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.

{  {  {  {  {  {  }  }  }  }  }  }

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 …..

THE CRIPPLED LADY – PART 2 -- Experience this as if you were there.

Here is a quick review of where the key people are located:  Jesus was speaking, on the Sabbath, in the Synagogue.  The important men were close to the speaker and behind them were the everyday, working men.  The crippled woman is off somewhere in the area allotted to the women. 

The stage is set, but remember when the action is live, there is always a chance for the normal to go in an entirely, unexpected direction.  The curtain opens.

LUKE 13:10-17

NKJV

Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.  13:10-11

18 YEARS!!!  Think about that as you see the spotlight pick up the location of the crippled woman.  Can you even begin to imagine being bent over for a week, a month, or 18 years?  How would you sit in a chair or lay down in bed?  How would you brush your teeth or cook or find clothes that fit a bent over body?  The life this lady led would be no walk in the park. 

But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him … 13:12 first part

Oh my gosh!  JESUS SAW HER!  Do you wonder how Jesus saw her?  She is behind the important men and the not-so-important men.  She is in the Court of the Women.  Yet, Jesus saw her!

AND HE CALLED HER TO HIM! 

How do you see this?  Did Jesus stop speaking and look far to the back?  What tone did you hear in his voice?  Gentle?  Firm?  Loving?  It does not say He went to her or even helped her through the not-so-important men or the important men area.  It says, “He called her to come.” 

Jesus called her and she is coming.  SHE IS NOT ONLY COMING – SHE IS MAKING HER WAY THROUGH THE MEN!!

After reading the rest of this paragraph (not now or you won’t know what the paragraph says), close your eyes and imagine the action proceeding.  She is slowly making her way toward Jesus.one step at a time.  What does she hear as she leaves the women’s area?  What does she hear as she walks through the men?  Do they move for her or try to stop her?  What do the very important men do as she comes forward?  Do they start whispering to each other?  Are they wondering what Jesus is going to do?  Put yourself in her shoes.  Now close your eyes and experience it.

What did you see?  What did you feel?

He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infimity.”  And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.  13:12 second part and 13

HE SPOKE AND SHE WAS FREE.

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

SHE GLORIFIED GOD.

What a storybook ending.  The woman is healed.  Everyone is 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 CRIPPLED WOMAN – PART 1

Yes, the crippled lady again.  For some reason my heart is drawn to Luke 13:10-17.  This story has so much to say and, no matter how many times I read it, I find something new.  As you can see, this is part one.  How many parts are there going to be?  I have absolutely no idea.  It might end with one or I might be like the people and be delighted with all the things Jesus was doing.

I know one thing:  I should not have looked up ancient synagogue service.  The amount of information is unending.  The synagogue is the Jewish center for religious, civic, and educational activities.  I knew that.  What I didn’t know is that there were no permanent officers.  No Pastor, so to speak.  There were deacon-like individuals who oversaw the day to day activities and the Sabbath morning service was under the direction of the Rosh-ha-Keneseth or chief ruler.  His job was to appoint people to lead the service.  For a typical Sabbath morning, 10-11 persons were required.  The positions filled were Reading Prayers, Reading the Law, Reading the Prophets, the Interpreter, and the Teacher.  I wonder if people hid when they saw the chief ruler headed their way.  I bet they checked caller ID before answering the phone.

I am sure this will be way more information than you want to know, but a bit of background might help all of us as we picture a service during Jesus time.  On that ancient Sabbath morning, the order of service consisted of: (grouped and not in order of service)

• 4 Benedictions,
• Shema (the Creed)
• 2 Prayers
• 6 Eulogies
• Response
• Readings of the law – by 7 readers
• Reading of the Prophets
• Sermon

The person giving the sermon was from the congregation and not given by an ordained or permanent officer!  This means for Jesus to be teaching, on the Sabbath and in one of the synagogues, the Rosh-ha-Keneseth would have asked him to fill that position. 

Luke 13:10-17 begins at the end of the service and Jesus is teaching. 

This would be the layout of a typical synagogue.  Can you locate the Court of Women, Court of the Priests, and the Court of the Men of Israel? 

Background:  Women did play a central role in Jewish life, especially in the home, but that was not the case in the synagogue.  Men were in charge of the ceremonies taking place in houses of worship.  Women were segregated to areas away from the men.  From that area, they might be able to see, but not hear the service.  Other sections might be located where the women could hear the service, but not see it.  Wherever the area was located, they were not on the main area of the synagogue. 

In the main area of the synagogue, you would find the synagogue rulers, the priests, and other important officials.  Those sitting in the Court of the Priests considered themselves very learned and powerful.  They were so much holier than the everyday men sitting in the Court of the Men of Israel.

You now have an idea of where each person was in relation to the crippled lady.

