The word on the street is that many, if not most of you these days are looking to do your Christian ministry in some settings other than the church. The reasons cited are those typically associated with aging congregations, slow change, hostile treatment of ministers by marauding gangs within congregations, substandard pay, and a host of other equally genuine experiences of many in church ministry.
Now before you go running any further from the body that is called to bear witness to the Christ, that is commissioned for the divine purpose of engaging the world with the Gospel, and that is empowered by the Holy Spirit to pursue the aims of teaching and discipling and baptizing in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit…before you get lost in heading someplace else to find the vision and the resources and the community that is called to follow Jesus…I beg you to reconsider.
Churches have always been made up of people. They are often full of less than mature Christ-followers who are on the road with you. And like you, they too are often enamored with the latest and greatest fads of the times, the new technologies and the eclectic tendencies that would have us all become the great homogenized culture of lowest common denominators. They too, like you, are in hopes that there is some new and better way of doing church than they have sometimes been a part of. Like you, they long for something that holds up in the storm, that stands firm in the quakes of life, and that will serve as a rock solid foundation in the midst of this ever changing world.
But please consider this: what has been missing for the most part is the integrity that demonstrates faithfulness, the message that proclaims Christ, the willingness to march into hell for a heavenly cause (thank you Don Quixote), and the truth that is discovered and shared best in those personal and unfiltered relationships of human engagement that take place as pastoral caregivers, enablers, healers, and teachers.
It is not easy. It never has been, and it never will be. Jesus always laid it out as our willingness to take up our cross daily and to follow Him. So before you jump ship, (remember Jonah) remember that Jesus doesn’t call us to personal or vocational martyrdom prior to entering the coliseum of witness and testimony and service.
Likewise, we must not presume a Lone Ranger (excuse me for showing my age) mentality in our vocational perception. Even the Lone Ranger had Tanto. To follow Christ, to serve others in His name, to be real…is to take up the task given to the church and to work with others in Jesus’ name. It is to serve the “least of these” and to risk the frustrations of “the most of these.” But no such service goes unrewarded.
There will be countless moments that will challenge the best of you…but there will also be greater experiences of being lifted up by the mercies and grace and love of God. Along the way, if you dare, you will see the hand of God at work in you…
doing more than you could ask or think or imagine possible. And there will be joy.
The church is not a love it or leave it place. It is a place of calling and purpose and mission. Please don’t mistake the errors of humanity as a lack of power or presence or meaning for the church. The church’s story is a resurrection story. The world needs the church. The world and the church need you…all of you who would share the gospel of a Risen Savior.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Depression
Depression has been called the new plague. It has had a catastrophic effect on countless individuals and apparently, whether we measure it accurately or not, is one of the most popular illnesses receiving treatment today. Interestingly, the incidents of depression are obviously on the rise with many people demonstrating the seriousness of their mental condition by the incidents of suicide, threatened suicide, and even reported incidents of violent crime while under the influence of depression relieving medications.
All this is to say…something is up with the emotional and physical health of many individuals that points to a deeper problem.
We might do extensive studies of living conditions, economics, and social support systems, but the irrelevance of those factors seems clear when we examine cultures of impoverished countries. Those with grim circumstances seem in some ways to be healthier than our consumer driven, time compressed, socially overextended families friends and neighbors.
Now there is a certain amount of depression that can easily be cited relating to sudden economic change. For a certain group of individuals who “bank” on their success as determined in certain dollars and cents measurements, it might send them over the edge…these recent economic times. But there have been those who swore off affluence in the name of sanity who found that the greatest and most important aspects of life are never measured by dollars, but more often than not, by genuine relationships.
