That Time of Year

 

That time of year thou mayest in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang
Upon the boughs that shake against the cold,
Bare, ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang.

Shakespeare’s lovely Sonnet 73 contains the message that we learn to appreciate things and people when we know we’re about to lose them. The poet uses three metaphors for life: a year, a day, and a fire. Each—the day, the year, and the fire—is coming to an end. In some ways, the poem is a bit melancholy, but I like to focus on the beauty that is undeniably present in each situation: autumn colors, sunset, and glowing embers. Obviously, it’s the autumn colors that are on my mind this week. 

I sit on my porch and just marvel at the red in the dogwood leaves against the deep yellow hickory across the street. Driving to school or church, I have to make myself watch the road, so beautiful are the colors around me. I was telling my granddaughter Wren that the color in the leaves is there all year, but we don’t see it until the chlorophyll goes out of the leaves to reveal it. That simple explanation is mostly correct, but the truth is that lots of changes bring about the colors we enjoy this time of year—chemical changes caused by temperature and amount of light. We are women; we know about chemical changes. Am I right?

And here I find another object lesson to ponder as I sit on my porch or walk in my neighborhood. Through all the changes of my life, do I appear beautiful? What is revealed when my “true colors” show through? We are all experiencing change, regardless of our age. It’s a fact of life. But I’ve been meditating on James 1 recently, and I take great pleasure in noting that our God does not change. In fact, we read that He is the one “in whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning.”

When changes come to us, we may view them as trials, but these trials can have the result of developing patience in our lives, of making us more beautiful than ever before, making us “perfect and entire” and a little more like our Heavenly Father.

The first chapter of James has other lessons drawn from nature. Why not read it now? Better yet, memorize a few verses you can meditate on as you take a walk in this lovely weather--before it goes away. 

--Sherry Poff

 

                                                                                                                         

On the Beauty of a Queen

 

When I served as an AWANA leader, we had Bible Character Night every October. All the kids dressed up as Bible characters instead of goblins, vampires, and witches. The kids would line up and parade by the leaders while we decided who would win the costume awards. I enjoyed the creativity (or lack thereof) displayed in their costumes. There was the “blind man” who literally wore window blinds. One of the lepers always showed up with toilet paper bandages, drawn-on sores, and a pitiful look on his face. Several Marys wearing bathrobes and sandals arrived with their baby Jesus’ wrapped in towels. The scandalous Samaritan woman wore heavy eye makeup and lots of jewelry. One year my two daughters and their friend came wearing my husband’s fire gear posing as three wise men “coming from afar.” (Get it?) And without fail, a few Queen Esthers always showed up wearing purple or blue gowns and plastic bejeweled crowns. Little girls (and big girls) are fascinated by queens and princesses.

I too have been drawn into the story of Queen Esther. In the first two chapters of the book of Esther, the words beauty, lovely, and favor are used repeatedly. That (and Disney) can lead us to romanticize what being a queen is like. We imagine a beautiful woman dressed in royal attire wearing her crown proudly while servants grant her every desire. The king listens to her wisdom and acts accordingly. He loves and cherishes her. Everyone admires her. We forget that the palace can be a dangerous place. Some may become jealous of her. They might stab her in the back figuratively or even literally. Women can be catty. A queen or princess never knows whom she can trust.

As an orphan and an exile, Esther came to the palace with heavy burdens. The government ripped her from her family, and she was essentially raped. Women like her who did not become queen, were used once by the King and then placed with the other concubines. They would not come before the King again unless requested by him. (Maybe they were relieved?) Even Queen Esther could not come into the King’s presence lacking an invitation without risking death. The beauty of the women in that culture was a liability.

Yet, we all long for beauty and admiration, and that is why stories revolving around queens and princesses draw us. Not only do we want beauty in ourselves, but we want to visit lovely places, live in beautiful homes, and drive attractive cars. Beauty is big business! Think of all the hair products, cosmetics, beauty treatments, home décor products, etc. What are we chasing?

We are chasing Shalom. “The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.” (Cornelius Plantinga Jr, “A Breviary of Sin.”)

We are longing for things to be the way God created them to be. We are longing to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually whole. Goodness, truth, and beauty are interconnected, and the source is God Himself. He is good and trustworthy and beautiful, and we are made in His image. Imagine how beautiful we and all of Creation would be if we were uncorrupted by sin. Although we will not experience complete wholeness in this life, all of us can experience a measure of wholeness if we lay it all in God’s hands and submit to His authority. Are you withholding anything from Him? Maybe there is generational sin, deception, unforgiveness, bitterness, rebellion, pride, bondage, or fear. These things are ugly and reek of death.

