SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

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  • Breathe On Me

    A message for the Sunday after Easter –

    Easter Sunday was the kickoff – the beginning of an exciting time.  We should still be in the mode of celebration – the excitement of Easter – the reminder of how Jesus has arisen.  We have been invited to see the empty tomb and walk with the disciples as they ran directly to the place where Jesus’ body once occupied.  We had the opportunity to tell the good news that Jesus is not dead, but is alive.  These are all exciting revelations of how God has conquered death and the grave!  It is life changing.  But for the disciples and Jesus’ closest followers, it also brought fear.  It wasn’t as if the following days were filled with big meals and confetti.  They didn’t run through the streets shouting – I told you he was the Messiah!  

    Actually, it seems to be quite the opposite.  There is confusion and dismay.  The disciples lock themselves in a room in fear.  They are trapped between the teachings of Jesus and the future.  They don’t know what to do next or where to go.  Their lives are out of sorts and this in-between stage is more than difficult.  It is terrifying.  So they sit and wait – for what, they are not sure.  Where do they go now?  Who are they?  Jesus was dead – they witnessed it.  Jesus was put to death because of the things he proclaimed, which they also believe.  Jesus was hung on a cross for being the person they loved.  He arose from the dead but there aren’t instructions for this.  This is unprecedented, unknown territory.  They don’t know what to do with this or where to go from here.  So they re-group, in fear.  And as he promised, Jesus shows up.  This isn’t the end, after all, this is just the beginning.

    John 20:19-31

    There are a couple of things I want to get out of the way before we get too far in this scripture.  First, we don’t want to misunderstand what is being said.  We read how they, the disciples, were fearful of the Jews.  They are not fearful of all Jews – they are, after all, Jews themselves.  This isn’t a time for hating Jews (and there, by the way, is never a time for hating Jews) – these are their people.  They have family and friends – they have loved ones who are Jewish – they have neighbors and those they eat with on a regular basis whom they adore- that are Jewish.  They are not fearful of the Jews in general.  The Jews are not the enemy as we might pick up at first glance.  They are afraid of the leadership – those in charge – those who are given the position of power to enforce what they consider to be the rules to keep things the same.  They are afraid of those who seek to hold onto the control they most value – those who want control more than they want love.  They are fearful because the One they have followed all this time – the One they have been associated with has been killed – and surely they would be the next target.  If the leadership wants to eliminate a problem – they would be among the problem.  So they are scared for their safety because those in charge of the church do not have a place for them any longer – they are not welcome here anymore.  Jews are not the problem – those in power who thrive on control are the problem.  

    Second, Thomas gets a bad rap in this Scripture.  We have dubbed him to be doubting Thomas.  That’s really an unfair assessment.  If we really look at what is going on, Thomas is the only one missing out of the first encounter in the locked room.  They are all terrified.  They are all wondering what in the world is going on.  They are all doubting.  There is a general fear which permeates the entire room.  When Jesus shows up the first time, he shows them his hands and his side.  They do not have to ask or wonder.  Jesus shows them.  Now, Jesus doesn’t just do things for the sake of doing them.  He would show them his hands and his side because he knew they needed to see to believe.  He understood their confusion and their general mode of disbelief.  He went ahead and showed them what they wanted to see.  They had seen the evidence.  Thomas wasn’t there – so all he knows is what has been told to him.  And let’s be honest, Jesus overcoming death and the grave wouldn’t have been easy to comprehend – remember, we know the end of the story.  He was living in the moment.  He knew Jesus had died.  He knew the body was missing.  This is all the obvious.  Now the disciples are trying to tell him that Jesus is alive, scars and all.  

    If we are honest, we would have likely thought they were crazy too.  I mean, they are locked in a room for fear but Jesus appears in a locked room?  You can see how this conversation would be challenging.  Thomas just happens to be the one who wasn’t there to see the first time.  He isn’t the only one who needed to see – he was the only one who didn’t have the opportunity the first time.  And notice – there is a whole week delay in him seeing.  He goes a whole week without getting the chance to see Jesus as everyone else has.  He isn’t the doubting one.  They were all doubting.  They all were scared.  Every single person had their lives turned upside down and they are struggling to understand it all.  Thomas is not unique.  He just happens to have been absent at the first chance to see the hands and side.

