Remember the WWJD craze? You know, those initials were on everything (t-shirts, bracelets, rings, bumper stickers). WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?
I don't see it much anymore. People wore them to remind themselves to react as they expect Jesus would react if in their shoes. I must admit I didn't really get it. First of all, I certainly don't presume to know the mind of God or to know how He would react to situations. God has much more insight and knowledge than I could ever have. Yet, I bought one of those bracelets.
I wore it on a trip with high schoolers to Washington DC. I was a chaperon. I had never done anything like that and knew it was probably out of my comfort zone, and if I am to be honest, it might not be so much fun for those students either. So I thought that having the reminder around my wrist that I was a Christian would be important. I imagined myself getting angry at some teenager for breaking rules or something. It is a long story that this post is not about so details will be skipped. The bottom line was that the bracelet became a lifeline for me as I went 36+ hours with no sleep and dealing with an intense situation in a hospital while one of the teens faced emergency surgery.
Sadly though, I did lose it at one point. It was not a teen or anyone involved with the trip. Just a person who had the wrong attitude with me when I had not one ounce of patience left. I learned the line between sanity and insanity is very thin and one I hope to never cross again. I found myself in a public bathroom, on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. For someone who is a control freak, trust me when I say this was not a good thing. I had just splashed my face with cold water, looked in the mirror and saw my reflection looking ragged and frightened. I leaned against the wall and just sank to the floor where I sat and cried. My hands over my face, I opened my eyes and saw that bracelet on my wrist. I cried some more. WWJD?
WWJD?!? I'll tell you what He wouldn't do! He wouldn't scream at some stranger on the phone like a raving lunatic. That is what He wouldn't do!
But as those and other thoughts entered my insanity I felt a calmness starting to reclaim my heart. I prayed there, on the floor of that bathroom, for a very long time. I pulled myself together and went back to the surgical waiting room to wait for news on the teen I had brought to the hospital hours before.
She remained there and eventually family came to meet her and take her home. I returned to the role of chaperon and clung to that bracelet for the next three days. Believe, me I needed it, there were other "situations" that happened on that trip. It was my lifeline to God and reminded me that I belong to Him. When I returned home I wrapped the bracelet and sent it to the high school girl I had spent so many hours with in the emergency room. The note included why I wanted her to have it. We met at a store a few years later, by chance, and hugged as if we had never stopped knowing each other. I've not seen her again but I often think of her and pray for her.
That was a lifetime ago for me. Much has changed. I've grown in my faith and my knowledge of the Lord. I've still got a long way to go but today I was reminded that I belong to Him. A simple unexpected phone call and I am in awe of the God who spoke our universe into existence.
The content of the call is not what matters. What matters is how God used a sad event (the death of a loved one) in this person's life to connect us. Strangers when I answered phone, we concluded the call - sisters in Christ. Her broken heart bared early in our talk put her on cliff that I had the power to push her off of. Yet, I knew that is not what she needed. She needed to feel safe. So I listened, for a very long time, as she poured out years of difficulties and hurts. The longer we talked the more we found we have much in common. I asked her if I could pray with her before we hung up and she sobbed "YES" in a way that let me know no one, not even those close to her, had offered to pray with her over these things that trouble her sleep. It was a God moment. God used the death of someone in her family to result in a phone call where we were able to meet. The reason for her call was insignificant and was easy to take care of. Yet, God wanted more for her. She longs for a church home and after talking God brought just the right one to my mind. I pray she visits. She desires friendship, God gave her soulship. But He wasn't done there. See, I have my own need, a small insignificant need that is really more of a nuisance than a need. After listening to her share what she does I realized she might be able to take care of my need. So I shared what I needed and she was ecstatic about helping me. As a result, we will talk again and probably even meet in person.
I have moved beyond asking, "what would Jesus do" and moved in to watching to see what God is doing! How about you? What has God done in your life today? Nothing? If that is true I can assure that you are wrong. He is active in our lives. However, if we aren't watching for Him, we will miss it. Before you fall to sleep tonight, ask yourself:
"What did God do today?"
You might be surprised by the answer.
WELCOME!
T - i - double G - grrrr
December 28, 2009
December 1, 2009
The man in the Australian Outback Hat
I remember a popular book titled "The Five People You Meet In Heaven". Well, I'm hoping to meet more than that one day but for now I'll settle for the interesting people I've met in the hot tub while visiting my parents in the retirement community in Florida.
Really, you meet the most interesting people. From the young man in his 50's visiting his mom who considers himself an "easy going liberal" (which I didn't know existed and really am not sure I even know what that meant), to a woman from Sheboygan Wisconsin who shared memories of her younger days in the state my husband and I grew up in.
