Gliding

"He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way." Psalm 25:9

When I found out I was going to be a grandmother, I began almost immediately to anticipate the joy of introducing books to my grandchildren and spending hours on end reading to them as I had with my own man children when they were growing up. It has always been a favorite memory. 

However, God seems to move mysteriously inside of these commonplace hopes of mine, guiding them as He does all of our ordinary routines, creating life and light, not in the loud moments of this existence, but in the soft and the simple. 

Jonah and I have indeed read countless books together, and we have both enjoyed the time shared. But as I ponder over the memory, the impact of the moment was not found so much through the reading of books, but through the continuous, rhythmic rocking of life. 

This grandma has put some miles on a rocker, except it isn't actually a rocker we've journeyed within, even though I still refer to it as that. The old nursery rocking chair at some point in recent history was replaced by the padded, unimaginably comfortable glider. 

And we've glided to the moon and back. It started the day Jonah came home from the hospital as a newborn, and continued throughout each visit as, Grandma Lucy, his maternal grandmother and I alternated grandbaby duties on the weekends. Seriously, Josh will probably bury me in that glider. 

Oh we've read many books in the glider, his baby Bible, the entire Little Blue Truck series, various library books, but that's just the beginning. Sometimes we sing songs or look at photos or play a word game. 

Many times we glide and talk about things, the solar system and the phases of the moon, tractors and bulldozers, and wild animals, and what it was like when Gigi was a little girl. 

At times we just glide in silence, holding our blankets. 

After Meadow was born, Jonah was still small enough that both of them could sit on my lap. Sometimes Jonah would hold Meadow's bottle for her while I read a book or we watched Pops on a video call working at the farm. As Meadow began to grow bigger, Jonah eventually slid down into the seat beside me. For now, we both still fit. 

The two siblings have learned to share toys, attention, and lap space in that glider while I've learned the verses to my favorite hymns. Countless lullabies have hummed two little sleepyheads slowly into dreamland in perfect sync with a simple, comfortable, Target glider.  

As the family has grown and now moved into their first house, I was excited to discover that Josh had purchased a front porch swing with ample room for two generations to continue their conversations and singing, their growing and gliding. 

It's a mistake to think influencing our young ones comes only from strenuous endeavors, complicated disciplines or extravagant means. 

"All these things my hand has made, and so all of these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look; to him who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." ( Isaiah 66:2 ) 

All through the Bible, narrative after narrative, we see a pattern of God using the broken, the simple, the unloved, the youngest, the oldest, and the humble to fulfill his purposes, to advance his Kingdom. Even the Holy One came into this broken existence in the humblest of ways as a vulnerable infant, leading the humblest, but greatest, most perfect life possible. 

The moments that nurture a gentle and compassionate heart, one that reflects our Lord Jesus, are contained inside of the ordinary events with the majestic power to turn the humble into the holy. I can't help but believe that these are the moments that matter the most, not the pricy, stressful celebrations or the endless gadgets and designer wares.  

No, faith awakens in the heart of a young child listening to the unwavering lyrics of powerful hymns steeped in the ancient, biblical stories of God's rich, flowing grace. It is cultivated and stirred in the loving arms of grandparents who never tire of innocent questions or sour milk stains or soundless times of reflection spent in the unbroken rhythms of a commonplace day.

We are encouraged to be faithful in the small things so we can be given more. May we have eyes to see today that the little is the more.  

Something whispers to me that where ever life finds us as we begin each new morning, in our familiar, usual places, our gliders, we must create yet another habit: Keeping in mind until it settles in our hearts that it is the seemingly insignificant, simple, and ordinary that bring about the extraordinary impacts. May this truth come joyfully home to us as we glide along through the humble moments of life.  

Happy Monday! 💜

 

I decided this year to recommend books, podcasts, ministries, apps, devotionals, etc... at the end of my blog that have influenced me and helped me grow spiritually. Please feel free to comment yours. I'd love to know. 

Today's pick: The Everyday Kingdom, Preston D. Junkin, "explores the theological foundations and the practical challenges of living an authentic Christian life in the real world." Found on Amazon. 

Only in God can we suffer truly strong

"'My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.' ( Proverbs 3:11-12 ) 

'The world is riddled with evils, mysteries, and troubles, beyond human grasping and fixing.' The mark of wisdom is to be ready for suffering.  If you aren't, you aren't competent with regard to the realities of life. But suffering is also a discipline for growth in wisdom. It can drive you toward God into greater love and strength or away from him into hardness of heart." ( 1 ) 

I read and meditated on those words this week from Dr. Tim Keller's daily devotional from the Book of Proverbs.  

