3rd Day of Christmas: Song of Faith

SCENE:
Behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)

SYNTAX:
Faith.
Belief 
that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence

SONG:
Mary is kind, gentle and pure.
No thoughts of deceit, that’s why I chose her.
But, when she told me what she’d heard and seen,
the story was really too amazing to believe:
that God was going to send His Son
to be born of a woman, and she was the one?
Betrothed to be married, but now with child,
She would be accused, the baby reviled.

Then in a dream the angel came to me, too
with a message that all Mary said was true.
God’s only Son was growing in her womb
and I was blessed to raise Him as my own.
A carpenter by trade, a simple life to trod,
how can I be father to the Son of God?
I’ll make her my wife, the one you have given.
I’ll embrace this child of grace, this tiny view of heaven.

I’ll trust You to be faithful in spite of such a scandal.
I know you won’t give us more than we can handle.
Lord, I believe even though I can’t see.
Your word is enough, whatever the end will be.

SEARCH:
 Since my children were born, we’ve been on the continual mission of teaching them to obey.  As the boys are growing older, they are learning more and more about playing together, sharing, and taking turns–habits hard to master even for adults sometimes.  One of our challenges is to teach them to let Mommy and Daddy handle the moments of conflict, rather than giving in to whining, angry outbursts or tussling over toys.  The learning steps along the way reiterate how important fairness is, how important it is to carefully hold the wishes and desires of each child equally, and how easy it would be to instill jealousy and a competitive spirit without even realizing it.  I’m reminded that obedience is so much easier when you trust the one you’re asked to obey.

It’s amazing to think of how courageous Joseph was to accept the calling God had for him, taking on the challenge of a scandalous marriage and child–not to mention the daunting task of being a surrogate father to God’s son.  Although we don’t know much about him, he was obviously a man of action.  There was no wavering in his commitment to obey God.  We can see it in his willingness to take Mary as his wife after the angel’s visit, despite what I’m sure the “neighbors” would say.  The neighbors weren’t privy to an angel message.  Joseph was willing to have them think ill of him, to accuse him of wrong, to whisper behind his back.  His faith was so deep that he was willing to lose his reputation to obey.  He didn’t need to justify his own innocence.  He didn’t need to disavow the rumors.  He was able to trust that God’s path was leading somewhere worthy, no matter how incredulous it seemed.  It’s a stark contrast to the appearance-focused culture we live in, where every hint of opposition or unpopularity must be assuaged.  Where every out-of-vogue, politically incorrect gesture must be decried.  Where every decision must be weighed against the opinion of those speaking the loudest.  For Joseph, it was enough that God approved his task.

Evidence of Spring

It’s late October and in Mississippi, just today, we’ve started to get a touch of truly Fall weather.  I believe it’s the first day that the temperature is expected to stay in the mid-sixties with a low in the lower forties tonight.  It’s cloudy and a little drizzly.  My boys are excited to have our pumpkins and scarecrows out on the porch and throughout the house.  I’m one of those decorate-for-every-season types, and I love this time of year.  My birthday is October 28th, so the month has become almost like New Year’s Day for me. Internally, it represents family celebrations, the start of a season of evaluating the year, a relief from the oppressive doldrums brought on by summer’s heat, and a renewed, crisp attitude toward the tasks at hand. Although the rest of the world outside may be preparing for a season of dormancy, Autumn always seems more like a fresh start for me–sort of like Spring in October.  

This October, however, there has been a dampening of my enthusiasm and spirit.  I’ve been a little down-trodden, wrestling with my insides and trying to navigate a challenging time for our family.  An amalgamation of overwhelming financial and work concerns, confusing parenting concerns and the upcoming bittersweet end of my maternity leave has shaken my defenses against discouragement.  I can normally readily find hope and faith despite the challenges, but this October I feel shaken.  We are at a time when it is hard to discern what God is doing in our lives, where he is taking our family.

