Where is God in the Middle of the PDA's of Life?

There are seasons where life is hard.  A curve ball has been thrown our way and we miss.  We stumble under the weight and long for someone bigger than us to carry us.  We bend under the weight of rejection, of a sudden death, a job loss,  an illness, or you put in your curve ball ...
  That someone is often God that we look to and often blame Him for not carrying us or coming through for us like we want it to look like.

 The summer of 2018, we as a family spent time with a group of people who run summer camps the month of July for First Nations people.  The staff consists of approx 40 young people and families from the States and Canada that give of their time and energy to make this happen.  We are a group that come from a varying of backgrounds, cultures, personalities, and stories that have formed and influenced who we.

   How do we pull together and become a team??

    We start out with 7 1/2 days of training, sessions, and group activities, learning what we should or should not do.  Learning relational tips and just information that is helpful to running a camp and working together.
   One concept we learn are three aspects of a team - team, individual, and task.  These are illustrated with circles.  Are the three circles of equal size, are they balanced?  Are we so focused on our task that we forget to care for the individual?  Are we so focused on what we're doing that we forget we're a part of the team?  How do we support a leader?  How is the leader fulfilling these areas?  Does he designate or do it all himself? and more....
   One way that we illustrate this is through TDA's (Team Development Activity).  TDA's are intense.  They are hard and require skill, focus, and integrity.  They usually take an hour and half to 3 hours to complete.  A group of 30-35 people choose a leader, learn to work together to accomplish the task, learn how to give ideas and yet support the leader, and the leader learns leading tips, etc.  There are specific rules that must be followed and if any are broken or breached there are consequences.
   There are two facilitators that choose, guide, and oversee the activity.

These activities are grueling.  They are intense and bring out the good and bad inside of you.  There are moments of wanting to quit.  Then someone comes standing beside you whispers or shouts....  let's keep going?  or don't slack off now!  or you can do this!
During one particular TDA, a thunderstorm popped up.  It rained and it rained.  You were uncomfortable, wet, chilled and transporting an object that couldn't touch the ground from one place to another.  The rain poured, it became muddy, and still the group walked on.

As an observer and one who wants to be inside during a thunderstorm, I wondered if it was safe or ok to keep going.  But I kept such thoughts to myself...  Amanda & I were told to meet the group at a designated spot... we waited and we waited... the storm poured and the lightening flashed and the group didn't come.

Finally we wondered if they were still coming or if the exited the lake before the designated spot?

We discovered, indeed, that they were on dry land and had begun the debriefing session.  Later in talking to the one facilitator, his comments were, "yes, we were watching the storm.  And when the lightening struck the other side of the lake, we made the decision to exit the lake for it was no longer safe."

His comment --- that they were watching the storm, struck me.  Because Amanda & I were having no communication with them about the storm, and to be honest, I wasn't truly trusting their decisions to keep going.

And then I thought of my hard times, times when I wonder if God is really trustworthy and paying attention to the 'safety' of my situation...  HE IS WATCHING THE STORM.

And I must trust and rest in that truth.  He IS watching and cares and when the lightening strikes too close, He cares and He directs.

And, I wonder, how many times Jesus wants to step in to respond to our heart's cry and God says, "He or She must choose.  This is a moment for her to choose to love me for Who I am and not what I do  This is a moment for a deeper awareness of Who I am."

Jesus as our Intercessor and Advocate restrains because of giving us the characteristic of choice.  The choice to trust.  The decision to believe by faith.  To follow, even if.

But all the while HE IS WATCHING.  He is present.  He is with us.

The Posture of Two Hands

 

The Posture of Two Hands

Lord, You created two hands.

Hands to give.

Hands to receive.

So much of life is both and and.

Both joy and sorrow.

Bothe pain and purpose.

Both hard and holy.

Both thorns and pleasure.

These hands sometimes are gripping, holding on.

Other times they're clenched, tightly shut.

And then, there are those times, I let go and open the fists to receive, to embrace what I would never ask for and allow You to place another thing in my hands.

Your strength.

Your peace.

Your Presence.

Your grace.

Two hands.

In the one I hold the ache of loneliness and the other the soft glow or bold glory of the morning sunrise or the evening sunset.

In the one I hold the tears of disappointments and the other the confidence of Your faithfulness.

In the one I hold my anger at what doesn't make sense and the other one the release of trusting You and choosing to continue to believe in Your goodness.

Two hands.

Either open or tight-fisted.

Either closed or open.

Either rejecting or receiving.

If I close my hand to receiving the hard, I close my hand to the holy as well.

Closed to receiving Your love and grace, closed so You cannot put in my hand the strength I need to walk the journey, to take the next step.

Two hands.

I bring together in a posture of prayer and praise.

Prayer for grace to accept the parts of my story I'd rather not have and 

praise for Your presence and the little joys that are around me for me to notice.

Two hands.

Pain and purpose.

Joy and sorrow.

Thorns and pleasure.

Two hands.

Brought together in a moment for Your glory and for Your purpose, Lord.

And then,

joy, peace which cannot always be explained invades my soul and I take the next step with a little more of a dance, a little lighter and with a little more spring.

When we create space for what we don't want, there is space for the joy and the goodness of God to be seen and experienced.

But I confess, this, takes a whole lot of trusting God.  Of believing He is still good when circumstances simply don't make sense.  Of choosing to not bow down and give in to grief and despair and proclaim, "Even if..."  It's choosing, again, by faith, to stay with God and remember He loves us, not because of what He does, but because of Who He is!!!  It's learning to accept and embrace what I'd rather not, with a smile that tells of His goodness and provision.

And this.  Causes me to pray, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."

The Ache of our Souls and a Place to Go

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU WILL FIND REST for your souls.  Matthew 11:28-29

This is one of my favourite verses and yet if you look closely there's a piece that I want to skip... "take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me..."

Why do I want to skip that part??  

I am asked to let go.  To embrace a path I may not want.

But the exchange is, rest. 

Rest from striving. Rest from orchestrating life's activities.  Rest from the control that I so easily settle into.

A heart at rest, a settledness, right in the middle of walking, right in the middle of the storm sometimes.

Jesus.
Says come.
To Me.

To Him.
For REST.

A yoke is a joining together of two.
Two oxen.
Two people.

Jesus is inviting us to join Him and learn from Him.

Jesus does not promise life to be easy. 
The fact is life is not easy whether you follow God or not.  Whether you believe in Him or you don't.  Life became broken in the garden and life remains broken and disjointed.

But in that moment, God came and voiced a promise to Adam and Eve.  A promise of redemption.  A promise of a Saviour.

So, why follow God? Why believe His promises??

Because He promises to join us as we navigate life.  He wants to yoke with us and help to bear our burden.  Life is harder without Him.

Come.

Jesus came.  He is God incarnate.  Holy and Perfect made human.

Human so he showed us He identifies with us.

He came to partner with us in every way.  And now He says, "Come."

Bring every ache, every tear, every lonely moment, every hard, every angry moment, everything and learn of Him.  Learn more of His tenderness for those tears.  Learn more of His love even when it doesn't feel like it's there.  

Let go of walking alone and yoke with Him.

Trusting His steering, His guiding on the journey.