    Ok – now that we have that out of the way, I want to look at one of the most beautiful gifts of this scripture.  Because we can get hung up in the fear and the doubting, we may miss what is actually going on here.  Jesus appears in his new resurrected body in the locked room of the disciples.  What Jesus says and does is most important.  Follow him in the scripture.  Don’t miss his actions.  Let’s look at the gifts that are given at Jesus’ appearance:

    -Jesus speaks peace.  We have recorded at least 3 times Jesus tells them – Peace Be With You.  Why is that important?  Jesus speaks peace where there is none.  If they were peaceful, he wouldn’t need to speak peace to them.  If they were filled with peace, this would be redundant.  Jesus’ words speak to their situation.  He speaks peace because they are so at a loss.  He speaks peace because they have found themselves in turmoil and confusion.  Jesus speaks peace to them because he is the peace they so desire and truly need.  Jesus brings peace to their challenged and hurt souls.  He speaks peace over his people with the love of one who was willing to give his life for them – even though they do not yet fully understand all this.  

    Peace is the most powerful gift when all we sense is fear and confusion and turmoil.  Peace can soothe the wounds of those damaged by hatred and anger.  Peace can heal the brokenness.  The peace of Christ can change everything in our otherwise chaotic lives.  Peace be with you.

    -Jesus breathes on them.  Now, this may not sound like such a big deal at first glance. Breath is something we take for granted until we struggle for it.  To breathe is something that happens automatically for most of us.  Until someone challenges us to stop and take a deep breath, we can easily just forget the value of breathing.  A breath can calm us.  But this breath changed everything.  This was not any ordinary breath.  This was the breath of God.  What happens when God breathes?  Life happens when God breathes.  To remind us of this, I want to go back to the beginning – you know, the ‘in the beginning’ stuff we see at the start of creation.  

    Genesis 2:4-7.

    God himself created, formed, shaped humanity – and breathed his own breath into us so that we might have life.  God’s breath is our life.  From the beginning, God’s breath has meant and brought life to the lifeless.  And here we are again.  

    Jesus speaks peace to them and then….and then he breathes on them.  God breathed on them once again.  What did he bring?  He brought new life through the Holy Spirit.  He brought forgiveness.  He brought love.  He brought peace and comfort.  His breath brought exactly what he had promised all along.  He told them earlier that the comforter, the helper would come.  He promised them the gift of the One who would lead them and bring them peace.  He promised to live within them.  And here he is, breathing new life into their weary, fearful souls one more time.  Life was really just beginning for those first disciples.  And God’s been breathing life into his children ever since.  

    Do you know what that means, beloved?  Do you understand what this means for us, followers of Christ?  It means we have been given life, new life through the breath of God.  We have been given peace in our most fearful situations.  We have been offered more than we could ever understand.  We are given breath so that we might have life – and have life more abundantly.  

    May a fresh wind of God’s amazing love bring you peace and life today.  May God breathe new life into you and your situation.  May you understand the enormity of his love, even in a small way, so that you might go from here and live.  Breathe on me, breath of God.

  • The Darkness of Friday, The Brightness of Sunday

    There are days that feel like the rain never ends and the clouds will not roll away.  We have a sense that we are in the comic strip where the cloud looms overhead and it is just on us.  But not all days will be like that.  It doesn’t continue like this forever.  It is the season of Easter and Sunday is coming.

    During Easter, so many Christians concentrate on the resurrection, the stone rolled away, the empty tomb.  But in order to get there, death had to happen.  In order for there to be a resurrection day, there had to be a crucifixion.  Jesus had to die.  He was gone, life was in him no more.  One that was loved and followed and adored died.  For those that loved him, it was a time of loss and deep despair.  Easter is first about death before it can be about life.  Thankfully, that was not the end.  Friday brought a thick darkness but Sunday’s light would overcome.

    What does that mean for those of us that grieve?  Easter reminds us of several important lessons we should carry with us:

    –We are not alone in our grief.  God understands what loss means.  He understands our heartache.  He understands our pain and despair.  He walks with us through our darkest times.  

    –We may go through many dark Fridays.  When someone we love so much has died, we often find we relive that experience…with all of the pain and sorrow.  We relive the loss and the wound is as fresh as the day our loved one left us.  

    –Sunday is coming.  In the Christian faith, Good Friday is remembered as a day of death, of crucifixion, of darkness.  Holy Saturday is a day of reflection, mourning, and waiting.  Sunday is celebrated for the resurrection of Jesus.  He overcame death and the grave so that we would have life now and for eternity.  Sunday is a time of celebration and excitement and thanksgiving.  Friday’s darkness is overcome with Sunday’s victory.  In faith, we are grateful that death is overcome because it gives us hope of something beyond this end.  It gives us a glimpse of light in an otherwise weighty, smothering darkness.  It is as if we are in a very dark room, so dark we cannot see our own hand in front of our face, and someone lights a match.  It is all that is needed to bring an overwhelming brightness to a very dark circumstance.  Friday does not have the final say.  There is a light in the darkness.  It is a hope that cannot be explained, but is so deep it cannot be denied.  

