The Making and Naming of a Waterfall

When we were in Costa Rica we hiked up in to the rain forest.

Along the way, we witnessed incredible beauty.  Tall, strong, green trees and delicate ferns, flowers of every color and fruits hanging from vines and sprouting from branches surrounded us circumferentially.

It was lush and moist and green – and it was alive. And then ...

... we entered a place of desolation.  Unexpectedly, we came around the corner and stepped out of the beauty of life and onto a path – that was not really a path at all -- over rocks and dried out dirt.

Three months prior, during a very rainy and stormy time, a mudslide powered down the mountain.  Rocks and debris, slipping from the mountainside,  tore through the forest, plowing over and through trees, flowers, and plants – destroying the beauty.

The contrast was obvious.

“Do you see that waterfall?” the guide said, as she pointed to a small stream of water, in the distance, that flowed over the cliff. 

“It was not there before the mudslide.  The storm and the damage created a new waterfall for us.  We would not have had it if not for this mudslide. It once was an underground spring, now it is a waterfall.”

Hmmm …. the damage created a new waterfall for us.  I love waterfalls.

Mudslides occur in our lives, too, at times.   Rainy seasons and stormy seasons result in the ground underneath us slipping away and we find that a vein of destruction tears itself through our otherwise green, living life.  The boulders, rocks and dirt of uncertainty, fear, and sorrow are scattered on the hillside of our lives.  Little sign of what once was remains, and what does remain seems to be knocked over, tangled and ugly.

But if we look carefully, in time, we just may see something new, like the new waterfall that was created as the mountainside exposed a spring.  Now, instead of the water running deep within the mountain, it flowed down the side, bringing refreshment and life -- and a new sort of beauty.

So, too, the Lord creates new streams and new waterfalls in our lives. It is hard to see – or even believe –  but if we look, we see what God has done.

 A new waterfall. A new stream. A new opportunity. A new source of refreshment. A new provision for life. A new strength. A new dream. A new kind of trust.

“You’ll have to name this waterfall, just the like the others,” I said to the guide, smiling, as I thought of the some of my mudslides and began to see more clearly some of the waterfalls that resulted.

What would I name them? I’m not sure, yet -- maybe “He Makes All Things New, ” or “The Value of Learning to Wait,” or “A Spring of Strength”

What about you? Can you see the waterfall of life that God has brought or is bringing out of a time of trial?  What would you name it?

A Timely (but Embarrasing) Lesson from Speeding (UGH!)

I shook my head back and forth, disappointed in myself. I knew it. I just knew it.

The unmarked police car pulled out from its discrete hiding place behind the fence.  I didn’t need to look down at the speedometer. It was too late. I slowed down, my foot resting on the brake, just as the red and blue lights flashed in my rear view mirror.

((((sigh)))))  I knew better, but I was in a hurry. I needed to have two people in different places at the same time. I had at least a thousand things on my mind. I was tired, and probably hungry, although at that point the only real feeling I had was a combined sinking feeling of my spirit and a sickening feeling in my stomach. 

I pulled over. The police officer approached my car. I handed him my driver’s license, humbled that a forty something mother was pulled over for speeding.  My teen age daughter sat in the back seat, “Mom, this IS embarrassing.”

 DIdn’t I know it.  “Sorry, honey. My fault.  I guess these things happen.”

“Do you know how fast you were going, Ma’am?” the officer said, rather kindly, I must admit.

“I’m not sure,” I responded, guessing at a number that I feared was lower than I wanted it to be. Sure enough, I was wrong. 

“No, Ma’am. You were going faster than that. And, did I just see you put your seat belt on when you came  around the corner?”

Blow number two. Guilty.  I wasn't but a few blocks from home, but I had forgotten to "buckle up" as I should have, before I even put the car in drive. Not good.

“Yes, sir. I did.  I’m sorry,” I said, now doubly humbled and overwhelmed with honesty. I preceded to explain to him the details of where I was going and why, as if he really cared.