The best cure for depression is a good listening friend. The best application for fending off depressive feelings is positive meaningful work. The best aspect of health that can be supported by factual evidence is the presence of a genuine and life transforming religious experience that provides a grounding and foundation for life that yields joy and peace. Am I referring to a relationship of faith…absolutely, and at the same time, I will be the first to say, there is also the stark reality of mental illness and physical depression that can come to the most faithful, loving, gracious, out-going people in the world. Prolonged grief, the loss of a child or mate, the experience of physical trauma, the suffering of emotional pain brought by circumstances of life,…all can be causes and triggers for a debilitating physical and emotional state. Such experiences are worthy of the best treatment options possible, with the best available assistance of physicians and caregivers. Likewise, families need support and encouragement from others as they experience these emotional rollercoaster events in their households.
Depression may have its day and weeks and even months, but it should not be allowed to distort the present to the degree that we fall under the false belief that there is no hope or help. God spoke to us most clearly from the most depressive circumstances of Christ on a cross …and the message he offered was one of healing and forgiveness and a glorious future. Life may challenge us any day, but it bears the fruit of vitality and joy when we remember the Christ of Resurrection hope.
All this is to say…something is up with the emotional and physical health of many individuals that points to a deeper problem.
We might do extensive studies of living conditions, economics, and social support systems, but the irrelevance of those factors seems clear when we examine cultures of impoverished countries. Those with grim circumstances seem in some ways to be healthier than our consumer driven, time compressed, socially overextended families friends and neighbors.
Now there is a certain amount of depression that can easily be cited relating to sudden economic change. For a certain group of individuals who “bank” on their success as determined in certain dollars and cents measurements, it might send them over the edge…these recent economic times. But there have been those who swore off affluence in the name of sanity who found that the greatest and most important aspects of life are never measured by dollars, but more often than not, by genuine relationships.
The best cure for depression is a good listening friend. The best application for fending off depressive feelings is positive meaningful work. The best aspect of health that can be supported by factual evidence is the presence of a genuine and life transforming religious experience that provides a grounding and foundation for life that yields joy and peace. Am I referring to a relationship of faith…absolutely, and at the same time, I will be the first to say, there is also the stark reality of mental illness and physical depression that can come to the most faithful, loving, gracious, out-going people in the world. Prolonged grief, the loss of a child or mate, the experience of physical trauma, the suffering of emotional pain brought by circumstances of life,…all can be causes and triggers for a debilitating physical and emotional state. Such experiences are worthy of the best treatment options possible, with the best available assistance of physicians and caregivers. Likewise, families need support and encouragement from others as they experience these emotional rollercoaster events in their households.
Depression may have its day and weeks and even months, but it should not be allowed to distort the present to the degree that we fall under the false belief that there is no hope or help. God spoke to us most clearly from the most depressive circumstances of Christ on a cross …and the message he offered was one of healing and forgiveness and a glorious future. Life may challenge us any day, but it bears the fruit of vitality and joy when we remember the Christ of Resurrection hope.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Someplace This Side of Heaven...
There is the opportunity to discover in the depths of one’s soul the delight of thanksgiving for all the good God has given. It doesn’t take much to trigger that joy when we come to think of it. A smiling infant child’s two feet patting together like another set of hands clapping….it brings joy. A memory of a long life well-lived and the gift of sweet stories that retell the hopes that were filled full in God’s providing. No sun filled day is short of a glorious sunrise and a glorious sunset to remind us of grace and beauty. The pinks and deep blues of the evening sky are like a giant children’s playroom of anticipation and delight.
And children we are…every one of us, of a loving God who calls us to Himself…to his embracing love…to his constant care…to his chastising, but redeeming correction. When we wander from that love, we need not wonder why we feel less satisfied with life. When we neglect to praise our God, we do diminish ourselves. When we fail to rejoice in His good news, we neglect that very moment of eternity that was meant for gladness and make it something less.
But a father’s love…at least a Heavenly Father’s, is always capable of leading us to a new dawn, and a new hope, and a promise that He has never failed to share. Remember…Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
And children we are…every one of us, of a loving God who calls us to Himself…to his embracing love…to his constant care…to his chastising, but redeeming correction. When we wander from that love, we need not wonder why we feel less satisfied with life. When we neglect to praise our God, we do diminish ourselves. When we fail to rejoice in His good news, we neglect that very moment of eternity that was meant for gladness and make it something less.
