When I was young, I wanted it all. All. Not that I really knew what that meant, but I knew I wanted it anyway. I wanted my education, I wanted nice clothes, a nice car, a wonderful man, a house, a career, children. Oh, yes, I wanted it all, and I was convinced that I could have it all too. When I didn't get what I thought I deserved, I would cry and ask God, "why"? Why did others seem to have it all, while I struggled? At different times in my life, I whined to the Lord about whatever I thought I was missing, or about how unfair it was that someone else had what I wanted.
As I matured, the whining lessened, and my relationship with the Lord became much stronger. I questioned Him less and less, and accepted the life I was given, albeit not always joyfully. But somewhere in these last ten years, probably while I was still in the desert of my life, I learned a great lesson. I look back now on the five years I spent living in a physical desert in El Paso, and remember the Spiritual desert I crossed, and the emotional desert I experienced while my husband served our country, in Korea, for two years without me. It was such a difficult time, and at first, I moaned and complained to the Lord daily. Maybe hourly would be more accurate. I am sure He was sick to death of hearing my whiny voice asking for the same things over and over again. I thinks somewhere in the middle of year two alone, which would have actually been year four in the desert, I began to understand. God was teaching me to trust Him, to rely on Him, to seek Him, to find comfort, joy, love, and companionship in Him. He knew that I needed to learn that He has it ALL. Everything I need or want, I can find in Him. I had been so busy focusing on the material world around me, I was missing the spiritual blessing He had in store for me. Those were hard years, and I do not care to repeat them, but I am thankful for a loving God, who used my circumstances to teach me to trust and rely on him totally for my ALL.
Today, I know already have it ALL, and that I have had access to it ALL from the very first time I accepted Christ. I am the daughter of the King, not a king, but THE KING! That makes me a very special princess, and my Father loves me unconditionally. He gives me unlimited access to His throne, to his love, to his limitless riches. The Bible says God owns the sheep on a thousand hills, meaning everything is His, and since I am an heir to His riches, it is all mine, too. I know now that my ALL has nothing to do with material wealth, or physical comfort, but with the much more important Spiritual riches that are everlasting. I crave those riches, love, peace, kindness, patience, faith, joy, hope, and so on. I hunger for my time with my Father, the King, because He always gives me of these riches in abundance. My cup is truly filled, pressed down, and running over. I do have it all, ALL, ALL, and I am so humbled by this and so thankful for it.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Loving the Unlovable
In every life, there is at least one person who is difficult to love. I recognized this first as a child, when I had a relative who was an overbearing man, and hard to love. He was a smoker and a drinker, something I disliked, and he made me uncomfortable. It was not only me who was uncomfortable either, but also my siblings and even the other adults who knew him. As I got older, I realized that the Lord always places those difficult to love people in our path. I used to believe that it was so that we could shine our lights for them, but I have come to learn that it is really for us, to soften us and to make us more Christ like, because Jesus truly loved the unlovable in society.
As believers, Christ calls us to love. I John 3:18 says, "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." With actions and in truth. Humph. That means I have to do something and that I have to stay true to who I claim to be. That is a hard call, because it is much easier to think our "goodness" is a light for those poor lost souls around us. The truth is, that with that attitude, I am living in sin, this sin of pride. I have no claim to goodness, and no reason to be proud. I am just like my overbearing relative if I think I am better than others or that, in myself, I know goodness. I only know goodness because of the Grace of God, through Christ. That should make me humble, not proud. And a humble person realizes her lost and sad condition, the Grace that saved her in the midst of that condition, and then desires to serve others out of that humility, not because she is better, but because she too should still be lost.