"The world is riddled with evils, mysteries, and troubles, beyond human grasping and fixing." Isn't that the gospel truth? 

But it doesn't mean that any of it has caught God off guard or that he isn't using all of it in his sovereign plan. 

We can not live under the delusion that God doesn't allow his children to suffer. Yes, there was a time when mankind didn't suffer - back in Eden, but we ruined that arrangement. ( Genesis 3 ) All we have to do to understand this truth is open our eyes and look around at the chaos and confer with the Scriptures: 

Jesus told us in John 16:33 that in this world we will have trouble, but to be of good cheer because in Him we can have peace in the midst of it because he has overcome the world. One day he promises in Revelation that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, that he will wipe away every tear, and make all things new. ( Revelation 21: 1-7 ) 

But in the "mean" time, there's trouble. 

James instructs the church further on how to respond in these turbulent times:

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect ( mature ) and complete." ( James 1:2-4 )  

In Acts 14, the Apostle Paul strengthens and encourages the Christians in the faith, "saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." 

And Paul should know. The difficulties and sufferings he experienced at times seem overwhelmingly unbearable as I read through the epistles, but Paul said that all of his afflictions were to make him rely on God and not on himself. ( 2 Corinthians 1:9 ) They had a powerful purpose. His thorn was not removed even after he pleaded with the Lord three times. 

God told him, "My grace if sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Linger over that promise, feel it, embrace it, preach it down into the bottom of your heart until there is no vacancy for doubt! Paul considered it and concluded: "For when I am weak, then I am strong." ( 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 ) Admitting our weaknesses and walking in humility unleashes the power of God in our lives to be strong in our suffering. This is the key. As long as we think "I got this," we're going to crash and burn. 

I just finished reading a biography on the life of Charles Spurgeon. Honestly, I didn't know that much about him except that he was a famous preacher in London in the nineteenth-century and that pastors, regardless of their denomination, seem to quote him. ( That's a good thing. )

I was blown away with Spurgeon's knowledge of the Bible at such a young age and his commitment to the preaching of the Word of God, every Lord's Day teaching his congregants and many visitors the doctrines of grace and then pleading with them to come to Jesus. His sermons were printed weekly and sold, impacting many, even crossing the ocean to America, as well as funding 60 missions of mercy that he founded to help widows, orphans, and the poorest of London. He also started a seminary to train others in the ministry.  

"Never has one man stood in one pulpit, week after week, year after year, for almost four decades, and preached the gospel with greater worldwide success and lasting impact than Spurgeon. To this day, he remains 'the prince of preachers.'" ( 2 ) 

 And yet, "the prince of preachers" was not without suffering and persecution as Jesus promised they would come. ( John 15:18 ) As you can imagine, "the London press lampooned him as a religious huckster." Within the church, he even faced trials. Arminians called him a dreaded Calvinist while Hyper-Calvinists "criticized him for being too open in his free offer of the gospel." Controversy and fake news plagued him. In his later years, he suffered with kidney disease and gout. But all of these afflictions only made him stronger. ( 2 )

Then there's my two personal heroes of the faith: Elisabeth Elliot and Joni Eareckson Tada. This blog is already too long, but I recommend reading any of their books you can get your hands on. Strong, wise, and faithful role models, their lives have spoken volumes into mine. 

Jesus says in the gospels that the way is hard and narrow that leads to life and few find it. It is hard and narrow, it squeezes us, shapes us, and at times feels like it's killing us. 

God brings about our perfection through suffering. I don't know how it all works, but this is how he chooses to do it. And He is the sovereign Lord. May we seek to know the real God of the Bible, lest we try to our detriment to mold God into a deity of our own making, worshiping instead a god we create, one that suits our fancy instead of what the Scriptures says about him. I've learned that if the Bible is offending me in an area, that's the Sword of the Spirit at work, performing surgery to remove tumors and infections, false doctrines and beliefs, stubborn sins, and I'll do well and heal from the needed pain if I pay attention instead of abandoning the operating table during a crucial procedure.  

Dr. Keller also in a recent sermon podcast divided suffering into two groups. It may seem a bit reductionistic, but I think it helps put suffering in a measure of perspective: 

"There's 'Jonah suffering,' and there's 'Job suffering,'" he explained. 

Jonah suffering: I did something I shouldn't have done or I didn't do something I should have done. In Jonah's case, the prophet ran from God when God clearly commanded him to go preach to the wicked city of Nineveh and tell them to repent. Jonah instead boards a ship traveling in the opposite direction and gets thrown from the boat into the stormy sea by a crew of fishermen. A big fish swallows Jonah alive and eventually vomits him back out onto a beach. This is how the saints of old took seaside vacations. 