    –There are celebrations.  There will be days when the sun will shine and we will have the opportunity to celebrate the life we have been given.  While life will not be the same ever again, it will go on and there will be celebrations.  There are times when we will have a smile on our face, a joy in our heart, and an extra boost in our steps.  There will be times when we clap and sing and celebrate.  It may not be today…but Sunday is coming.  Easter reminds us that while we mourn, there is a glimpse in the darkness.  Just open your eyes a little…and let the light in.    

    Blessings,

    Brad Mitchell

    Aftercare Coordinator

  • Blooms Await – Grief Writing

    Spring reminds me of a time of miracles.  They are subtle miracles we may not even notice.  They happen without any interaction from us.  There is no requirement we pay attention.  It just happens and if we choose to tune in, we can be completely amazed.  Most of us simply move on.  But for those of us who are grieving, these undetected miracles are actually signs of great hope.  

    I am sure most of us have said how odd this year already has become.  Things were already out of sorts and it feels like they are coming back together very differently than we expected.  I can even sense it in my own home.  My Christmas cactus is currently blooming.  Yes, it is March and this is the first time it has bloomed twice in 4 months.  It is absolutely beautiful, but really quite odd at the same time.  I’ve just decided to appreciate what is before me and move forward.  No need to question it, just enjoy it.  

    It does remind me we will be seeing new life spring up all around us very soon.  There will be small buds beginning to appear on plants and trees which seemed to have no life.  What we did not see was the process happening in the roots, all beneath the surface.  Plants and trees were preparing to bloom once more.  They had promise and hope waiting to burst open at just the right time.  If they opened too soon, the frost would overtake them.  If they opened too late, the heat could become too much.  They have been preparing for this opening all winter long.  It will all happen at just the right time.  And we get a front row seat to the hope which awaits.

    It may not feel like it but God is working in you as well.  You may feel quite dormant.  You may feel lost or hopeless.  You may be experiencing so great a grief you wonder how you will take another step.  There is something happening within you.  God is helping you through your grief.  He is sheltering you from the storm. While you may feel like all has collapsed, he is really helping you to retreat until it is time.  

    Grief is so different than many of us expect.  There is no timeline.  There is no set ending.  There is no program we go through so we get our certificate at the end.  It is an experience.  We all experience grief slightly different.  We have unique connections to the ones we have lost.  We have our own ways we react.  Some may talk through their pain.  Others may stay completely silent.  Some may weep openly at any moment.  Others may never weep where anyone sees.  Some may seem to spring right back while others stay dormant for quite a while.  The most important thing to know is we all experience this differently.  There is no comparison.  There is no right or wrong way to grieve.  We shouldn’t impose our way of grieving on anyone else or expect ourselves to react like others have (or tell us to).  It is an experience we must go through.  

    No matter where we may be in our grief, there are buds of hope waiting to spring open at just the right time.  There are small miracles in our lives which help to soothe the pain.  There are gifts which we get to experience when we look around.  Blooms will appear, not too early and not too late.  We don’t go around opening up blooms on plants.  That would be devastating.  We can’t go around forcing ourselves through this grief either.  Hope awaits.  We will bloom at just the right time.  When we bloom, we will know God has been with us through it all.

  • You Are Loved- Grief Writing

    February is a time when we think of love.  Cupids appear, cards fly off the shelves, and candy with flowers is the staple.  How better to express love than with little chocolates and roses?  This is the time of year when people talk about their valentine and love should be in the air, or at least that is what the commercials tell us.  It can be a beautiful time, if you have bought the “right” gift or if you are with the “right” person.  Overall, though, it can be an overwhelming time for many.  There are those who have not found their love yet, those who are miserable with the ones they are with, those who do not want to celebrate something they do not feel…and then there are those who struggle because their love is no longer here.  Grieving the loss of a loved one can make this holiday even more challenging.  With all these discussions of love and relationships, it can seem to be a cruel time rather than a celebration.  And we could just skip over it, ignore it all.  Or, it could be a time that we are reminded just how much we are loved.

    This could be the right time to remember how much we were loved by the one we are missing so much. Whether we are missing our spouse, child, parent, or friend, this is a time we can remember the love that was shared.  We can remember the times when we shared a good belly laugh and had a great time.  We can remember special moments that only we would understand.  We can give thanks for the love that was given to us and that continues to grow within us.  

