Therefore, since we are encompassed with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.  Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.       Hebrews 12:1-2

I am not a motorcycle driver, but I have ridden bicycles quite a lot in the past. The saying is that where your head goes, there goes the bike. I even notice that in driving a car. If I look down for just a second or two, my car starts to drift a little bit. Hence the reason for no texting and driving! The point is, if we start to look in another lane, we might just drift into it.

The same might be said for worrying about, or weighing in on, things that are not ours to worry about. If we stay in our own lane, we can save ourselves a lot of worry, and even potential harm. The apostle Paul reminded his readers to keep their eyes on Jesus as we complete the race that is set before us. Keeping our eyes ahead of us, in the lane in which we are running, keeps us focused.

That does not mean that we ignore the needs of other people- not by any means. What it means is that we are not to be distracted by things that we cannot influence or control. Keeping our eyes on the prize is the best way to compete, and to run our race in this life faithfully and honorably.

Prayer: Lord, help us to keep our eyes on the prize you set before us, Amen

 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples  to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:  The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.  Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

Matthew 11:2-6

We are told in the passage above that Jesus answered John’s question with the results of his presence on earth. Jesus did not reply, “Yes, it is me, the one whom you have been prophesying abut for years”. Jesus replied essentially, “See the results, this is what has been my mission from the beginning!”

In other words, Jesus proves his claim as Messiah from what he had been producing as he walked among the people. In a court of law, people expect proof, not promises of good behavior. Jesus knew there were sceptics, and even John the Baptist asked the question, “Are you the one?” Indeed, John was in prison when he asked the question, so he was well aware that proof was needed in that hostile environment. So, Jesus gave proof of his ministry.

Jesus started his ministry with the words from Isaiah 61, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.” Jesus came to give hope and healing to a broken world. He comes to the poor and broken, and he gives proof that he is the Messiah.

John the Baptist was convinced, and so am I.

Prayer: Lord, we know the truth because you have delivered on your promises, Amen

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.

 Psalm 31:9

I have had occasions, in recent years, to discuss the idea of “anticipatory grief” with a number of my clients. This is a common, but often unexpressed phenomenon whereby we are witnessing the decline of a loved one and having uneasy and sometimes inexplicable feelings associated with such decline. It is a form of grieving, but it is often not labeled as such.  

Clients may feel anger toward their loved one, and sadness, but may feel guilty for such thoughts. I explain to them that they are grieving a loss. They are experiencing all those feelings of loss before their loved one passes away. They are, sometimes unwittingly, preparing themselves for a devastating loss. They begin to understand that this is a protective feature, preparing them for the eventual, inevitable actual loss of the one they love.

Once we can explain and reframe this idea, they can see that such grieving is really a measure of how much they love their friend/relative/partner. The anger that they may feel of losing such a dear person is actually a form of grief. Grief almost always includes anger of some type, sometimes an inexplicable feeling, but anger nonetheless.   

Being able to label such feelings can be very helpful in accepting them. We feel loss, even before our loved one actually passes from this earth.

Anticipatory grief.

Prayer: Lord, you have made us to love deeply, and that involves all of our range of emotions. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, Amen

 

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!    Mark 9:24

Sometimes we make definitive statements which are too black and white. Sometimes, in order to try to understand the world, we break things into “either/or” categories. That often is too simplistic. Life is nuanced, and there are simply areas of life that cannot be broken into such clear categories.

An example I see is in the area of “certainty”. Living in a certain amount of ambiguity is uncomfortable. We want an answer. In our faith journey, we often want simple yes or no, black or white answers. Yet, I think there are plenty of things which do not lend themselves to easy answers.

Having faith does not mean that we have no doubts. I would argue, that without doubt, there is no need for faith. If everything is simply a matter of blind faith, we leave no room for the discomfort of doubt, the challenge of doubt, that can actually strengthen our faith. I believe that our faith can stand the scrutiny of sincere questioning.

