essays 176-183

1. #183 A Pale Imitation
2. #182 The Case of the Invisible Splinter
3. #181 Tear Along the Dotted Line
4. #180 "No One Can Eat Just One"
5. #179 Call Me Horseradish
6. #178 Bonsai, Anyone?
7. #177 Making Satan Stub his Toe
8. #176 Troublemakers

We stayed at a Holiday Inn a few weeks ago. Next to the coffee maker were packets of coffee, tea bags, and some flavored creamers. I'm not a coffee drinker, and I drink my tea black, with sugar. But my sons talked me into trying one of those creamers ("they are so cute, mommy!") So I tried the French Vanilla first and later, the Hazelnut. I was impressed! Those little creamers turned my blase breakfast tea into dessert! I decided to buy some of my own the next time I went to the grocery store.

Unfortunately, the supermarket didn't carry individual flavored creamers. However, I did find the powdered variety on the shelves. There was the main brand (Cremora®) and the store brand. I checked the ingredients and they seemed similar, so I went for the store brand to save 50¢. The next morning, I heated my cup of water in the microwave, brewed my tea bag, and then opened the powdered creamer. It didn't smell quite as delicious as I'd hoped, but I scooped in a generous spoonful and stirred. Bleah! This was not what I expected! This so-called French vanilla non-dairy creamer was a pale imitation of those scrumptious little hotel creamers.

Margarine for butter, artificial sweetener for sugar, vinyl for leather, store brand cola for Pepsi®--they are all pale imitations of the real thing. And sometimes--too often--I also am a pale imitation of the real thing. Real genuine Christians have an attractiveness that has nothing to do with superficial looks. Maybe it comes from that joy down in their hearts; that peace at not pretending to be more than they are. Too often, I go for style over substance. And you can't tell the difference until you take the lid off the jar and catch a whiff. Something is lacking. Sincerity, perhaps. Honesty--deep down honesty. I'm trying to be a gloriously colored tree in autumn--admired for my own leaves when I should be content to be a leafless and bare-branched , allowing His glorious light to shine through me.

Are you grounded in the real truth? Abiding in the true Vine? Be sure that what you have is the real thing. Be sure that what others see in you is the real thing. Pale imitations leave a bad taste in the mouth.
11-18-98

#182 The Case of the Invisible Splinter

Splinters are bad enough when you can see them; they are infuriating when you can't! I have an invisible splinter on the index finger of my right hand. It doesn't bother me unless I brush across it. I got it yesterday, although I can't remember how. I wish I could see the crazy thing. I know it is not just my imagination--the irritation is very real. My husband Stan was a big comfort. He told me, "Wait a couple of days. If it really is a splinter, it will probably get infected and sore and then you can see the place to try to dig it out." Ah, just what I wanted to hear!

How do you solve a problem you can't even see--when you know something is not right, but you just can't quite put your finger on it? Should you wait until the problem festers and grows--until it is readily apparent? No, that isn't a good idea. So how do you remove an invisible splinter? Find a way to make it visible? Just start digging under the skin until you've caused more problems than you started with? Amputate? (Yikes! Way too drastic!) Ignore it and hope it goes away on its own? (I'm leaning toward this one myself, although experience tells me problems don't tend to go away by themselves.)

Or do you ask someone who can see the invisible? Someone who can help you see beneath the surface? Now, there's an idea! God created the world out of nothing and framed the worlds by things that are invisible to the naked eye (atoms?), didn't He?. (See Hebrews 11:3 & Colossians 1:16) He can surely see the invisible. One problem--we can't see Him, either! We can't see the splinter, or the One who can pull it out for us. That is where faith comes in. No, we can't see the Designer, but we can see the design. ( Romans 1:20) That is enough for me--at least, enough to get started.

Any nagging doubts today? Is your "intuition" telling you that something is not quite right? Relationships out of kilter? Do you get the feeling you are about to do something--or say something-- you will regret later? Don't run through that "Caution" sign; slow down and take a little mental inventory. Think things through. Read, listening for His voice. Pray, expecting an answer. Wait. Talk it over with someone else that you can trust (ask another sheep, not a wolf!)

Pain and discomfort are the body's signals that something is wrong. Don't ignore such warning signs. Splinters, even invisible ones, don't usually go away by themselves. Don't wait for the infection to spread. Grab the betadine or antibiotic ointment. Kill that infection before it gets a chance to spread. If your eyesight is poor, ask someone to help you who can see clearly.

11-12-98

#181 Tear Along the Dotted Line

Perforations. They are supposed to make it possible to tear something neatly in a straight line. I guess I was in a hurry. I read: "Detach here and return top portion." Maybe I should have creased along the dotted line before I started tearing. If you start out tearing crookedly, it is hard to get back on track. That is why we have Scotch Tape. You've done the same thing, haven't you? You hastily ripped a check out of the check book to pay for the groceries (it was the last check, of course) and tore the corner off. It looked like a rat had been gnawing on that corner, leaving only the last two digits of the check. You left a jagged edge.

