Peace in the Smoke

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities;

for we know not what we should pray

for as we ought; but the Spirit itself

maketh intercession for us with

groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:26

I have come to love the above verse. There have been times in my life when I was so burdened and tried to pray. I either felt like my prayers weren't going beyond the ceiling or that I just didn't know what to pray because of problems or a heavy heart. This verse assures me that when I'm so burdened down, the Holy Spirit knows me so well that He can intercede with the Father for me. The last day or so has been one of those times although I'm praying “on my own” now. For now, many in our small town are going through a time of suffering that as one deacon's wife said, “It's just too sad to even talk about.”

I received the phone call about the fire just before Brian and I had to leave for his doctor's appointment on Monday morning. A friend was dead in a house fire and her three children wonderfully spared, but now left without a mother. As we got into the car, the atmosphere outside was eery. There was a thick white smoke hanging relentlessly over our little community. We live right here in the Smoky Mountains but it wasn't the usual mountain mist we usually see. It was real, live smoke almost as thick as a heavy fog. The burning house was probably a little more than a mile from our house, if that, but the heavy smoke seemed all-consuming.

When a small church is without a pastor like ours is right now, a lot of responsibility falls on the shoulders of the chairman of the board of deacons. We are blessed to have a dedicated chairman in our days of transition. This last Sunday morning while making announcements at the beginning of the service, Donnie told us that because of Thanksgiving day on Thursday, we wouldn't have church on Wednesday night but would have the service on Tuesday evening. Little did we know that in about 15 hours, our deacon chairman would be switching roles, changing hats so to speak, because at 3:00 Monday morning, he would put on his fire chief helmet and would race to a burning house that was already engulfed in flames. There he saw to the rescue of three children, children he knew in our church.

Three young children are now orphaned. That word (orphaned) seems an odd word to use in our day...it seems so outdated. It is, however, a very real state of being for those children. They have hardly adjusted to the death of their father who died of a heart attack at the end of this last July. This was to be their first Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas without their dad but now also without their mom. I can't even fathom what these children ages 5, 8,and 12 are feeling these days even though so many have come near them to express love, concern and to see to their physical needs at the moment. More heavy hearts...more heavy loads.

A community grieves even though this family may not have been well known. The local grade school principal jumped into action. Smoke hung over our little community most of the day Monday...a thick, white, daunting smoke coming from the house that was still burning. The house probably wasn't a half mile across the highway from the school. The principal kept children in the school building all day Monday for all sorts of reasons but done out of respect for all involved. He knew those three children, had been their principal and was now a heavy-hearted principal.

A wonderful, godly, young woman, Jaena, who serves with the youth of our church, and who is also a teacher's assistant at the grade school, took the three children into her care. These children had nothing but the pajamas on their backs when she retrieved them from the site of their burning home. Jaena was so perfect to be ministering to these children until their relatives arrived. The children had tears and probably lots of questions. The young teacher's assistant's heart was heavy anyway as she's such a tender person, but in it all, needed wisdom beyond her years. Folks from our church also came to be of help as well.

I've never lived in a community this small, a community where many are grieving in their own ways. There aren't very many you can talk to who are feeling real upbeat in the face of the holidays. Tragedy has struck, something totally out of everyone's control...a tragedy that seems too hard to comprehend or bear. Maybe if we had more answers, more understanding, we would feel better, but it wouldn't change what the outcome is. We have come to know in this life that these are things that happen in the course of life. This specific thing may not be that frequent but we've all faced incidents in our lives that make no sense. As Christians, we have come to learn, however, that our God can be trusted. He doesn't give us lists of explanations...He's God and always functions in our best interest, even when it doesn't seem like it.

Despite the heaviness of our hearts under any distressing circumstances, our place to run is into the refuge of God's presence. No one else can calm our hurting hearts. Even in the thick smoke of destruction, discouragement or distress, Jesus remains the Best Friend we will ever have. He is the only one that can calm our anxious cares and fears, and we receive that peace in Jesus' presence as we go to Him in prayer. He is our only hope for comfort. He is our peace in the smoke.

