Recently while having lunch with a good friend, she shared a book with me that introduced me to Tim Ladwig, who so masterfully illustrated The Twenty-third Psalm into a modern-day visual seen through a child’s eyes. Each page invites you into an urban setting where children are embraced by love of family and protected by their Heavenly Father through His wonderful provision of caring people. There is one illustration, displaying a group of children crossing a busy street with the help of a guard, which particularly caught my attention. The guard is dressed in her reflective red jacket, holding a long staff with a big red sign with the word, “stop” written on it.  Above the picture are the words, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  The children are shown walking across a dangerous intersection feeling protected and secure because they trust the faithful, wise crossing guard and the wooden staff with the sign she is carrying. The illustrator was able to apply this verse to the Twenty-third Psalm and make it relevant today for those children. It made me ponder how this passage is applicable in my life and how God’s rod and staff protects and comforts me daily.   

As I reflected on the illustration and passage I questioned how many times the traffic of our lives bears down upon us and we wonder how are we ever going to walk through this day. The intersection of interruptions, tasks and schedules is about to collide into chaos and it is all too big, noisy and overwhelming to handle. Will we make it through this day, next week, the fractured relationship or the enormous loss in our lives? When it all looks too overwhelming… and we know within our own means there is nothing we can do to stop the traffic or make a way … there is Someone standing nearby with a staff inviting me to follow His path through the unruliness of this world.  No longer is He holding a wooden staff but a rugged wooden cross - a cross that once and for all stood tall on Calvary posted a sign that said “STOP”. All heaven and earth STOPPED as the sin of the world was laid on Him. He freed us from the collision of eternal death, guilt and shame.  A cross where the red blood of Jesus wrote “stop” -   no more, it is finished for all time.  This cross, that stands up through all eternity proclaiming STOP, allows us each day to find comfort in knowing there is a way across the “traffic” in our lives - through  dangers and messiness as He leads us to the other side. Your rod and staff, they comfort me. Let Lent be the reminder of all He has done for us!  Let’s rejoice and be comforted in Him. Let us say, “Your Rod and Your Staff, they comfort me.”

There was someone missing at Christmas this year.  This was the first time we have not had our youngest daughter, Julie, home with us. It felt weird but it felt right. The reason is that Julie is in the Dominican Republic and then will be in serving in Haiti on an outreach with YWAM (Youth with a Mission) for two months. Every time we hear from her she shares how excited she is about what God is doing and how she has become so close to Him. The funny thing is she really did not want to go at first. She knew something needed to change in her life but did not think YWAM was the answer.  She had lots of possible ideas of things to do and places to go that would relieve her restlessness. None of them sounded quite right but when your child turns a certain age you learn not to express your thoughts so freely. Her Dad and I encouraged her to pray for God’s direction and suggested YWAM. She did pray and God made it clear to her she was to go and the reason for her hesitancy was fear of the unknown.

Here are few recent posts from her facebook page:

“The day I chose to give my life fully to you, God was the day my life started to have meaning! Thank you for giving me that freedom to choose you! I love you and am so proud to be able to call myself your daughter.”

“God is so amazing! We did children’s ministry today in a Haiti community. Tomorrow we go to a radio station and talk. I will be telling my testimony over the radio. Then after lunch we are going to go to a prison and do our programs! I am so excited to see what God has for us tomorrow!”

“Mom I love you so much! I want to say thank you for everything you have done. I am so blessed to have you as my mom. Thank you for supporting me and encouraging me. I would not be where I am now without you. Thank you for showing me what a godly woman looks like. I look up to you so much. Thank you for always being there when I need to talk or even to just be held. You have such an amazing heart for people and I thank you for following God no matter what. Thank you for praying for me when I was in a place that I didn't think I had any hope. Thank you for never giving up on me. I love you so much! I will miss you so much! “

It is certainly worth letting go and letting God move in our daughter’s life.  We rejoice in God for what He is doing.