As followers of Christ, he reminds us in the Beattitudes, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:43-45. He reminds us that we get rain too, that we are not exempt from the pain and sin of this world, only forgiven. As his followers, we are to love our enemies, even those who persecute us, so that we may be children of our Father in heaven. But oh, how can I do this? It is so difficult to love that annoying person, but even more difficult to love the one who attacks us. I know. I have experienced this, and I wanted to hold a grudge against the person who caused me so much trouble. However, within me resides the Holy Spirit, and He convicts me of that sin of holding on to wrong doing against me. He propels me to action and to forgiveness, even when I try to ignore the Spirit within me. He gently nudges, or loudly shouts, until I listen and move toward the Godly behavior of reconciliation or forgiveness. That doesn't mean I have to be best buds with that person, just that I must act as Christ calls me to act. Loving an unlovable person is not easy, and in my own strength, I cannot do it. That is just the time God's abundant Grace takes over and I see myself for what I really am, not any better than the person who has hurt me. It takes time, but forgiveness comes, through Christ not through me.
Christ calls us to love our neighbors, to love our enemies, and to love our brothers. Brothers are other believers. I have known a few unlovable believers, too. Well, not exactly unlovable, but difficult to love. You know, the folks who can never be wrong, who judge others, or spread ugly rumors in the church. The ones who seem to enjoy stirring up trouble. These are difficult people to love sometimes, and I catch myself questioning their motives and their faith. Watch out! That is dangerous ground, because I am setting myself up as the judge of my brother. Only God can judge our hearts. We can look at the actions of our brothers and sisters and see that an action is not Godly, then we can, IN LOVE and in private, speak gently to that person after much prayer, but we cannot judge his or her heart. God calls each of us into His body, the Church, for a purpose, even those unlovable folks, and it is our job to love them as Christ would love them. This is our witness to the world, Jesus says in John 13:34-35, 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” If we want the world to know we are His disciples, then we must love each other in a supernatural way, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, what does that mean? I have to love with actions and in truth, and in a supernatural way? Wow! How can I possibly do this? The answer is, I cannot. Only Christ can do this through me when I am submitted to him and living in His Spirit. Oh, how I fail at this! Each day, I am trying to love through my actions, to be truthful to who I am called to be and to what I say I believe, but when I encounter that unlovable person, I often respond in my flesh instead of seeing the person through Christ's eyes. I believe this is why Jesus tells us the way is narrow and few will follow it. We have a hard time "dying to self" and letting Christ lead us in His righteous path, all the while remembering that we do not deserve this great love and salvation He gives us. Each day, I have to focus on Him and allow my selfish self to be "crucified" so that I can live in the new self of Christ within me. And I do not do this well each day. But, I am working on it. I am trying to submit to what Christ would have me be, and when I fail, the Holy Spirit never fails to reveal that to me so that I can be broken for my failure, ask forgiveness with a contrite attitude, and try again. I pray that Christ continues to show me how to love the unlovable, how to forgive the unforgivable, and how to become more like Him everyday. As He places these people in my life, I know he is refining me, teaching me, and that it is all about fixing me, and not at all about me fixing them. Christ already loves them, just the way they are, and thankfully, He loves me just as I am too.
As believers, Christ calls us to love. I John 3:18 says, "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." With actions and in truth. Humph. That means I have to do something and that I have to stay true to who I claim to be. That is a hard call, because it is much easier to think our "goodness" is a light for those poor lost souls around us. The truth is, that with that attitude, I am living in sin, this sin of pride. I have no claim to goodness, and no reason to be proud. I am just like my overbearing relative if I think I am better than others or that, in myself, I know goodness. I only know goodness because of the Grace of God, through Christ. That should make me humble, not proud. And a humble person realizes her lost and sad condition, the Grace that saved her in the midst of that condition, and then desires to serve others out of that humility, not because she is better, but because she too should still be lost.
