Help me find the stairs

Welcome to unseen today. The post for today was one of my first and is the "title piece" for my first book. When we live unseen we may feel like there is no purpose for what we are going through. Read on to see how God can redeem our trials.

Help me find the stairs

Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

                Once upon a time there were two sisters.  They lived in a big house in a small town.  There was not a lot to do, but they managed to keep busy and happy.  One thing that was fun to do was to sleep in the basement.  It was set up like a living room. Along one wall was a couch. On the other wall was a day bed, and next to it was a bookcase with glass doors. In the back corner was a sewing machine that was set up on a card table. At the front of the basement was a large cabinet TV.  Around the corner from the TV was the stairway.  There were two light switches; one was at the top of the stairs and the other was at the bottom.  The sisters would camp out in the basement and put sleeping bags in front of the TV.

                There was only one problem.   The basement was very dark at night. Many nights the younger girl would wake up and need to go upstairs. She would wake up, get up and go to where she was sure the stairs were. Instead she would bump into the couch. She would adjust and try again to find the stairs, only to bump into the wall this time. Now she was more careful and walked with her hands in front of her. The longer she was in the dark the harder it was to keep her bearings.  She would find a wall and, deciding that the stairs where close by, she would take a step up, but there would be no stair.  She usually ended up along the far wall by the day bed.  If she found the bookcase she would drop to her knees and crawl until she found her sister. She would shake her and say, “Sheryl, help me find the stairs.”  Her sister could find the stairs every time with out fail, because she had spent more time in the basement and because she was older.

                The story about the two sisters is true. It is also much like our lives before we come to GOD. When people are in sin they are wandering in the dark.  They think they know their way out but they find out that they are wrong. The longer they stay in their sin, the harder it is to find their way.  Finally they may be fortunate enough to find someone who has been there before. Who can help them better than someone who has already found the way out?  When we get to the “up stairs” of GOD’S grace, he lets us recover from our ordeal. Then he sends us back to help others.

                 Listen for the cries.   They may be loud and angry or quiet and pleading but they are saying the same thing.

                “Please help me find the stairs.”

Make the Most of it.

Hello and welcome to Unseen today. I have been working on a tribute to my mom and have been searching through my memories. Read on to see what I learned about life from one of my most colorful family members.

 

Make the most of it.

My Grandma was what we lovingly called a character. She always looked at life about 30 degrees off of what everyone else did. You never knew what you were going to get. Once she made sandwiches cut in a variety of sized circles with mayonnaise, cheese, bread- and- butter pickles and jelly. She was so excited about them none of us had the heart to tell her that they were terrible. She loved genealogy and was telling me her version of Grandpa’s family. She said, “Now, your great-great uncle John Carver was a stowaway on a wagon train. “  Grandpa rolled his eyes and said, “Oh, Stella, he was not! It’s my family. I ought to know.” Without batting an eye she said, “Well, I have to make it sound good.”

When I was in high school, my mom and her brothers and sisters told Grandma and Grandpa that they needed new carpet. Grandpa said that they didn’t because it was the top of the line carpet when they bought it. (in 1968) One child got them out of the house and another let in the carpet layers.  Of course when they saw it they loved it.  My cousin Nancy was there that weekend and had gone on a date. She didn’t want to wake anyone up so she didn’t turn on any lights. She nearly tripped on Grandma laying in the middle of the living room floor. Grandma was in her 80’s at the time and Nancy asked if she was alright. “Well, sure.” came the reply. When Nancy asked why she was lying in the middle of the living room floor she said, and I quote, “I’m just trying to get my money’s worth out of this new carpet.”

Grandma may have understood something many of us don’t.  She did her best to get the most she could out of ingredients in the fridge, stories, and carpet. How do we go about getting the most out of life? One way we can do this is by using the gifts God has given us. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the different types of gifts and how many members become one body. It is tempting to try to fit our spirits and our mind into a mold that looks more exciting or more profitable than what we are designed for. We may want the spotlight or the thrill of public leadership when we may be fitted for behind the scenes work. For example, I could make a meal and host someone at my house, and it would be fine, but I would probably do more good with half an hour of writing or singing than in 2 hours of cooking and 8 hours of cleaning to get my house ready for company.  My mother-in-law finds it hard to express her love in words, preferring to cook, sew or craft instead to show her love.

