As The Twig is Bent…

I have a tree in my yard that I dearly love.  I received this tree as a seedling in a table top Christmas arrangement, probably a dozen years ago now. 

When Christmas was over, and the rest of the arrangement was ready for the rubbish heap, I saved that little pine seedling and planted it in my backyard.  I never expected it to grow, but grow it did! 


I thought when I planted it that it was planted straight and far enough away from the fence.  I was wrong on both counts!  It was such a tiny twig that I only staked it with a tiny stake, and I never bothered to drive that stake very far into the ground, nor did I ever check to see that the stake had been outgrown by the tree. 

The tree grew, its branches going clear to the ground and disguising how very crooked the little tree was growing.  It was healthy and nice to look at and that’s all that mattered.  Then, it got so big and bushy that it was pushing against the fence, threatening the stability of that fence.  Something had to be done.

It was only after trimming away all the lower branches that we could see how crooked that tree had grown. 

It was just this past summer that the county installed new sidewalks on our street and also planted new trees.  Each tree is held taut and straight by two stakes.  I watched as they planted the trees and installed those stakes…they really pounded them deep into the ground.  Since there are two stakes working together, the tree is held upright and will grow straight.



I was reminded of the verse from Proverbs, which tell us:
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
 
Sometimes we fail to realize how important it is to give a child the stability of boundaries…to give them something strong to hold onto in the storms…and to provide parameters within which they can measure their decisions and choices.   We are told that children need to grow and experience life and make their own decisions.  All true BUT parents have, in many cases abrogated their responsibility to train that child how to make those important life decisions. 
 
We have, in many cases, become so afraid of being seen as a bigot or as politically incorrect that we fail to teach our children that there is a right and a wrong.  No, it is not for us to judge others but we do have a responsibility to train our children and to speak up for right and wrong if we are asked.  That is not judgment, that is common sense. 
 
How will a child know right from wrong unless he is told?  He will certainly not be told by his teachers, the popular press, or (God help us) the movies and TV. 
 
I have heard Christians say we should not judge and I agree with that.  Only God will judge.  They often quote the story about the woman at the well and state that even Jesus did not judge her but said, “Neither do I condemn you.”  What they often leave off is the rest of that quote which is, “go and sin no more.”  Jesus was acknowledging that her behavior was sinful and that the woman at the well was to stop those behaviors.  He was not afraid to call a sin a sin, yet he was gracious and loving in his rebuke. 
 
Like the hoards of people in the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, we have become so conditioned to going along with the popular ideas that we have become afraid to speak out and say, the emperor is naked.  We might be accused of being bigots or judgmental, or worse, (that new word) HATERS! 
 
Just because something is accepted, does not make it right.  Just because we CAN do something, does not mean that we should.  It is not our responsibility to call people out and judge them to be sinners.  It is not our job to accuse or condemn anyone.  God loves us all and so we must love each one at the point they are in their life journey. 
 
It is however, every parent’s responsibility to train their child and to teach them that there is a right and wrong and how to tell the difference.  I also feel it is our responsibility to tell the truth IN LOVE if we are asked about sin.  There is a fine line there and I am not sure I know how to walk it, but I do know that I will not tell my grandchildren or children that black is white and sin is fine as long as it is legal.  God sets rules not to stifle us but to protect us from destructive behaviors.
 
Recent events in the media show that we need to be careful and think before we speak, and frame our comments in the context of God’s love and redemption.  But it also points out how we can be vilified if we stand  for righteousness.  We, as Christians, have remained silent when perhaps we should have spoken out and now that freedom to speak out is being eroded and shouted down by those who are politically correct.  To disagree is to be a hater.
 
What’s the answer?  I honestly don’t know, but this I do know.  If we do not teach our children from a young age, if we do not train them up in the way they should go, if we are afraid to stand for righteousness, then we are doomed to live in an upside down world where sin is embraced and glorified and righteousness is vilified.  Is that really what we want?
 
P.S. As crooked as that little backyard tree is, I still love it dearly.  I just wish I had trained it better when it was still a twig.

A Word in Due Time

Those of you who know me, know how much I adore my grandchildren.  As they enter and progress through their teenage years, my heart aches for them.  I know the trials they will go through and the decisions they will have to make.  No one can make decisions for a teenager, but they don't always have the experience and wisdom to make life-changing decisions on their own.  

Two of my granddaughters are in Portland so I mostly see them only on school holidays.  When they were down for spring break, my heart was heavy, knowing some of the things they were each facing.  I didn't know what to do but as we were taking them home, it dawned on me.  I asked them both if they would take one month and go through a chapter of Proverbs each day with me.  

Each day of April, I posted a chapter of Proverbs to their FB messages, along with a little blurb about what that chapter meant to me.  About halfway through the month, I was getting discouraged because there had been little response on the part of the girls.  My dear husband reminded me that God asked me to be faithful to plant the see, that the growth and harvest of that seed was not up to me but up to God.

Towards the end of the month one of the girls started responding every day and we had some good conversations.  Still, I wondered, did it mean anything?  Was I just being silly or had I really heard from God?

