Mama’s Christmas Pin

     I remember a certain Christmas when I was a child. I’m not sure just how old I was, maybe six or seven. The holiday was fast approaching and gift giving was on my mind. My older brother and I had trudged through the snow down the big hill to the Five and Dime Store in the small Northern Michigan town I grew up in. I can by imagination visualize the scene from that day. I’m sure I had soggy hand knitted mittens hanging from my pockets, stringy blond hair poking out from under a sock hat and rubber boots with metal latches on my cold feet. I recall that I had to stand on my tip toes to see into the big display at the front of the store full of various trinkets marked down to entice thrifty Christmas shoppers looking for stocking stuffers.

     I sorted through many pieces of cheap costume jewelry hunting for the perfect gift for Mama. I wanted the best one. With about fifty cents to spend it narrowed down the choices. But then after much sorting, there it was. It was so beautiful. I had found it, the best one. How shall I describe it? It was an oval shaped pin that was about an inch by an inch and a half with white plastic petals spraying out from the center. At the end of each petal was a small pink glass jewel. On top of that layer was an inner row of smaller delicate petals (also plastic) and then in the very center was a larger pink jewel surrounded by five more pink jewels all encased in plastic settings. To anyone with any fashion sense at all this pin would probably be described in one word, “cheesy”. But to me it was an absolute treasure and my fifty cents would buy it. It may have even been a toy meant for playing dress up I’m not sure.

     I purchased the pin took it home and wrapped it and couldn’t wait for Mama to open it. Christmas morning came and sure enough Mama oohed and ahhhed over the pin. She liked it as much as I did. But that’s not all she did. She wore it. She wore it often. She even wore it out, to work and to church. She wore it proudly as though the stones were diamonds set in gold instead of glass set in plastic.

     After she passed away the pin came back to me. I'm holding it now in my hand. It is still beautiful to me but for different reasons. To treasure the pin in the way that she did was to treasure me.

     We have a heavenly Father who treasures us. Psalms 29:2 says: Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord In the beauty of holiness. My gifts of worship are much like the plastic and glass pin. I have no holiness on my own. But long ago one morning in Bethlehem Town a Savior was born who would carry all my imperfections, all my sin, all my plastic and glass to an old rugged cross and in trade would give to me a robe of righteousness that would turn my plastic and glass worship into the beauty of holiness. God now (because of Jesus Christ) accepts my humble gift of worship as though it were a treasure.




Magnolia Gardens, one of my favorite places.

 

God Hears Our Prayers

2 Chronicles Chapter 6

   A few days ago I was reading in 2 Chronicles and noticed something that warmed my heart. Solomon had finished building the temple and had a dedication celebration for it. He prayed a prayer of dedication to the Lord asking that prayers spoken in this temple be heard. He said: “Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. And may You hear the supplication of Your servant of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.

   Solomon then goes on bringing up different possibilities, If anyone sins against his neighbor, then hear…if your people are defeated before an enemy, then hear…when the heavens are shut up, then hear…when there is famine, then hear, and on and on asking God to hear in all these instances, then he says, “Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ear be attentive to the prayer made in this place.

   Then, reading on into chapter 7 God confirms His acceptance of the temple by way of fire coming down from heaven and consuming the offerings and sacrifices. It says that the glory of the Lord filled the temple. It must have been an overwhelmingly wonderful thing to witness. After this the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night and said this to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

   These are verses that are quite familiar.  They are verses that we think about often as we think about the condition of our country, but it is what the Lord said next that warmed my heart. He then said, “Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

   Solomon prayed for God’s eyes to be open and His ears attentive. God answered him specifically My eyes will be open and My ears attentive.

   My heart is warmed because I know that God hears the details of my prayers just as he heard Solomon's prayer. This week I have been picking peaches from my two little peach trees. They are loaded with scrumptious sweet peaches. I’ve been canning a few, freezing a few, and sharing a lot.

   There is a story behind these peach trees that reminds me that just like Solomon’s prayer, God hears my prayers also. The first year I planted them they were just large twigs sticking out of the ground with a few branches. I babied them and worried over them like a mother hen.

