The Perfect Lie

Almost a year and a half ago, we lost our two-year-old granddaughter in a tragic accident. (More here) I was astonished and appalled at the vehement accusations that flew toward her mom and stepdad! How could anyone be so cruel in the midst of such tragedy?

This was all brought back in the past month or so, as the parents of a 4-year-old who fell into a gorilla's enclosure and the parents of a 2-year-old who was snatched by an alligator were all lambasted publicly in their grief. Where were they, after all, when their child had such a horrific accident?

Because, of course, we parents are expected to protect our children in every situation, right?! 

That's the lie. The perfect lie. 

We are, indeed, supposed to protect our children. To provide for them. To meet their needs. But we are not supposed to make the world perfect for them. This is not a Biblical belief in any way! The Bible clearly says that we will have trouble in this world (John 16:33, Job 14:1). So we need to prepare them to meet the trouble with faith; that is our charge as Christian parents!

If we are busy trying to make life perfect for our children, or for ourselves, we are missing the boat entirely! I am not a perfect mom... and when I sin in anger toward my daughter, she knows that I ask for God's grace and for her forgiveness. When she sins, we help her ask for God's grace and for the forgiveness of the one she offended against. This is what Jesus tells us is necessary for our Salvation, not perfection!

Our society has expectations of perfection, especially in parenting. We're supposed to provide exactly the right experiences, lessons, and vacations to produce the perfect children. If a parent decides their 12-year-old is old enough to stay in the car while they work out, someone will report her and the parent will be charged with neglect. This is nonsensical! It's a lie. Life is not perfect. Parents are not perfect. 

Our job as parents is to "train up our children in the way [they] should go"(Proverbs 22:6),  to teach them how to live as Christians. And Christians aren't supposed to expect perfection from this life, we are supposed to anticipate the perfection of eternal life with Christ (Philippians 3:20).

So, step away from the Perfect Lie. Have grace and support for parents who experience tragedy, not condemnation and accusation. Stop trying to make your child's life perfect. Begin to help your child(ren) to cope with this life's imperfections faithfully, in God's grace. We are not of this world (John 15:19).

Amen.

Renegade Sheep

A few weeks ago, we were on the Navajo Reservation for a marathon (My husband runs, not me!). My daughter and I did our usual: Cheered for Dad at the start, went out for breakfast, and went back to watch the race finish.

When we came back to the finish, I parked the car on the side of the road and got out of the car to see a racing sheep within arms' reach! I had never before seen a sheep run so fast! I giggled, guffawed, and yelled for my daughter to look as the sheep sprinted away. I also grabbed my phone and caught this image:

I have laughed about this many times in the past few weeks, showing it to several of my friends. One of them said, "Oh! That's just like us, isn't it? 

Yep. Just like us.

Over and over, we run away from God. Sometimes we sprint... sometimes we meander... sometimes we follow the herd...

And we find ourselves far away from God. From our refuge and our strength. From the blessings He bestows upon us so freely.

We might end up in a relationship that doesn't glorify God (Been there. Done that.). We might find our selves deep in the mire of a sin we thought we had "conquered" long ago (Done that, too.). We might just realize that some activity, interest, or person has become an idol (Yep. That one, too.). But in every case, we find that we are far, far away from our eternal salvation.

What do we do then???

Just like the Prodigal Son, we turn back to find our Father waiting to envelop us in His loving arms. He is ready to restore us at any moment! He is there to shepherd us back to safety, to blessing, to refuge.

We return with nothing. He again gives us everything, including salvation. Praise God Almighty! Turn back. Ask Him to rescue you.

Life is waiting! His life. Eternal life.

Sowing

"In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good." Ecclesiastes 11:6

This verse holds my heart in this place. We are often called to serve here, with no knowledge of whether our work will matter or not. Making a meal for an intoxicated person does not sober them up or bring them to church on Sunday. Giving a ride to folks doesn't guarantee that they'll see it as the hand of Jesus. Planning for AWANA (our children/youth ministry) doesn't necessarily bring children and youth to the church on Monday night.

But reread Ecclesiastes 11:6: ...for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. It is not our place to convert people; that is the Holy Spirit's work. It is our place to obey Jesus: "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." Mark 16:15.

So proclaim the gospel! In all you do, from laundry to serving meals to the homeless, do all in the name of Jesus! Plant those seeds and let God Himself water them and make them grow. Reach out to the drunken wanderer; perhaps you'll sow a seed that will come to fruition years from now. Offer help to the broken; you may find out later that your words prevented a suicide.

As Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Serving the least of these is ministry. And Jesus calls the least of these his brothers. We are called to serve them, whoever they are.

Amen.

Guarantees

"There are no guarantees in life, so take advantage of the opportunities you have to love the people around you."

This statement, or one like it, is something I see frequently in my news feed... and it has some merit. We should be loving toward those around us.  And we don't have a guarantee of how many days we (or our loved ones) are allotted on this earth...

But...

But...

