It's All In Our Perspective

Have you ever wondered why God allows us to go through some of the "stuff" we experience in life? It may be illness, a death, a job loss, a torn relationship - or as an old song once put it, "A time of trouble". We have all been there - probably many times. The problem is our perspective. As the created, we cannot see the same picture as the creator, nor should we. We want to see and know all the reasons but they are not ours to understand. There is one fact that remains though, if we are a true follower of Christ, and that is that God wants to take every situation that we experience in life and use it to make us more like Him.

I ran across this little story the other day that beautifully expresses the essence of this thought.

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

What is awesome is that, just like the silversmith must sit and watch the molten metal in the fire and never take his eyes off it, so God will never leave us in our time of sorrow and trouble. He watches us through it all. And how incredible is it to know that God will never put more on us than we can bear.
There is also one more truth here - that it is during these times of trials is when we grow to be more like Him the most.

Think about it the next time you begin to "feel the fire". It's not easy but seeing it all from God's perspective can sure change things for us on our end.

I sat in the little room, as I had done countless times before, and listened to family member after family member intone on the virtues of their loved one that lay there in the beautifully adorned wooden box in front of them.

The day was Saturday, September 31 and I had been asked to play the organ at a funeral service in Fort Worth. I have a "have voice/keyboard, will travel" type of relationship with a couple of funeral homes and when they have need of my services, they call. Such was the case here.

As I listened to these people extol the wonderful words upon their dearly-loved deceased, my thoughts went another direction than normal. Understand, that after having been involved with so many funerals over the years, a slight amount of detachment and dispassionment can set in. If each one were in a vacuum, the case could easily be made that the person they are putting in the ground was the best person that ever graced this planet. I have heard it all before.

However Saturday, the words struck me a little different. Of all the flowery words that are spoken at these sad times, how many of them were said to the person BEFORE they passed away? Why is it that we often wait until they are no longer around to hear them, that we speak them?

I was convicted - greatly. When was the last time I told someone how much I thought about them or how proud I was to have them as my friend, or how they made me laugh, or anything else that might be said of them... after they die?

The Next Right Thing for me is to pass out the flowers while they can still be heard, and appreciated by the very ones that mean the most to me. Will you join me?

In the Silence

Years ago a quirky little movie debuted named, "Short Circuit". The story line centered around an alien who lands here on earth from outer space. His appetite at learning about the things of the world around him became voracious. Everywhere he went he could be heard repeating, "Input, input". His quest for knowledge was never-ending.

I was thinking about this little alien this week and how that many of us are remarkably like him. Most of us wake in the morning to the annoying, obtrusive buzz of the alarm clock, grab the newspaper, wake up the one-eyed monster (that would be the TV, not your kid), fire up the computer, check the headlines, weather report, latest news on the entertainment scene and the stock market report. THEN, we rush to the car for the trek to work. The first thing we do is turn the radio on, and it stays that way until we get to the office, or wherever we all go. All day long our senses are screaming, "Input, input". Five o'clock rolls around and off we go in reverse order of how we started the day: radio, home to the computer, the TV, finish the newspaper, more TV, then off to bed - only to get up and do it all over all again, tomorrow.

What happened to the art of silence - that empty space where all we do is think? Why is it that we feel that every waking minute MUST be filled with something? How many times have we intentionally turned off all outer stimuli to simply have nothing coming into our ears and minds?

Here's a challenge: For one day this week, for however long it takes you to get to work, turn off the radio, mp3 player, whatever, and think - about God, your life, your kids, your future, a problem you might be facing, a plan for the day - anything. I find that it is in these on-purpose, proactive moments of silence that I sometimes get my best ideas and solutions to challenges. It's also a great way to spend time with Your Maker, in prayer - just don't close your eyes if you're driving.

You never know what hidden gems for life often lie in the simplicity of a few moments of silence. As Mikey, or somebody who used to be on TV used to say, "Try it, you'll like it".

A Question For God

If you think, after reading the title of this rant this morning that what is to follow is of a highly spiritual nature, I hate to dissapoint you.

I have a love/hate relationship with the month of October. I love the cooler temperatures and the changing of the seasons but I despise the torments that always accompanies it. I have allergies. Not just, "bother you a little in the morning" allergies or, "Hey, I feel a sneeze coming on" allergies. NO! I wish it were just "A" sneeze! In the month of October if I feel the urge to purge in my upper sinuses, it is usually followed by about 8 more - right in a row. Then wait five minutes and I get to do it all over again.

Here's the irony - when I was placed on vocal rest on August 2 for 3 months, the doctor gave me specific instructions not to sneeze. What?

I made a decision about 2 months ago to do the "next right thing" in regards to staying fit and exercising. I fast-walk a little over 3 miles every day - outside. I just came in from my morning routine and while I was outside something has decided to fly up my nose and send me into mutliple spastic eruptions. I am in torments!

My question to God, when I see Him in Heaven is going to be, "Whatever made you decide to create ragweed? What good does it do? You can't bottle and sell it. It is not a cure for some rare disease. I don't know anyone who sings its praises. In fact, I can't think of any good reason for it, at all! But then, I am not God.

Maybe he put it here to keep us humble and He uses it as a tool to grow us. I don't know, but I would like to. Would my knowing help the itching eyes, runny nose and incessant sneezing? No, but, jusy like any of kid, it would give me something to blame and yell about.

Enough of my ranting. I have to go get a kleenex.

I did hear a pretty good quote from a guy on the radio a few minutes ago: "Success is going from failure to failure with no decrease in enthusiasm". Think about it.