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My dear Lord Jesus, thank You for being You. No one in history has suffered as You suffered and You did it for us all. I have friends who are hurting, children suffering so much loss. Many of us at different levels desperately need Your peace and strength in these days. Grant Your wisdom to all involved in this tragedy by giving us Your peace and grace. Help us to find Your peace in the fact that this sweet mother is with You. Amen.

PS:

I thank those of you who have been praying about this situation. When things like this happen, I'm so grateful for the extended family of God that can feel deeply for Christians at a distance they don't know, nor will they know until Heaven. For now, relatives have arrived and taken charge of the children. The court has awarded the children to Kristina's brother and sister-in-law and the children are happy about that from what I've heard. A special fund has been set up at the US Bank that our deacons will supervise. This was done through another godly man from our church, Will, who happens to be the Lt. in the fire department and works at US Bank. The children were left with absolutely nothing, but at this point have many of their needs met along with having the security of the presence of relatives. They have all returned to Georgia for Thanksgiving and will return soon afterward for a funeral service. Kristina will probably be cremated as was her husband and will be buried beside her husband, whose cremains she gently placed in the ground last July. The coroner reported that Kristina's cause of death was smoke inhalation which is a blessing if that is appropriate to say. She was the only alto in our little choir, but will be missed for many reasons. So many of you have written of your prayers and thoughts for the children, our church family, and for our community and I thank you for that. Blessings on you all.

Clotheslines and the Spiritual Life

But be ye doers of the word,

and not hearers only...

James 1:22

Clotheslines are all but extinct from Americana as we knew them. Everyone had clotheslines in their back yards many years ago. We even had special hooks inside our house where we could string plastic clotheslines through them. They facilitated being able to dry clothes inside on rainy days. I really loved clotheslines in the backyard of the first house that I remember living in.

The clothesline supports on both sides of our backyard that held the clotheslines themselves became pretty rickety. I guess I was about four or five years old when my dad decided to take down the old and put up totally new ones. He bought heavy metal pipes that a friend cut for him. Both supports ended up being a “capital T” shape after being welded together. Daddy sunk them into the ground with a good amount of concrete, drilled four holes through each of the two supports and then ran some non-rust line back and forth between the supports. I believe we had the finest clotheslines in the neighborhood. My Mother took great pride in the washing she did EVERY Monday...that was wash day religiously. (It still is for me to this day.)

This is where I must confess that one of those clothes lines wasn't just for clothes. Attached to one of those lines that was kept at the far end of the line was a long rope. You see, I was a wanderer. I knew everyone who lived on our block, front and back. I loved getting on my tricycle, cruising from one place to another just visiting. When Mother finally caught up with me. Kids today don't know what a time out is because when my Mother got me home, she often clipped that rope to a small harness I had to put on. The rope was long enough that I could go to the outhouse or to my playhouse or even to the back porch of our house. It is said that confession is good for the soul so there you have it. My husband claims that I am still a wanderer but so far he hasn't taken any drastic actions.

You don't see clotheslines anymore. In fact, where we lived prior to this small town where we are now, it was illegal by town ordinance to have clotheslines in ones backyard. They were declared a hazard. How on earth did many of us make it to the age we are without the government keeping us safe?

As I was thinking of clotheslines this week, I was comparing them in my mind to my spiritual walk. It's okay for my Dad going to all the trouble he did in putting up the finest clotheslines in the neighborhood, but what, if after all that work, my Mother never hung anything on those lines? The purpose of my Dad's work wasn't just to build clothesline supports with line. It all was meant to serve one primary purpose...dry clothes.

