Lessons from the Pool

At the pool today, I watched my friend’s son run around, completely carefree. As he was running, he spotted a discarded watering can and quickly picked it up and started playing with it. Within minutes, seconds really, a mom came over and took the watering can out of his hands and promptly gave it back to her daughter who had been, quite contently, playing with a different toy.

Though my friend’s son didn’t seem to mind, I started to fume a little. “Is this really the world we live in that instead of teaching selflessness, we’re teaching our children selfishness?” I thought. “Even had the little girl shed a few tears, what a great time to teach her that we share what we have.”  I stood there for a bit being pretty judgmental, thinking about what a brat the little girl would probably end up being since she obviously was handed everything.

A few hours later, as I played the scene over in my head, the Lord gently reminded me of the plank I have in my own eye (Matthew 7:3-5) “What things are you holding onto? Where are you selfish?” I felt him asking me. A list instantly came to mind:

My house. I have a small, but happy, home that I could easily invite people into. Yet, rarely do we have friends over. I use the excuse that I’m and extrovert and enjoy “getting out,” but my guess is that others enjoy getting out too.

My money. Sure, we tithe, but could I be giving more? Do I really need another dress, even though it was on clearance? Do I need to get coffee out when I have a perfectly good coffee maker at home?

My time. This is the biggest one. How often do I choose selfish ways to spend my time (TV, anyone?) instead of caring for my family or loving on my neighbors? I use the excuse “Well, I do so much during the day, I deserve a little rest in the evening.” While rest is good and important, do I really need 3 hours of down time?

Quietly, the Lord whispered to my heart, “How many times have you taken something from my hands to use your own way?”  Here I was, judging a woman I’d never even met, when in reality, I am a perfect example of how to live a selfish life. I expect things from my own children (you better share that truck!) and random women at the pool, that I’m not even willing to do. Instead of just demanding selflessness, maybe I need to start actually living it. What better way to teach my children selflessness than to act it out daily.

Lord, teach me to be selfless. Teach me to hold nothing back and to give everything I have. Let me go to bed tired every night because I have served you by serving others. Let me be the hands and feet of Jesus. Amen.

Adventures in Love (part 2)

As we got to Pizza Hut it looked closed, so we pulled into the parking lot to turn around. There was a car stopped in an odd spot and John was focused on trying not to hit it. I, however, looked over and saw a man checking the tire. I also saw a woman and two kids. “Stop, John. Help them. There are kids with them.” My husband, being that kind of guy, instantly stopped and got out to check on the people. I followed closely behind and found out that their axel had just broken.  Over the next three hours we were able to help them get their car towed and get home.

If the story stopped there, it would be something nice that we did. But what actually happened is amazing and it was what God did.

As I transported the kids and their mom, Maria, to their home, John shared his story (testimony) with the man, Carlo.  Then, he shared a tract. Carlo looked at John and said, “I don’t think it was an accident that you guys stopped tonight. I want to do this.” John was able to pray with Carlo right there for him to accept Christ as his Savior!

John got Carlo’s phone number, and though they couldn’t attend church with us that week, they want to go next time we come to town. Maria and I also have plans to get our kiddos together for a play date.

In Matthew 9:35-38 we read:

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I love my husband, but he isn’t special. He just listened to the Lord and did what he was called to.

One of my favorite songs is “I will Follow” by Chris Tomlin. The chorus says:

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow you

Who you love, I'll love
How you serve, I'll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you

As followers of Christ, this needs to be the cry of our hearts. More than anything else, who He loves, we need to love. Joanna Weaver says that we should be like Jesus and minister to (love) others on our way, out of our way, and in all kinds of ways (Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, pg 88). There are people who have needs around every corner. Some needs are easy to spot; other needs aren't so obvious. But if we love God, then we have to love others. And if we love others, we have to be willing to let God use us in their lives. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Love God. Love others. Love the hell out of them.

Adventures in Love (part 1)

Nine years and one month ago, nearly to the day, I started dating my husband. Most couples fall in love over coffee or dinner—we fell in love over a homeless man. John and I were on a mission trip together, and though we’d never met before, we bonded quickly. On one of the last nights, we were in Hollywood. As we walked up and down the street, we saw a homeless man. Even though we were “off” that night, we stopped, asked his name (Charlie) and asked if we could buy him dinner. A different couple was bringing back dinner for him, but we were able to chat for a bit. When the other couple (strangers to us) came back, the five of us prayed together. Oh, and did I mention this was all in the shadow of a three story version of the Oscar statue, since award season was just around the corner?

You’d think that if that’s how we fell in love, the last nine years would be filled with amazing times of sharing Christ’s love with others and making disciples of men. There are a few stories, but most are from our first months of dating. The last nine years have been mostly spent selfishly, to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, we love the Lord and have grown in Him in many ways, but we haven’t shown His love to those around us in the ways we should have been.

Three years ago, my husband started at Trinity EvangelicalDivinity School. This past semester, he had an amazing class on evangelism taught by Lon Anderson. I watched my husband’s life change. The heart he’s always had for evangelism bloomed. He even shared Christ with one of my family members…something I’ve never done in my 25 years of following Jesus. Meanwhile, last year, I read Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. Because of her book, I gave my fears up and asked God to help me love Him with all of me. Then, three months ago I read Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It just confirmed everything I’d been feeling: all I want is God. After years and years of spiritual milk, I just want spiritual meat.

Now, fast forward to Friday night, April, 27^th. We dropped our kids off with my in-laws and went to Wheaton Bible Church to hear Francis Chan and Rend Collective Experiment.  There are no words to explain what the Lord did in both of us that night. The song “Build Your Kingdom” started the burning in our hearts and was followed by an amazing message by Mr. Chan. In short, he said to go out on a limb, do crazy things for Jesus, and see what happens. Jump!—He’ll catch you. And maybe, if you’re lucky, the ground will shake. J

As we left, John and I were exhausted, but excited and pumped up. As we started making plans on how we’d love the lost, I looked at him and said, “This is how we fell in love. Why on earth have we wasted the last nine years?” I also said, “I’m starving! Can we please get some food?” With a grin that said, “Lets share Jesus with our waitress,” John actually said, “Let’s go to Pizza Hut for bread sticks.”

Sabbatical: Over

That's all. The sabbatical that I've been on for the past few (many?) months is over.