Elephants and Mosquitoes

Do you sometimes feel that life is what it is, and there’s nothing 
you can do about it? 

Sometimes the things that are out of our control in our lives are mosquitoes and sometimes, they are elephants.  When we used to travel with our kids, we’d laugh at the other vehicles on the road.  We’d get behind an elephant (a big RV or truck) or a mosquito might whiz past us making a terrible noise and irritating the daylights out of us (a fast motorcycle or car.) 

Think about our lives as a journey, and the paths that we take as the highway we travel. We meet both elephants and mosquitoes on our journey through life.

The elephants are like trials in our life that are so big they instill fear and discouragement in us.  They hinder our progress.  We can’t go on the way we were heading because we’re stuck behind them.  Major disasters, loss of loved one, loss of a job, illness and major pain or age are all like elephants that we confront on this travel through life.  They are all huge and hard to get past, aren’t they? 

Then think of the mosquitoes as the little things that we turn into big things.  That could be rudeness in others, irritating situations, people who keep pestering us or maybe even the weather.  Waiting – that’s a biggie for most people.  How about noise or a dull ache that won’t go away?  

Many times, when confronted with mosquitoes (irritations) we respond in anger.  Just as we slap at mosquitoes when they irritate us – we tend to do that to a friend or a spouse or someone near us – we want to stop the irritation so we may be rude to them. We may not slap them physically, but our voices do just that. 

When we have to face an elephant – a big disaster, death or illness, we know we can’t control it and we feel helpless.  And since we know we aren’t in control we find that we’re more apt to go for help – to God, or to friends.  Or maybe we learn to deal that elephant named trouble.  Or we may learn to be patient.  That’s probably the hardest thing to do.

   – not so with mosquitoes, we think we’re bigger than they are.

We act as if we can do something about them.  Little irritating mosquitoes – they bug us and cause us to sin even more than the great big elephant events.  That’s one thing I think we can all work on – trying to see why some things irritate us.  We can also look under the surface of our anger - to see if the cause of that is impatience, our pride or our lack of love for others.

The way we react to irritations shows where our heart is – I for one, need to look beyond myself.

But in the big and small things – God really does provide help and comfort.  Let's look at 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV) and 2 Cor 1:3,4 (NIV) 

“Cast all your care upon Him for He cares for you.  

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”  

And in our troubles, we learn patience – which is the most amazing attribute of God – Wow! How patient He is with us!   

So when the elephants – the big trials of life - block our way, slow us down and make us detour from the plans we have – let’s remember that God has plans for us as well.  We read in …

Jeremiah 29:11 - 12 (NIV)
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you

And when the mosquitoes (the small things) irritate us, let’s remember that’s what they are – small things.  

I wrote this little poem because sometimes it's easier to keep things in my head when they rhyme.

The simple route I’d planned to take

turns soon into a jumbled maze.

A detour sends me to the side

then twists in fickle random ways.

I thought I had the map prepared.

I thought I knew which way to go.

I thought the route I’d planned was best,

but now I find that it’s not so.

And now an irritation comes - 

mosquitoes - they exasperate.

They chafe and sting and make me mad.

They bother vex and aggravate.

I thought I had the map prepared.

I thought I knew which way to go.

I thought the route I’d planned was best,

but now I find that it’s not so.

Back on the road I’m making time

until I find I’m blocked behind

an elephant of mammoth size,

and there’s no way to pass I find.

I thought I had the map prepared.

I thought I knew which way to go.

I thought the route I’d planned was best,

but “Who,” I ask, “is in control?”

  

Do you sometimes think that you are in control of the trip – and find that you’re not?  Mosquitoes and Elephants come into our lives to help us see that we’re not in charge.  But they also help us to know we have to depend on the master planner, the master map maker, the one who made the road.

God bless your travels.

Diane

Hope in Troubled Times

Psalm 42 - As the deer   

These days we use the word “Hope” in such a different way than most of the Bible uses it.  We say, “I hope this will happen, or I hope I feel better tomorrow, or I hope we have asparagus for dinner” – I never hope that – but you see what I mean.

