He leadeth me, still.

All Sorts

It’s like I’ve come to a fork in the road. There’s no going straight ahead, no going on just like always. Life is changing, whether I like it or not, and demands that I get my bearings!

Rachel turned 18 this week and took off on a camping trip to celebrate.  How empty the house seemed.  How full of minutes to spend doing something, anything! It’s not that there aren’t projects to do. I spent hours fabricating a custom Kindle cover  Smile.  And there are books to read, and gardens to water and meals to fix but I’m not yet accustomed to the freedom to do anything whenever without interruption.  I’ve got to get re-oriented here.  Make some decisions.  Formulate a plan of action.  Set some goals.  Figure out my purpose in life!

But it’s more than that, this fork in the road has everything to do with attitude.  Will I embrace the next stage of life with joy and with gratitude or with mully-grubbing reluctance, dragging my feet as if it would help time go backwards– back to the ‘good old days’ when we were young, and busy, and so surrounded by family that there was little question of our purpose in life!

Yes, there are perceived losses.  My eyes strain easily.  My body creaks more than it did at twenty.  My ‘children’ are nowhere to be seen—they’ve morphed into independent adults. My days are uncharted. Yes, I feel a little lost some days, especially when I scan the horizon in an effort to imagine what’s up ahead. But I have a choice how I proceed.  Whining or trusting.  One way leads to life, of the eternal sort. The other just to crotchety old age.

I sat one morning reflecting on these things and I thought of Jim’s mom, now experiencing Glory.  She was very skilled and talented with her hands. She sewed Jim’s wedding suit, complete with pin-tucked shirt.  She created endlessly—knitting, crocheting, making memory albums, crafting with whatever resources were at hand.  Their house was full of the raw materials of her arts—books, machines, yarn and fabric…And then she began developing macular degeneration. And she was diagnosed with a terminal illness that drained her energy and often caused her pain.  One by one, all the things she loved best to do were taken from her.  But as her eyesight dimmed and so many of her possessions became useless to her, her spirit grew strong.  She consciously and conspicuously trusted her Creator with her incapacities and with her days.  She trusted that God’s purposes for her were good.

She got an audio version of the Bible.  She phoned and asked about the kids so she would know how to pray…and she found she had extra time to pray.  She aged gracefully, gratefully, self-effacingly.  She took the fork that leads to eternal life, this way that shines brighter as the physical grows feebler.  I thought of her, a witness gone before and knew the fork in the road I want to be on.

It will necessitate embracing a new normal, stepping confidently into change without a constant looking back at perceived loss. (Is anything really loss in view of God’s eternal purposes? Phil.3:8) It is a walk by faith, willing to believe that God’s purposes override my self serving ones.  He crafts all the days of my life to shape me into a reflection of Himself. This is His purpose for me.  His glory is the end in view, not my sense of temporal comfort or significance. 

And what a relief to know that Jesus will shepherd me through the changes.  The Lord is my shepherd still.  The antiquated words of that old hymn ring in my mind:  “He leadeth me, O blessed thought, O words with heav’nly comfort fraught…”.  [Do click here for a stirring acapella version of this good hymn]  He leads me.  I am not standing here at this junction on my own.  I don’t have to chart my course, or figure out my purpose; He’s got it laid out.  I need only to hang close to Him and He will guide me in the execution of this fork in the road, for His glory.  This is such a relief.

After all, though my life may seem to be undergoing change at an alarming rate, His purpose hasn’t changed from the beginning of time. It still stands—to bring all things together in Christ,and to conform each of us to Jesus’ image!  And His mercy and His grace have not grown thin.  Nor has the modus operandi for me changed.  It’s still by faith I must proceed.  Still walking with Him into a future I cannot see.   Hasn’t this always been the case? 

He leadeth me, O blessèd thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.  —Jo­seph H. Gil­more, 1862.

AMEN!

