GROWING SEEDS: "Old Camel Knees"

When each of my siblings and I were born, Dad made a point to nickname us before we ever left the hospital.  My sister came out the nickname-winner when she, being the eldest, went home with the name Princess.  My brother, whose official name was James, went home with Eddie.  And I went home with....wait for it.....Softie.  ~ Sigh ~.  Evidently, I was this rolly-polly little fat baby and all Dad could think to nickname me was based on how soft those rolls of fat were when he held me.  I stayed embarrassed all through my teen years with this nickname and Dad still refers to me as Softie today.  But now....I wear it like a badge of pride!

I chuckled when I heard what the disciples nicknamed James, brother of Jesus.  Old Camel Knees.  Now there's a nickname you've got to be proud of!  Because he was a serious prayer warrior who had calloused knees from kneeling and praying so much, tradition suggests his best friends attached this term-of-endearment crazy cool name to him......and then let us in on it.

But what a reputation to have!  Knots on your knees because you prayed so much....if only we had such a reputation!  Throughout the short five chapters in the book of James, this no-nonsense disciple tells us over and over and over again to PRAY: 

"Listen to me.  You have not because you ASK not." (James 4:2-3)

"If you need wisdom, ASK our generous God and He will give it to you." (James 1:5)

"Come close to God and God will come close to you." (James 4:7)

"Are any of you suffering hardships?  You should PRAY." (James 5:13)

"The earnest PRAYER of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." (James 5:16)

There is an animal in South Africa called the gnu that whenever it is preparing to attack, it first gets down on its knees.  Getting its strength from that position, it springs from the kneeling position and attacks.  What a smart beast; and what an example!  It causes me to look at "Old Softie" here and ask if I have that same kind of effective prayer stance.

Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

GROWING SEEDS: "Dear Graduate"

Dear Graduate,

As you prepare to cross that long stage...6 feet apart....in front of your family and friends, eagerly closing one chapter and opening the next, there are a couple of things this old lady whose tassel was moved from the right to the left many years ago would like for you to know:

Be An Individual.  There is a reason you are alive.  This culture we live in makes it far too easy to look alike, act alike and believe alike.  Discover who YOU are.....and don't be afraid to be different.  That goofy graduation cap on your head is a ticket to life.  You can stand out and you can be the change you wish to see in the world.  Learn to fly solo......

Help Others.  We all have a calling in life.  And if there's one lesson I've learned over all others, it's that we are placed on this earth to help other people.  In the book The Original Human Dilemma (2004), supposedly in hell, they sit around a great pot, all hungry, because the spoons they hold are too long to bring the food to their mouths.  In heaven, people are sitting around the same pot with the same long spoons, but everyone is full. Why?  Because in heaven, everyone uses their long spoons to feed one another.

Place God as the Driver of Your Life.  Really hear this....NOTHING else matters if you don't have God as your Driver.  You are traveling down the Highway Of This World at a rapid speed.  GET OFF....NOW.  There are exit ramps along the way and they lead you to a narrow, difficult and rarely traveled path.  This path is unlike the highway that leads to certain death and an eternity in hell....the narrow path leads you HOME.  Yes....you will most likely arrive Home (Heaven) sore, scratched and tired from the bumps and hills along the way, but you will be ALIVE to see Home.

And be Happy.....just as God intended for you to be.

(I wrote my Dear Graduate letter back in 2017....when life and graduations looked much different.  Masks and social distancing would have been laughed at.  People fighting in the aisles of Walmart for toilet paper was unimaginable and the thought of not walking the stage for that piece of paper confirming your hard work was only in our nightmares.  But here we are...2020...and our 20/20 vision is only too clear on how our world has changed.  BUT, Graduate....tuck the words below into that parchment in your hand called a diploma and hang on...you’re in for a wonderful ride if you do!)
 
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” - Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

GROWING SEEDS: "Much Afraid?"

 

 

A few years ago, I read a neat little book called "Hinds Feet On High Places".  Quirky title for a powerful little book, but it was one of the best books I've ever read.  It was an allegory...meaning, a story meant to reveal a hidden meaning. Each of the characters in the book had names that matched their personalities with the main character being a girl named "Much Afraid".  As I entered into the second chapter of this book, I realized why it sounded so familiar to me..... 

I was the main character. 

From that point on, every time I read the name "Much Afraid", I picked up my pen and marked through it...wrote the name "Liz" above it...and proceeded on.  I read as "Liz" traveled through the meadows...you know, those easy-restful-no stress times in our lives.  And I read as she climbed difficult mountains we all climb, fear of the dark places up ahead and felt the sting of arrows pointed straight at her by the enemy....all while traveling the steep path up the mountain to the high place called Home.  

