Once Upon A Time...

The world keeps trying to sell me fairy tales. It used to just be the idea of a fairy tale but every now and then it actually tries to hand me one of my own. I'm not sure how I feel about that....

You see, the problem with fairy tales is that the only thing they are actually good for is telling really great stories. They aren't real and they always end way too soon. They don't give you the whole story or the whole picture. Fairy tales don't tell you about the "ever after". And what if the "ever after" doesn't look at all like you imagined?

What if "ever after" is actually late nights arguing about all the time your husband spends at work and not with you and your children? What if "ever after" is accompanied by a husband that falls into alcohol or drug addictions? What if "ever after" is an occasional night with your kids at the local Holiday Inn because you don't want to be around "Prince Charming" and his verbal abuse? What if "ever after" is boredom accompanied by a desire to gain affections from strangers and comfort from pornography?

They say love is blind but I just think it's selective. All the warning signs are usually there but we choose not to heed their warnings because we would rather enjoy the fairy tale. It isn't that we didn't see them. It's that we chose to sweep them under the carpet. We like to think things will change. We like to think we can fix things. We like to see the good in people and imagine the best. We like to pretend we can't see the truth. We like pretending we are blind because then we don't have to take responsibility.

But five, ten, thirty years from now when we are no longer in the "once upon a time" stage and instead in the midst of "ever after" will we wish we had taken some time to consider what our "ever after" would look like?

 

Pharisee, Disciple, Believer or Rich Man, Who Are You?

How often do you hear people say,"It was so easy for people who were alive when Jesus was alive. They didn't have to deal with doubt and faith. They could just ask Jesus whatever they wanted." But really was it?

Jesus wasn't the first man to show up and perform miracles, he wasn't the first one to have followers. Just like we often find ourselves saying, "Is that you, God?" The people of his time were doing the same. They wanted to be faithful, they didn't want to jump ahead of God and they wanted Him to fit inside their box of understanding so that they would clearly recognize Him when he arrived.

Before we judge the people of that time for being "completely stupid" and missing the point, I have to ask, 'Haven't we all been there?' Maybe instead of trying to understand, predict or fit God into a box, they could have spent that energy on getting to know Him, His heart, His reactions and His character. If the Pharisees had done this, I think they would have recognized him.

As I dig deeper into scripture, I come across the story of a very rich man (Mark 10).  This man had been "good" his entire life, he had honored his mother and father and been faithful.  It even sounds like he really truly believed that Jesus was who he said he was.  But when Jesus asked the man to leave everything behind and "come follow me" his heart was heavy because he was holding on tight to a lot of things. I don't think the man really believed that any of these material things were more important than Jesus. I just think he was afraid.  It was too much, too fast and Jesus was asking him to dive in way past his comfort zone.  Unfortunately the man missed out on incredible blessings and the greatest relationship he would ever know because he couldn't bring himself to trust. 

I might not be having a problem with an abundance of money but there are things he is continuously asking me to let go of...  some of these things are harder than others to let go of and well... sometimes I have to ask him to pry it out of my hand because I just don't know how to let go.

So if we were each to take a role in the stories who would you be? Would you doubt him? Deny him? Abandon everything to follow him? Chase him down when you had a need? Or decide that following him is just too risky?

Watching The Sunrise...

When we go out of our way for God, he goes out of his way for us. 

Did you ever notice how every couple seems to have "a place"? You know, the place they return to whenever they want a romantic getaway.  Maybe it's the park where they first held hands, or the town they went away to on their honeymoon. Maybe it's the city they went to college in.  For whatever reason that place holds a special place in their heart, that is the place they can go and be reminded of their love for one another.  It's the place they go to fall in love again.

If you know anything about me, you know that if I could be anywhere I would be on a quiet beach.  It's my quiet place, my resting place, my outdoor sanctuary, it's my place with God.  It's our emergency getaway place, the place where he captures my heart all over again.

Another thing you should know about me is that I HATE to get up early.  If you can get me to wake up early (and actually be cheerful about it) then you should feel pretty special because it means you are important to me!