As followers of Christ, he reminds us in the Beattitudes, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:43-45. He reminds us that we get rain too, that we are not exempt from the pain and sin of this world, only forgiven. As his followers, we are to love our enemies, even those who persecute us, so that we may be children of our Father in heaven. But oh, how can I do this? It is so difficult to love that annoying person, but even more difficult to love the one who attacks us. I know. I have experienced this, and I wanted to hold a grudge against the person who caused me so much trouble. However, within me resides the Holy Spirit, and He convicts me of that sin of holding on to wrong doing against me. He propels me to action and to forgiveness, even when I try to ignore the Spirit within me. He gently nudges, or loudly shouts, until I listen and move toward the Godly behavior of reconciliation or forgiveness. That doesn't mean I have to be best buds with that person, just that I must act as Christ calls me to act. Loving an unlovable person is not easy, and in my own strength, I cannot do it. That is just the time God's abundant Grace takes over and I see myself for what I really am, not any better than the person who has hurt me. It takes time, but forgiveness comes, through Christ not through me.
Christ calls us to love our neighbors, to love our enemies, and to love our brothers. Brothers are other believers. I have known a few unlovable believers, too. Well, not exactly unlovable, but difficult to love. You know, the folks who can never be wrong, who judge others, or spread ugly rumors in the church. The ones who seem to enjoy stirring up trouble. These are difficult people to love sometimes, and I catch myself questioning their motives and their faith. Watch out! That is dangerous ground, because I am setting myself up as the judge of my brother. Only God can judge our hearts. We can look at the actions of our brothers and sisters and see that an action is not Godly, then we can, IN LOVE and in private, speak gently to that person after much prayer, but we cannot judge his or her heart. God calls each of us into His body, the Church, for a purpose, even those unlovable folks, and it is our job to love them as Christ would love them. This is our witness to the world, Jesus says in John 13:34-35, 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” If we want the world to know we are His disciples, then we must love each other in a supernatural way, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, what does that mean? I have to love with actions and in truth, and in a supernatural way? Wow! How can I possibly do this? The answer is, I cannot. Only Christ can do this through me when I am submitted to him and living in His Spirit. Oh, how I fail at this! Each day, I am trying to love through my actions, to be truthful to who I am called to be and to what I say I believe, but when I encounter that unlovable person, I often respond in my flesh instead of seeing the person through Christ's eyes. I believe this is why Jesus tells us the way is narrow and few will follow it. We have a hard time "dying to self" and letting Christ lead us in His righteous path, all the while remembering that we do not deserve this great love and salvation He gives us. Each day, I have to focus on Him and allow my selfish self to be "crucified" so that I can live in the new self of Christ within me. And I do not do this well each day. But, I am working on it. I am trying to submit to what Christ would have me be, and when I fail, the Holy Spirit never fails to reveal that to me so that I can be broken for my failure, ask forgiveness with a contrite attitude, and try again. I pray that Christ continues to show me how to love the unlovable, how to forgive the unforgivable, and how to become more like Him everyday. As He places these people in my life, I know he is refining me, teaching me, and that it is all about fixing me, and not at all about me fixing them. Christ already loves them, just the way they are, and thankfully, He loves me just as I am too.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Church Lady Mafia
I am writing this for my dear friend, who will remain nameless. Well, maybe I need to give her a name, to eliminate confusion, so I shall call her Samantha and her husband will be Steve, not their real names, to avoid any embarrassment.
I am a part of a group known as PWOC, an acronym for Protestant Women of the Chapel. I have been a member of this group for nearly 20 years, and have held board positions in the past. I became acquainted with PWOC in Italy, during our first tour here years ago. For those of you who have never been a part of the military, each post or base has a chapel that serves all denominations and religions. There are usually three or four different Protestant services, but one PWOC group that draws all the women together for Bible Study, fun, and fellowship. It is a highly organized group, with levels of authority, and a structure that goes from the local chapel to the area to the region. For example, the local Vicenza PWOC, the area Mediterranean PWOC, and the region, European PWOC. There are offices at each level, voted on by the women.