But a father’s love…at least a Heavenly Father’s, is always capable of leading us to a new dawn, and a new hope, and a promise that He has never failed to share. Remember…Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Temporary Ways to Survive a Job Loss
The following are not necessarily good ideas for financial benefit, but they have been used to get through tough financial times by those who have been through them.
Cut and sell firewood (if you are handy with a chain saw).
Collect and sell aluminum cans.
Sell junk automobiles for parts or scrap metal.
Tear down old buildings for materials and sell materials as “recycled” or “reusable.” Note: Old barn wood is often used for picture frames; Old brick for brick decorating or landscaping.
Buy coveralls and paintbrush and ladder and start door to door solicitation to paint by the room for a certain price plus cost of paint. This works only if you are neat and don’t make a mess.
Empty your piggy banks. Look for “wheat pennies”, “WWII silver nickels” and old coins that can be sold to coin shops or collectors.
Sell slightly used but outgrown or never used clothes to consignment shop or slightly used clothing store.
Eat beans and rice often. In some countries a big bag of beans or rice is regarded as a guarantee against hunger. Learn how to slow cook them for best effect and taste.
Sell any extra vehicles you own, including dirt bikes, motorcycles, tricycles, and those that aren’t essential as alternative transportation.
Dispense with the cable and pawn the TV.
Go to the library and use online resources there if you can’t afford internet service. Contact government job services agencies. Work for temp firm.
Use library as source for movies, dvd and VCR tapes, books and magazines.
Borrow against your paid up whole life insurance policy (if you are young and healthy)
Sell your blood or plasma via donation sites that pay.
Sell your coin collection, stamp collection, or antiques.
Borrow from your retirement funds (last resort choice)
Withdraw early from retirement funds (worst choice due to tax penalties)
Buy “day old bread” and freeze it and take out enough for each day.
Eat eggs, cheap and easily digested protein. Good fried, boiled, scrambled, deviled, poached mixed with mayo to make egg sandwiches or with a dab of milk in French toast. Not great for low cholesterol dieters.
Use your work skills and talents in creative ways to earn income.
Crafters can make items to sell, seamstresses can alter clothing or make sellable piece work.
Boil peanuts and sell them by the roadside.
Open a lemonade stand.
Dress as clown and Sell balloons.
Offer services for pay: mowing lawns, raking leaves, tilling garden spots, spreading mulch, buying groceries, running errands, etc.
Tithe anyway. (a tenth of nothing is nothing, but if you can’t live off 90% of your earnings, you won’t be able to live off 100% of your earnings either.)
Go to church. Most don’t charge admission.
Pray. Ask. Seek. Share with friends and family your needs and ask for help in locating new job possibilities. The more eyes and ears looking, the better.
And as Winston Churchill said, “And never, never, never, never, never give up.”
Cut and sell firewood (if you are handy with a chain saw).
Collect and sell aluminum cans.
Sell junk automobiles for parts or scrap metal.
Tear down old buildings for materials and sell materials as “recycled” or “reusable.” Note: Old barn wood is often used for picture frames; Old brick for brick decorating or landscaping.
Buy coveralls and paintbrush and ladder and start door to door solicitation to paint by the room for a certain price plus cost of paint. This works only if you are neat and don’t make a mess.
Empty your piggy banks. Look for “wheat pennies”, “WWII silver nickels” and old coins that can be sold to coin shops or collectors.
Sell slightly used but outgrown or never used clothes to consignment shop or slightly used clothing store.
Eat beans and rice often. In some countries a big bag of beans or rice is regarded as a guarantee against hunger. Learn how to slow cook them for best effect and taste.
Sell any extra vehicles you own, including dirt bikes, motorcycles, tricycles, and those that aren’t essential as alternative transportation.
Dispense with the cable and pawn the TV.
Go to the library and use online resources there if you can’t afford internet service. Contact government job services agencies. Work for temp firm.
Use library as source for movies, dvd and VCR tapes, books and magazines.
