I am feeling a sense of renewal today. I feel like I’ve just finished a good rest. Maybe I needed time to rest, be quiet and listen? Time to hear that still small voice and work to align my heart with what I’ve heard.
Or maybe I was sleep walking? Going through the motions, getting things done, and wrestling with God. Trying to shut out that still small voice, and trying to get Him to align with my plan.
….“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14
I love this verse because it always reminds me of the movie “Shawn of the Dead.” I know, not high art, but It was through this movie that God gave me a perspective of a life I could easily fall into.
We humans are all at risk of sleep walking. It’s hard to sleep though a whole life, but maybe there are periods of time that just seem to slip through our fingers. Periods of time we waste just going through the motions. I believe my time has been a bit of both. Time to seek and see what is next on the horizon, while wrestling against what I already know. Time to get back to the writing that helps me “work out” my salvation, and hopefully encourages others along the way.
There is an annual event in the valley called Kids Day. It is an fundraiser for Valley Children’s hospital. We are blessed in the central valley to have an exceptional children’s hospital, that gives amazing care. So every year on Kid’s Day, the Fresno Bee sells a special edition newspaper, and hundreds of people stand at intersections selling them for a a couple bucks. It is such a well received fundraiser, that many people give more than the asking price. As I was getting ready for work, they mentioned it on the news, so I checked my purse to make sure I had a few dollars ready for my paper. I left the house this morning, prepared to do good. As I got into the car, I put the money on the seat beside me so I would be ready.
While driving I decided to try out my new earpiece that my husband purchased for me, I put it on and was talking to him in an instant. I drove and shared a running commentary of the detour that had been set up the day before and the utility problem they had been working on. By the time I had hung up with him only a few minutes had passed, and I was approaching the high school where I would turn right, to get to the freeway. It was then I was somewhat surprised by the person standing on the corner? I realized that there was a woman selling a Kid’s Day paper. As soon as I saw her I knew what she was doing, but in the few short minutes that it took to get from my house to the high school, I realized that my mind had been distracted from Kid’s Day back to normal life. What had been at the top of my mind when I left home had been displaced in a few short minutes.
As I slowed to make the turn, I rolled down the window and handed her the money I had on the seat next to me. As I continued driving, I thought about how easy it was for me to forget about “doing good”. It made me think, what if I hadn’t checked to make sure I had a couple of dollars before leaving home would I have gotten a paper? If I hadn’t had the money out on my seat, would I have had time to dig in my purse, possibly holding up traffic,to get my paper? I am not sure. They only sell it on the street in the morning. If I had waited until lunchtime, I would have been out of luck.
How many of us find ourselves in the same position? We want to do good, but when the opportunity presents itself, we aren’t prepared to respond. Along the way, we’ve become distracted by other things. I thought back in my own life, on the many times I wasn’t able to respond to a need because I wasn’t prepared. The checkbook wasn’t balanced, bills were due or I had spent too much on other things. I get distracted along the way, and take my eyes off of being a good steward with God’s money. I know He owns it all, but in all honesty, most of the time I act like it’s all mine!
It has been a prayer of mine for a while now, that I become better with God’s money. Sometimes I am on track, but most of the time I am just trying to get back to where I should be. Today was a good day though, not only because of the newspaper. I was made aware of a need, and I was able to help. It felt good, but even more than that, it dawned on me that it was an answer to prayer. You see, this weekend I’d bit the bullet and worked on bills. What needed to be paid then, what could wait for the next paycheck, the whole rotten business. It felt good to get it done, but the unexpected benefit was that when the need arose, I knew that I could help in a small way.
Near the end of the work day I heard a verse: James 3:13, “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.” I thought the verse spoke to what happened during the day, it makes me want to seek “wisdom from above” and understanding I believe only God can give. I am thankful for the lessons of today, and thankful for the opportunity that came with it. It gives me hope that I am starting to understand a little, and that each day I can be prepared to do good!
I saw a Facebook post tonight and it reminded me of something I’d been pondering lately. The post spoke about this series, “The Chosen,” and how they portrayed the Bible story of the woman who’d been bleeding for 12 years. Not only has she been physically ill, but because of the bleeding, she would have been considered unclean under the law. Since she was unclean, that would’ve put actual physical barriers between her and other people. No one could touch her or anything she had touched because that would make them unclean too. Over the years she had gone to many doctors and none had made her any better, only worse. By the time her path crosses Jesus’, she’s been sick for years, she’s broke and desperate. She’s at the end of her rope and thinks, believes, knows that Jesus is her only answer for healing. She goes to touch the hem of his robe and miraculously is healed! This is one of my favorite stories as the details paint a beautiful picture of how Jesus relates to the woman.
