DO YOU KNOW WHERE ........ ??

You know how it is when it’s time to take pets to the vet, only to find they’ve evaporated into thin air?  It’s amazing how something so furry and sometimes smelly can vamoose to a Twilight Zone dimension.  One can say the same about kids.  They’re here one second and gone the next, playing hide-and-seek, except the mom is unaware a game has begun.  This happens at home, in stores, restaurants, anywhere a kid can squeeze through a hole the size of a Tootsie Pop.  I myself used to enjoy learning spy-lessons from Nancy Drew books, then climbing well-leafed trees in the neighborhood, and spying on unsuspecting neighbors.  All the time, my poor mother wondered where in the world I had gone.  And when it neared twilight, well, that was one unhappy mama, fearing the worst.  She also feared when my brother disappeared, because she was sure he was creating a stink bomb in the basement, or worse, in someone else’s basement.  And sometimes, he was.

I remember a few decades ago, there was a popular evening newscast warning, “It’s 10:00, do you know where your children are?”  It was a reminder to keep the kids off the streets, close to home.  Time to go round up those rogue kids leaving messes everywhere they go, possibly getting into trouble, or absentmindedly wandering willy-nilly.

Here’s a jolting thought -- have you ever asked yourself, “Do you know where your heart is?”  There is no doubt that my Father knows exactly where my heart is at any given moment.  So I’m never truly lost.  However, in my me-oriented world, it’s become obvious that I really need to call to my heart daily, even hourly.  Is my heart just dancing along, singing tra-la, before accidentally falling into a sin-hole?  Is my heart deliberately, willfully slipping under a fence to sample the green sin-grass on the other side?  Is my heart ignorantly tripping over a sin-stone that someone else’s heart may have placed in my path?

Just this week so far, it has been necessary to ask my heart, where are you?  Are you being enticed by sinners (Proverb 1:10)?  Are you putting your hope in riches (Psalm 62:10)?  Are you despising reproof (Proverb 5:12)?  Are you being tender to others (Ephesians 4:32)?  Are you storing up His Word (Psalm 119:11)?  Are you wholly trusting Him (Psalm 28:7; Proverb 3:5)?  Are you singing with thankfulness to God (Colossians 3:16)?

My Father, thank You for constant reminders in Your Word, those that tell me to bring my willy-nilly heart back home to You before it gets into trouble.  Thank You for loving me, despite the fact that my heart can be deceitful and whiny.  You want my heart to remain close to You.  You're not being a killjoy to my heart for what it thinks is entertaining and self-deserving, but You want it to be nourished by You, for my heart's healthy growth and for Your glory.  Today, I praise You for Your relentless encouragement to my heart to seek and rejoice in You (Psalm 105:3).

 

COMMON SENSE, COMMON STUPID

Somebody recently told me that he thought I possess much common sense, based primarily on wee stories, just like this one. Excuse me a minute while I recuperate from rolling-on-the-floor guffawing at the thought of me having any sense at all.

There, I’m okay now. Even though this person has known me a realllllyyyy long time, he’s probably forgotten about the many instances of extremely common-stupid incidents throughout my life. For example, when I, as a desperate teenager, used fabric softener to smooth and straighten my wild hair. Or when I’d read girlish detective novels and spied on the neighbors. Or when my girlfriend and I brought home bird eggs from a nearby field and tried to hatch ’em in the oven. I’ll stop now, you get the idea. But suffice it to say that reaching the coveted adult age of 21 did not diminish common-stupid activities.

When I consider my blemished lifelong behavior and attitudes, one word comes to mind: FOOL. I know, how rude. But according to the Word of God, since I was born a sinner (Romans 5:12), foolishness is one of many offshoot behaviors. Scripture is heavily saturated with examples of foolishness sprouting dainty buds of dishonesty, slander, atheism, hyper-self-confidence, and hypocrisy. Since I was born with a congential “wise in my own eyes” syndrome, it was a bit of a shock when the Lord reached down to save me, and showed me that I wasn’t as wise as the proverbial owl after all.

Psalm 19:7-11 and 2 Timothy 3:15-17 showed me the blessed usefulness of Scripture, stretching me way beyond my own common stupid/sense. Scripture taught me to be humble and ask God for His wisdom, which He gives freely (James 1:5-6). It’s intimidating, and yet, so comforting to know that His thoughts and ways are so very much higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9). And Jesus, who IS God, told the disciples to “learn from Me” (Matthew 11:29).

My Father, Who is infinitely full of wisdom, I thank You that You’ve given me the privilege of learning directly from Your Word, and learning directly from my Jesus. So no matter how entertaining it is for me to write quirky story-lady blurbs, no matter how powerful our pastor, or t.v. evangelist, no matter the wonderful theologically-helpful books that are at my disposal ... I crave to learn from You first and foremost. Each day, I want to hide more of Your Word in my heart because my own “common sense” is so wishy-washy, and Your very uncommon wisdom is stable and eternal, and I desire it more than “much fine gold” (Psalm 19:10).

WHINING TO GOD

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you couldn’t help yourself, you just started whining to God?  I know I have.

“I don’t wanna be in rush hour in a blizzard with only a box of donut crumbs for sustenance!”

“I don’t wanna be standing in the unemployment line!”

“I don’t wanna be in the hospital with a broken leg ’cause I was rollerblading at age 60!”

Okay, that last one isn’t true.  It was just a broken bone in the foot whilst walking the dog and dodging oncoming traffic.

Anyway, as uncomfortable as it is to admit that I can indeed be a whiner, I know many of you will come forward and admit that you are also whiners.  And if you don’t, well, you’re better people than me, Gunga Din.

There is indeed a point here.  When lingering in the Psalms, this incident about the Jews’ captivity really stuck with me.  The captors asked them to sing a song of Zion, and they responded, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4).  There it is -- “I don’t wanna be captive in another country!”  Can’t say as I blame them, it sounds really horrible.

However, fast-forward many centuries and compare it with the Paul and Silas when they were captive in Philippian jail (Acts 16:25; Philippians 1:12-14).  What if they had whined to God, “I don’t wanna be in this jail?  Do I have to?”  It’s possible God would have told them, “No, you don’t have to.  You GET to.  You get to have the privilege in your confinement of pointing that guard, those other prisoners, to ME, to salvation.”

Ahh, it’s making sense now.  Paul and Silas were confined in jail, but by their joyful witness, a guard was saved.  Paul understood that, even though he might be in bondage, the word of God never has been, and never will be, imprisoned (2 Timothy 2:9).  Paul’s temporary physical bondage led a person in spiritual bondage to sin to be freed from it.

Thank You, my Father, for showing me that whining accomplishes nothing, but praising and glorifying You accomplishes everything. You’ve given me a firm foundation to know that if You choose to place me in a “foreign-land captivity and/or prison” circumstance in the future, it could very well be a divine appointment to spiritual freedom for someone else.  Thank You for scriptural examples of Your purpose at work in Your children.