Attach Yourself

 Matthew 14:34-36
The Message

On return, they beached the boat at Gennesaret.  When the people got wind that he was back, they sent out word through the neighborhood and rounded up all the sick, who asked for permission to touch the edge of his coat.  And whoever touched him was healed.

Imagine being there.  At a time before medicine and science, as we know it, existed. Today we have very little need of miraculous physical healing, due to the fact that we can go to the local hospital or doctor's office and be prescribed medicine, or have a surgery to fix whatever ailment we might have. Certainly, there are diseases where there are still no known cures - and one does need a miraculous touch from God. But generally speaking, modern medicine has a cure for most things. I feel compelled to mention that in a lot of cases, our modern diseases and ailments are self-imposed due to lifestyles, etc.  (please do not take this as judgment, but rather as basic fact - and food for thought.) And while I do believe that God can "heal" all of these things, I again present the idea that we don't really need Him to.

After having the privilege of going to Israel and being on the Sea of Galilee, visiting these towns that Jesus was in - as I read this passage, I could imagine being there.  In a time before our  modern age, I understood why the crowds would come when they heard that Jesus could heal their sickness and disease. The sick and diseased must have had very few options. There was no pill to take, no disability payments to sustain them - they were put by the wayside to just exist. He was their only hope, their only option. They believed even to the extent that if they could just touch the "edge of his coat" they would be healed. 

With all of the above swirling around in my head, the word "touch" jumped out at me. The original Greek word means "to attach oneself to".  Now, "touch" is not just jumping out of the Word, it's shouting at me - in the still, small voice of God. 

Today, while we may be able to enjoy the modern convenience of science and medicine, we seem to face more and more of the mental, emotional, and spiritual wounds of life. Yes, there are pills to be taken that can help, and professionals that can help guide us, but they cannot erase the wound, the past abuses and the consequences of them. We still need the Healer. Just like those people in Gennesaret heard that He was back, He's here. He's where you are. He has healing for you. And just like those, you can reach out and touch Him. But it is not a one and done thing. Attach yourself to Him. Hold onto Him. Let Him peel back the layers of hurt and disappointment. He's a gentle, loving physician, and you can trust Him with the healing process.

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 23:1 revisited

The Lord is my Shepherd
In my weakness I turn
To find my way to His side
The voices of failure follow
My path they know so well
I've been here before, many times
Those voices are loud
They speak of my fears
They tell of my flaws
But I know the way, the way to His side
His voice becomes louder
In a still small sound
Other voices disappear
My heart again knows
I shall not want

J-Y-O Spells Joy

 Matthew 22:36-40

He said, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”  Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself. All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands.”

Anyone remember this old Sunday School song?

                                    J-O-Y, J-O-Y,
                                    this is how we sing
                                    Jesus first,
                                    yourself last,
                                    and others in-between

I find it interesting and a little scary that a simple little child's song, seemingly so innocent and lovely, can be so anti-scriptural.  I'm afraid that the church world has too easily skimmed through the scriptures above, focusing only on the parts that showcased its religion.  This gives some explanation as to why we now have a whole generation of people talking about emotional, mental and spiritual health. 

You can see, if you slow it down a little, the scripture clearly indicates that we should love ourselves before we love our neighbor.  In fact, I would suggest that it is imperative!  (it is a commandment, after all)  And yet, generations of children have been taught to put themselves last and to count themselves unworthy.  This goes against scriptural commandments!  God has made us in His own image, fearfully and wonderfully - I think He has expected that children are taught this, that they should have that sense of worth instilled into them, that they should know how to love themselves - so that they know how to love their neighbor. 

Clearly, God's system and commands have been broken by us humans, and our emotion, mental and spiritual health has suffered as a result.  We need to teach our children their worth - to us, to God.  This is how they learn to love themselves and are able to see the worth and value in someone else. 

If one is an adult and you have never seen your worth and value - it is not too late.  God wants to show you who you are to Him.  He sees you and He loves you.  

Love Jesus.  Love Yourself.  Love Others.  ❤ 

The Empty Nest

It started out innocently enough. I was 20 years old with an unmistakable urge to have a baby. I had married the love of my life just a few months before and moved to Germany to live as a military wife. I found myself far away from family and familiar places and surrounded by other young military couples and families. All with young children and babies – and more babies on the way. This, no doubt, propelled me into motherhood sooner than I might have been otherwise.

It was really all working out how I wanted it to, anyway. My dream as a newly minted young adult was to get married and have a couple of babies. So, it all seemed very natural and the way it was supposed to be.

Of course, as a lot of young mothers, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. The pain of childbirth is literally the easiest part. The tiny little human boy that came home with me from the hospital immediately took over my heart and soul. All he did was sleep and eat at first. I spent a lot of time just looking at him. I thought how in the world did I get the most perfect baby? Then the lack of sleep started to take over. I worried for months about how I was going to get this little bundle of cuteness to sleep through the night! I finally had to let him cry it out, and that was that.

Fast forward a couple of years and there was another little tiny human boy in the mix. Even though I had some experience now, I was still a very young adult with very little life experience. So, another baby was included as no big deal. Been there, done that. However, this one had the most exciting habit of crying every night for hours – otherwise known as colic. Life was certainly not “no big deal.” Since my husband was preparing to exit the military, we were staying at my parent’s house during this time. And my mother did what mothers do – she would take turns rocking the screaming baby at night, then get up and go to her full-time day job.

