Lent Day 29: Knowing which way to turn

Wouldn't it be nice if life had a GPS? Clear signposts? Or lists? Especially if they pointed to the best possible outcomes. Think about it.

• 16: NU ahead. Study harder.
• 21: Job from an interview behind the door on the right.
• 25: Marry. Her. (Him.)
• 30s: Invest in retirement. Have another kid.
• 40s: Best boss is the bald guy.
• 50s: Today is your last chance to ...
• 60s: Invest in your grandchildren's generation.
• 70s: Pray more. Complain less.
• 80s: Heaven on November 30.

Life would be SO much easier! We'd always know when to go straight ahead ... or which way to turn.

It's not that simple, is it? And it's not that boring, either.

Sometimes it seems we have no choices. Other times we are flooded with possibilities. We may have options about whom we marry, any of them a good potential spouse. We guess at the best job offer. Hope we're hauling our stuff across the country to a safer city.

We make the leap. And then we take our chances.

I've had a few milestone moments in my life. What to do after high school? A calling to ministry and missions made my initial college choice easy. Whom to marry? "The guy praying beside you on the right." ("Hey, are You sure? His head only comes up to my ear!" Being one year older meant a height difference between W and me in our mid-teens. He caught up.) Stay in our hometown or move away? W had to finish the degree he'd started: we moved.

I've had a few misses. I worried about a few sure things that didn't come to pass. I lost some opportunities, said too little or too much, and thought I was doing the right thing.

So how do you negotiate a fork in the road?

1. Pray. Trust that whatever the initial interest, potential process, or eventual outcome, God will give you direction.
2. Talk to trusted confidants. Gather pros and cons from your spouse, family who love you, good friends, and outside advisers. Don't talk to everyone: in your inner circle, choose those who know you well enough to have your best interests at heart.
3. Listen for pattens in the feedback you hear. Is it a quick, go for it!? When I took a connecting and creative job designing alumni interactions for a university, everyone said, "Wow! Sounds like a fantastic fit." Or is it a universal, "No way!" When we thought about moving into a dark apartment, my friends rolled their eyes and said, "Don't even think about it! There's not enough light in there for you." (I took the job. Rejected the apartment.) If it's somewhere between, keep listening and praying.
4. Start moving in the direction of a good fit. Explore options. Do background research: have others done this? What have they liked or disliked about it? Is it a completely new arena? Examine how the first steps feel: are you happy or afraid, at peace or in turmoil?
5. Keep going until you find your groove or hit a dead end. If doors keep opening, keep moving forward. If there's an impasse, check if it lies with you or others. Can you move the roadblock? Is the road roped off? If you're at the end and prayers haven't unlocked the door, start again at #1.
6. Be prepared for surprises. You may have stepped onto a wide path, but have to traverse a few narrow trails of adventure between "yes!" and your goal. 
7. Walk in courageous trust. How does God keep the earth spinning when airplanes and ships and cars and bicycles keep us moving from place to place? How does the sun stay in the sky with such enormous solar flares that could knock it out of orbit? How does He order our lives to connect or avoid connections with people, jobs, and experiences instead of us chaotically bumping through life without purpose?

"Everything is harder, more work, and more wonderful than I think it will be when I plan it," says W. I agree.

We should know: we've lived a life of unexpected wonders. We've tried, failed, and succeeded at many things. We've experienced good times as well as struggles. Great joy finds its match in suffering.

Thank God for his counsel. Though we may only glimpse the possibilities ahead, God will give enough direction that we will look back and exclaim on His guiding hand and constant direction.

How do/did you know when it's the "Right Thing?"
Could you share some milestone moments from your own life?

Read more:

*He was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. Isaiah 53:8 NLT

*Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory? Luke 24:26 NLT

*[Jesus said,] "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. … You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name." John 15:9–10, 16 NLT

*Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Jesus, our Brother, in your suffering we see the extent to which love can go. You invite us to walk the path of servant love with you. We hesitate, but you promise that we will not be alone as we bring your healing love to a hurting world. Amen.

Enough. Whatever that means.

At the turn of the year, I examine what's in my heart and my house. My home reflects who I am because we do most of our living here. We have people over. We sleep and eat here. And I move the furniture and chotchees around here.

Are you drowning in obligations? Cluttered by too much stuff? Stuck in place because you have too much life and too little time? I'm using three resources to examine my "ENOUGH" this year.

Here they are, offering those ready to consider what "ENOUGH" means three tools to act on that evaluation, materially and spiritually. Enjoy!

• Enough: Finding More by Living with Less by Will Davis Jr. A pastor takes a look at what it means to have "enough" and "not too much." Very engaging and a fun read. It will make you look around your home and office with fresh eyes. I hope it will also help you to engage the world in a new way.
• The January Cure by Apartment Therapy. A daily decluttering challenge that's fun to do.
• Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung. A look at the grooves habits have worn in our souls and how to retrain the heart for the life God designed us for. Cool. Startling. Confrontational - in a nice and inviting way.

Hope your New Year kicked off with great gusto and anticipation, as though "God with us" invites abundant life.

Share your personal resources or goals in the comments below.

Read more:

*When the LORD brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! . . . Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest." Psalm 126 1, 4–6 [The farmers wept, parceling out seeds from what their family ate, not knowing if there would be drought that killed the seeds or rain to make it grow. They were literally "taking the food from their children" to plant next year's harvest. Ever feel that way when you invest in the future?]

*The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7

*Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

*Peter began to speak: “God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Acts 10:34-35

Moravian Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for creating us and loving us equally. Teach us to love one another in the same manner. In your name we pray. Amen.


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Anticipating God or following him?

Last gasp of beauty: hostas

The Old Testament is full of God's promises.

