Memorial Day Weekend 2014
Friday May 23, 2014
It’s
early here. The woods are alive with birds greeting the rains with their songs.
I am delighting in the joy of having four days off ahead of me and I luxuriate
in having time to savor my coffee and devotionals. No rush, rush, rushing to
get to work on time, just relaxing knowing I have a wealth of time.
My
father, whom I dearly loved, spoke seldom about God. He was a businessman, busy
with life, earning money, taking care of his family. He believed in God, had
accepted Jesus as his Savior at an earlier age, but the ‘cares of this world’
had kind of nudged the whole ‘God thing’ out of his everyday life. For many
years, it was mom who took us to Sunday School, church and prayer meetings. Dad
stepped back from attending and used Sundays for yard work, watching sports on
TV and relaxing. It wasn’t until Dad retired that things changed in his life. A
nagging pain in his side that bothered him through the years finally became
unbearable. He sought help and surgery revealed he had cancer.
For
mom, her companion, provider was now a wounded warrior and she found herself
abruptly in a caregiver role. Mom’s pastor from the tiny Woodland, Washington church
she attended, made home visits.
Gradually as the pain and devastation of the fast advancing cancer took
it’s toll, dad turned again to God. Myself, a single parent, attending college
up north, took the Amtrak train down to see dad. I was shocked. My strong tall,
(6.4”) father was reduced to a near skeleton. Not only had his physical
appearance changed, but his spirit had changed also. He was anxious to share
with me and impart some wisdom knowing his days were growing short.
“Robin,”
Dad began, “I’m worried about you because you always pick a man to love who is so desperately needy. Don’t pick that kind of man. Find someone who is strong
and healthy. And when you find one of these men to love, don’t share your whole
past with them. They don’t need to know every mistake you've ever made.”
I
gulped and held my peace. These were difficult words to hear.
He went on,
“And another thing; you
always see the glass half empty, you never see it full. You’ve got to look at
life more from a positive side.” He paused
for a moment and seemed to sink into himself. Then is a more hushed tone, “Robin,” he spoke tenderly, "One last thing, I've seen God more
in His timing than in any other way.”
This week
at work I’ve been getting to know my new office partner. Young, excited about
his new job, he shared that he is a believer, (in Jesus). Admittedly I sighed a
sigh of relief. The last person I shared with well, let’s just say he wasn’t
what you’d say all that interested in God.
Well, it’s
impossible not to help people if you are linked by a common space. So over the last week, I've answered questions, given materials, watched this young man go through the
process of meetings, training, orientations and so on. I can see much
giftedness in this young man and the potential to be able to reach many of the
young people we work with. I can also see that for many of the tasks we do, he
is more suited than I. I have shared these observations with him, to encourage
him, to let him know I am o.k. with him settling into some of the things I do
now. In my heart of hearts, I looked at this young man, lots of tattoos, ear
gauges, bright warm smile, and I had the inner awareness that before me sat a
possible future youth pastor.
He
and I discussed the fact that he is getting training on everything, step by
step, carefully being groomed for him to be good at what he is doing.
Situations have been such that this careful training has not always been the
case. People have had illness, life crisis, people have left positions on and
on. He however, arrived at exactly the right time and place to be able to excel
in his position. In the course of our conversations about life, about God, about situations, I shared what my father
had shared with me, “I see God’s hand more in His timing than anywhere else.” He seemed to think this over and expressed some sense of gratefulness for this being now, his time, his place and God's timing.
I also shared with this
young man that my church women’s Bible Study group has been praying for me and
my work. Additionally, that I truly believe that God heard their prayers, mine
and others and brought him there at this time, and at this place to help our
hurting teenagers.
Today,
reading my devotionals there were several things that stood out to me with so
much impact that I want to share them here. Being available, being the right
person, at the right time and the right place also involves being willing to
allow God to have His way in your life. As with any commitment, there are
things that get in our way, just like my Dad’s career and his commitment to
God. Today’s devotional shed some light on this situation. In My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
todays reading explained the scripture passage in Mathew 6. The observations
Chambers made were that Jesus said, “Be careful that the cares of this world,
(worries, work, relationships, bills, health, careers, family, etc.) don’t
choke out the Word in your life.”
Wow,
what a message. Not, “Watch out for the devil.” Not, “Look out for those evil
people trying to get you.” But, don’t let your involvement and worries about
life get in the way of your relationship with God and His purpose for you in this
world. Talk about paying attention to the fact that we get sidetracked with
life and get off the right path! For my
dad, that happened. He accepted Christ as his Savior at a Billy Graham crusade
in Seattle. He and my mother quit the Elks club with the parties, drinking and
gambling and started out in a church home, the old Bible Baptist church in
downtown Auburn, Washington.
However,
dad started making money in his business, and the business, the cares of this
world took over. Not until he was sick, broken in health did he return to the
relationship with God that he put on hold. What did that cost him and the
others whose lives he might have reached? How much of could have been, would
have been and should have been didn't happen we will never know.
For
me, all I can say is, “Ditto.” I allowed my family, my home, my career to keep
me entrenched in the “cares of this world” mentality and the could of, would
of, should ofs piled up finding me older, willing. but with limited time to
fulfill God’s purposes. Now this young man that shares my office, he’s young. He
has the time to look for and find God’s fingerprints on his life. He has the
time opt to choose the path that will lead out of being side-tracked with the
cares of this world and find his one true purpose.
1) Answered prayers-
you pray for a situation to resolve; you pray for help; you pray for family;
and then the answer comes, (sometimes when the situation seems impossible.)
2) Unexpected evidence of his care.
(Special gifts you needed, or wished for that you didn’t tell anyone about and
someone gives them to you. Many other ways.)
3) Unusual linkage or timing.
(the right, the right place, the right person, the right situation, against
possible odds.)
4) God’s supernatural help to do the
job you have to do in this world. (Strength when you
have no more. Resources when yours are gone. Love when yours is exhausted.
Faith when you have no more hope. Knowledge when you are at wits end.)
If
you, like I, have been looking for God’s fingerprints in your own lives, I hope
something of what I’ve shared will help. May you gain perspective on your own
journey, your own purpose, your own renewal of vision. If any of this has helped
you, please drop me a line. I would love to know how you are doing.
Take care and be
blessed, remember God’s promise;
Joy will come in the morning.
Robin
