CALL ME JOB

In the Land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.  This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.  Job 1:1

God and Satan have a discussion and God allows Satan to test Job.  Now I have never understood this.  Why did God allow a blameless and upright man, who feared God and shunned evil to be so tested?  Be sure I am not blameless, have not always been upright, at times did not walk away from evil, but I do fear (trying to find wisdom) God.  Be sure that in the last seven months I have been tested and the testing will continue for a couple more. 

A number of weeks ago, I sent a message to our daughter saying:  Call me Job.

Her reply was:  You got a job?

I replied:  No.  Like Job in the Bible!

CALL ME JOB

My list of testing:

      2021

      November            I had a mammogram, it showed an abnormality, and an ultra-sound was scheduled for December

      December              I tested positive for Covid, very mild, but the ultra-sound had to be cancelled

                                Because I tested positive for Covid, my appointment to be cleared to have knee replacement surgery was also cancelled

                                    Bill tested positive for Covid – no symptoms

                                    Bill had a TIA (mini-stroke) on December 23 – blessed with no lasting effects

      2022

      January                 Finally cleared for surgery

                                    New furnace

                                    Knee replaced January 25

      February                Therapy for knee

      March                    Finished therapy for knee but was to continue exercises at home for a month

                                    Getting up from doing exercises and felt like a knife was stuck in my back

                                    Doctor diagnosed as sciatica – round of meds and an x-ray

      April                      Therapy for back

                                    Ultra-sound on my right breast – and a biopsy scheduled for June 16

                                      (I made the choice to delay because of a cruise in June)

      May                       Another round of steroids for my back and an appointment with a pain doctor – are you ready – June 27

                                    Slight tooth ache ended in a pulled tooth and appointment June 29 with specialist to see about an implant

                                    MRI on my back

      June                       Cruise, with son, grandson and his future wife and another round of steroids

                                    Biopsy – June 16

                                    Report – June 20 – Invasive Ductal Carcinoma

                                    Met with cancer specialist – June 23

And finally an AMEN.  The tumor is small and, unless the final test says differently, will be removed by a lumpectomy and follow-up treatment through hormonal therapy:  A pill a day to keep the estrogen away.  The specialists do not believe any lymph nodes are involved and they also do not believe I will need chemo or radiation.  My prayer is that they are right and that the final test backs them up 100%.  I feel so blessed!!

To be determined:

      June                       27th – What can help a few problems left by the sciatica episode?

                                    29th -- What will the outcome of filling in the hole left by that pulled tooth?

      July                       Date for surgery???

 

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Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm.  He said:  “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?  Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

 

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?  Tell me, if you understand.  Who marked off its dimensions?  Surely you know!  Who ……. 

The LORD’s comments are in Job Chapters 38 – 40.  I love these chapters.  I can just see Job getting smaller and smaller as the LORD says, “Brace yourself…”

This is what I sent on our church’s prayer chain:

 

Dear Prayer Warriors,

I do believe I will change my name to Job.  The last seven months have included one thing after another and we had hoped we were finally seeing the end.  That is not the case.  An ultra sound and biopsy have confirmed that I have breast cancer.  We have an appointment with Parkview Cancer Institute this Thursday morning to discuss options and develop plans. 

What we need now is prayers.  Please pray that the doctors give us facts and information so we can make wise decisions.  Please pray for us to have strength and peace.  

How often do we say, “I am at the end of my rope.”?  Well, I want you to know I let go of that rope a few months back.  Decided why hang on a rope when I can allow God to hang onto me.  I have no idea what we will be told Thursday.  I do know this – God is holding us.  Family is beside us.  Friends are supporting us.  Prayers are being said.  I cannot ask for more than that. 

 

I was not there when the LORD laid the earth’s foundation, but I do know where the LORD has been for the last seven months and where he will be while my time of testing is going on.  He is holding me!  And when the testing is over, he will gently set me back onto a solid foundation. 

I don’t need to hold onto a rope.  Neither do you!  During times of trials/testing, step into the hand of God and let go of that useless rope.

If you have read to the end, thank you and sorry it got so long.

            Job

            aka Mary

 ONE WEEK OF LIVING IN A BUBBLE

Last Saturday, I returned from a cruise with our son, grandson, and future granddaughter.  This adventure began in 2019.  We planned a cruise for 2020.  It was cancelled and rescheduled for 2021.  The rescheduled cruise was cancelled and re-rescheduled for 2022.  Finally the cruise happened. 