    It was my husband Vic’s job to weed eat around the house and trees. In the past many of my trees have suffered and died at the hands of a not very careful weed eater. Sure enough, one day there it was... a huge gash from the weed eater line. I just knew that my little tree was going to die like other trees that had suffered from the same fate. Anger doesn’t adequately describe what I was feeling. It was a bit beyond anger. I know Vic felt bad, but I was still angry. I sat down by the trees and prayed. I said something like this, “Lord, I don’t want to be this angry at Vic, but I am. Would you please heal my tree so that I won’t be angry at him?” I then let go of the anger, forgave Vic and trusted that God would take care of my tree. God took very good care of my tree. This is the first year to harvest peaches from my two trees. Both trees have an equal bountiful supply of luscious fruit.

   God’s eyes and ears are open to the concerns of His children. I love being His child. If you are not His child, you can be.  Watching over and healing my tree was a small thing for God.  He also watches over me, my family, my church family, my friends, I have seen His hand of healing in many ways.  I know He hears my prayers.

Bought With A Price

First Corinthians 6:19-20: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Sometimes as we struggle along through life and wade through the waters of difficult challenges, and complicated relationships, there can be times that we feel that others don’t value us as they should or as much as we would like for them to. In our relationship with God, we need never be concerned that we don’t have value. We were bought with a very high price.

I have a possession that is very special to me. It is my Chickering grand piano. It is well over 100 years old, and it is a very beautiful instrument. I have spent hours and hours pouring my heart out through the piano keys. Nearly every day I spend time on that old bench communing with God.

A local man who is an expert in restoring old pianos found it for me and did the restoration. I had to wait several years for the whole process to be completed. I don’t remember exactly what I paid for the instrument and restoration, but it has been worth every penny. I love that piano. It has value to me. It was bought with a price.

It is mind boggling to think that I mattered enough, that I had value enough to God that He would allow his Son to suffer a horrible death to redeem my soul. I must have much value, you must have much value. God must love us dearly and at a level beyond our comprehension. We should never act like we own ourselves. God paid a price for us.

Getting back to my piano, because it has much value to me, I have it tuned when it gets out of tune, I wipe the dust off, and clean the ivory keys.

I think God looks at His valued ones and finds the areas that need to be tuned up, the places that have dust that needs to be wiped off, and all of the keys that need to be polished. We are valuable to Him, We were bought with a price. He wants our lives to make beautiful music. He can make it happen.

Immeasurably More

Immeasurably More

My all time favorite TV ad is the one where the little boy makes his way onto the stage and up to the grand piano and begins to play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Quietly behind him approaches the music master and joins him making his childish effort sound professional. The parents sitting in the audience morph from humiliation to pride.

Something in me swells every time I see that video clip stressing the importance of encouragement. I think I see much more in that tiny one minute story. That little boy is all of us. That little boy is me and you. I think about my meager efforts to accomplish some good thing and I picture in my mind my Heavenly Father approaching quietly from behind and turning my elementary efforts into blessings. My wonderful God is like that. Maybe that is why I am so drawn to the ad.

Ephesians 3:30 says, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

I know that the purpose of the ad is to encourage people to be like the musician, willing to come alongside a child with encouragement and understanding and patience. I didn’t miss that. It just seemed to speak louder to me that at times, I am the child. I am in need of something bigger than myself. What a comfort to think of God’s big, powerful arms reaching around me turning my efforts into something worthwhile. It reminds me of when He turned water into wine.

Water Into Wine

Every week she made her way to the rest home on the hill,

And played the old piano, their lonely hours to fill.

She hit wrong notes, and sang off key, but no one seemed to mind.

They recognized the gospel tunes and often you would find,

Some would clap their hands, or hum, and some might sing a line.

Some would wipe a tear as Jesus turned this water into wine.

Jesus changes water into wine,

He can make the simple into fine.

You may feel you haven’t much,

but it becomes a treasure at his touch,

Yes, Jesus changes water into wine.

Nervously with trembling hand taking guitar from its case,

He began to strum the chords, and sing Amazing Grace.