<  <  <  >  >  >

How is your imagination?  I do not want you to whip right through these eight verses.  I want you to use your imagination and run this through your mind as if you were watching a play.  Picture the synagogue and the people in it.  Experience this as if you were there.

When actors follow a script, they know what to expect.  When the action is live, there is always a chance for the normal to go in an entirely, unexpected direction.  The stage is set and we will wait for the action to begin. 

 BIRDS

Birds fly.  Birds build nests.  Birds drop poop on our deck.  I have never been a bird watcher.  I love to see hawks, but that about does it.  Often, I don’t even notice them.  Until …

The bird, an ordinary black bird, … landed on the highest point in an evergreen tree.  It was flying and then, just like that, it was sitting on the tip of a twig.  And, in that instant, I realized I had witnessed a miracle.  A miracle called creation.

How can a bird land on such a tiny twig?  How can it sit there?  How come it doesn’t fall off when it sleeps?  How does it know to come back to this area and when to fly south?  I might have to start paying more attention to birds.

Even though I know the answer, I like to look things up so I googled where birds came from.  The answer?  Birds are shrunken dinosaurs.  No really!

Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland:  “A bird didn’t just evolve from a T. rex overnight, but rather the classic features of birds evolved one by one; first bipedal locomotion, then feathers, then a wishbone, then more complex feathers that look like quill-pen feathers, then wings,” Brusatte said.  “The end result is a relatively seamless transition between dinosaurs and birds, so much so that you can’t just draw an easy line between these two groups.”

Birds produced a burst of evolution.  “It seems like birds had happened upon a very successful new body plan and new type of ecology—flying at small size—and this led to an evolutionary explosion,” Brusatte said.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dinosaurs-shrank-and-became-birds/

Okay, I guess.  I mean, if a paleontologist has the facts, then birds must be shrunken dinosaurs.  But where did the dinosaur come from?  I started going backwards and ended up searching where a cell came from.  Again, I wanted an honest answer.  Facts. 

I found a scientific site: How Stuff Works.

“Perhaps the first living cells were completely different from what we see today, and no one has yet imagined what they might have been like.  Speaking in general terms, life can only have come from one of two possible places:

• Spontaneous creation - Random chemical processes created the first living cell.
• Supernatural creation - God or some other supernatural power created the first living cell.

And it doesn't really matter if aliens or meteorites brought the first living cell to earth, because the aliens would have come into existence through either spontaneous creation or supernatural creation at some point -- something had to create the first alien cells.”

https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/evolution/evolution11.htm?srch_tag=7d4rfrjekbtdcs2xushxhg3jwrjbinwd

Ladies and gentlemen we have our scientific answer: AND IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER ….  SOMETHING HAD TO CREATE THE FIRST ALIEN CELLS.

The one thing I love about science is that we are told to use facts.  Facts do not lie.  Facts!  Facts!  Until the facts do not support the answer we want and then, wham, it doesn’t really matter.  Besides, there is still much to learn.

The How Stuff Works site also pointed out:  “Look at yourself in a mirror -- what you see is about 10 trillion cells divided into about 200 different types.  Our muscles are made of muscle cells, our livers of liver cells, and there are even very specialized types of cells that make the enamel for our teeth or the clear lenses in our eyes!”

A bird is a shrunken dinosaur?  Our body is made up of 10 trillion cells with 200 different types?  Random chemical process?  Something had to create the first cell?  And it doesn’t really matter?

I graduated high school.  I do not have a degree.  BUT I think it does matter.  I kept going back to the statement: Spontaneous creation - Random chemical processes created the first living cell.  I want facts.  I want it to matter.  So my final question is: Where did the chemical process come from?

This reminds me of the old joke:

The devil challenged God to a contest.  He said, “Creating man was no big deal.  I can do that.”

God answered, “Really.  You can create man?  You can take a handful of dirt, form it into a human, and blow life into his lungs?”

The devil, with a wicked grin, replied, “Of course.  I have the ability to do that.  And I can do it quicker than you.”

God figured this would give the angels a chuckle and agreed to the challenge.

The devil reached down to get a handful of dirt and God stopped him.  The devil looked at God and wondered what was going on.

God told the devil, “Make your own dirt.”

----------------------------------

Where did the bird come from?  Supernatural creation of course.  God created them.

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”  So God created …. And every winged bird according to its kind.  … and let the birds increase on the earth.”       Genesis 1:20-22

 AND THE BUFFALO WALKED ON THE BEACH

            Written April 21, 2022

A mother nursed her child

A father read a story

A grandmother looked at a picture album

A grandfather watched the weather

And a buffalo walked on the beach

All this passed through my mind as I laid there with needles stuck in me from my head to my toes.

My imagination took two of my favorite things — beaches and buffalo — and put them together. 