    Love is not over.  Death does not stop love or end it.  Our love changes in the way we express it, but it does not change in the way we feel.  Love changes, but it does not end.  In the Bible, we are given an example of love that seems out of reach.  1 Corinthians 13 is an often quoted scripture but we never seem to grasp the enormity of the love.  In summary, we read that love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered…and it doesn’t stop there.  But what I think is transformative is this:  love always hopes, always perseveres, and love never fails.  Death does not take love away.  Love never fails.  That is powerful.  Consider how your love never fails…and the love given to you doesn’t either.

    Remember that you are loved.  You are still very much loved.  No matter where you find yourself during this time, love has not left you.  We are also told in the Bible that God is love.  Since love never fails, neither does God.  He has not left us nor abandoned us.  His presence may not seem always apparent, but that does not mean we are alone.  We are loved beyond measure and this love is unconditional.  We have not earned it.  We do not do enough to deserve it.  God simply loves because that is who HE is.  

    This Valentine’s Day, regardless of where you find yourself in your grief journey, take a moment to remember the love you have been given.  Celebrate the love that has been shared with you and continues to grow in you.  Remember that love is not over and death cannot steal this love.  Love never fails.  And God’s love is the most powerful love ever…and this love is offered to you.  You are loved.

  • A New Year – Same Grief

    This can be an especially challenging time of the year.  The holidays are behind us and we begin to move forward into a new year.  Many do not want to move forward into a new year because it means moving on without our loved one.  We do not want to find out what it is like to start 2022 without him.  We do not want to learn to live without her.  Yet, here we are facing a new year.  It can be lonely and frightening and really difficult.  

    To add to our difficulties, winter brings long nights and very short days.  The darkness seems to consume us.  We feel like it is time to go to bed and it is only 6 pm.  We wake up and it is still dark.  The sun coming up is a highlight and seems to come a little too late and leaves a little too early.  We don’t want to go through cold, lonely, long nights.  We just want our lives back the way they were.  And yet, here we are.  

    When life takes turns we did not ask for and we did not wish, how do we continue to move forward?  Sometimes we move slowly and cautiously.  It can feel like one step forward and three steps back.  It can seem as if we are making no progress at all.  Grief sneaks up on us and when we think we have this under control, we are knocked down again.  We struggle to regain our footing one more time.  Is there good news in it all?  Will this ever end?

    The answer is yes and no.  You will always miss your loved one.  There will always be times when you wish she was by your side.  There will always be moments you can’t believe he isn’t there.  I experienced this over Christmas myself.  My Dad died seven years ago.  That is a lot of time to process grief and move forward.  Yet, I found myself sitting in Christmas Eve Service a bit sad and hurt because he wasn’t there.  My daughter was singing in the church he pastored.  I couldn’t help but think how proud he would be of his granddaughters – singing, dancing, graduating to careers.  He loved these girls more than anything.  Yet, he is missing some of the most beautiful moments of their lives.  I allow myself to sit with it for a moment – even to be a little angry and a lot disappointed in it all.  But then, I move forward – grateful that I have the gift of being here to experience it.  I find myself grateful for all he instilled in these girls in the short time they had to know him.  And I am grateful there are more beautiful moments to come.  

    This progression doesn’t happen quickly.  We don’t wake up one day and the grief is gone.  Grief is unique and strange.  It comes and goes like waves of the ocean.  We celebrate the life of someone we love so much one moment and miss them like crazy the next.  We want them here with us so bad we ache and also give thanks they are not suffering any longer.  It is a part of who we are.  It is a part of loving someone so very much.  

    Yes, the nights are long – but the good news is the sun will rise.  It may not come up as quickly as we like or stay as long as we like.  But it does rise.  It rises and gives us glimpses of good.  It rises and brightens moments we would have missed otherwise.  The sun will rise and we will continue on our journey of grief.  Joy is around the corner – it just may be we don’t reach that corner today.  

    The best part of winter for me is what is happening beneath the surface I cannot see.  God, in his infinite wisdom, brings winter to allow for the nurturing of the ground and the restoration of beauty yet to be seen.  There is so much that goes on below the brown, crunchy grass.  Nutrients are being gathered.  Renewal is taking place.  Goodness is being fueled and we don’t even notice.  But in the spring, it will all start to show.  All the work of winter will spring forward in just a few months. 

    God is working in us too.  It may feel dark and harsh and lonely right now.  But God is at work in you.  He is not done with you yet – that’s why you still have life and breath.  Yes, everything you have known has changed.  Yes, it can be really scary.  But we are told over and over again to not be afraid – God is with us.  And he has promised the morning will come.  And with the morning, comes joy.  Joy may not be today.  It may only be for a brief moment.  But goodness is growing in you too.  Keep moving forward, one small step at a time (even if you fall back three steps).  There is beauty being formed beneath the surface.  Joy does eventually come.  You are not alone.