The handful of years that I had two babies/toddlers seemed longer at the time than they do in retrospect. Those were the days of very little adult conversation and the time period where my sense of identity was fully immersed into my children. I no longer was a young woman trying to figure out her life. I was mommy. Period.

The years through childhood, pre-teen, and teenager start to run together. The school supply shopping, keeping them in jeans and shoes, and managing their after-school snacks seemed like it would go on forever. Oh, there is a lot more to the story than just those things. But they were all every day, normal happenings in the lives of two growing boys. Some moments or days seemed extra hard or extra exciting at the time, but hind-sight has mellowed it all out into a pretty even keeled life.

One day I turned around and my boys were grown and gone.  Overnight, I was 43 with no kids in their bedrooms to check on. I could turn the lights off in their old bedrooms, but there was no switch to turn off my motherhood. How does that happen? And why is there no way to prepare for this?

Seven years later I am still asking these questions. I have still not found the switch for motherhood. I’m pretty sure there isn’t one. I still don’t feel prepared for the emptiness of my little nest. I miss my boys so deeply I can’t really truly express it. Now there are daughters-in-law and grandkids that I’m missing.

I am coming to this conclusion. As a mother I will always be thinking about my children and their families. They are my heart. Yes, I need to reclaim my “identity” in one sense, but in another I don’t want to change who I am. I am a mother; a blessed, proud mother of two beautiful adult men who have given me two beautiful daughters - and the cherry on top grandbabies. Yes, I cry because I miss them, but they are just tears of a mother’s love. My nest is empty, but my heart is fuller than ever.

Don't Be a Grasshopper

Numbers 13:33
21st Century King James Version

And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

The setting of this scripture is in the Old Testament story of some men of Israel taking a peek into Canaan to see what the lay of the land was.  The majority of them had this reaction to what appeared to be giants.

What strikes me here, is that the sentiment sounds so familiar.  As humans we tend to project our insecurities and assume what we think of ourselves is what others think of us.  Clearly, these men of Israel had this problem.  They saw themselves as small as grasshoppers compared to the sons of Anak, so they assumed that's what they looked like to these giant people.  

I see a couple of issues; they projected their own insecurities, and they forgot who they were. 

There are various reasons why one might have an insecurity or two (or more), we all have broken places, whether it be from traumas, life circumstances, or even our own actions or sins.  Regardless of the reasons, we can use these things against ourselves, feel bad about ourselves, and then try to hand them to other people to let them use them against us (aka projection).

Who were these men, anyway?  Were they not men of Israel?  God's chosen people?  Had God not already rescued them?  Had God not already set them free?  Had God not already provided everything they needed?  They let their insecurities blind them to who they actually were!

So, for you and me today - do we know who we are?  Are we letting our feelings of inadequacy and insecurity come between us and the God of our salvation?  Are we worried about how we might look to giants in our own lives?  

I propose we take a minute to remember who we are, who He is, and what He has already done.  The Children of Israel took a little more than a minute to figure this out, but Jesus says we can come to Him, we can find peace and rest in Him.  He does not see us as we see ourselves.  He sees chosen, value, worth, son, daughter - can you let Him project onto you? 

Therein Lies Strength

Proverbs 29:23
The Message

²³ Pride lands you flat on your face;
    humility prepares you for honors.

Just a thought here today regarding pride and humility.  At a quick glance, someone who is exercising pride in their life can sometimes come across as someone we think of as having a "strong" personality.  While the humble can be mistaken for "weak." 

The interesting point I would like to make is that it is actually quite the opposite.  The proud are very weak, and the humble are very strong. 

For this very simple reason:  pride can be broken, but humility cannot - because it already is and therein lies its strength.

Apply the Love and Know God

1 Peter 4:8
Amplified Bible Classic

Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins (forgives and disregards the offenses of others)

This subject is a recurring one in my head.  Some days it seems easy, some days it's really, really hard.  But the conviction I feel in my own life has been building lately, and this morning it was not to be ignored. 

You see, I, like probably most of you, have been hurt, disappointed, offended, disrespected - you name it.  I have felt rejected - even when dishing out my own versions of love and acceptance of others.  I have felt ignored by family and friends.  I have felt unsupported by those that I (rightfully) expect it from.  And sometimes, maybe I am justified in my feelings.  While many times these offences are most likely not intentional, maybe sometimes they are. 

The struggle in my own head is a basic human nature one - whether or not someone deserves my love, my forgiveness.  

This is where the conviction comes in.  As the thoughts of these things floated around my head this morning, I knew that if I am not abiding by this scripture, then I am not a Christ follower.  The Bible says that God is love.  (1 John 4:7-8)  And it very clearly states that if I don't love, I don't know God. 

Then I think about the love and forgiveness I need from God.  And I think about how He provided that on the cross, bleeding, hurting, suffering - all while I was undeserving.  How then do I think love and forgiveness is going to be any easier for me? 

We can feel and be justified in our hurts and offenses, Jesus certainly was.  But if we are true followers of Him, we will submit our human nature and take on His - which is love.  It hurts.  But just like Jesus knew, we can know that there is joy in the end.  The peace we can experience when we follow His example is amazing.  

I'm a work in progress, sometimes it takes me a minute to get it right.  But with conviction, prayer and practice, the goal is to automatically apply the love and know God.