What a sight that would be!!!  Children would stop in their tracks and yell, “Mom.  Dad.  There is a buffalo walking on the beach!”  Mom and dad would look at each other, roll their eyes, and look back at their phones. 

What a sight that would be!!!  Lifeguards would be on their emergency phones shouting, “I said BUFFALO! Yes.  Buffalo.”  The emergency operator would think, “The kids they hire now days.  Do they understand their job is no joke?  A buffalo.  Right.”

What a sight that would be!!!  The lady on the fourth floor, standing on her balcony, would smile and say, “Wow God.  You did this for me didn’t you?  Thank you.”

What about the other pictures floating in my mind?  Were they just images or were they images from my life?  Or were they caused by those needles stuck in me from my head to my toes.

Have you been wondering about the needles? As I write this, I am trying physical therapy and acupuncture to get rid of the pain from sciatica.  When the needles were in, the lights were dimmed, and I was told to not think of anything I had to do.  I was to only think good thoughts.  Places where I feel relaxed.  Places I love to visit.  Peaceful thoughts.

What?  Do not think of anything you have to do?  Well, duh.  The moment I heard “do not think of things you have to do,” what popped into my mind?  Everything I have to do.

Even with the lights out.  Even with the spa music playing.  It was hard to relax.  It was hard not to think about all the things I had to do.  Plus, the first time I was afraid to move for fear those needles would fly out of my body.

Today was my third time and I did relax.  I knew I could move a bit and the needles would stay in place.  The spa music was only a bit irritating.  And then, with a vision of a buffalo walking down the beach, I actually went to sleep.

\   \   \   \   \   /   /   /   /   /

Why is it so hard to relax?  Why do our minds keep working when our body wants to stop?  Why can we barely keep our eyes open during our favorite show, but go to bed and they will not shut.  Why can we be thinking happy thoughts, ready to drift off into never-never land, and WHAM – a worry knocks out all the good, happy thoughts and we lay there, wide awake, with absolutely no chance of falling asleep. 

Maybe we are holding onto the wrong things as we try to drift off.  Maybe we are not allowing God to hold our worries and our fears. 

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:4-7

We can find peace when we pray and petition God.  He will guard our hearts and minds.  BUT, we have to let Him.  We have to pray and petition and then we have to leave it with God. 

And don’t forget to do it with thanksgiving!

\   \   \   \   \   /   /   /   /   /

Now, back to that buffalo walking on the beach.  He had escaped from Yellowstone and headed east for an adventure.  When he arrived in Orange Beach, Alabama, he put on his sunglasses, placed a hat decorated with funky palm trees between his horns, nodded to the lady on the fourth floor balcony, and headed toward the waves.

His name is Elmer.

 

EASTER RECAP

I truly enjoyed writing a Lenten series.  As usually happens, the series did not go where I thought it would. 

My first writing, March 4, was to be on Passover.  I even looked it up on a Jewish website.  Then I started writing and somehow the words For The Third Time became the title.  I wondered how the disciples did not get it.  I have thought this before, but they had been with him three years.  Yet, Jesus still had to tell them three times.  I quickly realized I am no different than the disciples.  I sure do not get it the first time around.  Nor the second.  Sometimes not even the third.

March 11 blog, Glory and Anger, was to be on Jesus’ glorious entry into Jerusalem and his anger in the temple.  I was excited to write about the commotion his turning over those tables would have caused.  But somehow, the anger of the Pharisees stood out.  They were angry as they saw their source of income and their power slipping away.  Soon, they were angry enough to kill.  Anger can lead a person away from God.

By the time the March 18 blog, Gotcha, was finished, I realized this series was not to be the normal Easter series.  Like the “How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?” questions, the blogs were not going to be logical.  Instead, this series was to be the opposite.  I needed to look at all that was going on around Jesus.  I needed to picture the crowds.  I needed to figure out why people acted as they did.  I needed to figure out why I act like I do. 

Anointing and Betrayal, March 25, told about a woman whose generosity was called waste and a man whose greed consumed him.  Anointing and Betrayal gave me goals.  I will strive to be as generous as the woman who anointed Jesus.  I will strive to never allow earthly greed to turn me away from God’s love and blessings.

I hope Jesus and His Own, April 1, made you think about the emotions of the Last Supper.  This one evening contained tradition, gentleness, drama, and the realization that lives were going to change.  We should take Communion with reverence as we honor the Lord’s Last Supper.

The April 8 blog, They Slept – They Missed It, tells how the disciples missed the opportunity to pray with and support Jesus.  They did not hear Jesus freely agree to His Father’s will.  My heart feels sorry for the disciples and they must have felt so guilty when they looked back at that evening, but I understand.  I go to sleep saying prayers and my eyes get heavy while I am reading the Bible.  What prayer did I not say?  What verse did I not understand?  I slept.  I missed it.

