Month: May 2020

Finding Zarephath

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“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”                                    – 1 Kings 17:9

Elijah & The Widow of Zarephath

In 1 Kings 17, the profit  Elijah tells King Ahab of the coming drought and follows God’s instruction to flee the town and hide in a ravine, where he is fed by the ravens for a year.   However, as the drought continues, the brook runs dry and God instructs him to go to the town of Zarephath and the widow there.  Upon arriving and meeting the widow, he learns that she and her son have just enough flour and oil to make one final loaf of bread and have resigned themselves to their fate.  Elijah instructs her to make the bread and bring him some and promises her the flour and oil will not run dry until the drought is over. Elijah stays with the widow and her son, and they eat well every day.   Some time later, the widow’s son falls ill and dies, and Elijah performs the first recorded raising of the dead in the bible.

Promise of Zarephath

There is so much hope at Zarephath.  It is a place of safety and hiding.  It is a place of rest.  It is a place of God’s continued provision.  It is a place of life and resurrection.  It is a place of serving and being served. It is a place of miracles and a place of revelation.

Finding Zarephath

As women in ministry, aren’t we often in need of our own Zarephath? Our own rest, our own safety, our own place of provision, of fulfilled promises, even of resurrection? A time to be served and healed, a time to reclaim life and joy.  That is the significance of Zarephath, the place and story to remind us of the God who loves us, provides for us, heals us, and breathes life into us. It’s not about the place, it finding the promises of Zarephath that Jesus offers us here and now.

 

Girlfriends

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I’VE MISSED YOU

I got to see some of my friends yesterday.  I had to go on a number of errands and decided it was past time.  Some of these women I haven’t seen since before the Covid 19 lockdown.  I haven’t exactly been lonely, there are six people and 3 dogs in my home during this time, there is really no shortage of people, but there is something special about our girlfriends.   I missed them so much.  So yesterday I decided to grab some inexpensive flowers and go on a small visiting tour.   I didn’t get to all of them, but I saw four.  Four beautiful women, who have become very central in my life.  Women who truly know me, love me, and are always a call away.  Oh, how I have missed them.

We are all in different life stages.  One is home with young children trying to finish up online school, while her husband, an essential worker works 24 hour shifts several days a week.  One has grown kids and is working with her husband in their family business and they pretty much only see each other 24/7.  One who usually travels a lot for work has been home in this season, but unable to spend the time she wishes she could with her grandchildren during the lockdown.  Another is long since retired and lost her husband last year, grappling with all the firsts since her husband passed, and adding the additional isolation of this season.  All of them are beautiful women, who love people, love God, and love life.  All of them are impacted by this lockdown, and oh how we miss each other.

One of my friends actually squealed and jumped for joy when I arrived.  I visited with every one of them a little longer than intended, managed to overheat my car attempting to keep my groceries cool while we visited, it was worth it.  I had almost forgotten how refreshing and recharging their presence is.  We were created for this.  We were created to be in relationship with God and with each other, and in this season my friend tank was running pretty close to empty.

And yet, even as I write this, I can remember a time when these relationships didn’t really exist.  The days of girlfriends of my youth faded to my new marriage, my new family, work friends, church friends, mom friends.  They were still friends, but it was different, each of those only knew that side of me, our common ground was our environment or our children, not a genuine love of each other.  But in the last decade or so, God has taken me on an identity finding journey, and in that season He made clear the necessity of friends.  We have to walk through this life with others, we weren’t meant to do it alone.  So often, it is exactly the fear of being alone, that leads us to settle for lesser relationships.  In this last season, I have been incredibly blessed to have friends who have seen me at my worst and my best, they have cheered for me, cried with me, and yes, even yelled at me.  They have walked in truth and grace.  The road to that hasn’t always been easy, there has been hurt and pain and friendship lost, but staying in the fight, fighting for and with people we love, refusing to allow the accusing voice of the enemy to have the final say, and refusing to give up because it’s hard, is so absolutely worth it.

