lessons

Glory in the Skies

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“God’s glory is on tour in the skies,
    God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
    Professor Night lectures each evening” (Psalm 19:1-2, The Message).

This afternoon, I drove down I-840 from Christiana to Brentwood to get to Room in the Inn at Brentwood Baptist Church. I was a little anxious about facing 4 pm traffic, but I shouldn’t have been worried in the least. It was such a peaceful drive.

As I drove toward the sunset, I could see the sun peaking out from behind the hills in the distance as it was sinking toward night. Everything around me took on a kind of golden glow as the daylight faded away.

I do think that dusk is my favorite part of the day. It almost always makes me feel relaxed and calm, reminding me that despite anything that I may be worried about, creation is a classroom where the glory of God is the subject and I am the student. I need to be reminded that just as God displays His majestic wonder every morning and every evening, so will He show Himself mighty in taking care of my needs.

Also, it’s a helpful lesson in humility to recall that in the grand scheme of things, I am very small and all my problems aren’t all that dire in the light of creation and the universe and the story that God is unfolding across time and history, yet He cares for me as one of the little sparrows.

I wonder if God orchestrates history for moments like these for me to be driving down the interstate and see a beautiful sunset. Not that I am super important or influential but just because maybe God knew I needed it.

The Comfort of a Rod and Staff

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

I was inspired to read the 23rd Psalm again. I’ve read it and heard it read too many times to count. It’s the go-to passage at just about every funeral. Just about anybody who has even an inkling of familiarity with the Bible knows that chapter.

Something I read struck me in a new way. The part that speaks of the rod and staff comforting me. When I think of a shepherd’s rod and staff, comfort is not the first word that comes to mind. Those are more for correction and discipline.

But maybe our greatest gifts come in those times of God’s correction and discipline. Maybe we learn the most and lean the most on God in those seasons where God allows trials and tribulations to come into our cushioned lives. Maybe the comfort is one of knowing God’s presence in the times of the dark valleys rather than counting my own victories in the sunshine.

When you go through a test, you come out with a stronger faith and a enlarged confidence in God. You go from a self-reliance to a God-reliance that is so much more secure and safe.

I read a book called A Severe Mercy in which God’s greatest blessings often come gift wrapped in the most painful of circumstances. There are lessons that we learn best in the darkest and stormiest places.

As I’ve learned and re-learned, the best place to be is not in a place where all my material needs are met and I am most at east, but rather where I am in a place where I am forced to rely on, trust in, and cling to Jesus as my only anchor of hope.

That is still a good place to be.

 

At the End of Your Rope

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

hang on

There’s a cliche that goes something like this: when you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. Apparently, according to various internet sources, this quote has been attributed to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. I’m a little skeptical about any of those actually having said that.

There is some truth to that. If it were me, I’d probably phrase it like this: when you come to the end of you, you come to the beginning of God and His mercies.

When you come to the point when you realize that you bring nothing to the table, that you really are poor in spirit (as the first Beatitude states), and that you don’t have it in you, then you can declare your declaration of dependence on God and find out how strong He really is.

There’s another cliche that may be overused but only because it’s true: you never know how much you have in God until He’s all that you have. Or something like that.

I think sometimes, God deliberately brings us to places where we are grossly inadequate to show how sufficient He really is. The whole notion of God never giving us more than we can handle? I don’t buy it. I think if God never gave us more than we could manage, we’d always maintain the illusion of self-sufficiency. And by the way, the verse doesn’t say God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. It says He never allows us to be tempted beyond what we’re able to bear. There’s a difference.

But once you’re at the end of your proverbial rope, you do find that it’s a good place to be because it’s there that you really and truly see God. It’s when you can find out how strong He is to save those who cry out in desperation to Him day and night. Especially if you’re one of those ones crying out.

I personally would rather be able to read someone else’s sob story and be able to say, “Lesson learned.” But if I’m honest, I know that some lessons are best learned in the dark and hard places and some of the sweetest experiences with God only come out of trials and tribulations.

 

It’s 12:18 AM on a Sunday Morning

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

image

I met a new friend today.

Well, I say that loosely. This “friend” is a canine who just so happens to be old, blind, and deaf. So it’s possible he’s still not aware of my existence, but I think he got to recognize my scent.

Dogs and cats are good like that. They are (for the most part) automatically trusting. They don’t require you jump through a lot of hoops or adhere to a slew of unwritten rules the way that people often do.

My cat Lucy remains loyal, no matter how many times I’ve accidentally stepped on her tail or let her food bowl get empty (for her, that means she can see the bottom of her bowl). She still likes to curl up in my lap and fall asleep.

I could take this post in a direction where I wonder out loud why more people aren’t like that. But then I’d be pointing a finger at me.

I could also say that I’m promising to be a better friend from now on and never give up on any of my friends, but then I’d be setting myself up for an unrealistic dream and inevitable failure.

The truth is that some friends are forever and some friends aren’t. Some will stick with you though the hard times and some won’t. Some will be blessings and some will be lessons, but each and every person God brings to your life is there for a reason.