Then there are the people who are about 20-30 years older than us who talk about what it will be like when they get old. Hee hee. That one makes me laugh every time and I have to work very hard to not laugh out loud.
But for me the most memorable will be the man in the Outback hat. Born in 1928 this man was fascinating to listen to. I could have spent long hours hearing his stories. It wasn't just the story itself, but the delivery of it and the way his eyes danced as he shared childhood memories.
He remembers what it was like growing up during WWII. He shared how he remembers things like car tires were hard to get. However, his father was a doctor and so he was able to replace car tires when he needed to. Then he shared about the first car he bought. A young man in high school, he purchased a 1929 Model T with a friend of his. That was the only way he could afford it. They split the cost, $15 each! They saved a long time for it. They bought it from a farmer and walked out to the field where it was parked so they could take their new treasure home.
He said they couldn't get tires because of the war. At least not real tires. They got old tires made of poor material and worn out. They called them "50 mile tires" because that is about as far as they could get before one of them would blow. He remembers one time when his friend had the car and was bringing it back to his house because it was his turn to have it. He heard a car coming and then BOOM, followed shortly by another BOOM. Two tires blown out just like that. His eyes lit up as he shared the joy that noise was for him because he knew that meant the car coming down the road was his.
Then he and his friend painted their highschool girlfriends' names on the back windows of the car. The same back windows that he said came with shades when they bought the car, shades like house window shades with tassles on them and I think I saw him blush when he shared this story. He said both girls were quite angry and insulted when they saw their names painted on the back seat windows of the car. While they were doing the painting these two young men in their teens really didn't intend it to have the meaning their girls took from it but I could swear I saw a sly little smile come across his face when he shared this part.
He was so interesting and I wanted to hear more but his time in the hot tub was over. He got up and announced, "this lobster is boiled" and proceeded to leave the hot tub and went right into the pool that was about 20 degrees cooler. It was then that I understood the strength his old body still had. There was NO way I was going to go from that comfortable hot tub to the pool. The shock to my system I'm sure would cause some kind of medical condition that couldn't be good for me. Yet there he was, swimming as if it was as warm as bath water. Strong or a little nuts? I may never know.
Really, you meet the most interesting people. From the young man in his 50's visiting his mom who considers himself an "easy going liberal" (which I didn't know existed and really am not sure I even know what that meant), to a woman from Sheboygan Wisconsin who shared memories of her younger days in the state my husband and I grew up in.
Then there are the people who are about 20-30 years older than us who talk about what it will be like when they get old. Hee hee. That one makes me laugh every time and I have to work very hard to not laugh out loud.
But for me the most memorable will be the man in the Outback hat. Born in 1928 this man was fascinating to listen to. I could have spent long hours hearing his stories. It wasn't just the story itself, but the delivery of it and the way his eyes danced as he shared childhood memories.
He remembers what it was like growing up during WWII. He shared how he remembers things like car tires were hard to get. However, his father was a doctor and so he was able to replace car tires when he needed to. Then he shared about the first car he bought. A young man in high school, he purchased a 1929 Model T with a friend of his. That was the only way he could afford it. They split the cost, $15 each! They saved a long time for it. They bought it from a farmer and walked out to the field where it was parked so they could take their new treasure home.
He said they couldn't get tires because of the war. At least not real tires. They got old tires made of poor material and worn out. They called them "50 mile tires" because that is about as far as they could get before one of them would blow. He remembers one time when his friend had the car and was bringing it back to his house because it was his turn to have it. He heard a car coming and then BOOM, followed shortly by another BOOM. Two tires blown out just like that. His eyes lit up as he shared the joy that noise was for him because he knew that meant the car coming down the road was his.
Then he and his friend painted their highschool girlfriends' names on the back windows of the car. The same back windows that he said came with shades when they bought the car, shades like house window shades with tassles on them and I think I saw him blush when he shared this story. He said both girls were quite angry and insulted when they saw their names painted on the back seat windows of the car. While they were doing the painting these two young men in their teens really didn't intend it to have the meaning their girls took from it but I could swear I saw a sly little smile come across his face when he shared this part.
He was so interesting and I wanted to hear more but his time in the hot tub was over. He got up and announced, "this lobster is boiled" and proceeded to leave the hot tub and went right into the pool that was about 20 degrees cooler. It was then that I understood the strength his old body still had. There was NO way I was going to go from that comfortable hot tub to the pool. The shock to my system I'm sure would cause some kind of medical condition that couldn't be good for me. Yet there he was, swimming as if it was as warm as bath water. Strong or a little nuts? I may never know.
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