We use the word hope in exchange for the word “wish.”  But hope is defined in the dictionary as “looking forward with desire and considerable confidence.  Not just desire, but confidence as well.

God is our hope.  We have confidence that, with him in charge, things will always turn out for the best (not always as we wish – but for the best – God’s best.)

Hope is trusting that God means what he says.

There are many verses in the Bible that speak of hope. But Psalm 42 really spoke to me. It’s possible that the writer of that Psalm was talking for King David, or maybe himself, when he wrote -

As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, my God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God?

My tears have been my food day and night,

“ My soul is downcast within me;

Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”

My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me,

saying to me all day long “Where is your God?”

It sounds like this person was pretty miserable, doesn’t it?  His enemies oppressed him.  His body ached and he cried out to God.  As I was reading this Psalm, I thought – but I don’t have foes (enemies.)  I’m not in the same boat as this person.  And yes, I don’t have anyone trying to kill me or chasing me through the desert, but I do have things in my life that haunt me and cause me pain.

But I find that guilt, boredom, loneliness, weariness and worry – are all my enemies.  They try to destroy my faith in God. 

The writer praises God, calling him my Savior and my God and he says, “put your hope in God.” And then at the same time he says, “I’m downcast – I hurt.”  But the strange thing is that he also says to God,

“Because I’m downcast, therefore I’ll remember you.”

That’s different, isn’t it?  Sometimes when we’re downcast, we forget God.  But the writer says that’s WHY he remembers God – because he’s downcast.

And then I read something great – something amazing in that Psalm - the writer tells us that God sings to him of love.

 “By day the Lord directs his love,  at night his song is with me—“

God directs his love by day and sings His song at night.  Have you ever thought about that - God directing His love toward you, or singing you to sleep?  I hadn’t.

As we go on in Psalm 42 -- I love that the writer doesn’t pretend everything is okay.  He is honest with God and we need to be as well.  He asks God,

 “Why have you forgotten me?

But even with the downcast spirit, even with the question of “why have you forgotten me?”  He says he knows where his hope is and he praises God for it. In Verse 11 he says,

“Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

We can’t control most things in this life – but there is absolutely one thing that we can control and that’s where we put our trust and find our hope.

So when we look at it – we can say.  I have confidence in God.  Any confidence, or hope has to have a cause and God is the cause.

Sunday we sang the song and the words just sang out of my heart.  I changed the words a bit because it’s what I heard.

Be still, my soul;

the Lord is on your side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave it to God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul;

your God does undertake to guide the future as He has the past.

Your hope, your confidence, let nothing shake;

All that’s mysterious, will be bright at last.

Be still, my soul;

the waves and the winds still know His voice. The one who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Romans 15:4

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

Heaven and Nature Sing

They do, you know – heaven and nature sing – nature tells of God’s power and his majesty, and heaven sings a ballad of God’s love for man.

When you hear a song, do you ever wonder why it was written?   I expect that the composer had something he wanted you to know or to feel – something he himself felt.

But - if we are going to feel it, it must speak to our hearts. 

Like for instance I have a favorite - a wonderful little song, called I’m drinking from my saucer ‘cause my cup has overflowed – it speaks of gratitude.  It touches my heart and helps me feel the gratitude that the author must have felt. 

Then in a richer vein, we listen to the majestic Messiah, by Handel.  It raises our eyes to the Glory that is God and we feel awe and reverence.

It speaks to our heart.

When God created the world, He put music into his creation: the song of the birds, the pounding roar of the waves, the whistle of the wind, the drum of the thunder, the bugling of the elk, the howl of the coyote, the purring of the kitten, and the song of the whales and the dolphin.  All creation sings of the creator.

Some music takes the composer a long time to complete.  The song we’ll be talking about today took forever.  It was started long ago and was never played until Jesus came to earth. 