No, Bill did not go.  Having vertigo and motion sickness means he does not set his cowboy boots on anything that rocks and sways.  Over the years, I have left him behind as I placed my feet in a plane flying over the Grand Canyon and boarded a boat for a Fjord tour in Alaska.  I went on a Mother/Son cruise and was not home for his 75th birthday.  This cruise?  Our son picked me up at 1:00 AM (yes AM), I kissed my hubby goodbye, and wished him Happy 57th Anniversary.  Yes.  Once again I abandoned him on an important day.  Never fear… he survived.

Disclaimer:  I do not have a smart phone and sadly observed that I was almost the only person not walking around with my phone glued to my hand!  I did use my iPad to check email, briefly post to my personal page and the church page on Facebook, and to message Bill so he knew I had not fallen overboard.

Of course the adventure had a few hiccups, but the best part was spending time with family and - living in a bubble.

LIVING IN A BUBBLE

Once you step on the ship, it is as if an invisible shield surrounds the ship.  No newspaper stands.  No TV’s turned to the news in the bars or common areas.  No clocks.  No left or right.  No Republicans or Democrats.  No old or young.  No black or brown or tan or white.  No arguing, except in the sports bar and that was even good natured.  Items left on a lounge chair were there when you came back.  And people held the elevator for this gray-haired, 75 year old woman using a walker.

I love to hear people’s stories.  At the Chef’s Table (Now that will be the subject of another blog.), we sat across from a young couple from China.  They are studying at the University of Connecticut.  On my left, was a family from Puerto Rico.  They are third generation morticians.  At the other end of the table was a family from Florida.  They were taking their daughter on a graduation cruise.  We spent the evening talking and sharing our stories.  We heard the couple from China talk about wanting to become US citizens so they could have the freedoms we have.  We raised our glasses as four unique families ate at the same table.

The ship’s crew is a mix of people from around the world.  Do they always get along?  I am sure they do not.  They are there to work.  It is their job and they get tired and hot and they miss their families.  BUT – for the duration of the cruise – they do everything they can to make our experience a good one and are more than willing to tell us their stories.  I talked with a man from Ukraine and saw the sadness in his eyes.  An off duty lifeguard, on our first stop at a private island, made sure I could get to the shuttle back to the ship.  I did get to the shuttle and I did get back to the ship.  I just didn’t get back before the rain – an insane amount of rain – began.  (That could also be a blog.  My story does not quite agree with the story of those who call me mother and grandma.)  I loved being called Miss Mary by our room steward.  I thanked the staff cleaning the restrooms. 

Toward the end of the cruise it hit me that the cruise ship was inside a bubble.  Yes, I encountered a couple of people who were … less than considerate of those around them … but they were the exception.  People spoke to each other regardless of the color of their skin.  No one seemed to walk a few paces away from the guy with the pony tail and a whole lot of tattoos.  No one turned to find a different table because the woman they would be sitting beside had her head covered.  No one seemed to care what anyone’s sexual orientation was.  And elevator doors were held open for a 75 year old lady using a walker.

Why can’t the world be like this?  Why does stepping off the ship smash the bubble?  Why do we leave the ship and see the color of skin?  Or walk around the woman with her head covered? Or .. or .. or .. or push the floor button before the 75 year old lady using a walker can get in the elevator?

I enjoyed being in the bubble.  I enjoyed leaving items on a lounge chair and knowing they would be there when I got back from the pool.  I enjoyed teasing young couples and striking up conversations with … anyone.  I enjoyed the look on the faces of two 20ish young men, riding in the elevator with me, when I told them about leaving my poor hubby on our anniversary.  Once out of the bubble, they probably told their friends about the crazy white lady.  I enjoyed it when a guy asked me to make sure they didn’t take his plates while he went for dessert.  I watched over his plates, his cell phone, and the wallet he left lying there. 

I enjoyed being in the bubble.  I wish the world would be more like those on the cruise who left their anger, their stereotyping, and their lack of trust in their fellow man behind.  I wish those on the cruise would have taken the feeling of community with them when they returned to reality.

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How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!  Psalms 133:1 

Jesus replied:  “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:37-40

“A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  John 13:34-35

 

In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female.  Among us you are all equal.  That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.  Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.  Galatians 3:28-29  The Message

Yes, I want us to live in a bubble.  A bubble where we live in unity and love our neighbors.  A bubble where we love one another and everyone will know we are Jesus’ disciples.  A bubble where each can say, “I am a member of Christ’s family and no greater or less than anyone else.  I am a descendant of Abraham and therefore an heir to the Covent promises.”