I did not want to write the blog for April 15, NO!  NO!  I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THIS!   We want to make Easter pretty.  We want nice pastel colors and flowers and new clothes and candy and the Easter bunny.  But this part of the Easter Story is not pretty and we must realize how Jesus suffered.  Remember, he was human!  He felt the spit land on him.  He felt each strike to his back.  He felt the thorns poke into his scalp.  He felt humiliated when he was stripped.  He felt abandoned.  But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.  This is God’s Son!!!  HE DID THIS FOR ME!  HE DID THIS FOR YOU!  HE DID THIS FOR EVERYONE!  But it was not pretty.  Never forget that. 

Where Did He Go?  The Guards, The Women, and The Disciples, April 22, is written to help you see the confusion.  The guards would have been afraid to report the body missing.  I am sure they figured their head would be missing if they didn’t come up with an alternate truth.  They found a way out.  They took a bribe and lied.  The women were in shock.  The arrest, the trial, the crucifixion, and the body being placed in the tomb happened so quickly they were trying to put it all together.  The disciples were confused and afraid.  Would they be killed also?  Were they to go back to their “before Jesus called me” life?  After all, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  What now?

What now?  We are to be disciples.  We are to allow Jesus to work with us!

EASTER RECAP

Jesus said, “It is finished.”

Jesus died and was laid in a tomb,

BUT He is risen and sits at the right hand of God

It  IS  NOT  finished!

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:1-4, 6-7

HE LIVES!  HE HAS A PLACE PREPARED!

It  IS  NOT  finished!

AMEN

 

 WHERE DID HE GO?

            The Guards, The Women, and The Disciples

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

John 19:30

THE GUARDS – MATTHEW 27:65-66, 28:4, 11-15

“Take a guard,” Pilate answered.  “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”

Matthew 27:65

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ….. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

Matthew 28:2-4

…the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.  … gave the soldiers a large sum of money … “you are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’

And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. 

Matthew 28:11-15

Imagine those poor guards.  Given one small job:  Guard the tomb!  Instead, there they lay like dead men.  Can you see them opening their eyes and realizing the stone had been rolled away?  Can you see them looking in the tomb and hoping the body was still there?  Can you see their thoughts going wild, as they try to figure out how they were going to explain this?  Can you see them getting their story straight before they reported to the chief priests?

The guards took a bribe.  They lied.  

THE WOMEN

MATTHEW 28:1-10, MARK 16:1-10, LUKE 24:1-10,

AND JOHN 20:1-3, 11-18

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. … an angel rolled back the stone and sat on it.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. 

Matthew 28:1-2, 5-6

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

(Mary Magdalene) turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

John 20:16

The women had prepared the spices.  They were being strong as they made their journey to the tomb.  How could he be dead?  We thought ….  What was the last thing he said to me?  How will we move the stone?  Can you hear their thoughts?  Can you feel their anguish?  Each tear echoing, “It is finished.” 

A few steps more and .. and the stone was no longer covering the entrance to the tomb.  There was an angel sitting there and he said to not be afraid….

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

Luke 24:9

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news:  “I have seen the Lord!”  And she told them that he had said these things to her.

John 20:18

Can you feel the joy?  Can you see the wonder in their eyes?  “HE HAS RISEN.”  Can you hear the relief in their voice?  

THE DISCIPLES

MATTHEW 28:7, LUKE 24:11-53, AND JOHN 20:3-10, 19-29

(Angel speaking to the women)  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him.’  Now I have told you.”

Matthew 28:7

But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.  Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb.  Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Luke 24:11-12

An empty tomb?  He has risen?  Go to Galilee?  What were these women talking about?  Can you picture Peter running to the tomb?  John 20:3-4 says the other disciples also started for the tomb and actually outran Peter.  Can you see them trying to be the first one to the tomb?  Can you see them hesitate as they wondered what they would see?  Can you see Peter looking at the strips of linen?

The disciples were trying to understand the last few days.  The entry into Jerusalem and the overturning of the tables in the temple.  The Passover meal.  The garden.  The soldiers.  The fear.  The denial.  The death of Jesus.  The disciples were trying to understand the last few days and now the tomb was empty.  How were they to carry on?

Then two disciples came to the Eleven and told about the man they met on the road to Emmaus.  They told how they had walked with him and invited him to stay with them.

But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.”  So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 

Luke 24:29-31

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:  Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Luke 24:36, 44

Jesus said, “It is finished.”  Jesus died and was laid in a tomb, BUT it was not finished!

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.  Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Mark 16:19-20

Jesus said, “It is finished.”

Jesus died and was laid in a tomb,

BUT it  IS  NOT  finished!

AMEN