Sunday, November 20, 2011

Gratitude

Colossians 2: 6-7
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitudee.”

Overflowing with gratitude….the words stick out to me in the middle of this very deep and rich letter to the Colossian church. I’m sure most have heard the little rhyme, “have an attitude of gratitude”. But to overflow with gratitude is much more than an attitude; it is the act of being grateful. To audibly say thank you and to physically be gracious because you are thankful. I once heard a person state; that they had never seen a grateful teenager rebel. I made it an observation of mine to watch and see if it proved to be true with teenagers I worked with and with my own two children as they were growing up. It did! The real truth the Father has taught me through the observation is that the statement is true for all of us, no matter what season of life we find ourselves in. When I am ungrateful, I am saying that I am entitled to something or that I deserve something different or better. When my children were growing up, this scene played out multiple times; you know the one…someone gives your child something, your breath catches in your mom throat and thoughts race through your head like, “what will they say or what will they do?” Inevitably what comes out of your mom mouth is, “what do you say?” With your voice raising slightly at the end of the phrase so your child knows that they better say, “Thank you!” Teaching our children to be thankful is not a bad thing, it’s a good thing! But I wonder if that translates into our adult lives and into our Christian walk as a response that is expected of us. I don’t think God wants a learned response from us, I think He desires a heart overflowing with gratitude. I’ve been asking Him to do this work in me. I realize that I have no ability on my own to accomplish it! I wonder too, is this the disconnect? We often, like little children, know what our response should be and how we should act but I don’t think it always flows from an honest heart that is ultimately responsive to our God and the work He has done in our lives. On most days I need a perspective shift; I need my perspective to be swallowed up by His. I am convinced that gratitude is the key that unlocks this door. Gratitude allows me to perceive Him more clearly and enables me to see His hand and my circumstances as He sees them.

“Oh Lord, show me what it means to come to the table of thanksgiving daily and cultivate in me overflowing gratitude.”

Monday, November 14, 2011

Come To The Table

It’s that time of year, when we think about getting with family and friends to celebrate the holidays. Time to gather with those we cherish; family, old friends, and hopefully new friends. The place of gathering in our home is the table and it is very dear to me. I think about family and friends seated around my table as we enjoy good food, conversation, and laughter. The best part is when the dessert has been served, along with the coffee, and the lingering begins. We linger because of the pure enjoyment of being in the presence of those gathered around the table.

When guests are coming, I spend hours and days in preparation. I decide what dishes and glasses I will use. I think through table linens and their colors, whether or not to use candles and or flowers. Then I plan the menu and think about those that will gather. Thought goes into if anyone has food allergies or a dislike of certain foods. I desire to make everyone feel comfortable and welcomed. Then my favorite part, when all are gathered and seated we link hands and bow our heads in thanks. When we say, “Amen”, I often ask the Lord to help us to slow down and to hit the pause button for the moments that we have together. I pray also that the people seated will take a deep breath and allow the feeling of belonging to wrap around them like a warm quilt on a winter’s day. I think we all desire the feeling of belonging and being invited to a table.

When I look at God’s word I see the importance that God puts on the table. The table represents communion, relationship, and intimacy. All the way back in the tabernacle in the wilderness there was a table, where the Bread of Presence was placed. It represented God being the Sustainer of life and His desired fellowship with man. It was at a table that Jesus spent some of his final hours with His disciples in an effort to show the full extent of His love. It is to a table that all who have been redeemed are invited as we join our Bridegroom at the marriage feast. Has it always been about the table and has the Father been planning this gathering of His children around His table since the garden? I am sure I have not the imagination to guess at how grand and wonderful that table will be. My mind fills with questions and dances like a child waiting for Christmas morning when I think about it.

