"...those who hope in the Lord... will soar on wings like eagles..." (Isaiah 40:31)
"When the oceans rise and thunders roar, I will soar with you above the storm." (Hillsong)
If you've ever been flying in a plane, you know the window seat is the best. I love looking out and seeing the houses get smaller and smaller and looking down at mountains and lakes and feeling so... above everything. Even my problems.
I was flying back from a fantastic weekend with a great friend and got caught in some bad weather. It wasn't anything serious by any means. We had a little bit of turbulence and it was rainy and cloudy and generally gross when we landed, but that was the extent of the problem. Still, I was struck by the contrast. Close to the ground-- darkness, rain, turbulence. Way high up-- gorgeous fluffy clouds, blue sky, sunshine, calm. It amazed me to realize that the bad weather I experienced on the ground existed at the same time as the gorgeous weather above the clouds. The only difference was my altitude. Even as we experience storms in our lives, God's peace is there for us. We need to look past our circumstances and realize that there IS a place outside of what we're going through, a place of peace and light and beauty, a place where the God who loves us calls us to be.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Pride goeth before a fall
"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." (from 1 Peter 5:5)
I don't know if you've ever played games with a little kid, but it is an enlightening experience in many ways. One thing I always find amusing is their firm insistence that they are the best, the fastest, the most skilled at whatever thing they're doing. The classic childhood game of "come and get me" is the one I play most often. So far, none have challenged me to a race by saying, "I know you're faster, but let's just run around!" No, it's usually something more like, "You can't catch me!" If you have ever entered a race with a small child, you know what usually happens next. The child bolts, perhaps thinking that the element of surprise will gain him a win. Although my legs are about twice the length of the kid's, I somehow always stay about one step behind the now-squealing boy, who knows I'm right behind him and hopes that he can still pull out a victory. I often let the child win, but sometimes I go for a tie. Regardless, the outcome of the race is never in the child's hands. I am always the faster; winning or losing is entirely my choice.
There aren't many things in my life that I am completely confident about. Self-doubt creeps into all kinds of situations, even the ones where everyone else would think that I had more than enough reasons to trust that I'd do well. I can say this, though. It has never even entered my mind to doubt that I could win a race against a 3 year-old. In that, I am completely confident. In my confidence, I don't need to boast. The race I desribed could just as easily go down like this: the kid challenges me; I catch him in 2.5 seconds; I tell him I'm faster and walk away. Or I could just make some disparaging comment about how there's no way he could win. I would never do either. Obviously it's mean, but it also makes no sense. I already know I'm faster. I race for the fun of it, not to prove anything, and in my confidence, I have room to "lose" the race for the sake of the child.
God has no reason to doubt himself. Ever. Us looking at God and acting like we know better than him is like a 3 year-old looking at me thinking he is faster. It's so completely unrealistic that it's not even worth discussing! Why, then, doesn't God just let us go on thinking that we know everything, if it's not offensive to his pride? Here's the thing. I let little kids win races because it's fun and not harmful. I think that kids do understand that grown-ups are faster-- they just like the thrill of the chase. But there are times when letting a child continue in wrong thinking could be very harmful. For example, if my son ever thinks he's Superman and tries to fly or wants to be linebacker for his football team (at 20 pounds underweight), I'm going to tell him that he is wrong. My pride isn't at stake. His safety is.
When we convince ourselves that we know more than God, God cannot stand it. His ego isn't in the way, and he's not trying to be mean, but he absolutely will humble you. When you are prideful, you convince yourself that you don't need God. You don't ask for his advice or opinions. You don't seek his presence. You walk away from him and try to discontinue the relationship. You've moved on. But God is a good father. It would take a nutjob to believe a two year-old is independent just because she insists, "I do it!" I don't care that she believes herself to be independent, my love, NOT my pride, makes me take her hand when we cross the street. I insist on cooking and cutting up her food myself to keep her safe. In the same way, God will not let us continue in our pride. He wants us to be safe in his presence, not to wander around alone in the wilderness where "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
I don't know if you've ever played games with a little kid, but it is an enlightening experience in many ways. One thing I always find amusing is their firm insistence that they are the best, the fastest, the most skilled at whatever thing they're doing. The classic childhood game of "come and get me" is the one I play most often. So far, none have challenged me to a race by saying, "I know you're faster, but let's just run around!" No, it's usually something more like, "You can't catch me!" If you have ever entered a race with a small child, you know what usually happens next. The child bolts, perhaps thinking that the element of surprise will gain him a win. Although my legs are about twice the length of the kid's, I somehow always stay about one step behind the now-squealing boy, who knows I'm right behind him and hopes that he can still pull out a victory. I often let the child win, but sometimes I go for a tie. Regardless, the outcome of the race is never in the child's hands. I am always the faster; winning or losing is entirely my choice.
