Divine Vitamin D

Psalm 121

A Pilgrim Song

1-2 I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

3-4 He won't let you stumble,
your Guardian God won't fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel's
Guardian will never doze or sleep.

5-6 God's your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.

7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.

I read this just now, this morning, and am reminded of God's goodness to me lately. So many of my prayers have been answered -- little things, really. But they seem like big things at the time. We have switched from our home phone to all having cell phones -- all 7 of us -- which seemingly couldn't be done. I have a job. Virtually all of our girls now have jobs as well -- one at Lowe's hardware, one at a local shop in the mall, one in fast food, one mowing lawns, one babysitting. We sold our lot that had been on the market for 3 years. The grandparents are choosing (in their usual gracious fashion) to be more than generous with the twins in helping with college. There is money for a new roof, and we are not in debt.

Life is just good right now. It's like being able to take a long, deep breath after feeling constricted and asthmatic for a long time.

So this Psalm sounds kind of like a lullaby to me. It's a reminder to me that no matter how I try and work out my individual life circumstances -- things that really make no difference in the eternal scope of things -- my help will still come from not the mountains, but the One who made the mountains. He never goes to sleep, never stops listening, never leaves my right side to guard me from harm, never even lets me get sunburned.

What a love! Do yourself a great favour and bask in it today with me --

xoxox

Living Proverbs 19

Practicing Proverbs 19 -- it's no easy task.

The Bug is very impatient with me lately -- she's being an emotional teenager (for the most part). Because she's now 18, she's speaking to me as a peer, rather than a daughter, which means that the respect factor has basically gone right out the window.

So today I read Proverbs 19, and found these verses --

11 Smart people know how to hold their tongue; their grandeur is to forgive and forget

Definitely easier said than done! But God is enabling me and I have been holding my tongue. Let me reiterate the most important words in that last sentence -- GOD IS ENABLING ME.

19 Let angry people endure the backlash of their own anger; if you try to make it better, you'll only make it worse . . .

26 Kids who lash out against their parents are an embarrassment and disgrace. 27 If you quit listening, dear child, and strike off on your own, you'll soon be out of your depth.

I think these two verses make me want to cry, because they are both the way that the Bug is acting right now, and it is exactly the way I have acted with my own parents in the past. You just can't look at your own child misbehaving and not remember doing it yourself.

So today I am both asking God for forgiveness, and blessing Him for the grace He has shown me. I can now turn and show my child the same grace. Choosing to be angry back at her just seems kind of stupid.

All part of the abundant life -- and tomorrow is another day --

xoxox

Senioritis

I had a very difficult week last week. It was a week full and beyond fed-up with 18-year olds who have seriously I'm-18-And-I-Know-It-All attitudes. It was also a week of being irresponsible with my body, and eating things that raised my blood pressure to critically high levels.

Honestly, I should know better. I just read this today, from Proverbs 30:

Four Mysteries

18-19 Three things amaze me,
no, four things I'll never understand—
how an eagle flies so high in the sky,
how a snake glides over a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
why adolescents act the way they do.

This was made glaringly apparent yesterday, as we were sitting at the table. I was explaining some American thing to Malene, the Danish student we're hosting until Friday. (We will be VERY sad to see her go! She is a doll!)

Rose commented that I was completely wrong, that it wasn't that way at all. So I reclarified for Malene, stating this: "Rose and Bug are always right."

Again Rose disagreed.

So I re-reclarified: apparently they are not always right, but I am definitely always wrong.

Rose hesitated. Then she disagreed. Bug wasn't so sure she disagreed with that.

I sat there thinking, 'have they left for college yet?'

Herein lies the paradox: I know I will miss them desperately when they are gone. But right now, I can't wait for them to leave. They seem to save all their good words and blessings for the people outside our immediate family. We alone are the ones for whom they reserve their disdain.

I think this is the biggest challenge I've ever faced: to remain Christlike to my children. When I am hurt by them, I want to return evil for evil. I want to hurt them right back, even though I would not hesitate for even a nanosecond to die for them. I'd be standing there in front of the firing squad, thinking -- you'd better appreciate this, you rotten kid!

I wonder also if it's because of the reflection this casts on me as a parent, as someone who has taught them to not hurt people. I've been the primary teacher in their lives, so apparently I've taught them the opposite. Aren't they acting just like me?

Ouch! Double ouch for thinking it's all about me!

Well, once again, it's back to that beautiful Word of God that slices and dices me with Its truth:

1-4 If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

Lord God Most Holy, make me like You today. Thank You for my Saviour, Your Son Jesus, my example, Amen.

xoxox