Just Push Back Those Curtains

You have met my dear 97-year-old mother-in-law via my blog before. She gave me a “lift” yesterday when I made my check-in call to her. If I don’t call her every couple of days, she calls me. She lives at my brother and sis-in-law’s home in Tulsa. They are among those I’m missing during this "at home" time, along with my Austin crew.

Mom amazes me. When I called, she had just returned to her bedroom, after cleaning up the kitchen from her breakfast and walking (using her walker) up and down the hall five times (her daily “staying-alive” routines). She added: “Now, I’m working on some purchase orders Karen gave me to check for her (for their business). Some of it was new for me, but I double-checked it and they are all right!” I said, “Mom, you are amazing. You don’t quit!” She retorted: “When the dark curtains start to close, I just push them back open. Too many people just sit and do nothing! We’ve got to be determined to keep moving forward! I put me behind me and try to help the guy in front of me!! Forward march! Onward Christian Soldiers (singing that line)!!”

She went on: “Maddie (her 18-year-old great-granddaughter) was here yesterday. She asked me about my family. I told her the name and placement of each one of the twelve: First there was Mary, then Molly, Ann, Dan, (me, Lydia), Penny, Dave, Alma, Amy, Richard, Hilda and Buddy.”

Typically, our calls are just a "check-in" call, but she was on a roll yesterday. Mom knows tough times. She finds great joy in talking about the past because she knows WHO brought them through those times. Floods of the 1950s in Winnipeg (Canada) filled their home. They had to move in with her parents when my husband was 4-years-old. It took a lot to get their home restored. Then there was the tornado in the late 80s (aftermath is pictured here with Dad, Mom and my husband). Mom and Dad were in a bathroom shower stall in the middle of the building, crying out to God for mercy. They came out unscathed and so did the big Family Bible you see here under Mom's arm.

Here we are in almost unbelievable times of 2020. If we listen or read news reports and take them just as they are, it may seem as if the best escape is for God to open up a window above us in the sky and snatch us away to a better place beyond the clouds. But, maybe we should take on Mom’s way of thinking. She has a habit of saying "And that's the way it goes". That's kind of the way she looks at life. When she could be down because she’s a widow, her only son died, has physical issues, must live with her kids and has to use a walker or wheel chair -- she just patiently and calmly says, "And that's the way it goes."

Perhaps that’s the way we should view life – “and that’s the way it goes”. It has a care-less tone to it, doesn't it? Not that we don’t care – but that we “Cast our cares on He Who takes over and handles the cares for us.” (Psalm 55:22) All of this is not too much for God to handle. Whatever the circumstances of our lives – no matter who we are and what our responsibilities are – we will never stump God, or leave Him wondering what in the world to do next. I'm quite certain that none of the stuff is enough to make God throw his hands up in surrender.

Mom is a “Bible-thumper”. It’s her daily go-to for answers. "That's the way it goes" -- trusting, leaning on and depending on He Who has us all in His mighty hands. Let’s leave the figuring out to God. His way (and Mom's way) is to live a calm, peaceful, and assured life. I think Mom's 97-years prove it works!

I Am a Friend of God

As a young girl, I wasn’t in with the “in” crowd when I was in school. I was by no means one of those popular girls that hung out with those cool cheerleaders and the hunky football team. I wasn’t even in the “nerd” crowd because I sure wasn’t a really smart kid either. I was a shy, average grade student who went to school, did average work, came home and played with my friend next door.

That sounds pitiful, doesn't it? But don’t feel sorry for me because it was in those years that my friendship with God began and grew and that friendship sustained and carried me through some of the toughest times as a little girl AND as a big girl. You see, my Dad was very ill from a brain tumor and after the surgery to remove it, he lived, but became more like a sibling to me than my Daddy. I watched my Mom be so brave and undaunted in her care for him and me. Mom was the best friend I didn’t have in girl friends, because she modeled what it is to be strong, loving, supportive, AND model her friendship with God. She’d talk to Him all the time. She’d sing and praise Him in the midst of such troubling times with my Dad’s illness and having to financially provide for us all. I’m so grateful for what she taught me in what it is to trust God and for Him to be her dearest friend.

