Joy in the Journey

  “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 For years I have worked with young people who wear the label “special needs.” I get that as a description I suppose but sometimes I think a more accurate label would be special gifts. So many of them see the world in a way that we not so special people miss. Through the years I’ve heard people say with varying degrees of sincerity that they learn more than they teach when they’re with the children. I can say that with a great degree of sincerity because God has used so many of my little angels to illustrate his love and patience to me. My dear friend Brianna has Down syndrome. She is a delight in ways that words cannot express. One of my favorite things about her, and in general, is when she says to me, “Let’s have a talt.” Now, let me note here that I am quick to make her stop and repeat the word tal k correctly b...

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 Are you a planner? I am. I like to have plans. The problem is that often as I begin to plan all the obstacles run through my mind. I begin to think of the myriad ways that my plans might go awry. If the event or issue is important to me that is when worry rears its ugly head. This morning as I was feeling such joy.   I was living the truth of Psalm 118:24. This was indeed the day the Lord made and I was fully ready to rejoice and be glad. Understand this was an ordinary weekday involving work, household tasks, the usual. I was not headed off on a trip, a retreat or a date with my hubby, just a regular day. As I was preparing to leave the house I felt a catch in my joy. The nasty little thought came to me that something in this day was going to steal my joy; something was going to go wrong.   I could feel my mind searching...

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them walking on the lake.   Matthew 14:25 Family stories are so much fun. There are certain ones that we so love to remember that we tell them over and over again. The first one that came to my mind for my family is a time when my son Jeffrey was very young. He made what every adult involved heard as a sassy remark but truly he was just trying to identify his boundaries. He was so little and so darned adorable with his tiny eyeglasses and his slight lisp. On the face of it maybe it isn’t a great story but we love it, in part because there is so much more to it than immediately meets the eye. This story from Matthew of Jesus walking on the water is the same thing to me. There is so much more to the story than the bare bones. Jesus walks out, calls to Peter, Peter takes a step or two and oops, sinks. We tend to focus on Peter. Why did he sink? How did he walk on water even for a step or two? Peter becomes the focus. ...

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Luke 6:41-42 We’ve all heard the expression, “hate the sin but love the sinner.” At times I’ve felt that I understood that and that I was doing fairly well in a given circumstance. Like many other truths, it’s the fire, the hot button issues, the agendas that show us how we really feel. In a conversation with a woman I’ve known all my life I came to the realization that she believes me to be a homophobe. At onset I find this amusing, given that one of my dearest, most loved and sadly missed friends was a homosexual. I most certainly did not hate him. I loved him. I cannot say the same for his lifesty...

  “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’” Deuteronomy 33:27   On Sunday as we pulled into a parking space at church I saw a young boy, thirteenish, running toward one of the Sunday school buildings. I do not have a teenager and so, have no idea about the teen programs at church. The boy could have been running for any number of reasons. Perhaps he was excited to see a friend. Maybe the leader/teacher brings donuts and he wanted the “good” one. Maybe those classes start a bit earlier than the service and he was actually running a little late. Those are all fair conjectures but in reality I have no idea why he was running. What I do know is the impression that I had when I saw him. He was a slight boy, well-dressed and carrying a Bible. And running, with a huge smile on his face straight toward….. and that is where my knowledge ended and my impression took over. Running,...

  “I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remain in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5   The past few weeks have been extremely enlightening. I have learned so much and I doubt that I can do it justice in these few small sentences. Reading those words you might think I’d been on a mission trip or doing intense Bible study. I have not. What I have been doing is simply living my life but with a huge amount of help and the gift of vision, from the Holy Spirit. First let’s talk about struggle. The other day I was on the fringe of a conversation about finances. I heard a woman say that she and her husband struggle. That struck me as odd because they have far, far more than they need. This was not a conversation about poverty, about trying to provide food and shelter. No, this was about paying for the third car, the nicer home, the extras.   Later the Holy Spirit poked me with her words. She does not ...

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 On Mother’s Day our pastor told a story about a little boy who just loved his kindergarten teacher. One day when his mom was volunteering at his school he fell and hurt his knee. In tears he headed toward the spot where both his mother and teacher were standing. The pastor left the child’s final destination as a question to illustrate his point about mothers and children. He left me with a different thought. Picture the scene in your own life. You’ve “fallen.” You’re hurt, frightened or disappointed. Where do you run? Do you have an image in your head? Okay. Now, picture your choice. Is it God? If it isn’t what is it? Picture God standing right beside the thing or the person you chose as your comfort zone. He’s waiting, arms open. Did you run right on by? Did you even glance His way? What about a little while later? Everything in this world fades. Nothing is...