at something without blinking.
And yet…I enjoy a round of video games every now and then to blow off some steam, too. Right now I still have an original, old-school Nintendo with some of the best games (Contra and Dr. Mario get the most play time here). As you can imagine, the console and games are pretty old at this point, so they don’t really work all that well. If you had a Nintendo as a kid, you remember pulling the game out, blowing in the bottom, sticking it back in, and seeing if that worked any better. Sometimes the controller acted a little goofy and you’d yell to your buddy “I didn’t do it! It did it on its own!”
Well my wife surprised me with an updated version of the old console. It’s a mini version of the old Nintendo, and it has the same style of controllers hooked up to it (with some modern touches, of course). Now instead of having to switch game cartridges, there are over 600 games built directly into the console (including Contra and Dr. Mario).
This was a cool present, for sure. I normally wake up pretty early for work, so on Saturday mornings I usually wake up before everyone else, and sometimes I head down into the basement to play some games before anyone else wakes up. I even have an old TV to hook it up to because it looks weird when you connect it to a modern TV. So yes, I have a big ol’ cathode ray tube-looking monster that’s about two feet deep, sitting in a corner of my basement.
Because I know I’m going to have an audience if the kiddos find out what I’m doing (and I don’t want them to waste their screen time watching me play mindless nonsense), I turn off the lights and turn the volume down real quiet. My hope is that after they leave their bedroom and come down to the main floor, they’ll think they’re the first ones up and actually read a book or something.
So one time a few weeks ago when I was playing games in the basement and I heard someone walking around upstairs, I froze when the basement door opened. I mean, I didn’t make a sound. Whoever it was opened the door and stood silently at the top for a bit, just listening as I sat there motionless. Imagine my surprise when my son started bounding down the stairs into the basement and started talking to me before he could even see me.
“How did you even know I was down here?”
It turns out he was able to hear something that I’ve lost the ability to hear. As you age, even if you don’t have any damage to your hearing, your ability to hear certain frequencies decays at a predictable rate. My son could hear the high-frequency noise that the old TV makes when it’s turned on. I marveled at this for a bit, proud of his stellar hearing, but then it slipped my mind and I forgot about it. (You can even take some internet hearing tests that guess your age by your ability to hear. Unfortunately it says I have the hearing of someone that’s 5-7 years older than me. Guess there will be hearing aids in my future.)
Fast forward a couple of weeks. I was playing video games again one day after work while the kids played with neighbors outside. After they got too hot to continue, they all came inside. The door at the top of the basement stairs opened, and one of the neighbor kids almost right away said something like “it sounds like someone’s playing an old arcade game down here.” It turns out his family has one of the big throwback ACTUAL arcade games (like Pacman) at his house, and the high-frequency noise it makes sounds similar to my stone-age TV.
It’s official. I simply don’t have the tools I used to have.
As time goes by, you’re going to lose some of the capabilities you once possessed. What’s important is that you need to use the ones you still have (or the ones you’ve gained over time) in a way that would please God.
Picture yourself in “the good old days.” What did you have back then that you don’t have now? You’re probably thinking of physical assets. Strength, health, good looks, the ability to eat or drink whatever you want without putting on weight.
What’s also missing from back then? Think about all the mistakes that younger version of you still needed to go through. Those mistakes led to hard-won experience that gives you more wisdom in the choices you make today. How about income? Who’s making more, that younger you or the current you? With more resources comes a greater ability to fund God’s work. I’m sure family looks different, too. Back then there may have been more older generations still around in your family. Now maybe you’re on the older side of that spectrum, but those that are younger bring a special happiness to your heart.
The point of all this, of course, is that time marches on and even though the focus tends to be more on what you’ve lost, there are also some things you’ve gained.
The way you honor the Lord may not look like it once did, but that doesn’t mean you should stop using your current gifts, resources, and time to please Him just because you can’t do it the same anymore.
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. –1 Corinthians 10:31
This weekend is Mother’s Day. Gents and kids, if you haven’t made plans yet, the clock’s ticking.
Moms are special. Not only did I have a mom as I was growing up, but I’m also married to a mom of three kids.
