Blessings

This past Thursday, a very dear friend of my family passed away.  She was fifty-three years old. 

Fifty-three.

As I sit here, my heart is begging the question why.  Why her?  Why now?  Why not after her children are grown?  Why not someone who has lived their life?  Why not someone who was ready? 

Just...why?

I know that God is 100% knowing and 100% powerful.  I also believe that He is 100% loving.  So logically, I understand that there must be a reason for this.  A reason for everything. 

But logic doesn't appeal to matters of the heart.  And the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.  What right does God have to take away such a wonderful woman, mother, and friend?  Doesn't He know?  Doesn't He understand? 

I heard a song on the radio that caught my attention.  It's entitled Blessings by Laura Story.  The lyrics of the chorus are these:

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops, what if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near?
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?



As I listened to this song, I could feel my heart softening to the simple truths of these lyrics.  Because the fact is, I am not all-powerful, all-knowing, or all-loving.  I don't understand the things I have never experienced.  I don't know what tomorrow will bring, or even what I will cook for dinner tonight.  And I certainly don't understand why God brings suffering into our lives.  But God knows.  He understands why.  And for a moment, I considered...what if?  What if, Lord?  What if, instead of causing us absolute pain, You are  actually showing even greater compassion?

What if the trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

Neighborly Love

Yesterday was a long day at work.  It wasn't bad, just long.  I was supposed to meet up some friends for dinner, but I was just too tired.  My roommate had left for vacation and I planned on just putting on a movie and falling asleep.

And then my phone rang.

The neighbors on the other side of the duplex are two guys that my roommate and I are friends with.  One of the guys isn't moved in yet, and as we all work, the chance to get together had not presented itself. 

As I answered the phone, I have to admit--I inwardly groaned.  Hadn't I just turned down dinner with other friends?  All I desired of the evening was quiet relaxation and a very early bedtime.

It was my neighbor.  He and a mutual friend were at his side of the house and they wanted to give me a tour.  I figured how long could it take?  Sure, I would take a tour.  That could be fun.

He showed me around, pointing out different things.  His almost child-like excitement made me smile.  When we got to the kitchen, he mentioned that they were making a big dinner that night...and insisted I join them. 

We're neighbors now, he reasoned. 

So off they started on this meal, my neighbor and two of our friends.  We had chicken quesadillas, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, salad, noodles and cheese, soup...it was absolutely incredible. 

I cut up lettuce. 

That's it. 

When I tried to do more or asked what they needed help with, I was told to relax--they didn't need help with anything.  And after dinner, they cleaned up and did the dishes. 

I was truly in awe.  On this night when I was exhausted, I was presented with friends, an amazing dinner, and a cleanup crew.  I had to do virtually nothing.

The generosity.  The serving attitude.  A "thank you" did not seem sufficient for the gratitude I felt no matter how emphatically it was said.  As much as I've searched, I have found only one phrase that can sum up my evening:

I am blessed.  Thank you, Lord, for neighbors like mine.

Addicted to Approval

Before anything else, I need to give credit where credit is due: the title of this post was not an original. It was the tile of the message I heard on Sunday. It was so perfect, however, that I saw no reason to use something else.

This post is actually about what I heard on Sunday. At my church, we're in a series called "Empty Promises." We're talking about things we have in our lives that we seek to give us what only God can give us. God has a name for these things--idols. And on Sunday, we talked about the idol of approval.

‎"What I want you to hear - if you don't hear anything else today - is that there is nothing you could do to make God love you any more or any less than He does in this very moment. Nothing."

How beautiful is that?

Nothing we can do will make God love us any more. As believers in the One and Only God, we should be ultimately seeking His approval. And surprise--we have it!

We have so many giants in our lives:

Grades we can't make.
Bosses we can't please.
Deadlines we can't meet.

But we KILL ourselves to try to do all of these things. Why? Because we seek the approval of someone who is not our Someone. We bend over backwards to try to achieve the acceptance and confirmation of the people of this world.

Nothing we do will make God love us any more because He already loves us to the fullest extent! And no matter what we do, we will not lose that.

I needed that reminder--the reminder that God loves me. Because as a human being, I will mess up. I make mistakes every day. Words can not express the comfort in knowing that God loves me in spite of all of my faults. So allow me to quote again:

There is nothing you could do to make God love you any more or any less than He does in this very moment.

Nothing.