Monday, May 18, 2015

All Things New





Isn't that picture incredible? I mean, really, that baseball must be 10+ years old, decomposed, separated, and rotting, and yet- a tiny sprout is finding life within it!  My nephew found that ball while on a walk in the woods yesterday, and he was excited to find such a thing amongst his "hideout", but I am intrigued that that old stinky thing could even possess the potential to grow a living organism.

God isn't the least bit surprised, though.  He does that type of thing all the time.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 reads, "Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end."  For instance, men on death row, who have been accused of the most heinous acts have turned their hearts to Christ...to be fully renewed and set free of their sin.  A wayward child who struggled with drugs and addiction as a teenager is now sharing God's message with the world.  A lonely woman who faced thousands of days in her 20's in an extremely isolated world of depression and obsessive compulsive disorder has broken her chains and finding strength in encouraging others daily.

That last one was me, by the way.  I was pitiful, broken, sad, and nobody really knew.  I loved Christ.  I loved my family, my husband, my job.  I hated my mental life.  I loathed waking up some mornings.  My mind hit replay probably 700 times a day on the same thought.  It was hell on Earth.  Really.  Then, I met someone who helped me figure out that I was not strange...who helped me to 'disbelieve' my thinking.  God knew I would overcome, and he knew I had a purpose beyond my 20's decade.  Just like the ball in that picture? God has sprouted life anew in me.  

If all of us, on our worst day, our darkest hour, would lift our heads to believe that God will pull us through, he will reward us for that show of faith.  It may not be overnight (it took me 13 years), mind you, but He is in the business of creating new life.  Take the woman who had the bleeding ailment for 12 years (see Luke 8:43).  She tried everything... Then truly BELIEVED that just by touching the clothing of Christ she would be healed.  Her faith made her well.

Trust.  He is all you have.  He is all you need.  If He can do it for a baseball, just imagine what He can do for you.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Island Time

         No man is an island. And I do agree to a degree.  We need each other.  We tend to crave togetherness.  It is the way God made us.


          But I persist that every man or woman deserves a little "island time" every now and again.  By this I mean that one needs to escape all responsibility or reality for just a while, every once in awhile.  I know if you are reading this and have small children at home, this is almost laughable, as the toilet isn't even a secluded, sacred experience as it used to be. The very little spare time I get is spent cleaning, or catching news/weather on an iPad... It's probably a similar story for most busy folks.

            My suggestion is to have a real breather DAILY.... for a minimum of 10 minutes.  Have nothing in front of your eyes, and nothing to accomplish.  Just breathe.  Go outside.  Lay your head down. Allow thoughts to come and go.  Talk with your Maker.

             Biblically speaking, you can and should count on the Sabbath as an escape day... But what about daily island times? It might seem indulgent, but I see it as necessary.  The pace of life that most of us keep is ridiculous and unhealthy.  We believe, "the busier, the better."  We can probably look at our weekly schedule and find we have fewer free days than days already spoken for.  Why the nuttiness?

              I urge you to say 'no' to the next person/organization/activity commitment.  There will be plenty more yeses to oblige to.  You will fill your schedule again....count on it. But this week- live purposefully to regain peace, strength, and order by getting some island time for yourself.  Detach daily.