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Refreshing Reminder

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I was cutting the grass earlier than normal today in hopes of escaping the heat. Thankfully, it wasn’t super hot yet but the air was already heavy with humidity. Thankfully, there was a refreshing breeze that cooled me down periodically to keep me going.

That reminded me of something I learned about a particular Hebrew word used for the Holy Spirit. Ruach is translated as spirit, but it can also mean wind or breath. When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about being born again, He probably used that word ruach to convey how the Spirit moves in mysterious ways.

Usually in western thinking, we typically assign one meaning to a word. Even words that can have different meanings usually have one based on context. But in Hebrew thinking, a word can have multiple meanings all at once.

As I have learned, it’s possible when Jesus used the word He was thinking spirit, breath, and wind all at once. The Holy Spirit is of course the third person in the trinity, the three-in-one consisting of three distinct persons yet also one God.

When Jesus later promised the Holy Spirit to the Church, He said that the Spirit’s job would be to remind them of all He had taught them. The Spirit would also give us the words to say at the right moment of a gospel conversation or where we’re defending what we believe.

I like to think of what the Holy Spirit does (at least in part) as a refreshing reminder of all the promise God has ever made. When life gets hard and the world becomes overbearing, the Spirit is like that gentle breeze that reminds us that God is present with us in the trials. He will bring to mind a verse or something a friend said that reflected God’s heart or even a song lyric that speaks God’s truth.

All that is to point us to Jesus and keep our eyes fixed on Him who is the founder of our faith and the goal of our journey. As long as we’re on this side of heaven with all our struggles and trials, He’s with Him. One day, we’ll have our faith made sight and reach the end of those struggles and trials, and then we’ll be with Him.

Summer Solstice

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“And with the spring comes the thaw
Melting my heart reviving all
It comes full circle and then
It’s summer solstice again” (Wayne Kirkpatrick).

I could have sworn that summer started tomorrow. It seems like June 21 is always the longest day of the year and the official start to summer (although the weather has been jumping the gun a bit lately with the heat and the humidity).

It’s always interesting to me that this particular summer equinox falls almost but not quite at the halfway point of the year. I’ve mentioned it before, but summer used to be my favorite season as a kid. Mainly that was because there was no school and basically no responsibilities for two months.

Now that I’m a fully mature adult (mostly), summer is basically just like every other season but with more sweating. I tend to be less and less a fan of super hot weather as I get older. I’m growing to love fall more and more.

But I appreciate that each season has its place. God made winter, spring, summer, and fall each with a purpose in the cycle of life. Each season has its own set of holidays (though fall has the best, even if you don’t count Christmas that technically falls in winter). After all, most of Advent season is in the fall.

Seasons remind us of the faithfulness of God. Just as summer follows spring, so will the promises of God come to pass. It will not always be summer or fall or winter, and you and I will not always be stuck in our own current season, whatever that may be. One season prepares us for the next.

So long as my air conditioning stays strong, I can survive this summer. Hopefully, I can take a few lessons with me into the fall season.

Is Winter Over Yet?

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Some of you know that I am not a fan of winter. I like the part in December where we get Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I even like the first few weeks into January and February, but after that I’m over being cold and having to scrape my car’s windshield in the morning.

I’m the same way with summer. I like summer through the 4th of July and a few weeks past that, but at a point I start longing for fall. Fall is still my absolute favorite, with spring falling behind into second place.

One annoying aspect of Winter is how it pretends to go away, but doesn’t really. Already, there have been a couple of sneak previews of spring, but then in a day or two it gets rainy and cold again. Typically when I take the lining out of my rain jacket, I can predict that the temperatures will plummet again.

I know the groundhog didn’t see his shadow, so theoretically that means spring comes early. But winter isn’t ready to let go. Winter really wants to have the last word. But I think we’d all agree at this point that the song from Frozen applies — winter just needs to “let it go.”

The reason spring isn’t my favorite season is that along with warmer weather come all forms of pollen, mold, and dust that don’t like my sinuses. Or my sinuses don’t like them. I think the feeling is mutual.

