Songs Along the Way

 

Back when I taught high school English full time, it was not uncommon for me to recite a sonnet or a portion of another poem in order to illustrate a point. Students were sometimes surprised that I could do that without looking, but I said to them, “You know all kinds of stuff you didn’t have to try to learn. You learn what you love.” Then I reminded them of all the songs and commercials and chants running through their heads. They had to admit I was right.

I thought about this phenomenon recently as I slowly worked my way through the Psalms of Ascent. This group of songs, found in Psalms 120-134, is a collection of work that Jewish travelers sang as they journeyed to Jerusalem for feast days. As I read these psalms that give honor to God as well as voice appreciation for fellowship, godly families, and even the temple, I thought about how such ideas might lighten the journey.

We are familiar with stories of former slaves singing spirituals as they worked in the fields. I recall my own mother singing along with gospel records as she worked around the house, and I have been known to turn the music up loud to help myself get some work done. It just helps to have a distraction sometimes, and if the distraction can remind us of eternal truth, even better!

Better than motivation for work, though, is the blessing that comes from rehearsing God’s goodness and expressing our praise and thanks to Him. In Steve Faulkner’s discipleship class, we have been studying psalms for many months. These studies are a constant source of joy and inspiration. Just this week, we looked at Psalm 121--one of the Psalms of Ascent, and talked about how God’s word gives joy and comfort in difficult times. I shared my own recent experience with traveling along unfamiliar roads facing a bit of a scheduling crisis. As I drove, the words of Psalm 139 came to mind: “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” (KJV is easier for me to learn, somehow.) It was such a comfort to me to recall that God saw me on those twisty roads that Google maps had me traveling, and I got to my destination in calm and peace.

Do you love God’s word? I know you do. As you read and re-read favorite passages, I hope you can commit them to memory. It’s worth working at for those moments when you have to keep your hand on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

--Sherry Poff

The Value of Words

 

I recently read a book called The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. It is a story told through letters and emails to and from a woman named Sybil Van Antwerp. It is simply the story of a life. Sybil is in her early 70’s when we enter her correspondence between all sorts of different people in her life: her best friend, brother, customer service, authors, co-workers, neighbors, etc. There are writings about grief and loss, love and family, memories, activities and fears. While reading these forms of writing I began to think about the written word in general and the importance it has in my life.

             Sybil loves writing letters. She recognizes it as a lost art, and makes it a priority in her own life. She also loves reading books. She writes to her best friend fairly often and in most letters back and forth they share with one another what they are currently reading. In turn Sybil also writes to authors. She shares her appreciation of their work, often delving into her understanding of themes and points of view. It was notable that her appreciation of writing went so deep that she desired to thank those who wrote for a living, especially those who wrote books that made an impact.

             I also love to read. I appreciate authors who brilliantly craft words together, describing ordinary things in extraordinary ways. There is a difference between a book that has been written and a book that has been well-written. I appreciate the time it takes someone to write a book. I understand the pouring of one’s soul and the anxiety that can be felt allowing others to read one’s thoughts, ideas and stories. There is a lot of vulnerability that can be left on a page.

             I have been thinking about how much we take reading and writing for granted. So much of our current correspondence is via electronic devices. I am currently typing out thoughts on my laptop. Pushing the delete button is a convenience, and writing this out on the keyboard is much quicker than hand writing. We text back and forth quickly, send a million emails in our jobs and for school activities. We delete even more emails that are just plain junk. Correspondence has changed.

             About a decade ago I visited Edith Wharton’s home in Massachusetts. It is still to this day one of my favorite house tours I’ve ever been on. The grounds were beautiful and reminded me of Downton Abbey, and the walk through the home itself felt like stepping back in time. It was so literary and so fun. I remember standing in Edith’s bedroom and hearing about her writing process. Handwritten pages strewn all over the bed, floor, desk. Chaos in waking up halfway through the day, staying in bed and writing the rest of the day away. Amazingly, turning that chaos eventually into a Pulitzer Prize winner.

             I was talking about some of these things to a friend the other evening and thought about how much more likely I am to go back and read a note or letter someone has written to me, than I am to go back and read a text. Letter writing really is a lost art, and I believe we appreciate receiving a hand-written note so much more because of the rarity. When is the last time you wrote a letter? What recent note have you received that meant something special?

