I’ve been on vacation, spending time with family, relaxing, reading, forgetting what it is like to wake up to an alarm clock.

So nice.

But tomorrow it ends, and I’ll start the journey home, and all the realities of everyday life that I left behind a few weeks ago will be back in the forefront.  And I’ll think about how great vacations are, and how nice it is to escape.   It made me think of this entry I first posted last summer.  It was good for me to read it again. Maybe you’ll need it at this time of year, too…

Have you ever wanted to just…escape?

I have.  Lots of times.  I’ve wanted to escape…run…hide…leave…delay…avoid.

One morning on my way into work, I actually seriously considered what it would be like to keep driving and turn towards the Interstate instead of staying straight on the road into downtown.   I didn’t do it.  I went to work like I do every other day.  And of course in hindsight, whatever it was I wanted to escape from or avoid was probably not all that bad.  It appears I survived.

But those thoughts creep into our minds every once in a while when life becomes difficult.  We think it would be so much better to just get away from it all instead of having to face the problem or the person or the circumstance or the challenge.

Seems we’re not alone.  Even King David – you know, the one who as a boy faced down a certain giant with only a sling and some stones – said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.  Indeed, I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.  I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.” (Psalm 55:6-8)

Wings would come in handy sometimes.

But God didn’t make us with wings, so I’m thinking that He created us for something other than flying away.  I’m thinking that He created us to face down the giants instead of looking for the escape route.

So the next time the temptation to run away starts stirring in my heart, I’ll stay put and face whatever it is I need to face.

And I know I won’t be alone.

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.   Deuteronomy 13:6

Fear not,  for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.               Isaiah 41:10

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?     Psalm 139:7

Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD. Jeremiah 23:24

Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”                 Genesis 16:13

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:13

From my summer reading:

Faith’s most severe tests come not when we see nothing, but when we see a stunning array of evidence that seems to prove our faith in vain.

from the book “These Strange Ashes”, by Elisabeth Elliot

 

So good to be reminded that in spite of those “stunning arrays of evidence” that Satan loves to parade out in front of us, things are not always what they appear to be!

Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls– Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.       Psalm 46: 2-3

And He said unto them, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. Matthew 8:26

 

 

An awful lot of things had to happen for us to be exactly where we were at exactly the time we were there.

Colonial Williamsburg, the John Greenhow gift store entrance, 3:50 pm, on a hot Sunday afternoon in June.

My sister and I decided to stop in historic Williamsburg, Virginia on our drive up to New Jersey from Florida.  We had already spent the whole day there, going in and out of buildings, taking tours, listening to presentations. We had planned on waiting to see a Revolutionary War re-enactment of some kind, but it was 93 degrees and we were hot and cranky. So we decided to go into the much-recommended wig-making store instead, but a tour group got in line before us and that hot and cranky thing started again.  Then we remembered about going all the way back to a gift shop we had seen earlier in the day at the other end of the town, but stopped outside of it for a few minutes to take pictures of a horse and carriage.

And then I heard a familiar voice call, “Sharon!”.

I was just about through the door of the gift store entrance and whipped my head around to see my best friend and former roommate standing there on the brick sidewalk with her hands on her hips and a “What in the world are YOU doing here?” look on her face.

She got married and moved to Alabama last year, and I haven’t seen her since last summer. I had no idea she had plans to visit Williamsburg, Virginia, on Sunday afternoon, June 10th.  And she had no idea about my plans to be 900 miles from my home on that day, either.

Coincidence?

Some people might think so.  But I think God had this unexpected reunion planned the whole time.  And He nudged us to think about leaving the park earlier than expected, and He allowed the line at the wig store to get too long, and He put those horses there so I’d delay going into the gift store by a few minutes.  If any of those things hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have been where I was at 3:50pm and Deb and her husband would have walked on by, oblivious to my presence just a few feet away.

God knew ahead of time about the lovely dinner we’d spend together catching up and remembering great times from our past (because my sister and I didn’t make the dinner reservations we originally thought about making. Coincidence?).

God knew we needed that time.  He turned hot and cranky into joy and laughter and a reunion we probably couldn’t have planned that well if we had tried.

It reminded me of how many things God must be doing behind the scenes in our lives sometimes to get us exactly where He wants us to be.  There are so many details and situations that seem so random to us, but are so planned by Him in order to line things up so that His will for us can unfold.

Sometimes random, coincidental things do happen.  But sometimes things happen that have God’s hand all over them.  Things that make us smile and look up with grateful hearts.

