Category: faith

Sep 29

How God is Like a Cross Country Mom or Dad

I don’t know if your family ever had a cross country athlete, but our middle daughter Bethany was one in high school. She didn’t excel at the long-distance event, but decided running would help keep her in shape for her favorite sports of basketball, and track and field.

What I initially didn’t realize was that her choice was going to require my husband and me to be in shape too.

Watching a cross country meet is far different than viewing other sports because the action is not confined to a  field or court. Instead, participants run 5K (3.1 miles) up and down hills on a twisty, dirt or grass trail.

As parents we had three chances to see our daughter running. First, we stood at the starting line and when the gun went off, we loudly hollered her name. Then we jogged to a spot midway along the race route where we caught a glimpse of her as we shouted encouragement that she, indeed, could complete the race. Finally, we dashed back to the finish line–which may or may not have been the same as the starting line–and wildly cheered when Bethany crossed it.

Bethany donning her varsity jacket for me yesterday 🙂

Then we all went home and took showers.

Why did we do it? For the 60 seconds or less we actually saw her run? No way. Because it was so enjoyable to watch her face turn beet red and her uniform get soaked with perspiration? Hardly.

We did it because we deeply love her and wanted to convey that she was worth the sacrifice it took to root for her. Whether Bethany’s time was fast or slow didn’t matter to us–she had persevered and we always celebrated her.

And that’s why I think God is like a cross country mom or dad– He celebrates us on life’s journey.

As author Max Lucado puts it:
“God is for you. Turn to the sidelines; that’s God cheering your run.
Look past the finish line; that’s God applauding your steps.
Listen for him in the bleachers, shouting your name.
Too tired to continue? He’ll carry you.
Too discouraged to fight? He’s picking you up.
God is for you.”

Whatever you are facing on the race set before you–ups and downs of a serious illness, twists and turns of a rocky marriage, rough terrain of financial struggles–God is right there with you; not just cheering you on like a cross country parent, but also equipping you by the power of His Spirit to have what you need to stay the course.

As Lucado concludes: “God is for you. Knowing that, who is against you? Can death harm you now? Can disease rob your life? Can your purpose be taken or your value diminished? No. Though hell may set itself against you, no one can defeat you. You are protected. God is for you.”

“If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son,
but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” Romans 8:31b-32

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Be sure to open in your browser to hear the song “God is for Us” by CityAlight.

Sep 15

“You’re gonna be okay.”

I miss my dad.

It’s been a decade since he took his last breath on this earth and I still miss him. Especially during college football season as I’m frantically cheering on my Ohio State Buckeyes (with apologies to all my friends in that state up north!)

My dad was an incredible multi-sport athlete, as well as a successful football and basketball coach as I was growing up. My love of athletics and knowledge of the rules and intricacies of each sport came from him.

And that’s why I always had to call him during halftime of a Buckeye game if I was feeling nervous about the possible outcome.

“Dad, I’m worried we’re going to lose,” I would spit out as soon as he answered the phone.

He always responded with a little chuckle and then began pointing out all the things that were going well for my guys, as well as all the specific reasons they were the better team. Then he would reassure me that the coach would make the necessary halftime adjustments to clear up the deficiencies so the Scarlet and Gray would prevail.

“You’re gonna be okay,” he would add.

He was so smart, knew football so well and understood coaching so clearly that I always believed him.

A loving father’s voice can have that kind of calming effect, can’t it?

I just spent the month of August finding ways to better hear my heavenly Father’s voice. I needed His soothing words so my anxieties could be relieved, my burdens lightened and my heart palpitations literally calmed down.

And guess what?

I heard Him. Usually as I read my Bible. Often as I pored over my devotionals. Sometimes as I lifted my voice in song. And occasionally in my head as I folded my hands in prayer. Each time, it was clear that He was speaking to me.

“Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:4)
“The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor his ear too deaf to hear you call.” (Isaiah 59:1)
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

LifeHopeandTruth.com

And so many wise words from authors I love:
“Joy does not comes from getting what you ask God for. Joy comes in asking, believing, and thanking God, however he answers.” (Max Lucado)

“Can you think of any need you have that would require more strength than God exercised to raise the dead?” (Beth Moore)

“Father, may the reality of what you say become infinitely more real to me than what I think, feel or experience.” (Chris Tiegreen)

“Sin is the act of going to everyone but God for what only God can give.” (Max Lucado)

My earthly father had a special way of having just the right words to calm me (even though he might have led me astray at halftime of this past Saturday’s game against Oregon!), but my Heavenly Father never gets it wrong. He is all-wise, knows me completely and understands the loving plans He has for me. I always need to believe Him.