–LS
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. Eph.1:11,12

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Col.2:6,7

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Heb.12:12,13

All the way my Saviour leads me, what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy who through life has been my Guide?
–Fanny Crosby, the blind hymn writer

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…Heb.12:1,2

Untrammeled Womanhood

Jots and Tittles

This intriguing quote in a book review caught my eye this week as our tandem trip was winding down and we were relaxing on the ferry…

“I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world, it gives a woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can’t get into harm unless she gets off her bicycle, and away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”
–Susan B. Anthony, 1896

My first thought, after chuckling at the notion of riding a bicycle being a display of ‘untrammeled womanhood’, was how sad Ms. Anthony never found a strong and trustworthy captain to take her touring on a tandem!  There are far greater things than having to rely on oneself.  Is the self-reliance she touts really freedom?

And my goodness, how naïve.  Did she really believe one could come to no harm on a bike?  Just this evening on our first ride since getting home from 300 miles of accident-free riding, we were very nearly wiped out by a little red sports car that lost control while passing us on the steep switchback hill we ride so very often to get ourselves home to Wildwood.  He squealed his tires and fish-tailed dramatically as he careened onward and upward past us, veering into oncoming traffic momentarily before disappearing around the bend, leaving us (me at least) breathing hard for more than just the incline!  And spontaneously uttering thanks to God for His protection. Our lives are not in our own hands.  Self-reliance is no guarantee of anything.  I would far rather rely on Someone bigger and stronger than I, and trust that our times are very truly in His hands!

Committing my life to the One who knows me best and loves me most is my idea of untrammelled womanhood.  And just in case you, like me, are not quite clear on the meaning of that very cool word, untrammelled.  It means: Not deprived of freedom of action or expression; not restricted or hampered.  We were designed for freedom, but what Ms. Anthony failed to recognize is that true freedom comes by submitting to design.  We were designed to bow to Jesus’ Lordship. His commands reflect the principles that will free us to really live.  In Him, forgiven and accepted by the Father, we are truly set free—from fear of death, from bondage to sin and  from the dictates of our selfish misguided notions and impulses which inevitably lead us where we did not intend to go. 

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Pr.16:25

By faith we are freed to trust that God’s designs for us are always good, that in submission to a mate we are truly free, and that riding tandem in this world with Jesus in the captain’s seat is the only way we will be genuinely liberated from all that can harm us to be all that we were meant to be!  This is true emancipation.  This is ‘untrammelled womanhood’ at its best.  For this, I will pedal bravely on, the wind in my face, glad not to be relying on me!

–LS

‘…and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the LORD.’ Jer.31:14

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery….For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Gal.5:1,6

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Gal.5:13

Riding Tandem

Jots and Tittles

Tandem bicycles have a reputation as ‘marriage busters’.
It takes a lot of teamwork and trust to ride successfully and to enjoy the process.  The stoker has to be ok with not seeing the way ahead clearly.  She has to trust her captain to take her to the destination he has in mind (or one they’ve predetermined).  And she has to pull her weight in the process of getting there, to sit still, not to lean or make unexpected moves. She has to know too when to offer advice and when to be quiet…

The captain has the bulk of responsibility.  He has to know where he’s going, have the map clearly in mind, and be constantly on alert for bad drivers, bad roadway conditions and oblivious pedestrians…He has to have good judgment and great confidence.  Not only that but he must be sensitive to the state of his stoker.  A wise captain will know how hard to push and how far is far enough.  He bears the unspoken responsibility of keeping the stoker ‘stoked’, of keeping her content to pedal and chatter and generally be good company.  A whiney stoker is a nightmare. (Jim has had occasion to know)

And apart from all these obvious responsibilities, if the ride is to be smooth and efficient, both stoker and captain must learn technical skills of pedaling with equal force, being sensitive to each other’s preferred cadence, determining together how to tackle the hills, and what the protocol will be at stop lights: will the stoker unclip from her pedals or just stay on her ‘perch’?  All these things help smooth out a ride and keep either rider from wearing themselves out.  Contrary to popular jesting, the stoker really is expected to carry her weight, and the the captain really does know if she’s ‘soft pedaling’!

For all these reasons tandem riding is a challenge to a marriage.  It can make it, or break it as they say.  This weekend we have met and ridden with other tandem couples for the first time.  What a pleasure! A rare and beautiful thing– a tandem couple delighted to be together and going in the same direction with great grace and skill.  We even met a family on a ‘quad’ pulling together, cheering each other on and flying up and down hill and dale together.  They’ve been cycling together since the kids were babies.  Inspiring!  But one fellow we rode with said it best, it isn’t that tandem riding is a marriage buster but that ‘wherever you’re going, it gets you there faster.’  A good marriage can sustain it and be strengthened.  An unhealthy one will reveal its fault lines quickly!

And in so many ways, tandem riding is a picture of another Ride we’re on.  We are the stokers. He the Captain… He bears the responsibility for our safety and well-being. We in turn are expected to trust and to pedal as per instructions.  And the ride… well, it will sometimes be thrilling, sometimes mundane, and sometimes downright difficult.  We will maybe feel like whining.  But better to be patient and wait for pain to pass and skies to clear.  For Our Captain is the best and he knows just what we need!

Well, it’s almost time to head out for another ride with some yet unmet riders…thanks for checking in here today.  Gotta roll!

P1110495CrownPoint

–LS

A Hope Worth Waiting for

All Sorts

It’s been a very rainy week.  The grad party squeaked by with just a bit of drizzle, but not enough to keep the kids inside. Thank-you, Lord!

But Monday, it rained.  And Tuesday.  And Wednesday.  Thursday afternoon we jumped on the tandem when the road had dried between showers and got a hundred yards up the street before it started spitting again… Today I picked strawberries and weeded, in the rain.

This has been not only anti-climactic but a tad bit depressing.  You see, I feel I deserve sunshine once ‘summer’ has officially come.  Fall and Winter and Spring are opportunity enough for rain. We put up with the wet chill and overcast skies then.  But when summer comes it ought to be sunny, right?  And warm.  Not still hovering under 70 degrees, forcing me to dig out an old turtleneck not yet stowed away with the other ‘winter’ things…

Earlier this week I was quite an unhappy camper.  My dismay began with a misunderstanding.  You see, we are planning a bike trip.  Hotels are booked. Rides planned.  Then Jim pulled out the week’s weather forecast Monday morning at breakfast—rain, rain, rain, clearing at week’s end.  This was too much for me.  I thought he was reading next week’s forecast—and I could only imagine pedaling long hours in rain with no option to go home and get warm and dry… If there’s one thing worse than rain, it’s not being able to get out of it when you’ve had enough!

So I spent the next day (or was it two?) under the mistaken notion (and its attendant gloom) that we were doomed to ride in the rain.  Silly, I know.  Since when are weather forecasts reliable anyway?  But then something happened that changed my perspective.  It was something Jim said when I was bemoaning things as I saw them.  He said, what if you knew it was going to clear up and be sunny after three days of rain?  Would it be easier to bear it? (Those weren’t his exact words, but that was the gist of it).

Of course, that’s when the truth came out about the actual weather forecast and the very real potential that our trip would take place under sunny skies and warm temperatures!  And of course, just having that hope completely changed my disposition! And it set me thinking about the power of hope– this thing that can make misery bearable, that can prompt a smile when there’s no visible reason to be smiling, that can infuse joy into bleak surroundings.

My illustration is rather pathetic, I know. For one thing, I’m far too easily discouraged by weather. And for another, there is no guarantee that we won’t indeed ride in the rain. Mine is a flimsy hope, based on nothing but hope itself, and a projected weather forecast! Who dares put hope in those?  Nevertheless it got me thinking about the nature of hope and the sure hope that we as believers have. 

We use this word ‘hope’ so loosely.  It can refer to short-term wishes (‘I hope there’s a cookie left in the tin’) and life-long desires ( ‘I hope I will grow old gracefully’).  Ironically, its use often implies a degree of doubt that a thing will really happen.  (“I hope so.  We can only hope.”)

There is even such a thing as a false hope—a confidence built on a faulty premise. It energizes like the real thing at first. It holds out promise of good things to come but they never do.  Though it take a lifetime to reveal its true nature, eventually it will be seen to be a lie.  It will fall with crushing disappointment.

Often such false hopes are  based on what we want to be true more than on what God has said to be true.  Words are twisted.  Promises claimed. Hard and fast conclusions reached.  Meanwhile life (and death) happen.  God overrides our best judgments.  He is not bound by our false hopes.  Things don’t go just as we predicted.  Disappointments come. We are clearly not in control.  Our hopes are fallible.

But there is a hope that is sure.  And believers, of all people, should be people marked with an indelible optimism because of the hope of the Gospel. We have reason to wear joy on our sleeve no matter what the weather. We have no need to cling to idle hopes that may or may not deliver, hopes based in this lifetime, in these bodies, in short-term comforts and pleasures.  These are the world’s domain. They will prove to be false hopes, all destined to end with life itself.   The hope of the Gospel is not bound by the limitations of these bodies and their short lifespans.  True hope reaches beyond these to an assurance that the best is yet to come.  Bucket lists, and even hopes for healing and happiness, fade in relevance in the face of eternity.  The hope of eternal life spent in the presence of our heart’s greatest Desire is the hope that’s  meant to buoy up our hearts in the time-being, when it does ‘rain’ on our parade, when we do face endless troubles here, when life isn’t a bed of roses and things don’t turn out all ‘peachy keen’. 

We were never intended to compete with the world for all its comforts. We don’t have to.   We have an internal Comfort not dependent on health or money or toys.    The Spirit of the living God resides in us strengthening, equipping and directing us, God’s treasured possessions, in ways that will proclaim His excellence to a world in dire need of true hope. 

I can’t forecast what  the weather will be next week. It may rain.  I can’t count on sunshine but I can count on grace that will see me through come rain or shine. I can count on God with us, in us, for us, and working through us as we go…

And I can count on God’s goodness and mercy following me all the days of my life till I get to go dwell in His house forever.  This is a hope that changes the way things look!  And it’s one we can count on, always.

–LS

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; 
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
—Lam.3:21-26   [Have a look at the context of Jeremiah’s words for a full appreciation of this hope he professes.  Incredible!]

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
–I Peter 1:3-7

And the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance… “ Numbers 18:20

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. I Pet.2:9

Oh. Almost forgot…this tune I met this week, to share with you…

Faithful Jesus, Cherished Treasure. Our portion. Wisdom. God’s great light.

We’ve only just begun

All Sorts

Graduation celebration weekend has finally come at our house.  I suppose most of the country is done with it but we, being homeschoolers, delayed a few weeks to arrange it around family schedules…Tonight’s the family dinner, the giving of the diploma and the grad gifts.  Sunday’s the reception with friends.  It’s an eagerly anticipated set of days for us all, especially the graduate.

How appropriate then to stand at the beach last night while a visiting student orchestra played Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance.  Triumphant and nostalgic at the same time, it made my eyes tear and my spine straighten to stand proudly remembering all the years, now with this last graduate at my side, for whom this weekend will mark the end and the beginning.

I remember when I was young thinking it strange to here Graduation time  called “Commencement”.  Weren’t we in fact finishing something.  This is what the ceremony is acknowledging right? I couldn’t see then that of more importance was what still lay ahead, and this cap and gown moment was only a blip in relation to the future.

Life is like that.  All of life on this side of heaven is but a blip. C.S. Lewis puts it in these words that I have treasured ever since I first read them to my kids as we concluded the Narnia series.  It is an unusual ending.  The main characters all die.  But this is only the beginning, the commencement really.

“The term is over: the holidays have begun.  The dream is ended: this is the morning…the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.  But for them it was only the beginning of the real story.  All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page; now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read; which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before. “ –The Last Battle, p.173

So I’m sitting here this morning drawing on a bigger perspective before I throw myself into the minutia of preparations. We are made for greater things.  All this, is but a preparation, a practice, a drill at pouring out our energies for His glory, which will be our occupation for all eternity.  It’s not the ‘stuff’ of earth that matters but how we handle it, how we value it, and for whom. Each day matters because He’s made it.  May He be glorified in how we use it too, as we keep our eyes on Jesus and our hearts set on eternity!

These are the verses I’m pondering today:

[Click here to listen to some “Pomp and Circumstance” while you read!]

Rom.8:18-25
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed…

but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Rev.21:3-7
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”  

 

Rev.22: 1-6
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb…

And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.”

Rev.22:12-14
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Blessed are those who wash their robes,  so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

I Jn.2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world….

For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life–is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Rev.22:20,21
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen!

–LS