There aren't many things in my life that I am completely confident about. Self-doubt creeps into all kinds of situations, even the ones where everyone else would think that I had more than enough reasons to trust that I'd do well. I can say this, though. It has never even entered my mind to doubt that I could win a race against a 3 year-old. In that, I am completely confident. In my confidence, I don't need to boast. The race I desribed could just as easily go down like this: the kid challenges me; I catch him in 2.5 seconds; I tell him I'm faster and walk away. Or I could just make some disparaging comment about how there's no way he could win. I would never do either. Obviously it's mean, but it also makes no sense. I already know I'm faster. I race for the fun of it, not to prove anything, and in my confidence, I have room to "lose" the race for the sake of the child.
God has no reason to doubt himself. Ever. Us looking at God and acting like we know better than him is like a 3 year-old looking at me thinking he is faster. It's so completely unrealistic that it's not even worth discussing! Why, then, doesn't God just let us go on thinking that we know everything, if it's not offensive to his pride? Here's the thing. I let little kids win races because it's fun and not harmful. I think that kids do understand that grown-ups are faster-- they just like the thrill of the chase. But there are times when letting a child continue in wrong thinking could be very harmful. For example, if my son ever thinks he's Superman and tries to fly or wants to be linebacker for his football team (at 20 pounds underweight), I'm going to tell him that he is wrong. My pride isn't at stake. His safety is.
When we convince ourselves that we know more than God, God cannot stand it. His ego isn't in the way, and he's not trying to be mean, but he absolutely will humble you. When you are prideful, you convince yourself that you don't need God. You don't ask for his advice or opinions. You don't seek his presence. You walk away from him and try to discontinue the relationship. You've moved on. But God is a good father. It would take a nutjob to believe a two year-old is independent just because she insists, "I do it!" I don't care that she believes herself to be independent, my love, NOT my pride, makes me take her hand when we cross the street. I insist on cooking and cutting up her food myself to keep her safe. In the same way, God will not let us continue in our pride. He wants us to be safe in his presence, not to wander around alone in the wilderness where "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
What's in you?
It's so funny for me as a teacher to see how God teaches me things. I'm seeing such a pattern... lesson, break to absorb it, lesson, test. For example, these past couple of weeks, my pastor has been preaching on gratefulness. I was initially blown away by what he said. Wow... if Adam and Eve had focused on how grateful they were for all God gave them, they would have had no room to be ungrateful for the one thing he claimed only for himself. I tried to walk out gratefulness in my daily life, but it got a little lost in my immense to-do list. Next Sunday, same kind of thing. Wow... gratefulness, right! Yes, I need that! Then last night I was suddenly faced with a HUGE test of my ability to be grateful.
Interestingly, I had just been talking with another leader about how excited I am to be starting a small group for middle school girls. I was telling her that I couldn't wait to share an object lesson the Lord had used recently to make me think. I imagined two soda bottles: one filled and one empty. Even with a blindfold, you could pretty easily determine which was which. All you'd have to do is flick 'em both and see which one keels over.
I won't lie and say I'm super excited about the things going on in my life. Challenges are, yes, challenging. But I really saw myself in that object lesson, and I know that God is using these challenges to draw me to himself. If I'm filled with gratefulness to God for all the things I have, this circumstance, this little blip on my eternal life, will not knock me over. If, though, I don't allow God to fill me, I'm going to be thrown all over the place! I know that God is building character in me, and unlike in school, my looking to someone else for all my answers will not cause me to fail... in fact, looking to my heavenly father is the only way I can pass!
