The Shoes We Wear

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

When my son was little, a trip to the shoe store was an event.  First we carefully picked out the perfect tennis shoe, with just the right color stripe or swoosh, and then the fun really began.  After trying on his preferred shoe, he took a run around the store.  Literally, he would run around the store at least twice to see if the shoes were fast enough.  In his mind the perfect shoe made him faster.  As he got older quickness took a back seat to distance. Now he tries on a shoe with only one question- “can I run a long time in this shoe?”  After years of trying to be fast, he realized that he was more of a long distance runner.  The only thing that is now important about the shoe is its endurance.  Some of us came to faith in Jesus like my son first picked out shoes; we were quick to make the decision to follow Him.  Some of us- even if we had the right equipment were a bit slower.  The important part is the endurance needed in the race.  Jesus doesn’t care if we’re fast or slow, but He does care that we're in the race, and that we finish that race.  Our Spiritual “shoes” don’t have to make us fast, they only have to last.  And, at the end of the race- a prize…a crown.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”  1 Cor. 9:24-25

The Alarm is Buzzing

My alarm went off this morning at 5:15 like it does every week day.  As I strained to open my eyes and unwind myself from the warm covers, I had a thought.  I could try to postpone getting up by hitting the snooze, I could ignore the alarm all together and just stay in bed all day, or I could change my current  circumstance (albeit very comfortable) by getting up and finding out what God had in store for me.  This predicament of choices is much like this season of Lent.  I see the 40 days leading up to Easter much like an alarm clock from God.  He is trying to wake us up to our current circumstances.  If we are fasting- whether it is food or activity, the goal is to focus more on Him- to find out what He’s up to and in essence, what He has in store for us personally. The alarm is buzzing, and we have a choice.  Will we try to postpone what God wants to do in us by hitting the snooze button of our Spiritual walk, will we try to ignore the alarm all together and stay where we are, or will we throw off, unwind from, and get rid of whatever is keeping us lying still? The lying still may seem safe and “comfortable,” but getting up and moving in the direction God is leading holds much more promise.  His Salvation is near.  Are we awake and ready to take hold of it?

Romans 13:11 – “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

Two Words

No two words make my heart jump- or sink- more than these- “So, mom…” 

In my experience with teenagers, these two words are followed by bad news.  Maybe my boys think starting with this subtlety will lessen the blow, and maybe that did work- the first time!

Those words, “So, mom…” have been followed with things like these:

“…I’m fine, but I had a car wreck.”

“…I left my lights on all night and my car won’t start.”

“…a funny thing happened.  I closed the door to the church, but left your keys inside.”

“…I was trying to stop, but it was raining.  I wrecked the car again.”

“…I forgot to tell you.  I need poster board and stick on letters for school- tomorrow.” (This one always happens at 10pm)

“…someone cleaned up the lunch trays when I wasn’t looking, and my retainers were on there.”

“…I ran out of gas- in the driveway.”

“…you know those new retainers I got, well, I broke them today.”

“…I need my science book to study, but I left it in my locker. We have to go back to school tonight.”

And…my personal favorite- and most recent (today)-

“…my phone just went in the sewer.” 

After today’s “so, mom…” moment, I laughed (who wouldn’t when your kid loses his cell phone to the sewer), but then I thought about the loss of said phone in a different light. 

To set this up, you have to hear the whole story of the phone incident.

Mitchell is in Savannah this week.  He called- from a friend’s phone- this morning to let me know what happened.  It seems that the jacket he was wearing had a hole in the pocket.  In Mitchell’s words, he knew there was a hole, but never realized that the hole had gotten so big that his phone would fall out.  So, as he was walking down the street today, the phone fell out, hit the ground, and before he realized what was happening, his foot kicked it –“splash”- right into the sewer.  Phone- gone, followed by the “so, mom…” phone call.   