In an earlier post, I made this statement relative to prayer: “We all have doubt, I take that as a given. However, it confirms our faith each time we pray. It affirms our faith, however shaky it may be. Faith, even as small as the mustard seed, is shown when we open our mouth to utter His name.”

The principle here is that we act on faith, even if we are not fully on board. No faith is perfect, but whatever faith we do have must be exercised to become real. It is a counseling principle that we “Do, then feel”- meaning, if we do good and right behaviors, we will begin to feel better. We cannot wait to feel better to start acting better.

So, you have doubt, I have doubt. Let’s not let that get in the way of exercising that small faith that we do have. “I believe, help my unbelief”

Prayer: Thank you Father for giving us the mind to have doubt. Thank you for the grace to give us such space. Thank you for the gift of faith and the room for doubt. Amen

As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:13-14 (NKJV)

I love Psalm 103 where the writer indicates that God “pities us like little children”. That language from the New King James translation is so poetic and poignant that it bears repeating to ourselves. The truth is, God is like the loving father of a toddler who is just taking her first steps. She is tentative and awkward, and she falls frequently in trying to get to her waiting daddy who is on his knees beckoning her.

He does not scold her for falling, or not having the competence to walk correctly yet. He encourages her “c’mon honey, you can do it, come to daddy!” That is the picture I have of our heavenly Father. He pities us like little children, he knows our failures and weaknesses, yet he encourages us toward him.

Yep, that is the Daddy we all need.

Prayer: Lord, we are grateful for your love and patience, Amen

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.  As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;but they were kept from recognizing him.  He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

The whole passage is found in Luke 24:13-35

One of the passages of the Bible that to me is truly instructive of positive and healing interaction with people is the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. This took place right after his resurrection. He encountered Cleopas and his traveling partner (probably the writer of the story, Luke) as they were walking together, dejected after the death of Jesus. They had not heard that Jesus was risen, so they were very dispirited and grieving.

As they walked along, they were joined by a fellow traveler- Jesus- yet they did not recognize him at the time. Jesus inquired about their state of mind, knowing that they were grieving. We see in the answer of Cleopas that he displayed the irritability of those who are grieving. He responded to Jesus by essentially saying (in my poetic license of modern-day response) “Man how could you miss what happened here in the last week? What’s wrong with you!”

Jesus let him go on to explain how he felt. Jesus could have said to him “Your troubles are over, it’s me, Jesus, I arose from the dead!” But of course, Jesus did not. He let Cleopas talk to express his pain. Jesus kept Cleopas talking as they went along. He later explained to Cleopas why all these events had happened so that the redemption story could be fully played out. Jesus became the one who comforted them with the truth. Jesus stayed with them, and in due time, revealed himself to them- when they were ready for it.

Jesus was the master at knowing people, knowing what they needed, and then how to give them that complete and satisfying answer to their needs.

Great mental health principles in the Bible don’t you think?

Prayer: Lord, you have given us Jesus, the great healer and friend, Amen

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.                                                                                                                                        I Corinthians 13:12

I had a discussion with a client the other day about the roads we did not take in life. We all have decisions that we make every day, and some are more impactful than others. Truthfully, all are important. We talked about decisions he had made- roads traveled- that have brought him into this place in his life.

We both began to wonder, “what about those roads we did not take?” Indeed, there were some paths that we chose somewhat unwittingly. Some, where clearly God had laid out for us directions of which we could not possibly have known the ultimate impact.

Sometimes we call it luck, and the truth is, chance does play a part sometimes. Often, we have been led on paths where we simply took the next step, and God went ahead and paved the road for us. Sometimes, one little step in the wrong direction may have derailed our whole life. Simple decisions- that is they seemed simple at the time- may have changed the course of our entire life.

It is good to reflect back on how God intervened in places where we could not have known the ultimate outcome. My belief is that if we look back closely, we can see an invisible hand that guides us even when we don’t know it is there.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for directing my path, even when I did not see your hand in it, Amen

He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.                                  Proverbs 3:34

Just a brief note on the passing of Pope Francis last week. He was a simple, humble, yet profound man, leader of the largest group of Christians in the world, and underappreciated in his time. He opted for simple things, favored the poor and marginalized, and emulated his namesake Francis of Assisi.