One extraordinary night over 2000 years ago, the hosts of heaven rejoiced. 

They were getting ready to witness a special performance of a song, born in the heart of God, even before the world began.   

A virgin whose name was Mary, was privileged to hear the opening strains of the music when an angel told her that the Messiah was to be born, and that she would be the vessel used by God to bring His Son to earth.  The song that had been written eons ago would at last be sung.

God’s song, written for love of mankind, was named “forgiveness.”

But there’s more to come.  God knew the singers and He wrote the song.

And then on that wonderful opening night, the Baby - the King, the one who would be called, Immanuel, was born, not in a palace, but in a stable – a lowly stable. 

And when the curtain was raised, I believe God may have shouted, “It has begun!”  I picture showers of starlight dancing across the evening sky; each tiny bit of light singing “Glory, Glory, Glory to God in the Highest.”  Perhaps there were invisible angels, singing the song, flying in formation, accompanying the King to earth. 

The magnificent light show was seen by the shepherds, tending their sheep on the hills of Bethlehem.  They saw the angels – majestic heavenly beings - appearing in Bethlehem’s black sky.  Angel voices spoke the song.  They told the shepherds,

 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior which is Christ the Lord.”

With power and glory they sang God’s song - music falling down from heaven with the stars.  Immanuel is born, God is with us.  “Forgiveness is coming to mankind.”

Out on the hills of Bethlehem the shepherds watch the night. 

Light from a feeble campfire glows

on faces bearing earthly woes

and waiting for the light.

Then from the quiet

A chord resounds

and thunders ’cross the sky

A chord that sings of hope for man. 

A chord revealing heaven’s plan –

It’s music from on high.

The song was born –

Forgiveness came,

to sleep upon the hay.

Man need no longer be alone. The Son of God would make his home on earth with us that day.

The song –

the word of Life was sent

to rescue us from Sin

Heaven and nature joined the choir

Singing Glory, Glory ever higher

Salvation would begin.

And Jesus is the Song. 

Jesus is the Word. 

Jesus is forgiveness. 

Jesus is Immanuel – God is with us!

Yes, the song was born, He lived with mankind.  He suffered for us.  And He lives in our hearts today.  May you know the joy and peace that comes from the heart of God.

Do You Remember Christmas?

Do you remember Christmas? I do.  

My memories of childhood Christmas programs have lasted over the years.  They all blend together because they were very much the same year after year and I’m so grateful for that.  Repetition implants those memories in your mind.  This is a picture of the church I attended as a child and this poem is the picture I have in my mind of Christmas programs past and present.  I hope you’ll enjoy it. 

A little child, one Christmas Eve, climbed up the church house stairs

expecting sounds of singing and people saying prayers.

But when the door was opened, her heart jumped at the sight.

She stood there silent in the night.

Her eyes were diamonds dancing bright in wonderment and awe.

Stained glass windows glow with light from candles burning there.

The sights and sounds were rich and rare.

Pine bough fragrance filled the air, and this is what she saw.

Shepherds tending quiet sheep

spoke in whispers soft and deep.

Angel choirs began to sing

Hallelujahs to the king.

And nearby on a bed of hay

a precious tiny baby lay.

That night she learned of Jesus, in scene and verse and song.

She learned of God’s stupendous love that righted all the wrong.

She learned that Jesus came to this dark earth to save all men

as angels told the shepherds they’d find Him in Bethlehem.

She learned about the wise men from the east, who came so far

and how our God protected them while following the star.

The things she saw that Christmas Eve were only just the start

because those Christmas memories keep Jesus in her heart.

The time and place span miles and years, but the message is the same. 

And that magic night so long ago, with candles lighting row on row  

helps the memories remain.

 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.  Gal 4:4-5

A Quiet Resting Place

This old world is often noisy and confusing 
and I search to find a quiet resting place.

Then sometimes 
in my pain 
or in my sorrow

I seek a way to touch my father’s face.

In the stillness of the night I hear him calling.

