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We’re going to a wedding this afternoon. It’s a beautiful day for it, but aren’t they all? The first really chilly day of this fall, this one started out gray and rainy but now the sun is shining and the wind is blowing flocks of birds back and forth in the sky.
I always try to make sure that things are really good between Steve and me on the day of a wedding. They usually are anyway, but I never want to hear the vows again and the message and have even one particle of my being that doesn’t say, “I agree with this! I would marry this man again right this minute.”
So today, when he showed up with a bag of shrimp and plopped it into my newly scrubbed and polished sink, I smiled on the outside and struggled with a smile on the inside. And when he offered me some shrimp scampi, I tried to ignore that he’d be cooking it on the cooktop I just scrubbed and concentrated on the sweet gesture.
It’s a struggle picking up and cleaning up after our spouses and little ones sometimes, isn’t it? And I often grumble, “Yeah, I know. I’m submitting. I’m a servant. I’m being cheerful. Right.” while huffing and puffing and frowning on the outside.
But here’s the beauty of that. I’m not really serving my family! I’m serving God. And somehow, I don’t mind doing pretty much anything for Him. So when I carry yet one more load of dirty clothes to the laundry room, I try to remember to tell myself, “Give thanks! God’s given you another opportunity to serve.” Puts sock balls on a whole new level!
Ephesians 6:7
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.
I don’t have much luck with Christmas cactus. So when my friend gave me one at a Christmas party two years ago, I smiled and made a mental note to try extra hard. I put the pot on a shelf in the den where it would get indirect light and watered it tentatively. It lived. Barely. Occasionally it would drop a little branch and I would fuss over it when I watered. We coexisted as wary friends, a little afraid of each other.
In early spring I move my plants outside to do their spring and summer growing. They get strong and healthy enough to survive the dryness of the winter and my apathetic attitude that sets in about mid-January. This year I put the little cactus outside. It thrived and grew to twice its size. When I brought my plants inside this fall, I looked for a special place for the cactus. I put it in the kitchen window to make me smile as I cleaned up supper dishes.
It has been enjoying its new inside spot for almost three weeks now. For some, a blooming Christmas cactus is no big deal. For me, a living Christmas cactus is something. A blooming one is a blessing indeed. Imagine my surprise when I saw little flowers at the end of every single branch! I thought, “Why now?” It’s been outside all summer with loads of sunshine and rain and fresh air.
How many times have I gone through spiritual renewal with prayer and Bible study taking new priority? Faithful for a few weeks, when my life didn’t seem to be getting better, I would give it up. I didn’t give God the time to draw me close, to allow me to get to know Him through his Word. Occasionally He allows us to see a great change immediately or in a very short time. But sometimes, He wants to see our commitment. Are we willing to hang in there with Him over the rough and the good times? Are we willing to commit the time it takes to bloom?
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
I noticed it that time. I was brushing my hair and out came this long sigh. It was a combination of “I have so much to do today”, “I wish I could sleep for a couple of hours” and a little bit of “I feel fairly content.”
They’re usually a mixture, aren’t they? And for every one of them that I hear, probably eight or ten slip by unnoticed.
So many kinds. There are the joints aching, muscle-deep tired sighs. I have to laugh. I’m writing this and my coonhound just exhaled one long, deep sigh. I’m pretty sure hers was an “I’m glad you’re back from Virginia” and “I’m planning to sleep for the next six hours” combo.
There are the deeply unhappy, not-even-enough-energy-to-cry sighs. Some sighs are purely frustrated ones. Often we hear those because we’re doing them out loud so someone else will hear. The “you didn’t do that job as well as I was hoping you would” or the “do I have to tell you to clean your room again?” sighs.
But then there are the good ones – those that would equate to cats’ purrs. The first fire in the fireplace this fall sigh. The “I love Mexican food” sigh. And the “how is it possible to be this happy?” sighs.
And wouldn’t it be great if they were all like that?
For those of us who believe in Jesus’ name, who trust that He died for our sin and rose again, who live like we believe that, there will be a forever of very few sighs. But you can trust that the few that escape our lips will be a beautiful combination of pure bliss, contentment, joy and “I could never have imagined anything this wonderful.” (sigh)
2 Corinthians 5:4; Psalms 38:8,9: Isaiah 51:11
For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life…I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you…And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
It’s the time of year parents breathe that sigh of relief – the kids are settled back into a school routine! And no sooner are the kids established into class than the recess bell rings and a well-known phrase is heard from schoolyard to gymnasium. No fair!
The kid who doesn’t get picked for dodge ball thinks it. The little girl who has been waiting for a swing gets pushed aside by a bigger older fourth-grader. “No fair.” The hard-working introverted young man is denied a promotion given instead to the bright, outgoing young woman. His insides yell it. Our neighbor drives by in yet another new car while we’re patting the dashboard of our old clunker begging it to just start today, please. This is so unfair.
We heard the answer throughout our growing up. We got tired of hearing it. Yet when we became parents and our children ranted against the unfairness of it all, it came so easily to our lips. “Life isn’t fair.”
The only thing that makes us more furious than injustice is our inability to fix it. We stress over unfairness in the workplace, our relationships, possessions and the directions our lives are going. Do we have any hope of ever seeing it made right?
Proverbs 29:26 says, “…but it is from the Lord that man gets justice.” So what are our options? When that driver cuts us off on the interstate, do we chase him down and get him told? Do we instead pray that God will take care of him, make sure he gets a ticket? Is there any way other than stress and worry?
Why not approach life’s little injustices and indignities with God’s help? Is the problem something we can fix by working harder or by dealing sensitively with another person? If not, perhaps the best approach would be to know that God will make it right.
Know that, if He’s not willing to change circumstances this moment, in our next lives He will give us something better. Or we will be so happy we simply won’t care anymore!
Is anger over some injustice done to you at work or to one of your children eating you up inside? Are you dealing with envy over something someone has that you believe you deserve instead? Has the unfairness of this life become a burden that you pick up and carry with you every morning? Lay it down! God knows you better than you know yourself. He will make it right. He’s aware of circumstances you can’t possibly know. He may be protecting you. Trust Him to do what He does. What is in your bag of injustice that you are willing to lay at His feet?
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