As Christians, we do have guarantees:

Joshua 1:5 says: "I will be with you. I will not leave or forsake you." God will always be by our side. Always. Even when a friend or family member is terminally ill or the victim of a deadly accident. Even when we are faced with tragedy or turmoil.

1 John 1:9 states: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrightousness." Confession is one piece of the bedrock of a Christian life. None of us lives sin-free; and God promises that when we confess, we are forgiven... cleansed.

A Commissioned Piece

Matthew 6:30-31 assures: "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"  God will provide for our needs.

John 14:27 reminds: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. And the peace I give isa gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." We know that when we turn to God, His peace fills our lives. Even in hard times. Even when peace seems highly unlikely. Even now, whatever now includes.

Phillipians 1:6 gives us confidence, "...that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." When we fail so miserably in living a Christian life that we are without hope, we are promised that God isn't finished with us yet! We will grow into the Christians God wants us to be; He will complete this work in us. Hallelujah!

And joyously, Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Salvation is a gift! Eternal life awaits us!

So, on days when our lives seem broken beyond repair or reason, look to God's guarantees to see the beautiful picture he is creating in our lives. It is beyond any brokenness we see or know. It is eternal and perfect!

Our hope is in Him.

Broken

Life's circumstances are sometimes just too much. I know we're supposed to cling to Jesus, pray for patience, and all that. But sometimes it's beyond me, I'm so broken by the events of the day (or month or year).

I know I'm not the only one.

I have a dear friend who is desperate to find help for her young, mentally ill son. Today she is swimming upstream yet again, seeking available treatment for him.

I prayed last night with a young child whose prayer broke my heart. This little one was praying that her mommy and daddy would stop drinking so they could take care of her.

I know three young women who are fighting for their lives against cancer. All three have small children who need them desperately... and all three are suffering greatly from chemo and other cancer treatments.

And I'm there today, too. We've had much difficulty finding medical care in this area that our insurance company would consider "in network." We thought we had it all figured out, and began to pay off the $1000+ bills we had accrued. Well, today, we received almost double that in more bills that were rejected by the insurance company.

Ugh.

Money problems are minor compared to so many issues, but today I feel defeated by these medical bills and my inability to make progress on paying them off.

So what do we do when we're too broken to cling to Jesus? When the pieces of our lives feel so very unpeaceful? When we don't have the energy or ability to pray?

We trust the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:24 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."

I don't know about you, but that is a great comfort to me. Wordless groans are about all I've got today. It's good to know that the Holy Spirit, God Himself, intercedes for us when we don't have it in us.

When we're broken, God steps in. And we can trust that.

Amen.

Seasons

To Every Thing is a special piece to my heart. I designed and built it 8-9 years ago, and then dedicated it in honor of two people who changed my life many years ago through their love and acceptance. This five foot by five foot screen is on display at Little Swan Lake Winery and Bed & Breakfast (You can find their Facebook page here) in NW Iowa. You should definitely go there and enjoy the place!

Obviously, this piece references the "seasons" Scripture in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. And the older I get, the more I understand this Scripture.

I haven't been doing much glass work in the past couple of years. I have felt guilty about it often... But not anymore!

I realize that this is a season in my life. It's a season I didn't expect to revisit, but the adoption of our granddaughter seven years ago brought this "kid-busy" season back to me for an encore. Instead of creating God-honoring stained glass, I am...

Taking kids outdoors to hike, play, fish, or throw mud at each other...




I am....

Enjoying taking kiddos to Easter Egg hunts in
30 mph winds...



I am....

Teaching science to eight homeschooled kids, then watching them play outside (or inside) without any structure...


I am...

Making memories with our daughter: visiting art museums, feeding pigeons (while checking out their cool orange button eyes, so well described in the book Wringer), and watching the hippos open their mouths so wide you could drive a car inside!!!



This is what God has called me to do in this season of my life. Through my entire life, He has prepared me for this, and best of all: His yoke is easy and His burden light. I love this season!!!

I am still creating glass pieces; selling them pays for our homeschool curricula! But my primary call in this season is different than it was just a few years ago.

I am blessed.

A Little Lost

Have you ever felt a little lost?  Of course you have! I believe that we all feel a little lost once in a while. It happens when our circumstances suddenly change, especially for the worse. Or when we've been in a busy season of life and that "big event" is over... leaving us wondering what to do today.

Whatever the reason, I think we've all been there, done that.

A little lost. 

It's easy to try to fill that time, cover those feelings, with busy-ness. Clean the house. Run errands. Go on a trip. Escape into a movie or a game.

And when that distraction is over, we can hope the lost feeling is gone, too. 

Or we can turn to our True Hope. Even when we're only a little lost, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Instead of running errands, run to Him! Turn to the cross and find your way.

This piece is framed in a vintage window frame. It is 17x28". The price is $225.00, plus tax and shipping (if needed).

So, the next time you're feeling a little lost, try reading your Bible, try talking to a Christian friend about your feelings, try praying. Only God can fill that empty place in your heart... in your life. He has already found us!!!

Praise God!