To Live the Life of a Treasure Hunter

You've heard it said, "Live as though today is the first and last day of your life." But how do we put it into practice? Why is it that people who are living with a terminal disease can appreciate life so much more than those of us who go through our usual day to day existence?  What reality snaps within them that allows them to appreciate the flight of a butterfly or the strength of an ant so much more than before their diagnosis? Is it because they are able to now appreciate the gift of life that they have been given; even if only for this moment?

 The butterfly has not changed its flight, nor has the ant its stride, yet simply the perception of them has become new. I long for that kind of vision, to appreciate LIFE, every bit of it. Of course I'd prefer not  to have to come face to face with death in order to do so. But if we are truly honest, we all are terminal; we only have this moment. The next moment is a mystery, and life can change in the blink of an eye.  Yes, what a gift to see the world with the awe of a child, to capture the beauty within the mundane, to give thanks for the pain, because even in the pain there is life. 


Lord, on our journey together, no matter how long or short it may be, please open my eyes. 
                                                                                I want to find it to be a beautiful view, every bit of it.

Kisses At The Stoplight

                                                                            
                                                                                

                                                                              (Google image)



      I am very grateful for good friends. The older I get the more I appreciate them. And I love to hear how the Lord is working in their lives.  Today a dear friend of mine called  from Florida to share with me about her "God Kiss."  God Kisses are those moments that I refer to when God, in his loving kindness, reminds us of his great and unconditional love for us. Often times he does it in the most extraordinary ways and other times through the simplest of things. Both she and I have experienced God Kisses in the most sweetest moments, usually when we least expect it. This time for her it was at a stop light.

     The last several months my friend, Debbie has been working several jobs, as well as going to school at night.   Her days have been long and her energy has been getting lower. And though her faith has been strong,  she has been exhausted- feeling overworked and underpaid, wondering when she will get ahead.   Her God Kiss came just in time, for the Lord is never late.  Thank you Lord for your faithfulness and encouragement to those who  choose to trust you.

     This morning with her foot on the accelerator,  she noticed the stoplight in front of her quickly change from  green to yellow and red again. Only a couple of cars were able to make the light.  She sighed, taking a deep breath and let it out slowly, wishing she has been one of them.  But as she sat, she looked up and  noticed two little birds sitting  atop  the light pole in front of her. They were small and cute, and she couldn't help but watch them as they played. 

She watched them in awe as their play turned into a dance, a poem;  a synchronized rhythm before her eyes.  A display that appeared to be just for her.  Together they moved in such a unique way she couldn't help but be mesmerized by the joy set before her. She watched as one bird would follow exactly the movement of the other. One would fly with  beautiful orchestrated movements and the next would do exactly the same. Each movement brought a smile to her heart.

As they landed once again  she saw their heads move with such grace and before her eyes they formed a heart. She whispered a prayer asking the meaning of it all.  She took another deep breath, this time out of awe. The Lord spoke to her Spirit, "Follow me, keep your eyes on me and do exactly as I do. I will give you rest and provide for your every need. Follow me and you too will fly." 

I love it when the Lord speaks to us in ways we can truly hear and understand. In my sweet friend's case the Lord gently reminded her that all that is required of her is to follow Him, to mimic Him, to dance with him and he will give her strength to fly. 

Isaiah 40:28-31

New International Version (NIV)

28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?                                                                                                               (Google image)
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Summing it all up

                                                                                

We have all heard the song, "Amazing Grace" and many know the lyrics, "I was blind but now I see." 
Vision, perspective, and understanding can make all the difference in one's life, can't it? Recently I was "pondering" (Yes, Kristin Bridgman, I do it too) I was pondering about how we are all wired differently and how it seems that I have been wired to be "a problem solver." But when you think about it, haven't we all have been 'taught' to be problem solvers? Think back to school. Arithmetic (Math for you kids) was nothing more than problem solving, was it not? And so in some ways we've all been programmed to "solve problems."


