Red Rover

Welcome to Unseen today.  We are in the middle of the holiday season. I am willing to bet that as people who live unseen, you have experienced some hurt this holiday.  We are challenged to be thankful, but life is full of pain and it is easy to feel alone in our pain. Today's post is about ways to deal with that feeling.

 

RED ROVER, RED ROVER

Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:3

Remember the old playground game, Red Rover? You divided into teams and team members locked arms. Then one team would call out, “Red Rover, Red Rover, Let Stacy come over!” Stacy would break from the ranks of her team’s line and run as hard as she could toward the other team’s line. She would try to aim for what she felt was a weak link. If she broke through the line, she could take one of the players for her team. If she did not break through, she joined the team that called her, and her team lost a member. The best strategy for keeping a player from breaking through your line was simply to hold on tight to the people on either side of you.

            What we need in the church today is the same kind of determination to hold on to the people on either side of us.  Our enemy is trying desperately to take some of our friends and family off our “team.”  This week in our ladies’ class there were several prayer requests that made me realize how much we are under attack. A young woman was grieving on the anniversary of her daughter’s death. Mothers were struggling with children in addiction. Several had serious health concerns. One of my husband’s oldest friends was killed in a robbery. How can we help each other through things like this? We need to hold on tightly to each other. Just as in the game a player looks for the weakest link, the enemy hits us at our weakest point. We need to be in fellowship so we are not fighting alone.
            The Bible describes the church as a body. 1 Corinthians describes the way the body is supposed to work together as well as some ways that it should not work. It can be tempting to say to our fellow believers, “I have no need of you. I am fine on my own.”  This is a lie from the enemy who wants us to be disconnected. We are encouraged in Rom 12:15 to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Then in Galatians 6:2 we are told to bear one another’s burdens. Many other passages have advice on how to relate to one another. A common theme is that we must stand together.  
            Unlike Red Rover, we are not in a game. We are in a war, and we need to fight together. The unity of believers, empowered by God and his spirit, will be a key factor in the victory. Our ladies have begun to learn this. Our unity is not because of our similarity to one another. We have a wide age span, different financial situations, different ethnic backgrounds and we came to God from some very different places. Our unity comes from being devoted to the same Lord. While I, who came to God from the third pew, may not be able to understand my sister who came to God down the road of addiction and abuse, I can stand with her and draw strength from her.
            Stand together and hold tight to each other. We can’t let our marriages, our children, or our Christian families to be pulled back to the other side.

Lord, Help us to fight together and to fight with you.

A New Pair of Glasses

Welcome to Unseen this week. Adjusting to full time work has been challenging and exciting. I hope to be back to weekly posts soon as I get my time schedule back on track. With Thanksgiving coming up, we are hearing about gratitude. Read on for my perspective.

A new Pair of Glasses

Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Romans 12:1

    My dad went through a grueling battle with cancer and Alzheimer's disease.  It was very hard to watch this strong, passionate, independent man be reduced to one who was confused and vulnerable.  We found that we had to find humor where we could to cope with the situation.  There were funny things that happened, too. He loved Braum's ice cream, and wanted my sister to bring some every time she came to see him.  To save money, she bought a ½ gallon carton. She brought him some in a Styrofoam cup and he declared that it was not nearly as good as Braum's ice cream.  He would not believe that it was Braum's, so she went to the car and got a Braum's cup. She washed it out and put the ice cream into it. When he tasted it, he said, “Now, this is the good stuff. It's way better than what you brought me before.”

    Dad, like so many Alzheimer's patients, did not feel that he was confused. He desperately wanted to go back to work.  He was telling me about a test that the doctor had done, apparently to check for cognitive loss. He said that he didn't do that well on the test and the doctor had said he was concerned. Dad insisted that the reason he had not done well on the test was that he could not see the questions very well. He stated that he was going to get new glasses in a few weeks and then he would be fine. He would be able to go back to work then. 

    When Dad told me this, I just shook my head and laughed. Then I thought about what he said. How many times in life do we just need a new perspective, “a new pair of glasses”, to get us through a situation?   It is so easy to complain about the way life is. We see the co-worker who is difficult rather than the blessing of having a job.  We see the amazing amount of food that teenagers eat and miss the

blessing of having teens who are home to eat it.  We see the spouse who has to be asked more than once to take out the trash and miss the blessing of having a spouse who for all their faults has been faithful and loving.

      Proverbs has a lot to say about our perspective in life.  For instance, chapter 15 and verse 16 tells us, Better is a little with contentment than great feasting with strife. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows us things that are out of perspective. The beatitudes show us that what we think of as bad, being meek, mourning, or being persecuted, are actually things that will give us blessings.  Later he chastises the Pharisees for tithing mint, dill and cumin, while neglecting the weighty matters of the law, such as love and mercy.

    Christian life requires a new perspective, or a new pair of glasses. The things we are asked to do don't make sense to our natural minds.  Where is the logic in being the greatest by serving others, or in praying for those who persecute us? Romans 12 tell us that we must not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. If you are struggling with a situation, ask God to show you how he sees it. Also, when we talk to each other, let's practice looking for the blessings and not complaining. You never know what you will find.

 

Work in Progress

Welcome back to Unseen. I have started a full time job and have been looking at the changes in my life and my attitudes. Read on to see what I learned.

Work in Progress

            And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit 2Cor. 3:18

            My little boy was very allergic to mosquito bites, and they would swell and itch miserably. He had several bites on his ankles and had scratched them until they bled.  Then the blood dried, effectively gluing the socks to his legs. I did not realize this and when I was getting him undressed that night I pulled his socks off and he howled. He put his little hands on his hips and said, “I wish I had the kind of mother who would take my socks off slow when I have a boo-boo.” Full of remorse, I said, “I am so sorry. Will I do until they can find you a mother like that?” Wiping his eyes, he said, “Yeah. They’re working on that kind of mother but they are not finished with them yet.” God is still not finished with me as a mother.

            Yesterday I was walking to the library to work on proofreading this book. I was a little distracted but my attention was quickly arrested. Our part of West Texas is on the path of the monarch butterfly migration.  Between the sidewalk and the library, probably a hundred gorgeous monarchs flitted in front of me. It was so exciting that I felt like a child. It made me think of the awesomeness of the creator and also of His transforming power. The proud-looking monarchs with their bold orange and black coloring come from a striped caterpillar that bears little resemblance to the adult.  I am so glad that the same God who can make that transformation is at work in me.

            2 Cor. 3:18 says “and we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” I am so glad that God did not leave me as I was when I first came to Him in 1978. I am glad He did not leave me as I was in1994 when I re-dedicated myself to serving Him out of love and gratitude for who He is, not just to follow the rules. He has used situations in my life to draw me closer to him and make me more like Him.  He has shown me His glory in valleys He has brought me through and in people who follow Him. He has taught me things in His word and molded me through service. 

The more time I spend with Him the more He changes me.

            It is easy to get stuck at one level of grace or growth. How do you avoid this? If you want to be

changed into God’s likeness, you have to behold His likeness. Spend time with Him in study and

worship. Spend time with His people. James says, “Come near to God and he will come near to

you” (4:8). If you want more of God, He is willing to meet you.