A few decades ago - or maybe longer  -  I lived in a small travel trailer that I rented from a single woman (let’s call her Syd to protect her privacy) in a remote little town in Wyoming. Syd was labeled “peculiar” by some people in the community because of her frequent bizarre ways of behaving and reacting to life’s problems.  She was known for “flying off the handle” at any little mishap. I first met Syd when we worked together in the town café.  As I built a relationship with her, I realized her reasons for behaving oddly were because of the past abuses she had suffered growing up in a difficult family environment. As our relationship developed, I saw her as a beautiful survivor and a loved friend.  This did not delineate her quirky ways that could really irritate me and many others. She had a way of alienating people in her life, causing her to be isolated and alone. She was extremely creative in supporting herself and very frugal with all she had. One of her means of financially sustaining herself was buying old dolls at garage sales, cleaning them up, making clothes for them and then selling them. These dolls were like orphaned children to her.

At one point in our relationship she infuriated me to the point that I was ready to find another place to rent so I would no longer have to put up with her strange behavior. The “last straw” was when she claimed the wood that I had ordered to heat my home. By mistake, the wood was delivered on her side of the yard so she believed it was hers.  I then decided it was time for me to find another place - I did not need to put up with her ways any longer.  As I was planning my exit, letting God know how mistreated I had been and that I was no longer going to put up with this, God impressed me with the words, “Yes, you are!” to which I responded, “What?” You want me to stay in this place where I am treated badly and experience her crazy actions?”  God’s answer was, “Yes , if you don’t love her, who will?”

This quick interaction with the Lord opened my eyes to His deep love for Syd and for others like her who can be hard to love at times.  I realized that my relationship with Syd was just as much a learning experience for me to love as it was for her to learn to be loved.

Years later - after I married, moved to Michigan and had children -  I realized I had not kept up my relationship with Syd when one day during my time of prayer and reading God whispered to me, “Call Syd and wish her Happy Birthday.”  “Hmmm…”  I thought to myself, “That is odd, I do not even know if it is her birthday.”  The feeling would not leave so I reasoned with myself, “What can I lose by calling Syd, who I have not heard from in a long time and wishing her Happy Birthday?”  All she could say is, “It is not my birthday” and then we could just have a nice conversation.  So I did it. I called her, she answered the phone and I said, “Happy Birthday, Syd.” There was a hesitation and then she said, “How did you remember my birthday?”  I was able to say, “I didn’t but Jesus did.”

Has God placed someone in your life that is hard to love at times? Maybe you can call, send an e-mail, text or Facebook them today. Let them know they are loved by you and God.

I believe we are better together!

Recently we were asked as pastors to start blogging. Now in my mind I thought, are you kidding, I rarely read blogs and now to have my own page. After getting over the initial shock, I started considering what would I blog about, prayerfully contemplating what God might be having me share. That is when I started listening, really listening.   Maybe it is not so much about what I say or think but it is really about what God is speaking. How do I listen better? How do I discern God’s voice? How do I share it with others what He has impressed on me? These are all really good questions that I believe we all struggle with in our Christian journey.  So as I have been listening, reading and praying,  some thoughts are:

• God is continually speaking to us 
• God is always consistent with His Word (looking forward to 40 Days in the Word series coming in January http://www.saddleback.com/40ditw/ ) 
• The avenues God uses to reveals Himself to us varies. 

So I am going to be spending some time sharing my journey on listening to God and how He has used many different avenues to speak to me. More often than not it is through spending time in Bible study alone or with others.  Many times He has used nature many times in all its beauty to speak of His glory. While living in the state of Wyoming, I was only about 40- mile drive from seeing the Teton. Whenever I would see the silhouette of those jagged, snowcapped peaks against the sky the song, Majesty, would rise in my heart.

He has used people I know and not know personally, unique adventures, articles from unlikely places, quiet whispers, sometimes two by fours, my children and husband.

As we go forward on this blogging journey I will be sharing some of my own personal stories of how God has spoken to me. I would love to have your insights and stories on how God speaks to you. We are better together.