“I know they aren’t great excuses, "I concluded.  "I was in a hurry. I really am sorry. ”

To make a long story (or so it seemed at the time) short, I got off with a warning and no points deducted from my record. It had been a long time (10 years?) since I had been stopped for the same offense.  However,  did get fined $10 for not wearing my seat belt.

I actually thanked the man as I sheepishly pulled away, eyes darting between the road, the speed limit signs and my speedometer.  The police officer (and the Lord) were gracious to me. I am grateful.

And I said to the Lord, “Yes. I am listening. I hear you loud and clear. ‘Slow down.  You don’t need to hurry. Stop rushing here and rushing there.  Just slow down.’”

So, in addition to trying to consider and clear the clutter per my last post (incidentally, this happened the day after I wrote that story), I’m also working on slowing down.  I must admit, there is something about a warning that does really work. My foot is lighter on the pedal and my seat belt is clicked in to place like it should be. Furthermore, I find myself intentionally trying to slow down in other areas of life.  

It doesn’t take much for a vision of the flashing lights to show up in my mind, when I feel myself hustling about and overwhelmed, whether in body or mind. And I quickly remember, “Slow down. You don’t need to hurry. Stop rushing here and there. Just slow down.”

Another timely reminder from God in the everyday occurrences of life. 

Space Between the Notes

A large Cottonwood tree stands in my front yard. Surrounding it are other trees. However, the Cottonwood tree does not have any leaves. It stands tall and erect, with small buds on the tips of the branches, but no evidence of life. It appears that sometime in early spring, it budded out, and then it stopped. It never fulling expressed itself as a tree.

I shared with my friend Lori, “I feel like that tree this week. I feel like I budded out, but now I’ve stopped.”

She wrote back … “Andrea, sometimes it is two steps forward and one back. I will pray that you are not stalled, but just pausing.”

Pausing. I needed to realign my thinking on what “pausing” is really all about.

Pausing is not useless. It can be useful. It can be beautiful. It can be a time of rest. It can be a time of reflection. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I fall in to the idea that if I am not busy doing something for the Lord, then I am just that -- not doing something for the Lord.

I need to stop – pause – my thinking and realign it with God’s thinking. There are times when He calls us into seasons of rest. Like times of trial, these can be growing times, if we chose to set our hearts on allowing God to use them in our lives. They may be a gift to us.

I don’t know a lot about music, but from what I can tell, areas of silence – “rests” – are significant to the song. Claude Debussy, a French Classical Composer, said “Music is the space between the notes.” These spaces add character to the song and allow the listener to gather in the sounds and reflect on the melody. They are just as much part of the song, as the notes.

God uses times of silence or pause as accents in the song that He is writing with our lives. We may not understand what they are there for, or even know what to do with them, but without them, our song would not be as lovely for Him.

So if you feel as if you are in time of pausing, know that God has not abandoned you. He is working in this time, too. He is using it to grow character in you and making you more like His Son. It may be a time when He uses it for you to gather in the sounds of His voice and reflect on the melody of the song that He is writing. Surrender yourself in this time, stop fretting and running to find “something to do” and just be with Him. Wait patiently and confidently in the Lord (Psalm 37:7), in the "space between the notes.".

Back from a Break

Phew! It’s been a busy week – a beautiful week. Not in the usual way, but in different and adventurous way. I spent the past week with my family in Mexico. It was a gift from God that strengthened and refreshed us.

The time was restful. Inspiring. Embraced. Being out of the country, I shut off my Blackberry, left my computer at home, and did not even turn on a TV. I brought a notebook, but did not write a word until I was on the plane coming home. Usually, ideas are streaming through my brain like kayaks on a turbulent river, but not on this vacation. Over the past week, I just (which in fact was not just at all) spent time in relationship, present with my family and present with my God. I watched for God. I waited for God. God’s grace and truths of Him blew around me like flower petals blowing around in a spring breeze, not resting in any spot then, but now coming together in clear view.

In the days to come, I am eager and desiring to continue to share with you these truths of His unfailing love, dear reader. For now, remember that God has us each on a journey, always revealing to us who He is and how much we are loved by Him – in season and out of season, on vacation and at home, in times of peace and in times of trial.