Borrow against your paid up whole life insurance policy (if you are young and healthy)
Sell your blood or plasma via donation sites that pay.
Sell your coin collection, stamp collection, or antiques.
Borrow from your retirement funds (last resort choice)
Withdraw early from retirement funds (worst choice due to tax penalties)
Buy “day old bread” and freeze it and take out enough for each day.
Eat eggs, cheap and easily digested protein. Good fried, boiled, scrambled, deviled, poached mixed with mayo to make egg sandwiches or with a dab of milk in French toast. Not great for low cholesterol dieters.
Use your work skills and talents in creative ways to earn income.
Crafters can make items to sell, seamstresses can alter clothing or make sellable piece work.
Boil peanuts and sell them by the roadside.
Open a lemonade stand.
Dress as clown and Sell balloons.
Offer services for pay: mowing lawns, raking leaves, tilling garden spots, spreading mulch, buying groceries, running errands, etc.
Tithe anyway. (a tenth of nothing is nothing, but if you can’t live off 90% of your earnings, you won’t be able to live off 100% of your earnings either.)
Go to church. Most don’t charge admission.
Pray. Ask. Seek. Share with friends and family your needs and ask for help in locating new job possibilities. The more eyes and ears looking, the better.
And as Winston Churchill said, “And never, never, never, never, never give up.”
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Opportunity Preparedness
A friend recently wrote of the need to consider disaster preparedness a sound candidate for new government stimulus spending. From the run toward disasters that we seem to be making in recent years, that certainly sounds reasonable. At the same time, I would counter that proposal with yet another consideration. Could we not also prepare for opportunities?
It seems natural to consider the “fearsomeness” of being unprepared for life’s storms. I also wonder if equally significant is our lack of preparation in relating appropriately to life’s blessings.
Consider just a few:
In light of our religious liberty, how is it that numbers indicate religious engagement may be waning and many denominations report decline? Does freedom to worship mitigate against our preparation to actually be involved in those practices? Or perhaps we have simply forgotten to prioritize in light of such a freedom.
In government, we have adopted an agenda to resolve our pressing problems. Could we not also reasonably engage in those preparations that would allow for mutual benefit and progress? Consider the areas of research and development: corporations and universities on many fronts are diminishing and extinguishing these areas of effort in light of economic downturns. Yet where will we discover new opportunities for economic expansion and new product or services development? In the face of economic depression we should “double down” on research and development efforts in order to stimulate the very progress we seek with sound science, sound technology, and sound humanitarian efforts toward improvements.
In the midst of ethical challenges, is it not reasonable to regain our moral footing with the kind of intentional attentiveness to instruction and learning offered in the context of Christian community? Where better to discover the basis for the most effective and complementary work of relating positively to one another, than in the teachings of Jesus? Whether it stimulates our economy or not, the Ten Commandments, the golden rule, and the call to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength will give moral fiber to the personal and collective experiences of those who willingly engage in such discussions, actions and aims.
In a nation with a quickly escalating aging population, it would seem prudent to consider the means by which productive senior living can be enhanced, along with a clear consideration for quality of life considerations. We are at a place where our technology can outperform our ability to exercise human sensitivity and love. In matters of aging, we have an opportunity to demonstrate the highest forms of care in the midst of a spirit of careful restraint in the use of extraordinarily inhumane practices that may extend heart beats, but ultimately disregard human capacities for interaction, relationship and life quality with family, friends and loved ones. We have an opportunity to change the way we dispense care, and instead consider these persons of great worth, not pursuing a tactical goal of wholesaling housing provisions and health care procedures at the expense of joy, life, and engagement.
Opportunity preparedness -- that is the need before us. It has the potential to mean the “exercise of love” in the kinds of ways that redefine the future for all of us.
It seems natural to consider the “fearsomeness” of being unprepared for life’s storms. I also wonder if equally significant is our lack of preparation in relating appropriately to life’s blessings.
Consider just a few:
In light of our religious liberty, how is it that numbers indicate religious engagement may be waning and many denominations report decline? Does freedom to worship mitigate against our preparation to actually be involved in those practices? Or perhaps we have simply forgotten to prioritize in light of such a freedom.