Three days inside of that fish, and Jonah has a revelation, praying a prayer that contains words also found in the Psalms and that run throughout the entire Bible narrative, and are words we need ingrained in our souls continuously:

"Salvation comes from the Lord." ( Jonah 2:9 )

God has chosen to reveal himself to a very evil city with the grace of repentance. Jonah could have avoided his own suffering if he had just obeyed God's will in the first place. And lest we roll our eyes at Jonah, we are all like Jonah. I know I am. 

Job, on the other hand, is a righteous man. He fears God and turns away from evil, but loses his family, wealth, and finally his health. This is a complex, rich text which demands our full study and attention with so much to be gleaned, but in short, God uses satan to test Job. 221We the readers get to actually see why Job is suffering, and it is because God has allowed satan some leash.  

And even though Job thinks his suffering is "Jonah suffering," attempting to figure out for chapters on end why he is suffering. We know. God has allowed it. 

Again, I encourage everyone to read Job with a good commentary or in a Bible study. 

For now, God allows suffering. I don't know how it all works. I'm not minimizing it; some suffering can be terribly horrific. And I want to be clear that suffering is not God up there punishing his children - no, absolutely not. Jesus took our punishment and there is now "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Read it again. If you are in Christ, you can not be condemned. That would be God receiving two payments for our sins, and God is just. He doesn't do that. God saves us, and he keeps us. Paul bookends this truth in perhaps the most important chapter in the entire Bible, Romans 8, but read the whole Book of Romans. Before Job. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing is nothing.  

But if we think that God doesn't allow suffering, discipline, testing, and the like into the lives of his children, then when these things come, we are apt to think wrongly. We can get angry at God and turn away. We can think that we just don't have enough faith, or we can slip into self-pity or self-loathing, or wonder, like Job, what did I do wrong? Or the opposite is true. If we are not experiencing suffering at the moment and are in a season of calm, we might be tempted to think, "What am I doing right?" "I must be a really good Christian." And it is more nuanced than this because there are blessings for obedience; we see this is the Scriptures. But not always. Remember Job. We can do the right thing, but then the wrong thing happens. The Christian life is all over the place; that's why the best thing we can do in the midst of suffering is to trust God and not our own understanding, which brings us back to Proverbs. ( 3:5 ) 

In either of these cases, if we pause and reflect, it can help us to turn away from which ever false teaching, perhaps innocently, that we have been believing, and take a hard look at the Book of Genesis and the doctrine of sin. We have to understand the bad news of the Gospel first, before we appreciate and weep at the feet of Jesus over the grace of the good news: We are indeed worse sinners than we knew, but more loved than we ever dared imagine. 

In God's strength, and his alone, we can be victorious in our suffering. Like all of the saints of God I listed above. 

These men and women not only endured suffering, but allowed it to make them into glorious images of Christ, who have lead millions, I'm sure, into a deeper knowledge of Jesus, through their lives, ministries, and yes, their suffering. Not one speck of it was in vain. When I look back over the past four years, the people God has helped the most through my prodigal life are the ones I've been transparent with in many of my sufferings, not being afraid to step inside of their pain and mess and share mine. Not afraid I'll make a mistake or look undignified, just kneeling on their mat and helping them stand, through God's strength and not mine. This glue creates a solid bond between members of Christ's body, something that is paramount to our Father from Genesis through Revelation.  

Lastly, the greatest suffering imaginable, God did not stop from happening. In fact, he planned it. 

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ( Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46 ) 

Did God have a good reason for allowing this horrific suffering to come upon his Son? To forsake him? I'm sure all of us would jump up and shout "Yes!" 

Then may this truth be our greatest comfort and strength throughout all of our sufferings as well. 

"Salvation comes from the Lord." 💜

healingbrookfarm1.blogspot.com 

1.) God's Wisdom for Navigating Life, Tim and Kathy Keller

2.) The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon, Steven J. Lawson

Other recommended books:

Suffering is Never for Nothing, Elisabeth Elliot ( forward by Joni Eareckson Tada ) 

A Path Through Suffering, Discovering the Relationship Between God's Mercy and Our Pain, Elisabeth Elliot.

Beyond the Darkness, A Gentle Guide for Living with Grief & Thriving after Loss, Clarissa Moll 

The Farmer and I celebrated our 40th anniversary of becoming engaged at Clam Diggers, a favorite local eatery not far from the farm. The Farmer loves his raw oysters on the half shell. ( My meal was cooked. ) Best crab cakes ever. 

