God Is Appreciative

But no training wheels for
her ride!

One of a series on "God's Endearing Personality":

The other day my daughter and I were reminiscing about some of the things in her early childhood. "I remember learning to ride the little red bicycle," she told me. "I took off down the street, and you were running behind me screaming, "You did it! You did it!' " After many wobbly attempts, with my steadying the two-wheeler while she learned to find her  balance, she was on her own and I was so proud I cried!

Do you think the God who created us and loves us is any less appreciative when we accomplish something with His guidance and help? It's not that God can be likened to earthly parents, but instead we are fashioned after His likeness, and surely our pride and joy reflects His own. Some day, if we are faithful, He will point us out as trophies of His grace! “He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6, 7)

The praise belongs to God alone. The glory is His. And yet, sometimes even now I think I feel His satisfaction when He encourages me, "Yes, we did it, you and I together. We did it!"

MaryMartha

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

Mile-Pebbles

We call some of the outstanding events of our life "milestones." We were too young to comprehend the significance of some of the early ones, but our families celebrated for us when we took our first steps, when we started school, when we lost our first tooth. Later, in no special order, there were our first jobs, our driver's license, our first car, the first date, graduation from high school and perhaps from college. Marriage for some of us. Our first home. Parenthood maybe. A marked career achievement. A hard-won honor. Retirement. Life has a number of places where we stop and say, "Wow! Look at where I (or we) have been and what we've done!"

But life isn't only about extraordinary occasions. It's mostly about the "nitty-gritty" of day-to-day issues and tough decisions. Yesterday an advertisement in a magazine caught my attention. A financial company wants to help me reach all my milestones—and my mile-pebbles.

No matter where you are on your life-journey, there are still important goals at which to aim. Perhaps you have already arrived at many of the milestones you expected to reach in your lifetime, but don't stop there! Not every goal has to be so lofty that it takes a lifetime to achieve. There are many less-imposing but worthwhile things to do and to be. They don't all have to be momentous milestones.

Celebrate the mile-pebbles too!

MaryMartha

The ad is by Ameriprise Financial in the current issue of Time.
Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

"This Is a Test"

You've heard the radio announcers say it: "The following is a test of the emergency alert system. This is only a test." Had there been an actual emergency, we would have been given further instructions, but since it was only a test, we just waited for regular programming to be resumed.

Our daily lives are not equipped with such warnings about a test. We think we know testing when it comes—some difficult person, a distasteful task, a hard-to-solve problem. Testing is often presented in those ways, but sometimes it comes to us in a less recognizable form, and we find ourselves unprepared. "Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised. (Proverbs 27:21) How we react to our "fifteen minutes of fame" is very telling. It is a test.

If you read the newspaper, listen to the news, or even just look around, you can see examples of people who worked very hard to earn their prominent place in business, politics, or religion. Difficulty did not stop them, criticism did not faze them, sacrifice did not discourage them. But when they got to the top, praise and its companions felled them. Adulation, popularity, power, and the money that frequently accompany these, were more than they could handle.

Must we then avoid those things which might make us "important"? No, not necessarily. Just remember, "This is a test." It is, after all, not so much what we have done. Scripture tells us it is God "who brought us out of Egypt," God who "arms us with strength," God who "removes mountains," and God who "avenges us." It is God alone who judges, bringing down one and exalting another. It is God who justifies, God who shows mercy, God who enables us to stand firm. One has only to read the history of the Israelites to see what happened/happens to those who forget the source of their success—and fail the test.

MaryMartha

Scripture quotation taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Art from www.wpclipart.com

Nothing Useless

"Balm in Gilead," a very old traditional spiritual, has some "wandering verses," in it; that is, lines that may be found in some versions of other well-known songs.

Sometimes I feel discouraged
And think my work's in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.

If you cannot preach like Peter,
If you cannot pray like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus
And say, "He died for all."