I've thought of my own spiritual walk and what I have or haven't contributed to God's Kingdom in these years since my salvation at the ripe old age of ten. One of those clothesline supports reminds me of my salvation...the one on the other side of the yard, my entry into Heaven. Meantime, there's a lot of line there that I'm supposed to be using, making my contribution to God's Kingdom, using my gifts, talents and abilities for Him. Is there much of anything hanging on the lines of my life that is meaningful, counting for God?

In my neighborhood at the time, most women did their washing on Mondays. In my wanderings, although young, it was easy to see that not all the things hanging on various lines looked the same. Some women just went and hung anything, anywhere. Not my Mother...sheets and pillow cases were hung first, then white or light clothing, color things, towels and then my Daddy's work clothes. Everything was very organized.

The same is true for each of us as we look at our individual clotheslines of Christian service. None of our lines will look the same because we are all so different. We will serve God's purpose in different ways but we are expected to serve God as best we can within His will for us.

I understand that at our various stages of life, our service will change from time to time. Our service at various stages will look different but we should always have things of service hanging from our own personal “clotheslines.”

When younger, some women may be more mobile, have more energy for various forms of activity. The ladies I work with right now are fairly immobile but God always gives us opportunities to serve Him no matter the stage of life we are at. We don't have to get real complicated...there are simple things we can do to serve God that doesn't take a lot of time or energy but can be so meaningful. Some things we can all do:

• Be a prayer warrior. Most churches publish a prayer list or we can establish our own.
• Write a note of encouragement to someone going through a tough time.
• Send cards to shut-ins or someone in or just out of the hospital
• Make a “just thinkin' of you” phone call
• Be ready with a kind, spiritual word to folks out in public you may not even know.
• Be a woman who is daily in the Word of God...learning and growing.

Brian and I were shopping recently. I was exhausted because I'm still not back to full strength after my fall a month ago. It came our turn at a check out counter, and the most delightful lady was our check out person. Many check out people aren't the most congenial especially when they are working very busy weekend days. She was a delight, maybe in her 60's. As we walked away, she said with a big smile, “You two have a blest day now.” I can't tell you in that moment how my spirit was lifted...”A sister in Christ” I said to myself. My spirit was not only lifted, but I was encouraged. As far as I'm concerned, that was as good as a king-size sheet hanging from one of her clotheslines.

We don't just accept Jesus as Savior and wait for Heaven. We are born to serve, to be a blessing between the time of our salvation and when God calls us home. Our service will all be different from each other simply because we ARE different...that's what makes our working and serving together so interesting.

Things hanging on the line aren't to bolster our pride or to keep some kind of ridiculous score. When sincerely serving our Lord, we get to where we don't even know most of what we are accomplishing for Him. Soooo...let's get our personal washing done...let Jesus clean us up and then as clean vessels, let's be the kind of influence our sick ole world needs. It will get to be so natural that serving the Lord will just happen and can be very enjoyable. In the end, it will be the Lord who takes things off of our lines and hopefully says, “Well done.”

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Help me Father, to not only serve You but to love doing it. Give me a heart for others and their needs. I don't want to be a spiritual show off but Your faithful servant. May it be so in Your power and Your power alone. I love you. Amen

Sweet Words From God

We love Him, because He first loved us.

I John 4:19

For years, I have been so grateful for people God has sent my way...people who seem to know what to say, in their own calm, sweet way just when I need it. They don't always know of my need, but that is one of the wonderful ways God works on our behalf. Sometimes these people have spoken words of Scripture to me or have spoken Bible truths so me in their own words that have encouraged and instructed me just when I needed it.

We live in a day when this ministry is so badly needed. We live in a world of cruelty. People take pride in “being up front” with their opinions, will express opinions they know will hurt the feelings of another, speak things that go against one's faith and not always in a loud tone of voice.

There are places in Scripture where I almost feel like I'm curled up in God's lap and He is speaking personally to me, just as I look at His Word.