Have you had any "jagged edge" days lately? The kind of days where the simple, mundane, "I could do this in my sleep" tasks suddenly go awry? The day that should go smoothly but then there are those unexpected interruptions that throw everything into chaos? I think that such jagged edge days are especially hard to take for "live by the list" people like myself; or at least, such days are hard to take with a Christ-like attitude and demeanor. I have an "attitude" all right, but not one that resembles Christ!

If we have overscheduled our days down to the hour, one jagged edge can derail everything. But I like things to go smoothly! When I'm in the midst of a torn-edge day, I am certainly not thinking about the potential for spiritual growth or building character or anything so noble and positive as that. I just want things to be nice and neat again. Perspective comes only with distance and I am too close to the situation. It is too hard to step back and evaluate things calmly, I don't even want to see the humor in the situation. That is when I should pray (but usually don't), "Lord, today has been going from bad to worse. I didn't know worse could happen so fast. I pray that You can salvage the day; teach me something from this mess, even if it is a lesson I don't want to learn."

Maybe it helps to know that jagged edge days (or months, or years) are a common human experience. (Maybe it doesn't help at all!) I know of a new Christian who had just put the finishing touches on a paper for school last week when her little nephew came along and hit the "escape" button on the computer. She hadn't saved her work--two hours down the drain!

We don't like having to cope with those wrenches that fly in and bring the machinery to a screeching halt. We don't like waiting; especially prolonged waiting with no reason. And then there is the matter of our limited perspective. Think about Job's troubles from his vantage point. He had no idea that he was set up by Satan and that the whole trial was a test of his faith. Make a list of anyone who was anyone in the Bible and you'll find they all had jagged edge days. Paul had enough jagged edge days to write a whole series of "perils of Paul" novellas! How about Moses? Esther? Daniel? Jeremiah? Try to find a Bible character (mentioned more than superficially) who didn't have any jagged edge days. If you find one, let me know. God truly is faithful; it is just that we can't understand the way He sometimes works. (And sometimes we like to blame things on God that our clearly our own fault.) We don't see the end--and our vision of the present is less than 20-20 as well. So what do we do when a jagged edge day rips unpleasantly across our path?

Stop.(letting your emotions get the upper hand)
Look. (for the humor or the opportunity)
Listen. (for God's voice. Is He trying to get your attention?)
And don't expect heaven on earth. Remember, "This is a test. This is only a test...."

May your heart be fixed, trusting in the Lord (Psalms 57:7 & 112: 7) in spite of those jagged edge days!
11-12-98

#180 "No One Can Eat Just One"

Self-control. My, I am just brimming with it this morning. You are skeptical? I will prove it to you: I started out by waking up bright and early at 5:15 instead of my usual 7 AM (of course, that is because the wind woke me up at 3 AM, but that is beside the point--I was technically an "early bird"). And then, I managed to leave the room without giving in to the siren beckoning of my computer. That computer is a real temptation. You see, it is only one "Simon Says"-sized baby step from the foot of our bed. I can even reach the computer chair without my feet ever touching the floor. (That is important on those mornings when I think I've heard mice in the closet.)

Back to self-control. You can see how tempting it is for me to turn on that screen first thing in the morning, "just to check my e-mail". Then, before I know it, an hour is gone, my sons are up, and I've not yet read my Bible. But not today! I ignored that techno-tempter and marched straight into the kitchen, carrying my Bible and a clean, dry dish towel. (You are wondering about the towel? To place under my Bible, of course! I suppose that your kitchen table is always clean? Perhaps I could send my three boys over to your house some evening at around 9 PM, provisioned with one large bag of potato chips?)

Self-control still holding sway over me, I make my morning cup of tea with only one lump of sugar instead of the customary two lumps. Perhaps I'll even drink it black tomorrow--and decaf the next day! (Let's not get carried away now.) Later, there was the mixed nuts episode. I shouldn't have that can of mixed nuts in the house--and especially not in the cupboard right next to my vitamins. But who could pass up that bargain at Walmart ($1.00 off!). Well, I peeled open the plastic lid and took out just one salted almond. Then I closed the lid again. I was so proud of myself, that, thirty seconds later, I opened the lid again and ate just one. And again, thirty seconds later. Finally, my fingers got so sore from all of that opening and closing that I just poured out a handful (a modest handful, mind you) and closed the can for good. Perhaps that wasn't such a good episode to demonstrate my self-control after all....How about this one: I didn't let my sons have everything they wanted at the grocery store yesterday. The checkbook still shows a balance!

