Shattered In Pieces

 

        Years ago I remember a time when we moved from one town to another in our motor home as we were traveling.  Such movement on the road with bumps, turns and traffic caused it to be like, in essence, a “mini-earthquake.” Often when I opened the bathroom cupboards, something fell out that shifted from front to back or side to side.  I checked each one to spare either Charles or I a surprise attack by a bottle or container when we opened the door later without thinking.  

I was fixing Charles’ lunch one day and he wanted to help, so he pulled the milk out of the fridge, then opened the cupboard door above me, and a glass spilled out of the cupboard striking the sink and countertop; and promptly splintered all over the place!  To make matters worse, it wasn’t just any glass, it was a special one; a gift.  There was nothing left to do but clean it up.   

Sometimes our lives feel like that; all broken and sad.  Clean up for life issues can be a problem, however.    It is here I find comfort in knowing God is the best "caregiver" and "handy man" ever!  He's amazing at repairing broken hearts, lives and situations, any human cannot! 

I wonder, in reflection, what is most upsetting about breaking a glass, especially a special one?   Are there times when we feel like we are the pieces, or our lives are representative of the glass splinters flying all over the place?  Do situations like this make us question God’s perfect will in our life?   Do we sometimes feel so “shattered” emotionally by circumstances we can’t even focus on God? 

Currently a friend is having a medical issue (not COVID related) that due to COVID and other circumstances, made getting a ‘bed’ literally for care, nearly impossible.  The friend needs heart surgery and it’s critical that he receive surgery to save his life.  The hospital where he was, could not handle the procedure so he needed a larger facility.  He waited nearly a week, and care couldn't continue, until moved.  The family was in high stress mode!  What could they do!?

I saw a quote today that said “You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved.”  I believe we are given circumstances that puts us out of our comfort zone.  Perhaps God wants to see how we handle what is before us, and perhaps he wants to see how we project our discomfort to others.  We are each ministers of the faith every single day.  How we respond, in both action and words, demonstrates our level of faith.  It’s tough to be strong some days!  Knowing a loved one who needs care and can’t get it ---and there is nothing you can do to help, ---could make anyone weak with frustration.  I wonder, though.  How do we circumvent the way we feel?

We know Satan is going to use every tactic he can to try and crumble whatever amount of faith we have.  It’s a given he’ll use our weaknesses.  Another quote I saw recently is, “The battle is the Lord’s.”  This is scripture!  There are at least one hundred scriptures which talk about this!  In that light, why do we feel so discouraged and defeated when we can’t see clearly how God will work a circumstance out, and in a timely manner?  

After all, He is God!  He knows all things. He is Master of all things and can do anything He wants, just because He can!  When we remember this, it’s much easier to become calm and peaceful about whatever we are facing.  I’m not saying we stop being concerned, but we can stop worrying, because when we trust His will and His timing, it’s gonna work out just the way it should—-and the way He planned!

Photo Credit: https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-okodu  

Time To Switch Servers

 

      Cell phones!  What an amazing device technology has created!  It’s like holding a small computer right in your hand.  The first time I used a car phone, I could hardly believe it.  I was with friends who had one and allowed me to make a call.  Of course that required an antenna and much larger components than we have now, but at the time that was pretty remarkable!

Now we see almost every young person having their own phone.  They are often texting each other, taking pictures or videos, searching the internet for information, besides from all the ‘calls’ they can make.  And often this little phone does more than our very first computer!

I remember when we bought our first computer.  It was a ‘beast of a thing’ comprised of two very large boxes, and a smaller one!  The monitor was in one, the size of a small TV, the ‘computer itself’ was in another, and then the smaller box with all the electoral components, key board and mouse.  Now an entire computer, keyboard and monitor are in a single frame less than an inch thick and can come in at 7.7 inches square!  And these little dynamoes, have a ton more space, and capabilities than our original monster computer ever had!

And having internet…..that was pure elation!  It was awesome setting up to get email.  I loved knowing that I could send someone a message and they’d get it not only the same day, but within the hour!  Of course, it has now opened up virtual communication—that goes beyond face time, into ‘zoom’ meetings where a group of people across the globe can see each other and hold classes with hundreds of children at a time without ever leaving the comforts of home, or even ‘attend church services’, again while never leaving our personal space! 

I wonder, though.  As much as I appreciate the wonders of these technological masterpieces, is it possible in some ways we’ve lost ourselves?  Have these devices, in a twisted kind of way become idols for us?  I panic when I leave my cell phone behind when going out—-even to go to the garden, or to get the mail.  I wonder whose call I will miss!

