March 2012

Interrupted

I don’t know how he knows, but my one-month-old son has an unerring instinct for when I am about to eat a meal. Just as I finish setting the table, getting the food on it, and pulling out my chair to sit down, I hear his little voice: “Waaaahhhh!”

Doesn’t matter that he was sleeping soundly. He wakes instantly from that deep sleep I could only wish he’d sleep at night, just in time to put a kink in my mealtime plans.

Interrupted.

I’ve said it to others many times: Jesus knows how you feel. He’s experienced the specifics of many things we experience (except those having to do with personal sin) and the principles behind everything. So I asked myself, Was Jesus ever interrupted?

The answer came before I even finished asking myself the question: of course He was. He got interrupted all the time. There was the time He went to a solitary place to pray and the disciples interrupted Him because everybody was looking for Him. And of course, there were all the times He was trying to teach and got interrupted by people who wanted to start an argument. Then there was His prayer time in the Garden when the interruption came from people ready to crucify Him.

But the event in Jesus’ life I want us to look at today came during a happy time. Festive, even. It happened at a wedding.

Jesus and His disciples had been invited to a wedding in a place called Cana. The fact that Jesus’ disciples were invited also indicates that He was recognized as a rabbi/teacher and was an honored guest. He and the disciples accepted the invitation and traveled there, probably expecting to have a good time mixing and mingling and sharing in the bridal couple’s happiness. But…He got interrupted.

You see, the wine ran out, a fact which, if it became known, would humiliate the bride and groom. Jesus’ mother, knowing this, laid the problem before Jesus: “They have no more wine.” Jesus responded, “What does that have to do with me? It’s not time for Me to take on this kind of role.” Mary, of course, wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Do whatever He tells you,” she said to the servants.

Had He been just an ordinary human being, Jesus could very well have said something like this: “Weren’t you listening? I’ve told you it’s not time for this. Don’t ask again.” (Sound like any response you’ve ever given your kids?) But He didn’t. Instead, He performed a miracle, changing water into wine.

Interrupted. Yet when His Father (through the person of Mary) made known to Jesus that He needed to act, Jesus temporarily stepped aside from the festivities and did what God was calling Him to do. He allowed Himself to be interrupted. And He did it with a good attitude—not with a resentful or irritated spirit.

What about you and me? When we get interrupted by our children, how do we respond? What’s our attitude like?

Granted, there are times we need to teach our children not to interrupt—when someone else is speaking, for example. But there are many times (some days, it seems like millions of times) when they interrupt us with a legitimate need, something we really do need to act upon.

When those times come, we need to take our cue from Jesus and respond the way He did when He was interrupted. Doing so involves three things.

First, we need to be willing to be interrupted when there is a legitimate need and God wants us to act. If we hold onto the idea that our children should never inconvenience us, we’re going to get irritated a lot. And in fact, children are not an inconvenience, if our goal is to serve others rather than to be served.

Second, when we do the right thing, we need to do it with a positive, loving attitude. I admit I’m sometimes guilty of responding to my child’s need but doing so in a way that makes it clear that he or she bothered Mommy by asking. Perhaps you do this too. But instead of showing my children that Mommy is more important than they are, my goal is to show them that I care about their needs because they are important people. The first way of responding makes them feel insignificant; the second makes them feel loved.

Third, we need to serve them well. When we meet a need in a sloppy or mediocre manner, we communicate to our children that their needs don’t matter. When we are about to meet their need, let’s do it abundantly, like Jesus did. After all, He didn’t just make wine, He made wine, delicious and remarkable wine. Next time you make a PBJ, don’t just make a sandwich, make a sandwich. There are plenty of creative ways to do that.

Interruptions will come in life and perhaps especially in motherhood. It’s your choice as to how you respond to them. Your words, actions, and expressions can communicate encouragement and love to your children and at the same time fill you with peace, or they can do the opposite. It’s up to you. You can’t always control when the interruptions come, but you can control how you respond to them.

John 2:7-8—Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” (See John 2:1-12 for the whole story.)

The Hands

Sculpture Hands Holding StonesOn a shelf in our dining room rests a sculptured pair of cupped hands. Nestled inside the hands are 19 smooth, polished stones. One is dark brown. Five are light brown. Thirteen are white.

The hands represent Father God’s hands. They are cupped in order that each stone be held in their palms, just as the Bible tells us that God holds us in the palm of His hand.

