The Family Tree

I’ve been crisscrossing the southeast on road trips this spring.  What beautiful drives - tree lined roads, hills…I love it! 

To pass the time, I sometimes listen to talks that I’ve downloaded to CDs, and I’ve listened to some of Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s Henry Forums.  Recently, I enjoyed hearing “Out of Africa: Biblical Christianity in Zambia” by Conrad Mbewe.  During the first part of this talk, Mbewe highlights how the gospel first came to his region of Africa and how Christianity spread there throughout the last couple hundred years.  Often, he describes how one individual specifically impacted the life of another, who in turn had an impact on another person or group, and so on.

This got me thinking about the importance of geneaologies.  Just as people often want to fill in their biological heritage (learning that their great great grandfather was the first settler of a town, etc.) I think it is perhaps even more important to consider one’s spiritual heritage in not only general but also specific terms. 

It encouraged me to hear how the Lord specifically worked through the everyday lives of individual believers in Africa through many years to do what has developed into a great work.  It is so encouraging to consider the many saints that have taught and discipled me personally, and think of those believers earlier this century that blessed, exhorted and strengthened them, and then of those earlier believers who taught, wrote, sang, discipled and loved that generation…and so on… 

Throughout history, God has ever continued to work through His people.  And, by His grace, He will continue to work through me.  When I think of the larger picture of this “family tree” that He is growing up on this earth it spurs me on to continue pursuing Kingdom purposes even through the hard, difficult or seemingly fruitless times.  The tree is not fruitless.  The tree is growing.  The tree has deep roots.

Cockroaches on My Porch: Humility Lessons from Louisville

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
-Proverbs 11:2

This week our family moved to a new city for my husband to attend seminary and are living in family on-campus housing.  What this means for us is close quarters, close neighbors and a new peer group: future pastor’s wives and future pastor’s children ALL AROUND US! 

As much as a I pray about it and speak scripture to my heart and mind, I struggle constantly with prideful thoughts of what OTHERS think of me, my children, especially as first impressions are made.  Of course, I’m concerned about the little earthly carnal things, and in a stroke of sovereign good humor, God ordained a mortifyingly humiliating experience (to bring low the pride, as in Isaiah 23:9.)

As I unpacked a box of photo albums in our apartment on the first day, a “Palmetto Bug” tried to come out (for those non-South-Carolinians, this is a two-inch cockroach that SC has given a nicer name!)  In panic, I pick up the box and RUN outside, slamming it down on our little porch!!  The box is closed, so the cockroaches don’t come crawling out.  As I set the box down, I look up and Jenny* and Whitney* my new neighbors were sitting in my yard only feet away from my porch, talking and watching their children play.  I have an inner dialog with myself, as I say “hi” to the neighbors and frantically try to think of a graceful way out of this.  

I can’t take the box back inside, and I can’t just tape it back up and throw it away - not with photo albums in it, maybe I could take it around the apartment unit and open it out back - no, one of the roaches might crawl out onto me. . .I can’t just wait around, hoping they would go back inside - they told me just a few hours ago that they practically live outside when the weather is nice like this! I had no other option, I had to accept this lesson and be HONEST with them and tell them what was going on.  No secrets in seminary housing, I guess.  I told the ladies what was happening so they wouldn’t freak out.  They were very calm, telling me how to get a hold of the exterminators on campus, then stayed in their lawn chairs as I opened the box and stomped on and sprayed the cockroaches that came out.

Humbling?  Yes, without a doubt!  Good for my heart?  Yes, yes, yes!  If I’d rather hide the box of cockroaches and not let another sinful human know they were in my house. . .how much more absurd it is that I try to justify and hide the cockroaches of sin (pride, for example) that come crawling out - before a perfect and holy God?

I guess it’s time I took my good friend’s reading recommendation: Humility, by Andrew Murray.

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent

First Fruits of Heaven

The older I get, the more I notice that life’s changes and uncertainties increase with every passing year.  Now whether they actually increase, or simply seem to (because I don’t have the rest or stamina I used to have???), the result is the same:  I continually face the daily/hourly/moment-to-moment challenge of glorifying God in times of change and uncertainty…and even in the fear which too often accompanies such seasons.

And so, I have recently been thinking about contentment.  This evening, as I began reading chapter 11 of The Art of Divine Contentment by the Puritan Thomas Watson, he immediately brought to my attention a most wonderful and encouraging insight, quite worthy of further meditation.  In the excerpt below, I’ve emphasized the thoughts which stood out so strongly to my heart.

A contented Christian carries heaven about [with] him: for, what is heaven, but that sweet repose and full contentment that the soul shall have in God?  In contentment there are the first fruits of heaven. 