But self-control has another, more important side to it. Maybe I can "eat just one" Lay's potato chip (I'd try right now but I don't think it would taste good dunked in my tea) but can I control my tongue? James says I can't--not by my own power. He wrote: "But the tongue can no man tame..." So, before I pat myself on the back for passing up that "bargain" at the mall that I didn't need anyway, before I start feeling smug about driving the speed limit yesterday (and driving the cars behind me crazy), perhaps I should consider what comes out of my mouth. Have I been "swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath"? No, I seem to get them switched around. Do I criticize too often, praise too seldom? (especially with my children) Do I count to ten and then yell anyway? (You wouldn't believe how fast I can count to ten!) Perhaps I'm not as self-controlled as I would like to think. Perhaps I'd better pray for "Spirit-control" today....

Today's thought: "When tempted to give someone a piece of your mind,
consider first if you can afford to lose it."

11-3-98

#179 Call Me Horseradish
(read I Corinthians, chapter 12)

I'm not normally a great observer of human nature. Nature, yes, but not of the human kind. However, I had to go to a meeting this week (meetings are anathema to an individualist like myself)and had a chance to do a little observing (during those seconds when I was pausing for breath.)

I thought of people as food categories (the meeting was before supper and I was getting hungry, I suppose.) You know of people who go through life as the main course, don't you? They are always noticed, either for good or for bad. Theirs are the faces you remember, the names you recall. And we need them. They are the ones who move the rest of us along. (Perhaps that is why I tend to avoid them--I like to move myself along!) They hold the rest of the meal together.

I'm going to skip over salads and vegetables (use your own imagination on those two) and get to the bread. In some cultures, it would be rice or another grain. Bread is still bread--from tortillas to baguettes. Bread is taken for granted, often overlooked. It is something you put to the side of your plate, something to fill up your stomach for the least amount of money; the part of the sandwich whose main job is to keep the meat and mayo from getting your fingers soiled. Filling, but not flashy. It is a rare dinner roll or tortilla that gets top billing as the star of the meal. And yet, isn't bread the staff of life? (I'm not talking to those of you on one of those popular high-protein diets!) Bread is the backbone of the meal: something you can always count on if the main course is not to your liking. It is always nice to have at least one friend from this group. They don't mind not being the center of attention and they always have time to listen to you.

Dessert. I think of some folks that way. Sweet, perhaps even fluffy. But desserts can run the gamut from a healthy rice pudding to cotton candy. Some have more depth than others. Desserts are fun, sometimes comforting. If you are feeling low, you generally reach for something sweet (chocolate, in my case), not a can of green peas. (No insult intended if you reach for that can of peas instead.) You wouldn't want a steady diet of desserts. But they are wonderful to sweeten a dull day. Some days, you don't need someone heavy with a lot of depth. You just want someone to lighten your mood and put a smile on your face. Life would be boring without dessert.

I'll close with the condiment group. Condiments also make life more interesting, but in a different way than desserts. You can't call them a food group; they are generally lacking in nutrients. (No, I don't think that you can classify ketchup as a vegetable.) But they can liven up a bland meal: Pepper, jalapeños, ketchup, chutney, mustard, etc. Most days, I'm in this group--when I'm not the dreaded school cafeteria "surprise meat". (We aren't always in the same group--hope that allayed your fears!)

Yes, you can call me horseradish. (I told my husband about my idea for this essay and he replied, "But I don't even like horseradish".) Horseradish: pungent, with a bit of a bite. Horseradish: a little bit goes a long way. But for people who like it, bratwurst is just not bratwurst without it!

Isn't it great that God made us all so different! (Admittedly, some of us are more different than others.) Try this today:  value people for who they are; for the unique way that God created them. You can't change a ball of yeast dough into a T-bone steak, no matter how you cook it. You can dump a cup of sugar on  lima beans but they won't taste like chocolate chip cookies. And if you run out of strawberry jam to spread on your toast, you can't just ladle out the horseradish and expect the same flavor. (If any of you does actually eat toast with horseradish, I'd like to hear from you! ....on second thought, maybe not.)

Some people might seem to have a more important roll (oops, I meant "role", guess I'm on a roll myself) in life than others. But we don't see in this life how everyone fits into the big picture. We need to play the part we've been given the best we know how. There might be a lot of surprises in heaven. I can just see that humble, steady, reliable dinner roll stepping down from Christ's judgment seat with an armload of crowns. (And perhaps that swaggering sirloin will be stunned to step down without a crown at all.) Be thankful for variety today. I'm glad that my friends aren't all horseradish! A little "spunky" goes a long way....

11-2-98

Have you even admired a small potted bonsai plant? The skill required to fashion and shape a bonsai fascinates me. But when I looked up "bonsai" in the dictionary and read about this method of training a tree or shrub, I had to think about the spiritual parallels. Read this, and then be careful that you are not a "bonsai Christian". (Yes, of course I just made that up.)

