A Matter of Perspective

Rocks have always been an attraction in my life, clear back to times when they were collected and saved as treasures, or pounded with a hammer to reveal what was inside. [Yikes!  That probably wasn’t the safest thing to do, but it’s what happened growing up on a farm!!😂]

Lately, my eyes are always on the lookout for heart shaped rocks for my anticipated “rock garden”.  I have yet to decide where to locate it, but quite often find new rocks to add to the collection.  Along with each new rock there seems to come a lesson.

Yesterday’s rock gave me a lesson on perspective.  It caught my eye with a nice little heart shape smiling up at me, as if it was just yearning to be a part of my rock garden.  I obliged, and pocketed my find, later bringing it back out for inspection.  To my surprise, this is what I saw:

It certainly didn’t have much of a heart shape at all.  What had I seen when I picked it up that made me think, “heart”??  Slowly rotating the rock in my hand, I saw things from a different perspective, and the little heart once again smiled at me:

How often in our lives does this happen?  We observe something happening in our world, offering criticism because we see only one side of the story.  Sadly, very few go out of their way to seek out another perspective before making judgement.  It brings to mind the old saying about “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes”.   Chances are you would gain new knowledge and be a bit less judgmental.

Even in the midst of this current COVID-19 crisis, there is likely much we do not currently see.  Give it time for a new perspective to be revealed, and in the meantime, hang in there!  God is with you!  He is still sovereign over it all!  Be encouraged today by this song by Michael W. Smith:

https://youtu.be/vw5osFG4WZk

The Senses of Spring

It has been an interesting week of weather here in Crosby, ND.  The temperatures have gone up and down, with the lowest temperature being 3 degrees and the highest 57 degrees. A graph of the highs and lows for each days looks somewhat like a zigzag stitch on a sewing machine.  The constant through it all was the wind.  It seemed, if I was patient, the wind would usually die down later in the evening.

On Thursday I had put off walking outdoors due to both the temperature and the wind.  About 5pm my supper went in the oven, and would take about an hour to bake.  After a bit of a "self pep talk" I decided to head out to get in a few steps before supper.

The breeze hitting my face was brisk, not at all what you would traditionally expect for mid-April.  As I walked, however, my senses detected other signs which would put winter in the past.  There was an odor in the air which is evident every spring as our sewage lagoon (a/k/a "The Stink Slough") thaws.  My nose was telling me it was indeed spring.

As I reached the outside edge of town my ears picked up another sure sign of spring. . .the song of one of our state birds, a meadowlark.  How do you describe the sound of a meadowlark?  It is a very distinct song, with a few slow notes, followed by a series of faster notes that trail off.  It is a sound you rarely hear unless you are in the country, or close to it.

Turning back toward home, I was greeted by an ominous dark cloud, reminiscent of the ones seen before a snowstorm. 

The wind had picked up again, and I walked a little faster.  About a block or so later something white began to appear in the air.  They weren't exactly snowflakes, but the little dots of white found a home on my dark purple jacket, indicating not a sign of spring, but a lingering memory of winter.

According to the calendar, spring technically begins on March 20th, but my senses were giving me mixed signals.  Thankfully, however, history tells me eventually all signs will point to spring, and there will be warmer days ahead.

God has certainly blessed us with the ability to observe the world around us.  Eyes to see, ears to hear, a nose to smell, a mouth to taste, and hands to touch and feel.  COVID-19 has limited our ability to interact with others, but there is still so much to capture with our senses.  Take time to get some fresh air this week, and remember to thank God while you're doing so! 
     

A Perfect Heart

A few weeks ago, a friend introduced me to the Facebook Group "A World of Hearts".  Someone came up with the idea of decorating windows with hearts to show "we are all in this [COVID-19 crisis] together".  The group was created to share pictures from all over the country.  The group has expanded past pictures of windows to include hearts spotted in nature, and even a few pets with heart shaped spots have been featured.  If your world feels a little blue, do yourself a favor and search for this group.  A few minutes of scrolling should cheer you up!

One of the posts I especially enjoyed was by a woman who shared a picture of the "rock garden" in her yard.  Over the years, she had collected heart shaped rocks, and now has them gathered together in one spot.  Ever since I was a little girl, rocks have held a fascination in my world, so I went on a mission to start a "heart rock garden" of my own.

After several walks down gravel roads, I found myself with a small tray full of rocks.  Some were easily identifiable as "heart shaped", while others required a bit of imagination to classify them in the category.  In my mind I began pondering where I might place my mini "heart rock garden" in the yard.