There are two things in a contented spirit, which make it like heaven.

(1.) God is there; something of God is to be seen in that heart. A discontented Christian is like a rough tempestuous sea; when the water is rough you can see nothing there; but when it is smooth and serene, then you may behold your face in the water. (Pr. 27:19)

When the heart rageth through discontent, it is like a rough sea, you can see nothing there, unless passion and murmuring; there is nothing of God, nothing of heaven in that heart: but by virtue of contentment, it is like the sea when it is smooth and calm, there is a face shining there; you may see something of Christ in that heart, a representation of all the graces.

(2.) Rest is there. O what a Sabbath is kept in a contented heart! What a heaven! A contented Christian is like Noah in the ark; though the ark were tossed with waves, Noah could sit and sing in the ark. The soul that is gotten into the ark of contentment, sits quiet, and sails above all the waves of trouble; he can sing in this spiritual ark; the wheels of the chariot move, but the axle-tree stirs not; the circumference of the heavens is carried about the earth, but the earth moves not out of its center. When we meet with motion and change in the creatures round about us, a contented spirit is not stirred nor moved out of its center.

The sails of a mill move with the wind, but the mill itself stands still, an emblem of contentment; when our outward estate moves with the wind of providence, yet the heart is settled through holy contentment; and when others are like quicksilver, shaking and trembling through disquiet, the contented spirit can say, as David, “O God my heart is fixed:” (Ps. 57:7) What is this but a piece of heaven?

While Watson’s thoughts have both excited and encouraged my heart, they have also added a wonderful implication to 1 Timothy 6:6–“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Commencement

Graduation ceremonies abound this time of year! You can even see them on the news right now!!

This past Saturday I attended the graduation ceremony at my children’s school. Because my children go to a small Christian school, we know most of the high schoolers pretty well, and it is especially meaningful to watch them grow and go out in to the world.

My own son is a junior this year, so I watched and listened this year with extra interest, knowing that it would be my family celebrating this time next year.This ceremony was different than the ones I’ve seen clips from on the evening news. Our students were not encouraged to “reach for the sky” or to “follow their dreams.” Rather, the speaker exhorted them to be submissive.

He explained that this was not a popular concept in the world today, but if they would be submissive to the Lord, then they would be successful in their next phase of life–whether that be college, a job or military service. He gave them sound Biblical advice on being a good student, employee or soldier, and he explained that putting the Lord’s ways first would indeed make them successful.

I thought he gave them very good advice and that it was applicable to all of us in the audience that day. I look forward to watching those young adults and hearing from them in the future.

A Worship Lesson from Toddlers

O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.  Let the glory of the LORD endure forever;
Let the LORD be glad in His works. 
-Psalm 104:24, 31, 34

As a mommy of three, I have been recently amazed at the raw joy, hearts of worship and innocent awe toddlers can have about creation.  This weekend we went to the beach and I watched as they ran down the beach with unbridled glee, splashing, looking amazed at the waves, as they collected treasures. 

“OOOH!  Look at this Momma!”  My Elijah who’s almost four says to me repeatedly, followed quickly by, “What ‘dis?”  He has no idea what it is - he’s never encountered anything like it before, but somehow it’s awe-inspiring to him (to us it’s a wet yucky piece of driftwood or a squishy sea cucumber.)

When did I get too old to gasp in wonder at what God does?  

Lord, teach me to notice Your greatness, change my rituals to worship, and teach my heart to stand again in awe of all You are and all You do.

Accustomed to Greatness?

For those of us who have grown up in strong Christian homes, or who have been believers for many years, the greatness, majesty and unsearchableness of God can come to be almost as commonplace as chocolate chip cookies and a hug from mom. We serve a great God. We know it. We tell others.

However, just as easily as we can tell of His greatness, we can cease to wonder at it. We take for granted the power God displays in creation. We tell the stories of the battle of Jericho or the raising of Lazarus but too easily tell them with the same admiration we might display for a beautiful new building. It’s not that we aren’t impressed by God, it’s just that we have allowed His greatness to become common place.

One of my sister, Connie’s, photos (taken at dawn from the top of a mountain) reminds me how easily we can cease to wonder at things that are “wonder” full: things like the sun and clouds…and the God who made them.

Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,

That an abundance of water may cover you?. . .

Who can number the clouds by wisdom?. . .

Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,

And spread its wings toward the south?

Does the eagle mount up at your command,

And make its nest on high? . . .

Have you an arm like God?

Or can you thunder with a voice like His?

Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,

And array yourself with glory and beauty.

[Selected verses from Job 38-40]

May we never cease to wonder at the greatness of our God!