The chains we forge in life

This weekend we saw a local production of "A Christmas Carol".  We have seen the play or movie in various forms on numerous occasions but these words stood out to me:

“You are fettered," said Scrooge, trembling. "Tell me why?"
"I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”

I love Dicken's choice of words. God gave us free will and we choose how to live our lives, yet not realizing some of our choices are like chains weighing us down. This ghost was heavily laden with chains of his past life accumulated link by link and yard by yard. He was forever fettered. What a picture of remorse and despair. 

We know as believers that our chains have been broken by Jesus' blood and we will never be fettered like that. At times we may feel as the chains of life are getting us down but we know who can break those chains and set us free and we will never be forever chained to this earthly life. 

Jesus was the greatest pebble in our waters of life. Touching all our hearts eternally and freeing us from the evil around us. His actions echo on and on forever and ever.  A ripple that has the power to break chains and free us, a ripple that loves and heals and saves us. I have to end with Charles Dicken's closing, "God bless us all, everyone."

Psalm 107: 10-14
"There were those who dwelt in the darkness and in the shadow of death. Prisoners in misery and chains, because they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore he humbled their heart with labor, they stumbled and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bands apart."

The Jigsaw Puzzle of Life

Upon reading Psalm 139:16, my attention was grabbed by the unintentional rhyming in this translation. It's a comforting little poem and makes it easier to commit to memory.

           "All the days (you*) ordained for me

            were written in your book

            before one of them came to be."

*I added "you" to help the rhythm a little. 

We are each a jigsaw puzzle. Every day a piece is added to our life. Unlike puzzles that come in a box, we don't have a picture of the final outcome. We have a vision of what we think it will look like when it's completed, but only God knows what the final picture looks like. 

The story of our life is being formed piece by piece. Each piece fits in perfectly though there are times when we don't feel that way. Sometimes we feel a piece of life is being forced upon us that there is no way would fit into our lives. It's not how we would build our puzzle, but God sees the big picture. Every little piece has a purpose. Every piece is ordained by him and fits perfectly.

This should also comfort us as we are told in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When the pieces that we didn't expect to be part of our lives become part of our picture, look forward to the following pieces to see the design that God has created. And when the final piece has been placed and our life on earth is through, may people look at how we lived our life with its trials and triumphs and may our whole picture be one of glorious beauty that others will remember with love and admiration.

Starting with a rhyme, I felt led to close with one.

May our lives reflect His love for us
And may His love shine through
As we love others on this earth
As we are called to do.

And when our time on earth is through
May others reflect and see
Our life's puzzle was approved by God
And all was meant to be.

Two sides to every story

This is the same tree trunk looked at from opposite ends. One is jagged and rough where the tree has rotted away. The scars and decay of life are exposed.
The other shows the cut side. Smoother, with less scars of its previous life. This reminds me of the biblical references to the refiners fire or shaping and molding like clay. Those are ways that God shapes us. Someone sawed this tree for whatever reason. This part of the tree could be made smooth and flat and used as a table or stool. We may have ragged edges but God can change us to be smooth and useful.
I have quite an imagination, but what do you see in the center of both of these pictures? I see a heart--a heart with the light of the world shining through. No matter whether we have rough edges and don't appear to be a child of God or whether we look smooth and shaped by God on the outside, if we look closely at each other, we can see and know each others' hearts and may people see God through our hearts and may God use our hearts for His good works.

Sowing without reaping

Still top in my thoughts these days are my daughter's two adorable foster girls. They will be turning 2 and 3 next month. They have brought us such joy. Both are very busy yet they will let you hold them for a moment and snuggle. They have smiles that melt hearts and when they look at you, you know their thoughts are deeper than they can verbalize.

We have now been warned that we may only have the gift of knowing and loving these girls for another month. It wasn't supposed to be this way. We were told that the odds of them going back to the mother were slim and that there were no other family members to take them in. My daughter and her spouse planned on adopting. Losing these little loves was not in the plans and barely considered, though we know that it is not over until it's over.

What my daughter's family has done is to love and nourish these girls when their mother could not. They have spent many a night up with them when they couldn't or wouldn't sleep. They have changed their diapers, fed them, played with them and read to them. They have tried to teach them the things all little ones must learn--sharing, saying please and thank you, be gentle with animals, helping with chores, picking up toys, potty training, etc. They even taught them some sign language. They took them to the weekly meetings with the mother and other appointments they needed to go to. They shopped for clothes and other things as needed. They took them to the beach and vacation and other fun activities.

The other children adapted as these two new girls moved into their home. They had to share the attention but they were great helpers and learned to be friends and protective older "siblings" to these two precious children.

They have all given of themselves. And now the bombshell. They have to know that the ripples of their lives have played an enormous part in the girls' well-being and development but they will never see them again or have any influence on their lives. They have to hope and pray that the foundations that they planted will be instilled in them, yet, at this young age, these girls will never remember any of us, All the love that came from the bottom of our hearts and the seeds that were planted, all smiles and giggles shared will never be remembered by them, but always remembered fondly by all of us.

Likewise, the mother of these children should be eternally grateful that there was a loving family that did more for her children than she will probably ever know and that those ripples were a catalyst in her life to get the help she needed to be an adequate mom. When she couldn't teach or take care of her children, someone did so and very well, as she picked up the pieces of her life. Now we pray that she can protect and provide for these little ones as much as they deserve. May they be safe, cared for and loved. 

The seeds have been sowed. Often we will not know the effects of our ripples and even those who we touched will not even know where this ripple has come from, but it is always there in the waters of life. 

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."

Hebrews 13:16

"The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost." G.K. Chesterson

What are your actions saying?