    Blessings as you begin this New Year!

    Brad

  • Seasons Change

    Tis the season of New Year Resolutions, promises of “a new year and new me”, thoughts of bettering ourselves and maybe just figuring out how to do things better.  For some, it is simply another day.  It is another chime of the clock or the change of a calendar so it now reads the correct year.  It seems to me this is a good time to at least take a moment and reflect on what went well – if nothing else.  Gaining a perspective can help us to move forward into the future with a little more compassion – both for ourselves and for others. 

    Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 

    3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

    2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
    a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
    3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
    a time to break down, and a time to build up;
    4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
    a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
    5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
    a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
    6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
    a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
    7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
    a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
    8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
    a time for war, and a time for peace.

    I find today’s text to be important as we take the leap into 2022.  It signifies the gift of seasons, of the passing of times and the beauty with the difficulty of the change of times.  All are important – the planting and harvesting, the building and breaking down, the dancing and the mourning, the seeking and keeping and the losing and throwing away.  It is all important.  There is a purpose for the seasons.  We are all gifted with these times – although some times feel more like torture than gifts.  We can feel isolated and fearful as times change.  My grandmother reminds me often how tough it is to grow older – it isn’t for sissys she tells me.  Watching children go from little babies to adult children going out on their own can seem to happen so quickly.  There are so many joys in each moment and mixed in, there is often hurt and disappointment.  Seasons change and we learn to adjust to our new situations, whether we really want to or not.  

    I’m not a big fan of winter – so you can imagine how much I have enjoyed the past few days.  I do not enjoy when it gets dark before I leave my office and the sun doesn’t make an appearance until I have been up several hours.  I don’t really enjoy the trees and plants looking so bare.  I’m much more of a fan of spring.  I love to watch things bloom and come alive.  I enjoy planting in my garden and waiting for the first sprigs to appear from the ground.  But I know that winter is a preparation for spring.  I understand that during the winter, processes are happening beneath the earth so something amazing happens when the ground thaws.  I know that the trees I pass by are not dead, they are simply in restoration, waiting to produce new leaves and beautiful fruits.  I get it.  The seasons make sense – but it doesn’t mean I always look forward to the changes.  

    Most of us aren’t a fan of change – that’s probably an understatement if we are honest with ourselves.  We don’t want change and even if we think we do, it can shake us to our core.  We don’t always know why we do something we do except we have always done it that way.  We get accustomed to a routine, to seeing things a certain way.  We like it that way and we want it to stay that way.  I want my garden to keep producing crops but it doesn’t work that way.  I want the sun to come up earlier and stay around a little longer, but I don’t get to decide.  But change is necessary, often healing.  It can be the key to us moving forward and finding new growth.  

    When I think of the positive changes I read in the Bible, they are often the hardest, most difficult journeys.  Take just a moment and think about it.  We start in the Old Testament and we see the story of Joseph.  He went through a series of painful changes – thrown in a pit by his own family, sent to prison, lies told about him and seemingly completely forgotten.  Yet, he became the one to save his people.  I think of his words – what you meant for evil, God meant for good.  

    Consider the children of Israel – those stubborn, disobedient and often ungrateful folks – reminds me a lot of us today.  They were rescued from captivity only to complain and whine at every turn, even wishing they were still in captivity.  Yet, they were on their way to the Promised Land – a place where God’s goodness flowed out of abundance.  I think of Isaiah and many of the prophets letting the people know to get themselves together, good was to come – but all they saw was bad, and kept doing wrong because of their shortsightedness.  I think of Jesus – probably one of the most controversial change agents ever to live.  He turned their faith (or lack thereof) upside down and began to shake things at the very core.  He questioned everything they did and pushed them to live very differently than they could have ever imagined.  By the way – they didn’t like this either – I mean, they did try to throw him off of a cliff and did eventually hang him on a cross.  I think of Paul – introducing to the first Christians the idea that these unclean Gentiles were worthy of God’s love too.  He was beaten, shipwrecked and starved on more than one occasion.  

    My point is the most beautiful outcomes in our faith are built out of changes which were often the most painful and challenging.  None of them came without great cost.  There were times of good but there were also times of hurt, grief and disappointment.  Change comes at a cost but the outcome is better than any could have ever imagined. 

