Of Salamanders and Friendships

As we hiked along a woodland creek last weekend, my young friend found a salamander, and like many children her age, she planned to take it home as a pet. She carried it lovingly down the trails, asking me what salamanders eat, noting that the creature liked water, and voicing ideas of a big tub to keep it in. But when I told her she would have to let it go, she couldn't bear the thought of parting with her new friend. I tried to explain: the salamander would likely die in captivity, and if she really cared for it, she wouldn't want it to be unhappy just so she could enjoy it. It was not made to live in a tub -- it was made for the creek, right there in the woods. At last she was convinced, though she held off the parting as long as possible before bidding the salamander a fond farewell.

"That's how it is with all friends," I told her. "If you're not made to live in the same place, you enjoy each other for a while, then you go and live where you were made to live." A lesson for us all, I thought. Aren't we so often like this in our friendships? People make us happy, and we want to keep them, caged up, if need be, for ourselves. We possess our friends. We get hurt if their lives don't run parallel to ours. But it's only because we love them so much, isn't it? No, in reality, it's pure selfishness. We have no right to own another's life. It is unfair and confining to the others and only a burden on ourselves to try to keep them for our own benefit.

Yes, some of us are made to live in the same places. But only the Maker can decide where each of His creatures will call home, thus, only He can decide who our fellow creatures will be. The parameter of where we were "made to live" includes not only the corner of earth we call home, but what makes it home to us -- the things we're passionate about, the things that feed our souls, the specific work God has given us to do. If a friend, dear as that friend may be, cannot share all this, we should not try to force a fish to fly or a bird to swim, so to speak. Granted, some do. And what a blessing such friends are! But let us not have too much sorrow over those who truly are made for a different place in life than the one designed for us. We may enjoy each other when we meet, then go in freedom to fulfill our purpose where we each were made to live until the day that all our true friends -- our family in Christ -- will share one great Home.

But now God has set the members, each one

of them, in the Body just as He pleased.

And if they were all one member,

where would the Body be?

1 Corinthians 12:18-19

The Hardest Little Word

"No" is such a negative word.  It is the denial of desire, the declaration that something doesn't measure up, the rejection of plans and ideas.  It's a slap in the face, a door slamming, a "Closed" sign.  It confines, constricts, controls, and condemns.  Never did two letters smash lives more quickly.

Hearing "No" requires some tough constitution, and saying it takes even more.  You must brace yourself for the word, and when it comes, what then?  "No" is isolating, and leaves you to take the next uncertain step alone.  It is dangerous to say -- for to deny a loved one is great pain, or there may come a risk of finding cruel pleasure in the duty.

On the other hand, "No" does have its beautiful place. It is the release from fear, the freedom to move on. It's a reassuring touch, a "One Way" sign. It protects, propels, and projects. Never did two letters bring such relief -- for a "No" here must mean a "Yes" elsewhere . . . or perhaps just later.

God, the perfect Father, often tells His children "No" -- always for our protection, and always so He can say "Yes" to something better.  "No" shreds our beloved rough draft and sets up a fresh blank page, which may indeed be daunting.  But it is good.  Amongst ourselves, as bearers of God's image, we must unflinchingly say "No" to evil, and often even to perceived good, so that we may be free to say "Yes" to the best.  For the best is coming -- our Father has planned it, and He has promised!

"The grace of God . . . teaches us to say "No"

to ungodliness . . . while we wait for the blessed

hope, the glorious appearing of our great

God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Titus 2:11-13

The Adventure

This past weekend, I and six others had an adventure we will never forget, nor, I suppose, will anyone else who heard of it! It all began with an afternoon drive on the logging roads in the hills of western Polk county. Our plan was to go to Valley of the Giants for a hike, and return by evening. But when, after searching in vain for the locked gate our directions described, we suddenly came out at a paved road, our suspicions that we weren't going to find our destination were confirmed. The battered sign we found here informed us that we had come out on the other side of the coastal range, and were a mere 12 miles from Drift Creek Camp . . . and the Narrows trail.

Change of plans -- this was even better! We traveled the familiar road in merry wonder, and after informing our families of our unexpected new location, headed up the rigorous trail. An hour later, we were standing at the top, looking over the wooded hills at the line of ocean beyond. All seemed perfect -- I couldn't have asked for more. But little did we know that the adventure had just begun!