In the softness of the morn he’s still the same.

In the solitary place I find him waiting

for my heart to call upon his name.

When I come into the lonely place of meeting

then, in His words, God’s love and grace I see.

When I say, “please make your will be done in my life,”

comfort floats from God’s great heart to me.

He’s there in our lonely places.  

He’s there in our busy places.  

He’s there in our solitary places.  

He’s there, if we seek Him.

Aging

You’re on a road that you’ve never traveled before.  The twists and turns are unexpected.  Rocks appear in front of your toes and you stumble, not always falling, but uncomfortably off balance.

Our younger years were a little more predictable with changes that everyone talked about.  We all seemed to be weathering those changes fairly smoothly, but old age is something that isn’t generally discussed seriously.  Jokes are made, hints are given, and we prefer to ignore the road we’re on. 

The teen years seem to have the most in common with our present situation – bodies changing, emotions a little on edge, new responsibilities that we’re not sure we can handle, and the feeling that people don’t realize you have the ability to run your own life.  Of course when you are a teenager, you don’t have the wisdom of age, but your feelings of being put down and dismissed are the same.

There is one other difference that seems to be prevalent.  Teens do band together and talk about their problems; it seems that we “oldies” don’t.

Our reasons make a lot of sense because we’ve heard the following comments from our peers.

“It wouldn’t be wise to talk about our limitations because the kids will try to take away our freedom to live our own lives if they know that things are getting a little harder for us to cope with.” 

“Because we’re having a little physical trouble, they tend to think that it extends to our brains.”

“If I mention my aches or pains, I’m referred to as a bit crotchety.”

“When we talk about forgetting something, the immediate response is, ‘Oh it must be the beginning of Alzheimer’s.’”  Of course it is okay for a young mother to forget her keys! 

There is, of course, the pride issue.  We just don’t want to appear old, even when we look in the mirror in the morning.  It’s hard to admit that our bodies are deteriorating at a quickened pace and that we don’t have the strength or balance we used to have. 

Like the teenagers, we may also feel insecure sometimes, wondering about the future and our ability to handle what tomorrow will throw at us. 

But along that road - the road we haven’t traveled before - is beauty.  There are so many spectacular vistas unseen on previous roads.  It may be that we have more time to notice – more daily time, not necessarily days or years.  Or it may be that, over the years we have learned appreciation.

Many of the places and events we see shine with the goodness of strangers met along the way.  They sparkle with the early dawn, since sleep doesn’t always last until morning.  They glow with the warmth that memories bring – memories of friendships long ago, of family gatherings past, and of our children and grandchildren’s funny antics.   Most of all the vistas shine with the closeness of God in our lives, in our minds and our hearts.

There is also the picture of creativity that shows we never get too old to appreciate and make beauty, whether it is a painting, a poem, a dream, or a 3 layer chocolate cake.  This applies to anything a person can create, for instance, a garden, a straight row of split logs or a warm and welcoming home.  Creativity is a vista seen along our new road.

In some of our hearts the desire to learn becomes brighter.  We want to read good books, sharpen our skills or learn a new skill.  Those things smooth the roughness on the road we travel and keep us mentally alert.

As we age there seems to be an urge to help others.  Maybe it’s because we aren’t needed as much in our children’s lives, or maybe it’s because we take the time to see other's needs.  

We find that, although we don’t always have people dependent on us, we come to deeply understand our own dependence on God.

Talking to Him has become a way of life.  Every time we turn around we’re praying about something, and seeing God answer that prayer. There are so many times that we’ve prayed and God has answered, particularly on this road.  Is it because of the turmoil in our world today there are more problems to pray about?  Do we spend more time in prayer because we’ve learned that God really does listen and answer?  Is it because we’ve found that we are not in control and He is?  Or is it because we know Him better than we used to?

So the road is untried.  We’re walking that road, sometimes in loneliness, of our own making, or possibly because we’re forced to.  But there is really no need to walk this road alone.  God has said “I will be with you.”  And He will.