It is easy, as the hymn suggests, to become discouraged by the little we are able to accomplish for the Kingdom of God. The Apostle Paul wrote, ”So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." (I Corinthians 15:58 NLT)

* What little words or acts of kindness would you be certain to give if you knew they were important to God?
* What big thing might you attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?

It's true! Nothing we do for Him is useless. Everything counts. "And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” (Matthew 10:42 NLT)

We often quote the Scripture, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." But do you realize that refers to the use of our gifts? "And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible. (II Timothy 1:6, 7 MSG) Although true in the broader sense as well, it specifically reminds us not to be timid about working for the Lord. Nothing is useless!

MaryMartha

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Things Mama Taught Me: "Always Do Your Best"

All my life I've been troubled by the concept of doing my best, drilled into me by parents with a strong work ethic. Even under the most adverse circumstances and personal stress, I somehow felt that anything less than what I was ultimately capable of producing was inadequate. Never mind that it had required sheer willpower, not to mention almost superhuman effort. If the results were less than what my abilities might have produced, it was not good enough.

Let me clarify with an example. Had I had six weeks instead of three, and had I had access to the research library every day instead of once a week, I would have produced an A on my project. That is not an excuse; it is just acknowledging what I know I am capable of if I have no severe limitations. Is the "A" worth sacrificing competence at my breadwinning job? Or a reasonable amount of time spent with my small child? Or the spirit-sustaining hour of worship on the weekend? Or a few hours' sleep? No, something has to give. I am not able to excel at everything, certainly not in a less than ideal situation.

I do believe in "Always do your best," but that needs the provisional clause, "with where you are and what you have." I have not always known that, but have constantly berated myself for not being wiser, stronger, more disciplined, more discerning. I have only recently gained the insight that all I really need to examine is, "Did I do the best I could with where I was and what I had?" If yes, then whether a marriage, a writing project, or making a flower bed, I can say with confidence and an easy conscience, "I did my best!"

MaryMartha

An Anniversary of Sorts and a Staycation

In a few days, on the 19th of July, this blog will have been online for a year. What an experience it has been! Especially when I first began, my brain had to handle whole new concepts, like templates and widgets and domains and HTML. I bought Blogging for Dummies, and true to its name, it got me into the action!

I "became a writer" when, in perhaps the fourth grade or so, I learned that the books I loved so much were written by real people. I began to write little poems which I gave to my teacher, who was warmly encouraging. The "fire" never went out, as through the years I continued to try, but mostly in vain, to become a free-lance writer. When part-time "retirement" became an option, some hours were available for more serious pursuit of my interest. Writing every weekday has been a productive discipline—and it is a discipline. Many things call to me, but none so persistently as my determination to make productive use of this opportunity. It has been a spiritual exercise as well, for I have to entrust the results of my efforts to the Lord of the Harvest. I do this gladly!

It's time for a break now, and I will be having a "staycation"—a combination of vacationing and staying at home. I am going for a week to a nearby country location with a lake and grass and trees, walking paths, a hammock, rocking chairs on the patio, friendly cats, and wonderful friends as hosts. I could pitch a tent there, but I prefer the comfort of a real bed and some air conditioning in what we fondly call "the garden level" accommodations (a walkout basement). There is no television, no Internet, no cell phone reception (although the hosts have a landline if guests have an emergency), minimal kitchen facilities—basically nothing to do. What a treat! I will walk and read and think and pray, eat and sleep and "veg out." I'll be back blogging again around the end of July.

MaryMartha

One Pebble at a Time

I was thinking last evening about what I am accomplishing for the Kingdom of God—actually, about what a little bit I seem to be accomplishing, and I was somewhat disheartened by my evaluation. Then I remembered an old story, or maybe God reminded me! It's one of Aesop's fables, "The Crow and the Pitcher."

The Crow and the Pitcher

A Crow, half-dead with thirst, came upon a Pitcher which had once been full of water; but when the Crow put its beak into the mouth of the Pitcher he found that only very little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far enough down to get at it. He tried, and he tried, but at last had to give up in despair. Then a thought came to him, and he took a pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. At last, at last, he saw the water mount up near him, and after casting in a few more pebbles he was able to quench his thirst and save his life.