Bit by Bit

My friend reported the first sighting of the Merganser ducks on the lake by her home, and I saw the Red-winged Blackbird today. Faint patches of green grass sweep across the landscape. Snow piles, once 6 feet tall, are now only inches away from being gone. Small buds are barely bursting from the ends of the branches. Fresh smells of life permeate the air. Spring is springing forth – I hope. It has opened the latch on the gate at the end of the long path of winter, and is making its way in to our days. Evidence of its arrival is slow, but none-the-less I see it creeping in.

Spring is a living sign of hope. Out of the cold of winter, life emerges. As a reflection of hope, it reminds us of the hope of healing for the broken-hearted, a hope that is only found in Jesus.

Did you ever notice that not all the migrating birds show up on one day? Not all the grass turns green in one instant. We do not wake up to all the leaves being full grown one morning, nor is all the snow melted in one day.

Bit by bit spring arrives, and bit by bit the healing of the hurting heart occurs. It is patchy at first, and perhaps even sparse, but it will come. When we trust our hearts to the healing hand of the Creator, Who created the motion of the seasons, we can rest assured that He will bring healing to our times of cold darkness, as well. And bit by bit, we will witness the changes. It is a process – sometimes a very long process. Chilly days may reappear, maybe even a snow storm … but winter does give way to spring and He who manages those days, is caring for you in your days, as well. God is faithful to heal the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3). Wait upon Him, trusting Him to bring about life and beauty in His perfect timing.

Late in a Remote Place?

This week I have been over my head in images of bread as I studied and pondered the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Mark 6:30-44), preparing for the lesson that I taught today. At one point, I actually thought that I could smell bread baking; just thankful that it was not day old fish.

I came home and tried to take a nap – wiped out from teaching and staying up later than I would normally like. However, I couldn’t sleep. One small part of my lesson kept coming back to me.

The disciples and Jesus had just landed on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Hours earlier, Jesus had suggested that they go to a solitary place to rest for everyone was tired, and so that was what they intended to do. However, there was an interruption in their plans. People. Hurting people. Lots of people -- probably numbering around 20,000. Jesus, being filled with compassion, as He always is, began to teach them.

Now, I can’t be sure what the disciples were thinking, but if I was there, I would have been disappointed. “What happened to rest and relaxation time? I am weary and worn out. I needed a break. And now this?”

So, the disciples take the problem in to their own hands. They state the obvious to Jesus, “This is a remote place and it’s already very late,” and they come up with a solution.

As I taught, I tapped my watch with my right hand, gesturing “I’m watching the time and it’s getting late!” And as I did so, I remembered how I have done this to God a multitude of times, speaking almost the same words, “This is a remote place and it’s already very late.”

Sorrow. Suffering. Pain. Loneliness. Betrayal. Regrets. Dreams dashed. These are the remote places I was thinking about – specifically, the most current remote place that I find myself in.

And like the disciples, I have tapped the old watch and reminded God of what is happening and the time that is slipping by. As if He didn’t know … but I was (am) worn out and weary. I often times can only see my time line. And while marinating in my own inabilities and unbelief, I – like the disciples -- consider taking the situation in to my own hands, saying to myself, “Is God going to do something about it or do I need to?”

Dear reader, do you feel like that? Are you experiencing a remote place in your life and feeling like it is getting late and something needs to happen?

I want to encourage you (and myself), today – continue to press on. Keep your eyes fixed on Him -- He is looking at you. He is watching and He is orchestrating. God’s ways are higher than our ways and He does have your best interest at heart. Keep on listening to Him and trusting the situation in to His hands. He will show you what to do, when to do it and how to do it. His timing is good and perfect. He has everything under control.

"Please Wait"

In the wet and wonder of a water park, my daughter signaled to my friend to bend down. “My mom is read-icted to the bible” she whispered in her ear.

“What did you say?” my friend asked, uncertain if she understood. “My mom is read-icted to the bible.”