This week, on one of my walks, I opted to stay on the main walking path in town, which stretches along what we call the "farm to market" road.  It starts just inside the north entrance to town, and continues to the south edge before coming to an end.  Plans to continue the path around the edge of town were tabled, but hopefully one day will be picked up again!

As I paused for a moment at the end of the trail, I heard this little voice telling me to look down.  "There's a nice heart shaped rock just waiting to be picked up!" was the whisper in my head.  Looking down, I saw nothing resembling the shape of a heart immediately in front of me.  A glance to the right, however, and there it was. . .a rock in the shape of a perfect heart!  It fit nicely in the palm of my hand as I headed back home.

Later, as I was studying the rock, I was reminded of a passage in the Bible about "hearts made of stone".  Ezekiel was prophesying over the nation of Israel, telling them God would gather them from all the countries where they had been scattered.  He told them they would be cleansed from all impurities and idols.  I especially like verses 26-28 in Ezekiel 36, which is the voice of God talking to His people:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.  I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.  You will live in the land I gave your forefathers;  you will be My people, and I will be your God."

Looking again at my rock, I realized it was a perfect example of what our hearts should NOT be.  God doesn't want us to have hardened hearts, but ones that are soft and moldable.  Perhaps this message given to the Israelites many years ago could also be a message for us today.  Could it be God has given us these times of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic to capture our attention and change the state of our hearts?

Take some time to evaluate your own heart.  God is the only one who can shape and mold it into a "perfect heart" filled with love.  As the verses in Ezekiel say, it requires God's Spirit within us to point us in the direction of following God's ways, and the life of Jesus is the perfect example to follow.  God sees each of our hearts, and stands ready to mold and shape them.  Are you ready to let Him?  Sacrifice a portion of your free time to spending time in His Word, and let the process begin!  

Where's Your Focus?

In the Christian world, we are in the middle of Holy Week.  Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, a time we remember the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, riding on the colt of a donkey.  We sang songs of praise, including one using the word, "Hosanna", which was the word used by the people as they cheered, laid their coats on the road, and waved palm branches for Jesus.

Today is known as Maundy Thursday, which is a day set aside to commemorate "The Last Supper" during Holy Week.  This was when Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and shared a meal with them in the upper room.  The word "Maundy" comes to us as an Anglo-French word derived from the Latin word "mandatum", which means "commandment".  It was on this night Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment to love one another, as He had loved them.

Many churches use Maundy Thursday to celebrate communion, but our pastor chose to wait until Good Friday to lead a "social distancing" time of communion over our church's YouTube live stream.  With the evening free, several of us decided to watch, "The Passion of the Christ", a movie produced by Mel Gibson in 2004.

Having watched the movie back then, there were no surprises.  It follows closely to the narrative of the Gospels accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, beginning with Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, and ending with His death on the cross, followed by His resurrection.

Remembering how I felt after watching the movie for the first time, I was hesitant to watch it again.  It is not a fun movie to watch, as it depicts in vivid detail the horrific suffering Jesus endured to bear the sins of the world.  It is easy to read over the Biblical accounts during the Easter season, but seeing them played out before you on a screen with real people displaying real emotions is not so easy.

You see the remorse of Judas when he realizes what he has done in betraying Jesus.  You see the fervor of the crowds as their cries of "Hosanna" changed to "Crucify Him!"  You see the heavy heart of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she watches her son falsely accused and unfairly beaten.  You see the sorrow of Peter when the rooster crows, knowing he has denied Jesus three times.  Hardest to bear are the actions of the guards and soldiers as they mistreat Jesus, and nearly beat Him to death prior to sending Him to the cross.  Through it all, you see the love of Jesus as He knows He must endure to fulfill His destiny.

To many people, Easter is a word which brings to mind bunny rabbits, baskets, and egg hunts.  Although these things were a part of my Easter experience through the years, I always knew the main focus of Easter needed to be remembering the death of Jesus on the cross, and on the third day, finding an empty tomb.

This year we are in the midst of a different kind of "crisis" with the coronavirus capturing the majority of our attention.  We watch the news reports, we read about it on social media, we wonder how long this season will last, and we long for a return to spending time with our family and friends.  Easter will feel a bit different this year, but perhaps God has allowed all of this to recapture our focus.  We have been so caught up in our own agendas, we fail to take time to seek the plan He wants us to follow.

