And what exactly are we doing here?

I awoke this morning in what still feels like someone else's house in a new city and a neighborhood of people that I don't know. What are we doing here, LORD? I mused.

We have quite literally come a long way in the past twelve months, "a momentous year," my husband remarked over morning coffee and breakfast.

As I finished my reading this morning, recording in a journal verses for today, I noticed a separate listing of verses scrawled on the back pages of my notebook for 2014.  At the top of the last page was the word "decision." Verses dated and recorded on those pages brought me almost to tears, as if in His own words, God had chronicled His faithfulness to us in the past year.

At this time last year, we knew some changes would be taking place in 2014. We did not exactly know what. We did not know where. We just knew that God was leading us through it, virtually one step at a time, sometimes with an obvious steppingstone, sometimes in a fog.

And today, as I find myself in this new place in my life, I am thankful that I recorded those verses He highlighted for me in His Word. It was not just that the LORD was so faithful, but quite obvious to me this morning, He still is.

Here is a sampling of just a few of those verses:

February 1, 2014
Tell the people of Israel to go forward.
                     Exodus 14.15
(Follow Him into it.
Keep moving in that direction.
Even through what seems impossible.)

February 6, 2014
Behold I send an angel before you,
to guard you on the way
and to bring you to the place
which I have prepared.
                      Exodus 23.20
(Follow God into the center of His purpose.)

March 15, 2014
Then the angel of the LORD went ahead,
and stood in a narrow place,
where there was no way to turn
either to the right or to the left.
                      Numbers 22.26
(THAT kind of guidance)

March 29,2014
But you shall seek the place
which the LORD your God will choose
out of all your tribes
to put His name
and make His habitation there;
thither you shall go.
                     Deuteronomy 12.5
(It may not even be on our radar yet)

And finally, a verse which sums up our year:

May 29, 2014
A man's mind plans his way,
but the LORD directs his steps.
                      Proverbs 16.9

One thing that I can know about this past year and the new year ahead, I don't know what I would have done without daily delving into His Word. The LORD used it, giving me strength beyond what I could ever do on my own, directing us in a way yet unseen, bearing fruit through that we may not ever see, and showing us repeatedly His love, grace and faithfulness.

What exactly are we doing here?  
God knows.

He is faithful.
He is faithful indeed.

Spread your arms, hold your breath, and always trust your cape!

Already there are events and plans penciled on my 2015 calendar, but the new year may not look at all like what I expect.

I learned that truth in capital letters in 2014. (Exhibit 1:  see my posting on "Where have you been?")  A new year is not an empty box for us to fill, but full and vibrant with God's designs.  I have only to follow Him into it.

No. Matter. What.

The difference between being foolish and being faithful is distinguished by being focused on His highest, not our own pursuits.  For when we follow fully the Most High God, He will take us places we would dare not tread on our own -- be it scaling the heights, traversing the miry bog, fulfilling His design right where I am, or trekking through what we would assume a wilderness.  He provides the strength.  He enlarges our vision.  And He is always faithful.

Guy Clark croons in his classic tune, "Spread your arms, hold your breath, and always trust your cape.

As I experienced in our whirlwind 2014, I would change his lyrics to say "always trust your God." 

Though the fig tree do not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet
   I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
He makes my feet like hinds' feet,
He makes me tread upon
                       my high places.

                         Habakkuk  3. 17-19

The word "tread" is commonly defined as "to walk," but it also can mean "to dance."  I like the image of that:  to dance upon our high, scary places of life.  Because with Him, I am not alone.  He releases me from fear.

"You can't just sit there," admonished the late Chuck Colson,who was himself a visionary and cultural activist.

God says, "Trust Me.
      And do not be afraid."
Those two go hand in hand.

Spread your arms,
                hold your breath,
and always trust your God.

