You’re not fully dressed and ready without your cape!

“Don’t leave home without it.”

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I’ll be away from the blog next week. See you back here on June 2nd. It’s a date!

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“The best offense is a good defense.”

“Good fences make good neighbors.”

Having protection from animals and defending property are great reasons for fences. Whatever it’s made of, the fence functions as a barrier. It’s meant to mark territory. One side is ‘in’, and the other is ‘out’. It clears up any confusion about where the lines are drawn.

There are barriers like that around hearts sometimes too. They get built for the same reasons as physical fences. It’s always about protection.

People can be cruel. Words fly, feelings get hurt, egos begin to deflate. Who wants to be a part of that? We all have tender feelings, of course the first reaction is to protect them.

If I am repeatedly rejected, believe me, no one is coming in anymore. It’s taking too big a risk that I’ll get hurt again.

Up go the barricades. No one can touch my heart now.

But it’s a double-edged sword. The problem with living in that protected place is that while no one can get in, I’m not getting out either. Choosing to cope this way actually ends up crippling me.

I feel safe. I fell protected. But pretty soon, that place of love inside of me I’m trying to protect? It’s going to start curling up and turning brown.

I’m not created to serve and protect just myself. Every one of us is a precious gift to bring support, love and light to each other. But those gifts don’t grow and thrive while surrounded by fencing. Held close, they wilt and lose their potency.

Now I’m not saying I haven’t run behind a fence or two in my time. I suspect I will again. Putting myself ‘out there’ and sharing my abilities opens me up to all kinds of grace. But it also opens me up to all kinds of ridicule. Not everyone appreciates my help, talents or expertise. That’s just a fact of life.

But building barriers when someone says something unkind, or didn’t call, or told me I’m not needed, is just not the answer.

I think it’s better to just walk away. That’s what the disciples did.

“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet .”  Matthew 10:14

So like them, I’ll do something new. I’m going to skip the ‘defense’, and start the ‘de-fence’. Taking those boards down and clearing the land around me makes my heart expand and feel free again.

And in that freedom, I can choose to give where I am received, or walk away when I am shunned.

Without those fences, I can even come back again another day. Free to walk anywhere, I can revisit the places where I’d been abandoned. Who knows? God’s grace changes hearts and circumstances. I might be able to serve in that place of rejection someday.

As I de-fence, I’m really preparing to connect. And it won’t matter if I’m rejected. No matter what anyone says, I’ll always be free.

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Well, I love a rainy night

I love a rainy night

I love to hear the thunder

Watch the lightening

When it lights up the sky

You know it makes me feel good.

~Eddie Rabbit~

I sat on my covered porch, listening to distant thunder. It was just after sundown, but the sky looked more like midnight. The rain that had been forecasted for the morning hours had taken its time to arrive.

Thunderstorms make me want to drop whatever I’m doing and go sit in front of a window. Or sit on the porch. I remember as a young mom, I’d hear that far-off rumble and tell the kids it was time to watch the storm come in.

But today I sat alone in the three-season room, listening to the first raindrops pinging off the metal roof. Everything in me relaxed, and I sunk deeper into my cushioned chair. The sound of the rain, and even the wind, calmed me as the flames of the candles I’d lit danced in the breeze.

I started thinking about why I loved thunderstorms. The cracks of lightening and the rolling explosions of thunder startle some people. Why don’t I feel that way?

I realized that I like it because I can view it in safety.

If I was driving in a storm, I wouldn’t be relaxed. I’d be concentrating on getting home. The slick roads and the lack of clear vision can get pretty frightening. If I was walking outside, I’d be picking up the pace, hoping I got home before the rain started coming down in sheets.

Having a sturdy shelter is the source of my peace. I live in a well-made house. I have windows without cracks, a roof that doesn’t leak and a basement that has a sealed foundation. Knowing that I am secure, I don’t worry about the weather. I can even appreciate the beauty of it.

These same ideas really speak to my spiritual life too.

There are storms in the minutes and hours of my everyday. Fender benders, disagreements and frustrations barge into my perfectly planned day. It’s hard to meet these situations in peace, much less appreciate the beauty. That sounds a little crazy doesn’t it?

But it is possible. It just depends on how sturdy my foundation is.

