O to be Like Thee!

O to be Like Thee!

“Music is an outburst of the soul.”  (Frederick Delius, composer)  So to encourage my soul and admonish my soul, I often sing on the way to work.  Perhaps that is one of the advantages of a little longer commute.  I often am not ready for the noise of the radio or CD player, but am willing to listen to my own voice.

          One of my greatest desires is to be like Jesus, to reflect Him in everything I do, even in my facial expressions and the way I listen to people, the way I respond to people.

          So yesterday morning on the way to school I was singing,

O to be like Thee,

O to be like Thee,

Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art.

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness,

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

Then I sang,

                        Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,

                        All His wonderful passion and purity.

                        O Thou Spirit Divine, all my nature refine,

                        Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

          Suddenly I thought, “All my nature refine?  Wait a minute! That means getting rid of the impurities!  You know, hard times, difficult times, pointing out all the things in my life that aren’t like Him.  Ouch!  Maybe. . . . ?”

          So sure enough, yesterday was a day that I was dragged through my own dirt and overwhelmed by my inadequacies.  I was emotionally exhausted by the end of the day.  My eyes were puffy and I dragged myself home and went to bed early.

          I haven’t been able to get away from that concept.  If I truly want to be like Jesus, I will have to change some things.  And, as I tell my speech students, if you don’t know what you are doing, you won’t fix it.  So this painful period of seeing where I fail is necessary to refine me so the beauty of Jesus can be seen in me.

          Psalm 17:15 says, “I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your image.”  The day is coming when I will be found in His image.  How I long for that day!  I will be like Him one day.  Until then, the refining, purifying process must go on to make me more like Him.

                                                                      ~~Faith Himes Lamb

Thankful for Life

Almost 35 years ago, my very ill mother was on bed-rest as she awaited the birth of my twin sister and me. We arrived two months earlier than our due date, having not been expected to live. We were tiny and frail living our first weeks in the NICU at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, TN.

I don't know why God chose to spare our lives or why He blessed us with health, but I do know that I'm so very glad He did. 

I did not picture my life at 35 to be what it is today. While full of incredible experiences and precious friendships, my life is missing some significant "dreams come true." Honestly, it has not been easy to approach yet another year without a husband or children. In fact, I have cried out to God several times, "Hello! Did you forget there was a twin? If you're going to bring me a husband, would you consider doing it soon so that he will know what I looked like before all my hair turned gray? Thanks!"

But then I read Psalm 139:13-17. Familiar verses. I almost didn't pay attention to them.

13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully (to cause astonishment and awe) and wonderfully (distinct, separate) made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!

I am a twin, an identical twin. We have the same hair and eyes, the same gait and mannerisms. We even have the same thoughts occasionally and have been known to show up in the same outfits without prior planning. Yet, we're separate. We are distinct from one another. And it causes astonishment and awe.

God has not promised every dream of mine to become a reality. Yet His thoughts toward me are precious. He fashioned (pre-determined) my days for me before I was even conceived. The mere fact that His plans for my life included a 35th birthday are proof enough that He has a plan for me that is beyond what I could dream up on my own.

So when I wake up on April 9, 2014, I will not complain about my wrinkles or beg Him for Prince Charming, but rather I will praise Him for making me awesome and unique! I will thank Him for another day, another birthday to celebrate the life that He chose for me to live. 

And then, I'll live it.

~Rebecca Phillips