         All of these thoughts about writing, reading, sharing of ideas leads me to consider that our Creator also places such value and importance in the written word. Or should I say written Word. How remarkable that He has given us so many Words to read from, learn by, go back to, encourage with, hope in!

             As I mentioned before, it is amazing to be able to bare one’s soul on the pages of a book or a note. We have the most interconnected, deep, honest, soul-reaching book available. God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Tim 3:16). We are encouraged not to take these words for granted but rather to write them on the tablets of our hearts and hide them in our hearts so we may not sin against God. (Psalm 3:3; Psalm 119:11)

             We think about the written Word of God through history and what a gift we have today. From societies that were illiterate to nations that to this day do not yet have their own language translation. We are a fortunate people. Do we value what we have?

             There is a hint of slowing down when we think about writing a letter or reading a book. Even the act of a quiet time to spend with God in his Word is a moment of our day that goes against the normal pacing. In the busy-ness of our lives, are we willing to value these Words that we have? To prioritize them? To find our answers to the grief and loss, love and family, memories, activities and fears in the place our Savior intended us to discover them?

             Thank you, God, for entrusting us with this gift. Help us to use it, read it, and love it, and to treat it with the value and power and care it deserves. Amen.

 --Sandy Gromacki

I WILL BE WITH YOU

 My daughter Sarah, grandson Ruben, and I flew to Oklahoma City for Easter.  We would be attending the Holy City of the Wichita Mountains Passion Play.  It began in 1925 so this would be their 101st year.  My best friend from college Diana was driving up from Texas to spend Easter with us at Elizabeth's home.  That was the plan.

The flight from Atlanta was unremarkable.  We actually landed a few minutes early.  In pre-landing announcements the attendant announced there were storms in the area.  Nothing unusual in that.  Oklahoma is known for its storms.  But all was about to change.

We loaded our things into Diana's car, excited about the visit.  After we left the airport, the promised storm erupted--floods of rain, thunder vibrating, continual flashes of lightning that seemed as if a strobe light had been activated.  Driving became more difficult for Elizabeth, our designated driver.  Suddenly the sky in front of us lit with eerie green flashes.  Immediately we were pelted with rain and wind and glass.  We had driven directly into the path of a tornado!  Our back window and back side window had blown in,  I leaned over Ruben and Sarah covered both of us.  Above the sound of the storm four adults were praying desperately.  Elizabeth found an on ramp and drove down it, making it to a gas station as the tornado siren wailed.  We brushed off glass as we sprinted for the station.  The car and my luggage were wet and glass-filled. Every seat but one was filled with glass.  You could see by the location of the glass fragments how the wind had swirled in the car.  

I will not try to rehearse our emotions or raw nerves or every detail of the next few hours.  I will tell you that God sent his ministering servants, from the convenience store workers who gave us tape and plastic to cover the windows, to the two men who helped my daughters cover the windows.  One of them even drove home to get tape that he thought would hold the plastic better.  My friend Diana brought me hot tea and gave me her jacket to cover my wet clothes.  My sons-in-law from Atlanta, Georgia, and Fairbanks, Alaska, comforted their wives and tracked the storm for us.

When we finally headed for Elizabeth's again, the storms continued to batter, this time with rain so heavy that now the alerts were sounding for possible flooding.  At 2:00 a.m. we pulled into Elizabeth and Bill's driveway in Cache. 

When the insurance adjuster examined the car several days later, we were amazed.  He  totaled the car.  The ceiling was slashed repeatedly, evidence  of flying shards of glass.  The upholstery also bore slashes, too much damage to repair.

But here is the miracle of April 3rd.  Not one of the five in that car had a scratch or a cut.  There was no blood.  Obvious evidence of glass flying, but noone hurt.

Could God have kept us from the tornado?  Could the storm have missed us completely?  Absolutely.  Instead He chose to say, "Look what I saved you from.  Look what could have happened.  I protect you all the time.  This time I let you have a glimpse of what I protected you from."  I heard Him loud and clear.

In the days since I have pondered His message.  Isaiah 43:2 and 3a says "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the Lord, your God."

The night of April 3, 2026, He added, "When you go through the tornado, the wind will not hurt you, the glass will not cut you.  I am the Lord and you are mine."