In government, we have adopted an agenda to resolve our pressing problems. Could we not also reasonably engage in those preparations that would allow for mutual benefit and progress? Consider the areas of research and development: corporations and universities on many fronts are diminishing and extinguishing these areas of effort in light of economic downturns. Yet where will we discover new opportunities for economic expansion and new product or services development? In the face of economic depression we should “double down” on research and development efforts in order to stimulate the very progress we seek with sound science, sound technology, and sound humanitarian efforts toward improvements.
In the midst of ethical challenges, is it not reasonable to regain our moral footing with the kind of intentional attentiveness to instruction and learning offered in the context of Christian community? Where better to discover the basis for the most effective and complementary work of relating positively to one another, than in the teachings of Jesus? Whether it stimulates our economy or not, the Ten Commandments, the golden rule, and the call to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength will give moral fiber to the personal and collective experiences of those who willingly engage in such discussions, actions and aims.
In a nation with a quickly escalating aging population, it would seem prudent to consider the means by which productive senior living can be enhanced, along with a clear consideration for quality of life considerations. We are at a place where our technology can outperform our ability to exercise human sensitivity and love. In matters of aging, we have an opportunity to demonstrate the highest forms of care in the midst of a spirit of careful restraint in the use of extraordinarily inhumane practices that may extend heart beats, but ultimately disregard human capacities for interaction, relationship and life quality with family, friends and loved ones. We have an opportunity to change the way we dispense care, and instead consider these persons of great worth, not pursuing a tactical goal of wholesaling housing provisions and health care procedures at the expense of joy, life, and engagement.
Opportunity preparedness -- that is the need before us. It has the potential to mean the “exercise of love” in the kinds of ways that redefine the future for all of us.
Monday, February 2, 2009
I Miss Uncle Bob
As is sometimes the case with ex-relatives, you lose touch with some people that at one time you were really close to. My cousin related the events surrounding her dad’s illness and final months. I didn’t even know until he was gone. I still have the penny coin book he gave me when I first began a coin collection at the age of 7. I still remember his oil paintings of landscapes hanging on his bedroom wall, and they weren’t paint by number. I remember he was a mailman for a long time. I remember he let me and my cousins stay up late and eat pizza. Good memories. At the same time, I realize that there are many reasons why we become disconnected; distance, time, separation, family breakups, but none of the reasons seem very appropriate when we think about all that we miss when those distances and separations and losses accumulate.
One of the great tragedies of our time is the degree to which we are disconnected. We find people attending the same church, sitting just feet apart week after week who do not find within themselves the freedom or initiative to introduce themselves or to welcome another in a way that allows them to share who they are. Being together in the same places is not community. It is shared space. Until we communicate our hearts, thoughts, ideas, dreams, hopes, prayers, expectations, fears, challenges, strengths, weaknesses, failures, successes, and whatever else is possible to relate, we remain strangers in the same room.
A great need today is for human to human sharing. It starts with personal openness about life and living. It can begin in saying please…or thank you, in opening a door, allowing for a greeting and exchange of courtesies, but then it can and should be so much more. Shared meals, shared hearts, shared lives…it marks the community of believers…known by their love for one another…at least that is what Jesus said should describe us best.
One of the great tragedies of our time is the degree to which we are disconnected. We find people attending the same church, sitting just feet apart week after week who do not find within themselves the freedom or initiative to introduce themselves or to welcome another in a way that allows them to share who they are. Being together in the same places is not community. It is shared space. Until we communicate our hearts, thoughts, ideas, dreams, hopes, prayers, expectations, fears, challenges, strengths, weaknesses, failures, successes, and whatever else is possible to relate, we remain strangers in the same room.
