God, my TV man

Last Tuesday, I had a problem.  My TV wouldn’t work.  I pressed the little silver Apple remote a bunch of times, but no Netflix.  Usual tendency would be to get frustrated, but the Lord kept me from it, as I remembered an experience He gave years ago.  One day I watched Little House on the Prairie and suddenly the TV blacked out.  It’s not a unique story really, except for the fact that I knew ahead of time I shouldn’t be watching TV.  Even if it’s a good show, the Lord had already let me know it’s not what He had in mind.  So fast-forward to last week when Netflix wouldn’t work, and the idea quickly comes that the Lord is serving as my TV man once again.  I knew Law & Order wasn’t what He had in mind for me, but I had taken the lazy road and thought, “I’ll watch this for 15 minutes while I comb out my hair and get ready.”  Nope.  It didn’t work then, and it’s not working now.  I needed to press forward with my curriculum writing.  I may have thought a 15-minute sabbatical would rest my brain, but not true.  So I pressed on, and the Lord provided energy and gave rest all at once, just as I needed.  After my curriculum meeting that afternoon, I returned home, and my husband turned on Netflix just fine.  Romans 8:26-27 says, “. . . the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”  I realize these verses talk about prayer, but I figure somewhere in all the ways the Lord intercedes, He certainly has the capacity to serve as my TV man when I lack the discipline myself.  When I falter, He takes the reigns.  And I love Him for that.

Answers in Genesis

How far ahead does the Lord plan?  How early does He set circumstances and move people in order to answer your prayer?  This past semester, my desire to study Creation deepened.  Something stirred in my heart beyond studying the Bible on my own.  For years I’ve wanted to study with my husband because of the way he understands science.  I researched festivals and conferences, but the logistics of traveling cross-country hadn’t fit.  Then came this compulsion to attend a new church.  “Lord, what is this?”  By our third Sunday, I see in the bulletin that they’re hosting Answers in Genesis on Fridays.  My heart leaps in an instant, and I sit there absolutely flabbergasted!  The thought truly amazed me that the Lord would love little ol’ messed-up me enough to plan a Creation study at a new little church that sits at an unassuming little intersection in San Antonio.  And He brought a small group of people to study alongside me too, for He’s working on behalf of many all at once.  One girl tells me, “Our church planned this a year ago, so the Lord must have been waiting for you to arrive.”  That means that for this single occasion of studying Creation, the Lord began orchestrating more than a year ago, which reiterates how personal our God is.  How intimately He works in us and amongst us.  In Malachi 3:10, the Lord says, “ . . . see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”  May we anticipate His next answer to prayer with great joy.  May we savor the beauty of His handiwork.

God & the AC guy

Where do you mention God, and where do you not?  How openly do we include His name in conversation?  Various versions of those questions flashed through my head when talking with our air conditioner repair guy this week.  Glad to say he fixed our AC problem with just a pound of freon, but as I signed his service papers at our kitchen table, he mentioned his daughter leaving for college.  His voice dipped in sadness.  I looked up to see his eyes do the same, and what quickly came to mind was how the Lord eased me through that same situation with my kids years ago.  Right that second when the name of God hit, there was a hiccup in my heart.  Describe it as a point of crucial decision or maybe a spiritual test. If the Lord is prompting my heart, will I follow through?  Doubt rushes in, asking "Will I offend? Will it seem like I’m pressuring him? What if he gets mad?"  Actually the questions are valid, but in the end, whom do I aim to please?  For whose sake am I willing to risk?  I shared with our AC guy how I prayed in those years before, during, and after college.  He listened and never even hinted of becoming angry.  I knew great pleasure for having offered those few sentences.  I’ve felt those little tugs too many times to ignore them.  I’ve known blessings many times over for having followed through, and I trust the Lord blessed the AC guy to hear testimony about prayer.  All days of the week, in homes and workplaces and neighborhoods and schools, the Lord creates situations for us to serve each other.  I contend that we mention His name whenever and wherever He prompts—in public, in private, in whatever circumstances He calls.  He wants our entire world to know He is here and that He loves them. 

Funeral & speech therapy

Opportunities to pray come anywhere.  In April I met a girl at a funeral.  She’d entered college to study speech therapy and needed only to find somewhere to serve her internship in order to graduate.  So I prayed.  I was extremely excited to pray.  I told her I would pray.  All the while, I hoped to see her again to explain this particular joy that came in praying for her.  Then a couple of weeks ago, the 2 of us sat across a dinner table from each other, and the joy spilled over.  She smiled to tell of sending out bunches of resumés and receiving a single, unusual phone call in response.  That phone call was her answer to graduating.  Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Never should we underestimate any opportunity to pray.  Never rule God out, for He works anywhere and everywhere.  And how we’re blessed for Him to incorporate sinners like us into His work.