I’m glad God is in control of my “random coincidences”.  I’ll have to remember that the next time I’m hot and cranky.

Many, O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done.                  Psalm 40:5

“For my thought are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways”, says the Lord.  Isaiah 55:8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.  Psalm 32:8

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.                       Proverbs 3:6

 

Even Jesus needed to get away by Himself sometimes.

“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed”.  (Mark 1:35)

The day before had been demanding.  Jesus had taught in the synagogue, cast an unclean spirit out of a man, and healed Simon’s mother in law.  And it wasn’t over yet.  After the sun went down, “all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed” were brought to Him.  The scripture even says, “And the whole city was gathered at the door”. 

That’s a lot of people.  That’s a lot of demands.  Sounds exhausting.

Maybe that’s why Jesus needed to get away by Himself the next morning.  I’m glad we have His example.  When those days full of demands and responsibilities and needs overwhelm us, Jesus shows us how to get our perspective back.

Get away.  Get alone with God.  Pray.

His time alone didn’t last long, though. Sound familiar?  His disciples searched until they found Him and instead of saying, “How was your time away?  We know you needed it”, they bombarded Him with “Everyone has been looking for you!”. 

But He had been alone with God long enough to have been refreshed and energized.  He responded, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth”. (Mark 1:38)

I love that the scripture tells us what His time away was all about. That short time alone had given Him focus.  He knew what He was called to do. Sometimes we get vacations or retreats.  Sometimes we just get a few minutes.  But we need to get away.  Block out the demands and distractions, get alone with God, and get our purpose and perspective and energy back.

I hope you can get away today.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.  Psalm 5:3

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,  Philippians 2:5

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  Matthew 6:6

Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.  Psalm 55:17

 

I’ve never posted a picture on this blog.

I guess there was a part of me that just wanted the words to speak for themselves without trying to make you picture something. But this entry is different.  It’s all about a picture.

There’s my Mom.  It was her birthday.  And there’s me to her left, my brother, his wife and son next to me.  And then there’s my older sister on the other side of Mom, and my younger sister and her husband next to her.  And four more nephews (and their dog) out in front.

And we’re all smiling.  And that’s why I love the picture.

We’re smiling in spite of the obvious.  We’re smiling in spite of the fact that someone is missing from the family picture this year.  We’re smiling because in spite of that, we’re still a family. We still have joy.

We still have hope.

Joy does come in the morning.  God promises us that.  But sometimes it takes a picture to see that it’s really, really true.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.  Psalm 30:5

Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  John 16:22

 For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.  Psalm 36:9

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Psalm 51:12

(originally posted on 4/7/10 – some life lessons are good to review!)

The water looked weird.  I couldn’t put my finger on what was happening, but something odd was going on.

One of the enormous benefits of living where I do is having access to the beautiful Intracoastal Waterway – on my lunch hour no less.  I had walked down to the water to get away in the middle of a workday for some solitude and thinking time.  There was a lot on my mind.  I felt restless.

And apparently, so did the water.

Usually the Intracoastal current is moving one way or the other, following the tides.  But on this day, it actually looked restless, like it didn’t know which direction it wanted to go in.  It wasn’t going in, it wasn’t going out.  Just swirling around in the middle.  And then it hit me.  I was witnessing the exact moment when the tide was about to change.  A few minutes later, the water started moving in one specific direction.  It seemed relieved.

And so was I.

I realized that I had been feeling that way too, not knowing which way to go, which choice to make.  I was unsettled and frustrated.  But watching the water reminded me that restlessness can be OK, and that the change will come when the time is right.

Sometimes we feel restless, with no idea what God is up to.  But it just may be that He’s about to turn the tide for us.  I had to be patient long enough to see the tide turn that day on the Intracoastal Waterway.  And I need to be just as patient about things in my own life, too.

Yes, the tide may be just about to turn.

He calms the storm, so that its waves are still.  Then they are glad because they are quiet;  So He guides them to their desired haven.  Psalm 107:29-30.

Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes:  1 Samuel 12:16

Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!  Psalm 27:14

I just finished reading someone else’s diary.

Well, it was really called a journal, and it wasn’t like I was snooping.  Although it felt like it at times.

This is the second time I’ve read through The Journals of Jim Elliot, a lengthy (480 pages!) compilation of personal entries starting in his college years.  His widow, Elisabeth, published it some 46 years after his death at the hands of Auca Indians.

