Some of the greatest spiritual lessons I've learned in my life have been from my son. This most recent is no exception.
Friday afternoon our doorbell rang. That's pretty normal at our house. We're the grand central station of the neighborhood with kids coming over all the time. And for the most part, I love it. Friday was a little different. We had a busy weekend planned and I was using my Friday afternoon/evening to get stuff done that I would normally take care of on Saturday. So when the doorbell rang and a child that I've never met before & his mom were standing there, I was a little caught off guard (and pretty stinkin' miffed at my son). The mom promptly told me that her son brought a note home from Payne inviting him over to our house.
My frustration faded quickly as this mom told me that her 3rd grade son had never been invited to a friend's house before. She told me how he's always been a little "different" and has never really made friends easily. I quickly acted as if I knew the plans all along and the boys went off to play.
I watched and listened as they played together. Besides a speech delay, I could certainly see other signs of the "different" that his mother mentioned. He was perfectly polite but somewhat socially awkward. During one of my trips past Payne's room to the laundry room, I heard the boy say, "Payne I've never had a friend like you before. I've never been invited over somewhere before. And you play with me at school, too. I've never had a friend like that."
All at once, my heart broke and swelled with pride. And felt a great sense of conviction. I was so heartbroken for this 3rd grade boy that had never really had a good friend. I was so proud of my son for being a friend. And I was SO convicted for so often only being a friend when it's convenient.
As I went to fold & hang laundry, the pride in Payne and conviction grew at about the same rate. As I thought of him living Jesus while being a friend to the friendless, I realized that all to often I'm not. I think all of us as adults, if we're being honest, don't really step out of our comfort zones of friendship. We'll be friendly, we'll be cordial, but don't build friendships. We'll put on a smile, exchange pleasantries but it never goes deeper. We have a certain "types" of people that we will invest the time of a friendship in and seldom, if ever, step outside of that.
What do we miss out on because of that? I felt God showing me that Payne, in his heart of gold and childhood innocence, really (as much as an 8 year old can) sees people like Jesus does. He doesn't see what society says isn't normal, isn't cool or is a bit awkward. He sees a heart. He sees a person. He sees someone who, just like all of us, just wants to be loved and accepted as we are. And he GENUINELY doesn't see anything different or awkward.
As I stood and cried, proud of my son and humbled by his heart, I began to pray for God to give me that heart in seeing people. God, help me to see the heart of people. Help me to look past what looks different, sounds different, acts different and see what you see. Teach me, Lord, to be a friend to the friendless. And please, Jesus, never let my son lose that.
Welcome to my blog, My Sacred Hideaway. The words you'll read here come from sacred times with my Father. I pray you're blessed.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Be Still!
Here's a secret. I don't do "still" very well. "Still" means that the to-do list isn't being checked off; "still" means that the kids are unattended; "still" means that I'm not catching up on this, that or the other. "Still", to me, way too often means that things are being left undone that need to be done. So I don't do "still" very well.
You know how you hear about that "still, small voice"? (There's that "still" word again.) Well, I'm convinced now that the Holy Spirit is the "still, small voice" until God himself has to yell.
Lately I feel like we've been much busier than usual. There's been a lot more going on, more commitments to tend to, more to get prepared for, so "still" has not been the highest on my priority list. All the while, I've felt myself falling into a funk that I convinced myself I could sleep myself out of. But catching up on sleep didn't move the funk.
See, the "still, small voice" has been nudging me to be "still" for a week or so now, but I kept telling it that I would when stuff slowed down. Today, as I sat across from my favorite Christmas wall hanging (wishing I was in the snow like the big tree in my picture is), I stared at it as calm and peace began to come over me. Then I looked toward the bottom. And God yelled.
God yelled at me. He interrupted my quiet, calm peace and yelled. The scripture at the bottom of my favorite Christmas wall hanging says "Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10". As my eyes hit the scripture I didn't "read" it. I literally felt that God yelled the words to me. "Be still!" And it hit me. My funk has been totally self inflicted. The Holy Spirit has been trying to sweetly and gently whisper that to me for a week or so now. But since I wouldn't listen to his "sweetness", my Daddy upstairs had to pull out the "Dad" voice and yell at me.
As I sat still for the first time in way too long - tuning out everything around me, not worrying about unloading the dishwasher, not focusing on getting work done for church, ignoring the laundry - my funk melted away. God reminded me that amidst all of the crazy, busy stuff in life, He's in control. He knows right where I am and exactly what I need. And He loves me way too much to let me go on any longer in my funk, so He raised His "Daddy" voice to lovingly get my attention and remind me to be still.
Today, and every day, make time (even when you're exhausted, the laundry has piled up, the kids have planned a mutiny, dinner barely qualified as edible and the to-do list is taller than you) to be still. In the short time that you allow yourself to be still, God will restore more than even the most perfect, Starbucks filled day can give to you. I'm so glad I was still today.
You know how you hear about that "still, small voice"? (There's that "still" word again.) Well, I'm convinced now that the Holy Spirit is the "still, small voice" until God himself has to yell.
Lately I feel like we've been much busier than usual. There's been a lot more going on, more commitments to tend to, more to get prepared for, so "still" has not been the highest on my priority list. All the while, I've felt myself falling into a funk that I convinced myself I could sleep myself out of. But catching up on sleep didn't move the funk.
See, the "still, small voice" has been nudging me to be "still" for a week or so now, but I kept telling it that I would when stuff slowed down. Today, as I sat across from my favorite Christmas wall hanging (wishing I was in the snow like the big tree in my picture is), I stared at it as calm and peace began to come over me. Then I looked toward the bottom. And God yelled.