More than a UPS package

Last week I drove to the UPS Store.  My husband and I decided to discontinue cable TV, and the cable technician told me to take our equipment to UPS for shipping.  I had a bumbling array of boxes, cables, power supplies, and remotes, though my first trip from the car was actually a simple one.  Initially I needed to ask if the UPS worker understood his role the same way the cable guy did.  The second trip would be more of a balancing act, with the tricky part being to manage some free fingers to open the store door.  On the second try, I made it inside.  I approached the cash register and gladly unloaded my pile of equipment.  The worker snickered a bit, “Man, why didn’t she help you?”  I hadn’t known the UPS guy was even watching.  “Why didn’t she hold the door?” he finished.  Yes, I knew the lady he was talking about.  She entered empty-handed a few seconds ahead of me.  I smiled, “It’s okay.  I’ll let God handle it.  He knows what’s going on with her.  Sometimes I’ve been preoccupied myself.”  As the name of God rolled from my lips, my heart felt so free and full for having experienced the Lord’s orchestration of circumstances.  Never had I anticipated mentioning His name there that day.  So as it happened, UPS would deliver my package, and I would get to be a delivery person too.  Carrying God's name is a blessing.  We are humbled to realize we speak into a world where not every workplace and not every household reveres His name.

Hospital hassle

Oh, man!  I was 24 cents short. Now I’d have to leave my lunch tray, go to the locker room, get my wallet, and come back to pay.  On a day when I was really hungry, what a hassle!  The salad bar at the hospital cafeteria is fabulous.  Volunteers receive a lunch voucher, and I look forward to piling a high mix of greens and the works.  Usually tomatoes, egg, cheese, sunflower seeds, lots of veggies, and on special occasions, edamame.  Mine has delicate balance, so I slowly place my plate on the cashier's scale, wanting not to spill any portion.  The cashier takes my voucher and waves me through.  Except this time the lady’s eyebrows furled.  Squinting and leaning to double-check, she says, “Uh-oh.  You’re 24 cents over.”  I hadn’t brought my wallet to the lunch room in years, so I asked what to do.  “Go ahead," she tells me, "Just bring your money before I leave at 1:30."  No problem.  This was now an issue of honesty.  This was important.  I didn’t want to mess up, so I found a napkin and scratched a reminder.  Lunch proceeded with friends and laughter as usual, but I didn’t lose sight of my note on the napkin.  I walked to my locker, counted my coins, and felt joy swelling inside for this opportunity to let honesty shine.  This nuisance of an interruption had become sweet occasion for doing the right thing.  Just 2 dimes and 4 pennies.  I waited my turn in the cashier’s line and gladly presented my fee.  Proverbs 12:16-17 says, "A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.  A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies."  Thank you, Lord, for shedding light once again.

Neighborly task gone awry

Your neighbors go out of town, and what happens?  Do you take care of their dog?  Maybe water their plants?  We’ve been recipient of neighborly kindness when friends feed our cats.  Recently, though, we had a different request come our way.  A neighbor asked us to help with his rent house.  As he had moved away years ago, he now had tenants getting ready to leave.  He estimated 30 minutes for us to conduct their exit walk-through.  Several days later, he apologized for the process taking much longer than 30 minutes.  And the task was still unfinished.  Due to problems with some walls and part of the ceiling inside the house, the final transfer of garage door openers and house keys had become complicated.  Our neighbor said, “Sorry for being such a pain.”  We knew he truly felt bad for the inconvenience.  But the occasion became blessed opportunity to explain our motivation for wanting to help.  Matthew 19:19 says to love your neighbor as yourself.  Managing properties long-distance isn’t easy.  If we were in his shoes, we could use the help.  Little did we know in the beginning how this walk-through would be opportunity to live out our Christianity.  Something so small became occasion to share the Bible.  And somewhere in all of this I've smiled to remember that VeggieTales tune:  “When you love your neighbor, loving means lending a hand.”  Those fun Veggies look up toward the music playing overhead to try to figure out where the song is coming from (I chuckle as they somehow hold things with their arms and hands that don't exist.)  I love how God works.