Centering

In January, my church family participates in a three week fast as a way of honoring and seeking the Lord right there at the beginning of a new year, moving and setting our priorities back to the Center as they may have slipped some during the course of the previous year, especially through the extended holiday season. 

Many partake in the The Daniel Fast - 21 days of fasting and prayer with a vegetarian diet. Others like myself who do not do well physically without vast amounts of animal protein or who have other medical concerns are encouraged to fast something that they truly enjoy. It doesn't have to be food or done at any particular time of year. I chose five things: social media, junk food, peanut butter, dark chocolate, and caffeine. The first four proved to be surprisingly easy. Since oily, natural peanut butter is my go-to snack, I wondered how I would fare. Even though I missed my work breaks of dark chocolate dunked in peanut butter, it was the coffee and tea that really got to me, mostly the cup(s) of joe. I didn't realize until the fast just how much I enjoyed them. 

The Farmer chose to fast breakfast everyday and not eat until after a certain hour, so he did not fast coffee. And I made his coffee for him every singe day because I wanted it to be hard. I wanted it to hurt. A fast from something we enjoy, and especially one that is a part of our everyday routine, as we are such creatures of habit, tends to push good, but unimportant things to the side, causing us to focus on the only one important thing, Jesus. 

Fasting speaks, "I am dependent on you, Jesus, and nothing else. You alone are the Lord of my life."   

Here's what I learned: 

Fasting can reveal our idols. Take this test with me: Is there anything in this life that we just think we can not possibly live without? Obviously, I'm not talking about air and body parts. I'm talking about things, and oftentimes it is good things that we mold into an idol, our identity, our family, our significant other, our children/grandchildren, our career, our hobbies, our gifts, our home, even our farm. And the list goes on. It is possible to be addicted to good things, and we may not even realize it.

Fasting can also help us uncover the ugly truth: that these idols we've constructed are what has been giving us our worth and meaning, and not the all-sufficient Holy One.  

Fasting helps us keep ourselves in check. 

Fasting detoxes not only our spirits, but also our minds and our bodies, even if we don't fast food. This makes perfect sense as we are three part beings where each part is interrelated and dependent on the others; what happens to one always effects the other, for good or bad. 

For instance, if we are carrying unforgiveness or anger toward someone, overtime these desires and emotions can ruin our physical health, poison our mind, and effect our behavior. In bringing us back to our Center, to Jesus, fasting reminds us of Christ and what He has gone through on our behalf, and the mercy and the blood that has been shed for us sinners so freely that we can only look at others through the lens of the cross with eyes of grace. I know there can be many thick layers of pain to dig through, but fasting helps to set us back on the Foundation and to focus on the only One who can truly excavate the soil of the human heart, reaching the tangled root ball and cutting us free. 

In fasting, especially when we ditch social media and other technological devices and vices, we are in a quiet, clear space to encounter the Gardener. I know I'm mixing metaphors, but God implanted farming in all of our bloodlines back in Eden. It's impossible to get away from it. 

The greatest lesson for me has been a stark and needed reminder of the ultimate Christian goal: "It is not about you, Rebecca. It is about Christ." 

It is not about me being transformed and learning tons of doctrine and becoming the theology police here at the farm, blowing the whistle whenever the Farmer gets his dogma crooked. It's not about me becoming a Bible nerd for Jesus. Sometimes I get so caught up in reading and studying that I need a good, solid yank back to the Center, the kind of strong jerk I get nowadays from Aslan when he's hook to his leash.  

But then we all have our areas of temptation and weakness, don't we? And that's what I mean; fasting can reveal these weeds and help pull them up, enriching the soil of our souls. When we seek Christ first, our Christ-likeness always follows. I love what C.S. Lewis said. "Look for Christ and you will find Him. and with Him everything else thrown in." And yes, the work is painful, and the way is hard. But, my friends, it is beyond worth it.

 "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." ( Philippians 3:7 ) 

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own." ( Philippians 3:12 ) 

At the end of the fast as much as I missed my coffee and chai tea in the morning, I thought to myself, "Do I really want to go back? I feel so good." 

Slowly, I will emerge back into my good things, but they are different to me now, not so consequential or earth-shattering if I have to go without them. I can live without coffee. I can't live without Jesus.  

What fasting has not changed are my surroundings and all of the difficulties. Fasting has not eliminated every question or every concern, although the glasses that I view these issues through are drastically clearer. Because of this, I'm back at the Center where I belong and where I discover that God hasn't changed either. 

But, thankfully, I have. 💜 

Happy First Birthday to Aslan. My adorable puppy prince has grown into a majestic king.