Here’s what I thought of later.  Mitchell knew there was a hole in his pocket, but in not fixing the hole- or at least paying attention to the growing size of it- he lost something.  There was a consequence to him not paying attention or neglecting something he could have fixed.  

The same is true in our Spiritual walk with the Lord.  How many of us have a “hole” that we know is there, but are choosing to ignore?  We may be refusing to acknowledge just how big it’s getting. 

OR-maybe we know it’s big and we’re at risk of losing something, but we just don’t want to do the work to fix it. 

Let’s face it, we all have holes.  The question is, are we willing to fix them?  Fixing them takes effort.  Just acknowledging them means we’ll have to change in some way.  But, if we don’t- there will be consequences.  We’ll lose something.  I don’t know about you, but I think I’d rather fix the hole now than later have to say to God, “So, Father…”

Now…where is that sewing kit…?!

Plans with No Chocolate

Some of you may be in a chocolate coma from Valentines Day, so if you are- SNAP OUT OF IT!  I didn’t get any chocolate, so that’s not fair.  Just kidding…I specifically made it clear to my boys- no candy for me. 

This week, one thing has been clear to me.  The best laid plans…(what is that saying?)  Well, you know where I’m going- things don’t always work out the way you planned. 

Just a few examples…

I planned to take my boys to the Varsity for Valentine’s Day (strange, but that’s our tradition).  They decided to veer from tradition and wanted to go to Waffle House instead.  Okay, next plan…

We planned to go to Waffle House for Valentine’s Day.  Who knew they were taking RESERVATIONS?!  Not us.  We arrived at 6:30, they could seat us at 8:50.  Okay, next plan…

We went across the parking lot to I-Hop. 

Stop for a minute…is this the saddest Valentine’s Day story you’ve ever heard, or what?!

Anyway- we went to I-Hop.  I’ve been there before, so I don’t know what happened, but it was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had in a restaurant.  Two different times- after waiting a good while, they returned to our table to tell us they couldn’t give us what we ordered.  One time- they realized they were out of that particular thing, and the other time- they had forgotten to thaw out the meats, so they couldn’t make what we ordered.  I’m not trying to trash I-Hop, but this one time was not good.

However, in the midst of all that turmoil, we had a great Valentine’s Day.  The food took forever to come to our table, and it was…well, food…not great.  But…we laughed (a lot) and we talked, and so, despite all of the failed plans, the night turned out even better than expected. 

We can plan our lives – the little things, and the big things- for ourselves, or we can follow the plan laid in front of us with all of its unexpected twists and turns.  God’s plan for us- the one He laid out- may be full of surprises (for us- not Him), but it’s still the best one. He knows when we need to break with tradition, He knows when we’ll need reservations, and He knows ahead of time when we’ll hit a rough spot- where our “order” won’t be right. He also knows that if we stick to His plan, that despite all of that, our lives will be better than we expected. 

And…my guess is that we’ll get to laugh- and cry- and talk- a lot all along the way. 

Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Trusting His plans today…

Are You Paying Attention?

So…the Superbowl is over, and now we can focus on something important- like the Oscars.  My boys and I have always been big movie people.  We love to watch them, and we love to critique them.  (We don’t make any- that’s for people like Bryan Coley)

Because we love movies so much, we are always discussing which movie, actor, actress, etc. should win that particular year’s Oscar.  A few years ago Matthew decided that he had to actually see ALL of the movies nominated for best picture.  It hasn’t always happened; we are sometimes hindered by cost (movies are expensive), and other times the rating, but we’ve tried our best to catch what we could.  This year is no different.  We’ve seen 7 of the 9 nominated movies!  (Matthew is determined to see the last two before Oscar Sunday)

This brings me to what I wanted to share.  Last night, because Matthew had no homework (never happens) and I was free (also never happens), we went to a movie.  We went to see “The Artist.”  If you’re not a follower of movies like we are, there are two things you need to know- it’s in black and white, and it’s almost exclusively a silent movie. Yes, silent…I would guess that there is a total of 5-7 minutes of sound in the whole movie. 

