Irreplaceable

Posted on by
Reply

My child is tired. It is past his bedtime and nothing will make him happy except quiet and nourishment. We are at a dinner party so he has to navigate the long hardwood road from the play room to his car seat.

Not happy.

I am a veteran mom by now so I know my job is just to get him from point A to 3-point car seat without him hurting himself.

I pick him up, support his head and watch out for sharp corners. The car seat is a tussle, but again I stay calm and focus on his safety.

I know he is tired and stressed. He will feel better. His bad mood doesn’t inspire anger or annoyance–it is just bedtime.

But this series of events haunts me because every day in America parents of young children get angry and hurt their little ones.

I want it to stop. It hurts.

The best I can do is repeat good rules:

Remember that little people have little control over their lives.

Love them.

And when their fatigue, hunger, fear, or discomfort makes them fussy, keep up the love.

Keep them safe.
Don’t hurt them.
Get them rest.
Get you rest.
Tomorrow their sunny little smiles will light up your world.

So keep them safe. They are irreplaceable.

2/9/2013

Posted on by
Reply

There is something I want to put in this box
A new year
An old debt
Things tangled like a net
Dresses I should sew
Miles I should run
When this sadness is the warm blanket

Remind me why
There are no pictures in this house
Nothing so permanent as you.

Always you.

Mad-lib Bible

Posted on by
Reply

Mark 7:1 (NIV)
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and

Isn’t that a great start? Guess what happens next. Do they get him to teach them? Worship? Make him breakfast?

I know that verse breaks in our modern Bibles are arbitrary. The book of Mark was a letter written to a body of people who lived their lives waiting for Jesus to come right back.

John Mark was young when he experienced this story and older when he sat down and recorded it.

And it would be years and years before someone numbered these stories. But God is a smart guy. He uses everything.

So let us pause for a moment and wonder at all the things the Pharisees could have done with Jesus…but didn’t.

What do you do with Jesus?

Stormaphobe

Posted on by
Reply

Mark 6:50-54,56 (NIV)
because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” [51] Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, [52] for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. [53] When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. [54] As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. [56] And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

I have to get out of this chapter.

But I haven’t yet because I need the reminders-

Sometimes God does send us into deadly storms
But he never abandons us
He walks through them, abides with us, then commands the storms to cease
Because he is God.

The people Mark describes in this story have an almost comic energy–they run en masse to and around Jesus. Like a school of fish or a herd of sheep…only in this case their lack of dignity and frenetic searching make perfect sense. Jesus means God saves.

They run to an offer they would be silly to refuse.

And ultimately I am with them– no dignity left, desperate and silly, running to the God who saves.

Chapter 6.

Deadly storms, hardened hearts

Posted on by
Reply

Mark 6:51-52 (NIV)
Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, [52] for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

These men who were close to Jesus, saw what he was capable of, still did not really understand his miraculousness.

They saw the bread multiplied, they experienced the panic of death, but they failed to grasp who he was.

Don’t make their mistake. He is the treasure you must hold onto, the friend who never fails, the one who raises the dead.

He is our one great love. Storm or calm, bread or hungry, Jesus is worth the soft heart, the second look, the credulity to admit he is our one true love.

Children are resilient?

Posted on by
Reply

One of the ridiculous, perhaps even criminal notions repeated by adults is

children are resilient.

Really? Then why are adults so screwed up?!

The invocation of CAR (children are resilient) is really just a way to push off the truth–any victim of crime needs a lot of help. In fact we need:

Consistent and patient counselors and supporters

A structured sense of personal value

A sense of personal safety

Help with bad dreams and worse memories

Years to ask the question why?

Safe community

Knowledge and truth–especially the reassurance that being a victim is not our fault.

Someone to fight for us.

Prayer. Lots of prayer.

I think with this list most of us can be resilient. Without these supports–the wounds deepen and the road is lonely and painful indeed.

Don’t make the myth of CAR an excuse for neglecting the quiet pain of the wounded–we all need to know we are not alone.

We all need a Defender.

The 4th Watch and the Ghost

Posted on by
Reply

Mark 6:48-50 (NIV)
He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, [50] because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

This passage reminds me of the beginning of Hamlet–it is spooky. Some guys on a boat, lost in a storm, see a ghost. No wonder they were terrified. They were in a scary place.

I remember reading Into Thin Air and marveling at the spookiness and privation of that story. Just stay off the mountain, people!!

But we all face death. If veteran fishermen can’t avoid a terrifying storm, then I should take comfort when my life is rocked by storm.

I am a stormaphobe. I want smooth sailing. But when each storm has threatened the boat of my life, I too have seen the Miraculous walking toward me on impossible waters.

Somebody else tells me to take courage and I might be inclined to snap. He says it and I listen.

Because his is the voice that can calm the storm.

Take courage
It is him
He is here.

Where the flip is Jesus?

Posted on by
Reply

Mark 6:46-50 (NIV)
After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. [47] Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. [48] He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, [50] because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

I don’t know about you, but I can see them in the boat–bailing water, straining against the storm, really scared with little bubbles over their heads asking– Where the flip is Jesus?!

….when you need him.

We have those storms. We think we are perishing. We try our best to help ourselves and then start to feel desperate…because the wind is against us.

But he is always there. Not because he is omniscient, (check) or omnipotent, (check again). No. Because he has paid with his life a debt of sin for a treasure of love.

If he did not abandon us to hell, a storm or two is a cake walk. For him.

Immediately!

Posted on by
Reply

Mark 6:44-46 (NIV)
The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. [45] Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. [46] After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

People have noticed the breakneck pace of Mark’s story. Jesus moves immediately. The pace is direct and efficient. He gets stuff done.

The people counted in feed up time were men. Most biblical historians suggest that there would be about 4 women and children for each man–so the meal may have been 25000 people.

Wow.

But the details are as interesting as the big stuff.

1. They cleaned and organized– leftovers are gathered and counted

2. Jesus sends his disciples on ahead immediately.

3. While he dismissed the crowd? Benedictions, personal instructions. What does it look like when the God who loves you tells you to return home?

Then he went home too. Jesus missed the close time with God, so he prayed. He prayed to maintain relationship. He prayed for rest and comfort. He prayed for us.

Glad he did. I need it.

Feed Up Time!

Posted on by
Reply

Mark 6:34,37-44 (NIV)
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. [37] But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages ! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” [38] “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” [39] Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. [40] So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. [41] Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. [42] They all ate and were satisfied, [43] and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. [44] The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Our family has a new dinner call–feed up time! a line from Beasts of the Southern Wild.

This is a feed up time story. Bunch of sheep wandering in search of a Shepherd…

Gets hungry out there.

The miraculous meal stories in the gospel are the best!!! People in the tens of thousands getting fed. How great is that!?

Great, unless that is all you come for.

Many of us would follow Jesus around if he tossed us French bread or pita sandwiches. Jesus, after all, makes it plain that we are all richly invited to the ultimate party–heaven, and the ultimate celebration–his wedding feast.

Only wait…

We are invited as the Bride. We are invited to love and comfort and joy. Not just a picnic on the shore.

If we are to go, we must prepare. We must follow our dear love to the end of this most crucial of stories.

Love calls, love beckons.

Love announces–

feed up time!

Best listen.