I think it was Madea who said something like this: “Some folks are like leaves in that they change direction with every gust of wind. Some are like branches that give out when you try to put your weight on them and lean on them. Some are like roots that will be around for the duration

Or something to that effect. Madea said it a lot better than I just did.

I do believe that if you have five or more true-blue friends in your lifetime, you are truly blessed. Facebook may tell you that you can have up to 5,000 friends, but the real truth is that you will have far less who are really and truly friends in every sense of the word. The rest are just good acquaintances.

Here endeth my lesson on Sunday morning at 12:31 am.

My Nothing Blog (Again)

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

image

When you write a daily blog, chances are very good that some days you’ll have the ol’ blogger’s block. I’ve written almost 1,300 of these, so I’m allowed to have the occasional off-night.

I’m thinking that in my experience, nothing ever quite works out exactly like you want, but more often than not, what you get is better than what you originally expected. Try working that one out in your head.

Sometimes, you say goodbye to people you thought would always be around. Some people pop into your life unexpectedly and stay for a while. Very few will be in your life for the long haul.

I’m thankful for all the people in my life, whether they were there for one hour, one day, one week, one month, or one year. Some have gone and some are still around. Some were blessings and some were lessons.

If you’re reading this, I’m thankful for you. I don’t take you for granted.

Hopefully, I’ll have something better to write about tomorrow.

More Life Lessons from Swing Dancing

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

image

Tonight, September 7, was the first night of swing dancing back at Otter Church of Christ after a summer at Centennial Park. It was like returning to a place of comfort for me.

I had the beginner part mastered in no time. The intermediate part? Not so much. I needed an encouraging word or two and some dancing partners practiced in the art of showing me grace.

I had fun. And I learned a few lessons in the process:

1) People just need someone to believe in them. All I needed at first was someone to say, “You can do this. We got this.” Even after the fifth straight time of me getting the steps wrong.

2) You don’t have to be an expert to lead or teach someone. You just have to be one step ahead. Even if you’ve only been swing dancing five times in your entire life, you can teach a newbie some steps and help them out with some of their confusion.

3) You never go wrong by showing someone grace. Never.

Life is a lot like that. Sometimes, all you need is a friend who’s been where you are and can help you navigate job losses and relational awkwardness. Someone who can say, “You can get through this. You’re gonna be fine.”

Jesus has been that for me. He’s been through everything I will ever face. Temptation, rejection, loss, being misunderstood– He’s faced it all.

The best part is that He doesn’t just offer empathy. His Spirit lives in me. The power that raised Him from the dead resides in me. His perfect righteousness is now mine.

And Jesus roots for me one better, too. He doesn’t just say, “You can do this,” but “I’m in you giving you the power to do this.”

He doesn’t just root for you. He intercedes for you before the Father day and night. He defends you from any and all accusations from the enemy. He is your Forever Advocate.

Remember, Jesus does grace better than anyone. He invented it. He gives it fresh and new every morning that you wake up and don’t have a cloud of sin-baggage and failures hanging over your head.

Just remember these things and you will be just fine.

Swing Dancing And What I Learned From It

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

astaire-rogers

I’ve improved a great deal in swing dancing. Ok, so I’m not Fred Astaire quite yet (aside from maybe in my own mind occasionally), but I’m definitely more confident in my own abilities than I was even two weeks ago. The Waltz? Not so much.

I’ve learned a few life lessons from my grand total of two times swing dancing.

1) Don’t give up. At first, I felt hopelessly lost and like I would never get it, but I found someone who knew what she was doing to talk me down from the ledge and help me figure out what I was doing wrong. It takes time and effort to learn anything worthwhile. At least anything that’s worth learning.

2) Step boldly. I discovered a secret. Even if you mess up, you can still keep going and pretend like it didn’t happen. The worst thing to do is to stop or become hesitant. You will mess up, so you might as well mess up royally by taking a chance and trying.

3) You never know unless you ask. I’m learning that I have to be the one to step up and ask the girl to dance. And that won’t happen with me standing across the room sending telepathic messages. My ESP isn’t all that good. I have to be willing to walk across the room and go up to her and ask. I might try and fail but I am guaranteed a 100% failure rate if I don’t try.

4) Don’t take yourself too seriously. I have a tendency to overthink and make things more complicated than they need to be. I’m learning with swing dancing to relax and have fun with it. It’s not like I’m in a competition getting marked off for every little mistake I make. It’s all about having a good time.

5) Fake confidence. A friend told me once that sometimes when you’re not sure of yourself and what you’re doing, to fake like you are. That way you can fool yourself into doing more than you think you can. It works. Trust me.

6) Give grace. You have to allow yourself and others the freedom to fail if you want to learn anything new. You won’t get it 100% right on the first try, no matter what you’re trying to learn. Plus, you will learn far more from your mistakes and failures than you ever will from success. So be kind to yourself and others. Practice forgiveness and second chances. You will inevitably need it yourself one day.

Wow. All that came from two lessons? Who knows what will happen after I’ve been at this swing dancing thing for a while? I don’t know yet, but you’ll be the first ones to find out.

Lucky you.