Missing the point

Oh, that I could draw! As I read Luke 2 tonight, I had a vision of the birthplace of Jesus and I wish I could draw it~ it would be my Christmas card for the rest of my life. Art through the centuries paints a picture of the birthplace of Jesus that misses the whole point. It was not a pastoral scene as pictured in this Renaissance painting.
It was not even a quaint, humble stable as pictured in the cards of greeting we send to one another as we celebrate His birth. It was most likely a cave with a shallow trough carved out of the rough rock~ dark, dank, dirty. Cold. Comfortless. Not unlike the cement floor on which this little one of Mozambique rests. My little Lucas . . .




If we really pay attention, this dark, dank cave in which Jesus was born was a picture for us of the world without Him. Jesus came into this weary world to bring His light into the darkest, dirtiest places we can imagine~ It is this light alone that can save us from the sin we are so bent upon.
Because of our incredible lack of imagination, we miss Him continually. When he came into the world in such humility, His chosen people missed him because they expected something different~ a militant savior who would deliver them from political oppression. What He offered was freedom from the oppression from sin and eternal life in His Kingdom. We are so short sighted~ still~ with all we have, with all we know about the life and actions of Jesus. We still don't really want what he has to offer.
What do we want from Jesus? We want God to provide what we think we need in this life. He actually gives us everything we "need". As a result, we miss Him. We think we need things: money, jobs, homes . . . (the list is longer than I dare attempt), and when He doesn't supply those things in the way we expect, we miss Him. If we look at what He actually does provide for us, we will realize what we really need and fall on our faces in humble gratitude and awe of His provision.

Unplugged

Deep in the night after the heavy snow, there was a sound much like lightening then a boom somewhat akin to thunder. Again,~and yet again. As I lay there, I realized it was the sound of branches breaking under the weight of the snow and falling into the deepening snow beneath. I listened. Once again, the trees were being pruned. The weak branches that survived the winds of November were now yielding to the sheer weight of winter.
With the falling branches, came downed power lines and life as we knew it ended~ suspended for a week. Powerless. We gathered ourselves as a family and met the challenge with creativity and humor. We are fortunate to have a wood stove and a generator; we are even more fortunate to have a sense of life unplugged as not such a bad thing. We worked harder for the ordinary things so long taken for granted. We melted snow for water to heat in large pots on the wood stove for bathing; redefining showering together as my husband poured the steaming water over my soapy head and I returned the favor when it was his turn. Shivering, laughing, enjoying the simplest of pleasures.
I felt a twinge of regret as our power was restored this evening. For a week, we lived as a family totally connected. Unplugged from TV, computers, radios ~ Needing one another for amusement. Enjoying one another through the storm. The real challenge is to find this intimacy without the snow, without the loss of electricity. Are we up to it?

Heart for Mozambique

Today they took pictures of my heart.
I can't wait to see them because I know there is nothing wrong with my heart~ it is just changing shape. My guess is that it will look a lot like Mozambique. Whenever he talks about the country to new teams preparing to go on a mission trip there, Pastor Jonathan refers to its shape as "heart like". In an elongated sort of way, Mozambique is shaped like a heart. More importantly, it is shaping our hearts to look more like God intends: caring for others and reaching out with the Gospel of Christ as we become the hands and feet of our Lord among the people who long for the good news of a gracious, forgiving, healing Savior. The Living Water trip is preparing for departure on April 10th. Another trip is forming as a medical trip in August. It is my prayer that God will guide our "missionaries" as we lean into Him for wisdom and discernment regarding His work there and how He wants to use those of us who long only to serve Him from the center of His Will.

To the cross I fly

This female cardinal hit the window
and was sitting in the snow,
so I brought her in until she gathered her "wits"
and could fly.

When she flew to the cross, I knew she was ready to go back into the world.


I am grateful for those times when I hit the window and someone
gathers me up and keeps me safe until I am ready fly again.

Reflections

Peering into the icy creek, the reflection of the trees creates an inverted perspective of reality. Reflecting upon the past can sometimes distort reality as well. We tend to remember events through a lens that bends our memory to fit a reality we long for.
While in Mozambique this summer, a most extraordinary thing happened between God and me. Words fail me when I try to explain what took place~ As I spent time with God after a particularly difficult day, I found Him calling me to a new level of obedience. He called me to a place where He was not going to give me a five-year plan or any plan at all. My life is to be lived at a new level of trust~ a new level of being more completely submitted to Him. While it does not seem possible to be totally submitted on this side of heaven, there is for me a deeper awareness of my moments of stubbornness and disobedience which would most likely have escaped my consciousness in the past. Gratitude for God's grace overwhelms me as I enter into a new phase of my life on earth. In the coming year, it is my hope to be ever more aware and ever more obedient to that still small voice that may not be in the wind, but surely blows through me like a hurricane when I allow.

Last light, last snow

The beauty of God's creation is beyond words.
Enjoy!

Winds of Change

Change for some of us is exciting, stimulating; for others, it is disconcerting, frightening even. Yet, life is change. Living organisms are always changing, either developing or disintegrating, but always moving. It is only when an organism ceases to change that it ceases to live. That is true in every area of life it seems.
There are some forces that bring about change with observable power. One of those forces is the wind. The wind moves the branches of the mighty trees until they bow low to the earth or they break.
Living among the trees provides a special understanding of flexibility when it comes to the power of the wind. When it blows, dead and useless branches are wrenched from their places. It threatens the old and weak as it tests the young and flexible. The landscape changes after a big blow. These changes are usually subtle. Occasionally there is a giant strewn across the road, but usually it is barely noticeable unless you really look. If you know the view by heart, you can see the missing branch, the altered landscape.
In the Kingdom of God, the wind has a special place. In John 3:5-8, Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about being "born again"~ being born of the Spirit. He says, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." When we are totally yielded to God's will, the Spirit of God can blow freely in our lives. The landscape will be changed. The result will be the working out of His purposes in us and through us. Welcome the wind.