Jack and the Beanstalk

             I've been thinking about what’s behind the disconnect between people today. Many folks I see believe they themselves are Jack, and instead of working the land and preparing for the earned harvest, they sit looking for the magic beans to sprout up overnight and fulfill their wishes.

            A lot of effort by someone else grows food, processes it and brings it to our local store so we can zap an instant meal in our microwave. Television advertisements display something daily we are sure to covet, don’t need and can’t afford. Bankers join in to “give” us instant credit—but at a price. The headline banner should read:

                                 Have all you want when you want it—no waiting!

        You and I, of course, see the fallacy in this belief system, but you probably have noticed the trend about to bury us all in debt. Right?

            Only in Fairyland do wishes come true spontaneously. A wealthy prince claims you as his bride, lotteries are won, rich uncles die and solve our worries. Foreigners by the drove come to our land to cash in on their dreams and wishes. Too few of us stop to think about the lessons handed down to us by the generation who sacrificed, risked their lives to give birth to our nation. They understood that it takes work and time to grow a nation just as work to grow a tree—preparation, planning, cooperation and continual hard work and careful maintenance for it to grow and thrive.

            From creating debt we may never be able to pay there is a natural-seeming progression to believing the world owes us and, just because we can’t afford something, it doesn’t mean we should go without something we really want. If we want it, we should have it. Why not? 

            The natural extension of these expectations is to think that other people who seemingly have plenty are required to share with us, letting us benefit effortlessly from their years of working and planning for their own families. Government should give us a free ride, we say—they’ve got money to spare. But that money was invested in our nation’s continued existence by taxpayers who worked for it. In a sense, when we stand with our hands out asking for gifts, we are walking uninvited into someone else’s house with our shopping basket on our arm. How is that different from the thief who enters with a gun? 

            Where the disconnect comes in is when folks without the drive to earn still want the plenty they see, without saving or working for it and begin to believe they have the “right” to demand things others have, others who have worked for it.

            There’s a pretty clear example in Exodus of the result of lack of faith and effort by a great nation of people, slaves freed by God and promised a land of their own if they would come and claim it. Miracles aplenty brought them to the edge of the Promised Land—daily food prepared—all they had to do was go out and pick it up. Somehow water was provided as they travelled the desert. Along the way they grew bored with the same basic food and whined for a feast and God sent them flocks of birds to eat. When they came to Canaan and saw its war-like residents, they were afraid to fight for the land, even after evidence of so many miracles in Egypt and the desert. That generation who refused to make the effort was barred from entry; the next generation were men of faith who believed their efforts would be rewarded—and they were.

            Along with fairy tales like Jack and his magic beans, some bits of truth came down through the years: Give a man a fish and he will eat one day; teach him to fish and he and his family will eat every day. And what about the proverbial ant and grasshopper? Some old ideas have not gone out of style; they just became unpopular for a time. Too bad for us.

           

Point of View

            In writing, they call it P.O.V.  -- point of view. In art it’s known as perspective: a study of perception as distance and line of sight cause variation in appearance, depending on where you are. An item seen from a severe angle appears to be misshapen or twisted. The item will seem to grow in size as you look more closely. An old illustration of perspective involved 6 blind men surrounding an elephant. Depending on which part of the animal they touched—the ropy tail, massive flapping ear, snake-like trunk or tree-like leg--each had quite different opinions on the animal’s appearance.  

            Remembering this led me to think about how I go through my day; I am unconsciously defining my experiences along the way, as well as anticipating what lies ahead, good or bad. I realized that sometimes I may concentrate too closely on something, giving it more importance than it deserves or needs, causing me to overlook something else more important. Worry is one outcome of this habit.

            Our individual backgrounds influence our attention toward some elements of our day based on previous encounters and may vary greatly from each other’s experience. Individual differences in viewpoints on some matters probably are unimportant and none are uniquely right or wrong; merely based on each person’s preference.

            Some issues, however, are universal and important to get right; penalties for failure to take them seriously may be severe, so we can’t afford to take our eye off the important and give too much attention on lesser important distractions.  

            Back to perspective: when I worry about an issue, I tend to concentrate on it, examine closely all the “what ifs” and the problem gets bigger, consuming time it doesn’t deserve and becoming a source of dread.  

            But wait--God’s Word says worry can’t change a situation and is a waste of energy; He reminded me that He even provides for each tiny bird. And there are promises in the Bible that nothing happens outside of God’s control and He loves me. He proved that when He sacrificed His Son to pay my sin debt and accept me as His child. 

             Remembering that what I hold closest becomes bigger and has a stronger hold on my attention, I must loosen my grasp on problems and keep my eyes focused on the One who created me and promised never to desert me.  With my all-powerful, loving Father and Solver of problems filling my sight, problems assume their proper (smaller) size, with God standing between them and me.  

            Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.

           We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”  2 Chronicles 20:12  

          Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, 

          what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?     Matthew 6;25                                                                                      

         I Will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come?   Psalm 121:1

        My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.      Psalm 25:15
 

Behind the Scene

If someone told me this would happen or was happening, I’d have been surprised. Actually, I didn’t connect the dots until decades later. I didn’t see the pattern because so much time passed from beginning to completion. And it’s something I hadn’t actually asked for but was and is still one of the highlights of my life.