Or….social media.  Thankfully, while I do have a business page on social media, that is usually where you’ll find me when I’m on it.  But again, it’s so easy to get lost and caught up in scrolling…..’just to see what’s out there’—-and there is plenty.  There seems to be nothing sacred anymore.  You can find anything, literally anything you want on the internet!  It can easily become an addiction—- or as I mentioned, an idol.

Someone made the comment once that she wondered if ‘it’s time to switch servers.’  What if we, who spend so much time on the computer, our phones, iPads, or other technological gadgets, switched our instant communication, to 'service for Christ'?  Do we spend time in God’s Word or even communicating with Him?  Are we so busy (and lost) in the world around us, with all the fake news, gossip, photographs of things we shouldn’t be looking at, or putting our own ‘stuff’ out there for others to see, that we no longer have any time for what’s really important? —- Our very souls.  

Christ will return soon.  I know that’s a line that’s been said for years.  But consider this.  Technology actually provided the means for some of the unfulfilled prophesies to be fulfilled, spoken of in Revelation 11:8-10.  We can see—and watch—news being made around the world in real time.  I’ve included a link you might find interesting about how the Bible talks about technology and especially how it could be used in the end times.  We are almost there.  I’m sure of it!

https://free.messianicbible.com/feature/end-time-technology-deceived/

Photo credit: https://www.google.com/search?q=free+pictures+of+computers+in+the+1990s 

Keep Singing

 

  My friends tells of a family member who, when he and his wife moved into an assisted-living facility found themselves in the position to help their neighbors within their community, quite by accident and surprise.  They discovered their cognitive abilities were above many of the other residents.  In fact, many living there, were sad, lonely and even experiencing depression. 

The ‘newbies’ to the community decided to have a ‘song-fest’ after dinner one evening.  They invited a friend who could play music and made sure all the residents were aware of the event.  The first night they were delighted when they had over thirty residents attend.  They used music from an old elementary school music book to share and they sang!

As the ‘song-fests’ continued, the couple shifted the music to the old familiar hymns most everyone knew.  As the residents sang, the Holy Spirit energized the group.  Those who were sad and depressed made some recovery from the dark place they were entering.  God’s Spirit raised the energy within the group as they rejoiced and sang worship songs.

We all face challenges.  Some days are harder than others, as we face a hostile economic climate; rising prices; more and more mandates; loved ones and friends becoming ill, some even crossing to the other side; isolation; finances; loss of jobs and on and on! 

When we need encouragement, one of the best ways to overcome, is to pray and read God’s Word.  Another way, however, is to turn the radio on and sing!  Sing with all the gusto you’ve got!  Worship and let God know your heart!  Remember that He is your strength and support.  Then use this new found energy, given by God, to share it with someone else; just like the couple who found themselves in an assisted-living environment, which created opportunities to share the Gospel!

God is good—-all the time—- and knows our needs, weaknesses and our strengths and can use each of these dimensions of who we are, to help someone else!

It’s good to know that research shows that singing is actually scientifically, healthy for you!  It can boost your immunity and help lower stress; improves sleep and mental alertness; tones stomach and facial muscles and even improves posture!  I admit, I didn’t know all that but how awesome is it that God provided this wonderful method of exhilaration to aid our health to boot?  It’s genius!

I love to sing, but unless I have someone next to me singing (or hear someone on the radio) I can’t usually carry the tune well.  With help, I manage nicely.  So….I encourage you to sing, even if you don’t believe you can.  God doesn’t care if you sing off key, say the wrong words, or can’t hold a note! He wants to hear your worship and that’s the most important element.  Go for it!  Sing!

For more information on the benefits of singing, check out this link!  It’s filled with wonderful information!

https://www.barbershop.org/the-health-benefits-of-singing 

Photo credit:  music pics

He Picks Up The Pieces

 

         

         A friend tells the story of his visit to an ancient cathedral in Ireland where he saw a window that inspired him.  He considered the immense number of tiny pieces of glass necessary to create the beautiful picture of Jesus surrounded by people from all walks of life who sat around his feet listening to him speak. The tiny broken pieces represented the very different and broken lives each person encounters during their journey on earth.  Yet using all the broken, jagged edged pieces, a magnificent and beautiful art work emerged.

There are times in our lives we all face brokenness, sometimes even to the point of being shattered into a million pieces. We may face the death of a loved one, separation from a child, a chronic illness, divorce, financial devastation or a hundred other ways our world gets torn apart.  Sometimes it’s even because of bad decisions!