So, if today, your friendship tank is running low because of current circumstances, reach out to those women who fill your tank and allow their presence whether in person, over the phone, or through messaging to breathe life and hope and joy over you.  And if you find yourself unsure of who exactly those people might be, then invite God into that, odds are, they are already close by.

 

 

 

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But som

eone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Unplugged

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“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Ann Lamott

Best Laid Plans…

Oh, the irony. Finding Zarephath encourages women in ministry in a number of ways, but a primary one is the mailing of regular encouragement messages and small gifts or tokens of remembrance. In February we ordered bookmarks with this quote to be distributed in our April mailer. Those mailers have not been sent out. First, because our work parties that usually meet to assemble them haven’t been able to, and second, because suddenly it didn’t feel like the most needed message. Telling 1500 women to take a time out and unplug, when they just spent a month at home on quarantine didn’t feel like the most apt message. Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?

And Yet…

This morning however, as I pondered the blog post for this week, I was reminded of the bookmarks. We initially just thought we’d shelve them for another time, another season. The days when we are all too busy chasing all the details, all the needs, all the problems will return soon enough. There is almost never a time in ministry when we don’t need a reminder to unplug, the right time will avail itself.

This morning, however, I really thought about the message and our current reality. Our lives have changed dramatically in the last 2 months. Our rhythms and habits have all be tossed into a giant mixing bowl. For many of us our financial situation has gone from tight to precarious. Our social interactions have changed dramatically and our work environment now includes our kids & pets. Nothing is the same it was two months ago, and yet, for myself at least, and I suspect for many of you, the one thing we have not done is unplug.

My weekly cell phone usage report seems to be a glaring accuser. How many hours a day did I spend on my phone? How many hours on my computer? Netflix, YouTube & Hulu? My kids’ hours on Xbox or Nintendo Switch? How many hours of news feeds and the comment on them? If there is one thing I know I haven’t done, it’s unplug. I’ve disconnected from the social world around me, but those aren’t really the same thing. The noise of all the other places I’ve been plugged into is loud. Deafening at times, it serves to silence some of the losses I’ve experienced in this season, but it certainly isn’t unplugged.

A Simple Truth

So, this week, we are going to prep the mailers. We are going to move forward with the truth that all of us need a time to unplug, to silence the noise, and to make space to hear God in the silence. He waits for us there. So, whether you are beginning to return to some of your environments, or you are continuing to quarantine at home, will you take a moment and consider unplugging. Turn it all off. And breathe. Breathe in the silence, breathe in the promise of summer, breathe in the presence of God. He hasn’t been in quarantine, He’s been waiting for us to unplug.

 

Our Many Moms

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-Lisa-Jo Baker

This week we celebrate mothers.  All mothers. 

If we have eyes to see, we will recognize that we all have many mothers.  The women who influenced us, comforted us, taught us and fed us.  The women who showed up when we needed them.  They may be blood relatives, they may be friends, sometimes they were even strangers.  But the heart of a mother can be found in a million small kindnesses as well as life changing ones.  All women give life, some to their own children, some to others’.  Some to ideas and inventions and beauty.  Our world is a better place because of the life-giving beauty of other women.

To all the Moms

To the moms who treasure every hand-made gift they receive today and 

To the moms who receive no gifts.

To the moms whose children celebrate her and

To the moms whose children can’t.

To the moms of generations, who celebrate their children and grand-children and

To the those who have lost and miss them.

To the stepmoms, adoptive moms, foster moms and fill-in moms and

To the sisters, aunts, and best friend moms

To the moms who are overflowing with joy and

To the moms who are struggling.

To the moms who have lost a child and

To the moms who have never held their child

To the moms who are expecting a child and

To the moms who have never had a child

To the daughters of great moms and

To the daughters of broken moms

You are beautiful.

You are seen.

You are loved.