I was let go from a job with 13 years seniority. In shock I went home and checked my bank account and applied for unemployment insurance, then found a temporary part-time job at night for an air freight company through a business contact and joined a temp firm placing me in short-term jobs. 

I expected a rebound of all my old worries and fears, of feeling rejected. I guess my head was too busy figuring out working anywhere, night and day; worry never really paralyzed me as it used to. On thinking back to the beginning of this latest crisis, I realized why my spiritual backbone was strong enough to corral any stray thoughts and keep me focused. God was preparing me for a future I never dared dream of.

A couple of months earlier I had bonded together with 3 or 4 other Christians in this fairly worldly, if not corrupt, company--from corporate officers to warehouse clerks--and we began having weekly meetings, fasting through that lunch period, spending it in prayer for this company and its many employees whose lives showed no evidence of spiritual awareness. Our group had grown to about a dozen every week—and suddenly I was no more a part of it!

That day the only 2 office workers laid off were over 50 and had seniority in length of service benefits (extra vacations and profit-sharing, etc.) and in this situation I realized many people in my place would have sued. But I felt restrained in my heart from returning bad feelings with the same. I just got busy seeking a future. With no justification and no clue at God’s reasons for allowing this to interrupt my even-keel status: my girls were now married, I had a little money in the bank and no financial crisis for several years now; yet I never doubted  that He had allowed this—interruption. And a few months later, when I became a permanent employee at His planned destination (Abbott Laboratories) my bank account was identical to the day I was pushed out of my crowded, uncomfortable but safe (I thought) nest!

Some 40 years later, I could see the pattern and forethought woven to provide and is still providing for me, some 25 years after retiring,/ Over the years I have marveled at Bible stories about Abraham waiting so long to have a family, how long Noah labored to build an ark of safety from a fate the word had never seen before,  how long Moses and the Israelites wandered the desert, 40 years. I learned God plans ahead--way ahead!

You see, I never voluntarily left a job, never risked a sure thing for a chance at something better. My first job went away when the G.I. Bill for veterans’ education expired. I left the next job when I married and moved out of town, the next when a baby was on the way. It dawned on me: I would have stayed put in that job and missed many blessings.

After waiting on God, enduring about 3 months of  long hours at temp and part-time jobs, I joined a major company where each employee received fair treatment, respect, advancement and found many friends at all levels of the company and later in the retiree club. Pension at the new job was more than twice that of the former one, plus stock plan contributions from the company and continued relationships throughout retirement years. 

I’d never have set my sights on the quality of employer God was preparing me for; He knew this about me.

Casting All Care

Humble yourselves…casting all your care upon Him. 1 Peter 5:6-7

I was 41 years old when I learned how to do this.

A bitter wall between me and my husband during an 8 month long divorce battle was bad enough. I was barely hanging on by my fingertips, but at the same time I was losing my Mother, who had always been my source of strength, wisdom and love, to cancer. She went into the hospital August 27, 1994, died on Thanksgiving Day. When my eyes opened each morning I braced for – not knowing what blow -- was coming that day; that was the terrifying part.

 Our home, supposed to be a place of rest and safety, felt cold and unwelcoming. Each day until he was moved out, I dreaded coming home. Even worse was the suffering I saw in my two daughters, as they watched the world they knew crumbling. Prayer kept me on my feet, but barely.

Once the presence of turmoil had left, immediately I began again to see our home as our refuge, newly dedicated to our Father’s loving care, sustained by His grace and love. But there were still battles to be won. We had three vehicles, but two were beginning to be less dependable. With one daughter driving to high school, the other driving to Denton to college and her gospel music group performing at night and often returning very late, I worried about their safety when their cars would break down. Worry was a lifelong, chronic part of my existence even when things were going smoothly, so external peace for the family didn’t yet extend to internal peace, the kind of peace I knew was promised to a child of the King. So I reminded God of His promise and He reminded me that I needed to trust Him more.

Every payday I habitually wrote down the list of bills due; there was nothing left over for repairs and certainly not for a car payment. Yet we needed a new car that wouldn’t need repairs. Any math skills I had told me what I needed just didn’t exist. So every night when I prayed at bedtime, I laid the list on my bedside table and told God, “This is impossible. There are no answers. It’s up to you to figure this out, Lord,” And I’d turn out the light and go to sleep.

Within a few weeks, Kathy’s friend and fellow performer told Kathy about her search for a cheap used car and described one she couldn’t quite afford: a Dodge Charger from an elderly man who became ill soon after buying it and seldom drove it. Only 12 miles out of warranty, yet 3 years old. I actually felt my heart jump: new car, used car price, just as I had asked. I still didn’t understand how I could pay for it, but felt sure this was God’s answer. I  didn’t dare ignore this.  I went to the credit union and came home with the car. I still don’t know how, but it was paid for in 3 years and never went to a repair shop until it was paid for.

In addition to this miracle car, came the lesson learned that worry for me was sin, lack of trust. After an experience like this, greater faith in God’s protection enables me to feel bulletproof. Worry is no longer my daily companion. 