Blessin's on ya...and bring on the Zyrtec!

A Legend AND A Hero

I just read where golf legend Byron Nelson passed away here in Fort Worth today. A long-time pioneer of the modern game of golf, Mr Nelson was known as much for his kindness and his caring for others as he was for his long fluid swing that is still copied today.

Mr Nelson turned professional in 1932 and retired 13 years later at the age of 34 and he still holds the record for the most tournaments won in a row, 13. He won 18 tournaments that year. As a matter of fact, in 1944 and 1945 he won a total of 31 tournaments. He retired at the top of his game to be with his family on his ranch.

It has been said that Mr Nelson was loved by all who knew him. He eventually became one of the most respected and well-like personalities in sports.

In an interview in 1997 he made this statement to a member of the press, "I don't know very much. I know a little bit about golf. I know how to make a stew. And I know how to be a decent man."

Mr Nelson was a legend in the world of golf but his life proved out, in the way he interracted with people, that he was hero more of us should emulate.

Rest In Peace

Cravings

Yesterday morning in the 9:30 service Pastor Jess challenged us to proactively think on things that we crave. Many things were said and listed, not the least of which was the unbelievably scrumptious looking cinnamon roll he heated, and then ate - in front of the rest of us, I might add!

I later begin to think on the things that I crave: awesomely wonderful things such as fried chicken, a 10,000 foot mountain with 12" of fresh powder and no one else to get in my way, a tall glass of iced tea (that was today's craving), music that brings back good memories, a hug from my 5 year old, a hug from my wife, a good night's sleep, 30 minutes in the jet tub with a good book, popcorn when I'm at the movies, and so much more.

I then began to think on the intagibles that tend to cause my mind to wander and long for: wisdom, Christ-likeness, a pure mind, humility, patience, durability and faithfulness. My next thought carried me to this question: am I willing to pay the price to attain these attributes in my life? It is one thing to long and crave something that brings satisfaction and pleasure to us, but it is quite another when that object of our eye and mind has a cost attached to it - and sometimes a quite expensive one at that.

Christ has called us to a life of craving Him - longing for Him as a parched man thirsts for water, running and chasing him as a lover would pursue his love until his dying day, desperately searching for the one he has given his life to. This bold, passionate pursuit of God does not come easy nor without a price. It costs to be a bold, reckless lover of God. The price of this love affair must be at the expense of everything that comes naturally to us. In short, we must die to ourselves and that is a price many people are not willing to pay. The cost presents itself in our attitudes, actions, desires, thoughts and the words that we speak.

So, what do we do with those longings for holiness, time spent one-on-one with our Maker, those desires to please Him. Are they fleeting or are they burning within with no remedy except to surrender our will to Him, the lover of our souls, with no care or thought of the price it requires?

May we crave the eternal things of God more than we would something that will only present an extremely temporary satisfaction. The great thing about this craving God factor is that we get the best of both worlds, the natural and the spiritual - we get our tea and get to drink it too, so-to-speak. AWESOME!

Que Dios Le Bendiga

Lessons Learned

Isn't it amazing as parents, how much time we put into trying to teach our kids the lessons of life so they themselves do not have to experience the negative but can learn from our mistakes. I challenge you, that for the next week, to log on paper each time you attempt to "direct" your child/grandchild away from something that might hurt them or be bad for them. It will probably amaze you.

If your kids are like mine (and me) most of the time your warnings have fallen on deaf ears. I have never seen a kid, after being told not to do something dangerous, harmful or not wise, turn to their parent and say, "Wow! Thanks mom and dad. You know you're right. I was about to be SO stupid. I will learn from your mistakes and I will never attempt to do that again." Only on Leave It To Beaver, maybe.

We as adults like to look at children and be the teachers and think we are experts on the matter of lessons learned. The truth is that some of us have learned from a lot of them. Some of us are better learners than others and others seem to have to stay after school on the matter. But lest any of us think we've arrived, we probably need to think again.

It dawned on me the other day that there has never been a lesson I have learned that meant anything unless it cost me something. Think about it. If the experience didn't cause me to lose or make me give something in return, it probably wasn't learned and I am probably doomed to repeat it.

I remember as a child, my parents told me to not to poke anything into the electrical outlet on the wall. They told me that Reddy Killowat lived in there and he would bite me hard and make me cry. I heard what they were saying, but I didn't listen. It wasn't until the day that as a 4 year old, I rammed a metal bobby pin right into old Reddy's lair - THEN I learned the lesson that my parents had been trying to keep me from having to experience. The lesson stuck. Here I am at 49 years old, remembering in "shocking" detail every jolt of electricity that hit my hand - and I will NEVER put anything else into an outlet, except what belongs there. Lesson learned!

As adults, think back on every financial deal that went bad, tempers lost and things said, overreactions, the results of procrastination, shortcuts taken that weren't really that short, mishandled relationships, etc. If those lessons didn't produce a life-change, those lessons were not valuable and have not cost in the process. John Maxwell says that, "People change when they hurt enough that they have to, when they learn enough that they want to, and when they receive enough that they are able to."

How many of us have stopped learning and changing and started teaching? I realize that we should never abdicate our responsibilities as parents to "train up a child" but just maybe we shouldn't try so hard to keep our children from experiencing some things in life that will teach valuable lessons but rather be there for them while they are learning the lessons for themselves. Those will be the things that will make them better people. Why would we want to deprive them of that?

Remember this - a lesson has no value unless a price has been paid for it.