We do not truly appreciate the great among us while they are alive, and I expect that this is a typical human trait. Maybe we feel freer to lionize people after their death. Perhaps we do not really recognize greatness until it is passed. Such a shame.

I will have more to say on Pope Francis later, but for now- we already miss you.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the life and witness of Pope Francis, your beloved son, Amen

God guards you from every evil, he guards your very life. He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always                                   Psalm 121:7-8

Do you feel protected? When I read this verse, I wasn’t so sure that we always feel protected. We go through times in life when we feel especially unprotected. There are times, I’m sure, that my readers have felt this way. Indeed, you may feel that way right now. You may be going through a physical, emotional or spiritual challenge where you are feeling unprotected, or even unseen by God. I think this is a common, even expected response at times in our life. Yet, when we think about it, if we did not have ultimate protection from God, where could we turn?

We are being protected by our immune system, by the ozone layer in our atmosphere, by our frontline workers such as police and firefighters, by physicians and healthcare workers, and by certain governmental institutions. We are being protected by friends, family, and at times even strangers.  

Finally, we are being protected by unseen spiritual beings- angels if you will- in ways we do not understand. Yes, it does not always feel like we are being protected, but indeed, the protection we have, seen and unseen, is real and is part of God’s provision for us.

Prayer: Lord, we trust in your provision for us, both seen and unseen, Amen

You cleared the ground and tilled the soil, and we took root and filled the land.                 Psalm 80:9

I dug up this old piece which I had written for a newspaper column titled Point of View many years ago. This is timeless, I think, in that farming and gardening are ever old and ever new. Thought I’d share it for a summer read,

Blessings!

            I have been doing my personal therapy this weekend. I have been spending time doing something that clears my head and renews my soul – I have been working in my garden.  I was digging up the vegetable garden, planting flowers, working on our new pond (another whole column I think), and spreading mulch. While my body aches, it is a good kind of pain, because you see, working in the soil is a healthy thing.

            People who plant gardens, be they flower or vegetable gardens, tend to be people who have a healthier, more realistic view of life.  Why do I say this?  Let’s look at what is involved in planting flowers.  First, there has to be an intention to do so, which involves planning and forethought.  Flower gardeners appreciate the beauty of color, and they usually have a desire to improve the looks of their home as well as their neighborhood.  That means that they care about what is going on around them and they want to be a part of making their environment just a little nicer.  Then there is the satisfaction they get by having their early Spring vision rewarded with emerging little plants.  Where there had been nothing but soil now bursts with very visible life. 

            Another noble aspect of gardeners is their desire to nurture life.  When you plant flowers or vegetables, you need to be prepared to nurture and protect the young plants from bugs and those ever-present rabbits.  This takes vigilance and care, and a real desire to see a tender and nearly helpless plant survive.  Gardeners will pay a price in both time and money to see their plants through the dangers of predators, disease and weather hazards.

            Vegetable gardeners have the added incentive and motivation of eating the fruits of their labor. Those vegetables taste better than anything in the world when they come from your own garden, partly because the gardener knows how hard he or she worked to get to that point.  Vegetable gardeners know too that they are not really saving money by growing their own vegetables, they are satisfying a rather deep-seated urge to care for themselves by growing their own food.

            Finally, all gardeners work in the soil partly because they like to work. They see physical work as healthy and good.  They don’t mind getting dirty, and in fact, probably enjoy being that close to the earth.  Stooping and sweating become acts of love which minister to their overall sense of well-being.  They are creating something, at the same time knowing that there are numerous factors, weather etc., which can wipe out their work. That, of course, is part of the challenge.  They know that they are ultimately not in control of what happens, but they willingly extend themselves in an uncertain venture for physical as well as spiritual rewards.

            This sounds a lot like life to me.  God bless the farmers and gardeners of the world.  They live in the rhythm of life.