    We don’t really know what changes await us in 2022.  We couldn’t have predicted a pandemic that would continue this long – even though this isn’t the first one ever to happen in history.  Many of us are shocked at the amount of hate and meanness that can be produced when the fires of change are stoked.  But this calls us to be the change for good.  This is the time when Christians should be the leaders in positive change.  We should be the example.  When all the world seems so full of hate, we should be full of love.  When everyone seems frightened and out of sorts, we should be the ones confident in the peace of God which should live in us.  When all else seems to be falling apart, we are the ones with the understanding that seasons do change but God does not.  We hear how weeping may be through the night but joy comes in the morning.  We have seen and heard how our God is faithful and shows up at just the right time – though often not as we would want him to.  We have experienced the miracles of a loving God.  We know God is merciful and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.  We should get it – but often we are stubborn to all God is doing.  We fight the change rather than being the change.  We want things our way rather than God’s way and end up in a mess we could have avoided if we simply followed Christ.  We seek our own fulfillment rather than seeking justice which may be quite costly. 

    So what’s the good news?  The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way.  As we approach a new year, it is a new opportunity to love God and love our neighbor.  That, my friends, will change things.  If we could simply focus on what Jesus taught us was most important – and essentially what he spent his ministry showing us – we would bring the good news.  Love is the answer.  I’m not talking about the sappy Hallmark movie kind of love.  I’m talking about the gritty, love your enemies kind of love.  I’m talking about the Jesus love – the type of love which causes us to be uncomfortable and embrace change because we seek justice.  There is, indeed, a season for all things.  Maybe this is the season for Christians to rise up in a love which changes the world.  

    May it begin with me.

  • An Odd Birthday

    Christmas is an exciting time.  There are lights and trees and ornaments.  There are movies and plays – manger scenes and big celebrations.  There is food…oh wow, is there food!  It’s a big time for many of us.  We are celebrating many things in our country and around our world, but for those of us today, we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  I’m grateful for the celebration – but Jesus’ birth was not quite the same type of celebration.  It was quite ordinary.  There really wasn’t anything all that remarkable.  If anything, it was as ordinary as ordinary can be.  We think of it as anything but ordinary, but as Luke explains, the events were typical and quite unimpressive.  That is, it was an odd birthday. 

    Luke 2:4-7 – Luke tells this as if it is unremarkable.  They are being taxed – that was stinky even back then.  They are away from home and apparently Joseph was either not a great planner or a man short on funds and influence.  Can you imagine how that conversation with Mary must have gone – “no, I don’t have a place for you to sleep – yes, I know you are very, very pregnant – no, I don’t have any way to get us a better place – yes, I have learned my lesson by not getting here earlier and asking for directions so we could have had a better place to stay – yes, dear, I get it, I messed up.”  In his defense, it couldn’t have been easy to travel with a woman who was 9 months pregnant – can you imagine how many times they had to stop for her to go to the bathroom?  Now, I don’t know how it all went but we do know they end up wherever they could sleep for the night.  The baby was born among the animals.  Mary wrapped him up as any new mother would do – the best she could.  It is told as if it just happened.  Boom – a baby was born.  No big deal.  Except this was a big deal.  This was a huge deal.  This was a life changing deal.  But it was as if no one knew about it.  God kept it under wraps – or hay as it seems.  The story doesn’t end there, though.  Actually, the story has just begun.

    Luke 2:8-20 – All of a sudden, Luke takes a turn.  He takes the scene from watching Mary and Joseph to a place on a hillside with shepherds.  The most common, ordinary folks with an all but ordinary experience.  There are angels, there is singing, and there are messages to go.  All of the things we would expect with God’s Son being born.  It is the shepherds who get the message.  And they are the ones who show up.  They get to experience the gift.  They get to see the baby.  They bring a message of reassurance to a new mother and father who are in a very different place than they would have thought or planned.  None of this was in their plans as they had discussed marriage and kids.  

    What’s missing from the story?  I want to know – Where are the parades and the processionals?  Where are the lights, the fireworks, the royal announcements?  Jesus is born – doesn’t anyone else get it?  The place is so packed that Mary and Joseph don’t get a spot.  There are so many people around.  There are people who pass by.  Yet, no one really gets it.  A woman has a baby – well, that’s fairly ordinary.  That’s actually an extraordinary miracle we have made ordinary because, for us, we lose the miraculous when there are approximately 256 births per minute in the world.  Birth is a part of the life cycle.  So we often miss the miracle of it all.  A young woman and her beloved are gathered just like everyone else and she has a baby – okay, so what?  Did no one get the significance?  Did everyone just pass by?  