The stones represent our children. Yes, all nineteen of them. The dark brown stone represents Steven, the baby boy we were prepared to adopt years ago, whose birth mother changed her mind and did not let us take him home from the hospital. The five light brown stones stand for our five children alive on earth. And each of the thirteen white stones represents a child conceived during our IVF attempts who did not live long enough to have a chance at being born on this earth, and who is now waiting for us in heaven.

Someday, I will see those babies, look into their sweet little faces, and know what they look like. But until then…God holds them in His hands and hugs them in His arms.

Someday, we hope to see Steven again and to know that he had a good life, even if it wasn’t the life with us that we had hoped to provide for him. But until then…God holds Steven in His hands.

Even though five children live with us, so that we can see their precious faces every day, hug and kiss them and tell them we love them…God holds them, too. When we wrap our arms around them and soak in the feel of their precious hugs, and maybe even bow our head to kiss the top of theirs, God is ultimately the One holding them until the day they go to live with Him forever.

You see, children are precious to God. He loves them exceedingly. In fact, in a time when children were nothing special as far as society was concerned, where they were definitely supposed to be seen and not heard, Jesus made it a point to hold them, love them, and welcome them into His presence.

And Father God still does the same today.

Children are welcome in His presence. They are beloved. That’s why He holds them close—not because He has to, but because He wants to.

Not just the people whom society would consider children by virtue of their age, but those whom Father God considers children.

That includes all of us.

You. Me.

Right now, as I sit here trying to be faithful to the words God wants me to put on the screen so that His heart and intentions will reach yours, He is holding me in the palm of His hand. As you sit reading, he holds you too, wherever you are.

But not just for now. Just as those stones always rest in the pair of artificial hands, we nestle in the hands of the Father continually.

That will never change. In fact, when He walked this earth, Jesus took time to spell it out. “No one is able to snatch [you] out of the Father’s hand,” He said. That means no one can ever make us leave Father God’s love and care. Period. End of story. That’s because, as Jesus told us, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.” God is so much more loving and powerful than anybody else that He is the one who gets to determine where we rest. And He has lovingly gathered us into His hands and offered us the privilege of resting there.

Not just right now, not even just today, but every second of every day for all eternity.

He’s promised to love us and hold us until we see His face…and then forever.

That’s a promise our souls can rest in. Starting now.

John 10:29—My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Fresh

Recently, I sat on a park bench, watching Lindsey play on the swings. The air was cool but not cold; the sun was shining its warmth upon me; and everything glistened from the raindrops left over from the night before. It was a beautiful morning.

The word that came to my mind was fresh. That’s how the morning felt—fresh, clean, and new.

I also have a newborn son. Timothy was born three weeks ago. Although it’s already hard to remember what life was like without him, we are still just getting to know him. Each day, we get more clues to his delightful personality. But as far as we know now, he could grow up to be anything. He could express his personality in a number of unique, charming ways.

Anything seems possible.

Sometimes, it’s easy to see possibilities. We look at the weather or a situation or a person and see only potential. Other times, we see only the negative. When Lindsey and I arrived at the park, I could have thought to myself (or even said out loud), What a wet, nasty day. Instead of a precious little boy, I could look at my son and see only the myriad diaper changes and the amount of time I’m “tied down” feeding him. Same weather—same child—but different attitude.

What makes the difference? Perspective.

With most things in life, especially the smaller things, the difference between a positive or negative attitude is simply a matter of perspective. We can look at a person or situation and focus on what we perceive to be the negative aspects, or we can focus on the positive. The rain left on the ground at the park? It could have been negative—something that messed up the place we wanted to play—or, as I took it, positive, making everything glisten.

Unfortunately, I don’t always choose a positive perspective in the face of things I don’t like. I sometimes focus so intently on the negative qualities of my situation that the positive ones just don’t seem to matter much. But I want to do better. Why? Three reasons.

First, it’s what God wants. We’re mistaken if we think He’s pleased when we decide to see a glass as half-empty when all it would take to see it as half-full is a shift in perspective. I’m not suggesting we all become Pollyannas and deny our negative feelings about something. But I am recommending that we take those negative feelings to God and ask Him to help us deal with them.

Second, when I have a positive perspective in a situation, it indicates that I know God can and will see me through. No situation or person I encounter is too big for God to be able to use in a positive way in my life. Often, it would be fairly easy to find something positive to concentrate on if we were just willing to look—especially if we remember that God is present with us in our circumstances and will take care of us.

Third, a negative perspective rarely makes me happy. I get far more peace from focusing on the good aspects of a situation than on the bad and from remembering to seek God in my situation rather than just grumble. So why do I spend my time complaining about something or someone? Good question.