This morning I read a post from a friend and fellow-blogger that was like rain for me.  It brought fresh evidence of God’s hand and reminded me of one of my favorite re-aligning, faith-building verses:

“So, let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.  His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.” (hosea 6:9)

Kristi writes a blog called To Walk on Fertile Ground and has also published a book with the same title about her walk with God through cancer and infertility.  The post marks the 5-year anniversary of the day she found out she had cancer on the heels of a molar pregnancy.  Her walk through the experience has truly been inspiring.

Three astounding sentences produced a shower in my soul:

It’s been 5 years ago today that cancer entered my life, which took me on a new path of unexpected joy, peace, and grace.  And today, I am thankful for that unexpected time in my life.  That’s when I began planting a new garden that daily teaches me how to live a fertile life through my infertility.

What a powerful and rare statement.  In it, God came to me like rain, just as the verse said.  It was an encouragement to look for a path of joy, despite the confusion, conflict or worry around me.  It was a challenge to embrace even the unseen path with the full understanding that our Creator and Savior is certain–as certain as the dawn.  Rain brings about hope, refreshment, growth, and bloom.  Even those of us with children have glaring areas of infertility in our lives.  They are areas where we feel stifled and stagnant, or where the hope of beautiful blooms has been choked by weeds of despair, uncertainty, sorrow or confusion.  Facing that overgrown ground, I must press on with God, even if it takes a little convincing and arm-twisting.   There is hope.  Those areas can be cultivated into abundant, fertile gardens for His glory.   Only He can provide the nourishing rain necessary to sprout the blooms.  And, He will.

God, Now

“I can’t wait until Squiggle Man can use his words.”

“I can’t wait until Drummer Boy learns to use the big potty.”

“I can’t wait until the business starts to be more consistent.”

“I can’t wait to see Baby Girl M on the outside.”

“I can’t wait until this summer heat is gone.”

Sometimes I spend so much time looking forward to a time when things will be different that I miss the daily joy and blessing of now.  We swore we wouldn’t do that with our children–getting caught up in anticipation of the next stage.  And, usually that’s the easy one.  Even in trying moments, we are still able to say “not yet!”  We are anxious to see the boys’ next steps, but not too quickly.  We can see the joy in soaking up all the current stage has to offer in sweet moments, cute sayings, wide-eyed grins and the fact that they still want to give us hugs and kisses.

It’s the other life situations that get us.  Those grown-up struggles with work, money, relationships–life–are the ones about which we can so easily say “there’s nothing to gain here.” We get tired and frustrated.  We want to move on.  We can’t envision joy, happiness or blessing in the given circumstances.  It’s like we’re in perpetual intermission, waiting for the next act to begin.

I’m reminded of a simple prayer my mother has often prayed:  “Lord, help me to learn quickly.”

It carries with it the basic understanding that there is a purpose in every situation.  There is something valuable to learn that can move us further along to a place of joy.  When the circumstances are tough, when they are hard to endure, all we can do is learn quickly.  Glean what God has for us so that He can move us forward.  Finding the purpose means finding the blessing.  Now.

“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord.” (psalm 27:13-14)

God is good now.  His promises aren’t confined to streets of gold.  I can experience His abundance, His eternal joy and peace here on earth today–in my real life, regardless of the circumstances.  I CAN “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”  It is available immediately.

If I spend my days on earth waiting to be happy, and I measure that happiness by the people, jobs and things in my life, then I will live in perpetual disappointment.  If I can learn to see the goodness of the Lord where I am living now (rather than where I might be), then I will fall on my knees in gratitude for what He has given me.  I can learn to be content and accept the wisdom He has for me in THIS moment.  I will not spend my energy complaining or hoping for a better day.  I will not be so presumptuous as to discount the gifts of the Lord because they are not what I had in mind.  I can trust Him to fulfill my desires, and flourish within His blessings.

For the wonder of each our
of the day and of the night
hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
sun and moon, and stars of light:
Christ our God,
to Thee we raise
this our hymn
of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild:
Christ our God,
to Thee we raise
this our hymn
of grateful praise.

“For the Beauty of the Earth”
by Folliot Pierpont

“Increased Religious Security”

Cultural Context:  The explanation given in a FoxNews.com article by C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, for some of the findings about Americans and Religion from a Pew Forum study surveying 35,000 adults.  The results of the study were recently released. The quote:

“It shows increased religious security.  People are comfortable with other traditions even if they’re different.  It indicates a level of humility about religion that would be of great benefit to everyone.”