Most important to me is the old favorite of John 3:16 as He speaks to me of His love so deep for me that He would send His only begotten Son to die for me. Let me tell you...that's love in the truest sense. Not only did God send His son, but His Son Jesus was willing to go to that cross for me.

Some of the sweetest words I have heard from others have been when in my presence they have prayed out loud for me. Such are precious times. I feel loved and uplifted when I hear those sweet, personal words meant to call down God's grace and blessing in my life. In John 17:15, Jesus prayed for me (and you as well) when he said : “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” Now that's a prayer I appreciate. Evil is all around and Satan delights in tripping me up. My desire is to be kept from evil.

Psalm 32:8 is a precious whisper from God to me when He says: I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Wow, the very God of the universe is so personally involved in my life that He wants to teach and instruct me in His way and not only that, He promises to guide me with His eye honed right on me. Very often my problem is that I don't choose to even consult Him regarding His desired direction for me. So glad He doesn't give up on me.

As I write these verses and hear Him personally speak to me, I am convicted of the fact that I don't pause long enough to listen to that still, small voice of His. At the end of Hebrews 13:5 He reminds me that He will never leave me, nor forsake me. There are times I feel pretty lonely. It's not the kind of loneliness another person can cure for me. It's a longing to have a void filled in my life that down deep in my spirit, I know is a need for God and God alone. Along with this in John 14:27, Jesus is so assuring when He says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The world is pulling and tugging at me and you as well. We have probably learned by now that it cannot give us peace no matter how much we seek it. Any peace the world offers you and me is very temporary at best and often very disappointing.

Lastly, Jesus promised me via His Father to supply me with Someone who would come to be very special in my life. In John 14:26 Jesus assured me “the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” When God said He would never leave me or forsake me, He wasn't kidding. At the very moment I accepted Jesus as my Savior, that wonderful Comforter, that third part of God was sent to come into me and take up residence. God knew I could never fully understand His Word but the Holy Spirit could be my teacher. While in me, He can also help me remember the things of God, the teachings of Jesus. With all the work the Holy Spirit has to do in me, one of the most important things He does is serve as my Comforter.

I remember at the end of the days of fall when a young girl that my Mother would get out the flannel sheets and put them on our beds. Those were the warmest, coziest things in the world when you climbed into bed on a cold night. I hated crawling out of them in the morning when the house was cold because the coal stove hadn't kicked in yet. Along with those sheets though, came out the heavier blankets that Mother referred to as comforters. I think of those comforters when I read in John that the Holy Spirit is my Comforter. I could snuggled in those sheets and under a comforter and feel warm, secure and at rest. He has been exactly that in my life.

I think too often, we compare God to earthly relationships when there is no comparison. The fact is that God loves you and me dearly. There is nothing we can do to cause Him to love us less than He does. There is no good thing we can do that can make Him love us more. His love is steady, consistent unlike love we have experienced with human relationships. In fact, Romans 8:39b tells us that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As I curl up with my Heavenly Father, He whispers through His Spirit of His love, sacrifice, peace, leadership, protection and so much more if I will only listen and accept it into my own spirit. We are blessed people to have such a caring, loving Father Who has provided for our every need. In it all, He whispers His love for us, a love beyond comprehension and a love certainly undeserved.

 

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Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Thank You Father for every precious word You whisper to my heart. I love You. Amen

Be Ye Kind

And be ye kind one to another,

tender-hearted, forgiving one another,

even as God for Christ's sake

hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32

As I write this blog, I am very sad. I talked with a lady (that I will refer to as Sarah) who has been a faithful member of my Sunday school class for years, even before I began teaching the class a little over a year ago. At first, I wasn't real sure she liked me very much, mostly because I know I was very different from what she had been used to. I was almost scared of her but determined that I was going to allow God to love her through me, thus I would come to love her in the process. She's a very different personality but I treated her like a good friend and I consider that she became just that in my life.