Also, all those bugs that have been napping all winter wake up and want to get all up in your business right away. Plus, this year two different kinds of cicadas will be invading the land. I get that insects are an important part of the circle of life, but I wish they could be important somewhere away from me rather than constantly flying in my face all the time.

But every season serves a purpose, as it says in Ecclesiastes. Winter, spring, summer, and fall all have a part in God’s creation. I may not like them all equally, but I can appreciate each one and find the good in each season. Then I can really celebrate fall and bust out all my flannel all over again . . . in about seven months or so.

It’s Summer Solstice Again

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“It must have been the summer solstice
When I first gave my heart to You
The first day of a brand new season
In a fevered passion for Your simple truth
It was the longest I’d ever felt for anything
And it gave my soul a song to sing . . . .

And with the spring comes the thaw
Melting my heart reviving all
It comes full circle and then
It’s summer solstice again

So can You throw Your arms around me and walk me home
I’ve wandered off way too far for way too long
And standing broken in this wilderness of shame
I have found my only strength is in your name
Oh, Father please can You undo what I’ve done
And get me back to square one

Back to the summer solstice

Take me back

I wanna go back” (Wayne Kirkpatrick, recorded by Susan Ashton).

Yes, it is summer solstice again. It’s officially the longest day of the year in terms of having the most daylight.

This one was hot. As in even standing in the shade, I was still sweating like the pig that knows he’s about to be bacon.

It felt like I was standing in front of an oven, only there was no aroma of anything baking, except maybe me.

Summer always makes me nostalgic for days I can never get back. It makes me miss people I will never see again in this lifetime.

I’m thinking about all those Johnson family reunions we used to have where all the cousins would make the drive down to Christiana, Tennessee and bring buckets of fried chicken (along with a multitude of casseroles and other foods) and tell stories of yesteryear. I miss those.

It’s easy to want to look back when you can’t really see what’s ahead, to long for the past when the future seems uncertain and scary.

That’s where a lot of us are right now. We’re holding on to what we know, what we can feel with our hands and see with our eyes and make sense of with our minds. We cling to the tangible, even if it’s what’s holding us back from becoming what God destined us to become.

Maybe faith is letting go of  those things and reaching out into the unknown with only the assurance that God will be there.

I love what G. K. Chesterton said: “Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.”

So here’s to hope, which is possibly the best thing going right now.

Hope is a good thing.

 

 

 

 

Falling into Autumn

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 2 Comments

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Officially, today, September 22, is the first day of autumn. Thus commences yet again my very favorite season, filled with colorful leaves, cool breezes, hot cider, hayrides, bonfires, and crisp nights.

For some reason, autumn makes me most nostalgic. Something about the combinations of smells peculiar to fall triggers happy childhood memories of places and people long since gone.

Most of my favorite movies are set during autumn, or at least have memorable scenes set amidst the riot of changing leaves (think When Harry Met Sally or A Beautiful Mind).

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Some friends and I took lunches out to Granny White Park. I took my ever-so-yummy burrito from Chipotle’s and drank water like a healthy boss. We threw the frisbee around and had a great time. Later, we played sand volleyball on the courts at Fellowship Bible Church. It was picturesque.

The part of living in Tennessee that is both good and bad is the unpredictability of the weather. In other words, I can’t count on every day until December 21 being this postcard perfect. I’ve learned to appreciate these idyllic days and enjoy each one.

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I’m learning to appreciate each day as a blessing from God. Too many people I know who are my age and younger won’t get to see their tomorrows (at least not on this side of eternity). Truly the old saying is true: today is a gift– that’s why they call it the present.

I’m also learning to see God in each and every day. That comes with seeing through eyes of gratitude and thanksgiving and joy. Even those blessings that come disguised in suffering and hardship.

I believe the weather will be hot and muggy later in the week, but I’ll still have the treasure of remembering this day when I’m sweating like the turkey that’s about to be Thanksgiving dinner.

That’s truly enough for me.