Interestingly, I had just been talking with another leader about how excited I am to be starting a small group for middle school girls. I was telling her that I couldn't wait to share an object lesson the Lord had used recently to make me think. I imagined two soda bottles: one filled and one empty. Even with a blindfold, you could pretty easily determine which was which. All you'd have to do is flick 'em both and see which one keels over.
I won't lie and say I'm super excited about the things going on in my life. Challenges are, yes, challenging. But I really saw myself in that object lesson, and I know that God is using these challenges to draw me to himself. If I'm filled with gratefulness to God for all the things I have, this circumstance, this little blip on my eternal life, will not knock me over. If, though, I don't allow God to fill me, I'm going to be thrown all over the place! I know that God is building character in me, and unlike in school, my looking to someone else for all my answers will not cause me to fail... in fact, looking to my heavenly father is the only way I can pass!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Don't flip out, flip over!
I was making French toast this morning and it started sticking to the bottom of the pan. Obviously, my first instinct was to flip it over to keep it from burning. Sadly, despite my best efforts and despite the cooking spray I'd used, the bread would NOT come up! I finally managed to flip it, but there was this layer of semi-burned eggy mess on the bottom of the pan. The French toast ended up looking mangled and tattered and lumpy. It still tasted alright, but I pride myself on presentation, and that French toast was not pretty.
How often do we do that? God looks down and says, "It's getting hot, eh? How about I flip you over?" And we say, "Um, no, thanks. I like it riiiiiight here!" God, don't change things. It's too hard right now, I'm too busy, I'm too sad, I'm too _____, and I can't take the kinds of changes you're proposing. And then we wonder why we feel burnt out.
How often do we do that? God looks down and says, "It's getting hot, eh? How about I flip you over?" And we say, "Um, no, thanks. I like it riiiiiight here!" God, don't change things. It's too hard right now, I'm too busy, I'm too sad, I'm too _____, and I can't take the kinds of changes you're proposing. And then we wonder why we feel burnt out.
Problems (mathematical and other)
I <3 words. I mean it. I can throw down a rap, spin out a story, or whip together a sonnet all without much effort. I read about 300 pages/day. I've been known to read cereal boxes at breakfast. So when images of a math book interrupted a pleasant daydream, I felt an immediate compulsion to grab some holy water and a crucifix. Begone, Devil!
Just kidding. Mostly. I really didn't hate math until we got to calculus, but I was frustrated that math never came as easily to my understanding as did pretty much everything else. My teachers would usually assign the even-numbered problems (you know, the ones that didn't have the answers in the back of the book?) so I'd have to go through and do the odd ones first, just to see if I understood. I suppose that I've just revealed myself as an overachiever. Well, I am, but really, it was the right thing to do. I had to figure out what I was doing, or I'd go through and mess up every mathematical convention known to man. For each night's homework, here's how it went. I'd do number one, check the answer, fix my work. I'd do number three, check the answer, fix my work. By then, I usually understood what I had to do, so I'd go on to numbers two and four.
As I continued thinking about that process, God showed me that that's kind of how it works with us as believers. The Bible is meant to be a tool to shape you into the you that God wants! In the Bible, you read about Jesus and various believers like Paul, Peter, John, David, Moses... you learn what to do and what not to do. The goal isn't to be Jesus, Paul etc. You can't do that, and God doesn't want you to. The goal is to learn how to live for God and then to do it yourself. Like with math, you can't just do the exact same thing for each question. Let's say the answer to number one was 32. You can't just write '32' down as the answer to number two! You have to learn the process, how you get the answer, and then take that process and apply it to the next question. Your life will not look exactly like others'. That's not the point. You should be going through the same process, but the results will often be very different.
Just kidding. Mostly. I really didn't hate math until we got to calculus, but I was frustrated that math never came as easily to my understanding as did pretty much everything else. My teachers would usually assign the even-numbered problems (you know, the ones that didn't have the answers in the back of the book?) so I'd have to go through and do the odd ones first, just to see if I understood. I suppose that I've just revealed myself as an overachiever. Well, I am, but really, it was the right thing to do. I had to figure out what I was doing, or I'd go through and mess up every mathematical convention known to man. For each night's homework, here's how it went. I'd do number one, check the answer, fix my work. I'd do number three, check the answer, fix my work. By then, I usually understood what I had to do, so I'd go on to numbers two and four.