On the way back, somehow -- blame our haste, overconfidence, spring foliage rather than summer as we've formerly known it -- we got lost. Since we couldn't find the trail, we decided to make for the creek until darkness fell. We had a cell phone and were able to tell those back home that we were all right, but it was clear that we would be spending the night in the forest. We found a sheltered spot and built a fire, then crowded around it, praying, singing, and quoting scripture into the wee hours of the morning. I thought of how we've sent ourselves on many camps and retreats to grow in our walk with God, but God Himself took us on this one!

With the help of GPS coordinates from the cell phone, the friendly Search and Rescue team found us by mid-morning, and we were soon reunited with our families, who had also had a long night, but as we prayed, weren't too worried about us. It never rained on us . . . until the moment we left our little camp. We had so much to be thankful for, both in the woods and back at home -- God is good!

Now, no adventure is worth having if something is not gained or learned from it. I certainly gained some physical fitness and learned valuable survival skills, but I also grew in wisdom and appreciation for God's blessings . . .

1. Humility

Once again, I was reminded to watch out for pride. There was certainly no room for it as we all huddled together in the middle of the night -- there could be no blaming or striking out on our own ideas if we were all going to get out safely. We had to work together, each doing his own part to help the others. And foolishly loosing the trail was nothing to be proud of, either, even if it was what God had in mind for us. Pride is the fine line between confidence and cockiness.

2. The Value of Memorizing

The only Bible that I knew of among us was safe in my coat pocket . . . left back on the Narrows when we started getting too warm. So we had to rely on Scripture stored up in our minds. I was very thankful to have many chapters to share, and wished I had more. There is no encouragement like God's Word -- how sad it would be to be entirely without it just when you need it most!

3. The Blessing of God's Family

We knew that our families would be concerned for us, and figured that the church would be praying, but thanks to social media, just about everyone we knew found out before our return -- my mom was home taking calls all day, and I had e-mails from distant friends to answer. It was comforting to know that we had been surrounded by the prayers of hundreds of caring brothers and sisters in Christ. What a family!

4. God's Presence

As we prayed around our fire far from other human eyes, I felt God very near, and knew that even if we had vanished without a trace, He would still know exactly where we were. I didn't feel lost because He was there. Our purpose in life is to honor Him, and that is just as easily fulfilled where only He can see it. Indeed, it's often easier to do that when we're not concerned with the normal life of mankind. God always sees us, wherever we may be on this vast earth.

5. God Does More Than We Ask

A few months ago, I was longing for a Narrows hike, but of course, it was impossible then. Now, when I least expected it, God gave me what I wished for, along with extended time with Him and dear brothers and sisters out in the coastal forest. Be careful what you wish for -- God remembers! I'm so thankful that He overrides our mediocre plans for the sake of His perfect ones. Letting Him take control is truly an adventure!

On Hope

Hope is a small and unassuming word, but it holds great vision.  As humans in time, the thought of the future is never far from our minds – we are always looking ahead to what is beyond our vision, forming expectations of what may happen.  Hope is the confident expectation of good.  It is concerned with desires as yet unfulfilled, for once the object hoped for is achieved, hope disappears – no one has hope about yesterday.  If life was already perfect, we would have nothing to hope for.

But as we all know, life is not perfect, so hope remains.  It is such a simple thing, yet what a profound impact it has on our lives!  It is the root of joy, which, notably, is defined as the emotion of expected good.  Indeed, the realization that greater good is yet to come is the only way to have joy that endures through trial – evil cannot deeply distress us because we know that it will not last.  Hope is the energy of patience, giving us the ability to wait as long as necessary for the end we seek.  It is the fuel of prayer, letting us confidently come to our all-powerful Father, fully expecting Him to do good for us.  The more we hope, the more we will ask.

For the child of God, hope can never vanish entirely – we know ultimate perfection is coming, and that motivates us to continue faithfully in the present imperfection.  But even with the hope of heaven, at times when things look impossible, earthly hope may sometimes slip away from us.  With it goes our joy, patience, endurance in prayer . . . and fear creeps in instead.  Fear, the expectation of evil, is the polar opposite of hope.  Our hope will quickly dissolve into fear when it is founded on anything short of God Himself, the Author of all good.

True hope comes from knowing who God is.  It is confidence in God’s goodness, the knowledge that He will bring about the best in His perfect time.  When we face something that seems completely insurmountable, it can be tempting to give up all hope but the glimmer of eternity beyond; yet good may be found in this life – “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13).”  Hope in God’s faithfulness is never unfounded, not in this life or the next!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you . . . We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. . . . But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. No one whose hope is in You will ever be put to shame . . .