                                                                            

                                                                         

Math frustrated me in school. I am very methodical and if I missed the foundation for solving one problem it took me into a downward tailspin for the next equation. And if I can be brutally honest, life can frustrate the bajeebies out of me from time to time. Such is the plight of the recovering perfectionist.  But you don't have to be a perfectionist to get frustrated by life's problems once in a while.

As I sat and pondered I thought about my own journey through life and how there has been a certain "problem" that has followed me through out my whole life. And in my journey I have sought out various ways to "fix" it. I've been pretty desperate at times too and done some pretty crazy things in order to cure this issue. (That's another story for another day.) Oh don't get me wrong, I've also prayed about it asking the Lord to help ME to fix the problem. Sometimes I'm even "crazy" enough to ask HIM to fix it.  Before you start telling me about having a mustard seed of faith, let me explain.

I've come to the conclusion that sometimes, the Lord will not fix or take away a problem in our lives and for a good reason. Sometimes problems simply are not meant to be solved. Imagine that. There's a novel idea. (Sorry to all my math teachers along the way. Maybe I didn't get it because I wasn't suppose too, ha!) But seriously, sometimes the purpose of the problem is not so we can solve it, but so we can learn THROUGH it. *Perhaps we only have sight when we have learned another kind of lesson. Maybe, just maybe, its not the answer to the problem that is to be sought but the purpose for the problem itself.

Gratitude is truly where we will find contentment and peace. I would even go so far as to say that we can be grateful not only in our problems (trials) but for them.

What if in those difficult moments of staring at our unrelenting unsolved problems instead  we stop and look at  them as blessings; lessons that become the trajectory in which we are meant to walk and perhaps even RUN? Whether it be a health issue or a relational issue or a financial issue, no matter what our individual problem may be maybe, just maybe, the goal should not be to "solve" it but to accept it. . . as a gift?

Perhaps having our eyes opened is truly about recognizing the beauty- even in the ugly- and be grateful, knowing that even the ugly is part of the greater (more lovely) picture for our lives. Perhaps the actual cure begins not when all is right, but when we pray, "All right and Thank you." Could that be the moment when we truly begin the journey toward the rich and amazing purpose God has for us~
The purpose that fulfills the deepest desires of our heart because He is able to use us in ways we'd otherwise never dream?

True Confessions

Those of us who call ourselves believers would never desire to be called Idol Worshipers, for there is only ONE we are called to Worship. And if we know and love that One, we LONG to worship Him. Inside each of us there is a God shaped hole and we long to have it filled. But in our world full of distractions, often times we find ourselves trying to fill those longings elsewhere. Often times we run through our busy schedule ignoring that gentle voice which is calling to us, "Come back and I will fill you and give you peace." As a "recovering" perfectionist, I find sanity comes back to me when I stop and take inventory of whom or what I have been serving lately. Often times, I find my heart has been bowed down to other things rather than my First Love, God. His heart longs to fill me up, to spend time with me, for He delights in his Children. When I bask in his presence, there is peace like no other and the longings fade away.
"I don't serve idols," you may say. And I would ask you, "What or Whom have you been serving lately?" Are you caught up in pressing deadlines, striving for just the perfect reaction from your co-workers or boss? Are you trying to create the best product/service on the market? Are you striving to have a perfect physique? Are you striving to have that dream car, dream house, dream vacation? How about finding the perfect spouse, or any spouse for that matter? Or have you been like me, striving to get that window picture perfect and missing the sun for the streaks?
It is in our striving that we can lose focus and become slaves to the thing for which we are striving. They become our master, our god. The things we find ourselves caught up in, bowing down to, we are actually serving. And so I ask you again, "What or whom are you serving today? Are you truly trying to live a life of excellence "Unto the Lord" or are you bowing to Idols, hoping somehow they will fill you?" Perfectionism is nothing more than Idol Worship. Hello, my name is Lori and I am an Idol Worshiper. Not proud, but honest. Daily I MUST surrender my agenda and my will to the Lord or I will most definitely fall prey to those idols once again. How about you, do you find yourself bowing to idols? If so, I say call out to the one, the true God and ask him to fill those longings like only He can and surrender it ALL to him and He will give you peace.
"I will have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything in heaven or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." ~ God
Exodus 20: 3 & 4