This post might sting. Why do you go to church? To worship, to hear God's word, to confess sin, to take part in communion, to pray, to fellowship? All are valid reasons. Going to church is in a way, noble. Most likely you are in the minority of your co-workers and maybe of your friends too. You give up an hour or so of your two days off during the week or maybe it's only one day off, to go to worship God. That is admirable and yet...

Just going and sitting may be cleansing for your soul or bring you closer to God for the day, but what are the lasting affects of your Sunday worship? Not only for yourself but for others? How long into the week before you slip into the worldly ways?

You are a precious gemstone of God and your ripples affect others, even when you do nothing. When you deny knowing God or omit God from your conversation, you are fortifying the enemy's position. It is sad that we can feel embarrassed by our beliefs. We know to some, it is a far fetched idea of a man being God and dying and coming back to life. It sounds like science fiction and some will mock us for that. But there may be those who want to know more about your beliefs and the opportunity is not there when you are silent and they don't know they can talk to you about it. Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

But the ripple affect I mostly want to address here is when you go to church and nothing else. When you don't become involved, the ripple of your life is touching someone else, making them get more involved to pick up your slack. They may already be wearing several hats. Does not James 2:17 apply to you? "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." What works do you do? Is your faith dead?

We all know the excuses, I don't have time, someone else is better than me at that (my personal go to excuse), maybe even, I don't want to. Do you want to go to work? Do you want to reprimand your child? Do you want to house train your dog or clean out the kitty litter? Do you not benefit from being paid by your job? Do you not have joy knowing you are raising a child properly, do you not love your pet? We have many things we don't want to do, but we have to and there are rewards that often outweigh the task. Sometimes, we may find we even enjoy the task, walking the dog, playing with our children and maybe enjoying our career.

We use the phrase, "what would Jesus do" for the tough issues, but how about the small? Would he go to church and sit and leave? Or would he bring food for the food shelter collection? Clothes for the needy? Items for Operation Christmas child and missionary needs? Would he help with church clean up and other service projects? Would he greet, usher or set up coffee? We know he would teach. If you ask, "What would Jesus do?", Yes, he was a teacher, but I contend that if he washed feet, I believe he would have done all of these things. Are we better than him that we don't want to serve others? How can we show our love but by serving? If your heart is in the right place, serving should become a natural reaction and when you think there is no way for you to serve, ask God and doors will open. Galatians 6:7-10: "Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." By serving God, not only will you reap the benefits but so will others.

Actions speak. What are your actions saying?

Letting Go

Our daughter has two foster girls aged 1 1/2 and 2 1/2. They are the sweetest and most lovable little girls. The oldest one is such a thinker and a very busy little lady. She can't sit still for very long at all.
The younger one is so huggable but when she is walking away from you has this adorable yet devilish smile that she will give you. It says, "I'm up to something." They are so much fun.

As soon as these precious pebbles landed on the waters of our lives, we were touched. The laughter and good times continue to grace our presence. We were told that the girls' mother would probably not recover from her issues and that these girls could become a part of this family forever. My daughter was ready to adopt. They had two boys previously where things happened just that way.

They knew there was a chance that the girls could go back to their Mom, but it was said to be unlikely. So, bonds reinforced by love and time strengthened between these girls and their new family.

Yesterday my daughter got the call from the social worker that the mother has been making a miraculous turn around in her life and is working hard to get the girls back. When once my daughter was told that they would have the girls through Christmas, now they may go back to their mother then.

Of course, children belong with their parents. That is the natural thing to wish but oh, the pain that their new family feels. Not only the loving grandparents, and my daughter and her partner, but their two boys. They haven't been told yet and it will be very hard on them--especially knowing their own mother never worked that hard to get them back. It is going to have psychological effects on them.

My daughter did her part and did it well. She loved and cared for those little girls when their own mother could not. They gave them the nourishment to keep these girls mentally stable and happy. They did a great job. Now their job is over.

The problem is, the heart still beats and breaks. Dreams of the family with two boys and two girls are over. Future dreams have been shattered in one strong blow. They have to "Love someone enough to let them go", whether they want to or not. There are still a couple of months of loving them left and we will all do our best but I know, as for myself, there will be some tears. We will all need strength as we go through these months.

These two little precious pebbles won our hearts. They have made ripples in our lives that we will forever remember. We thank God for the short time they were with us and pray that he watches over them all their lives.

UPDATE: The mother relapsed and the girls have been adopted by my daughter and her partner in their forever home.

Introduction

When I was young, we used to vacation at Cape Cod off season every year. The beach we stayed at was sandy but parts also contained many small rocks. I spent hours walking the beach, during day looking for the rare piece of sea glass and often settling for pretty pebbles. At night I looked up to the stars and moon and listened to the crashing waves.

My Dad taught me how to skim stones. He instructed me to find the flattest stone that I could find and he would demonstrate how to use the whole arm to fling the stone making it skip several times across the top of the ocean.

I was pleased when I could get it to skip at all. Three or four times was a miracle. I just couldn't master the art. I would often relinquish the treasured flat rocks to Dad to just see him skim the rock so that it bounced many more times than I ever dreamed that I could do.

We are each like those rocks, precious pebbles tossed out into the water of life. Whether we touch down and make ripples along the way, which most of us do, or we just land once, there are still ripples--ripples that extend out far beyond our inner circle of life and touch people. Everyone touches someone in some way, whether it be good or bad.

My hope here is to touch you, hopefully in a good way, to share thoughts on life and living. We are each a special gemstone, one of a kind. May you be prancing across life's waters and may your ripples touch many hearts. Until my next post, know you are unique and loved.