I encourage you to find ways to better listen for your Father’s voice–you won’t be disappointed.

Perhaps this prayer from Chris Tiegreen can be yours as well as mine: “Father, my mind cannot afford to be preoccupied with anything other than you.” Amen.

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Be sure to open in your browser to hear the beautiful song “You’re Gonna Be Okay” by Brian and Jenn Johnson.

Jul 07

Some days you’re the pigeon, some days you’re the statue!

 

Image by Jon Hoefer from Pixabay

Perhaps you feel a little like a pigeon-covered statue these days or maybe you simply would like to experience a measure of calm in your harried life.  Either way, here are some words to the weary taken from “leftover” quotes (including the blog title), which I ended up not using  when writing my last book. I hope at least one  lifts your spirits, deepens your faith or somehow encourages you on life’s journey.

“Corrie ten Boom, ‘The Hiding Place'” by Corrie ten Boom Museum is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

“Don’t pursue trials, but don’t flee from them in a panic either.”—Chris Tiegreen, One Year Walk with God Devotional

“Thou hast made us for thyself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”—St. Augustine, Confessions

“Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.”—Corrie ten Boom, Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor

“We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” Martin Luther King Jr. in his sermon “Antidotes to Fear”

“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

“Joe Castillo, C.S. Lewis 1” by timgrable is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”—Corrie ten Boom

“Don’t waste your cancer.”—John Piper, pastor, written on the eve of his prostate cancer surgery

“If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble.”—Thomas Watson, Puritan noncomformist teacher and author

“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.”—Robert Murray McCheyne, pastor, Church of Scotland

“All their life in this world and all their adventures had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before.” ― C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle

“The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.” C.S. Lewis

“(God) doesn’t say, ‘Into each life a little rain must fall,’ then aim a hose in earth’s general direction and see who gets the wettest. He doesn’t reach for a key, wind up nature with its sunny days and hurricanes, then sit back and watch the show. He doesn’t let Satan prowl about totally unrestricted. He doesn’t believe in a hands-off policy of governing. He’s not our planet’s absent landlord. Rather, He screens the trials that come to each of us—allowing only those that accomplish His good plan, because He takes no joy in human agony.”—Steve Estes, When God Weeps

And finally, this gem from missionary Jim Elliot prior to his martyrdom at age 28 by the Waodani tribe, whom he had befriended and attempted to share the gospel with: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

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Be sure to open in your browser to hear the music video “Peace” by Bethel Music, featuring We the Kingdom

 

Jun 23

An Inspiring Story from an Unlikely Survivor

Today I’d like to introduce you to “Crash,” a red-tailed hawk, who had the misfortune of colliding with a car this spring in Mercer County, PA, and had to be extricated  from the front bumper. The good news is that Crash survived his ordeal, was rescued and then taken to a wildlife rehab center.

Photo courtesy Tamarack Wildlife Center

However, the accident gave the hawk a concussion and damaged his wing, rendering him unable to fly well enough for release (after completing his concussion protocol, I assume 🙂 ). Thankfully, the staff at Tamarack Wildlife Center, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation and public education facility in the northwest corner of the state, knew just what to do.

Using the ancient art of feather-mending called “imping,” they replaced Crash’s damaged feathers with strong ones from a deceased hawk. The procedure involves inserting an imping needle, (a thin piece of wire, bamboo or some other material) into the shaft of both the damaged and the healthy feathers. The replacement feather is secured in place with adhesive, such as a fast-drying epoxy. Eventually the replaced feathers will be shed when the bird molts and regrows new feathers.

Interns (l. to r.) Madison Story and Natalie Seburia, photo courtesy Tamarack Wildlife Center

But in the meantime, Crash can inspire us all as he flies on “borrowed wings.”

Is there someone you know who has a “broken wing” and needs some of your “strong feathers” while they heal? I’m willing to bet that your gift/ability/expertise/time is the perfect match to help heal someone who is broken physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. Why not ask the Lord today how He wants to use you to keep a loved one flying on borrowed wings?

Perhaps it’s something as simple as a phone call to let them know you care or a card of encouragement dropped in the mail. Maybe your “donated feathers” are a delivered meal, a gift card to make life easier, or the offer to run a specific errand. Perhaps what your friend or family member needs most for their brokenness is your prayers–shared in person, typed in a text or simply whispered to God’s ears.