As I continued thinking about that process, God showed me that that's kind of how it works with us as believers. The Bible is meant to be a tool to shape you into the you that God wants! In the Bible, you read about Jesus and various believers like Paul, Peter, John, David, Moses... you learn what to do and what not to do. The goal isn't to be Jesus, Paul etc. You can't do that, and God doesn't want you to. The goal is to learn how to live for God and then to do it yourself. Like with math, you can't just do the exact same thing for each question. Let's say the answer to number one was 32. You can't just write '32' down as the answer to number two! You have to learn the process, how you get the answer, and then take that process and apply it to the next question. Your life will not look exactly like others'. That's not the point. You should be going through the same process, but the results will often be very different.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Just keep swimming...
Galatians 6:9 -- Let us not grow weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Sometimes life seems to me to be a very repetitive thing. I go to sleep, wake up, get tired, go to sleep, wake up, get tired... I clean my house, it gets messy, I clean my house, it gets messy... I brush my teeth, I eat, I do it again... the WORST, though, is laundry. I put on clothes and wear them for, what? 15 hours? At most 18? Or with jeans, I may wear them a few days in a row. Still. My clothes pretty much always spend more time dirty and on my floor than they do being worn. It's so annoying! I don't know why, but it bothers me that nothing I do seems to stay done. I make repairs on my house and something else breaks. I guess I kind of feel like my efforts are futile. Like nothing I do has any permanent results.
The funny thing is that I keep doing the same things even though they frustrate me. I mean, just because I'm annoyed that I have to keep going to sleep or cleaning the house or brushing my teeth doesn't mean that I stop doing all of those things! We so often take it for granted that if something is irritating us, we can just make it go away somehow. Ugh! That music is too loud, so I'll just turn it down. That person bugs me, so I'll just avoid him/her. My pastor said something I didn't like, so I'll go to another church. WHAT?! No way! We keep doing things like brushing our teeth even if they're annoying because we know they're good for us. Well, the Bible, the Holy Word of God, tells us that it's good for us to keep on doing good and to keep doing good with energy and enthusiasm. It may be difficult to keep loving that person and forgiving him/her over and over and over and over... but that's what we're supposed to do. Actually, it may be just as difficult to forgive ourselves over and over and over! But God tells us to keep up the good work and to trust that he will come through for us. Don't get fed up with the good works in your life. If you just walk away, the Bible hints that you might not get any benefit even from the effort you did put in. You'll reap IF you don't give up. So keep going! Like any decent farmer, God knows exactly how long his seeds need to grow underground before they can harvested.
Sometimes life seems to me to be a very repetitive thing. I go to sleep, wake up, get tired, go to sleep, wake up, get tired... I clean my house, it gets messy, I clean my house, it gets messy... I brush my teeth, I eat, I do it again... the WORST, though, is laundry. I put on clothes and wear them for, what? 15 hours? At most 18? Or with jeans, I may wear them a few days in a row. Still. My clothes pretty much always spend more time dirty and on my floor than they do being worn. It's so annoying! I don't know why, but it bothers me that nothing I do seems to stay done. I make repairs on my house and something else breaks. I guess I kind of feel like my efforts are futile. Like nothing I do has any permanent results.
The funny thing is that I keep doing the same things even though they frustrate me. I mean, just because I'm annoyed that I have to keep going to sleep or cleaning the house or brushing my teeth doesn't mean that I stop doing all of those things! We so often take it for granted that if something is irritating us, we can just make it go away somehow. Ugh! That music is too loud, so I'll just turn it down. That person bugs me, so I'll just avoid him/her. My pastor said something I didn't like, so I'll go to another church. WHAT?! No way! We keep doing things like brushing our teeth even if they're annoying because we know they're good for us. Well, the Bible, the Holy Word of God, tells us that it's good for us to keep on doing good and to keep doing good with energy and enthusiasm. It may be difficult to keep loving that person and forgiving him/her over and over and over and over... but that's what we're supposed to do. Actually, it may be just as difficult to forgive ourselves over and over and over! But God tells us to keep up the good work and to trust that he will come through for us. Don't get fed up with the good works in your life. If you just walk away, the Bible hints that you might not get any benefit even from the effort you did put in. You'll reap IF you don't give up. So keep going! Like any decent farmer, God knows exactly how long his seeds need to grow underground before they can harvested.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Rules
As I'm planning for the new school year, I'm thinking back to last year and trying to take what I've learned to come up with some class rules. I'm in the process of hammering out in explicit detail exactly what I expect, what I will not tolerate, and what the consequences will be for misbehavior. I know I have to be super specific and super strict the first few weeks at least, and more than likely, I'll have to continue that for the whole first semester.