Little by little does the trick.

I'm not comparing myself or anyone else to a crow, but the lesson is clear to me. Nothing I do is on a grand scale, nor does it need to be. Bit by bit, one "pebble" at a time, I will keep my faith-witness alive and clear, and one day the Water of Life will rise in the pitcher until some thirsty person can have a drink.

MaryMartha

Believing and Becoming

A charming four-year-old of my acquaintance recently told her mother, "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a black man."

"Honey," the mother replied, "you're a little girl, and little girls grow up to be ladies. When you grow up, you'll be a lady, not a man."

"Oh. Well, then I want to be a black lady."

Mother gently explained to her fair-skinned child, "Honey, when you grow up, your skin will be pretty much just like it is now. You can't be a black lady."

"Oh." The child paused. "Well, then I'll just be an elephant!"

We are told that "if you can imagine it, you can achieve it." Does merely imagining something guarantee that it's within the realm of possibility? Obviously, the answer is sometimes no. But it is true, that if we are in fact going to become something, we must first believe it. By the time she is, say, twelve years old, the little girl will have set her sights on some other more reasonable ambition, and I have no doubt that she will believe it and achieve it

There aren't really any "secrets" to becoming who we want to be. Successful people have shared what they have discovered, and not too surprisingly, one of the things frequently mentioned is "hard work." Dreaming is not enough, although I believe in dreaming. It takes determination, preparation, sacrifice, dedication to the task, learning from failure, and usually it takes time. Famous people in spheres of work that vary from actor or journalist to movie producer or model have told us it takes a good many years to become an "overnight success." Sometimes, in our eagerness to convey confidence to our children or our students and mentorees, we underplay the price of achievement. Jesus did not make that mistake.

Jesus made it very clear that following Him would entail some cost. Sometimes, especially in the first flush of enthusiastic commitment, Christians mistake personal ambition for God's leading. When they find that the pathway to influence is not necessarily the same as the road to fame or power, they become discouraged. "If you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ " (Luke 14:27-30) Very often, the follower of Jesus experiences the cost of discipleship with little distinction or financial gain—just the knowledge that he/she has faithfully carried the cross. If we believe that's a goal worthy of our pursuit, we can become a truehearted disciple.

MaryMartha

Related posts: I Have a Dream
Don't Give Up the Dream

The quote, "If you can imagine . . ." is from William Arthur Ward, known for his inspirational writings.
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Impossible!

"When God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an impossible man, and he crushes him." This notable quotation is from Alan Redpath, who moved to the U.S. from England in 1953 to become the pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago where he served for nine years. He then returned to Great Britain serve in Edinburgh, Scotland, but suffered a near-fatal stroke in 1964. He was able to recover but suffered from deep depression for a period afterwards, even while serving in important administrative positions. Did he consider himself that impossible man?

When I think of what Dr. Redpath said, I am reminded of Gideon in the Bible. The Midianites, an enemy nation, were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in mountain dens and caves. When the Israelites sowed their crops, marauders from the east would arrive, as thick as locusts, and they camped in the land and destroyed the crops. They stayed until the land was stripped bare, leaving the Israelites with nothing to eat, even taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. .So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. An impossible situation! So God selected an "impossible" man.

Gideon was threshing wheat one day, at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

Then the Lord turned to him (because it was indeed the Lord) and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” Gideon knew his people were in an impossible situation, and yes, he would be an impossible man!

The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

Gideon was not easily convinced. Even after miraculous demonstrations of God's ability to do the impossible, he was reluctant. Gideon saw the angel touch with the tip of his staff the meat and bread Gideon had brought for his guest to eat. Fire flamed up from the rock and consumed it all. He saw a wool fleece soaking wet with morning dew while the ground around it was dry; then he saw the fleece remain dry while the surroundings were wet with dew.

