By the end of May the Covid threat was lessening, so when aunt ‘Chelle called to recruit blueberry pickers, grandson #3 and I jumped at the chance. It was a gorgeous day. Didn’t matter that we had to drive twenty minutes. Didn’t matter that they had to take our temperature. We were free, our masks were off, and the blueberries were plentiful. Armed with the secret to efficiency—attach your pail to your belt so you can use both hands—we found a row to ourselves.
Paul was on a roll: Mark my words! (5:2), you foolish Galatians! (3:1). They were in Christ by faith; so are we. They were set free by Christ for freedom (5:1); so are we. They were called to be free (5:13), as are we. High time we, along with those Galatians, put our own personal exclamation marks on Paul’s words.
Ladies, I have to admit—it’s the being free in this world of ours with its expectations that gets tricky. And way back then, a mere fifteen or so years from the cross, Paul’s friends in Galatia were being burdened by the rule-making of the religious zealots. Considering that God’s concept of freedom in Eden with its one rule had spiraled down to the 613 Torah plus multi oral laws by Jesus’ time, it was not surprising. Faith was too easy. Let’s add a little circumcision here, some dietary restrictions there, a few of the old feast days. Then you will be saved for sure.
Ladies, to be free it is imperative we grasp the very essence of our gift of freedom from the Father who called you by the grace of Christ (Galatians 1:6).
Feeling cooped up has been a universal experience this year. Sometime around the end of April I distinctly remember sitting on the back porch, listening to the sweet melody of the myriad of little birds feasting on my loquat tree—oh, to be a bird and fly free! It is at times like this that freedoms tug.
I enjoy sunsets from a pink chair in the shade of an ancient Pine. I prop my feet up on rusty barbed wire that runs straight through that tree. A deep gash spans ten feet up the side of this warrior Pine—damage from a lightning strike. Even though the wound is deep, bark has grown over it allowing the tree to survive. Nevertheless, I sense the tree’s groaning from the wound and the wires. Paul sensed this also when he wrote that creation will one day be set free from the bondage of corruption. Until then, all creation is “groaning together with labor pains” (Romans 8:22 CSV).
A brief prayer in the memoirs of Ezra reveals a poignant concept about prayer. Ezra resided in Persia along with thousands of other misplaced Hebrews. His prayer praised God for what He had done. Ezra prayed, Praise Yahweh the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s mind to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and who has shown favor to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officers (Ezra 7:17 CSSV). This is a huge praise! The king of Persia (modern Iran) had given permission for Ezra and other Jewish leaders to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city.
Jeremiah, the prophet, only recorded two prayers in his book of prophecy. I especially enjoyed studying the occasion for one of those two prayers. God had asked him to do something that appeared incredibly illogical. Jeremiah obeyed, then wrote down his prayer. He began with a reminder to himself that the God who made the heavens and the earth could, obviously, do anything. Jeremiah then stated his question to God, “The Babylonians are outside the walls of Jerusalem and about to destroy everything and take us captive. Why, then, did you have me purchase this piece of property with silver near Jerusalem and record the transaction on a sealed scroll with witnesses?”
King David brings a vulnerability to his prayers. We glimpse the heart of a poet as he pours out his thoughts to the Lord. I’ve spent several days meditating on the last verse of Psalm 138 and discovered great comfort. David confronted fierce battles once again. While fleeing from his enemies, he found solace in an important area of his understanding of God—God has a purpose for his life!
I’ve begun a different type of journey-through-the-Bible. I’m studying each of the 222 prayers. Imagine, of all the prayers spoken through the ages, God selected these specific ones to record. I’m focusing on the types of things people prayed for and how God responded. It’s a rich and rewarding pilgrimage.ho
“Don’t blink,” said the technician at the ophthalmologist’s office. Bright flashes of light made it almost impossible not to blink. I thought, “How long will this last?”
Find the moon in the sky before dawn.
Allow the sun to nourish you.
Study the hues and tones of God’s chosen colors in a sunset.
Listen to bird conversations.
Feel the breeze.
Don’t work, don’t talk, just be still and listen.
Wait for renewal, strength and peace to be restored.
Hidden smiles on masked faces.
No friendly hugs or handshakes.
Economic instability.
Social unrest.
Looming danger.
Just like that –– our lives changed.
The fears and frustrations we feel are real.
We cope.
Our patience is tested.
We experience loss.
We regroup.
The Word of God, our unchanging foundation, remains the same and is true.
The young man sitting across the table confided, “When I was twenty-five, I thought I knew everything and was bullet proof. Nothing could hurt me, and no one could teach me anything. In the past few years I’ve discovered neither of those was true.”
When my grandchildren were little, we vacationed one summer at the beach. During that week I rediscovered the simple joy of building sandcastles.
I sank into the overstuffed rocker and massaged my throbbing forehead.
For the past few days I’d been obsessing over a difficult situation. Not only did I think about it all day long, I woke up during the night to think about it some more. I kept chewing on the situation like a dog gnawing on a bone.
As a young wife and mother, I thought I had the perfect blueprint for our family. My intention was to have two children. No more. Within a few years we had two wonderful little boys. When I learned that I was expecting baby number three, I was extremely upset.
“Hang in there” is an expression of encouragement in today’s world. It’s a way to say, “Don’t give up.” Recently, I needed to apply the hang in there concept to my prayer life.