A great need today is for human to human sharing. It starts with personal openness about life and living. It can begin in saying please…or thank you, in opening a door, allowing for a greeting and exchange of courtesies, but then it can and should be so much more. Shared meals, shared hearts, shared lives…it marks the community of believers…known by their love for one another…at least that is what Jesus said should describe us best.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A Time for Music
It struck me as most appropriate this past week to observe that exactly at the time of the “changing of the guard” in the Presidential inauguration ceremony, we were given a time to hear an extraordinary musical performance by some of America’s most renowned musicians. Their gifts, celebrating a wonderful occasion in the life of our nation was a gift to all those present and all those who were watching from places around the globe.
It was not only a beautiful moment, but it was coupled with the delicate strains of an old Shaker tune, but so beautiful a musical theme…"’tis a gift to be simple…’tis a gift to be free.” For this moment in history, such thoughts were overwhelmingly welcomed and redemptive in their message to the world.
In the midst of our times, when the complexities of economies and wars and challenges of every sort were looming in the background, those beautiful reminders allowed us a sure moment to breathe in their certain truth. It is a gift to consider the most simple of life’s gifts as the most precious. No true gift of life is something bought or sold, but rather are gifts to the heart and of the Spirit. God’s grace is received when it is perceived and known in the power, not of men, but of divine healing and mercy.
To value the simple gifts is to aspire to know those things that truly are our gifts for life. In the midst of those best gifts is the freedom of each day. We share the freedom to think and to act and to respond to our Creator and to one another. It is a freedom to live, to love, and to celebrate joy.
I overheard a young child’s prayer this week…“Dear God, Forgive me of my sins. I have an empty place in my heart, and I want you to come and fill it with joy.” Truer words of expectation and hope have never been spoken. God’s love fills us with the knowledge of His abiding presence and peace…“’Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free.”
It was not only a beautiful moment, but it was coupled with the delicate strains of an old Shaker tune, but so beautiful a musical theme…"’tis a gift to be simple…’tis a gift to be free.” For this moment in history, such thoughts were overwhelmingly welcomed and redemptive in their message to the world.
In the midst of our times, when the complexities of economies and wars and challenges of every sort were looming in the background, those beautiful reminders allowed us a sure moment to breathe in their certain truth. It is a gift to consider the most simple of life’s gifts as the most precious. No true gift of life is something bought or sold, but rather are gifts to the heart and of the Spirit. God’s grace is received when it is perceived and known in the power, not of men, but of divine healing and mercy.
To value the simple gifts is to aspire to know those things that truly are our gifts for life. In the midst of those best gifts is the freedom of each day. We share the freedom to think and to act and to respond to our Creator and to one another. It is a freedom to live, to love, and to celebrate joy.
I overheard a young child’s prayer this week…“Dear God, Forgive me of my sins. I have an empty place in my heart, and I want you to come and fill it with joy.” Truer words of expectation and hope have never been spoken. God’s love fills us with the knowledge of His abiding presence and peace…“’Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free.”
Monday, January 5, 2009
"Necessity is the Mother of Invention"
Whoever said that first is probably someone who recognized that difficulties, while challenging, may encourage creativity and new thinking, both of which may turn out to prove more helpful than the difficulty ever was.
As a Christian, I am reminded that Jesus stated that our real needs would be met, food, shelter, clothing, etc. when we were willing to first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Jesus also noted that God knows we need those things, even before we ask. It still helps to ask, I think, in a relationship of faith and trust and desiring His right way of relating in doing the things we do, saying the things we say, seeking the things we seek and trusting Him to lead us as we trustingly follow the example of Jesus in living by faith.
Over the years, in my own journey, I have found many resources that at first glance, seemed of little worth or help, but became very useful with perspective, creativity, and God’s blessing. The list of those provisions is lengthy, but just to share a few:
As a child, an old dynamite crate that I slid under my bed was my first “chest of drawers” for my clothes. Now more than 50 years later, it still holds a useful and fondly remembered purpose in our home, besides still using it for storage, each Christmas we utilize it as a “manger” for our church’s preschool nativity portrayal.