I learned through the grapevine recently that she's decided to leave our church and thus my Sunday school class. I can't really express what a personal loss this is to me. She's always sat at the far end of the table from me with her Bible open anticipating the lesson of the day. She and I have kidded each other on occasion and after Sunday morning church, she's even kiddingly gotten on Brian's case either telling him to be good or to keep me in line. He's probably the only man in the church she has even slightly kidded with.

After absorbing the blow of the news, I immediately called her and I believe she was anticipating my call. I didn't insult her by beating around the bush. I told her I had heard of her decision and wondered what in the world was going on. She is the one who for a brief time beat around the bush. She has and still does have a difficult life but we didn't discuss that as we have in times past. She spoke of having attended an even smaller church than ours that is here in our town many years ago. She might return to it if she can get transportation. She had attended it when her husband was still alive. I dared to wade out a little deeper with her on the subject and asked her how she would compare the two churches other than in size. Then she bowled me over. She simply said that at this other church, people are kind.

What on earth...where did that come from? Every church has it's elements of unkind people with attitudes. Every church has it's cliques from teenagers to senior saints. I have found the people in our church for the most part to be caring, kind people but I have an advantage of playing the piano and teaching a ladies Sunday school class and Bible Study. Because of those things, I'm more known than my friend who sits quietly alone on the same pew Sunday morning after Sunday morning. She isn't the kind to run around the auditorium during shaking hands time to greet everyone there. Folks would need to approach her. It dawned on me that for the nine years she's been a member of our church, she feels she's never fit in, never really had a spot that was hers. The burdens she bears are so heavy upon her, she doesn't have the energy nor does she have the make-up to launch out on some kind of social venture.

It's so easy for us on a busy Sunday morning to rush to church and then to the areas of our responsibilities to pay much attention to the Sarah's that might be sitting alone, just hoping someone will speak to them. Even in a ladies class of any size, in all probabilities there is at least one lady who desperately needs a friendly word...a little kindness.

How does a dictionary define the word kindness? Some definitions given for it are: good, charitable behavior, pleasant disposition, concern for others, compassion and tenderness.

Any one of those is a very tall order but if that's how a worldly dictionary defines kindness, what must be expected of us in light of Scripture.

Ephesians 4:32 begins with an emphasis on kindness and tenderness but then almost seems to jump to another subject...forgiveness. I am wondering if this verse isn't organized the way it is in order to stress with us that forgiveness is one of the kindest things we can do toward another person. When we are called upon to forgive, it is so little in light of the forgiveness Jesus extended to all from the cross.

In Proverbs 31:26 the special lady that is featured in that chapter and this verse is interesting as well:

She openeth her mouth with wisdom;

and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

Here we see a link between wisdom and kindness. You and I are people of wisdom when we speak using the law of kindness.

In Colossians 3:12, we are given a list of things we are to “put on.”

                                Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,

    bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,

long-suffering...

...and the list goes on. I find nowhere in Scripture where we have permission to ever be rude, egocentric, impatient and yes, unkind.

You know, I'm not concerned about Sarah's salvation. She loves Jesus, loves His Word and is just a good-hearted lady who doesn't have a lot of caring people around her in every day life. I somehow feel robbed...robbed of the privilege of having Sarah in my class and in my life. I'll still stay in contact and pray for the day she might return. I am praying for myself a renewal of sensitivity toward those around me...the loner on the back pew, the stranger I pass in the hall, the tourist (believe me, we have many week after week) who visits our church who may be there with a broken heart and won't let it show. Remember Jesus' words...

...Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one

of the least of these my brethren, ye have

done it unto Me.

Matthew 25:40

I'm so very sorry, Sarah, and will be praying for your return. I miss you more than I can say.

Dear Father, please keep me sensitive to people around me, and not just those at church. Whether in the grocery store, neighborhood or on a mountain trail may I have a kind word and encouraging spirit toward all I meet no matter what my personal burdens may be. Amen