Assisting Angels

I wrote two Scriptures at the top of my journal page today. The first is a pretty straightforward instruction: “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.” (Psalm 105:4 NIV). The second is from Psalm 91 and refers to the angels God promises to send to “keep” us in all our ways, and how (in part) they accomplish that: “they will lift you up in their hands so you will not strike your foot against a stone.”( Psalm 91:12 NIV)

I have personal experience with that one. When I was in Africa with son Kevin and his wife, Alex, I signed on for a hike to see a waterfall. It was only 1 ½ miles on a well-marked trail – no problem. I wondered why they sent two African guides with us for such an easy stroll.

I soon found out that they were not “guides”, but angels God had sent to literally lift me up and over the stones along the way! In my assumption on the ease of the hike, I had pictured a horizontal trail for some reason, not a vertical one. This one went straight down, then followed a stony creek bed to the foot of the falls… and then back up to return to our starting point.

I did fine going down. But traversing the stony creek bed required a guide on either side, holding my arms as I cautiously moved from rock to slippery rock. And for the return trip, God sent additional angels in the form of two heavy women with small children who were in front and behind us, likewise struggling as He knew I would be to get back up to the top of the ravine. Our group had no choice but to take it slow!

I told a friend fighting a battle with cancer to think of his treatment along the lines of that hike. The initial stages might seem easily traversed. Things might get a little rocky as he gets closer to his goal. And the return trip to good health might take longer than he anticipated or desired. But he should never doubt that he will get there… not because he is strong or determined… but because God knows the path before him and has already strategically placed angels in the spots or on the days where he might need a hand.

One has already come his way! I heard he got a lift chair just to help him get up on days when he feels a little weak. I can’t think of a more literal example of “lifting you up” by the armrests than that! He’s to think of it not as a help or an angel necessarily (although it is both those things!) so much as a promise to daily fill his life with the same.

He’s got this, because God’s got him… just as he has each of us going through difficult times. Let those angels be like my trail guides and earn their pay! Your recognition and appreciation of the same will surely make God’s day.

“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12 KJV)

 

Begin Blankly

 

I came to my writing time this morning with my mind a blank slate… no idea what I as going to write about.

And after reading an article on avoiding making mental assumptions about people, I realized that the “blank slate” concept is exactly the way God wants us to approach each person we meet, with no expectations or preconceived ideas of what to expect from them… to see them just as they are in that moment, and with Jesus’ eyes of love and compassion.

I had read David Brook’s post this morning on how to greet people… to recognize that “we are all equal on the level of our souls”, and to simply love on them as Jesus would… warmly, and openly eager to love, respect and accept them as they are. Then the love of God can flow through us to them and “write on their souls” the exact words they need to hear at that moment.

How to achieve that absence of appraisal or judgment, however, is the question. Perhaps it begins with a personal cleansing at the start of the day, sort of like a morning shower that washes away the grime of other influences that have come our way and perhaps affected the lens through which we view the world and the people in it.

In my bathroom at the moment there sits a container of drain cleaner, to clear clogs of hair and grime that have stopped the flow of water through the pipes. Sometimes we need a dose of the same spiritually to be the pipeline of God’s grace to others that He intends for us to be.

 “Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love.” 

(Eph 4:2 NCV)

(photo credit: Unsplash/Mike Tinnion)

A Little on the Wild Side...

I’m on “Willa watch” today.

My middle son, Mark, is working in nearby Middletown this week… so he came from Kansas City to stay with me for the few days he’ll be in town – truly a delight for me. And he brought Willa with.

Willa is a one-year-old cockapoo… the sweetest thing!… but with a mind and a will of her own. The two of them frequently combine to get her in trouble, as they lead her to chew things she should not, be a little over-exuberant in her greetings and her play… and a little less likely than she sometimes should be to sit or stay.

I’ve been warned to keep an eye on her at all times while Mark’s at work. If I don’t know where she is… then she’s getting into trouble somewhere. Or so they say.

They sometimes leave her leash on her after a return from the potty field in the yard, and I find that I like that. She doesn’t mind it at all, but the sound of it trailing behind her makes her easy to locate. I know she is nearby without constantly laying eyes on her.

I like to think that God is equally aware of where I am at any moment of the day. There’s comfort and security in knowing that should I wander where I shouldn’t, His hand knows where to find me and gently lead me back to the safety of His side.

"Where an I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." 

(Psalm 139:7-10 NIV)

 

No Winners in Solitaire

 

When she first entered the hospital, she was given a “welcome” bag of sorts that contained small toiletries of various kinds… and a pack of playing card to help pass the time. She began playing solitaire, and soon our daily text messages would include a mention of an occasional victory… but more often, a string of continual losses. She would celebrate the former and bemoan the latter. And really, she had it all wrong. In the game of life, we rarely win by going it all alone.

I read it today: “A failure to live life on my own is not a failure at all.”

We simply need each other. I love the word picture I was gifted with today… about how in the rowboat of life, sometimes we’re the one pulling the oar… and sometimes we just have to ride.

She’s learned that now. When her feet were (literally!) knocked out from under her, she had no choice but to depend on the assistance of others to see her through. She has realized in new ways the blessing of friendship, the deeper levels that go beyond a quick wave in a grocery store but instead become the working means to accomplish all that needs to be done… the dirt errands that are difficult and time consuming… and thus costly.

And she’s “pulling on the oar” occasionally, too, in ways that she can – offering financial and emotional support to others’ missions and purposes in ways that she can.

She may have lost a lot of games of solitaire, but she’s learned a lot about winning in life in the process. It’s a good trade.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one my be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 NIV)

(Photo credit: Unsplash/Kim Musalimo)

Patience in Planning

Unsplash/Svitlana

 

 

 

Thinking back to the most successful diet plan I ever had, my mantra back then was an easy and acceptable one to this one who was reluctant to give up the foods she loved: “You can still eat whatever you want… just not all on the same day.”

I was willing to stick to the plan if it meant I could still have pizza and chips… but in measured amounts at specific moments in time. I could still have it all… just not all at the same time.

So Ann Voskamp’s blog on the subject of women’s desire or ability to “have it all” in life rings true to me. There were lots of “not now”s and “later!”s in my marriage and motherhood years… but they worked together to create a life I loved an am still enjoying today.

I’m finding the same to be true in retirement. I entered it with a long list of things to do or try, now that I am schedule-free. And I was dismayed to realize that I couldn’t do it all… at least, not all at once. In the year and a half that I’ve been work-free, I’ve learned to likewise be worry-free about my retired life and lists. I realize now that I can do it all – just not all in the same day, week, month, or year. And there is such beauty and rest in this realization! I focus on the current project (or line on the to-do list!), whether it be a home repair/upgrade, a writing plan, a summer reading project, or an upcoming event to prepare for. And I let myself devote my time and attention to that one item alone, knowing the others will have their time and place eventually as well.

As usual, Ann Voskamp expressed it best: “All the seasons, one at a time, make a full year”… and a full life.

“ To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV)