When I was a little kid growing up in church, we always had "song time" after the service and before Sunday School. I used to see them as cheesy, stereotypical Sunday School songs that everyone who went to VBS had probably heard (and memorized) at least once in their life. But looking back now I realize that there was a lot of truth in them. As simple, and catchy as all get-out, as they were they contained immense knowledge that I still carry with me today. For example...
Molly and I spent the day together on Tuesday. It was a beautiful, sunny with a high of 45 and she had the day off from work. On our way to her eye appointment we were just goofing off and she started singing "This is the day that the Lord has made" in this crazy voice. (If you don't know it, these are the words to it at least: "This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it," and it's at this point where, for some reason, the singer realizes the key is impossibly high, so as a little kid the only way to reach it was to scream it as loud as possible, "FOR THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE." This is the part that she chose to sing.)
So we had a good laugh and started talking about something else, as all conversations usually go, putting this moment of hilarity behind us.
Well, all-in-all it ended up being a pretty stinky day and by 9 PM we were both tired and emotional and felt like the day was a waste. At dinner, Molly said something about how the day felt pointless and after a moment of silence that song just popped into my head, and I started singing "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Let the record show that I had completely forgotten that that very same song had ever come out of Molly's mouth, and that there was no prompting for me to start singing this song. I didn't even want to be singing it. I, in no way, felt at all that the day should be rejoiced in.
But that just made it all the more powerful.
Regardless of whether or not I subconsciously remembered our moment from earlier in the day, we were both struck dumb by how God used that simple song to remind us of hope. Even though it might not have been our ideal day, it was a day to be alive, to trust Jesus and to love Jesus, and to rejoice in a life-giving God who does not abandon his people. And though I might not have hope in worldly things, I have hope in life through Jesus Christ.
Psalm 118:21-24
I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
I wrote this instead of an essay.
Legend has it that there is this particular group of a few extraordinarily brave souls. Souls so brave that they are willing to face even the darkest, coldest, and most enduring enemy known to mankind. Last week, those brave souls ceased to be legend to me and became reality. Journeying from the far land of Florida Gulf Coast University, a group of extraordinary students came to face the dreaded Winter of 2014 in Syracuse, New York. Braving the--blah, blah, blah...it's really, really cold out and we have lots and lots of snow and they're from Florida where it's sunny and not cold.
Last week was FGCU's spring break. And what did this group of lovely individuals decide to do for their spring break? Come to serve the city of Syracuse. While everyone else was heading their direction, they were headed ours, and spent an entire week sharing the gospel and just being Jesus to the city. Pretty cool, huh?
On Thursday they came to campus and I had the opportunity to meet and hang out with a couple of them, and we spent some time on campus in prayer and conversation.
Things that happened that day:
1. "Mom, I made new friends today!" I had no idea who these people were a week ago. They literally didn't exist in my mind. And then BAM. Friends. How does that happen? Jesus. And their willingness to be freezing cold and surrounded by grumpy northerners who haven't seen the sun in 4 months. It was a much needed reminder that we are unified in the Gospel and under a powerful God. Plus they're just really great, and even when I got way too comfortable with them too quickly and showed how not normal I am, they took it in stride. So that's great.
2. They brought the sun with them! It was so beautiful out the day they were on campus. I didn't even button my coat or wear gloves.
3. (#realtalk) I realized how little I actually care about the campus and the city. I treat it like garbage. Oh sure, I'm really grateful to be at a good university and to have lots of friends and get a good education. But God has put me in this place for a reason, and it's so easy to get stuck in the little bubble of college that we forget there is a bigger world out there. SU always talks about having a "global perspective," whatever that means, but what about the needs of the people just minutes away from us? I think we spend too much time talking about how to help people instead of putting aside our big plans and just loving them simply. Am I thankful for the city of Syracuse? No. Do I want to be? Yes. And last week was a real kick in the butt in making me think about how I can do that, and how I'm NOT doing that (boo).
And regardless of whether I'm in Syracuse or Albany, I always want to ask myself how I can love the place that I'm in right now?
(Side note) In reading my bible, I'm learning a lot about how Jesus taught, and I'm finding that it's pretty simple: ask questions. The disciples and pharisees and everyone was always asking him questions, and rarely does Jesus give them a straight answer. Instead, he asks them a really poignant question in response, and more often than not it makes them realize the answer themselves; it makes them THINK.
I still always want answers from God, "Should I do take this job? How do I love this person? Why is this happening? What do I do now?" But I also realize that He's not going to just write down the answer on the piece of paper in front of me. So I've started to asking myself questions, and I've started ANSWERING them. How many times have I asked God, "How do I love him/her/them?" And instead of looking at how Jesus did it, or even thinking of ways that I can do that and literally writing them down, I just expect God to do it for me. God does a lot of things for me, but like Jesus' questions, He more often than not gives me the opportunity to figure it out for myself. You learn a lot better than way.
So. Hopefully that challenges you. And I hope that I can challenge YOU too by asking:
"How can you love the place that you are in now?"
Last week was FGCU's spring break. And what did this group of lovely individuals decide to do for their spring break? Come to serve the city of Syracuse. While everyone else was heading their direction, they were headed ours, and spent an entire week sharing the gospel and just being Jesus to the city. Pretty cool, huh?
On Thursday they came to campus and I had the opportunity to meet and hang out with a couple of them, and we spent some time on campus in prayer and conversation.
Things that happened that day:
1. "Mom, I made new friends today!" I had no idea who these people were a week ago. They literally didn't exist in my mind. And then BAM. Friends. How does that happen? Jesus. And their willingness to be freezing cold and surrounded by grumpy northerners who haven't seen the sun in 4 months. It was a much needed reminder that we are unified in the Gospel and under a powerful God. Plus they're just really great, and even when I got way too comfortable with them too quickly and showed how not normal I am, they took it in stride. So that's great.
2. They brought the sun with them! It was so beautiful out the day they were on campus. I didn't even button my coat or wear gloves.
3. (#realtalk) I realized how little I actually care about the campus and the city. I treat it like garbage. Oh sure, I'm really grateful to be at a good university and to have lots of friends and get a good education. But God has put me in this place for a reason, and it's so easy to get stuck in the little bubble of college that we forget there is a bigger world out there. SU always talks about having a "global perspective," whatever that means, but what about the needs of the people just minutes away from us? I think we spend too much time talking about how to help people instead of putting aside our big plans and just loving them simply. Am I thankful for the city of Syracuse? No. Do I want to be? Yes. And last week was a real kick in the butt in making me think about how I can do that, and how I'm NOT doing that (boo).
And regardless of whether I'm in Syracuse or Albany, I always want to ask myself how I can love the place that I'm in right now?
(Side note) In reading my bible, I'm learning a lot about how Jesus taught, and I'm finding that it's pretty simple: ask questions. The disciples and pharisees and everyone was always asking him questions, and rarely does Jesus give them a straight answer. Instead, he asks them a really poignant question in response, and more often than not it makes them realize the answer themselves; it makes them THINK.
I still always want answers from God, "Should I do take this job? How do I love this person? Why is this happening? What do I do now?" But I also realize that He's not going to just write down the answer on the piece of paper in front of me. So I've started to asking myself questions, and I've started ANSWERING them. How many times have I asked God, "How do I love him/her/them?" And instead of looking at how Jesus did it, or even thinking of ways that I can do that and literally writing them down, I just expect God to do it for me. God does a lot of things for me, but like Jesus' questions, He more often than not gives me the opportunity to figure it out for myself. You learn a lot better than way.
So. Hopefully that challenges you. And I hope that I can challenge YOU too by asking:
"How can you love the place that you are in now?"
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