Ephesians 2:10 say,  For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. He told Jeremiah that he had set him apart as a prophet before he was born. (Jer 1:9) One of my favorite life verses is Phil 1:6. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it till the day of Jesus.  Then there is the beautiful verse in Jeremiah 29:11-13. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

Remember who you are. Find your gifts and learn to serve God and others with your gifts. Then we can do what Paul advises in Ephesians 5:16 Walk as wise men, not as unwise. Make the most of the time because the days are evil.

Shadows

Once again God took my post in a direction I did not expect.  I tried really hard to write a great post about busy signals.  Maybe next week. See if you are one of the ones who needs to hear this instead.

Shadows

Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalms 119:105

My dog does not have the same sense of night and day that I do. If the urge strikes him to go out it is in my best interest to oblige. His Indian name is He-who-must-not-be-ignored. I don’t worry about being out with him after dark, because he can go from zero to ferocious in 2.6 seconds if he thinks I am being threatened. One night we were walking through the complex in the moonlight and I saw something strange on the ground. I reached to do pick it up and see what it was. It was actually just a shadow. It looked solid and real, but it was an illusion. 

One dark and stormy night when we were kids, the electricity went out. We hung out in the living room together.  We made popcorn in the fireplace (and scorched it). Dad told silly stories that he made up as he went along. We hung up a sheet between the living room and kitchen and put some big candles behind the sheet with us. Then we did a shadow play which our parents said was fantastic.

 Petra had a song that said,

Sometimes a shadow, dark and cold, falls like a mist across the road

But be encouraged by the sight. Where there’s a shadow there’s a light.  

In both of these cases the shadow was cast by the light from the moon or the candles.

                How many times does there seem to be a threat to our spiritual well being, our safety or our joy. Yesterday the threat to my joy was that I did not know how God was going to meet a need that I had. Fortunately he knew exactly how He was going to meet it. As real as my anxiety seemed it has melted away in the light of his truth.

Jesus is called the light. John 1 says  “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” One of the promises of Jesus coming was in Isaiah 9:2. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. And in John 8, Jesus tells us,  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Let Jesus light cast out the shadows in your life. Then be the light that is set on a hill that all men may see.

 

Stars

This was not the post I was planning on tonight but apparently it is the one God was planning on. . Are you feeling insignificant today. Stop it and read on!

Stars

When  I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. Psalms 8:3-5

With the weather in the brief span of time that passes for spring in West Texas, I am spending more time outside. I love to walk outside or lay on the grass and look up at the stars. Stars are just cool. They are beautiful and powerful and draw our attention in an almost hypnotic way. My children could spout lots of cool scientific facts about stars and how big they are, how far away they are and how long it takes the light from them to reach our eyes, but I am not going to put those numbers here.  If you want them you can look them up or call my children.

Louis Giglio has an amazing video on the web that talks about the relative sizes and distances of different stars I am blown away when I watch it.  The thing I come away with is awe at the power and majesty of God. God keeps galaxies with vast numbers of stars in perfect alignment, and yet we are fearful that he doesn’t have the power to answer our prayer. We may go to the other extreme and say that he is too busy or we are too insignificant.  The reality is that neither of these things is true. The psalmist has such a beautiful expression of this.  Read it again.

 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. Psalms 8:3-5. Psalms 147:4 says He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Psalm 19:1 says, the heavens declare the glory of God.  The writer goes on to describe how God made a tent for the sun like a bridegroom coming out of its chamber.

We are the crowning accomplishment of this creator. It was for us that he sacrificed the one most precious to Him. He wrapped his power, so great it can keep billions of stars and galaxies operating, in humility and weakness for us. How dare we allow the enemy to make us feel insignificant! He has called us to be his children and invited us to share eternity with him. Take him at this word.

In the midst of the storm

Welcome to Unseen today. Summertime means storms, both in the physical world and in our lives. Read on for a lesson about weathering tough times.