Before I tell you all the Spiritual significance I saw in this movie, let me just say how ENJOYABLE it was to sit in a movie with no car chases, no explosions, and no expletives. That alone made it worth the price of my ticket!  And to make it better, it was also a FABULOUS story and film.  I won’t spoil the plot for you in case you want to see it, but you have to know that the main conflict in the story is that “talkies” have hit the movie scene, setting off a series of events (many of them not good) for the lead man in the story- a famous silent movie actor. 

This was one of those movies where I could make numerous Spiritual connections, but the most obvious one was this…God is working even when we don’t hear Him.  This was a huge revelation/reminder for me last night, as I seem to be in a bit of a dry spell in clearly hearing God’s voice right now.  It reminded me of something I taught the kids last year about the period between the Old and New Testaments.  Many people called that span of time (hundreds of years) the “silent years.”  But here is what I reminded the kids of- God never stops working, even if we’re not ‘hearing’ from Him directly.  For that timeframe in biblical history it appears that God stopped talking to His people, but we know – because of what happened (the birth of Jesus)- He was very much at work. 

As I watched this movie – in the silence- I realized just how much was going on even with no sound.  There was still action - without all the sound effects.  The thing that I realized as well is that I had to pay closer attention without the sound.  Isn’t this just like our relationship with God too…

If He’s not speaking in a loud voice- or even in a still small voice, we have to pay closer attention.  We have to look for the “action” since we can’t hear it. 

I’m a talker so I love it when God reaches me that way- just speaking to me.  But…I was reminded last night- in a dark theater sitting beside my movie-loving 14 year old- that sometimes the best communication is silent.  God is at work.  There is action even if I can’t (right now) hear the sound effects.  My eyes are more open today and I’m  paying attention! 

Predictions

If you are a watcher -and believer- of groundhogs, then you know we can expect 6 more weeks of winter.  (I’m sorry…have we had winter?!   As someone wrote on Facebook yesterday, 6 more weeks of this kind of winter is not too bad)

As a former Kindergarten teacher who watched closely with my 5 year olds whether or not that famous rodent would see his shadow, I – with tongue in cheek- tend to believe his predictions. 

As I thought about the groundhog yesterday, I was reminded of some other ‘predictions’ I’ve believed- about myself/my life.  Some of these predictions were based on a social concept of how things should be, others were based on a true knowledge of me as a person, and still others were much more prophetic in nature. 

In each case, the predictions were positive.  Things like- you’re going to do well in school, you’re going to be a great mom someday, you’re going to be a leader, children will flock to you…

You see- all positive. 

Now- what if the exact same things were said in this way:

You’re a pleaser so get ready to work long hours, you’re going to pour everything you are into kids who will rarely-if ever-say thanks, you’ll be the first to arrive and the last to leave, you will rarely have an adult conversation. 

Not as appealing when stated this way.

So…here’s my point.  These predictions about me/my life were positive.  I wanted to believe them.  I wanted to be all that someone else believed about me.  

I didn’t need to know about the ‘underbelly’ of these predictions, and even if I had, it wouldn’t have mattered.  We- as a general rule- receive and believe the positive over the negative every time. 

What does that say about what we’re telling the children we disciple?  What does it say about anyone in our life we’re trying to disciple? Our words – not just what we say, but how we say it- matter.   Jesus spoke the truth- many times the hard truth- to people, but the positive always outweighed the negative. 

People need to know they are loved by God, that He has a plan for them. They also need to know that following Jesus is not always easy- that there is going to be some “cost” to them; however, the positive of following Jesus ALWAYS outweighs the negative.  When people-no matter the age- know the reality of who Jesus is, the cost won’t matter.  The prediction- the future hope- of following Him will be like the prediction of an early spring. 

And…just to bring this whole prediction thing home…

One news show said the prediction was six more weeks of winter.  Another said “just 6 weeks til spring.” 

Which one will you believe?