    We do know of a few who got it.  But it wasn’t from the royalty.  It wasn’t the religious elite.  It wasn’t those who just knew they had the Messiah’s coming all figured out.  They were on the watch and it happened right in front of them.  They missed it.  It was, instead, those who were willing to listen and see.  It was those who were open to a message that was very different than they had ever imagined.  It was those who had willing hearts and open minds to approach a lowly stable to find a baby that would be the Messiah.  God chose shepherds because shepherds were willing to pay attention.  They were open to the miracle of God.  They had not decided what God could do and how God would do it.  They had not already placed God in the nice, neat box of their own narrow minds.  They were not the most educated or the most wealthy.  They did not have the same knowledge as the religious leaders – those trained to tell people what to do to be holy.  They were common.  But the trait I see is they were willing.  

    What an odd birthday for the Savior of the world – not even cake and candles adorned the place.  There wasn’t even a clean hospital room.  But it really sets the tone for Jesus’ entire life.  It really helps us to understand who Jesus is.  When we start with his birth, we begin to see this is no ordinary life.  What seems so mundane is actually about to change the world forever.  Jesus goes on throughout his life to make a difference in the lives of the ordinary, the willing.  He heals those who have faith – not because they are taught the right ways but because they are desperate for God’s love.  They hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Those are the ones who become children of God.  It is those who don’t have it all figured out and don’t decide what God can and cannot do – or will or will not do.  God has come to those who do not always understand why things happen and why life has to be so very hard.  God has come to the questioners, the inquisitive, the seekers, and the completely clueless.  God sent Jesus because so many thought they had it all figured out and Jesus shattered all of those thoughts.  

    Jesus’ beginning was the beginning of a change in it all – everything they knew (frankly, everything we think we know).  We celebrate the birth of Jesus – but do we really want him to change us?  Do we really want him to show up and turn our world in an upheaval to be able to see him?  Do we really want him to remind us he is so much more than we have him figured out to be?  Are we ready to understand we don’t have all the answers, we don’t have it all figured out and we don’t know all about him?  

    I was raised in church.  My parents have always been really active.  They did all the church things – they taught Sunday School, led the youth, cooked for the events, served on the boards.  When I was 18 years old, my Dad became a pastor – maybe between raising me and my brother, he thought his prayer life was as good as it was going to get and he was ready for ministry.  I had the upbringing.  I knew who God was.  I got it.  I won the Sunday School awards and could name the beatitudes.  I knew the books of the Bible.  I went to youth group and sang the songs.  I had the history.  What I realized as I grew up was I had been given just enough to scratch the surface – I didn’t really know anything at all.  And sure, I have a doctorate now.  Guess what?  I am still learning and growing and trying to figure it out – one small piece at a time – still scratching the surface.  I am still trying to understand and be open to see God at work.  

    Here’s what I don’t want to happen.  I don’t want to miss what God is doing because I see only the ordinary.  I don’t want to miss where God is showing up because I have already decided how he works.  I don’t want to go through my life and completely miss the miracles he puts right in front of me – even if they seemingly happen all the time.  I don’t want this to be just another Christmas or another birthday for Jesus.  Think about it – maybe we miss God because we are expecting to see him in places we have decided he will show up – in ways we expect him to appear.  Maybe we are like those first travelers who passed right by the birth of Jesus and missed it because there was no way the Messiah could be born there…to them…on that day.  Instead, I want to be like the shepherds – a willing heart realizing I don’t need to have it all figured out but simply be eager to learn.  I can’t do that if I don’t listen – really listen to the angels sing – to the trees clap – to the mountains proclaim.  I can’t really learn if I have decided I know it all.  We will miss him if we are not seeking him.

    So here is where I land this Christmas – God is love.  Love was born and because that love is so profound, there was no fanfare needed.  This love would radiate far beyond that manger in the stable that day.  This love would begin to flood the entire world in new light.  This love would change lives like never before.  This love is changing mine – how about you?  Do you hear what I hear?

  • What Do YOU Seek?

    Cold and rainy mornings are the perfect combination for sleeping.  The rain hitting the window and the warm covers call for anything except getting up.  But most of us must get up, we must start the day.  We can start the day dreading it.  We can wish we were not going to work or having to get our kids to school.  We could long for a different life.  Or we could start our day completely different.  This day could be the day we get a peek at God.  Are we looking for HIM in the ordinary moments of our lives?  He’s here, don’t miss him.

    We miss things we do not seek.  When our mindset is stuck in the mud and we feel defeated before we even get started, we miss the joys that surround us.  We miss the moments of majesty which come and go in the blink of an eye.  We miss how God shows up in our lives.  We, instead, sink into our problems or our worries. We forget God is with us.  We forget there are so many things to enjoy.  We miss the opportunities just around the corner.