Sometimes people put up walls to protect themselves from others. We do not have to do that with Him. We can lay bare our souls to Him and know He will love us no matter what. He is good and wants good things for us. He can be trusted with every part of ourselves, even the distinctly ugly parts. He can bring healing, life, and beauty. 

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.

Isaiah 61:1-4

 

joyce hague

Clarifying

 

 Many mornings I listen to an interesting man on Christian radio named Brant Hansen. (Yes, another Brant!) In the first few weeks of this virus, Brant told his audience (including me) that these times would be “clarifying.” That word “clarifying” has stayed with me for months. Now we have not only the virus, but also the unrest that has been destroying some of our cities and infringing on our liberties.

 Clarifying - Making something less confusing or easier to understand, being certain or definite, encouraging sharpness.

 How can a “pandemic” be clarifying? How can “concern for our wonderful country” be clarifying?   How can a “mountaintop experience” be clarifying? How can any event in our lives be “clarifying”?

1. Clarifying my opinion of the Lord (To me, the most important): 

Sometimes during difficult times, my heart echoes Psalm 10:1 - “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”

 How can we keep from being defeated by doubting our Lord and His plan during difficult times? We must go to the eternal Word of God! That cannot be overstated.

 Psalm 16:8 states: “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

 SET - This is a definite decision that has to be made - to “set something” before me. Why “before me”? That is so I can see Him and follow Him. Sometimes He is moving...sometimes still. Then I have to WAIT! Ugh! J

 How do we “see” Him? By reading and meditating on His Word!

 2. Clarifying my attitude (this goes along with my other point):

How many times during these few months have I asked to myself and out loud (poor Brant): “How can just one man/a few people dictate to the whole country/state what to do?” “Why do they keep moving the goal posts?” “We need to get going...get back to our normal routines.” Boy, my attitude has been clarified! I am not very happy with the circumstances!

Well...this restlessness and aggravation and concern I feel many days cannot be changed by my wishing it is not so. It has to be that I “set” the Lord before me and look to Him.

Do I always do that? No! But this change inside me (which sometimes is a daily battle) is a CHOICE because of what I find in my Lord.

Psalm 18 (almost overwhelming with goodness):

Verse one is a declaration:

I will love You, O Lord, my strength (when I cannot go on...).

² The Lord is my rock (the kind that cannot be crushed, perhaps a foundation, something steadfast, maybe solid in the same place for ages)...

and my fortress (a place of safety, protection, like some of the castles we have seen in England and Germany...can withstand the blows of the enemy)...

and my deliverer (SO...this would imply that the enemy might overtake me, but God will deliver

me. This enemy can be worry, doubt, fear, pride...); 

My God (personal), my strength (we need this word again), in Whom I will trust (choice, determination - not just “love” as in verse one, but “trust”); 

My shield or buckler (used in hand-to-hand combat...God fighting close to me) and the horn (implies anointing me with power) of my salvation, my stronghold or high tower (protection).

³ I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.

 

OUR CHOICES CLARIFY WHERE WE STAND IN A CHALLENGING TIME.

--Maylou Holladay

 

 

 

It Just Happened

 

“Happen” is an interesting word with too many meanings. The dictionary gives meanings of “to take place; occur,” and “find or come across by chance.” Because we understand the word so well, we don’t think very deeply about it. We use it in many questions as a catch-all. “What happened?” “How did that happen?” “Why did it happen?” Or even, “What’s happenin’?” If we put the word “just” in front of it, we mean either that it occurred very recently or that it occurred by accident, without cause or plan. “I don’t know why; it just happened.”

 If we look around us, we see that many unhappy things have occurred in the past few months. Nobody accidentally or deliberately caused the Easter tornado to happen. It just happened. Someone may or may not have caused the COVID-19 virus to blow across the entire globe. Or maybe it just happened. Some of us have gotten sick with other things, for reasons we don’t understand. Some have lost work, possessions, even people for reasons we can’t understand.

 If, as believers, we look at our lives in light of God’s word, we should probably not use the phrase, “It just happened,” unless we mean the occurrence was recent. Our lives are not a series of accidental occurrences. Psalm 139 details the knowledge the Creator of the universe has of our entire lives – our beginnings, our actions before they “happen,” even our thoughts before we think them. (Considering the natural bent of our thoughts, that’s quite frightening.)  Read the whole Psalm. Verse 13 starts at our beginning; “for You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” And for the present time, v. 16 says, “all the days chosen for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

 You did not just happen. Your life to this point is not just a series of accidental happenings. You may have been formed in an unusual fashion or had your physical form changed by something that happened. You may have had disasters in your life that shaped your attitudes, hopes or fears. You may have had wonderful influences in your life that shaped your attitudes, hopes or courage. But wherever you are and however you are, you did not “just happen.”