His wife and little boy joined in as he sang and played.

A first time gift of love was at the throne then laid.

You could hear Amen! Amen! For all had thought it fine.

And all were blessed to hear as Jesus turned this water into wine.

Jesus changes water into wine,

He can make the simple into fine.

You may feel you haven’t much,

but it becomes a treasure at his touch,

Yes, Jesus changes water into wine.

Each week he sat and waited in his wheelchair at the gate,

For his Sunday morning ride, never was he late.

Neighbors watched and wondered, where does he go each week?

Must be to church, buy why, oh why? They’d wonder as they’d peek.

What has he to give thanks for, what can he do confined?

But his neighbors did not know the Lord was turning water into wine.

Jesus changes water into wine,

He can make the simple into fine.

You may feel you haven’t much,

but it becomes a treasure at his touch,

Yes, Jesus changes water into wine.

A Verbal Hug

Proverbs 18: 4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

My daughter Robin called me this morning. We chatted for a minute or two then she said the real reason I called was to tell you what Cayden did last night. My mind went to all sorts of places. What had happened to my adventurous 7 year old grandson? I waited to hear what she would say. I could tell there was concern in her voice.

She told me that she and Corbin, her other son, were watching American Idol. Michael (her husband) was busy in another room. Cayden was quietly playing by himself. He had a blanket that he was using for a cape. I am guessing it was a favored blanket and that it had been around a good while. Robin said the satin edge was coming loose on it.

Cayden had managed to slip his head through the hole. Now his cape would stay on by itself. Somehow in the midst of his imaginative play turning and spinning it got tangled and tightened around his neck. It was cutting off his air supply.

He came to the door where she was watching TV and quietly ask his mom for some scissors. She looked at him and noticed that his little face was quite red. She got up and came closer and figured out what was happening. At that point she did what most panicking moms would do, she screamed for dad. Michael came quickly and untangled the blanket and all was well.

Robin needed a verbal hug from mom this morning. I soothed her with comforting words assuring her that she is indeed a very good momma and no one can prevent everything that kids do. I reminded her that I pray for her family everyday and that God watches when we can't. I teased that I would ask God to send extra guardian angels for that boy. We laughed, both understanding that with his personality he needs extra.

My daughter needed a hug from mom. It had to be a verbal one. Words can be like deep waters, refreshing and healing. There are people all around us that just might need a verbal hug today. Proverbs 31:26 says: She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. "Dear Lord, please give me a kind tongue".

HE GOT IN THE BOAT AND LEFT

There is an incident recorded for us regarding a man who had demons controlling him. He is the guy living among the tombs who cuts himself and scares people. The scripture says that for a long time he had not worn clothes or lived in a house. When Jesus came along, the man himself did not recognize Jesus but the powers within him did. Jesus confronted the evil and miraculously delivered him from the oppression. The demons understood Jesus’ authority; they also must have detected a measure of mercy, for they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. Jesus permitted them to go into a herd of swine. The swine ran helter-skelter into a lake and drowned.

It was told around the town and countryside about this miracle. I find it interesting that rather than rejoice in the man’s deliverance and healing and rather than recognizing this one sent from God, they were instead uncomfortable ,and afraid. The scripture says this: Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

He up and left. The son of God was asked to leave and so He left. He didn’t stay and try to state His case with them, convince them of all He could do for them. He didn’t beg them to recognize Him. He simply got in the boat and left. The one with all the answers to all the questions left.

I find this incredibly sad, and incredibly convicting. I am fully aware of who Jesus is. I know that He is God’s son, the Messiah. I’ve invited Him in to be my Lord and Savior. But, how often have I dissed Him. How often in this circumstance or that circumstance have I said by my actions “leave, I’m uncomfortable with your way”? How often in my own life has the miracle worker “got in the boat and left” because I wanted to do things my way, or because my faith was too weak to believe in a miracle? I’ll tell you how often…..too often.

Dear Lord, please help me to recognize your authority, your wisdom and your power in all things. Please don’t get in the boat and leave. I also pray a prayer for my Nation. If you are on your way to the boat, please come back.