Today I received an email from a friend I went to grammar school with.  I had not heard from this friend for YEARS.  Here is the text of her email:  (please forgive the errors, I didn't want to take liberties with her words.  She was probably typing on a mobile device - you all know how hard that is!)

"I felt to tell you that when you where in grammar school and had your little bible study's. That helped people later in life remember the Lord little bit. words you spoke back then as a child even if they didn't remember much of it.  You sewed a seed in them small hearts. I remember myself listening only once.  I know that was others out there more frequently. I don't know anything about your life but I felt led to tell you you did a good thing as a child.

I have been back in church now sense Aug 2011. God sent me to a wonderful church in Bullhead City, AZ. Pastor Barb likes to say where at the ends of the earth. I have to say most of us really do like the desert here in Arizona away from everything.

So grandma teach your grand kids all about Jesus."

Isn't God good?  He is faithful to meet us at the point of our need and to send a Word when we need it.

Galatians 6:9

American Standard Version (ASV)

⁹ And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

 

Cracked Pot

I posted this story to my travel blog a couple of years ago but I think it bears repeating here.  I almost feel foolish posting this as I am sure most everybody is familiar with the story.  However, I first heard it only 5 years ago, and it touched me deeply.  There may be someone out there in cyberspace who needs to read this story.
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I have tried to find the origin of this story but, in doing the research, found there are many permutations and differing theories of the origins of this tale. So just let it be said, the story is not original with me and you may have heard it a slightly different way at some time.

The Story of the Cracked Pot:

Long long ago, a very rich man owned a beautiful mansion. He was a kind master and gentle with his servants. His water bearer would go every day to bring water from the spring to the mansion. The servant would hook two large pots to the ends of a pole, place the pole on his shoulders and make the trek to the spring.

The servant would fill the pots up to the brim with water but every day he only had one and one half pots of water by the time he got back to the master’s mansion. It seems one of the pots was cracked, and along the way home, would loose a portion of its water.

One day, as the servant prepared for his trek to the spring, the pot asked the servant,
“Why do you keep filling me with water when you know I will leak? The master has many vessels and you could easily get a new pot.”

The servant did not answer the pot. He just put the vessels on his pole and began his trip to get the water. On the way back to the mansion, he said to the pot,

“Have you ever noticed all the beautiful wild flowers along this path?”

“Why yes,” said the pot, “But what has that to do with me?”

“Have you noticed that the flowers grow on only one side of the path?” asked the servant.

“No, I never paid much attention to that,” replied the pot.

“These beautiful flowers are picked to adorn the master’s table,” explained the servant. “Without them the mansion would be dreary. The flowers bring beauty and joy to all who enter the mansion.”

“That’s wonderful, I never knew that.”

The servant began to explain to the cracked pot.

“These flowers grow only on one side of the path because, as we walk along this path, the water that leaks from your imperfection waters the ground. The seeds sprout up and become beautiful flowers. It is from your imperfection that beauty grows.”

The pot was silent as he thought about what the servant had told him. He began to see himself in a whole new light as he realized that what he saw as imperfection was actually a benefit to the master. From that day on the pot saw himself in a whole new light and no longer worried over his imperfections. In fact, he was quite comfortable with them and began to focus on the beauty that lined his path rather than the imperfections in his vessel.

Are you a Cracked Pot? Perhaps the imperfections that you perceive in yourself are there for a purpose and are actually bringing beauty to those around you.

A couple of years ago, I was searching for a cracked pot with

which to illustrate this story. We stopped at a wonderful little pottery shop near Walker, CA on Hwy 395. This shop had many examples of native American pottery, most made by the Navajo people. While I did not find a pot with a crack in it, I did find one that had a bad chip. He sold it to me for half price and I keep it on display in my hutch to remind myself to not take my imperfections too seriously.

Always remember that God uses imperfect people.  You don't have to look very far in the Bible to find examples of this.  Remember too that if we are focusing on OUR imperfections then we are looking inward when we should be looking upward to the perfection of our Master.  We are all imperfect and regardless of one's flaw, God can and will use each one of us if we focus on Him and not on our imperfections.

2 Corinthians 12:9

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  (courtesy http://www.biblegateway.com)

Prayer Changes Things?

I grew up in the church, many of those growing up years spent as a Pastor's daughter.  This was back in the "olden days" when things were much simpler.  Ours was  a little country type church, with down home folks and simple ways.

We would often have contests in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.  The prize was always the same; a plaster plaque handmade and hand painted by my mother (or the kids!).  I can remember many happy hours spent pouring plaster of Paris into molds and waiting for them to dry.  Then we would seal them and paint them and they became symbols of our thanks to the people of our congregation.  Today, they would probably be laughed at but back then, they were prized.

I visited a Mennonite bakery a couple of weeks ago and in the restroom was one of these same plaques.  I looked and looked on the Internet to find some of these old gems and could only find two.  