He wrote about things he learned in his quiet times and Bible classes.  He wrote of his struggle about whether or not to marry Elisabeth.  He wrote about his passion for God and his feelings of inadequacy.  He wrote about his love for the people of Ecuador.  It was all very intense and honest.

Of course it was intense and honest.  It was his journal.

He might not have intended for anyone else to read it, much less have it become so public, but there is something fascinating and moving about reading someone’s thoughts and words when you know how his story ended.  You can see the thread God was weaving in his life and see that even random musings and events had a purpose and a part in what God was ultimately going to require of him.

It made me think about the things that happen in my life. And while I don’t journal everything, I do try to write down the things God is showing me, the things I don’t understand, the things I’m passionate about.  And I do like to go back and read my past entries and see them in light of what God is doing and what requiring of me today.

Tolstoy, I believe, once wrote that between the lines of what we write in a journal is the outline of our future. (Gordon T. Smith) 

I’m glad I journal.  But don’t bet on them getting published someday.  I don’t think I want to be that transparent to the public.  Yet if I can look back over my notebooks and papers and recorded thoughts and share with others how God has indeed been orchestrating an amazing story in my life, I’ll have a glimpse of the plan.

Because as I’ve said so many times before, God always has a plan.

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.    Genesis 50:20

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28

And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.     Deuteronomy 8:2

That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.   1 Peter 1:7

110 days since my Dad went home to be with the Lord.

I hadn’t really thought too much about how many days it had been until I was sitting at my desk the other day and heard a beautiful solo piano arrangement of the old hymn, “Day by Day” playing on the radio.

I went in search of the words, and in the process, I found out that the hymn writer and I have some things in common.

Karolina Sandell-Berg was Swedish.  I’m half Swedish.  Her father was a preacher.  So was mine.  Her father died unexpectedly.  Mine, too.  In spite of tragedy and overwhelming loss, she learned that God was wise and kind and merciful and trustworthy.

I can’t write hymns to express it like she did.  But I’ve learned those same things. Some of the past 110 days have been more difficult than others.  But God is still wise and kind and merciful and trustworthy…on all the days…and with each passing moment…

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Pow’r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

“Day by Day” by Karolina W. Sandell-Berg, 1865

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  2 Corinthians 4:16

Give us day by day our daily bread.  Luke 11:3

From the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD’s name is to be praised.  Psalm 113:3

So did you see the “super moon” this past weekend?

It was due to be a full moon anyway, but combined with the fact that its orbit brought it closer to earth this time, it was amazing.  It even woke me up in the middle of the night.  It was so bright, it looked like a spotlight was aimed at my bed. 

Loved it.  God put on a show for us, and it was spectacular.

If it came up every night like that, we wouldn’t be impressed.  Another night.  Another sky.  But every once in a while, God does something out of the ordinary to remind us of His power, His glory, and His presence.

Sometimes in the middle of our dark times – our night seasons – God will choose to do something amazing and surprising.  Something that will actually make us appreciate the night because it makes His glory so much more, well, glorious.

Maybe you’ve resigned yourself to ordinary nights.  Maybe you think your dark time will never have anything glorious about it.  But wait, and look up.

God just might do something…spectacular.

 

 

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?  Psalm 8:3-4

Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!  Psalm 148:3

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.  Genesis 1:3

Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. Isaiah 60:20

 

In the midst of all the daily demands and duties, surely our hearts tell us something that is true: each of us has a unique calling and responsibility, something that in the long run is greater than the daily tasks that confront us – not in the sense that these tasks are not important, but rather in the sense that there is a thread, an underlying purpose and work that represents the way God has invited us to make a difference in the world.

From “Courage and Calling: Embracing Your God-given Potential” by Gordon T. Smith (IVP Books, 2011)

 

I’ve been looking for that thread lately.

Opportunites have been presented.  Forks in my road have appeared.  Lots of time spent on wondering about my life and my callings and my gifts and my responsibilities. But fortunately, I think God has gotten used to the never-ceasing activity of questions and thoughts that constantly swirl around in my head.

The good thing is that I know God will fulfill the purpose He has for my life if I keep listening and seeking and surrendering.  It’s not something that should cause me anxiety or restlessness or worry.  In reality, it should make me excited, wondering what He’s going to do next.

It may be only a thread, but I’m sure it’s there.  And I’m going to keep looking for it.

 

The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.  Psalm 138:8

This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.                          Isaiah 43:21

Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him. Isaiah 43:7

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Philippians 1:6