God says that if we follow Him, He will also light the path on this road we’re traveling. 

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

God doesn’t look at age – He’s ageless.

God doesn’t see you as slow – time doesn’t matter to Him.

God doesn’t worry about tomorrow – He holds it in His hand.

God is always there – So it doesn’t matter where we are.

I thank Him for a long life – long enough to grow old and to keep learning to trust Him.

Rainbows

Whenever I see a rainbow I can’t help but think about Noah and the flood.  God used the rainbow as a sign of the promise that He would never again destroy the world with a flood.

Rainbows, as you know, are spectacular. 

Three conditions must be met in order for you to see a rainbow. First, it must be raining. Second, the sun must be shining. Third, the observer must be between the sun and the rain.  So if the sun is on one side of you and it’s raining on the other side, you can see the rainbow.

Sunlight is made up of different colors...red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet and when that sunlight passes through raindrops, the raindrops act like tiny prisms, and the light spreads out into a band of colors that are reflected back to us as a rainbow.

Let’s think of this in light of our relationship with God.

First – there must be rain.

In order to see the beauty of the rainbow – there must be rain.  Isn’t that the way with most good things?  We can’t seem to appreciate the beautiful, unless we've been through a storm.  If our lives are running smoothly, we don’t appreciate the good.

Isn’t that the way with you?  It is with me.  We just walk along the path of life, day to day and don’t really stop to think of our blessings – until it rains.

The second condition is that the sun must be shining.

In order to see much of anything, we have to have the sun – or light.  But this condition is talking specifically about the sun, not just any light.  Let’s look at this from the standpoint of the SON (S O N,) the Son of God.  Of course He’s always there, He’s always shining, but maybe we really need the rain or the darkness to truly be aware of His light.  The Son of God is the light that shines on the raindrops – the trials in our lives - and creates the beauty of the rainbow.  The colors are the colors of the Son, enhanced by the rain that falls into our lives.

Thirdly, We must be between the sun and the rain.  

When we stand in the rain without being aware of the sun, we don’t see the rainbow.  When we walk in the sun without looking up at the sky and the rain, we don’t see the rainbow.  We have to know God’s promises in order to see them, in order to see the rainbow.  

One of God’s promises. that’s special to me comes from Jesus.  John 14:21 tells us,  

“. . . The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”  How comforting that is.  We will be loved by Jesus and the Father.  And Jesus will show himself to us.

What a great promise!  What a great rainbow.

Other than during the period of the flood, there are only a few times that the Bible speaks of a rainbow.  

We read in Ezekiel 1:28 - Ezekiel had a vision of God - and this is what he said, “Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” 

The radiance around God was like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day.  It so awed Ezekiel that he fell on his face in worship.  What a rainbow that must have been.

Then in Revelation 4:2-3 John is talking about his vision of heaven and he said, “. . . At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.  And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.”

After the flood, every time the rainbow is mentioned, it is mentioned in the context of God and his sovereign power. The rainbow around God's throne is a symbol of His faithfulness that even in judgment; God will always remember His covenant and protect His own. The rainbow is a sign of God's faithfulness to His people.

I wrote this little poem to help us remember -

When you’re walking through a storm and the rain is coming down

When your feet are weary trudging through the puddles on the ground

When you don’t know where to turn and the joy’s no longer found

Look up and see the rainbow.  Look up!  You’ll be spellbound!

God paints the sky with colors,

so we’ll know this promise true.

He’ll walk beside us through the storms as only He can do. 

He puts the rainbow in the sky

His promise shining there on high -

the promises that multiply, and show His care for you.

God is such an artist, isn’t He?  He gives us the magnificent rainbow stretching across the heaven, filled with all the colors of the sun to help us remember that we can trust Him to keep His promises.

And His promises?  To love you!  To be with you and show Himself to you!  To care for you, and provide for your needs!  And eternal life for those who believe in Him! 

Rainbows – aren’t they an amazing picture from and amazing God?