It was a tweet though that gave me a different perspective. Someone had wondered about this woman and who would have been the first people after Jesus to speak to her? Could it be the women who followed along with Jesus? We have details of multiple women traveling with Him and the disciples during this time. How would these women have responded to a woman, who because of her sickness, was considered unclean? I imagined they watched with the rest of the crowd, transfixed as Jesus asked “who touched me?” They saw as a woman came before Jesus, seeing fear in her face as she told her story. They then saw Him gently call her daughter, and proclaim her whole!
As sisters in Christ, we should be walking with each other, ready to come along side and hold out a hand to lift up and encourage. As daughters, we should be ready to do that with anyone that God brings our way. In this story it was a woman who was unclean, for us it may be a woman who’s just made the wrong choices for too long a season. The mercy shown in an outstretched hand may just be what she needs to finally leave that season, and seek something good. I watched “The Chosen” and could barely wait for the story line to reach this scene. I quietly sobbed as I watched the show portray the story. While I might have tweaked it a bit, I was so touched by how it was portrayed. It confirmed something to me that I had been feeling since the tweet I’d read weeks earlier. That’s the kind of woman I want to be! Ready and willing to listen, love and be of service to the women God brings along my path!
As women, they probably heard and sympathized as they knew what their own monthly bleeding meant and how it affected their lives. I wonder though, did they pause before approaching her as she was technically unclean? Was there a barrier in their minds, knowing what the law stated? They may have paused in their actions, but I like to think that the care Jesus showed this woman, gave them the freedom to know what to do next! That in the next moment when Jesus was called off to heal a young girl, they stepped forward and kneeled down next to this new sister in faith. I can imagine they would have been making plans to get her fresh clothes, asking who her family was, and talking excitedly about her restoration to the community and home. I was struck by the scene as I imagined it, and knew this is how it should be!
So yesterday I joined my small group for a Fat Tuesday menu of gumbo, rice and king cake. It was delicious, and since my friend Paige cooked, it was quite authentic. I love traditions! And since Fat Tuesday is over, that means it’s Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I love this season and try to use it as a time of focus. Each year it’s had a little different look, but this year I’m really trying to get back in that writing habit. I’ve had a hard time writing in the past few years for many reasons, but to tell you the truth, the biggest problem has been me! So I am going back to the beginning, and that strange recipe that God has given me to make communication easier. Strangely enough, it just comes down to three little words, wrestling, writing and encourage!
The WWE acronym had me cracking up this morning since wrestling is the first step in the process. Typically it’s something that comes to my attention, and I then wrestle with God to process, learn and maybe find some wisdom for my life. I then write about the process in the hopes it would encourage someone else like it’s encouraged me. I am not a bible scholar, and I am not here to tell you how to live. I just hope what I say might make you think and start your own wrestling with God.
So today, I felt like I had a directional adjustment! Priorities were put back in place and how to use the time of Lent became a little clearer. I was reminded of who I am and Whose I am in this world. And while I was thankful for the clarity, I was even more thankful for the extremely funny way it was communicated!
They just won’t see. It kept rolling around in my head as I drove. It was pretty mellow as Christmas vacations had started and there were less cars out on the road. Up ahead though, I could see the flashing lights of the highway patrol, so I slowed down and stayed in the fast lane as the police were off on the right hand side. As I got closer, I realized there was also a car parked next to the center median. There had been an accident, and while it wasn’t serious, there were multiple cars and a semi stopped on both sides of the highway. It was then I looked behind me. Cars were starting to catch up, and I figured that they just hadn’t seen the wreck yet. They didn’t know why we were slowing down and taking our time. As soon as I passed the stopped cars, I got over to the right lane and watched as the cars behind me went past. Some were like me taking it easy as they passed the wreck, while others were not being so careful. They were driving as if the road was clear and they were not navigating an accident scene. It was then that I thought, even with it right in their face, they just won’t see. It’s not that they can’t see, since by this time they were right in the middle of all the cars involved, but they won’t see. It broke my heart, as I was immediately thought about God and how He shows Himself to each of us. We see the miracle of this life, but do not see who created the miracle. It’s not that we can’t see, we just won’t see!