Gideon assembled an army of 32,000 men but God wanted them to know they were still dealing with an impossibility, and that victory would not be something they achieved on their own. God instructed Gideon to cut down the troops by sending home those who were afraid, 22,000 of them. That left 10,000—still too many. A test of watchfulness while drinking, probably at the well of Harod or the stream there, further diminished the number, leaving only three hundred. Now it was indeed an impossible situation!

Equipping the men with swords and lamps hidden in clay pots, they entered the enemy camp. Read the story yourself (Judges 6 through 8); it is exciting history of God doing the impossible through an insignificant, "impossible" man.

MaryMartha (Thanks, cousin R.!)
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Don't Give Up the Dream!

Susan Boyle, an unemployed Scottish church lady brought down the house at the "Britain's Got Talent" auditions and has introduced "I Dreamed a Dream" (from Les Miserables) to a new generation. As of April 20, Reuters reported over 100.3 million online views of her performance and related materials. The song is actually quite a sad one, beginning with lines about excitement and high hopes and undying love, ending with hopelessness and disillusionment. The closing words are, "Now life has killed the dream I dreamed." I don't know whether or not it was intended, but Susan capitalized on the "dream" idea by explaining that she had not had the chance to fulfill her ambition of becoming a professional singer. She ignored the open skepticism of the audience and the rude presumptiveness Simon (one of the judges) didn't even bother to hide. She then proceeded to wow them all! Against the odds, at mid-life, she is still holding on to her dream.

A blogging friend of mine is headed this fall to a prestigious seminary on a full, merit-based scholarship. People wonder, she reports, how she happens to have such a wonderful opportunity, how almost like magic she reaches her goals, how she seems to have fairy dust sprinkled on her life. No, she would like to explain to them (but can't really), it has involved risk and lots of personal growth and a great deal of hard work. It has been some time in coming, but rather than give up the dream, she has pursued it and enlarged it and is ready to capture it.

Use of the word "dream" in Scripture usually means either a dream in the night or a special vision from God. Perhaps "ambition" or "compelling" may serve to mean the same as the "dream" we have for our future. The Apostle Paul wrote, "My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else." (Romans 15:20 NLT) He did exactly that in his missionary journeys! "Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit [Or decided in his spirit, marg.] to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. 'And after that,' he said, 'I must go on to Rome!' ” (Acts 19:21 NLT) Paul went to Rome as a prisoner, but he did get to Rome and was an effective witness there. Finally he wrote, "This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that's left now is the shouting—God's applause!" (II Timothy 4:7, 8 MSG) What would the world have been like if Paul had not dreamed? What a great loss to the Church if we did not have the letters which were born of his dream?

Don't give up your dream! This is the race worth running! Run hard right to the finish, believing all the way!

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

A related post: I Have a Dream

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

I Have a Dream

Today in the United States, we are observing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Forty-five years ago this African American clergyman and civil rights activist stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and galvanized 250,000 listeners with his "I Have a Dream" speech. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was undertaken to put more pressure on the administration and the legislature to advance civil rights measures. Not only did it accomplish that, but it has also informed and inspired and challenged generations since then.

A part of King's dream was his desire for a future where "Negroes" and "whites" would live harmoniously as equals. He may have had just a glimpse of how big his dream really was when he shouted, "Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!' What King could not foresee, even in his "dream," was that his call to equality would affect a great many marginalized people: women, children, the disabled, religious and political groups, the elderly and others.

Why are we so quick to extinguish our dreams? Why are we afraid to imagine what we could do or become as God enables us? What if Abraham and Sarah had given up on their dream of having a son? Yes, he was dubious and she laughed at the idea, but they also took the appropriate action to produce a baby! What if Peter and Andrew and James and John had not dreamed of something greater than catching fish? Yes, the idea of a kingdom that would throw off Roman rule held their attention, but still they actually did leave everything behind to follow Jesus' call. What if Jim Elliott and his buddies had not dreamed they could reach a people with the Gospel? What if Brother Andrew had not dreamed of a way to get Bibles to the underground church in communist countries during the cold war? What if your mentor or spiritual leader had not dreamed that he/she could make a difference in someone's life?