 THE CRIPPLED LADY – PART 4 -- Experience this as if you were there.

LUKE 13:10-17

NKJV

The ruler of the synagogue is standing his ground.  He is glaring at Jesus.  He is waiting. 

Jesus?  How do you picture Jesus?  Is he relaxed?  Is he smiling?  Is he looking at the ruler of the synagogue or is he looking at the healed woman?

Take a deep breath.  Everyone is in place as the action continues. 

 

The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite!  Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?  So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound – think of it – for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”  Luke 13:15-16

Use your imagination again as this runs in your mind and comes to an end.

How do you picture the ruler of the synagogue and his cohorts?  What is the healed woman doing?  And don’t forget the men sitting in the cheap seats and the women – aka the multitude.

And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.  Luke 13:17

 

I bet being normal, everyday people they enjoyed watching the “high and mighty” get their comeuppance.  They rejoiced

The curtain closes as Jesus began to tell the parable of the mustard seed.

= = = = = = = = = = =

Remember, there is always a chance for the normal to go in an entirely, unexpected direction.  Look how a normal Sabbath changed a woman’s life in an unexpected way.

Thank you so much for taking this journey through Luke 13:10-17 with me.  I hope you enjoyed using your imagination and could relate to the journey the crippled woman took through life and to Jesus.  Her life was not easy.

Our lives are not easy.  We have trials.  We are tested.  Our journey is not always what we want it to be.  Jesus does not promise our journey will be easy!  The one thing He does promise is that when we – crippled by sin - walk to Him, He will always be with us.

 THE CRIPPLED LADY – PART 3 -- Experience this as if you were there.

Part two ended with a storybook ending:

HE SPOKE AND SHE WAS FREE.

HE LAID HIS HANDS ON HER AND SHE IMMEDIATELY STOOD TALL.

SHE GLORIFIED GOD.

The woman was healed.  Everyone was happy.  Or were they?

Remember, when the action is live, there is always a chance for the normal to go in an entirely, unexpected direction.  The action continues:

LUKE 13:10-17

NKJV

But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”  Luke 13:14

What do you imagine?  Do the men around Jesus look happy?  Do they surround him?  Do they have their hands out as they try to make their point?  Can you hear the indignation in their voice?

 

If this were a play, this would be the time to settle back into your seat.  The play, which had the storybook ending going for it, has taken an unexpected direction.  I mean, after all, how could anyone be upset because a woman was healed?  Where is their compassion?  How could they see this woman stand tall, give God the glory, and then cause a stink?  There is tension in the air.

The ruler of the synagogue is not upset that Jesus healed.  I guess he has a bit of a heart in there somewhere.  He is only upset because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. 

Can you see him turning to the other men and speaking?  Can you see the healed woman taking a step back?

What would happen now?  And why was the ruler of the synagogue so upset?

Background on the Sabbath:  One of the biggest sins of Israel was not keeping the Sabbath.  God had told them over and over to keep the Sabbath holy.  Jeremiah (17:21-22) was instructed by the LORD to warn them that they are to “hallow the Sabbath day” as their fathers had been commanded.  Ezekiel (20: parts of 13 and 12) states that Israel “greatly defiled My Sabbaths … My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”  Well you know how the pendulum swings one way and then way up the other way?  That is what was going on here.

Israel had gone from ignoring the Sabbath to going to the other extreme.  They added so many regulations, that instead of being a blessing, the Sabbath became a burden.  Some things that cannot be done on the Sabbath, then and now:

• Sowing, Plowing, Reaping, Gathering, Threshing, Winnowing, Sorting, etc – no farm work
• Sifting, Kneading, Baking/cooking, Spinning, Weaving, Sewing
• Writing two or more letters
• Building, Demolishing, Extinguishing
• Transferring/Transporting, Driving, Riding
• Do not use the telephone or electrical appliance

Back to the action.  Picture the ruler of the synagogue standing tall.  Shoulders back.  Facing Jesus.  Eye to eye.  Waiting.  Pointing a finger and maybe even tapping his toe.  He is very confident because he knew all the rules for the Sabbath. 

 

Do not leave your seats!  Do not go to get popcorn.  People -- this is high drama!  Talk about normal going in an entirely, unexpected direction.  The ruler of the synagogue is waiting.  He is waiting for Jesus to explain himself.  He is in the right.  There is to be NO healing on the Sabbath. 

And he waits …..