God yelled at me. He interrupted my quiet, calm peace and yelled. The scripture at the bottom of my favorite Christmas wall hanging says "Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10". As my eyes hit the scripture I didn't "read" it. I literally felt that God yelled the words to me. "Be still!" And it hit me. My funk has been totally self inflicted. The Holy Spirit has been trying to sweetly and gently whisper that to me for a week or so now. But since I wouldn't listen to his "sweetness", my Daddy upstairs had to pull out the "Dad" voice and yell at me.
As I sat still for the first time in way too long - tuning out everything around me, not worrying about unloading the dishwasher, not focusing on getting work done for church, ignoring the laundry - my funk melted away. God reminded me that amidst all of the crazy, busy stuff in life, He's in control. He knows right where I am and exactly what I need. And He loves me way too much to let me go on any longer in my funk, so He raised His "Daddy" voice to lovingly get my attention and remind me to be still.
Today, and every day, make time (even when you're exhausted, the laundry has piled up, the kids have planned a mutiny, dinner barely qualified as edible and the to-do list is taller than you) to be still. In the short time that you allow yourself to be still, God will restore more than even the most perfect, Starbucks filled day can give to you. I'm so glad I was still today.
Monday, March 7, 2011
The Blame Game
"There's no person on earth or devil in hell that can keep you from the greatness God has for you." Joyce Meyer said this very early on in her message that she delivered at C3 2011. It's something that has stirred in me since I heard it. I knew something would grow from it and I knew that God wanted me to see something through it. And over the last weeks God has gently nudged me towards what that phrase means for me and what I think it means for a lot of us.
Something else Joyce Meyer said is that God has placed greatness in all of us. It was a nice statement to applaud and say Amen to. But to believe? But to grab onto and claim as mine? It really wasn't even anything I thought about during her message. But I have since. And I've accepted that God has placed greatness in me. I believe it. And I believe I haven't even begun to see the fullness of that greatness in me.
But why do we (or maybe just I) have such a hard time believing that? Accepting that? And ACTING on that? It's the first statement that finally answered that for me. We all go through "stuff" in life. We all have people that wrong us. While the difficulty or amount of "stuff" is different for each of us, the bottom line is that we ALL go through it. As I reflected on Joyce's testimony, I realized the "stuff" she has overcome in her life to achieve her greatness. She endured things that most of us can't even fathom and she has allowed God to bring greatness through it and in spite of it.
There have been times where I believe that I have caught a glimpse of the greatness that God has for me. But one thing has always held me still. My "stuff". Or probably more accurately, the memories of my "stuff". At times, when I've been "still", I've found myself blaming people from my past. If so-and-so had not done this or had done that differently, or if this event hadn't happened...Then my life would be different. Then I could achieve that greatness.
What I've come to realize is that the greatness that God has in store for me is a part of all that has shaped me. I've always know that the combined experiences of my life have made me who I am today. Good or bad, they've all brought growth, change, perspective & hopefully some wisdom. But I've allowed the devil to make me believe that it's taken away or lessened the greatness God has in store for me and through me. I let myself believe that my chance to experience greatness was missed or lost. Until now!
Now, I wholeheartedly believe that there is no person in this world that can change or take away the greatness that God has in store for me. There is no event that take that greatness. And there is no devil in hell, no matter how hard he tries, that can take away what God has in store for me. My past does not take away my greatness. Past hurts, wrongs, mistakes and trials do not change what God has in store for me. My God, who knows me to my core, says that he has GREAT plans for me. He doesn't care about my past. He sees my future.
I think that's something that a lot of us miss. We need to hear that God's greatness in us didn't get taken away because of "stuff". It's there for all of us. God's greatness is in ALL of us.
Something else Joyce Meyer said is that God has placed greatness in all of us. It was a nice statement to applaud and say Amen to. But to believe? But to grab onto and claim as mine? It really wasn't even anything I thought about during her message. But I have since. And I've accepted that God has placed greatness in me. I believe it. And I believe I haven't even begun to see the fullness of that greatness in me.
But why do we (or maybe just I) have such a hard time believing that? Accepting that? And ACTING on that? It's the first statement that finally answered that for me. We all go through "stuff" in life. We all have people that wrong us. While the difficulty or amount of "stuff" is different for each of us, the bottom line is that we ALL go through it. As I reflected on Joyce's testimony, I realized the "stuff" she has overcome in her life to achieve her greatness. She endured things that most of us can't even fathom and she has allowed God to bring greatness through it and in spite of it.
There have been times where I believe that I have caught a glimpse of the greatness that God has for me. But one thing has always held me still. My "stuff". Or probably more accurately, the memories of my "stuff". At times, when I've been "still", I've found myself blaming people from my past. If so-and-so had not done this or had done that differently, or if this event hadn't happened...Then my life would be different. Then I could achieve that greatness.
What I've come to realize is that the greatness that God has in store for me is a part of all that has shaped me. I've always know that the combined experiences of my life have made me who I am today. Good or bad, they've all brought growth, change, perspective & hopefully some wisdom. But I've allowed the devil to make me believe that it's taken away or lessened the greatness God has in store for me and through me. I let myself believe that my chance to experience greatness was missed or lost. Until now!
Now, I wholeheartedly believe that there is no person in this world that can change or take away the greatness that God has in store for me. There is no event that take that greatness. And there is no devil in hell, no matter how hard he tries, that can take away what God has in store for me. My past does not take away my greatness. Past hurts, wrongs, mistakes and trials do not change what God has in store for me. My God, who knows me to my core, says that he has GREAT plans for me. He doesn't care about my past. He sees my future.
I think that's something that a lot of us miss. We need to hear that God's greatness in us didn't get taken away because of "stuff". It's there for all of us. God's greatness is in ALL of us.
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