    But not today.  On this cold, rainy morning, get up and seek God.  He isn’t hiding, we are just blind from seeing him because we aren’t looking.  Seek his goodness, it abounds.  Seek his love, it is overwhelmingly good.  Seek his mercy, we all need it.  Catch a glimpse of our Creator.  May we see even more clearly today.

    Blessings as you seek HIM and find HIM today!

    Psalm 27

    7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
        be gracious to me and answer me!
    8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
        Your face, Lord, do I seek.

    Image from The Cain Gallery – David Cain

  • Fear Will Not Win (grief writing)

    Fear has a way of sneaking up on us.  We do not always notice it is so near.  Our reactions can be based on the fear we feel deep inside.  It may not sound like fear or even smell like fear.  But when we seek out the source, there it is – hiding in the depths.  Fear causes us to get angry.  It causes us to lash out at people we really love.  It pushes us to stay away and hide.  Fear can be the driver in so many of our emotions.  It seems even more pronounced when we are grieving.  

    When we are grieving, we are experiencing the painful loss of someone or something so very important in our lives.  We are changed and change is scary.  We fear change, at least most of the time.  Even when the hospital visits and doctor offices have filled our schedules, it becomes routine.  But not having someone by our side – that is scary.  How do we function?  What do we do without them?  How do we move on when all of our plans included our loved one?  How are we to survive when we feel the wind has been knocked out of us?  Fear is real and it can really immobilize us.  But it does not need to.  Fear does not get the final say.  It may have a hold for a while, but it does not consume us.  

    It is important to recognize when fear is in the driver’s seat.  When we can stop and see how our fears are causing us to react in certain ways, this is the beginning.  It takes time.  It takes courage.  It takes real self-discovery.  But it is possible.  What are we fearful of?  Is this fear something we can do something about?  It is a rational fear?  Does fear look like loneliness or anger or sadness or withdrawal?  Does it feel like heartbreak or tears or anxiousness?  

    Once we recognize we are fearful, we can begin to address it.  It is not easy but it is freeing.  We write down our fears.  We see them and we acknowledge them.  Is there someone we can talk to about our fears who will just listen?  Is there someone we trust to share our thoughts?  As a person of faith, I bring my fears to God.  I know he created and understands me.  He gets how fearful I really am.  He hears my cries and experiences my tears.  He reminds me over and over again of how he holds me up and carries me through.  It doesn’t mean I am not fearful – it means I have someone to walk the journey with me.  Eventually the fears lose their power over me.  Eventually, there is peace.  Fear does not win.  

    If you find you are living in fear, know you are not alone.  Hear this is normal.  Fear is real – but fear does not have the final say.  God does.  May you find rest in him.

  • Unexpected Gifts from Unexpected Places

    We have a small farm that we really enjoy.  The animals on our little farm are like our children.  We have mini goats, furry pigs and the most beautiful chickens.  For our chickens, we have two coops.  One is for the larger flock.  The second is the holding coop until the chickens get old enough and strong enough to be in the larger flock.  It turns out that all of them were able to integrate except one.  She was the smallest and of course, the lowest in the pecking order.  So we kept her in the smaller coop for a little while longer.  It seems, though, that the smaller coop was not as stable thanks to the deconstructive efforts of the goats and pigs (they just wanted to climb on it and to eat her feed).  Not too long ago, they managed to turn the entire coop on its side (I can’t even make this stuff up).  The little chicken was left to fend for her life.  She hid, was terrorized a bit, but survived.  Kelli brought her inside and we made a bed for her.  We put her in a dark, warm place for her to recuperate.  Her only movement was to breathe.  We knew she was in shock, but wasn’t sure if she was injured.  So we let her recover.  In a couple of days, she was talking to us and moving around.  She warmed up to us being around her, telling us all about her day (in chicken talk, of course).  A couple of days ago, I checked on her and noticed something different in her box.  She had laid an egg!  Now, that doesn’t sound like such a big feat for a chicken.  But you have to understand we have 11 chickens, all close to the same age.  Not one of them has yet to lay an egg – not one.  They are still young and it isn’t quite time for full production.  But the one who we thought might not make it is the one who was the first to ever provide an egg on our farm.  Unexpected gifts really do come from unexpected places.

    This has taught me not to count anyone out and to love without excuse.  We don’t know the fight others are enduring.  We don’t have any idea the struggles many go through on a daily basis.  What we can do is love and care for others.  We can be kind.  We can be a safe place for people.  We can nurture and love when all else seems chaotic.  We can allow them to simply rest and breathe.  When we do, we never know how God might work in their lives and ours to provide just what is needed.  Surprises abound when we care for God’s creation.  

    Ephesians 1

    15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[e] toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.