The table and it’s beauty reflect everything that I love to think and dream about. The preparation for the table has included sacrifice and suffering. The invitation that has been extended has been embossed with ink that is colored red. No one knows whether there will be china or crystal or what kind of food will be served. One thing I do know, there will be lingering, much lingering, as we drink up being in the presence of our Host. Since He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water just being face to face with Him at the table may be the most sufficient feast we could ever desire. Thoughts so delicious, I can hardly take them in!
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT

Exodus 25:23-30, John 13, Revelation 19:9

Monday, November 7, 2011

Strength and Dignity Are Her Clothing

I called her, Petunia, because she was sweet and delicate and she loved to sit and soak up the sun. She was my grandmother, a woman of powerful influence in my life. It has been a little over a week since I said goodbye and as I have processed the last weeks of her life, I realize she taught in her passing the same things that she taught in her living. That faith matters most, family is like a living baton as we pass our influence from one generation to the next, always put others before you, and be thankful for all things.

For the past twelve years she has lived in a body that was not her own. Stroke came crashing into her life, and in a moment her life was to never be the same. She approached these last years like all the rest, with strength and dignity. She had a resiliency and resolve about her that many from her generation have. I think it is living through the depression, wars, and simply hacking out life because nothing was handed to them. I have read some of her writings as she unashamedly declared many times she didn’t think she would make it, but the Lord strengthened her and His faithfulness sustained her. After checking her into the hospital because she had not been feeling well for several weeks, we thought we were dealing routine things. Then I received a phone call from her doctor. He had found cancer and it was widespread. My mom and aunt hurried to get here so that we could all be together to share the diagnosis with her. The doctor said that nothing could be done. Grandmother got very quiet and began processing. I could see her soft brown eyes and I knew she was thinking. The next day came and more talks with the doctor and assurance to her that we were here and were going to walk this out with her. In one of the quiet moments of the evening, she and I were talking and she said, “Maybe He is ready for me”. I choked back tears and honestly answered, “Yes, Grandma, I think He is. Maybe we are looking at this cancer all wrong, maybe it’s your invitation.” She said, “Maybe so, I think that is a good way to look at it”. With the same resolve I watched her take multiple times throughout her life, I watched her take again. She spoke openly about seeing Jesus and what a day that would be. There were no tears, no anxiousness, just peace and a quiet resolve.

At her going home service, my husband had the privilege of honoring grandmother. He opened his bible and read Psalm 31: 10-31, I had no idea he was sharing that scripture but one by one he read the phrases and my heart would say, yes, she lived that. “Her worth is far above jewels”, my grandpa thought so and so did most who came in contact with her. “She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight.” Grandmother was an excellent seamstress and loved to crochet and do anything with her hands. “She rises also while it is still night and gives food to her household” The woman could cook! She hadn’t cooked a thing in twelve years and people still talk about her cooking. But more than that, she cared for her family and we are all blessed because of it. She looked well to the ways of her household, always putting us above herself. That was demonstrated to me so clearly only days after her stroke. She was paralyzed on one side, couldn’t speak yet, and didn’t even have muscle function to open her eyes. I was beside her bed telling her that some of the family would be returning to see her on the weekend. She made a writing motion in the air; I asked if she wanted to write, she nodded. I placed a pen in her hand and a pad of paper under it. She then began to write a grocery list that I was to send grandpa to the store to get, so that her family would be fed in her absence! “She extends her hand to the poor and stretches out her hands to the needy.” They lived on the outskirts of town and hobos, as they were called in the day, would stop by asking for something to eat. It is said that grandmother would never turn them away. She would tell them to sit down on the porch, disappear into the house, only to return with something to eat and if she had it, a sandwich for them to eat later. When asked why she always did that, she responded, “some have entertained angels unaware” or “what if the Lord was passing by and I refused Him”. I can remember as a little girl going to the grocery store with her and then watching her take the groceries up to someone’s porch while I sat in the car. She never rang the doorbell or knocked, just put the sacks on the porch and came back to the car. She asserted that they needed the groceries more than they needed to know who they came from.

Was she perfect? No. Did she make mistakes? Absolutely. I am sure the Proverbs 31 woman wasn’t perfect and made mistakes also. What we read I believe is the culmination of this woman’s life. Much like what we celebrated with my grandmother’s life. The measure of one’s life isn’t the great acts we do or the big moments, they do factor in; but, the real measure of a life is the daily faithfulness in the small, the devotion to the Lord and His priorities. “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.” I want to live that!

I thank God for my grandmother, for her influence, for her teaching in life and in death.

Her children rise up and bless her…….charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”