"Bonsai is a method involving the deliberate, artificial dwarfing of plants."

How are they dwarfed? By being "planted in a shallow container and starved of plant food." (Are you starting to grow a tad uncomfortable?) " The space for root growth is limited and the roots are pruned. As soon as new shoots come out, they are pruned and the branches are twisted with wire so that the full-grown bonsai will be less than 24 inches tall and yet have the appearance of a gnarled old tree."

Any bonsai candidates out there? (be honest) Do you sometimes feel like a spiritual dwarf? That's OK ,we've all been there at some point in our walk with Christ, but are you content to stay that way? Would you prefer to be a tall, strong, healthy " tree planted by the waters"? (Jeremiah 17:8, Psalm 1:3) Do you enjoy being gnarled and stunted spiritually or would you rather "flourish" like the cedar or palm? (Psalms 92:12-14) Maybe you didn't even realize that you have been slowly turning yourself into a bonsai Christian. Look for these signs:

1. Check those roots--have you left room for them to grow and spread? (see Colossians 2:7) The goal is to be abiding in Jesus Christ, the true vine, and to be rooted and built up in Him.
2. Have you been deliberately starving yourself of God's word--just taking in a little nourishment from the Sunday sermon.? (And how much of that sermon can you even remember 3 hours later?) You'll have to do better than that if you want to grow and thrive spiritually! Starvation rations do not make for strong Christians.
3. And how about that shaping--those daily choices you make to bend you in one direction or another? Are you twisting and shaping yourself to conform to this world? It's not too late to let the bonsai grow free! Let God cut those wires, let Him plant you deeply, and feed you with His special plant food formula ("Miracle Grow" for the soul, if you will!) Don't be stuck as a bonsai Christian--God gives you the grace to grow!

p.s. What kind of fruit do you think you can expect from a bonsai?

#177 Making Satan Stub his Toe

It looked like a loose stone tossed onto the asphalt road. So I gave it a casual kick. The stone didn't budge. It had been loose at one time but it had sunk into the warm asphalt and was now firmly embedded. I'm glad that stone wasn't larger or I would have stubbed my toe on it!

How about you? Are you like a loose stone? Do you fell that Satan has been kicking you around a lot lately? (You are the can in his game of "kick the can"?) Don't let him do it--make him stub his toe on you instead! Become so firmly embedded in God's road--"The Way, the Truth and the Life" that you cannot be easily dislodged. James had the right order of things: 1^st, submit yourself to God, then when you resist the devil he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God--get strength from the all-powerful One--and make Satan stub his toe on you today. (But remember, he'll be back again tomorrow...wearing even heavier boots.)

#176 Troublemakers

Are you a troublemaker? I'm afraid that I can be at times--not intentionally, of course. I was a pain at the grocery store the other day: "wrong item--oops!" and "I was sure the sign said $.99, not $1.49! " (I was wrong...) Never pray for patience or you may find yourself working behind a cash register with me as your customer!

Sometimes I write things that get me in trouble:" Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I apologize--I was being sarcastic. It was all my fault." I am known for having "strong opinions" and those letters to the editors can get me into trouble as well. I don't mean to be a troublemaker but I will stick up for the absolute truths of the Bible (as I see them, granted....) . Aren't Christians as a whole more frequently looked upon now as "troublemakers" simply for speaking out against sin? --for going against the grain of political correctness?

Ah. But this is not anything new--think of all the troublemakers in the Bible:

I had to think of Ahab's remark to the Elijah in I Kings 18 (at the very end of the drought--right before the standoff between Elijah and the prophets of Baal)
"Art thou he that troubleth Israel?"
Elijah answers: "I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house ."

It wasn't Elijah's fault that there had been no rain, but Ahab's and his household for leading the children of Israel astray. But look who is the scapegoat. It is Elijah who gets the blame.

Jeremiah was also considered a troublemaker just for being God's mouthpiece--especially for preaching that the temple would be destroyed and that Babylon would take Jerusalem captive. He was just telling the truth-- trying to warn the people: We've sinned against God--repent or face judgment! What happened to Jeremiah? He was nearly killed by the men of his own town, he was arrested and cast in the prison, even thrown into a miry pit. Then he was forced to go with the others to Egypt. He never returned again to Israel, as far as we know.

The chief rulers of Jesus' time considered him a prime troublemaker--look at all the crowds he attracted! They didn't like him upsetting the status quo:
"If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place an nation." --John 11:48

Ditto the apostles. "These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble out city, And teach customs, which re not lawful for us to receive.." --Acts 16:20,21

I especially like this verse: " These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also...saying that there is another king, one Jesus." --Acts 17:6,7

Why couldn't they just be quiet?