In the Midst of the Storm

These things I have spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. John 16:32-33

                Monday was a long day. I was making visits for work and MapQuest had failed me more than once. People in rural West Texas give directions like, “Find the Atmos building and go 3 miles till you come to a red fence. The mailbox has cow horns on it. You can’t miss it.” Believe me, I can too miss it! It was a little over an hour’s drive home and I was tired. I had friend riding with me so she could navigate. The clouds started to look a little dark. The further we drove toward home the darker they got, and I noticed the wind picking up. Finally, we reached a spot where there were dark, ominous clouds on one side of the car and bright sunshine on the other. We went around a curve and got a few misty sprinkles, so I turned on the wipers. Within a few seconds it was raining heavily and I listened to the wipers. Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, thunk. I looked out my rain streaked driver’s window to see my wiper dangling off the windshield. I couldn’t reach it to get it back on track, so my friend got out of the car. The wind whipped her hair and clothes as she wrestled the wiper into place. She got back in and we took off, but in just a few moments it was raining too hard to see the road. We pulled off on the shoulder, such as it was. No sooner had we parked than hail peppered the car and wind gusts rocked it back and forth. I would like to tell you that I realized the power and sovereignty of God, but the truth is it scared the willies out of me. When we could hear over the storm we called and texted our families to let them know we were stuck but unharmed.  When we were able to go again we drove slowly for the last ten miles into town. She laughed and asked if I could pry my hands off the steering wheel. I was never so glad to see town in my life.  

                Are you going through a storm in your life? If not you probably have recently or are about to. How do you cope when you’re in the middle of a storm? Some people rage and rant at the unfairness of the storm, but that doesn’t make it go away. Some people are like me and try to isolate so they won’t bother anyone, but that doesn’t help either. Remember the story of the disciples in the storm? The Bible tells us in Matthew 8 that they were on the lake in a boat. I was not happy being in a little car in the rain, wind and hail. I can not imaging being in a boat! They were just like us. Some of them ranted and some tried to hide while shivering in their sandals. Do you remember what Jesus was doing? He was asleep in the boat. “Lord,” they said, “Don’t you care that we are about to drown?” He got up and spoke to the wind and the waves. “Peace. Be still” Immediately the wind stopped and the waves died down. Then he looked at the disciples and says, “Oh you of little faith, Why were you so afraid. .”

 Jesus is with us in the literal and spiritual storms in our lives. Sometimes I may be going through something that seems huge to me, but Jesus is asleep in my boat. This is not because he doesn’t care, but because he is so completely in control. Some of my storms last a lot longer than I want and I am ready for Jesus to hurry up and speak to the waves, but he does it in His time and he is with me in the boat in the meantime. The psalms tell of the privilege of hiding in God and resting in Him. Psalms 46 and 84 in particular encourage us to be still and know the safety of being with God. Isaiah 30:15 says in quietness and trust shall be your strength. When you go through storms try to rest in Jesus. It is harder than it sounds and takes a conscious decision, but it will get you through till you see the end of the journey.

Together

Welcome to Unseen today.  People who live unseen may find it hard to have time together with people who build them up. Read on today for a precious memory and the lessons I learned from it.

Together

 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:3)

            My grandmother was a really special person. She had a lot of pain and a lot of frustration from Parkinson’s, but managed to stay positive. She was determined when she wanted something, and told me she was a daredevil when she was a girl. She went to college for the first time when she was forty and I kept her diploma on my dresser while I was back in school for a second degree.  She was encouraging and she was accepting. She was funny and she made you feel special. I spent a lot of time staying at my mom’s parents and it was a lot of fun, but staying with Grandmother was different. I think one way to explain it is that she let me grow up. To Grandma and Grandpa I was “Little Susan” even into my 30’s, but not at Grandmother’s.

