It's Raining, It's Pouring, I Think I'll Go Eat Some Worms

     It’s raining today.  The sky is a washed out gray with darker gray clouds whisping along.  It’s a terrible day to be getting a hair cut/style, but I am.  As much as I’ve been looking forward to getting my yearly hair trim, I’d much rather be snuggled up at home hiding from an inevitable bad hair day and the storms that will soon be coming. 

     A few weeks ago it was raining as well. That time, I was snuggled up inside.  On the occasion of looking out the window, I noticed nine or ten robin redbreasts having the time of their lives amongst the puddles that were gathering.  As I observed them, I noticed that they were supping on the earthworms that they excavated from the ground.

     I learned a lesson from those robins that day.  More often than not, when the stormy, less than desirable weather of life hits, all we want to do is hole up and hide from it and the rest of the world. Unlike us, though, the robins and other birds come out in joyous delight for it because that’s where their greatest feasts are.

     I’ve experienced my share of sunshine and storms alike in the 28 years I’ve inhabited this globe.  Often, I’ve missed things that could have been rich lessons during the sunny days of my life. But, oh, the feast I have consumed through the stormy days.  When days are dark, the light is so much brighter.  I can tell you from experience that The Light of the World performs a beautiful sort of blinding when you are surrounded by darkness.  It’s a blinding that tells you to fear not, but to be of great cheer because Hope has come to save the day. But you have to be willing to come out of hiding in the midst of dreariness in order to appreciate the true fullness of this illumination.  

     There are things that the Light of the World has offered do me during cloudy days which I could have never been obliged to much amidst the cloudless days.  Those things that He has shown me have the opportunity of multiplying themselves to bless others who are experiencing similar storms to the ones He has gotten me through.  Those lessons and connections would have never happened had the rains of life not poured down on my soul.

     My heart has always been fond of robins. As a child, I remember one particularly harsh winter in which quite a few pregnant robin redbreasts froze to death in our front yard. When I made the discovery, I burst into tears. Those robins weren’t equipped for that storm.   I don’t know if they just gave up hope or didn’t even try, but they made no effort to take shelter.

     But not these, robins. No, these robins came as harbingers of spring to delight in their protein packed regale in the middle of a rainstorm and then they went to their place of refuge from the storm.  Such a sight gave my weary soul hope that new life is always available just around the corner and is so much more precious once we’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good while feasting in the midst of a storm.  The flavor He leaves in our mouths once we’ve tasted His faithfulness and goodness is the most pleasantly sweet taste you could ever imagine.

     Remember, dear one, it is the rain, after all, which causes things to grow.  But take hope, friend, because the sun is equally important to growth.  Sunshine and rain alike, take heed to excavate the banquet which the Light of the World has sent for you to delightfully partake in…because it is delicious and one that will leave the taste of joy (even after sorrow) all the rest of your days.   And don’t forget the blessing of taking refuge in Him.  He’ll protect you through any storm that you encounter.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; 

blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8

Life as a Pioneer Woman

     Have you ever been just sitting there, minding your own business…reading a biography about Daniel Boone let’s say… and then all of the sudden you find yourself living the lifestyle you’ve been reading about?  Well, I have. It happened last Thursday.

     It would have been a perfectly normal Thursday had our boiler not completely broken the night before. It’s January. It’s finally acting like January at that. And it had been raining heavily for about four days. So, there I was cuddled up under many blankets snuggling with my dog, reading the Daniel Boone biography I got for Christmas when I got a phone call from my landlord that he was having a truckload of wood sent over for us to use in our fireplace to get some heat going in our house.  Elated, I went to clear some room for them to dump it in our garage shed.

     Well, along came a pick up truck filled with wood. Out stepped a good ole boy.  He was very pleasant and friendly.  He spoke in a drawl more backwoods than my Western North Carolina good ole boys as he greeted me and told me that the wood was wet because it had been sitting out in the rain for four days in that pick up truck.  (They do know about tarps, right?)  I responded by telling him the whole reason we needed the wood was because we had zero heat due to our busted boiler. He responded by telling me that there was no way that wood was going to burn and maybe he could convince his boss to let me have a load of dry wood.  I suggested that they dump half of the wet wood and come back with half a load of dry wood to save on cost for them. But he insisted on leaving it because I might want some more fires even after the boiler was fixed. Gratefully, I explained that we were going to put the wood in the garage. He said that sounded like a great place to put it.  I thought we were jiving. They were backed up all the way to the garage…I thought. They lifted the bed of the truck to dump it and boom boom boom… it fell…right…in front of the garage. Not IN the garage as I thought we both understood, but IN FRONT of the garage.  

