Choose Life

“You may not agree with my decision [to end my life], but it’s not your life and you’re not the one living it.”

Her words stung, because I had been so careful not to make verbal judgments on the action she was contemplating, but instead had tried to lead her in the direction of hope and gratitude.

“Where is God in your decision?” I wanted to ask… but I knew what her response would be: “Exactly! Where is God?” I knew she had prayed for help and healing of her physical condition. She had received the help, but the healing had not yet manifested and she was faced with the likelihood of a future she did not want. She refused to accept that which she was powerless to change.

I came to my morning meeting with God with this issue heavy on my heart. As I laid out my concerns and questions before Him, I came to the conclusion that while I may not agree with her choice, I believe in her right to have a choice.

How to “support” her in her current situation then becomes the issue. I will continue to love her regardless of the choices she makes. But I am not bound by that love to assist her in facilitating choices I believe are wrong (not that she has yet requested me to do so).

Funny that my devotional reading this morning was on this very topic! In his “What would Jesus do” discussion on the issue, Ken Weliever said this: “”Jesus did not excuse or soften their sinful behavior. Instead, He sought to lead them out of their sin to a relationship with the Father. He treated them with kindness, compassion, and respect.”

Answer received. I guess it all boils down to who you answer to… yourself, or to God. In my case, that choice has already been made.

“When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God… You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.”

(Psalms 73:16, 24 NIV)

(Photo credit: Unsplash/BrettJordan) 

Traveling by the Written Word

Goodness knows, I love to travel. I love to go to new places, to see and do new things. (And we won’t even mention the foods I love to eat while doing so!)

But traveling can be difficult and expensive in real life. It’s costly to rent rooms, buy tickets, pay for meals, and properly compensate your pet-sitter… and a bother to make all the arrangements (unless, like me, you have a son who does all that for fun!).

So this summer travel season, instead of going to places in person, I’ll travel to distant locals in the words of the books that I’m reading from the comfort of my back deck or patio, or perhaps from the depths of my comfy  living room chair. When somebody next asks me about where I’m going this summer, I’ll be tickled to give the following reply:

I’m visiting a camp on the Maine coast, where blogger Tim Cotton spends a good deal of his time each summer… sitting with him on his cabin porch watching the sunset, or driving backroads in his truck with his dog Ellie by his side.

I’m also hiking the Appalachian Trail with Bill Bryson and his friend Stephen Katz, stumbling along with them at times, feeling the weight of their packs on my back, feeling the sweat of the effort, the wet of getting caught in a sudden rain… and their delight at coming to small outposts along the way.

And I’m in California, solving a murder mystery with James Patterson, or perhaps the disappearance of a girl from a San Francisco neighborhood that has the Golden Gate in view.

My only regret is not having postcards to send from my travels, a favorite past-time of mine! The intention alone this time will just have to do!

(photo credit: Unsplash/GulferERGIN) 

  

 

Screened-In Sleep

I’m a fan of a good window screen. They keep the good things in (pets) and the bad stuff out (bugs, wasps…cockroaches).

Yes, cockroaches. I read a story today about a man visiting India who liked to sleep with his window open but was afraid to because giant cockroaches (3-4 inches long!!) would come in at night. His solution was to rig up some kind of screen to let air and sound in but keep the bad stuff out.

Most of us can relate. Often our sleep is disturbed by worries and fears that come crawling into our minds in the nighttime hours. But as Christians, our faith is the barrier that “screens” what comes into our lives and lets us rest without having to be totally on guard all the time. Even when we’re awake, God filters what comes our way when our faith is in good repair.

I have screens in my living room windows right now that need some work. Because of their sad repair, I’m afraid to open my windows as often as I’d like, keeping me from enjoying a fresh breeze blowing through to air the place out on a windy day, or to hear the sound of rain on a wet one.

Similarly, when I lie awake with worry at night, it’s because there’s a tear in relationship with God… a lack of trust somewhere that needs some attention. The real problem is not the worries trying to work their way in to bother me, but a worn place in my faith that givens them an opening. That’s the problem that deserves my attention.

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty… You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.”

(Psalm 91:1,5-6 NIV)

(Photo credit: Unsplash/PattiBlack)