When the music fades

From the time Ruth was a small child, her musical talent was recognized, not just by her family but by everyone around her.  She played the piano at three years old.  She started playing the violin a year later.  Everything in her life revolved around music.  And coming from a family with extremely limited resources, nothing ever came easy.  Back in that day, there was a lot of swapping around to get things done.

When Ruth was still a teenager, her father died after years of disability.  She landed a job at the local radio station to work her way through college.  She hosted a live radio program every morning from 4 to 8 am, and then went to classes for the day.

After college, she taught music at a seminary, was married and widowed all within a year, and then traveled halfway across the country to go to graduate school at the Eastman School of Music, a rare endeavor for a woman in that day.  She was invited by Ernest Tubb to join the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville, which she declined.  Her eyes were on New York where she held a regular job performing on early television.

After she was married, she landed in Chicago where she kept up with her music, balancing the rigors of practice and performance while simultaneously raising four children.  And in Chicago while music continued to be her passion, God began to use her gifts in different ways.  What became more important to her was letting her music be used by God.  Not being a celebrity at Carnegie Hall was by no means a reflection on her abilities, but in a true sense, God used it to enlarge the scope of her influence.

She encouraged young beginning violin students by teaching them almost on a daily basis, she performed at nursing homes for the people no one remembered, and in a time when it was unheard of, she assembled an orchestra at her church where members of the congregation of all levels of ability came together to perform Handel's Messiah every Christmas.

What became obvious was that her giftedness as a musician was just a vehicle to glorify God and to show kindness to others.  When the music fades, what is left behind?  Whoever knew her commented about her music and always remarked how kind she was.

Someone once said, "People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel."  Her kindness touched the least and the lonely, no matter who they were.  She knew that need is not always recognized, nor does it discriminate between the poor and the wealthy. She would walk into a party or other gathering and seek out not the popular nor powerful, but the loneliest person there. She played once for the funeral of a friend.  She and her accompanist were the only attendees of the service.

I knew Ruth well.  She was my mom.  Today would have been her 95th birthday.  She has been gone now ten years, but the things that she taught me grow stronger by the years.  And today I am reminded, above all to glorify God every which way you can and seek out opportunities to be kind.

When I was going through a stack of papers after her passing, I came across a small note in her handwriting that I had never seen before.  It said:  "I always wanted to be famous, but I think better things happened because I'm not."

God leads us on paths we would never expect.
He uses us in profound ways we can never know.
We have only to be faithful.

The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me,
Your steadfast love, O LORD.
            endures forever.

                       Psalm 138.8

Roll over

Our youngest granddaughter Luci has spent the past four months observing the world from her back.  This is just how the world looks, she must have thought.

 But quite suddenly as she wriggled around one morning, FLIP, she was on her belly.  She had a rather surprised look on her face.  Whoa.  Things look really different from here.  And she realized, as we all do at multiple junctures of our lives, we don't know everything.  Things are not just the way I see them.

Within the week, Luci learned how to get that different perspective on life. It didn't just happen. She lifted up her legs as if in an old ladies' exercise class, turned slowly to her side, and over she went.

She is on the road to discovery.  Nothing will ever be the same.

Stuck in our ruts, or stuck like a turtle on its back, we need to do the same:  roll over --a difficult situation, a stale viewpoint, a bad attitude-- and see people, places and problems from a new perspective.  God will reveal not just what to do but what lies underneath -- that which sometimes I don't want to know.  It is a whole lot easier to stay in my dormant point of view and blame others when it is my own selfish heart at fault.

As we enter the new year, a few obligatory resolutions are not what are needed, but a little exercise in learning to roll over.  Let God not just redeem our situations, but reveal new dimensions in our relationship with Him.  How can I see this person, this situation, this place from His eyes?  How can I respond differently?

A problem is only an opportunity laying on its back.

You have said,
       "Seek My face."
"Your face, LORD,
       do I seek."

          Psalm 27.8

The day after Christmas

Christmas is not a fond memory,
    but a profound reality.

...be found in Him.
 
         Philippians 3.9