Don’t get me wrong, dads are special too, but c’mon, when a kid needs comfort, Dad’s not the one they go looking for (at least in my experience). I’ve had at least one of my kids, crying, walk up to me when they’re hurt and ask where Mommy is. One night while Mommy was away overnight, my oldest came into our room after having a bad dream. Upon remembering that Mommy wasn’t there, she stopped to think about whether it was even worth waking me up. If Daddy’s the one that says “walk it off” or “rub some dirt on it,” Mommy’s the one that gets down on her knees, wipes away the tears, and knows how to make it all better.
Many times when we think of the character of God, we think of things that we normally associate with males. What we sometimes forget though, is that Adam and Eve were both patterned after God.
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them ‘Mankind’ when they were created. –Genesis 5:1-2
This may come as a shock, but males and females are different from one another. Even so, the traits God possesses are manifested in the two genders He made as described in Genesis.
Now obviously you can’t divide these traits into strictly “male” or “female” characteristics. The noblest attributes any of us display are merely a reflection, a result of God’s creating us in His image. That includes fairness, unselfishness, patience, righteous anger, compassion, tenderness, a comforter, and a sense of justice, among others.
To the moms in my life, I’ve seen you display many, if not all of these traits. I’m thankful God made you either with the attributes already built in or with the ability to learn them. Thank you for being godly examples.
I’m including a song that describes the kind of love a mom often displays (especially new moms), but it’s not a song you’d normally associate with Mother’s Day. “Poured out, used up, still givin’, stretching me out to the end of my limits…this is what love feels like.”
For all the moms out there, thank you for your constant love and support, thank you for being there, and thank you for believing in us.
I enjoy parts of the Bible that give sneak peeks into the realm we can’t see. Specifically, there are parts in the Old Testament books of Ezekiel and Daniel, along with the New Testament book of Revelation, where the authors convey experiences where they visit places that our current bodies were not designed to withstand. These passages more or less illustrate that our bodies cannot physically handle being in the presence of divine glory.
Often the authors of these passages will say something like “I fell on my face” or “I fainted.” Daniel says in Daniel 10:8 that “no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength.” (See also Ezekiel 1:28 and 3:23, Daniel 8:17, and Revelation 1:17)
Can you imagine being so awestruck that your strength just gets sapped from your body?
I can remember a time like that. We took a family vacation to the beach when we only had two very young kids.
We’d gone to the same beach about two years earlier, when we only had our daughter, but our son arrived a couple of months later. Even though she had been less than two years old for her first beach trip, pictures helped her remember the trip and helped get her excited to go back.
My son, on the other hand, had never been there before. Now roughly 23 months old, he saw that his big sister was excited, and that Mommy and Daddy talked about the upcoming trip with smiles. When the day finally came, we took an hours-long car ride on a rainy morning and arrived at our home for the week, just a few blocks from the ocean.
We were all excited to go see the beach right away, especially after being cooped up in a car for so long. We started the walk toward the shore with a bounce in our step.
Off to the beach for a first look!
As we crested the dune and caught our first glimpse of the ocean though, my little guy grew quiet and slowed down. He became almost lethargic. His boundless energy disappeared.
I picked him up, and he cuddled in close. He clung to me in the face of something that, to him, obliterated his concept of just how big the world was. He’d never before experienced the breeze coming off the ocean or the roar of the waves that crashed on top of themselves as they beat against the shore; it was unsettling for him and it sapped his strength.
Those verses listed above give us a sneak peek at just how small we really are, how all the things that stress us out on a daily basis are completely irrelevant compared to the bigger reality.
Stunned
I look at that picture now, years later, and think about how sweet it was to have my little guy awed into a stupor, silently clinging to his daddy and afraid to let go. What a picture of how our Heavenly Father is there for us and is completely at ease dealing with things that would blow our minds. To me it’s a beautiful image of our acknowledgement that we’re inadequate, and our complete dependence on His strength to sustain us. He holds us and comforts us, safe in His arms, even in the face of elements that are seemingly full of rage and beyond our capacity to process it all.
As we start a new chapter in American history, look out for one another, support each other, and spread the news of Christ’s love for us. Whether hopeful or fearful for the future, this is our calling.
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