Month: April 2020

My God Who Knows

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It was Inevitable…

Deep down inside we all knew this wouldn’t magically end in 30 days or 45 days or even 60 days. 

Here in Colorado we are seeing the transition from the Stay at Home Order to Safer at Home policies, allowing for the beginning of some service industry re-openings, some return to work plans, and the hope of the reopening on a larger scale in the next few weeks.  However, even with the promise of an end to this first stage, the other losses trickle in.

Today, I opened my email to a list of places with travel restrictions.  I opened another email that confirmed that in addition to the cancellation of the remaining school year and with it all spring sports, the local summer youth leagues have also been cancelled.  I’ve already heard of churches making plans to not have services well into June, possibly beyond… and the sadness came.

I felt the tears welling up as I read the list of destinations we can’t travel too.  A few tears fell as it was confirmed that there would be no summer baseball. I miss my friends, the ones that, no matter how busy life gets, I know I will see in Church on Sunday.  And in the grand scheme of things, amidst job losses, and closed businesses, this is all relatively minor, but somehow right now, it’s heavy.

My God Who Knows

But my God is still on the throne and He knows the desires of my heart.  He cares about the big and small things in my life.  He cares about my employment and my small business.  He also knows how much I love to travel, that every summer, as the sun emerges, dreams of beaches call to me.  He knows that I love the beautiful mountains I live in, but also how I long for sand and water.  He also knows how much I love watching my kids play sports.  He knows that in the busyness of having two four-sport athletes, while I enjoy short respites, I would love to sit on the bleachers and cheer for them, yell about a call or too, and feel the rush of a narrow victory or even the pride of a well fought defeat. He knows.  And He cares.  Even about the little things.

So today, I do it again.  I take all my cares and fears, and hope and dreams and lay them at His feet.  My faith is not based on circumstance.  My knowledge of His faithfulness comes from a lifetime of experience and is not shaken by a momentary change of plans.  I will grieve the things I thought I would do this summer, but I celebrate that my God knows me intimately and there is nothing that I will ever surrender at His feet that He will not make something beautiful of.  I will cry out my sadness and praise His name, no matter what. 

 

So Will I

And as You speak
A hundred billion failures disappear
Where You lost Your life so I could find it here
If You left the grave behind You so will I
I can see Your heart in everything You’ve done
Every part designed in a work of art called love
If You gladly chose surrender so will I
I can see Your heart
Eight billion different ways
Every precious one
A child You died to save
If You gave Your life to love them so will I

Like You would again a hundred billion times
But what measure could amount to Your desire
You’re the One who never leaves the one behind

                         – Hillsong 

Of Boats and Storms

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OF BOATS AND STORMS

A friend of mine shared the following post yesterday, and it resonated with my heart. A quick google search showed that it has been making its rounds on the internet, but the original author is unknown.  It has been added to, edited and modified several times, the version I share below is the one I read.

These words arrived as the forecast was for a beautiful week of sunshine and with it a ray hope as we heard the plan for the slow reopening our the Colorado economy and a gradual ending of the stay at home order.  

There are no right or wrong feelings in this season.  No one way you should feel or act,  all of us experience this in our own way.  My prayer is that this week, you find love, empathy, and hope in the sunlight on your face. 

WE ARE NOT ALL IN THE SAME BOAT

I heard that we are all in the same boat, but it’s not like that. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa.

For some, quarantine is optimal. A moment of reflection, of re-connection, easy in flip flops or pajamas, with a cocktail or coffee. For others, this is a desperate financial & family crisis and you don’t know if you will survive it or where your next meal will come from.

For some that live alone they’re facing endless loneliness and depression. While for others it is a peaceful time full of rest & time to get caught up with things you’ve neglected or time with their spouse, mother, father, sons & daughters.

With the $600 weekly increase in unemployment some are bringing in more money to their households than when they were working. Others are working more hours for less money due to pay cuts, hours cut, or loss in sales.

Some families of 4 just received $3400 from the stimulus while other families of 4 saw $0 and are still anxiously waiting.

Some were concerned about getting certain candy for Easter while others were concerned if there would be enough bread, milk and eggs for the weekend.

Some want to go back to work because they don’t qualify for unemployment and are running out of money and need to pay their bills. While others (both those still earning a paycheck and those who are not) want to kill those who break the quarantine.

Some are spending 2-3 hours/day helping their child with online schooling while others are spending 2-3 hours/day to educate their children on top of a 10-12 hour workday. Some are teachers trying to juggle teaching kiddos online while holding down their own home and teaching their own children all while holding a baby on their hip.

Some have experienced the near death of the virus, some have already lost someone from it and some are not sure if their loved ones are going to make it. Others don’t believe this is a big deal or think it’s some kind of a conspiracy.

Some are extremely worried about the elderly. Some think because the majority of the people dying are elderly, it’s ok to go out and make the risk higher for them as if their lives don’t matter.

Some have faith in God and expect miracles during this 2020. Others say the worst is yet to come. Some don’t believe in God or believe in a different higher power and hope things will eventually get better.

So, friends we are not in the same boat. We are in the same storm but even the storm looks different for everyone. We are going through a time when our perceptions and needs are completely different.

