I Wonder What Mary Saw

When they placed the crown of thorns on His head, I wonder if Mary thought about all the times she had ruffled his little boy hair?

When He stumbled and fell under the weight of the cross, I wonder if Mary saw the unsteady steps of a little boy, learning to walk?

When she saw the stripes and bruises on His back, I wonder if she thought about all the little boy hurts she had kissed away?

When He crawled onto the cross, I wonder if Mary saw her baby learning to crawl?

When they nailed His hands, I wonder if Mary saw two chubby little baby hands?

When they took His feet and began to hammer, I wonder if she saw the baby boy feet she once playfully tickled?

When He cried out in pure agony, I wonder if Mary heard the cries of her newborn baby boy?

When she looked at His face, beaten, bloody, and unrecognizable, I wonder if Mary saw her beautiful boy?

When He said, “It is finished”, I wonder if Mary was thinking about the beginning?

When He took His last breath, I wonder if Mary was thinking about His first?

When she looked at His broken body hanging high up on the cross, I wonder if she knew it was for me?

“Have You Considered My Servant?”

    Most usually when you are getting ready to assign a task, you choose the most qualified.  You generally don’t choose the weakest member of the group, you pick someone who will get the job done.  Someone you trust and have confidence in:  someone you believe in.  If you are the overseer, you want to know that when that whatever the job assigned, your person will do it, do it well, and get it finished.

    I feel like Job was God’s “person”.  When the satan came around, the Lord knew exactly who He wanted for the job.  He knew that Job had faith and trust in Him and wouldn’t back down.  He would stand through any tests and temptations, firm.  Job was the person for the job.  When things got tough, and we all can read how tough it actually got, the Lord had confidence in His servant.  The Lord knew Job’s heart.  He trusted him to do the job, do it well, and finish the task.

    How many times things pop up in our lives that don’t seem to be the best of situations.  You feel tested and tried and spent on every level.  Life gets hard.  I want to be the kind of servant, like Job, that the Lord has utmost confidence in.  The kind of servant that He can say, “have you considered my servant Amy?”  The kind of servant He can depend on. 

So when tests and trials knock us down, and they will, keep an unwavering faith…the Lord may have specifically chosen the best servant, you, for that particular test.

 

“And the Lord said unto satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Job 1:8 KJV

Giving Up on “Easy”

“For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”

2 Corinthians 4:17

 

This was the verse I needed after a rough couple of weeks.  My sweet, patient husband reminded me that “God has a plan for us.” And my response was, “I know but it doesn’t make it any easier right now.”  I didn’t want a plan…I wanted easy.  I didn’t want a fight…I wanted easy.  I didn’t want an uphill climb…I wanted easy.  I didn’t want unknowns…I wanted easy.  I wanted the kind of easy that other people seemed to have and not even realize it.  I felt entitled to easy. 

          Sitting in church on Sunday, I replayed our conversation back.  Then it hit me that I’m not entitled to easy.  He didn’t promise easy…He promised to show up when things got hard.  He didn’t promise easy…He promised to help carry our burdens.  He didn’t promise easy…He promised to stand on the battlefield beside us. 

          This is part of the song we sing at church by the Crabb Family:

So many times I question the certain circumstances of things I could not understand.
And many times in trials, my weakness blurs my vision, and my frustration gets so out of hand.
It's then I am reminded, I've never been forsaken.
I've never had to stand one test alone.
When I look at all the victories, the Spirit rises up in me.
It's through the fire my weakness is made strong.

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb.
He never offered victories without fighting but He said help would always come in time.
Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision and the adversary says give in,   Just hold on.
Our Lord will show up
and He will take you through the fire again!

            So right now, I’m going to trust His promises, even though they don’t always include “easy”.  I’m holding on, knowing that he’ll show up.  I know that the tougher the trial the more His glory shines and so for right now, I’m okay with giving up on easy.

Purpose or Accident?

           Purpose or accident?  That is a question I find myself asking a lot on a daily basis.  Dealing with 6 and 7 year olds, it’s a question that needs asked quite a few times a day.  “Did you hit him on purpose or accident?”  “Did you hurt her feelings on purpose or accident?”  Rarely, I have a first grader say that he/she did something on purpose…it is most always an accident.  Sometimes though, there’s a little on who will admit that they purposefully did something wrong.