I’ve dropped a drinking glass, plate or other fragile ornament onto the kitchen floor and it’s gone; just gone.  I remember I’d found a beautiful treasure in a thrift store a few years back. It was a glass pitcher that looked ancient.  (It may have been just a replica, but it was beautiful and my husband bought it for me.)  All bagged up and paid for, we walked out of the store and my husband dropped the the bag with the pitcher, onto the asphalt.  

Needless to say it went into splinters; thankfully entirely contained within the bag.  My husband was crushed.  I immediately assumed we would just trash it; after all who could put it back together again?  Adamantly my husband said, “No! I’ll fix it!”

That splintered pitcher is still in the bag, in hundreds of bits, but I still have it.  My husband hasn’t had the time or inclination to ever begin trying to ‘think about’ putting it back together. I’m not sure, even if he started, he’d be able to.  But God’s not like that.  He knows every time we get shredded to pieces, either by others, or even by ourselves.  

The Kingdom Heirs sing a song, “Pieces" —-one of my favorites. There are times when I'm hurting, broken, sad, whatever....and think of that song; picture me in splinters all over the place and know that God has the unique ability to pick every fragment that is on the ground and put it back together. This is such a gift and I am grateful to know, and serve, a God who loves me that much!   (This is the you tube link for the song mentioned.)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x8i-7NOpFw     

Someone suggested that not only can God put our pieces back together, but that each community is filled with many  pieces, ‘fragments’ among many.  God pulls all the pieces together in specific ways and places, to create special bonds, making amazing pictures in each of our lives.  These pictures are what the world around us sees.  

        I wonder, do the pictures we create as a community, look anything like the beautiful pictures we see in the those windows that grace so many church windows?  Or, do we let the the tiny splinters distort the image?

 https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/jesus-teaching-stained-glass.html 

Let's Move Some Mountains

  I’ve been struggling with finding ‘my mission field.’  Oh certainly, I write and I believe the posts bring across the message of Christ, but somehow that doesn’t seem enough.  I’ve prayed that God would open my mind and heart to where he wants me.

        It seems so many are busy within the church.  There are those very large churches which are able to raise thousands of dollars for their specific ongoing ministries.  Others seem to work on a shoe-string budget and still prepare and serve meals for the homeless in their community or have food and clothing drives.

Others send people on mission trips to help with clean up after hurricanes or other natural disasters, while some create a community garden in their town to enable those who don’t have the space to grow a garden or funds to buy food, a place to realize the gift of ‘growing things’ provided by our Lord.

So I ask myself, ‘What am I doing?  How am I serving?’  There are days when I feel like I fall way short.  

I read the story of a person who moved from the city back to their small hometown and was taken aback by the ‘smallness’ of the church compared to the mega church they left behind.  They assumed there was no possible way they would be satisfied or filled within such a small congregation.  She found out differently however, as she discovered what they lacked in numbers and funds, was running over in determination, dedication, and a mind of Christ.

When Jesus began his ministry, and through out his time on Earth, he was considered poor.  This ‘man’ from a poor, small town, who worked as a carpenter, the world discovered, was the Messiah, Savior, and Redeemer of the World.  Even though he came from ‘meager beginnings’ he turned out to be great, magnificent and life changing! 

Ultimately He forgave sins, healed bodies and spirits, gave sight to the blind and made the lame walk again.  How was it this poor Carpenter could offer so much?  He knew his mission and followed the call God had given him—all the way to the cross.

The mission field is all around us and there are many ways to give.  Certainly volunteering in any form to help someone is ‘serving.’  Encouragement in the form of checking in, on a shut in, delivering food, working in a soup kitchen, etc. are always good choices.  But so is sending a card or making a phone call, taking the neighbor’s dog out for a walk, raking leaves or taking out the trash and there must be a hundred other ways!

As I consider ‘my mission’ I realize there are so many options!  Why am I struggling with this? As I do the ‘small things’,  I wait on God for the full answer to this, as I search His Word for clarity to continue guiding my life.  Perhaps my life is about small things.  That is not a bad place to be; even if perhaps different from others.  But Jesus started small—-or did he?  At age twelve he was in the Temple teaching ‘those in the know!’  

Only God can instill in a person’s life what is to be their mission.  Sometimes we get so lost in trying to find the ‘big things’ we forget that even the small things can be impactful and make a difference.

What’s he calling you to do?  How do you serve?  Is there more you can do?  Is there more you want to do?  How do we get there?  Let’s go move some mountains!