This one I remember so well from having seen it hanging in our living room for years.  Ours was painted a whole lot differently but it was the same plaque.  As a youngster, I often wondered why it said "Find we know...."  I thought the fancy "A" looked like "Fi".  It took me a while to figure that one out!!

The other find on the Internet was from a supply company (complete with mold!) and I also remember a plague just like this hanging in our house.

That was a popular saying back in the day...along with "prayer changes things."

I didn't think about those sayings until much later in life.  While I have no doubt regarding the veracity of both mottos, I also think we need to remember that God is not a magic Genie that comes out of the bottle to grant three wishes just because we pray.  So often we wait until we are in deep trouble, then we drop to our knees and wonder why a miracle is not forthcoming.

While my God IS a God of miracles, sometimes it is not a miracle we seek, but simply the magic genie.  Prayer can and does change things but there is something else we need to learn.

When we spend time in prayer, we must not only ask, we must also listen.  Sometimes God says "NO" and sometimes He changes our circumstances.  But the most important thing that changes with prayer is what happen to the one doing the praying.  Oftentimes I have prayed for God to change this or that, or this person or that person, never realizing that it was ME who needed the changing.  When we spend quality time with our Lord in prayer, the most important thing that changes is US.  

Next time a miracle is needed and you go to prayer, you might want to take a look in the mirror.  The beginning of that miracle may just be the one staring back at you.

The Mayonnaise Cake

My Dad liked to cook.  He liked to eat too but that's an altogether different story.  His culinary efforts mainly ran to good old down home cooking like hamburger stew or some kind of macaroni dish.  He wasn't, however, much of a baker.

I'll never forget when I was a very young girl, perhaps 5 or 6, and Daddy and I decided to bake a cake.  He told me he had read about how to make a cake using mayonnaise and it would come out really moist.  

I hopped up on a chair to help and we mixed flour and sugar and cocoa and all the other good things needed to make a chocolate cake.  A hefty dose of mayonnaise rounded out the mixture - all made without benefit of a recipe.

We waited for the cake to bake, and it did smell good and chocolaty.  But when Daddy took that cake out of the pan it was evident there was a problem.  The cake was not just moist - it was so full of oily mayonnaise that you could practically wring it out like a sponge.  Good thing my Dad also had a great sense of humor because that cake (as the kids nowadays would say) was an epic FAIL!!

I've thought about that incident many times in my life and I learned something from it - never make a mayonnaise cake, especially without a recipe!!  I've also learned over the years, that I can learn both from the mistakes of others and from the wise counsel of those I trust.

So often I hear people young and old proclaiming that each of us must make our own mistakes.  Think about that for a minute.  Do we put someone behind the wheel of a car with no instructions and tell them to drive?  They'll learn how to steer when they run into a few cars or block walls!  Do we  give 10 year olds the family check book and expect them to keep track of expenses and pay all the bills on time?

These things, and so much more, must be taught from those who have experience.  Sure, no one can completely teach another all there is to know and prevent that person from making mistakes.  But we do NOT all have to make the same mistakes.  We can learn from others.  You do not have to stick your hand into the flame to learn that fire is hot.

We all must make our own decisions but that is not the same as making our own mistakes.  The first chapter of Proverbs begs for young people to learn to be wise and to accept correction.  The writer admonishes young people to listen to their parents and become wise.  Even those who are already wise can benefit from the Proverbs of the Bible.

Proverbs, Chapter 1 warns us that there are evil people in the world who will try and entice young people into doing things they shouldn't do.  On the other hand, wisdom is all around us.  It is crying out to be heard and become a part of our lives.  Do we remain as fools or do we listen and learn and become wise?

Young people especially want to make their own mistakes but so often they don't realize the sometimes tragic consequences of those mistakes.  My heart aches for my grand children who are coming into young adult hood.  Would that they could see the benefit of finding wisdom and learning from others.  There are no do-overs in life and some mistakes have life changing consequences which cannot be undone.

Young people, you do NOT need to make all your own mistakes.  You can avoid so much if you will only listen and learn and seek wise counsel.  The last two verses of Proverbs 1 state this so clearly: (NIV) ³² For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
    and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
³³ but whoever listens to me will live in safety
    and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

(The "me" in the above reference is referring to Wisdom)

Don't choose to live the life of a fool - choose wisdom and learn to be wise.

Easter Sunday

We go out to breakfast today and the waitress introduces herself to us. 

"Hi, I'm Sharon and I'll be your server today."

I look up at her and it is on the tip of my tongue to say, "That's my sister's name."  Then I realize that more properly, I would have to say, "That was my sister's name."  And so I say nothing.

Although it has been more than 9 months since my sister went to be with Jesus, I still find myself pretending that she is only sick and that's why I haven't heard from her.  I feel her loss keenly and wonder when the pain will ease.  Then I remember what day it is.

This is Easter Sunday.  My Lord has risen from the grave and He lives forevermore. I am reminded that there is life beyond this world and that I will see my sister again someday.

John, Chapter 11 tells us: ²⁵ “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. 

Thank you God for the promise, and for the resurrection that we celebrate today and every day.