 Sometimes we may understand why things happened in our lives; sometimes we may guess wrong. Sometimes we never know. It is faith in God’s goodness that assures us there are reasons for odd occurrences.

In an incident related in the Bible (John 9), Jesus’s disciples made two wrong guesses about why a man was born blind and had suffered for an entire lifetime. Jesus said there was a real reason – that the works of God might be displayed in him. From that point, the man’s life played out quickly and well -- until the religious leaders got involved with their unbelief.

 When we struggle with unbelief, or maybe just confusion, pain and longing, God’s Word tells us of His goodness, purpose and plan. And our sisters have helped us with recent posts. Joyce reminded us God has placed authorities in our lives, deliberately and for our good. Faith mentioned that we do, indeed, have many unhappy “happenings,” but our “strong tower” is not a wobbly Jenga game. Amy encouraged us to “complain” to God in a Scriptural way and seek His comfort.  Maylou pointed out the repetition of “the gracious hand of my God” as the rock sustaining Ezra and Nehemiah in a time of desperate “happenings.” And Sherry gave us an awesome daily checklist that can help us prevent disasters from happening to our spiritual health.

 It did not just happen. You did not just happen. Let us trust the “gracious hand of our God” for the real reason – that the works of God might be displayed in us.

 

--Lynda Shenefield

A People Who Show Christ's Love

 

Some people come into our lives for only a short season. Yet it seems that the Lord in His kindness brought them to us for a specific reason at just the right time. For me, such a person was Renee Bottoms. We had gone to the same church for many years and, though we had had short conversations here and there, I did not know her well. I had not been to any of the women’s bible studies that she taught, and within the church, we just seemed to move in different circles.

I had just finished teaching through the book of 1 Peter at the end of February this year when Renee stopped me after church to find out where the Wednesday night women’s study met and how many women usually came. She was set to teach through the month of March and had chosen some of the Psalms as her theme. I told her where we met and a little about the group, and then came to the study that first Wednesday in March. After we briefly discussed our favorite psalms, she took us through Psalm 121, pointing out not only the meaning of the text but also its writing style. She was very down-to-earth in her teaching and also very knowledgeable. She had studied that passage thoroughly. At some point in the class, either based on an application question she asked, or it could have been prayer request time, I spoke of Kelly’s cancer situation and either my fears or what the Lord was teaching me (I really can’t recall). This was a week before we found out that Kelly’s medication wasn’t working and we would need to have surgery to remove the tumors. That evening ended up being the last time that I saw Renee. For it was later that week that everything shut down, and church stopped meeting on-site. Even when we did begin meeting again, Renee could not join us due to her fragile lungs.

That would have been the end of my interactions with Renee had it not been for a card that she sent me a week or so later. Renee had had her own cancer journey many years ago and shared her experience with me in the card she wrote and mentioned how she was praying for Kelly but also specifically for me (in response to what I had shared in class). She then sent me a text while Kelly was in the hospital in early April, and from that day on, until her passing, we developed a friendship over texts. About once every week or two, we would exchange texts. She updated me on her situation as her health was declining, and I kept her updated on how things were going with Kelly and with the possibility of our children having inherited the genetic mutation that caused Kelly’s cancer. And oh how she cared and how she prayed! She told me specifically what she was praying for me, she sent Scripture verses, she reminded me of truth, and she praised our Father with us over the answers to prayer along the way. That day in church, when I shared what God had done in my heart through Kelly’s cancer, Renee was praying for me. She sent me a text right after I shared that she had seen that I was getting teared up and so she started praying right then that I would be able to get through all that I wanted to say. Perhaps it was thanks to her prayer that I did.  I, in turn, was able to bring her name to the Lord as she went to various appointments and as her lungs struggled to function well. When she texted that the doctors had given her only 3-4 months to live, I grieved with her. I wept tears over this precious woman who had become so dear to me whom I would not see again on this earth.

So why do I write this? Because I, and perhaps you too, can get so caught up in my own life. I can have great intentions about reaching out to others, but in the busyness of life, it doesn’t happen. But I have been the recipient of a dear woman who took the time to write that card and to send that first text. A woman whose prayers and texts and Scripture helped carry me through the most difficult time that I have been through so far in my life. Renee reached out to me, a woman she barely knew, out of a heart of care and concern for a sister in Christ. She took the time, and a beautiful friendship developed. I’m forever grateful to her for the role she played, and as she texted me once after she told me that she probably wouldn’t live much longer on this earth, “we have all eternity to learn and grow together.” How thankful I am that I will see her again and will be able to give her a hug for the first time ever.

