Restoration

A few weekends ago I was thick in the middle of cooking.  Onions sizzling on the stove.  Noodles draining in the sink and red pepper waiting to be chopped.   If I had only kept the chopping action on the cutting board, things would have continued smoothly.  But alas, I dared to slice the top of the red pepper against my thumb pressing a bit too hard and thus producing a long gash of blood, an unwelcome addition to the scene!

I quickly grabbed a towel to blot the cut and a new knife, determined to get the red pepper into the frying pan with the onions and the noodles rinsed.

Then I applied basic first aid to my injured thumb.

After spending much of the weekend in a band aid, the cut on my thumb began the healing process.  The red disappearing.  The skin becoming smooth again.  Now there is just a tiny white mark as evidence that there was once a cut in my skin.

Restoration.

The healing of an injury.

Things returning to what they were.

We were born into a world with an injury so deep and persuasive that it's hard to fathom life without it.  Through Christ we can be healed from our mortal wound.  We can be set on the path of life.  And one day we can be restored.

We can catch glimpses and moments of that restoration now.  Jesus said,  "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  John 10:10.

But restoration in its full power; its far reaching effects; its time changing, age reversing, sin deleting, love winning triumph is still to come. We long for restoration to a world we cannot even dream of, but yet deeply desire.  The memory of Eden is still in our DNA.  The image of our Creator still stamped on every fiber of our being.   And we are not alone.

Paul reveals in Romans,  "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God."  Romans 8:19, 20.

Can you imagine the trees, the mountains, the birds, the lions together in each heartbeat crying out for freedom from their bondage?  Imagine their longings to be themselves what God made them to be.

The overwhelmingly good news is that restoration is coming.  We can live each day in freedom, joy and hope, knowing our future is secure as long as we belong to Christ.

Raindrops on Roses

Today after playing the words La and Fa in Words with Friends I found myself in the mood for the Sound of Music.  (Which wasn't a long stretch as its one of the few places I know where these words are actually used in a sentence!)  So while making dinner I entertained myself and Jewel with various songs from the movie.

One of the songs that came to mind was the famous song that begins, "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens," where Froulein Maria thinks of her favorite things and finds herself cheered up upon the reflection.

While the songwriter chose a fanciful and endearing list of favorite things, I wonder if I have my own list of ordinary lovely things that cheer me up.

Perhaps if I re-wrote the tune I would add things like:

Weekends with no alarm set
A good book and a cup of coffee or tea
Sparkles on the ocean
The long, entertainment filled, eager, adventure awaiting flight to Europe
Jasmine blooming
And last but not least, Christmas Eve.  (Pictured below at my Mom's house.)

If you were to add a few favorite things to the song, what would you add?

Jesus Wept

"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled."  John 11:33

There are a lot of things I don't understand in life.  Like why the terrible events of Colorado happened.  How a person could be so twisted.  How they could make that horrible irreversible decision.

There are also 'smaller' things I don't understand.  Why certain dreams seem take so long to come true.  Why some days seem to have a gloomy haze around them.

But one thing I do know is that Jesus cares.  The story above mentions again a few verses later, "Jesus, once more deeply moved came to the tomb."

It's comforting to know that God cares about our emotions and our hearts. That He has a heart that feels emotions too.

And that best of all He has a plan to rescue us from a world where our hearts feel sadness and loss and restore us to one where they dance with joy instead.

Are We Replaceable?

I had an interesting conversation the other day about the value of a person's individual contribution.  A reference was made to the saying 'everyone's replaceable.'


Working in HR, especially being part of the onboarding and offboarding process, I understand the point of this saying.  To a degree we are all replaceable.   At some point there will come a time for all of us when we will leave our positions, whether through job transfer or promotion or retirement, and we would generally hope there is someone who can step in after us to continue the work.


However, in another very real sense we are not replaceable at all.  I would venture to say, in many careers at least, that no one else can do your job exactly the way you can.  No one else can reach certain people the way you can.   No one else has the same combination of talent and character and personality as you do.