Tomorrow will be Good Friday.  Use the time to re-read the Gospel accounts of the journey of Jesus to the cross.  If you have access to "The Passion of the Christ", set aside a couple of hours to immerse yourself into the story.  Feel the weight of your sin as it was placed on Jesus, and the freedom that comes from knowing Jesus was right when He said, "It is finished."  Satan has been defeated, and our forgiveness is paid for.

Yes, Easter will feel different this year, but the story will end with the same news of, "He has risen from the dead!"  Taking our eyes off the things of this world, and turning them to Jesus will give us peace, comfort, and the assurance He is with us, whatever we face down the road! 

It’s a Puzzle!

About the time we began isolating because of the coronavirus, I began working on a puzzle.  It was 1,000 pieces, and was a picture with the title, “I Am the Light”.  The original artwork was the work of a man by the name of Danny Hahlbohm, and was copyrighted in 1999.  The picture features a lighthouse overlooking stormy waters, with the silhouette of the hands of Jesus outstretched on either side.  It was a message I needed to be reminded of often over the past couple of weeks!

As I was working on finding spots for the last pieces, I felt God telling me, “See, it all came together. Each piece had a purpose in completing the finished picture, and so it will be when we look back on the story of a strange virus invading the world, disrupting lives in 2020.”  It sure would be nice to figure out how the pieces of THAT puzzle fit together, but for now I must concentrate on the most common words I hear from God when I question Him.

1) Do not fear
2) Trust Me
3) This will all work together for good in the end

This evening our daughter had an interesting post on her Facebook page.  Apparently, she was helping her daughter clean her room, and came across a note written in bright green marker in the 10 year old’s handwriting.  She gave her mom permission to share, so I’m hoping she doesn’t mind Grandma sharing it, too;

"Faith's 4 Step Reminders for Trusting God"

1. Talk to God about each need.

2. Believe that God will meet each need.

3. Choose to have a good attitude.

4. Praise God for His helping you.

My assignment for the week. . .and yours. . .is remembering to focus on these lists and the One who inspired them. . .JESUS, who is THE LIGHT that will guide us through this storm, however long it might last!

Unexpected Blessings & Thumper Theology

Winter came back around this week, after the weather teased us with a taste of spring.  It is what usually happens in North Dakota this time of year.  A dusting of snow, and single digit temperatures made for a couple of indoor walking days for me.  Our church basement turned out to be a great place to pound out the steps, with my usually walking track closed.

Today the sun finally returned, and the temperature rose a bit, so after our pizza meal I decided to take an outdoor walk to finish up my daily steps before retiring with my husband for a movie date.  Upon returning home, I was blessed with a surprise on my doorstep.  A woman in our community makes her own vanilla, and she left me a container of it, along with some lemon almonds.  A deep whiff of the vanilla set my heart singing, as it reminded me of baking with my mother.  It was like a compounded blessing, and I am so thankful for her thoughtfulness!

As I thought about her "random act of kindness" it challenged me to think about what I could do to spread a little cheer during this time of isolation.  I would challenge you to do the same.  We each have ways of sharing. . .even from a distance. . .and all it takes is a bit of creativity.  Perhaps you can think of someone to call on the phone, or be old fashioned and write a letter.  Do you like to bake?  Mix up a batch of something, and share with your neighbor.  You can do as my friend did, and just leave it by the front door, or consider ringing someone's doorbell and backing up for a "six feet away" visit.

It has been interesting to see how creativity has made its way into the world of Facebook, too.  Suddenly there are all kinds of ideas of how to connect us better.  Whether it is listing jobs you used to have, or answering questions about your past, it is a way of getting to know one another.  Lately there has also been a virtual "I Spy" game going on where people are asked to share a picture from their album featuring a suggested color.  It gives you a peek into people's lives you perhaps wouldn't have under normal circumstances.  One thing isolation does is create in us a hunger for community.

Along with the fun games, however, there are also those continuing to post what they feel is wrong in the world.  I've learned long ago there are always two sides to every coin, and generally the same people band together behind each of the conflicting sides.  Generally, it is best to not get involved in a debate, but this week I ventured into shark filled waters trying to prove a point.  Instead of changing anyone's mind, it just created more negative comments.

It got me thinking about Thumper the bunny in the Disney movie "Bambie".  At one point he is quoted as saying his father told him, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all".  Perhaps the world would be a better place if we all adopted this way of thinking!

[For the advice coming straight from the bunny's mouth, follow this link: Thumper Quote]