God knows every car accident and disappointment I’ll ever have. But he also knows that I can learn, survive and thrive right through them. But only if my house is on solid rock. The rock of Christ.

If my faith in him is firm, then I’ll be able to deal with the problems that come. In him there are no cracks or leaks. I am sealed in his love and protection.

So the next time I hear that distant rumbling, I’ll remember why I can love that sound. I have a house that protects me. When I am faced with hard times, I’ll remember why I can those too.

He is my rock and my shelter. So I am safe.

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Maybe people tell you that you spend too much time going over your work.

Just remind them that a dropped word became pretty important to Rachael Ray.

So it probably should be important to you too.

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I was walking along my usual route, earplugs in, listening to my exercise mix. As I cruised down the sidewalk, I saw a group of maybe five children, all on bicycles. They were all riding in the driveway, a bit wobbly, but having a great time.

Just as I passed the group, I heard an older man’s voice call out, “Connor! You can do anything you want to do. Are you looking at me? You just can’t give up!”

I smiled to myself. It sounded like a grandfather, encouraging his grandchild to keep working on mastering that bike.

It’s not easy to learn the balancing act of bike riding. You have to be the right age and have the muscle coordination. Some can do it before they hit preschool. Others have to wait until their bodies catch up to their desire to ride. But either way, it takes practice, practice, practice.

What if this child didn’t have his grandfather to encourage him? Maybe he would have given up. Maybe it would have taken a long time for him to try again. But I guess I don’t have to wonder about that. God made sure Grandpa was there.

I have been very fortunate in my life, just like Connor. When I’ve truly needed support, I got it. Someone was there for me in times of fear and frustration.

My parents were there when I learned to crawl, and clapped for me when I stood to walk. A swimming teacher was there to catch me when I jumped off the side of the pool into her arms. And there was the drivers ed teacher with his foot hovering over the auxiliary brake. All this support was given by my Holy Father so I could do something new.

And he is still doing it. God knows I need the support of his grace, and the help of his people to do the new things he calls me to do. He wants me to jump off the edge of my comfort zone and help spread his love and service to others.

Has God ever asked you to do something that was a real challenge? Nursing school was really hard for me. So much memorization. So many bones and muscles! Not to mention Chemistry and Microbiology classes.

But my Father never let me go it alone. He was always calling to me, like Connor’s grandfather. He held me up through his gifts of grace and the helping hands my study partners. I never have to wonder what would happen if God wasn’t there.

Because he always is.

So whatever you’re being asked to do today, don’t worry if it looks too hard. Don’t lose heart. Our Father will send the help you need to lift and encourage you.

And when in prayer, let’s take some time to listen too. Only then will we hear that still, small voice say:

“You can do anything I call you to do. Are you looking at me? You just can’t give up!”

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Linking today with: The Friday Five

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I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would love it if everyone who visited this blog could get together with me and go out for dinner. That would be so much fun, wouldn’t it?

Well, I got to do the next best thing. I reached out to Beth, who writes at Simply Beth , and we arranged to meet last Saturday. Falling into a booth at Panera, we had a wonderful three hour lunch, just getting to know each other. It was a wonderful experience. And she brought me a gift too!

I told her I would put it up where I write, because I often ‘wish’ I could figure out what to write about. She was so warm and shared her blogging wisdom with me, which was so kind. You can check out her blog by using the link on her blog name.

Thank you Beth, for being the first fellow blogger that I met ‘face to face’!

“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. And to heed than the fat of rams.”   1 Samuel 15:22

Now I’m not much of a ‘ram-fat’ person. But I do understand the point the prophet Samuel is trying to get across. Give up chocolate, donate to the poor, pray twice a day. These are great things to do for the Lord. But there’s another practice that beats them all.

Obedience.

The Lord speaks his commands in many different ways. The Scriptures list the Ten Commandments. I know the Beatitudes and the Golden Rule. But there’s another way that God speaks, and I often have a little trouble following it. It’s that still, small voice that speaks so quietly inside me.

I know that God doesn’t speak in a loud, shrill thunderclap. Elijah found that out for himself, and all of us, atop Mt. Horeb. The voice of God was heard in the gentlest breeze. You know that voice. It speaks to you too.