I'm not a mean person. I'm usually fairly easy going, and I can be talked into all kinds of shenanigans because I love to have a good time! In fact, I've been a popular babysitter over the years because I have a strict 'say yes until you have to say no' policy. Can we blow bubbles in the kitchen? Sure! Can we build a fort using every blanket in the house? Absolutely. If it won't hurt the kids and they're willing to help me clean up whatever mess they make, I will pretty much always say yes. After hearing yes so often, the kids seem to understand that no means NO. They sometimes push me on it, but after a couple of times, they get that I only say no if I really have to and if I really mean it.
Sadly, the 'yes' policy is completely ineffective while teaching. If you say yes to the kids one time, they assume they can do that thing again, and then they'll try to push farther. Eventually, they're completely out of control, and it's impossible to teach them anything, including the important life lessons of work ethic and respect for authority. The best bet when teaching is to say no until you come to a really easy request once in a blue moon and then, after a great deal of "thought," reluctantly agree. With conditions.
I remember having a similar problem with my dog, Jake. He loved to run and play outside and I loved being able to let him! But I could only let him run in a fenced-in yard. There are lots of places I could have taken Jake to run- a nearby river, college campus, woods, jogging trails... but I couldn't take Jake anywhere without a leash. He'd always run off. It was so frustrating! If Jake could have just run around and then come back, he'd have had so much more of an opportunity to run. Instead, he was denied what he wanted, because he couldn't control himself even a little bit.
I really do want the best for my students, and I really did want the best for my dog. Unfortunately, I couldn't give them the freedom they desired, not because I was mean and controlling, but because they got in their own way. When you feel hemmed in by God, remember that he's in the same position. He wants the best for you, and he won't let anything get in the way... even you!
I'm not a mean person. I'm usually fairly easy going, and I can be talked into all kinds of shenanigans because I love to have a good time! In fact, I've been a popular babysitter over the years because I have a strict 'say yes until you have to say no' policy. Can we blow bubbles in the kitchen? Sure! Can we build a fort using every blanket in the house? Absolutely. If it won't hurt the kids and they're willing to help me clean up whatever mess they make, I will pretty much always say yes. After hearing yes so often, the kids seem to understand that no means NO. They sometimes push me on it, but after a couple of times, they get that I only say no if I really have to and if I really mean it.
Sadly, the 'yes' policy is completely ineffective while teaching. If you say yes to the kids one time, they assume they can do that thing again, and then they'll try to push farther. Eventually, they're completely out of control, and it's impossible to teach them anything, including the important life lessons of work ethic and respect for authority. The best bet when teaching is to say no until you come to a really easy request once in a blue moon and then, after a great deal of "thought," reluctantly agree. With conditions.
I remember having a similar problem with my dog, Jake. He loved to run and play outside and I loved being able to let him! But I could only let him run in a fenced-in yard. There are lots of places I could have taken Jake to run- a nearby river, college campus, woods, jogging trails... but I couldn't take Jake anywhere without a leash. He'd always run off. It was so frustrating! If Jake could have just run around and then come back, he'd have had so much more of an opportunity to run. Instead, he was denied what he wanted, because he couldn't control himself even a little bit.
I really do want the best for my students, and I really did want the best for my dog. Unfortunately, I couldn't give them the freedom they desired, not because I was mean and controlling, but because they got in their own way. When you feel hemmed in by God, remember that he's in the same position. He wants the best for you, and he won't let anything get in the way... even you!
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