My friend shared this story with me later that day. We giggled about it. Not addicted to the bible, but read-icted. Very clever. Mostly, I was surprised and delighted that this was what my daughter thought about me and felt like she needed to share with my friend.

Later that week, in a moment of solitude, my daughter announced to me that now she was “addicted” to prayer. She said that she prayed all the time, and in fact, I noticed her stopping frequently during the day, closing her eyes and whispering prayers heavenward. She prays simple prayers. Desiring prayers. Needful prayers. Sweet prayers. She prays for rain, and for rain to stop. She prays for letters in the mail and for blueberries at the store. She prays for safety when we are in the car and she prays for others to be happy.

This morning she was playing the computer while I was having my quiet time and reading my bible. I noticed that she was hanging upside down off the couch, head hung low, and whispering.

“What are you doing, dear?” I asked.

“Praying. I’m praying that the “please wait” sign would be gone so I can play the program I want to play. I am praying that God would hurry it up so I would not have to wait” she said, with a smile. “I like to pray for everything. Oh. There it goes. It doesn’t say “please wait” anymore. It’s ready for me!”

I smiled. I had prayed a prayer or two (or hundred) for the “please wait” sign to be removed, too. But, unlike the quick answer to prayer that my daughter experienced, God is still asking me to wait. His answer to my prayer remains, “Not yet. Please wait … still.”

Lamentations 3:25-26 says, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Dear reader, perhaps God has you in a waiting period -- waiting to see what He has planned for you and/or waiting for what you are to do. Wait quietly. Wait confidently. Wait with great strength, for waiting is not weakness. Wait with hope. And while you wait, pray and seek Him, diligently, trusting Him for the plans He has for you, for He is good to those whose hope is in Him and He will deliver you.

Wait for the Lord -- Be Strong

Psalm 27:13-14 says, "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

I don't know about you, but the idea of waiting conjures up all sorts of images in my mind that I do not find peace and joy in. Waiting in line at the grocery store, stuck in a traffic jam, waiting for an important phone call, and waiting for my food in a drive through. Waiting seems like an inconvenience, a nuisance, a waste of time. We are checking our watches, checking the mail, sizing up the shortest line, or trying to calculate the shortest distance from where we are to where we want to go, because we do not want to have to wait!

As I reflect on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I am struck with the waiting the Jesus must have endured. Knowing what was to happen, he patiently waited through being glorified by the crowds as he entered Jerusalem, knowing that ridicule and betrayal were in hot pursuit and would be on His back within days. He endured betrayal, deception, mistreatment and abandonment. Jesus had the power and the authority to come down off of the cross, throw His arms up in air and say "Enough with you people!" But He did not. He, in strength and confidence, stayed there and died an excruciating death.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, while His beloved disciples slept, He prayed to Abba Father. He acknowledged that everything is possible for God, and then said, "Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:32-36). Jesus waited and endured because He knew the Father's will and was willing to trust Him. He waited and endured because He loved you and me.

Waiting feels passive. It feels like, "Surely we should be doing something!" We want to take a short cut, perhaps get off at an earlier exit and weave our way home a different way, just to avoid the waiting. We size up the situation and look for the shorter line. We just want to get on with our lives, not wait! It feels as if nothing is happening, and like I mentioned before, like we are wasting time.

But this is not truth. Waiting requires a great amount of strength, strength that is given to us by the Lord. Waiting on the Lord is an active process of relying on the Lord and knowing Who He is. We are to know not just who He is, but we can know Him deeply and intimately and with that comes an assurance of Whom we can depend on and rely upon.

There is something in me, and perhaps in you, too dear reader, that says "Hurry up! Make a decision! Do something! You are wasting time!" But we are called not to rush ahead of God, but to wait on Him. We are to seek His Will and wait patiently.

Lamentations 3:25-26 encourages us that, "The Lord is good to those who trust in Him, to the one who seeks him. It is good to wait patiently for deliverance from the Lord." (NET) As we wait for the Lord, we can be assured that He will answer, and He IS answering. We can be confident that even right now, in the waiting, He is at work in our hearts and in our situation. We will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

So let us slow down, take a deep breath, grab hold of God's heart and be strong. Think upon our Lord Jesus today and what He endured as He waited and remember that He really does love you very much.