            My Granddad had been a telegrapher for the Santa Fe Railroad, and they decided that we should experience the passenger trains before they were gone. They took my oldest cousin by himself, and then took my sister and my other cousin together. After Pa-Pa died she took me by myself. We rode the bus from Amarillo to Albuquerque, New Mexico and then boarded the bus to Raton.  We met the rest of the family at the end. It was a magical day. There were plush red velvet seats that I could hardly get up into, the music of the train on the tracks, and the amusement park fun of trying to walk down the aisles on a motion. One of the most interesting things was the dining car. I remember that it was hot and stuffy, unlike the rest of the train. The tables were set close together and had impossibly white tablecloths and sparkling silverware. This is a treasured memory, and the details of it are so clear more than 30 years later. As much as the trip, though, I loved the time with her. I had hours and hours of not having to compete with my more outgoing siblings for her time and attention. I have no idea if the weather was bad or if the food in that amazing dining car was good. I only remember that for a whole day we were together. She told me stories about things that were important to her, including riding the train from Panhandle to Amarillo every Saturday to go shopping with two little boys in tow. It was so special.

            God’s word says that one of the names of Jesus is Emmanuel or God with us. (Mat 1:23) More important than what he does or what he gives us is his presence. It amazes me that the Lord who made the world is pleased to walk with me and be with me. I don’t have to compete with the powerful people or the charismatic people or the pretty people, or even the thin people. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice we are welcomed into his presence and encouraged to come boldly before his throne.(Heb 4:16) We will be with him both here and in eternity. I think the only thing that can be said to that is REJOICE!!

Chosen

Welcome to Unseen today. I hope everyone had a good memorial day and thank you to those of you who served. People who live unseen feel less worthy than others. Read on for a lesson on why it is not true.

Chosen

You did not choose me, but I chose you that you may go and bear fruit and that your fruit may endure. John 15:16

 

When I was growing up, I felt like I had a sign on my forehead that said, ALMOST GOOD ENOUGH BUT NOT QUITE. It was more than not being part of the in crowd.  I grew to hate PE, especially if we picked teams.   I was almost always among the last 3 to be chosen. Academic teams were a completely different story, but the pattern started early of focusing on what I couldn’t do rather than what I could do. As I got older, I tried out for teams and groups, and many times I almost made it. All district choir. All district band. Homecoming Court. There were 9 girls in my ninth grade class and 8 spots on the Homecoming Court. I was the one sitting in the bleachers. It was the same story with cheerleading tryouts. I had a very rational response. I grew to hate cheerleaders. Interviews, when I made it to the top 2 or 3 and didn’t make the final cut, added to the feeling.  None of these experiences by themselves were that bad, but the sum of them left me with deep wounds. I felt like I would always fall short, no matter what I tried. This conflicted with the message that if I tried hard enough I could get anything I wanted and do anything I wanted. I was confused and frustrated.  I coped by trying to never hope so I would not be disappointed. Would you like to guess how well that worked out?

Even growing up knowing God, I was shocked when I found what Jesus said in John 15:16. You did not choose me, but I chose you that you might go and bear fruit and your fruit should endure. This verse began the slow process of setting me free.

Maybe you are like me. Maybe you have wounds from rejection. Maybe you don’t see why anyone would choose you, much less the God who created heaven and earth. It is the truth, though. He assures us over and over that we are His beloved and His chosen. Isaiah 43:1 says that he calls us by name. Imagine being at an event where the governor is speaking. When he announces the team to manage a ne w project, He calls your name. He doesn’t just say, I want the short lady with the short blond hair. He says, “I want Susan on my team. I have work for her to do.” What an honor that would be, and that is what God did  for each of us. He told Jeremiah that he chose him and consecrated him (set him apart) to be a prophet before he was born. You, like Jeremiah, were made on purpose. Ephesians 2:10 says God had good works prepared in advance for us to do. Finally 1 Peter 2 tells us that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation  and a peculiar people so that we should show forth the praises of God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Knowing the truth of our destiny, it is vital that we get that truth into our spirits. We have walked around long enough in hurt, fear and rejection. If the enemy can keep us there we will not do the works that God prepared in advance and we will not show forth the praises of God. The enemy will shine the light on our rejections and replay our hurts in our minds like DVDs. We can choose to take hold of the spotlight and shine it instead on God’s acceptance and show others how to do the same.

One final note: once, on a retreat, I was dealing with rejection that I felt. I had an image of my hand and it was bleeding from many places, like pin pricks. Then I saw Jesus nail scarred hand superimposed on mine. He said, “What is their rejection compared to my acceptance.” Good question.