Weeding Season

 It has been a long, icy, cold winter.  Spring is on it's way.  Where ice and snow have covered the landscape for far too long, suddenly ground is beginning to appear.  Hope begins to renew with the thaw and the smells of spring.

I look over to an elderly gentleman in the grocery store parking lot.  

"Are you as excited as I am that little patches of ground are showing again?", I ask.  

"Yes!", he replies, "The only thing that winter is good for is killing mosquitoes!"

I have to agree that that is a real benefit to winter.  I smile and nod, and wish him a good day.

Now spring is on it's way, and with it come beautiful reminders of God's glorious creation . . . like beautiful flowers.  There will also be weeds (. . . and mosquitoes).  

Again I am reminded of the way that God provides a spiritual parallel to the physical things of this world.  Both sides of our nature, physical and spiritual, reflecting God's beauty and glory.  And then come the sinful, ugly weeds.  They appear among the flowers, threatening to choke out the beauty and goodness.

I am in a weeding season.  I have been in one for longer than I'd like to admit.  But then, do the weeds ever stop attempting to steal ground, kill our joy and beauty, destroy God's work in us.  Hmm . . . steal, kill, and destroy?  Sounds familiar?  John 10:10 tells us that Satan's whole mission is to steal, kill, and destroy.

But wait!  There is hope!  Jesus continues on to tell us in this verse that He has come that we "may have life, and have it to the full."  We simply need to trust and follow the good shepherd, Jesus.

Trust God, follow Jesus, call on God to help us weed . . . then repeat.  This is the season that I am in.  And as the ground is reclaimed from it's snowy cover, and the sun comes again to warm the land, the flowers and the weeds will come.

And as my soul is reclaimed from the cover of sin by the SON, and His Glory warms my heart, the beauty of this Glory will shine again.  Then human frailties and sin will bring weeds to try to steal ground, kill our joy and beauty, and destroy God's work in us.  

Trust, follow, weed . . . repeat.

LORD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WISDOM IN BRINGING US YOUR WORD TO GUIDE AND ENCOURAGE US.  AS THE BEAUTY OF YOUR LOVE GROWS IN US PLEASE GUARD OUR HEARTS AGAINST THE EVIL ONE.  DO NOT ALLOW HIM TO CONTINUE TO STEAL GROUND, KILL AND CHOKE OUT THE JOY AND BEAUTY OF YOUR CREATION, AND DESTROY AND DISTRACT US FROM YOUR WORK.  CONTINUE TO PROTECT US, AND PROVIDE FOR US.  WHEN WE CALL ON YOUR NAME THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THE ENEMY HAS TO FLEE.  BIND THE EVIL ONE AND HIS SCHEMES.  CAST THEM OUT.  WE PRAY THIS IN JESUS' HOLY NAME.  AMEN.

Faith.FULL

Amazing . . . amazingly faithful!

That is what God is.

Since I last wrote I have so very many stories of His faithfulness that I truly don't know where to begin!

I have been following, trusting, and He has provided.  And now I am struggling with endless piles of dishes and laundry, a very opinionated 8 year old, two teens, and a very curious three year old.  Yet God is faithful.  I see it all the time.

I see it in my teens love for God and family, at ages where so many rebel.  I see it in the loving hugs and sweet moments with the younger two. I see it in God's loving provision of spiritual nourishment, our health, our family time, a beautiful home within our budget, income to pay the bills (with a little extra), His creation all around us here, and on and on.

No, we haven't been without chaos and struggles.  Yet my job is to trust God and obey.  And He blesses and guides my path.

I hope to share more, as time allows.

Thank you Lord for your love and guidance, provision and blessing.  May I be used to bless others, and bring Glory to you.  Amen.

A Tale Of Three Davids

At this point in my life I have met a few Davids, but three men with this name come to mind when hearing that name.  All three are special, not perfect, but special.  They have been through good times.  They’ve also been tested in the fire.  But through it all, God’s presence has It’s mark on their lives.

The first is the David of the bible.  A simple shepherd boy by trade, God first shown His glory through David in facing Goliath.  It didn’t matter that Goliath was nine feet tall.  It didn’t matter that he was flippant or pompous.  God was with David, and Goliath was defeated easily . . . by a boy . . . a ordinary shepherd boy.  But only because God was with him. 

Later God saw fit to exalt David as king.  Saul didn’t like that.  Others thought it ridiculous because of David’s size and social position.  (Later down the family tree, those same kind of people would laugh at our Savior.)  No matter.  God was with David. 

He wasn’t perfect.  He lusted.  He committed adultery.  He had a man murdered to cover up his adulterous secret. 

Then he repented.  He was forgiven.  God was with him once again.

The second David was a David that I never met, but one I feel as if I know well through the things that I have heard about him.  He was a man loved his children and wife very much.  He wasn’t perfect, but he tried his best to love and serve his God and family.  From what I’ve heard, he was a man of God, who looked forward to “going home”.  But he was also content to be the family man. 

He delivered the last of his six children.  Twenty four days later he was gone.  He died on Christmas Eve, at home, in the arms of his loving wife.  He had stopped breathing and couldn’t be revived.  But the love he shared still lives on.

The third David is a man I met at church.  He was one of the many coming through our doors on Sundays looking for food, showers, haircuts, and clothes from our church’s Social Ministry.

Rough looking and homeless, he walked 15 miles through the deep snow last winter to come to our church for a hot meal one Sunday.  He didn’t have any idea where he would sleep that night.

I am struck by how many younger men are coming to our church for a meal these days.  The older men seem to be accustomed to the harsh life of being in need and/or homeless.  But the guys that are in their 20s and 30s are ashamed to even look at you . . . tired from harassment, and judgment, and fear from others.  Exhausted from too many nights of staying awake all night protecting their meager belongings, they frequently fall asleep sitting up in the warmth of the church hallway.

They are wary of others.  They are afraid to trust.  They are not quick to look at you, let alone smile.  They are hurting . . . losing hope . . . losing faith in humanity and life.  David was no different.

So there David was, tired from waking 15 miles in the frigid cold.  He looked downcast and hurting.  But over the weeks, my family and I went out of our way to say hi to him.  We cared about him.  We smiled at him . . . talked to him . . . prayed with him, and for him . . . and hugged him.

After a while, we worshipped next to him at church.  We worshipped with him in bible study.  We ate with him at dinner at church on Sundays.

Months later a much different David happily told us about his new job, and the provision God was giving him.  There were smiles, and hugs, and praise sent heavenward.  From a lowly place God was exalting him, and blessing him . . . just like King David, the former shepherd boy.

What do these Davids have in common?

God had his anointing on the lives of these men.  He blessed them.  He exalted them.  They are not perfect, but He loves them all.  They are special to Him, and so are you.

From humbleness and humility, God exalts those He sees fit to exalt.  Sometimes He humbles the exalted.  But in the end, He loves us all with an unquenchable love.  Let us not limit ourselves by man’s standards for a life “well lived”, but rise to the destiny God has prepared just for us.

Lord, thank you for all of the “Davids” in our lives.  Thank you for showing us, through the lives of others, the love that you freely offer all of us.  Please guide us and lead us in your ways, so that we may reach our full potential.  And surround us with “spirit led” people so that we may learn how to live a life for you.  We pray this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.