Well, my friend, Samantha, has been involved in PWOC as long as I have, and has held offices at several of the levels. She is a dynamic speaker, has a heart for the Lord, and is always helping and nurturing others. Her husband, Steve, has been very supportive of her activities in PWOC, and he knows the value of the ministry, but he jokingly refers to us as the "Church Lady Mafia." This upsets Samantha, and I know she would like him to stop. She worries that others will have a negative view of PWOC if it is referred to in this irreverent manner. I, however, think Steve is very funny and know that his teasing has a bit of truth to it. In fact, I think it is a compliment. He recognizes how highly structured we are and that, because of this, we get things done.
Really, if you want a job done right, and sometimes quickly, the Mafia is just the group to do it. Ok, so the jobs they do are illegal and immoral, and definitely not the same as the ones we do in PWOC, but they are a highly structured organization, with tentacles that reach far into the communities in which they operate, they are in the know about what is going on, and they take care of business. That describes PWOC to a tee. We have a boss who is in charge; his name is Jesus Christ or Abba Father, and we have servants who have been called and chosen to act as his representatives in our communities. We work together for the good of the Church, minister to others, and provide for needs as they become known. We reach out to lost women and children and teach them of the love of Christ. We disciple them and train them to take on their own leadership positions. And, when someone needs prayer, our phone lines and computer are burning up, not with gossipy, sordid details of someone else's life, but with minimal information and lots of concern. In many cases, we think of our communities as family, and we try to keep the family together and growing. Doesn't that sound like the Mafia to you?
Just what does the "Church Lady Mafia" do? First and foremost, our ministry is to the women in the Chapel and the community. We provide Bible studies for women hungry for the Word, and we reach out to women who are looking for friendship and companionship in a place that is unfamiliar. We care for the young wife whose husband has been deployed to a war zone, calling her to see how she is doing or what she needs. We direct her to services provided through the Chapel, such as the men's group that does minor automobile repairs, or the MOPS group if she has young children, or AWANA and Club Beyond for the spiritual education of her children. We pick her up and take her places, such as shopping in Nove, a highly important activity while in Vicenza, showing her all the coolest places to shop, especially on a budget. We also provide support when she is expecting a child, and sometimes one of us will stand in when the husband cannot be at the delivery of his child. We provide meals and child care for those who are sick and injured, or who have just had a baby. We help each other move in and out, we cry together over sad events, we celebrate birthdays, holidays, promotions, graduations, and other important events. We direct women to other sources of spiritual and community support when needed. We provide food for Memorial services and stand by our sisters and brothers when there has been a loss. And we pray without ceasing for our families, for each other, for our Chapel, for our Community, and for our country. In short, we become one another's family. This is the basis for true spiritual community, which we are desperately trying to develop. We love, as Christ loves, when we do this well.
Obviously, we do this so well, that Steve knows who to call on for help or information when he needs it. He just calls on the "Church Lady Mafia," because he knows they get things done, done right, and done quickly. While he is teasing us, he is also admiring in us women something that the men lack. They do not love Christ any less, but they do not have the relationships that we women have, nor the organizational structure that says, when you need a meal you call Becky, or when you want a prayer warrior, you call Laura, or when you need child care, you call Patty, and Samantha knows everything about the local area, so if you need to know anything about Vicenza, you call Samantha. He is really in awe of what the ladies of PWOC are able to accomplish through Christ. So, Samantha, when you read this, please hug Steve and thank him for dubbing us "The Family" aka the "Church Lady Mafia!"
I am a part of a group known as PWOC, an acronym for Protestant Women of the Chapel. I have been a member of this group for nearly 20 years, and have held board positions in the past. I became acquainted with PWOC in Italy, during our first tour here years ago. For those of you who have never been a part of the military, each post or base has a chapel that serves all denominations and religions. There are usually three or four different Protestant services, but one PWOC group that draws all the women together for Bible Study, fun, and fellowship. It is a highly organized group, with levels of authority, and a structure that goes from the local chapel to the area to the region. For example, the local Vicenza PWOC, the area Mediterranean PWOC, and the region, European PWOC. There are offices at each level, voted on by the women.