He Will Renew Our Strength -- That's a Promise

The sense of renewal abounds in Spring. The air has a new smell, the ground is fresh with new growth, birds begin to find their sweet little voices again. Even our homes seem to ache for a good cleaning and a freshening up with pastel colors and the accent of flowers.

And so it is with the desires of our hearts, a longing for renewal runs deep and wide. Amidst trial and suffering, we walk the precipice of wanting renewal and being overwhelmed with our here and now. The tension of living in this place of teetering on the edge of both realities is difficult.

Isaiah 40:30-31 says, "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

We can take heart. We all are going to grow tired and weary, even the youngest and most fit. However, the Word then says "but," in other words "even when you do" by hoping in the Lord, your strength with be renewed. To hope in is to trust and look expectantly to the Lord. To renew in the Hebrew means to literally "change" like in a change of a clothes. When we are weary, we can put on a fresh garment of the strength of God through turning to Him and putting our trust in Him.

Waiting on the Lord is not a passive process. It is an active seeking and relying on Him, despite what our circumstances are. This is a process of discipline. Sometimes we are tempted to cry out "But it's too hard!" This is one of the mysteries of God at work in us, we try to hope, and at the same time, He pours in to us the strength to do so.

When we do, we are able to do the unimaginable. God gives us the strength to soar above like the eagle. He gives us the strength to run the race marked out for us and to move forward in His work in our lives and in the lives of the people around us. In Isaiah 40:31 "weary"means "exhaustion because of the hardness of life." We can trust that God will give us the strength to overcome this weariness, even when our circumstance may not change.

Yes, dear reader, in all of life, we will grow weak and tired. We may be exhausted. But as we hope in the Lord and trust Him, He will renew our strength. He will bring life to us again, rejuvenate us, grow us up and make us new again. And we will be able to soar and run and walk over and through wherever He asks us to journey with Him.

As you look about in our physical world of the renewing that God is doing in the process of Spring, take heart that as you depend on Him, He will (not maybe) give you strength and bring new life to you.

Little by Little

From time to time it seems as if God gives me a special verse. Today, the Lord brought to mind a verse that he gave me in August of last year, and I believe that He wanted me to remember it to encourage me to persevere, even now.

Exodus 23:29-30 says, "But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land."

Does it seem as if God is taking too long to work in a situation? The foe is great and prayers seem to be unanswered, or partially answered. We may call out to the Lord and ask for deliverance. "Please! The trial is too great! The burden to heavy! The oppression too fierce! The battle too intense."

Of course, God is capable of responding in one massive movement (after all, He did create the world) but sometimes He chooses to work slowly, or at least, what appears to be such, and it is hard for us to see the benefit of His strategy amidst the long dark expanses of time.

We need to remember that God knows who we are and what we need. In our circumstances, we may need to further develop our strength or perseverance or integrity. If He was to remove that which plagues us too quickly, we may not grow in those areas. Only God knows.

The wild animals of entitlement, ungratefulness, apathy, mistrust or self-doubt could over power the victorious land that God intends to give us. And so, sometimes, little by little, God drives out the wild animals and desolation that infect us, inside. These things would overtake us if we did not deal with them, with Him -- our own sins, our past, our mistrust, our unbelief, our selfishness or our insecurities (to name a few).

Little by little, in great detail with fine quality, the Lord deals with us in our circumstances until we have the strength and integrity of character to possess the land -- the life -- that God has for us in Christ Jesus. And little by little, He drives out the enemies that we battle with, until we are ready to possess that land of freedom that God has prepared for us.

So, dear reader, persevere in keeping your eyes and faith focused on Jesus. God is about a very detailed work in your life, as you trust in Him and obey Him in the way that He may be asking you to walk. It may seem like He is holding back, but I believe He is not, but just working the very best plan so that we will be ready to possess a fertile, healthy, beautiful land.