A couple weeks ago, it was one of those days where I had asked that question all day long, more times than I cared to count.  I was on my home from school thinking about our day.  I was tired and grouchy as I recalled the events from the day.  I felt the Lord put the question back on my heart, “purpose or accident”.  I was sick of that question, but the Lord kept placing it in my mind.  “Purpose or accident”?  As I thought about the question, I examined its application on my own life.  Do I do my actions in regards to my walk with Him on purpose or accident? 

An accident is an event that is unplanned and has lack of intention or necessity.  Are my prayers and Bible reading that casual…no real plan…haphazard?  As in any relationship, my relationship with Jesus is a two way street, give and take.  Jesus does nothing by accident, everything is on purpose.  To do something on purpose is to have a goal.  When He was born, it was a necessity.  He didn’t “accidentally” end up hanging on a cross and dying.  He willing placed himself on the cross with intention, He had a goal.  His goal was to save my soul.  He expects that same level of purposefulness from me.  He expects me to live for Him with purpose.  A goal to share His love with others.  Intention to glorify Him.  Determination to make it Heaven one day. 

Purpose or accident?  It’s a simple little question with profound meaning.  So what’s your answer?  Is your walk with Him driven by purpose or accident?

“A Moment of Weakness”

        We all know the story of Thomas.  A man whose life has been summed up by his weakest moment:  a moment of doubt.  And while most people don’t strive to be like him, we all have our moments.  I’m not downplaying his lapse in faith.  But it’s part of human nature.  We all doubt sometimes.  When we don’t get answers to prayers or when life get difficult and we feel our weakest, doubt settles within us. 

        Thomas’ questions didn’t mean that he didn’t love Jesus or that he was turning away from Him.  It was just a moment of weakness.  A moment of weakness that I can relate to.  All Thomas wanted was proof.  He wanted tangible evidence that the Lord was there and that He was who He said He was.  Don’t we all look for that?  Don’t we all sometimes need a little reassurance of those things? 

        Thomas was lucky…he was able to physically touch the Lord and see the scars.  We don’t have that opportunity.  But when I start letting doubt set in and I start looking for proof, it doesn’t take long to find evidence.  I see my husband and family…it’s proof that He’s God.  I see my church family worshipping together…it’s proof that He’s God.  I see someone accept Him into their hearts…it’s proof that He’s God.  I see my sweet little Sunday School class…it’s proof that He’s God.  I see how my path has been meticulously guided…it’s proof that He’s God. 

        I can relate to Thomas.  But I don’t have to look too hard or too far to see past my doubt and, like Thomas, I can proclaim, “My Lord and my God!”

^“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

John 20:24-28  KJV

Worn-Out Ladders

I have been on the lookout lately for an old wooden ladder for our living room.  I want one that is a little used, but in good enough condition to hang quilts on.  I went into a little crafty home store and looked around.  I told the salesclerk what I was looking for and asked if she could help me.  She said that they had one old ladder for sale, but it was warped and had broken rungs and she was pretty sure it wasn’t what I was looking for.  As we were looking at it, I told her that I saw one in the other room that was in pretty good condition.  We went to look, but she was pretty sure is wasn’t for sale, it was just for display.  She said that the reason she knew it wasn’t for sale was because the displays are always in great condition.  They are better and sturdier than the ones actually for sale.  The ones for sale often had broken or loose rungs and lots of wear and tear.

If you’re an avid church-goer, chances are you’ve heard people say that they are “farther up the ladder” than they used to be.  I started thinking about “spiritual ladders”.  Some people have ladders that are in pristine condition.  They are on display.  They are symbols of Christianity, but in fact, they never get used.  I’m so glad that my ladder is far from perfect.  My ladder shows the tell-tale signs of use.  The ladder that I’m climbing is full of wear and tear.  It’s full of warped wood, maybe where I’ve shed tears and cried out to Him.  It’s full of splinters, maybe where I’ve had to readjust for the climb.  It’s full of broken rungs, maybe where I’ve spent more time at those places seeking Him.  It’s full of indentions, maybe where I’ve had to hold on a little tighter. 

So as I looked at the ladder with the broken rung and loose nails, I smiled…it was exactly what I was looking for!

“And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it”

Genesis 28:12  KJV