Get Out of My Way!

I have noticed lately that I have been hitting a lot of animals with my car…more this week than in my whole driving experience. Even though I’ve felt badly about hitting birds or bunnies, I haven’t felt badly enough to stop and go back to check on them.

This got me thinking about how we treat other people, and how we often don’t even take time to show the love of God towards others because we’re too concerned with ourselves. It’s usually all about me, my needs, and what God is doing for me. If you get in my way then you just get run over! I probably won’t even stop to see if you are okay, just like I didn’t take the time to see if those animals I hit last week were okay.

I hate to think about how many times I’ve been so concerned about myself that I ignored my brothers and sisters in Christ, leaving them hurting and needing a hand. Well, the message from God to us right now is “Love one another.” That’s going to require us to pay attention to what we’re doing, so we can stop and help those in need along the way. We’ll really be able to tell how much we’re growing in our love walk by the number of people we help instead of run over!

~ by guest contributor, Michelle Parrish

Lessons Learned by Fire

My house caught on fire a few months ago. I was running late one Friday morning. As usual, I woke up, fed the cat and two cockatiels, got dressed, grabbed my bag and headed out the door, not realizing that this would be my last time to ever do so. I don’t remember much about that day at work, but I assume it was pretty normal. When I got home that fateful evening, normality flew right out the window.

I came home only to find that my twenty-year-old electric blanket had caught on fire, consuming my bed and most of my bedroom. I spent the night with some friends only to return the next morning and find that a second fire had occurred, this time completely destroying the entire house along with everything I owned.

Needless to say, the past few months have been a novel experience for me in many ways. I have learned many lessons by fire, which I would like to share with you: lessons of preparation, crisis management, and the unexpected.

No one can ever truly prepare for disaster, but I quickly learned of ways how I had both adequately and inadequately prepared for the loss of my home. One of the things I did right was taking insurance out on my house which covered property loss, replacement costs, and additional costs of living expenses. The financial burden of rebuilding my life from scratch has been made simple because I had the foresight to purchase the appropriate insurance. However, I was not quite as prepared for the aftermath of the fire. In hindsight, I should have video inventoried every room, closet, wall, and drawer in my house. Trying to inventory everything that you’ve just lost in a fire from sheer memory is a daunting task which can easily be prevented.

While preparation for potential disaster is always prudent, learning to manage your life in the midst of such catastrophe is also quite valuable. I have discovered that developing strong relationships with family, friends, and your local community is an invaluable resource. Quite simply, the first two weeks after the fire, every matter was intrinsically overwhelming. Simple decision making became a challenge, but I was blessed to have my folks, my church, and my friends with me to help keep things simple. By delegating simple tasks, such as driving me to different places or writing things down for me, an immense burden was taken off my shoulders which allowed me to accomplish the important things in the midst of an overwhelming situation.

The most important lesson came quite unexpectedly: overwhelming love. Never before in all my life have I experienced such an outpouring of love and support from so many people. Within forty-eight hours of losing my home, my pets, and everything that I owned, my church had supplied me with a winter wardrobe which would last for a whole month without having to wash any clothes! The people of the graduate program I’m in generously gave hundreds of dollars and multiple household items to help me rebuild. People I didn’t even know were coming to me, wanting to help. The experience was quite surreal. In the midst of all the horror and pain of losing all that I had, I realized that I had something much more valuable and completely fireproof: a God, friends and family who love me.

You know the old adage, “You never truly know what you have til it’s gone?” I have found this proverb somewhat lacking upon reflection of my own life these past months. Yes, I did discover the true value of my insurance policies once I lost everything. And yes, I did actually learn that I didn’t know what earthly possessions I had till they were gone. But I have discovered a new adage: “You never truly know what you have til you have nothing left to give.” When you are humbled to the place where you have no choice but to rely on the generosity, compassion, and charity of others and God Almighty, that is where you discover the true riches of what you DO have.

The Little Prince

Each year, I pull out my tiny, 40 year-old, worn paperback copy of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery and read it again. It is a beautiful story, but only for those who are not too consumed with matters of consequence. For that sort of person, the story may be pointless, childish, or frivolous, having no rhyme nor reason. But for me it is a reminder of the value of friendship, the beauty of a flower or a star, and the treasure to be found in things unseen. There is much to be learned from this simple little volume… I share some of these simple lessons here with you, for those of you who are not too busy to listen.

“All grown-ups were once children – although few of them remember it.”

If you look with your imagination, you should be able to see clearly what this little drawing is all about. For those of you who cannot, try again once you have read these wonderful excerpts. Perhaps they will awaken the child in you, who would easily sort these things out.

Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they demand: “How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him. (p. 16)

The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists. (p. 17)

One never ought to listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance…The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything! I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her… I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her… (pp. 36-37)

If I ordered a general to change himself into a sea bird, and if the general did not obey me, that would not be the fault of the general. It would be my fault…One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform. (p. 42/45)

“Then you shall judge yourself,” the king answered. “That is the most difficult thing of all. It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.” (p. 46)

But the conceited man did not hear him. Conceited people never hear anything but praise. (p. 48)

(of the Lamplighter) Nevertheless, he is the only one of them all who does not seem to me ridiculous. Perhaps that is because he is thinking of something else besides himself. (p. 61)

“Men?” she echoed. “I think there are six or seven of them in existence. I saw them, several years ago. But one never knows where to find them. The wind blows them away. They have no roots, and that makes their life very difficult.” (p. 74)

“To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world… You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” (p. 80/88)

“One only understands the things that one tames,” said the fox. “Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends anymore.” (p. 84)

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. (p. 87)

“What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well…” “Yes,” I said to the little prince. “The house, the stars, the desert – what gives them their beauty is something that is invisible!” (p. 93)

He never answered questions – but when one flushes does that not mean “Yes”? (p. 98)

“In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… You – only you – will have stars that can laugh! And when your sorrow is comforted you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend.” (p. 104)

Stay in the Tent

Exodus 33:11 – “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.”

Moses had a unique relationship with God. As Larry Munson would say, “Get the picture”… Moses would go into the “tent of meeting” to speak with the Lord. A pillar of cloud would descend and stay at the entrance of the tent while Moses and the Lord had a conversation. Now Moses didn’t just play a worship CD, read a Psalm, and pray for a while…the Lord actually spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp. But Joshua stayed in the tent.

Moses had to shoulder the weight of leading God’s people. He had a responsibility that most of us couldn’t possibly relate to. Not only did Moses have to hear clearly from God, but he had to be God’s mouthpiece as well. Great! But, what in the world does this have to do with me?

Well, I believe that our church is a “tent” that God has provided for us. We get to come and hear God speak first-hand, and then we get to see Godly leaders apply what He says in a public setting…but we just get to stay in the tent. No one is throwing stones at us, and no one is writing newspaper articles about us, and for that I’m thankful!

Despite what you might think, you are NOT ready to be Moses yet, or you’re dream would’ve already happened. Some of you may think the “Moses” in your life is just getting in the way. Remember, you probably wouldn’t even know about the Promised Land if it wasn’t for that leader in your life! Think about it… David had about 15 years of preparation before he became King. Joseph was groomed for about 13 years before his dream came to pass. Jesus, the Son of God, didn’t start his ministry until he was 30 years old. So what makes us think that one good idea, one good performance, or one good compliment qualifies us for promotion?  God probably has called you to lead somebody into the Promised Land at some point, but for now… STAY IN THE TENT!

Q: What tent has God has placed in YOUR life? Are you taking advantage of every opportunity for preparation?