Get Used To Different
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Floyd is resting well at the moment. I had so many special birthday greetings for him! I've been doing a short video each day for the therapist to share with him so that I can pass on all of them. I'm sure he is being blessed by all the love and best wishes.
I had a lovely birthday on Wednesday last week. Because I'm in isolation and we're in the middle of a pandemic, I honestly didn't have any expectations for my special day. I woke up early while it was still dark, thanking the Lord that I was alive to celebrate another birthday! A while later the sun came up, and I rejoiced that the sun was shining. The day before it had been overcast and raining, so having sunshine was definitely a gift!
The baboons came to visit early in the day. I decided to see it as them joining in my birthday celebration - although in reality they are an absolute nuisance.
I started getting lots of birthday messages on my phone and computer. It was very special - greetings of love and encouragement from friends near and far. Each message warmed my heart.
In the early afternoon my son came to sit on our front deck/porch/stoep - whatever you like to call it. We sat at a distance with our masks on. It was nice to chat with him, and he brought me a couple special treats. A little later a friend came to bring me a lovely home-cooked dinner - chicken enchiladas. So yummy!
As I went back out to the deck, my son asked me to come look at something on the driveway below. And there, to my immense surprise, were 9 of my friends serenading me. What a joy that was! I haven't seen most of them since before lockdown. I was overwhelmed. It was so special. It was truly the icing on the proverbial cake! After they left I was tearful - I felt so blessed.
There was a beautiful, dramatic sunset to cap off the day. Then after my dinner, I read more messages and went to bed feeling like my cup was running over with goodness and joy! I felt so blessed. It was beyond anything I would have expected during this unusual season. God, my son, my family from afar, and my friends here and around the world truly made it a special day!
A few days ago I was sitting on our deck enjoying the sun. I looked over at an old wine barrel that has some flowering plants in it. A couple years ago I had a large plant in it - but it died during our drought. I then bought a few very small plants with gray/green leaves and tiny pink flowers to replace the plant. They have now grown into an abundance of flowering plants.
As I looked at them I realized that they were all positioned towards the sun. They strain quite dramatically towards the warm rays of sunshine.....and as they've done that, they have grown, multiplied, and flourished. The few tiny plants are now many, many plants with an abundance of pink flowers.
Of course I thought of the lesson this gives for our lives. As we turn towards the Son, take in His strength and grace - we can then grow and flourish as well. We often feel small like those plants were in the beginning.....but with the warm rays of truth, love, encouragement, and support from the Son - our lives are changed. These lovely plants are a valuable lesson.
"We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels - everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. So spacious is He, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe - people and things, animals and atoms - get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood that poured down from the cross. You yourselves are a case study of what He does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of Him, giving Him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving Himself completely at the cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in His presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust."
Colossians 1:15-23 The Message
I think the overwhelming message to my heart during our birthday week, is that a worldwide pandemic doesn't hinder the outpouring of God's love and goodness ...primarily through His dear people.
I've recently watched the series "The Chosen" on the life of Jesus. In fact I'm watching it for a second time - picking up on many details I missed the first time. I've loved it and have found it very life giving. There is a scene where Simon Peter is questioning something Jesus is doing because it's "different." Jesus responds to him by saying "get used to different!"
As I've thought about it, I've realized that statement kinda sums up our walk with the Lord. SO many things are different! We can't live a normal, ordinary life if we're walking in relationship and intimacy with Him. Just about everything is "different" when our hearts and lives are surrendered to Him.
For the most part, we probably don't want to get used to different. It's more secure, more comfortable for things to stay the same. Different means change, adjustment, sometimes doing things we don't like. Different can mean losing control - turning over control at a deeper level to the Lord. Different may mean giving up things we like and enjoy. Different may not feel good - it can even be painful. Different can certainly present challenges in our life and in our character. Different is, well, DIFFERENT!
I don't always like different. In fact, most of the time I don't like it. I'm a creature of habit. I like routine. I like to know what's going to happen and when. Marrying my dear husband and following him all over the world has been a life full of "different." I guess you could say I've had to get used to it. :)
The last few years on our unexpected journey has been chock-a-block full of different. After almost 49 years of married life, I found myself suddenly living as a single person. My husband's life was hanging by a thread......and mine was right beside him as I've battled cancer. I've faced huge daily decisions for months on end without my best friend who I had always counseled with for decisions. There was not only our personal lives to figure out how to go forward, but also the All Nations ministry that we had led. Different, different, different. I've frequently been asked how I'd describe the last few years. It's hard to sum it up in a word or two, but different would certainly be a word at the top of my list.
And yet, as the months have gone by, I have enough perspective that I can now look back and say "different is okay." I have had times of loneliness, but I've never felt alone! God has been so close, so real, so always present! I have come to walk in a new, deep level of trust in the Lord that I don't know how I could have learned otherwise. I have seen God be my husband in Floyd's absence in sweet and precious ways. As I've ridden the "roller coaster" I've felt God holding my hand and assuring me that He's watching over me.
We are all living through an incredibly different season right now. It's off the charts different! But God is with us each moment of each day. He will help and guide us through this unprecedented time. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will give us the strength and grace we need to face each challenge. He is faithful!
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8,9
"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and how inscrutable His ways!" Romans 11:33
"Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths." Psalm 25:4
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
When God is leading and guiding us, different is always good - always His best for us. I have no idea what's ahead......but it will probably hold more "different." I'm trying my best to get used to it. And I'm so very grateful for the prayers of many that help me navigate all the different things!