Perhaps there is a situation or person in your life right now that you need to find something positive in. Again, I’m not suggesting that you deny the negative, but rather that you find something positive in the situation and think about that rather than about the part you don’t like (which may very well be legitimate). If you can’t find anything good to consider, ask God to help you.

Your strong-willed child who has difficulty obeying you the first time you give instructions? Perhaps the positive is that you know his strong will is going to help him stand against peer pressure. You may still have to discipline his behavior, but now at least you have found something positive to partially relieve your emotions and make things a little bit easier on yourself.

Your husband who isn’t as emotional with you as you would like him to be? Perhaps you could see him as calm and steady, qualities that are of extreme value in the storms of life. You may still decide to respectfully discuss the issue with him, but at least you won’t be doing it from a completely negative mindset.

On what situation or person in your life do you need a fresh perspective? What difference might it make if you could begin to acknowledge and think about the positive? Will you do it?

Proverbs 15:15—All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

Right Now!

My life has become even more immeasurably rich since giving birth to our second son (our fifth child) two weeks ago. Timmy is a cuddly, lovable little boy. Already, he’s starting to lose the newborn look. He’s eating well and filling out a little. He even sleeps well (thank you, God!).

Sometimes, when Timmy wakes up, he does so gradually, squiggling and squirming and making soft, intermittent noises. If I don’t feed him soon enough, he’ll fuss, then escalate to full-out crying. Other times, Timmy knows immediately that he’s hungry, and he goes from zero (sleep) to 60 (awake and crying) in just a few seconds. When he’s that hungry, only eating will satisfy him. He wants his food right now!

I’ve written before about this week’s verse, and how we are to desire spiritual food—God’s Word—as strongly as my newborn son desires his food. But this week, I want to take this verse in a little bit different direction. The verse says that we Christians are to desire God’s Word in the same way as little babies desire milk. Last time, I took that to mean we should long for our Bibles as strongly as babies want their food. That’s still true. But this time, I want us to realize that we must also desire the Scriptures as constantly as babies desire breast or bottle.

You see, despite the fact my son is only two weeks old, I’ve already fed him well more than 100 times. It wasn’t good enough to feed him the first time, then once last week, once this week, etc. No, Timmy wants to be fed regularly. He doesn’t go very long before he knows with everything in him that it’s time to eat again.

On the other hand…we often go quite awhile between times of reading or studying God’s Word. A week passes without our Bible, and we’re not bothered by that. Sometimes, even longer passes, and instead of craving God’s Word more and more, we crave it less and less. We become used to not having it. We fill the space the Bible should occupy with other things: childcare, recreation, even church activities.

We simply don’t desire God’s Word as we should.

I know that all too often, I’ve often been inconsistent with my quiet time. Perhaps you have, too. Why? We both know regular study of the Bible is important. We both agree we should engage in it. So why don’t we?

Ultimately, what it often comes down to is that we don’t really believe it’s as important as we say we do. We don’t feel the need. Yes, family and homemaking responsibilities can make it pretty difficult to find time for regular study. But if we really believed it was important, we’d make time. No matter how busy we are, we could always find five minutes per day, except on rare occasions. Yes, it can be difficult to know how to study. But if we really thought studying was important, we’d find someone to teach us how to study, or we’d at least give it our best shot. But we don’t. Studying the Bible isn’t really as important to us as we say it is.

I encourage you to consider whether this might be true in your life. Is it possible that the reason you don’t study regularly is because you don’t really desire to?

I have to admit that this has been true of me at times. There have been times when, because life was going so well (or just because it was so busy), I’ve forgotten how much I need the Bible. I need to hear God speaking to me through His Word. So do you. If we don’t see the dire necessity of Bible study, we’re right where Satan wants us. He well knows that in order to bear fruit, we must be connected to the vine. So if He can get us to think we don’t really need one of the primary means of connection, he’s thrilled. He knows the power of the Word and is quite satisfied for us to ignore that power.

I don’t want to please Satan; I want to please God. I know you do, too. So if your heart doesn’t strongly and frequently desire Scripture, I encourage you to pray and ask God to change your heart. There’s not really a way to muster up the desire on our own. We need Him to help us long for His Word like He knows we should. Like my son longs to be fed, even when he only ate a little while ago.

So yes, desire God’s Word strongly. But also desire it frequently. If it’s been too long since you really wanted to open your Bible, ask God to help you want to. Then do it. If you don’t know how, find someone who can give you some ideas.

And next time you hear a baby cry, ask yourself, “How long has it been since I desired God’s Word like this baby wants to be fed?”

1 Peter 2:2—As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.