Well, my friend, Samantha, has been involved in PWOC as long as I have, and has held offices at several of the levels. She is a dynamic speaker, has a heart for the Lord, and is always helping and nurturing others. Her husband, Steve, has been very supportive of her activities in PWOC, and he knows the value of the ministry, but he jokingly refers to us as the "Church Lady Mafia." This upsets Samantha, and I know she would like him to stop. She worries that others will have a negative view of PWOC if it is referred to in this irreverent manner. I, however, think Steve is very funny and know that his teasing has a bit of truth to it. In fact, I think it is a compliment. He recognizes how highly structured we are and that, because of this, we get things done.
Really, if you want a job done right, and sometimes quickly, the Mafia is just the group to do it. Ok, so the jobs they do are illegal and immoral, and definitely not the same as the ones we do in PWOC, but they are a highly structured organization, with tentacles that reach far into the communities in which they operate, they are in the know about what is going on, and they take care of business. That describes PWOC to a tee. We have a boss who is in charge; his name is Jesus Christ or Abba Father, and we have servants who have been called and chosen to act as his representatives in our communities. We work together for the good of the Church, minister to others, and provide for needs as they become known. We reach out to lost women and children and teach them of the love of Christ. We disciple them and train them to take on their own leadership positions. And, when someone needs prayer, our phone lines and computer are burning up, not with gossipy, sordid details of someone else's life, but with minimal information and lots of concern. In many cases, we think of our communities as family, and we try to keep the family together and growing. Doesn't that sound like the Mafia to you?
Just what does the "Church Lady Mafia" do? First and foremost, our ministry is to the women in the Chapel and the community. We provide Bible studies for women hungry for the Word, and we reach out to women who are looking for friendship and companionship in a place that is unfamiliar. We care for the young wife whose husband has been deployed to a war zone, calling her to see how she is doing or what she needs. We direct her to services provided through the Chapel, such as the men's group that does minor automobile repairs, or the MOPS group if she has young children, or AWANA and Club Beyond for the spiritual education of her children. We pick her up and take her places, such as shopping in Nove, a highly important activity while in Vicenza, showing her all the coolest places to shop, especially on a budget. We also provide support when she is expecting a child, and sometimes one of us will stand in when the husband cannot be at the delivery of his child. We provide meals and child care for those who are sick and injured, or who have just had a baby. We help each other move in and out, we cry together over sad events, we celebrate birthdays, holidays, promotions, graduations, and other important events. We direct women to other sources of spiritual and community support when needed. We provide food for Memorial services and stand by our sisters and brothers when there has been a loss. And we pray without ceasing for our families, for each other, for our Chapel, for our Community, and for our country. In short, we become one another's family. This is the basis for true spiritual community, which we are desperately trying to develop. We love, as Christ loves, when we do this well.
Obviously, we do this so well, that Steve knows who to call on for help or information when he needs it. He just calls on the "Church Lady Mafia," because he knows they get things done, done right, and done quickly. While he is teasing us, he is also admiring in us women something that the men lack. They do not love Christ any less, but they do not have the relationships that we women have, nor the organizational structure that says, when you need a meal you call Becky, or when you want a prayer warrior, you call Laura, or when you need child care, you call Patty, and Samantha knows everything about the local area, so if you need to know anything about Vicenza, you call Samantha. He is really in awe of what the ladies of PWOC are able to accomplish through Christ. So, Samantha, when you read this, please hug Steve and thank him for dubbing us "The Family" aka the "Church Lady Mafia!"
My First Post
I have been thinking of starting a blog for some time now, but just haven't made time to write. IF you know me well, then you know I love words, both written and spoken, and love to share ideas. This will become, I hope, a place of self-expression about a myriad of topics, some spiritual, some political, some social, and some just fun. Join me if you like, read along, and comment. My basic philosophy is that we do not have to agree on everything, that discussion and conversation, even spirited, is good, and that we can agree to disagree sometimes and still be friends. So, come reason with me.....
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