I wrote a blog post about the time it called me to talk to a woman I barely knew. My reaction wasn’t immediate obedience. Oh no. My reaction was: “Why?”

I think there is an eternal eight year old in me that always wants reasons. I agree that obedience is the goal, but it’s a lot easier to jump to the command if I know the whole game plan. So that’s a problem. God is not always forthcoming with blueprints when I ask for them.

It’s like I’m an eight year old playing with Lego’s behind our open front door. I’m concentrating very hard on making a space ship. Suddenly, I hear my mom yelling from the kitchen, “Shut the door!”

She sounds very worried. But instead of just stretching my hand out and pushing the door closed, I look up from my creation and ask, “Why?”

Instead of an answer, I see my mom streaking for the door, and slamming it shut with all her might.

It’s not like my mom doesn’t want to tell me why I should shut the door. I’m sure she’d love to have that conversation over milk and Oreos. But right now, there’s no time for that. There’s a wolf at the door that wants to get in. My mom, who saw it from the kitchen, called out to ask me to be her defender. I missed the opportunity to help.

My desire for a reason left me completely useless.

God can see all the wolves that want to get into my life. He knows when they’re coming, and how much trouble they’ll cause. In his still, small voice he insists, “Shut the door!”

How many times will I make him ask? I wonder how he keeps his own unfathomable peace while I stand there asking for the game plans.

Sometimes, ‘why’ just doesn’t matter.

Maybe the explanation will come later. Maybe I’ll never know. The only thing I need to know? God is telling me something important. There’s a wolf at the door.

And that door isn’t going to shut itself.

Linking up today with: Unforced Rhythms

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“A baby makes love stronger, the nights shorter, and the days longer,

savings are smaller, and homes happier.”

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Happy Mothers Day to all my blog-friends who are Moms, Grandmothers, Aunts, Adoptive or Foster Moms, and ‘like a Mom’ to the special people in your life.

Wishing you a blessed and joyful day!

“Within you there is a stillness and sanctuary

to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”

~Herman Hesse~

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My two-year-old son stood in the middle of the living room. His head twisted quickly from side to side, looking for me.

I was in the room. But I was tucked into a corner chair feeding my infant daughter. He didn’t see me.

I was at my neighbor’s house. The moms and children on the block would get together occasionally after nap time.

While the toddlers tore up the first floor, the mom’s would sit in little clusters. Raising little ones is a joy, but it’s hard work too. It was so good to share those things.

Because it was deep into autumn, the social was well attended. I settled into a wing chair to feed my daughter, while my son ran over to play Lego’s. The living room was crowded with moms and children. I started chatting with three of my neighbors.

That’s when I saw my son run into the room. I noticed that because of the crowd, he couldn’t find me. Before I could wave my hand to alert him to my corner, he became visibly deflated. Then he burst into tears.

This happened about twenty-eight years ago, but the image is still fresh in my mind. He felt abandoned because he thought I’d disappeared. I felt terrible because he couldn’t see me. Hmm. Doesn’t that sound familiar.

“Where can I go from your Spirit?…If I go up to the heavens, you are there.” (Ps 139)

Even though I know that the Lord dwells in me, I can still be blinded to that fact. Busyness, distractions and broken relationships block my line of vision. In those times, I am like my son. I know that the Lord is in me, but I can’t see him. So I start to search for my Father.

But he seems far off…so far that I begin to lose confidence. How can he be with me if I don’t see him? I start feeling deflated and defeated. And I might start crying too.

I know that God’s heart breaks for his daughter who believes that he’s gone. Standing right in front of him, I grieve because I think he has left me. How pitiful I must look. I’m so thankful that he is a caring parent.

He’ll start waving his arm, and come running to me. “Here I am!” he calls.
That’s what I did too. What any good parent would do. I got up quickly, striding with purpose to rescue my child who thinks he’s alone.

Basking in the loving presence of my Father, I’ll grow in confidence.

Basking in the loving presence of his mother, my son will be reassured.

As much as I pretend to be a spiritual adult, I know I’ll always be a child. His child. I’ll always need a reminder that my Father is always with me. How blessed am I that he never tires of proving that he’s right by my side.

I’m ready to get back to serving my neighbors again. And I know God is with me.

I can see him now.

“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
― A.A. Milne

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