I thought about it again when I started listening to a book at lunch. The first story in the book had me hooked immediately, since it’s a favorite historical moment of mine. The quick version? Well it’s 1914 and it’s Christmas Eve. You know that war that was supposed to be over by Christmas? Well, it wasn’t. The men on the front lines are missing home, family and their own Christmas traditions. During this evening and through Christmas Day, the men reach out to each other to “celebrate” Christmas. It starts slowly, but soon they are exchanging food, cigarettes, playing football (the English kind) and sharing photos of their loved ones back home. That night, the men were given a reprieve from this new kind of nightmare. The mechanized muddy stalemate of men and modern warfare. For that short time, fear, hate, and the horrors of war were defeated by something greater. The birth of a Savior! When the powers that be on all sides found out about what occurred in the trenches, they vow that this will not happen again. And it never did. That moment on the battlefield where mercy and grace won out over hate was not allowed to be repeated. Those in charge were much like the drivers on the road, they just won’t see. Instead of seeing the miracle of the day, and acknowledging the power of the birth narrative, they doubled down on death.
I love the truth in the story, because it shows the heavenly in sharp contrast to our humanity. The human part of the story is full of war, death and brutality. The heavenly part was what brought them together, the birth of Christ! When I hear the story of that Christmas in 1914, I always think of the shepherds in the birth narrative. Did the angels come to see them on purpose? Or was the jubilation in heaven so boisterous that it spilled out into the night sky! Even the heavens couldn’t contain the excitement over the fulfillment of this very special prophecy! Someone left the back door of heaven open, and there were the shepherds watching in amazement! Maybe that’s what happened to the soldiers on that cold December night? The back door of heaven opened, and mercy flowed from a gracious Heavenly Father. The men didn’t see angels, but the Spirit was there. Like the wind, it wasn’t visible, but history shows us the effect of the Spirit’s presence. On that Christmas Eve, the same celebration that happened so many years ago was again awakened to overcome fear and death. For those brief hours kindness, grace and mercy flowed straight from the throne of God.
Lord I know we all have eyes that can see, but I ask you to give us eyes that WILL see!
“…..in their own self interests” That was the part of the sentence that caught my eye. As I make decisions regarding the pandemic and how it will shape how I act in the coming days, shouldn’t I take into account more than my own self interests?
The book of Judges is one of my favorites in the Bible. If you haven’t read it, I would encourage you to crack it open but don’t expect the warm fuzzies. Why I like it so much is because it’s opened my eyes to how humanity acts, and why we so needed saving. At the end of the book there is a tale of people who do “whatever seemed right in their own eyes” with horrific results. Is that who we are?
So as we go through this crazy time, (I wanted to use unprecedented but didn’t since it’s so overused now) I would ask that instead of looking out for just yourself, you would also look to your community. These are your neighbors. The real people you know, laugh with, care for, put up with and love. Let’s stop seeing this through the lens of the media, twitter, FB and our political filter.
All those things add distortion to what you are seeing, and clarity is what we all need right now. If you really want to know what’s going on, concentrate on those directly around you. That is your truth! Let’s work to keep each other safe, lend a helping hand and encourage one another!
Above all else, respond in LOVE. When we choose love, we’re giving back control to the One who is truly in control anyway. And in His hands we can find truth, peace and the oh so needed love to share in a hurting world.
Lord this world needs you.I need you.Help me not to react, but to find the path that leads to shalom in my life and in the lives of all.Today as we think of that day so long ago when You gave us the power to make “Your kingdom come,” help us to not be distracted.Give us the strength to be a conduit of the Holy Spirit that gives us the power that can change the world.
The angels sang on the day You were born and told the outsider, “Don’t be afraid!”They made it clear that the redemption you were offering was “GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY, FOR ALL PEOPLE.”Forgive us who call you LORD, but do not proclaim YOUR good news.Forgive us for muddying the waters.Let this Pentecost be different.Help us to lay down our lives (our opinions/rights/our idols)for our brothers and sisters.What is done in humble love, though imperfect it may be, will be honored by You….and in that there is HOPE.
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don’t work
Keep coming up with love but it’s so slashed and torn
Why, why, why?
Love, love, love, love, love
Insanity laughs under pressure we’re breaking
Can’t we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can’t we give love that one more chance?
Why can’t we give love, give love, give love, give love
Give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?
So here we are …. Stuck in the middle again.I felt like this last year, when Mike was recovering from brain surgery. Now?Well there’s nothing like a global pandemic to put life on hold.But is life really on hold, or has the focus just shifted? Maybe here in the middle is where we regain perspective?
They were in the middle too that Saturday, but they didn’t know it yet.They thought it was over, the wise teaching, the healing and the restoration of a nation.Everything they had been living for was changed in one day. Continue reading “Easter: Coffee, jammies and HOPE!”→
Lord this world needs you.
So here we are …. Stuck in the middle again.
Cheryl Mendoza 