                                                                ~~Faith Himes Lamb

As God Asks, Do It!

 

 

It is getting close to summer and vacation trips. I usually think about escaping to the beach for summer break. Most probably I think this because I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, which is on the western tip of Long Island, and beaches were available in abundance: Jones Beach, Robert Moses Park, Fire Island, Riis Park. I learned to swim in the Atlantic Ocean at Riis Park. Dad took me out past the breakers, pointed to the lifeguard stand, told me to keep in sight of the stand and stay parallel to the shore, and swim. He also told me to be brave and to try. So, I did!

 Idyllic, yes?!? However, learning to swim is not always easy. As a swimmer, you must learn the rhythm of the waves and how to stay out of the curl as they break. You need to keep your head in the water as you stroke (and breathe away from the incoming swells). You need to build your strength and coordination in both your arms and legs to make forward progress beyond the breakers. It is not jumping up and down in the water after the wave has broken. It is not chasing the ensuing bubbles. It is not simply sleeping in the sun on your towel. Learning to swim takes concerted effort and consistent discipline, and—perhaps—a bit of courage. It is a life-long skill that I enjoy and one that has served me well.

 Teaching students to swim is another matter. Just as my father had to assess my strength and potential skill as a beginning swimmer, lifeguards and teachers must do the same with the beginners they instruct. Continuing progress as a swimmer will require the swimmer to remember the essentials of the skill, practicing them regularly to maintain form and strength, and continuing to take on new challenges courageously.

I do not think it is a stretch to make a comparison from learning a skill to growing in faith and focus as believers. King David knew this; he had lived it before God and his son. David’s instructions to Solomon as he was approaching his death included the basics of living the believing life and the intricacies of the mature Christian life: be courageous (I Kings 2:2), keep the commandments of God (I Kings 2:3); and be disciplined by being faithful (I Kings 2:4).

First, David instructs Solomon to be courageous. “Be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man” (vs. 2). Solomon has had the benefit of his father’s example and teaching about the things of God and leading the Children of Israel. He now had to do it –with courage. This courage is moral courage, it is obedience to God, it is spiritual strength and consistency. Keep the charge—the instructions—of the Lord, Solomon. Notice that the instructions for developing and maintaining courage come before the tests Solomon would face as king.

Dad taught me what to expect when swimming beyond the breakers; he stayed with me as I was a beginner; he told me to have courage when I had to swim by myself. God gives us this pattern multiple times in Scripture. Moses tells Joshua, “Only be thou strong and very courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:7,8). Paul tells the Corinthian believers to be “courageous and strong” (I Corinthians 16:13). Face the opposition, continue in your walk with God, stand firm in your faith. “You have overcome the world”! (I John 5:4,5). We can do it as we are brave and remember God Himself is with us.

Second, David speaks to Solomon about God’s instructions that will never change. “Keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep his statues, and his commandments and his judgments” (vs. 3). This is the simplest charge: obey God. It is also a challenge to each of us as we mature in the Lord as we must allow our wills to be obedient to God’s ways and commandments. David uses two important verbs: keep (guard, observe, watch over) God’s commands and to walk (a continuous obedience and ordering of your life) in His ways. David gave Solomon the pattern for consistent living before God as he would face the tests, and the successes, of life.

This is dedicated obedience to the principles of facing the long-term challenges of living the Christian life (or pursuing a sport such as swimming) aids us today. We simply obey. The consequences and rewards are God’s to provide. The author of Hebrews simply states: “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus…” (12:1,2). It may not be easy, but we have a Savior interceding for us. We have courage and conviction.

Third, David encouraged Solomon to be faithful in continuing in the truth. “If thy children take heed to their ways, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel” (vs. 4). God wanted His servant Solomon to be disciplined by being faithful. David reiterates to Solomon that walking – the ordering of one’s thinking and living –in truth is imperative to spiritual success.

Once again, those who have come before us reveal we are strongly reminded to guard our faith, to discipline our living, to consider our choices, and to give the results to God. We each wish to hear from our Savior “well done.” When God asks do not be afraid, remember the disciplines of believing life, and be faithful.

Oh, when considering the analogy to swimming, the water beyond the breakers of the ocean waves provides opportunities to prove oneself. Just do it!

--Janet Hicks