Wedding + rent cars = 8

One small wedding.  Granted, it was a destination wedding.  Savannah is one of the many sweet spots on this earth, and the details appeared finely tuned and ready to go.  With options for flying into Savannah, Jacksonville, or Charleston, we could grab a rent car and even stay the weekend just for fun.  Surely we could share the rent cars once we arrived.  The idea kept sounding good, but in actuality the car scenario wasn’t panning out.  On the day of departure, the bride and groom had trouble from the start.  An overturned concrete truck delayed traffic on the highway and caused them to miss their flight.  Oodles of phone minutes with airlines and $2,000 later, the bride was crying, and the groom's composure had clearly been tested.  The only available replacement flights were out of DFW instead of Love Field, with a return flight out of Jacksonville instead of Savannah, which they quickly booked, though knowing they'd have to sort details later.  They arrived Savannah and rented a car, and the next day the wedding ceremony was beautiful.  All those months of intricate planning certainly proved fruitful.  When the weekend finished and time came to head home, the couple’s rent car still required return to the Savannah airport in order to avoid stiff penalty.  Wanting not to worsen their already $2,000 in the hole, they returned the car as required and hitched a ride to Jacksonville with the bride's grandparents, who had also stayed the weekend to enjoy the city.  The grandparents' rent car had little extra room for luggage, as they never dreamed they’d be carrying the bride and groom on this 2-hour ride to the Jacksonville airport.  Trying to lessen the luggage load, they relegated transportation of the wedding dress to the groom’s dad because he was driving all the way home to Texas without any airport stops.  They carefully stacked 3 suitcases in the middle of the back seat to Jacksonville and hopped in the car for their 2-hour trek.  Considering the bride's family, the groom's family, and the 3 friends who decided to crash the wedding, I counted at least 7 rent cars for a relatively small wedding party, and that seems excessive.  But the cars proved helpful, especially when trying to sidestep the rain that loomed each day and handle various trips for make-up, hair, photos, and food.  I recall the early days of having prayed over this wedding, now realizing the Lord had reason for us to rent all these separate cars.  He knew from the beginning that the concrete truck would overturn and that He would love our family through each agonizing step of the whole ordeal, all the while using the potential catastrophe to actually deepen our confidence in Him as provider.  Everyone still made it to the wedding, and we saw opportunity to put prayer at the forefront once again.  Isaiah 58:11 says, "The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame . . ."  How I love Him for loving us first.  I pray too for the driver of the concrete truck.

Bonanza & the Bible

Funerals are rough.  They hold all kinds of emotions.  When my brother-in-law passed away last month, we felt the whole gamut.  As people exited after the funeral, a neighbor stopped to introduce himself.  “My name is . . .  I watched westerns with your brother, and we read the Bible.”  He smiled to continue, “When Bonanza came on, well, it was TV time.  Then later we’d go back and read.”  With not too many words, this neighbor had garnered my complete attention, and I posed to shake his hand in admiration.  He was a guy who spoke the name of the Lord in the ordinary day.  He included the Bible just casually in conversation with whomever he met.  It’s part of what John 15 says in the context of the vine and the branches.  “If you remain in me and my words remain in you . . .”  This neighbor kept God’s word remaining in him as he opened the Bible’s pages and invited others to join in.  It’s encouragement for all of us to not wait for Sundays to roll around as our only Jesus Day.  Jesus says too in verse 16, “. . . go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. . .”  And as our world desperately needs the name of Jesus the entire 7 days of the week, may the Lord give us joy for walking through the different doors of conversation He opens.  The more we talked that afternoon at the funeral home, the more I loved this neighbor who spent time with my brother-in-law.  They barbecued, they read the Bible, they prayed, and I smile to imagine all the Bonanza and Gunsmoke episodes they watched.

Agony of carcinoma

The man finished brushing his teeth and swung his wheelchair away from the sink.  “No more prayer!” he exclaimed.  “No more prayer!”  I had simply knocked on his door with an offer to help.  Actually he did welcome me in, though his words turned sharp.  “I’ve been prayed for in Jerusalem.  I’ve been prayed for in Mexico.  I’ve been prayed for here in San Antonio.  God cannot change the carcinoma on my lung.  He cannot change any of this.  It’s written on my hospital papers.”  I silently nodded to acknowledge his words, and he leaned toward me, seeming disturbed that I didn’t quickly agree.  “I don’t think you understand,” he continued.  “God cannot change my diagnosis.  It’s on my papers,” and he pointed to the medical records area down the hall.  I followed his hand gestures and facial expressions closely, wanting to respect all of what he was telling, though it seemed my silence frustrated him.  Again he stated, “I don’t think you understand me!”  This time I replied, “We may just see things differently.”  I smiled in hope of easing any anxiety about our differences, but in actuality, the opposite seemed to happen.  With growing agitation, he posed the question, “Do you know the worst thing that can happen to a man?”  I waited for his answer.  “It’s pain,” he declared.  “My pain is awful.  It’s absolutely awful.”  And suddenly I wondered if all this time he was meaning something he really didn’t say.  He was exhausted and worn from fighting through pain, and maybe he didn’t want his diagnosis changed.  Perhaps he didn’t want to live anymore.  The possibility of someone praying to reverse that proclamation of death might cause him great heartache.  And in that moment, I did the very thing he didn’t want.  Not in spite, not as a slap in the face, but wholly in support of his dire situation, I quietly prayed for the Lord to touch this man who has had pain screaming at him so loud for so many years.  Colossians 3:12-13 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other . . .”  This was my opportunity to bear with this man.  I came to his hospital room not to argue.  I watched for a pause in his words that I could politely exit, and he could then rest.  “I have been blessed to meet you today, Sir.  Thank you for your time to talk.”  I stood to smile, and he waved without any apparent angst.  May the Lord comfort him.