(Rom. 15:13, Eph. 1:18, Heb. 6:19, Rom. 8:25, 5:5, Ps. 39:7, 25:3)



Impossible

"God waits until it's impossible before He does something."  So a dear friend said to me the other day, and it wasn't the first time the word impossible had come to my mind recently.  When I run out of imagination trying to figure out how God is going to make sense of my situation, that's when it looks impossible.  I just can't seem to come up with a good ending for this chapter of my life.  But then again, I'm not the one writing it, am I?

Why does God wait until it's impossible?  It's inconvenient, it's risky, it's painful, and well, it's annoying.  But it seems we humans need the reminder that we really aren't the ones writing our stories, and we rarely notice that until we run completely out of ideas.  That's when God steps in and does things beyond our wildest dreams (Ephesians 3:20).  "I never would have thought of that!" proves to us that God knows what He's doing far better than we do.  It's when He does what only God could do that He gets the full glory He deserves.  And that's what it's all about for us!

Do you really want to see God work? Well, is it impossible for you yet?  When it is, expect an unexpected miracle!  After all, life would be rather boring if the "impossible" never happened.  But thanks to God's perfect creativity, it does, all the time.

"What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Luke 18:27

The Wind

My journey has brought me to a beautiful land -- the sand is smooth beneath my feet, a vast ocean spreads in glorious depths on my left, sheltering cliffs tower on my right, and the sun glistens on everything I see.  Its light fills the path with a feel of perfection and detailed beauty.  Yet one thing seems to mar the scene -- the wind blows terribly strong, full in my face.  Not a cold wind, but of such force that it stings my eyes and at moments hinders my sight of the grandeur before me.  It numbs my face so I must make effort to smile, and takes my breath away so I struggle to sing.  Moving forward against this powerful gale seems nearly impossible, yet I look back and see that my footprints trace a trail that moves steadily onward, just as it should.  I feel fresh energy as I push back into the wind, knowing that I am strong enough to face it, and can only get stronger as I do.  I am in some moments frustrated that my travels don't go faster, but when I take note of the present beauty, I see there is no need to hurry through it.  My goal is not so much to get to my destination, but to learn and enjoy all I can on the journey so I will have something to tell when I reach the end.  So I press on into the wind, knowing that it must eventually shift to help me along, or blow itself out altogether.

(Written October 31, 2012)

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not in despair . . .

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us

an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:8, 17-18

Living vs. Alive

As it does every year, spring is bursting forth from stick and ground in all its delicate splendor.  Flocks and herds multiply in numbers, wild creatures present their progeny to the world, and long-forgotten living things emerge to inhabit the earth once again.  Mankind feels fresh vigor in his veins, and goes forth to join the growth around him with his own creative impulse.  Life is excitedly appearing everywhere, as if for the first time.

The stage is set for celebration, and indeed, this is the season that we celebrate life -- the Life.  We joyously commemorate a springtime day two millenia ago, a day angels cheered in triumph, trained soldiers fainted with terror, women proclaimed news that would change the world, and men's deepest sorrow was transformed to highest joy . . . the day Jesus Christ defeated death forever.  He is alive!

Looking at the glorious awakening world around us, we say that all this is alive.  But we forget that only weeks ago it was dead, and not many months from now it will all be dead again.  It is indeed living, and living magnificently, but only for a time; for every living thing on this earth is on an unstoppable march to death.  Even the grandest ancient tree will one day lose its leaves, never to bud again.  The moment it begins to exist, it begins to have less and less life remaining -- it begins to die.

But Jesus is alive, for He will never die again.  He alone has passed through death and come to the other side in an immortal body.  This is why He is called the Firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18).  While we are living in this dying world, we are bound in dying bodies, but we have the promise that we, the children of God, will one day be made alive as Jesus is (1 Corinthians 15:49).  What a great hope, and as lovely as living is, how spectacular being alive will be!  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

What you sow is not made alive unless it dies . . . for this corruptible

 must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:36, 53

Where Would I Be?