In seminary, funds were tight, and one semester I lacked money for books. At the same time a speculator was escalating the value of silver on the commodities market and coin dealers and jewelers were offering high prices for silver coins and flatware. Years before as an older child, an elderly neighbor had given me a pint jar filled with foreign coins from his war years travels. I had held on to them up until that time when it turned out that a number of them were silver. I was able to convert a handful of silver coins into enough cash to buy my books for that term. Shortly afterward the silver price fell drastically.
In one particular year of church ministry, resources were extremely scarce. Money for food and household bills was seemingly diminished to nothing. In thinking through our situation, I remembered a small life insurance policy taken out by my father for me when I was a teenager and which after I had married, I had paid a few dollars a month for until it reached its full value. It had been years since the last payment, but upon investigation, I found I could borrow against its value. I did so and the financial crisis was overcome.
As a young college student, I spent a summer selling books door to door in a state distant to my home. After weeks of work and after the other 19 members of the sales group I had started with had given up and gone home, I found myself still knocking on doors late one evening in a new part of the county when an older couple invited me to supper. In the course of the meal, my host served a helping of small tomatoes, that she had canned the previous year and which I had up until that time avoided in my diet. Out of politeness for their hospitality, I cleaned my plate and have enjoyed tomatoes of all sorts ever since. In fact, I love eating tomatoes and especially homegrown ones.
Seeing how God leads us to value things differently and in different ways is a good lesson to remember in the midst of difficult times. We often learn the greatest lessons of all when we are the most earnestly looking for answers. One of those for every circumstance is that God is with us in all our circumstances and indeed He does bless and multiply and change us in ways that allow His joy to be known and shared.
As a Christian, I am reminded that Jesus stated that our real needs would be met, food, shelter, clothing, etc. when we were willing to first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Jesus also noted that God knows we need those things, even before we ask. It still helps to ask, I think, in a relationship of faith and trust and desiring His right way of relating in doing the things we do, saying the things we say, seeking the things we seek and trusting Him to lead us as we trustingly follow the example of Jesus in living by faith.
Over the years, in my own journey, I have found many resources that at first glance, seemed of little worth or help, but became very useful with perspective, creativity, and God’s blessing. The list of those provisions is lengthy, but just to share a few:
As a child, an old dynamite crate that I slid under my bed was my first “chest of drawers” for my clothes. Now more than 50 years later, it still holds a useful and fondly remembered purpose in our home, besides still using it for storage, each Christmas we utilize it as a “manger” for our church’s preschool nativity portrayal.
In seminary, funds were tight, and one semester I lacked money for books. At the same time a speculator was escalating the value of silver on the commodities market and coin dealers and jewelers were offering high prices for silver coins and flatware. Years before as an older child, an elderly neighbor had given me a pint jar filled with foreign coins from his war years travels. I had held on to them up until that time when it turned out that a number of them were silver. I was able to convert a handful of silver coins into enough cash to buy my books for that term. Shortly afterward the silver price fell drastically.
In one particular year of church ministry, resources were extremely scarce. Money for food and household bills was seemingly diminished to nothing. In thinking through our situation, I remembered a small life insurance policy taken out by my father for me when I was a teenager and which after I had married, I had paid a few dollars a month for until it reached its full value. It had been years since the last payment, but upon investigation, I found I could borrow against its value. I did so and the financial crisis was overcome.
As a young college student, I spent a summer selling books door to door in a state distant to my home. After weeks of work and after the other 19 members of the sales group I had started with had given up and gone home, I found myself still knocking on doors late one evening in a new part of the county when an older couple invited me to supper. In the course of the meal, my host served a helping of small tomatoes, that she had canned the previous year and which I had up until that time avoided in my diet. Out of politeness for their hospitality, I cleaned my plate and have enjoyed tomatoes of all sorts ever since. In fact, I love eating tomatoes and especially homegrown ones.
Seeing how God leads us to value things differently and in different ways is a good lesson to remember in the midst of difficult times. We often learn the greatest lessons of all when we are the most earnestly looking for answers. One of those for every circumstance is that God is with us in all our circumstances and indeed He does bless and multiply and change us in ways that allow His joy to be known and shared.
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