Really?  Hmmm…

What does it mean to be secure?  
My dictionary widget tells me that “secure” means 

• fixed or fastened so as not to give way, become loose or be lost
• not subject to threat, certain to remain or continue safe and unharmed
• protected against attack
• safe, stable and free from fear or anxiety
• certain to achieve

When I read the article highlighting some of the Pew findings, the word “security“  as revealed in these definitions did not spring to mind.  In fact, my first thought was “all over the map.”  Reading the article was a study in contradictions.  Looking at some of the actual statistics, there seems to be no mistaking the rampant confusion that exists with Americans regarding their own professed religious “beliefs”.  We have become a belief-addicted culture ready to accept anything because the act of “believing” is the answer.  Just believe.  The object of belief apparently doesn’t factor in. 

Some of the statistics:

70% of those with a religious affiliation said there was more than one way to gain eternal life (even when that belief was contrary to their own professed religion’s teachings).  This percentage includes 57% of evangelical christians, 83% of protestants, 79% of catholics, 82% of Jews and 56% of Muslims.

Don’t even bother picking a “way” because they all lead to the same place.  Don’t bother learning what your own religion believes.  You don’t have to believe to believe.  Just believe.

92% of those studied professed belief in God.  But 1 in 4 also express doubts about His existence.
21% of professed athiests said they actually believed in God – 8% are “absolutely certain” of it

Not believing just doesn’t measure up to believing.  Make no mistake, it takes just as much faith to believe there isn’t a God as it does to believe there is one.  For sure, almost the same percentages in both camps have achieved the same level of confusion about the issue.  Oh, who needs that kind of scrutiny?  It doesn’t matter if you jump around from one belief to another.  Just believe.

44% of those with religious affiliations felt their religion should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices, but many believe in multiple interpretations of their religion’s teachings.

Keep the old ones, interpret new ones?  It doesn’t matter.  Just believe.

D. Michael Lindsay (of Rice University) offered a very astute evaluation of the report:

“The survey shows religion in America is indeed, 3000 miles wide and only three inches deep.”

Not exactly the picture of stability.  At three inches, we have no roots, no foundation.  Without a full depth of truth, we have no hope to withstand being “tossed about by every wind and wave” (ephesians 4:14) and the rudderless doubt that inevitably ensues.

It seems that Mr. Gaddy’s coveted “humility about religion” really translates as a meandering lack of commitment.  In our culture, commitment has now been deemed intolerance, and a lack of commitment has been transformed into a virtue.  This mentality grossly underestimates the God-given mental capacities of human beings and completely negates the political ideals we so stringently seek to uphold.  To imply that non-commitment is the only viable option in maintaining “tolerance” is preposterous.  To assume that a person can’t whole-heartedly disagree with another’s beliefs without persecuting him is a complete injustice to “freedom” of religion.

When, in our culture, did it become questionable to stake yourself, your words, your money, your free time — your life on something you believe and stick to it?  

Alexander Hamilton said “Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”
Hook. Line. Sinker.

Accidental Profundity

Quote of the day:  “Lies are the new facts”

It took me a few minutes to digest this statement when I read it.  After all, it reportedly came from a segment on “Live with Regis and Kelly,” not the place I would normally expect to hear poignant social evaluation.  But, the more I thought about it, the more astounded I was at just how profound a commentary on our culture the statement really is.

The Context:  During an appearance on the “Live with Regis and Kelly” television program, actress Gina Gershon described a Vanity Fair article that hinted she’d had an inappropriate relationship with former president Bill Clinton as a “crazy, outright lie.”  She further commented that such media stories should never make it into print, but in the common media culture today, “lies are the new facts.”  (See my post on President Clinton’s reaction to the article.)

We often hear these kinds of statements implying more cosmetic shifts in the general perspective — observations like “forty is the new thirty,” or “brown is the new black” — but, never broadened to the all encompassing analysis of true versus false. Continue reading »