There's a catchy new song on the radio these days that echoes a common thought of mine:

And where would I be without You?
I'd be packing my bags when I need to stay
I'd be chasing every breeze that blows my way
I'd be building my kingdom just to watch it fade away
It's true
That's me without You

Sometimes I wonder what I would be if my life didn't belong to God.  I could be in vet school right now, or a music major, or have a good job, a nice car, and a cute boyfriend just like any typical girl my age.  I could have had a grand life all about making myself happy here and now.  But I don't have time to waste running after things that won't last -- I'm too busy being God's servant in little "unimportant" things.  It may not look like much of a life at times, but the more I think of "the good life" I might have had, the more thankful I am for the good life I do have.  For I have peace and joy that money can't buy and fame can't earn.  Not that there's anything wrong with music skills and nice cars -- if those things would help me serve God, bring it on!  But they're too small to live for.  Suppose God hadn't chosen me?  What a complicated, hopeless existence.  But oh, joy and glory, He did!  And I wouldn't trade knowing Him for the world.

Hallelujah!

All I have is Christ!

Hallelujah!

Jesus is my life!

Love Is

Love is patient.

It's rubbing her back for an hour and wondering why your arms hurt.

It's listening quietly when he's upset.

It's asking her thought-provoking questions.

It's making sure he reads his Bible.

Love is kind.

It's writing him a letter without a special occasion.

It's actually doing what she jokingly requested.

It's buying his birthday present in advance when you see something he'll like.

It's writing her name in your best cursive and dotting the "i" with a heart.

It's making him healthy food when he's sick.

Love is humble.

It's thinking how handsome he looks in his work clothes.

It's not being hurt when she has friends closer than you.

It's imitating his quirky habits without realizing it.

It's doing the right thing even when it hurts him.

Love is selfless.

It's having his favorite songs stuck in your head.

It's deciding to be friends the first time you meet her.

It's praying for him every time you hear a siren.

It's staying up late to talk with her.

It's letting him go to do what God calls him to do.

Love is bearing burdens.

It's praying for him even when you don't know what you're praying about.

It's feeling slighted when he's been mistreated.

It's crying because she's sad and doesn't want to talk about it.

It's wishing he would have a problem just so you could help him with it.

Love is hopeful.

It's making faces at her across the room.

It's smiling when you think about her.

It's embarrassing her by constantly telling her you like her.

It's not wanting to hang up when he calls.

It's calling her up when you have a night off.

Love is enduring.

It's asking the same question every time you see her.

It's believing he can be restored even though he's made a wreck of his life.

It's still being friends even though you only talk to her twice a year.

It's forgiving her even though she does stupid stuff and breaks your heart.

Love is excruciating.

Love is exhilarating.

Love is worth it.

Love is from God.

 

(To all the dear people who have helped me learn what love is.)

Dear friends, let us love one another,

for love comes from God.

1 John 4:7

Of the Making of Books . . .

. . . there is no end!  (Ecclesiastes 12:12)  From where I sit, I have only to look up to see a shelf full of books, most of them new releases.  This Christian bookstore where I volunteer has scores of books -- books on missions, books on family, books on prayer, devotion books, kids' books, old classics, new classics, fiction of all sorts, and on and on.  And this bookstore has only about a dozen shelves.  I visited a used bookstore last week with scores of shelves and probably thousands of books.  Sadly, the vast majority of them were not worth reading.  And nearly as sad, in another way, is the fact that there is not enough time in life to read all the books that are worth reading.  With so many books in the world, and enough good ones to keep a reader busy for a lifetime, why on earth would we ever need one more?  Surely every subject has been discussed and dissected thoroughly by now, and furthermore, there is nothing new under the sun to be discussed.  (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

These verses in Ecclesiastes struck me with a sort of resigned discouragement from the notion of ever writing a book.  So what if I write -- everybody writes, about the same stuff, over and over.  But in thinking about it, I realized that these verses are merely stating the obvious, and my object ought to be to know why these statements are true, not to draw conclusions they don't intend.  Why, first of all, is there nothing new under the sun?  One reason I would suggest is that God has revealed as much truth as will ever be available to us this side of heaven -- we will never invent or discover more than He has already shown us in His Word and in nature.  Once in a great while a "new" idea may appear, but it is always only a different perspective of an age-old truth.

However, truth -- Truth Himself -- is so infinite, it is entirely possible to find fresh angles all the time.  Hence, the endless making of books.  Yes, the same old concepts may be discussed countless times, more or less skillfully, but we will never really get to the bottom of fathomless, timeless, divine truth.  Even now in our privileged time of history, with the accumulation of thousands of years of authors' labors, those countless volumes are not nearly enough to proclaim it.  That is overwhelming in quite a different way!  Adding to the praise of God's glorious truth is indeed an endless endeavor, more endless than the making of books.

And there are many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Amen.

John 21:25