     I stood there completely stunned.  I could not believe what just happened. It was supposed to start raining again soon and then snow the next day. My husband was at work.   My good ole boy friend said, “Well, you go on ahead and stack all that wood and we’ll be back in a little bit with some dry wood. If you’re not done by then, maybe we’ll help you.” I squeaked out an OK. Before he pulled out, he said, “Hey, Emily, here are some gloves you can use.” They pulled off and I stood there on the verge of tears with a huge task ahead of me that I couldn’t imagine how I was going to get accomplished in such a small amount of time BY MYSELF…after having just recovered from the flu, bronchitis, and not even totally healed from surgery on my arm to remove a pre-melanoma. I felt so weak and totally overwhelmed by the job ahead of me.  But, I started picking up the logs and piling them up.  I was so mad. I mean really mad.  I took out my aggression on those logs as I stacked away.  Then a few minutes into the job, I started laughing out loud. Here I was living the life that Daniel Boone and his family experienced, which I had only read about.  I felt like a cross between his wife, Rebecca Boone, and Laura Ingles Wilder.  The whole situation was suddenly very humorous to me.

    In the mean time, the heating company representative had come and was inside the house checking each radiator box to work up an estimate for our Landlord. Then my good ole boys came back. The guys backed the pickup truck into the driveway again. My pal that gave me the gloves got out with a smile on his face. As tactfully as I could, I asked, “Do you guys think that maybe this time we could try to dump the logs INSIDE of the garage? Would that be possible?”  “Yeah, I don’t see no problem with that,” he responded. (Why did it click this time but not before?)  So, they dumped it right in there and all was well. UNTIL. The guy driving the truck solemnly said to me, “Someone just went in your house.” I had left the main front door open with the glass door shut when I let the heating company guy in. I was horrified. I could hear our dog barking. Remembering that was what the heating guy was wearing, I asked the driver if he had on khaki pants.  With eyes wide, he said, “No, he had on blue pants like me.” I begged them to stay until I got back. I rushed in the house with my heart pounding and the dog still barking. I found the heating man and asked if someone came in. To my relief, he said it was just the postman sticking the mail inside the door.  Whew. What the Boones and the Ingles must have experienced in the way of fear of intruders…I got a glimpse of just then.  I had to protect my homestead while my husband was off “hunting in the woods” if you will. Thankfully, we were alright.

     After they all left, I started grabbing armloads of wood, carrying them inside until I got two nice large stacks on either side of the fireplace and for the first time in my life, I lit an indoor wood burning fire.  I sat down and giggled to myself over what a day I had encountered.  Life in the back mountain woods of North Carolina, on the prairies, and even in the city of Lynchburg, VA can bring some interesting life and survival experiences to say the least.

     You know, sometimes, I’ll be reading passages of scripture, minding my own business, when God spontaneously gives me an opportunity to live those passages out just as impromptu as I had the occasion to live out part of the Boone family’s life of which I was reading. I think that sometimes God, in His sovereignty, lines up what we are learning in Scripture and with moments He presents to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word. 

     Even though I think I’ve learned my lesson about putting my faith into action and putting His Word into action this week, He still has me living as a Pioneer Woman.  I lug in loads of wood by myself every day and build fires. I’m considering what vegetables I’m going to plant in my garden this spring. And yesterday, my dog brought me over to a squirrel that had frozen to death in our yard because yes, it is THAT cold outside.  I guess I’m going to have to pick up a few more traits from the Boones if I’m going to figure out how to skin that thing and turn it into a stew. (JUST kidding. Although, my mom did have road kill squirrel that the morning of her wedding that my Great Grandma cooked up for her. Mountain folk. That’s in my blood. Not gonna be in my belly, though.)     

Let’s live this verse out, friends… 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.

 Do what it says.”

James 1:22

Off to see what pioneer adventures I’m in for today…

There's Enough Bacon

     

     As I was cooking some bacon recently, trying to figure out how many pieces everybody would be able to have, a very simple sentence came to the front of my memory. It was my Mama saying, “There’s enough for everyone to have two pieces of bacon.”  Our family had breakfast food most Saturdays for brunch growing up, so this is a sentence I heard quite often.  It’s such a simple statement. But it shows a lot of great care and concern on her part to be sure that everyone had enough.  Enough. That’s beginning to become one of the most meaningful words in the English language to me.  Words like: finished, sufficient, and supply come to my mind when I think of the word, “enough.”

     As I was cooking my bacon, the words of 2 Corinthians 12:9 echoed in the corridors of my mind, “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  There’s no telling how many scores of times I have dashed to that familiar passage to help pick my weak self up off the ground.  Each time, though, I am reminded that His grace is sufficient…or in personal language…it is enough. 

     His grace is enough for whatever circumstances I am facing. Marvelously, like my mother, God looked at humanity with care and concern to be sure that EVERYONE had enough.  Like the plate of scrumptious bacon, though, you have to reach out and grab it to have enough of it. But, there’s enough. It’s available.  It’s right in front of you with its delectable aroma.