God often uses our human yearnings to further His plan. A sanctified imagination is a tool He can use to accomplish wonderful things. This doesn't happen in some magical way in a land "somewhere over the rainbow . . . [where] the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true," as Judy Garland sings in The Wizard of Oz. This happens here, in real life. Just look at Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream!

Don't be afraid. Go ahead! Dream your dream!

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Whole in One #7: Improving Singleness with Some Lively Virtues

Few people are born with the traits we find attractive in them. No matter what their marital state, individuals who want to be healthy and whole usually must work at developing characteristics that will lead to that goal. Here are seven “lively virtues”—lively because they are full of life and growing; virtues because they are active, powerful qualities. I will share four of them today, and three more tomorrow.

♦ Purposefulness. A single person can defeat much loneliness or boredom simply by doing what needs to be done! It’s all too easy for the person living alone to get lazy to some degree in the absence of outside pressure to tidy up the house, do the laundry, and keep the refrigerator stocked with something besides Coke and sandwich meat. It’s all too easy to slip into the habit of requiring noise: the TV, radio, CD player, or computer.

Establish purpose in your life by setting and striving toward realistic, meaningful goals—or else, as time goes by, there is nothing to show for it but advanced age and a little accumulated experience! Some people are accustomed to goal-setting as part of life at work or school, but it is a new concept to a lot of people. To them I would say: Develop a plan of action to encourage the growth of your inner self. Decide on some long-term goals too. Seriously and prayerfully, what would you like to do before your life is over? Earn $100,000 a year? Live near the ocean or the mountains? Write a book or learn to play an instrument? Complete your college education? Serve God and the church in some significant way? Determine what steps you will have to take to get you from where you are now to where you want to be, and commit yourself to taking those steps, one at a time

♦ Constancy. This firmness of mind can be described in a number of ways: faithfulness, consistency, dependability, commitment. I don’t have to tell you that this is a Scriptural quality. But we are not born with it, and I’m sorry to tell you that God doesn’t just zap us with it either! It is instilled by training or discipline. Develop firm habits of prayer, Bible-reading, meditating on the Word, attendance at public worship. Try other classic disciplines too as a means of discovering grace (not obtaining grace): Silence, simplicity, fasting, giving, study, journaling, and others.

♦ Honesty. This is openness, guilelessness, candor. The most serious byproduct of dishonestly is that the “game” becomes more real than reality, and then the player himself/herself becomes unable to trust anyone. Honesty takes courage, but to experience others’ acceptance of you as you really are is an important and enormously warming human experience—worth the risk. The acceptance has to come from within yourself first, then from those around you who deserve you at your best—open, sensitive, and genuine.

♦ Sexual Purity. Many people have come to believe that abstinence is just not possible in today’s world. It does appear that the gap between sexual activity and genuine relationship is becoming wider and wider. More of the very young are becoming sexually active, while at the same time, many grownups have intimate relationships but delay marriage in order to finish their education or become established in their careers. Is it asking too much to say, ”Wait for marriage”? God says it is not. And because He invented sex, He gets the last word. Such a stand may seem out-dated and even quaint, but here is His Word on the matter. “There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, ‘The two become one.’ Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never ‘become one.’ There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for ‘becoming one’ with another.” (I Corinthians 6:15-18) Although any sin is sin in the eyes of God, the effect of sexual sin on our present lives is more serious; it damages in a way that, say, theft or lying or anger, do not.

Delayed gratification is a valuable tool in dealing with all of life, and it works in sexual matters too. It produces purity and no bad memories. No relationship is completely devoid of sexual overtones, so get your sexuality in clear perspective: It is a basic ingredient of being human. Julia Duin, author of Purity Makes the Heart Grow Stronger (1988) and presently the religion editor for the Washington Times, says, “Unlike food, sex can be subjected to a long-term, even permanent fast. . . Abstinence from sex, like abstinence from sugar, results in a disciplined ability to do without it altogether. Abstinence becomes habit.”