Each of us will emerge, in our own way, from this storm, but we will all emerge different and with a new normal. It is very important to see beyond what is seen at first glance. Not just looking, actually seeing.

We are all different ships during this storm experiencing a very different journey. Let’s be kind to each other and respectful of those different journeys.

How about we love each other and extend grace, mercy, kindness, and smiles…even if they are hidden under our masks.

Choices

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Choose Wisely

We’re in a weird season.   Two months ago I could not have imagined the turn our world would take.  If I spend too many hours on social media or watching the news it can become overwhelming to think about the impact this virus is having and will continue to have on our community.  Depending on which posts I read, I can hear that this is everything from a government conspiracy to enforce control, to a plan to eliminate the aging population, to a political game to destroy a party, and the list goes on.  I could get lost in the negativity and the accusation.  It would be so easy.  I have spent much of my life battling anxiety, and it would be easy to invite that voice back in, to allow it to overshadow everything else.  But in this season, I refuse.

I refuse to be a slave to anxiety.  I refuse to allow hate to take root.  I refuse to allow fear to make me selfish.  I refuse to allow anger to spew over onto those around me. 

I also refuse stick my head in the sand and pretend everything is ok.  I refuse sit back and enjoy my family at home, and ignore the hurting around me. I refuse to think of this as someone else’s problem. I refuse to disengage.

Right now may not look like anything any of us were planning, but right now is the only guarantee we have.  We can anxiously wait for the future, or passively wait for this to end, or we can stop, and look around.  Your life, your calling, your adventure is right now.  It’s not on hold.  It’s not later. It’s not when this is over.  It is here, in this moment, in the waiting.  What is God calling you to do.  Who is He calling you to become.  God is not quarantined.  He is not waiting for this to end so we can get back to work, He is here, working, right now.

So today, I challenge you to choose joy.  To choose life.  To choose growth.  Ask God where He is leading.  Not out of busy-ness or the need to be defined by something.  Ask Him, because you are in a uniquely quiet season and have a unique ability to stop and listen.  Is He is calling you to rest? Is He is calling you to serve? To be a voice of encouragement, or a prayer warrior, or to donate all your extra toilet paper?  Is it a season of learning, or just being present?  Maybe it’s a season of listening, intentionally, to Him, to your family, to your friends?  Can you find joy in the sunshine again, in the sound of the birds returning, in the awakening of spring?  Can you find childlike joy in the dogs playing, or the kids’ making up silly songs? Can you rediscover a slower pace in trimming hedges and mowing lawns.  Can you rediscover the art of emailing letters, or the really old art of handwriting them?

Whatever it looks like for you in this season, you have a choice.  You may not like all the choices, they may not be the choices you wanted, but you have a choice.  Choose wisely.

“I Refuse” by Josh Wilson

“I don’t want to live like I don’t care, I don’t want to say another empty prayer, oh I refuse

to sit around and wait for someone else, to do what God has called me to do myself, oh I could choose, not to move, but I refuse.”

Easter

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Way maker
Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God
That is who you are

 

You are here
Touching every heart
I worship you

You are here
Healing every heart
I worship you

You are here
Turning lives around
I worship you

You are here
Mending every heart
I worship you

“Way Maker”
Sinach

 

 

Resurrection Hope

Easter week is upon us, and I think it’s safe to say it’s not exactly panning out as we had planned.  Whatever grand plans your ministry had for Easter when you began the conversations earlier this year, it couldn’t possible have looked like your new reality.  It’s easy to get lost in that, get lost is the loss.  But, this week, as we redefine our normal, and plan Easter services so very different than anything we’ve ever done before, I just want to encourage you to find the hope of Easter for yourself, and share the hope of Easter with those around you.

Ironically, if we think back to that first Easter, I think it would be safe to say things weren’t exactly panning out the way the disciples had planned either.  They had dinner with Jesus, He spent the last hours giving them advice on how to live, teaching about love, praying for them and praying for us. With the beauty of hindsight and the full picture, we also know He was preparing them for the loss that was about to come, but they didn’t know.  One moment He was with them, teaching them, and the next his body lay in a tomb. The whole world changed right before their eyes, all their plans and hopes seemed lost in a moment. 

As heartbreaking as that moment was, we know that it was necessary.  That it was part of a bigger plan.  That the very despair they felt, was the event that would provide hope & life for every generation to come.  When we celebrate Easter, we celebrate that through the crucifixion Jesus conquered sin and death.  In the darkest of days, the most beautiful work was being brought to completion.  It is the hope, joy, and promise for all of us, to carry us through our darkest days.  It is the hope, and joy and promise that Jesus told us to share with everyone.

Imagine, the opportunity we have to offer new life to the broken and hurting in our communities.  Imagine the life and freedom of Jesus reaching every ear. Imagine the hope and joy and power of resurrection being sought and found in Jesus, by a desperate and hungry world.

Resurrection is what we need. Resurrection is what our world needs. Our hope is found in the resurrection and we have a unique opportunity to share our hope, our joy, and the glory of the resurrected King with a hurting world.