Today, I am who I am because early on God was my “bestie”. Without a doubt, I know He’s with me and even when I don’t talk to Him, I know it’s okay, because friends don’t have to always be talking to each other. Sometimes, it’s just being in each other’s presence, so I practice His presence. You see, my FRIEND, is sitting right beside me as I type this post. I know it. I even sense Him smiling with His arm around me as I type “I am a friend of God.”

I’ve come to realize my peace, joy, courage and comfort come from the friendship I have with Him. Oh, I’m right in the thick of life just like others are, and it may look like I live unrealistically, but I assure you, this is the way to live above the fray that comes with “the thick of things". As important as it is to have close friendships, I assure you there is nothing to compare to having God as best friend.

Yesterday, I took a long walk and I started singing “I am a friend of God” (a great Israel Houghton song), and I started thinking about it’s one thing for God to be MY friend, but I want to be HIS friend. Unlike my childhood, I have lots of friends today, but really only a couple of “besties”, and I’m not sure what I would do without them. I know they are there for me any time.

And, as much as I love my girl friends, there is nothing to compare with God calling me His friend – and better yet, I like to think I’m one of His “besties”. After all, I’ve known Him most all my life – since I was 8 years old at a summer church camp, when I invited Him into my heart and asked Him to be my best friend. And, better than the girls in the “in” crowd, or my Mom, or even my “bestie” girl friends today, He’s perfect and I don’t have to look for Him. He’s always there when I need Him. He'll listen to anything I want to talk about, He holds my heart in his hand when life's too painful, and He whispers comfort to me when I'm afraid. James 4:8 says "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." The more I want to cozy up to Him, the more He cozies up to me! Thank you, Lord!

And I have to remember that my friends, even my besties, and I aren't God. We can only do our best to be like Him. He's my everything -- my Savior, my Helper, my Healer, my Shield, my Protector, my Father -- my Everything. And I like to think that I'm His best friend because, after all, He loved me so much that He gave His life for me. How's that for a "bestie"? He even encourages me to sit down and chat with Him, dump my worries and cares into His arms, to allow Him to carry my burdens and to remember all that He's done for me. Then, He gives me a little nudge and says, "Now, go love others, like you love Me!"

John 15:15 " I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends because I’ve made known to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father."

And That's The Way It Goes!

My mother-in-law, who has always been known for her wit, called me a couple of nights ago and she was on a roll. Typically, it is just a "check-in" call to see how things are going, but this night she was recalling some stories of her childhood and how she and her brother got into mischief. And that story led to another story. There are times when she'll repeat stories that I've heard dozens of times before, but this night, they were all fresh ones. She told me how the floods were coming quickly in Winnipeg (Canada) in the early 50s and how she had to pack a little suitcase and send her boy, my husband (then 4 years old), away to a friend's home so he would be protected. She said he stood in the driveway with his little coat on and holding his little suitcase....looking so sad and forlorn. I can visualize that picture now.

Mom finds great joy in talking about the past because she has such sweet memories of when times were tough, but God brought them through each and every time. The floods came, but they had the good sense to move their best furniture to higher ground before their home was under water.

Now, here we are in 2016 and. if taken at face value, it may seem we're in such a perilous and concerning time. When we listen to the news reports or to a voice that just called us on our phone, or when we've read the latest updates on social media and take them just as they are, it may seem as if the best escape is for God to open up a window above us in the sky and snatch us away to a better place beyond the clouds.

Mom has a habit of saying "And that's the way it goes". That's kind of the way she has looked at life -- when she could be down because her dear husband passed away and left her a widow some twenty years ago or that she can't get around as good as she once could.....she just patiently and calmly says, "And that's the way it goes."

Here's the deal -- we shouldn't be down about the way things appear. Let's don't lose hope based on what our news anchor or our social media feed or our great-aunt Lillie may be trying to tell us about the gloom and the doom and the brokenness of this world. All of this is not too much for God to handle. Whatever decade or political year or tough year it was, and is today, literally, whatever is upon us, will never stump God, or leave Him wondering what in the world to do next. I'm quite sure none of the stuff is enough to make God throw his hands up in surrender.

Psalm 147:5 says ".....He is abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite." ! Samuel 2:3 "For the LORD is a God of knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed." Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity; plans to give you a future and a hope." Psalm 27:1

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?"

Mom has it right. "That's the way it goes" -- trusting, leaning on and depending on our KNOW-IT-ALL God, is the way to live a calm, peaceful, and assured life.