Last weekend, I was in Virginia Beach with some girls from True North for the Devoted Conference (this was written a year ago after the 2011 Devoted).  We were literally there for less than 48 hours and had many, many amazing things to do during that time. I was incredibly encouraged and touched by the worship and the speakers but found myself yearning for something more as we bounced around from activity to activity.  Although I was in the Lord's presence, I was craving time alone with Him. Time I wouldn't have to share with anyone else.  I was so desperate for this time that I tried to convince the girls I was staying with that it was completely safe and okay for me to go out on the beach at 11:00 Friday night.  They wouldn't allow it.  So... I went to bed disappointed because I knew that we were leaving the following morning and I would not get to meet with God in our place.

As I lay in bed that night I realized what I needed to do, what I wanted to do but only wished could come later in the day.  God was asking me to meet him for an early morning sunrise date.  As excited as I was to watch the sunrise there was very little excitement over getting up at 6:00 when it was already after 1am but hey, we do crazy things when we're in love...

FAST FORWARD TO THE MORNING....

Everyone was sleeping as I snuck around the room looking for warm clothes, shoes and socks.  I wondered to myself what they would think about me going on the beach this early (since they didn't want me to go so late) and I wondered if I should tell someone... but was reminded of one of the conference speakers' words, "My faith is stronger than my fear" and I told myself that I would be perfectly safe because God had called me out on this date and he would watch over me. 

As I walked out the door of the hotel and down the street towards the beach a line from a song played over and over in my head, "Your love never fails. It never gives up, it never runs out on me..."

I thought about the clouds and how on really cloudy days you can't really see the sun rise but they are used to make the event so spectacular. I realized that the clouds in our lives are what add the beauty to the bigger events for us and I kept on walking....

Then, as I stepped off the "boardwalk" (anyone from Jersey knows this is not an actual boardwalk) and into the sand my heart leapt within me as the waves crashed into the air greeting me. 

As always the little girl in me began asking for a "present".  "I would really, really love to see a dolphin (it's the thing I ask for every time I am at the beach) or some star fish or some other rare occurance, just romance me!"  Everytime I am on the beach I begin to say to myself, "Maybe this time I will get a present..." This time God's response really got my attention, "You can't go looking and asking for gifts.  No one likes to give a surprise present to someone who is constantly begging and asking for it.  Even worse, the person who receives can not enjoy the gift-giver's heart because of all the pressure they put on them."  (I had a friend in college who ruined her boyfriend's proposal this way.  By the time he proposed she had basically said everything short of "just give me the ring")  Then He added, "Just wait for my blessing. (that sure applies in a lot of areas)"

So, I continued walking, knowing that I really didn't need any dolphins or star fish to make my date with God special.  I started pouring out my heart to God and then something stopped me.  I remembered something someone had said over the weekend, "Sometimes we get upset because God isn't answering our questions but maybe we are asking the wrong questions."  So, I changed my approach, "God I've already told you my heart's desires, I've already told you my fears and concerns.  You know them all.  What do you want to hear?  What do you want to say?"  And then, I continued walking. 

I begin to notice a huge ridge of clouds above the horizon.  Somewhere behind the clouds lies the sun. 

"He will reveal the hidden things." The sun is somewhere behind the clouds. I see it shining through a crack. I don't see the sun. Just its shine and that is reflecting on the water. What's in us shines through to those around us even when people don't see the Son (the reason for our glow) But "He will reveal the hidden things".

I find myself asking, "What do you want to hear? What do you want to say..." and then, I am interrupted by this, "Sit."  So I sit.....

Wow! There it is! There's the sun. The sun just rose in that crack and lit up the entire sky. It revealed itself and now the glow is even greater. The clouds, the water, everything has the glow... and I hear, "Can I just tell you that I love you?"

When he said sit, I could have kept going... But man, what a behold moment!!!   The sun was soon hidden again behind the next line of clouds but the extra glow was still there and then WOW, it was risen for good above all of the clouds.  No longer hidden. Clear for all to see. "Now I can see all of you and it's radiant! I can hardly look.  You're brighter than ever and glowing on my face."