I also discovered through the journey of Hinds Feet on High Places, that God's faithfulness isn't dependent on our outward circumstances. That Love and Pain go together...at least for awhile.  If you know Love, you must also know Pain.  And the most important thing of all....

“There are no obstacles which our Savior’s love cannot overcome.

The actual conditions and tests permitted by God,

by laying down of our own will and accepting His.

The lessons of accepting and triumphing over evil,

of becoming acquainted with grief, and pain,

and of finding them transformed

into something incomparably precious.”

― Hannah Hurnard, Hinds Feet on High Places

These are the discoveries in this book. There are no obstacles which God’s love cannot overcome, and to Him, mountains of difficulty are as easy as an asphalt road.....if we follow the path He chooses for us.

Are you Much Afraid during these crazy uncertain times?  Spoiler Alert: Her new name becomes Grace and Glory.

* A "Hind" is a mature female deer

GROWING SEEDS: Perseverance

P-E-R-S-E-V-E-R-A-N-C-E

A few years ago, Chuck and I were at our weekly appointment at the Wound Care Center in Mt. Pleasant eating hospital popcorn waiting on the doctor.  I was passing time looking through old photos on my phone when I came across a quote I had saved years before:

"By PERSEVERANCE, the snail reached the ark."
C.H. Spurgeon

I read it to Chuck as he was laying on the examining table......and, between chomps on popcorn, asked him what this meant to him.  This was his reply:

"No matter how he (snail) is feeling or how slow he's moving,

he was constantly moving towards the Ark.
Imagine how he must have felt as the antelope ran by and he was left in the dust.....
but he kept on keeping on.....
the way we all must do.....
No-Matter-What."
Chuck Etheridge

I leaned down and kissed this man.....who often times, felt like the snail.  The world racing all around him at break-neck speed, where he was often left behind, unable to move as fast as the rest of the world.

Chuck had found God in the hardships.....in the pain....in the floods of this life he lived because of his amazing Perseverance. 

Websters defines Perseverance as: 
"steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success"

It's Perseverance that picks us up off the ground when we have been knocked down by the dark times on our journey through this world.  And yes, it's Perseverance that will even get us through an ugly virus.

Not only was it by perseverance that the snail made it to the ark in time, but he had a Cheerleader on the sidelines telling him,

"Don't be afraid; for I am with you. 

Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. 

I will STRENGTHEN you and HELP you. 

I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

Isaiah 41:10

...and the snail made it.....just before they closed the door.

GROWING SEEDS: "Disappointment"

"The Disappointment that is exhausting and frustrating you? 

It holds the potential for so much good. 

But we'll only see it as good if we trust the heart of the Giver. 

Disappointment can be a gift from God that feels nothing like a gift at all. 

The Giver can seem almost cruel."

Lysa Terkeurst

CRUEL.  That was the exact word I used when speaking to God this time last year as the rains began to fall and the potential to flood was once again upon me. Yes.....I called God cruel...straight to His face.  The calls and texts had started by well-meaning friends.  "How's the water, Liz?  Where is the water level so far, Liz? God's got you in His hand, Liz".  My answer?  Yes...I truly know and believe this.  BUT...knowing this still doesn't stop the anxiety that comes with "What if...".  It's similar to knowing the boat you're on is sinking and you can't do a thing about it.  It's impossible to sit still and whistle with a smile on.  You start to question whether you actually do have the faith needed to endure....and then you remember, "Wait....didn't God tell me I just needed the faith of a mustard seed?"  Then you Google how big is a mustard seed.

The cruel disappointments of this life....we all know a thing or two about them, don't we? 

The friend finding her way through breast cancer or the wife whose husband just keeps repeating a behavior that is ruining their marriage.  Maybe it's the sudden death of a brother, a lost job, an empty bank account, gray hair roots or broken finger nails.  No one is exempt from disappointment. 

God never promised us smooth sailing; but He did promise us a SURE destination....and what God wants for us is not to AVOID the storm, but to ENDURE the storm. 

My unavoidable storm this time last year was necessary.  God knew that.....although I didn't.  And yes, it appeared cruel to this girl whose faith felt smaller than that mustard seed, but her God knew she needed to deal with some issues about storms that were buried so deep in the belly of her sinking ship, that it was necessary to face the dark storm clouds once again. 

Disappointment can be a gift from God that feels nothing like a gift at all. 

And even as I yelled the words, "Cruel and God" in the same sentence, I somehow knew He was gifting me with disappointment.  My mustard-seed faith was big enough to see me through.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

because you KNOW that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." 

James 1:2