Photo by Melanie Tepper, courtesy of Tamarack Wildlife Center

And if  you  are the one feeling the damage of not being able to do what you used to, will you swallow your pride and accept an offer of “borrowed feathers?” If you truly don’t have any such offers, please ask Jehovah Jireh, the LORD who provides, to send someone to answer that prayer until you can fly again (or learn to deal with just hopping around!)

Psalm 91:4 proclaims this truth about our God:
He will cover you with His feathers.
He will shelter you with His wings.
His faithful promises are your shield and protection.

Psalm 36:7 adds:
How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.

I love the prayer and plan of David, the anointed king of Israel, when he was being pursued by a powerful enemy:

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy!
I look to you for protection.
I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by.
Psalm 57:1

How will you see God’s work in your life today? As the person  who provides borrowed wings? Or as the one who gratefully accepts them until the danger passes? Either way, you are in for a blessing, my friend.
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P.S. If you want to know the happy ending of Crash’s story, the hawk made a full recovery and last week was released into the wild flying high–as evidenced in the above photo of his maiden voyage on borrowed wings.  For more info about Tamarack Wildlife Rehab, see https://tamarackwildlife.org
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Be sure to open in your browser to hear the beautiful music video “Psalm 91” by New Creation Church.

Jun 09

The Lesson I Learned from a C-5 Cargo Plane

Raise your hand if you have never been in the military, but you have flown in a C-5 cargo plane?

I’m guessing I may be the only one wildly waving my arm.

“C-5 Galaxy” by Chad Horwedel is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Perhaps at an air show, some of you have had the pleasure of walking around inside the cargo section of the largest U.S. military transport. According to airforce-technology.com, the C-5 can carry two Abrams tanks; one tank and two Bradley fighting vehicles; 10 LAV light armored vehicles; or six Apache helicopters. (Popular Mechanics adds that almost 25 million ping-pong balls also could fit inside!)

In the summer of 1973, my father was a civilian personnel officer stationed at Bitburg AFB (Germany). As long as I was his dependent, I could have free stand-by flights between our homes.  I had flown commercial to Germany and was not at all concerned that the only return flight was on military transport.

Perfect example of ignorance is bliss.

The C-5 seating area had absolutely no windows and conversation with seat mates proved impossible over the engines’ roar.  Each passenger was handed three items: a motion sickness pill, ear plugs and a heavy blanket. Drinking water was available in a bucket, along with a metal dipper and paper cups. We were told bag lunches would be provided if the flight wasn’t too turbulent.

“C-5_4” by marksontok is licensed under CC BY 2.0

I was woefully unprepared for how austere this 13-hour flight was going to be, although my first clue should have come when I was in the boarding line and a young airmen behind me inquired, “Miss, would you like some help?”

I turned and gave him a sweet smile and a quick “no, thank you.” After all, I was an independent 19-year-old college senior who, of course, could take care of herself.

And then I got to the cargo entrance and saw the narrow, vertical ladder.

It went straight up through the belly of the cargo area and into a small opening.

I quickly searched for the kind airman, told him I’d reconsidered, handed over my belongings, and slowly began ascending the steep ladder. I doubt the airman recalled his good deed from that day, but I have never forgotten it…and the lesson it’s still teaching me 48 years later:

Photo by Linda DuBose from FreeImages

I’m inclined to hang on to baggage.

Sometimes I lug around negative emotions which steal my peace. (What, me worry?) Other times I hold on to unhealthy habits which stifle my spiritual growth. (Perfectionism, anyone?)

How about you? What’s weighing you down today? Fear of the unknown or even of what is known? Concern for  friend or family member? Maybe  a physical burden which gives way to an emotional or mental weight?

Psalm 68:19 has good news for all of us baggage carriers:
Praise be to the LORD, the God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

And Jesus offers a wonderful solution for our predicaments:
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Put My yoke on your shoulders–it might appear heavy at first,
but it is perfectly fitted to your curves.
Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.
When you are yoked to Me, your weary souls will find rest.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
–Matthew 11:28-30 The Voice Bible

What baggage are you holding on to as you face a steep climb of circumstances? I recommend you do what I continually have to do… swallow your pride and hand your burdens to Jesus. (He’s even better than a really kind airman.)
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Don’t miss  the music video  by Austin French–it’s only about 3 minutes and will help you experience “Rest for Your Soul.” (Be sure to open in your browser.)