As I've been reading, I'm struck by two choices people make, believing God's provisions in the present and the future:
1) Bible characters get impatient and try to make the promises come true. Then they blame others for their mistakes:

• Adam and Eve try to gain wisdom by eating the apple. They blame each other and the serpent. They get thrown out of paradise and have to forage for food. They know more, but at what cost!
• Sarai tries to perpetuate Abram's lineage by having Abraham impregnate her maid, Hagar. Sarah blames Abraham for Hagar's pride and mockery and forces Ishmael and his mother into the wilderness. Arab tribes come from Ishmael's 12 sons: the boys and their descendents have been at war with everyone from the very start, yet they became "princes" because Abraham loved Ishmael prayed a blessing over him and his tribe.
• King Saul sacrifices because he gets restless, waiting for Samuel to appear. He claims that he has done what God asked and blames the soldiers for keeping the spoils. Saul loses his trusted mentor Samuel: he never sees him again. God abandons Saul and gives his kingdom to another family.

The patience of God's creation: tall and strong

2) Bible characters work and wait for God to make the promises come true. When they make mistakes, they confess their shortcoming and ask God's forgiveness.

• Noah builds the ark for over a century; finally God gives him the go-ahead and he and his family are spared the floodwaters. If he'd gone in and shut the door before God told him to, the food would have been eaten, most animals wouldn't have been rescued, and Noah would have been confined for nothing. Instead, he and his family become the foundation of human families.
•  Abraham hears God say that he and Sarah would have a son when he's nearly 100; he gives it another go and Isaac is conceived. He lives for 75 more years, long enough to see Isaac marry and begin his own family. (Oh yeah: after Sarah's death, Abraham has 6 more sons by his Keturah and perhaps a few more concubines. Not such a great idea to start the Midianites and create other enemies for Isaac's line. Sigh.)
• David refuses to usurp the kingdom from Saul even when Samuel has told him he's the next king. Even when "God-given opportunities" put Saul into harm's way. Even when everyone's advising him not to waste time. After Saul's death, David waits 7 more years for Saul's family to relinquish control before ruling all the tribes. God says David is a man after his own heart, and that his family's rule will never end.

Our driveway in fall: the leaves
are beautiful even in death

Sometimes it seems like God is waiting for us to seize the moment. To make things happen. To move ahead and MAKE God's promises come true. Yet in doing so, we ruin the opportunities where God intends to do the miraculous, beyond our own abilities or imagination.

Noah is saved. Abraham becomes a great nation. The Messiah comes from "the root of Jesse:" David.

Our driveway in autumn, glorious color
before the grey wait for spring's new growth

What does your future hold? Did God whisper a dream into your heart? You can anticipate it, force it to life, and perhaps spoil its fulfillment. Or you can trust God to make the vision come true in his own time, with his perfect timing, wisdom, and power.

It's your choice. What are you waiting for?

Read more:
*Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6

*It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:26

*Stand firm, and you will win life. Luke 21:19 (NIV)

Moravian Prayer: God, we are still and silent and know that you are God. Strong in your assurance, we loudly rejoice your unyielding presence. Be our firm and guiding light. Amen.

Squinting through the details

"What would I do without Mom?" I keep thinking. My fridge is clean, the indoor plants are trimmed, and the conservatory sparkles. W's gone to a computer convention, so my mother came to help for the week.

By the time we have our morning walk and a light breakfast, it's 10am. It takes me a while to settle into studies. Sometimes my brain doesn't cooperate for an hour after I plunk myself on the office chair. The dogs keep me from freezing to the seat during the day: they want to get up every hour or two, which helps move me from the spot.

I skipped my walk this morning, though Mom has taken her walking sticks and headed out the door. It's 10am. Kirsten had a rough night: the memory foam mattress grabbed her, sank her into its trough, and held her until her neck and back seized up. Mom and I wrestled the padding, mattress, egg crate foam, and sheets off the base of the bed.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Kirsten tries out our experiments for comfort. A 5" thick, firm foam pad from atop the entry closet seems to be the ticket. Covered with an IKEA (folding bed) foam mattress, a doubled feather quilt, and bedding (with a medium-sized towel folded "just so" at the crease in the IKEA mattress), and a just-the-right-height-folded-body-pillow to extend the foot end, Kirsten is resting. "I hate feeling like the Princess and the Pea," she sighs and tries to get a snooze to make up for a sleepless night. "What Prince could want such a person?" We laugh and remind her that the prince of the fairytale actually sought out his princess.

It's a big day: Kirsten plans to go out for lunch and shopping with her s-i-l Melissa. The wheelchair's ready to glide down the ramp, built from the door to the ground (yay, W!) The women will take our SUV, and if her morning nap helps, K will have a fine day out. Grandma asked to watch Kinsey.Oh, that child is in for a treat!

Between all the chaos and changes in the household, I sent off a tutorial last night and am almost done with an article this morning. I'm planning to pack up and head for the library when Mom returns from her walk. "Focus, just focus," I remind myself. (Yeah, and while you do that, remember the girls will have the car. You're not going anywhere.)

This morning's turmoil proves again how life is neither straightforward nor neat. Though the goal may be clear, the journey defies definition.

God's Word is a light on our path, says Psalm 119. However, it's a torch for the next place to plant our feet on a steep hill climb, not a searchlight on a broad flat road. How does scripture inform your steps today?

Read more:

*“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9 NIV

* Psalm 9:1-10; Genesis 12:10-13:18; Matthew 5:27-42

*The Lord said to Gideon, "Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die." Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace. Judges 6:23-24

*Christ says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV)

Moravian Prayer: Faithful God, we depend on your promises. When we open our eyes in the morning, we look for you throughout the day. When we close our eyes in the evening, we trust in you while we sleep. Amen.