     God’s “enough” is much better than ours.  Our “enough” limits us to two pieces of bacon at the breakfast table.  His "enough" prepares a banquet where there is an abundance to feast upon all day every day.   It’s not one of those $8.99 all you can eat buffets at the beach either.  This is luxurious stuff we are talking about here. Stuff that normally, we’d never be able to afford on our own. 

     God’s “enough” offers this beautiful thing called grace to those who have little to no life remaining in them.  I’ll admit, when I’m feeling especially weak, I pray for an extra measure of His grace.  And every time, He gives it to me and shows His power through my weakness.  

     God’s “enough” came about when the bridegroom travelled to fetch His beloved bride and poured out all of His love, forgiveness, power, and life when He purchased everlasting, abundant grace telling death, “Enough’s enough. It is finished.”   That’s far too expensive a price for us to pay and live to tell about it.  If we were to attempt to pay for that, all we’d get in return would be a bunch of nasty encounters with a slimy, slithering loan shark coming to collect for the debt we owe.  But since the Bridegroom and His Father own the cattle on a thousand hills, He picked up the tab. His resources and sacrifice paid MORE than enough for us to have our name on a place card at the glorious banquet table at the marriage supper of The Lamb.

      God’s “enough” shows up every day through His presence in our lives. Whatever a day may bring, if God is in it, there’s enough grace to handle it. And there’s plenty of the Bread of Life and Wine to feast upon when you are in communion with Him.   Living in such communion leads to abundance. The more you swallow of Jesus’ grace, the more amazing it becomes…the more full you become.  One just can’t help but overflow that grace which is consumed and re-birthed over and over again into the world around, causing those who haven’t reached for their plate at the feast of Christ yet to finally see with de-scaled eyes that there really is more than enough to go around. 

Calling 2012 to Baggage Claim

     2013 is here and our Christmas tree (a live one, mind you, that we chopped down the Saturday after Thanksgiving) is still up, lit, and decorated. The stockings are still hung by the fireplace. The table is still decorated for Christmas brunch. Our suitcases are not unpacked. Stuff is strewn about our house. My cough from the flu is still lingering. It looks like we dragged in some baggage from 2012, huh?

     I bet you have some things that carried over from last year too. It's difficult to wrap up everything you hoped to accomplish in 365 days. Definitely not impossible, but difficult for sure. That's O.K.

     It's awesome to set goals for yourself and try really hard to reach them. But it's not awesome to beat yourself up if important things in life come up that prevent you from accomplishing all that you had hoped.

     Stop it right here. I have something to encourage you: 

"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." 

(Psalm 139:16)

     No matter what you have on your to-do list, God's plan for your life will determine what gets done on your list and what He has in mind for your list. Rather than be upset about what you didn't finish in 2012 or anxious about what you'd like to accomplish in 2013, sit down and consider the words of Psalm 90:12, "Teach us to number our days, that we might gain a heart of wisdom."

     As we look back on what we did, did not, and hope to accomplish, with the perspective of numbering our days, God will give our hearts wisdom to sort out what is most important through His agenda in our lives. God already knew what you would get done and what you would not during 2012. He knew it before you were even born. Maybe you didn't lose all the weight you had hoped. Maybe you didn't get to check off as many things on the ole bucket list that you had hoped. Maybe you didn't get to give as much as you hoped because you didn't make as much as you had hoped. Maybe you didn't get to go on the trip you had hoped. Maybe you didn't read as much as you hoped. Maybe you haven't found a mate like you had hoped for yet. Maybe you haven't had the family life you had hoped for. But the thing is, if you did nothing else, you hoped. And you probably gave it your best go at a lot of those things. 

     What or who are you putting your hope in? If your hope is in Christ, it will not disappoint. If it's in yourself or other people, you'll be disappointed every time. That's because we humans are limited. We're hopeless on our own. But if our hope is in Christ, when we reach the end of our days, we'll look back and see that we have accomplished all that He wrote for the story of our lives before we ever even made our debut in this world.

     Why are you hoping for what you're hoping for? Is it for your personal ambitions or to impress the world around you? Or is it for the hope of glory? If we're hoping for the glory of God to shine through each day of our calendar, there will be no disappointment. God always shows up when He wants His glory to be seen. Be prepared to experience that this year through whatever it is you're hoping for...no matter how it turns out. 

     So, to 2013 I say, I'm going to make every effort to rejoice in the hope of His glory showing up in whatever He has planned for my to-do list. Good days and bad days alike, let's claim the good news that...

"Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who He has given us." 

(Romans 5:5)

     We got this y'all, because God has it for us. 2013, be advised, the Holy Spirit has been given to those of us who have received Him, so we won't be disappointed, because He IS our hope.  

     May all that we bring over from 2013 to 2014 be laced with the hope of Jesus Christ.