It’s a bit amazing to me that as I am challenging us to open our eyes to the needs of others, to reach out, to encourage, to write the card, to send the text, and then to follow-up so that we can be those special people that the Lord uses greatly in the lives of others, I know that Renee would agree. The very last text I have from her ends with this (I don’t think she’d mind me sharing): “I DO wait for the Lord and continue to be overwhelmed at His people that He has uniquely in place to meet my needs and show Christ’s love! Tears flow from gratitude for such love!” She had experienced those people in her life. She was that person for me. How I pray that you and I could be those people for others!

--Amy O' P

A Number of Things

 

One of my favorite weekend things is to lie in my hammock. I can’t enjoy it nearly as much if I have a long list of things to do, so I do my long list first and then allow myself an hour or so of relaxation and reflection. I nearly always have a book with me, but sometimes I just watch and listen.

This weekend, it was a little cloudy and cool so I took along an afghan my mom crocheted for me years ago. As I lay there, all cozy and relaxed, I heard a hawk circling and circling high above. In the maple nearby, chickadees and finches twittered and hopped about. A red-bellied woodpecker flew from tree to tree emitting a somewhat harsh cry that I have come to love because he’s such a handsome fellow.  I looked across the yard and saw a hummingbird enjoying the pink and yellow lantana.

I read a bit of the book I had brought, took a few minutes to explore something on my phone, then watched and listened some more. In the distance, a train whistle blew. Neighbors chatted nearby and fussed at the dog, and right next to me on the tree, a brown inchworm made his careful way along the trunk. He was just the color of the tree, and I would not have seen him except for his movement. He extended his body, caught hold of a bit of the rough and uneven bark, then pulled his back feet up to the front, forming a perfect loop time after time.  The worm and I were now in shade, but the sun still danced and glittered in the upper leaves of nearby maples.

It was not an unusual day, and yet it was truly remarkable. Robert Louis Stevenson said, “The world is so full of a number of things/I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.” Indeed we should.

I have been reviewing Psalm 19 this week: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” Ain’t it the truth? “The world is charged with the grandeur of God,” declared the poet. In spite of sorrow and suffering, this is a beautiful and magnificent world.

What will heaven be?

--Sherry Poff

Examine Yourself!

 

Now that we’re back in school, the faculty and staff of GBA are required to do a self-assessment related to COVID-19 every morning. I log onto a special program, answer key questions, record my temperature, and get the green light allowing me to be on campus. Of course, the health of our entire school community is dependent on everyone’s recording accurate information, so I take the matter seriously.

Most days, I feel fine; occasionally, I take a little longer to decide. I find myself emerging slowly from sleep, swallowing hard a couple of times. Do I have a sore throat? Am I nauseated or just hungry? Let’s get a drink of water and see how I feel then. It’s really almost pathetic how self-focused I’ve become. But this is what we’re asked to do—assess our health every day.

Recently, as I lay in the semi-darkness thinking too much about my own physical sensations, it occurred to me that it had been a while since I’d focused so carefully on my spiritual health. In addition to being ever so careful about breathing on one another and making sure we clean frequently touched surfaces, we live in a world that, even in normal times, invites us to buy a car that offers a smooth ride, choose clothing that can “breathe,” opt for the best-tasting mouthwash. It would seem that life is all about feeling good and having the most pleasing physical experience possible. But we know that life—real life—is mostly about what happens in the spirit.

So I’ve been thinking about this idea a good bit the past several days, and I’ve compiled a list of questions:

• Am I spending time in direct, purposeful contact with God?
• Do I hunger for righteousness?
• Do I have an appetite for God’s word?
• Am I emanating love?
• Does goodness flow from my life?
•  Am I taking every opportunity to tell others about Christ?
•  Do I have “clean hands and a pure heart” (Ps. 24:4) in God’s eyes?

The apostle Paul encouraged Corinthian believers to have a look at themselves. The Amplified Version puts it this way: “Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]!” (II Corinthians 13:5) 

I have no objection to asking myself the COVID questions. I don’t mind wearing a mask if it will help us all stay healthy. I have sung “Happy Birthday” so many times over the bathroom sink, it has become automatic. But now I’m trying to form another habit. I want to examine myself to see if I am living the life that pleases God, a life that encourages spiritual health and well-being. This practice is one I know will make a lasting difference.

Will you join me?

--Sherry Poff