This celibacy does not mean you are a sexless creature. You can develop your feminine or masculine energies in other ways, giving you the freedom to have deep friendships with the understanding that they won’t result in actions you will regret. It gives a deeper sense of your own value, knowing that you are worth God’s best, whether that is a mate or God alone. One further thought from Julia: “One major stand Christians can take that will make people stop and take notice of us is our refusal to indulge in casual sex that our secular generation considers to be a moral right.”

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Thanks to Julia for permission to quote from her book. Scripture quotation is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Plodding Wins the Race

A take on Aesop’s fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare":

One day a young person was boasting to his friends about his magnificent plans for Christian ministry. He would travel worldwide; throngs of people would come to hear him preach. He would have radio and TV programs; he would write books. He would have a state-of-the-art website. His name would become a household word, synonymous with evangelism, missionary zeal, and relief efforts to the needy. And the money would pour in.

In the same church was a little elderly lady whose sole income was her monthly government check. She had served many years in various capacities: a children’s Sunday School teacher, a maker of cookies for the youth bake sale, a seamstress of Christmas play costumes, sacrificial contributor to missionary offerings. And she prayed a lot. That was mostly all she could do now that she could not see and hear very well.

Occasionally the young man, now a little older and somewhat weary, would return to his home church and tell of his accomplishments. The little lady didn’t have a great deal to show for her efforts except faithful Christians she had taught as youngsters, and a whole generation of young parents who knew she cared about them, and a scrapbook full of letters from missionaries. But she persisted in her faithful prayers

After a number of years went by, the flaming preacher-evangelist-missionary-writer-TV personality-webmaster “burned out.” His family had suffered from his inattention; now it was time to tend to their needs. He grew tired of traveling. He ran out of things to say on his broadcasts; he didn’t produce any new books. His website languished. Finally, he took a secular job “just for a year,” and soon it was three years and then five. Usually he attended worship services, but not at his home church—too embarrassing. He didn’t quit God, but he practically quit the race. Meanwhile, the little lady kept on praying.

One day a missionary speaker came who told of a perilous situation from which they had a miraculous deliverance. When they mentioned the date of that experience, the little lady said to herself, “Ah! That’s the night I was awakened to pray for that missionary family. Thank you, Jesus!” One day she got a letter from a wayward grandson. “Guess what, Grandma! I’ve been saved!” She said out loud, “At last! Oh, thank you, Jesus!” Another time, a young mother in the congregation, dangerously ill during her pregnancy, recovered fully and delivered a healthy baby. “Oh, thank you, dear Jesus!” the little lady whispered to herself. Until she died, she kept praying. She never once thought the race was too hard or too long or too hopeless. She never quit.

So who really won?

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Doing vs. Wishing to Have Done

Early this summer I rode in a hot-air balloon, more than 1600 feet above a lush, green river valley in the state of Washington. It was a thrilling experience, not only for the unequalled view, but also as a statement of sorts about the hopes of “a brave new woman.” I told my surprised friends that I had wanted to do this for a long time, but usually I qualified that statement with something nearer the truth: “I wasn’t really sure I wanted to do it, but I really did want to have done it.”

Actually, we see this attitude demonstrated fairly often. I am reminded of a friend who made conspicuous mention of loving classical music. This individual did not play classical music, did not listen to classical music, and most of the time did not even particularly appreciate classical music. But intellectual, cultured people “ought” to love classical music, so my friend loved the idea of loving classical music! It’s just very easy for us to make a lot of noise about what we plan to do, how knowledgeable we are, or what our success will look like. We love the idea of what might be, and sometimes we are satisfied with the mere idea of it. Only in our imagination do we relish the satisfaction of having done it—and we never get around to actually doing it.

I wonder if this ever carries over into our walk of faith. Do we really want to love and follow Jesus as our Lord? Or are we only looking ahead to the time when we’ll stand before God the Judge and we want to have done it?

MaryMartha
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Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com