Consider Psalms 139:14


"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."


And also Ephesians 2: 10


"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us do."


Or this promise from Isaiah 49.


"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..."


So it would seem then that we are all uniquely equipped by our Creator God for the calling before us.  As Paul writes in Ephesians 4 let us live a life worthy of the call we have received. 

Everything you wished for

My husband and I recently bought the extended edition of Lord of the Rings.  I know I may be a little late to the party with this, but we are really enjoying watching the DVDs, in fact watching the extended edition is almost watching them again for the first time.

In the second movie, the Two Towers, there is a a scene that I find rather sad.   Arwen the beautiful elf Evenstar is deciding between remaining on Middle Earth to be with Aragorn who she loves or heading to the Undying Lands with her father Elrond and the rest of her people.

In a poignant speech Elrond reminds her that even if all she hopes for comes true and she marries Aragorn and he is crowned king, even if these wonderful things happen, she would still at some point lose him and come to death herself.

It's a thought progression that merits some reflection for us as well.  What if all the wonderful things we hope for in life come true?  The dream job, a happy marriage, healthy children.

Even if life on Earth goes well, there is still the silent march of time and age asking us to consider the question, what happens next?

In the book the Return of the King, Aragorn offers a hint of the answer.  On his deathbed he says to Arwen, "But let us not be overthrown at the final test, who of old renounced the Shadow and the Ring.  In sorrow we must go, but not in despair.  Behold!  we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory."

While it is interesting to read of hints and illusions of such ideas, it is more valuable to know for certain one's true final destiny.

I don't always understand the Bible perfectly.  There are many verses and doctrines that people can debate.  But one thing I do understand is that the blood of Jesus paid the price for my sins and my failings.  And because of His great and incredible sacrifice, my future is secure in Him.  No matter what happens in life, I can know the ending.  Maybe not all the particulars, but enough to know the ending is really just the beginning.  The beginning of something more wonderful and good then even my imagination can create.

And that is Good News indeed!

Counting Blessings in the Rain

This evening is ushering in a rather melancholy mood for me.  Maybe it's the gallons of rain that continue to fall outside my window.  Maybe it's the end of the weekend.  Maybe its the distance from Florida to my hometown.

But regardless of the reasons, the fact remains that I feel a bit down.  I doubt I'm the only one to experience moments like this.  The question is, what do you do with them?

My husband provides a kind listening ear.  And watching some of the scenery and epic tales of Middle Earth bring diversion to my thoughts.

But unless I intend to spend all my remaining weekend time watching the extended version of Lord of the Rings or talking to my husband about my thoughts, I may need to add another option to my toolbox.

So I am counting my blessings.

There are a great many blessings in my life, too many to write down in this post, but here are a few of the things I appreciate and for which I am grateful.

1.  A garage and a house that shield us from the rain.
2.  New life.  I attended a baby shower today for a friend who is expecting a sweet baby boy.
3.  My thoughtful husband who made us a homemade blizzard treat.
4.  My pillow
5.  The library with its boundless supply of 'free' books.
6.  Good music like 1000 Reasons by Matt Redman.
7.  Game night with friends
8.  Our bird feeder that attracts many cardinals
9.  Family and friends both near and "far"
10.  At some point it will stop raining and the sun will shine again.

Flowers

I read a section of the poem Flowers by Longfellow in a little book shortly before my Grandpa died.   I think it is a very beautiful word picture and calls the mind to think on high things.

"In the cottage of the rudest peasant,
In ancestral homes, whose crumbling towers,
Speaking of the Past unto the Present,
Tell us of the ancient Games of Flowers;

In all places, then, and in all seasons,
Flowers expand their light and soul-like wings,
Teaching us, by most persuasive reasons,
How akin they are to human things.

And with childlike, credulous affection
We behold their tender buds expand;
Emblems of our own great resurrection,
Emblems of the bright and better land." 

-Excerpt from Flowers by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Photo by Kristen Harmon