He tells me to keep my eye on Him, not on the problem.

Discipline is a Dirty Word

The very word brings to mind Punishment! It’s uncomfortable at best, painful at worst, and takes up time we’d rather spend doing something fun. Why does it matter?


In our youth every day, whether we wanted to or not, we were pushed out of a warm bed and sent to school. Once we were there, it wasn’t all bad. There was recess and usually one teacher or subject we enjoyed more than the rest. And even a test wasn’t too bad, if we had studied for it the night before. Otherwise it was pure tort ure. While actually taking the test, our hearts beat a little faster as we wondered if we’d be kept after school and what our parents would say or do.


Habitual avoidance of discipline complicates our life later on too – it takes effort to keep a list of excuses on hand for being late to work and our boss questions our character. And someday a doctor will warn us not to ignore routines which could extend our lives. Too many self- indulgent years in front of a TV, choosing high-calorie foods have taken their toll. Any muscles and joints that still work hurt! Our world gradually shrinks to a room, a chair, a bed, and suddenly we understand the cost for ignoring discipline.


Simply put, schools, churches and parents try to prepare us to reach our full potential mentally, morally and physically. and good habits get easier with practice.


We reap what we sow, only more so.

A life in the military means immediate response to any command, no matter how meaningless it seems; stifle any questions. There’s no choice, no “carrot", just a "stick", merely "get with the program or get out" or end up behind bars. No excuses. In the military, as in Christian life, strict compliance keeps us ready for whatever comes next and could save lives. Anyone having spent time in a war zone can look back on times when discipline kept them alive.

Any Christian can look back at crisis points when a decision between desires and life- instructions from the Bible can say the same. In our relationship with our Heavenly Father,
habitual compliance instead of questioning His guidance can at least help us avoid potholes in our path and perhaps keep us from losing our way.


And lest we venture into unsafe, forbidden thinking, such as asking God for a sign of His direction, a personal thunderous voice from heaven just for us, remember the story of the man who opened his Bible at random, asking God to instruct him and read the verse Matthew 27:5 “And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.” Then, deciding to give God a second chance, flipped again and found John 13:27 – “That thou doest, do quickly”.


But we must remember King Solomon, blessed by God with both wisdom and great wealth surpassing all others in history, and writer of the book of Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, an extensive map of how to orient our daily lives to please God.
Oh, did we think the New Testament replaced the Old which can be disregarded except as a historical record of God’s chosen? It's full of a wealth of prophecy forming the foundation of proof for the validity of the New Testament. And in the meantime (reinforcing the O.T.), N. T. records how God's people should order our lives, in letters written by the Disciples to the various new churches planted throughout their known world.

We reap what we sow, only more so.

Why Not?

I asked that question a lot as a child. Or simply "Why?" Mother was more  patient than most parents when I whined, but eventually I invariably pushed too far and her sweet voice seemed to thunder “BECAUSE I SAID SO!” End of conversation.

When she patiently gave her reasons, I could usually see her logic, reluctantly, but I knew nothing bad would result from my getting my way. She was always there, protecting me, right? Unless she was trying to make a point, the point of which escaped my tiny brain. There simply was no way she would allow me to be harmed, just to punish me. What I didn't realize was that her knowledge of dangers often were beyond my capacity to understand, or the risk was immediate and there was time only for immediate behavior, not for endless discussion.

One important precept escaped me: "A picture is worth a thousand words". If she allowed me to proceed as I wished, the outcome would be memorable. The bag of candy she warned me not to eat now did ruin my appetite and I missed my favorite fried chicken dinner and also suffered an upset stomach. Staying awake past bedtime to watch the end of the movie did make me oversleep and get to school late. If she really loved me, why did she punish me so harshly? It was her fault I missed a test that morning and had to stay after school to take the test.         Really???

Often vestiges of this attitude follow us as we age; often we still want our own way and trust our God to prove His love daily. We don't want Him to be our Father, we want a doting Grandfather granting our every wish. But God has no grandchildren. He wants to be our Father, the One who guides us away from pitfalls, dangerous situations, helps us to grow to be good people who are kind, respectful, good friends to those around us needing our help. He wants us to grow to be just like Him.

Just as our earthly parents may have done, God tells us how to please Him and offers wonderful rewards for obedience. If we prefer to go our own way, He will remind us there will be trouble. If we insist on ignoring Him, He will step back and allow us to dig ourselves into a hole we can't escape on our own and wait for us to admit our willful behavior and ask for help. We learn that some things we do can't be undone; though forgiven, there may be inevitable, painful consequences we will suffer. If we break a law, we can be forgiven, but may still go to jail.

It does no good to try to excuse our behavior by pointing to others far worse, shaking our fist at our Father and shouting "Why would a loving God allow this to happen?" and certainly honesty would prevent our blaming God for our predicament, claiming "You made me this way".

Maybe we just asked "Why?" once too often and His answer is "BECAUSE I SAID SO!'

           Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them
           understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk I them, but the
           rebellious stumble in them.
                                                           Hosea 14:9
                                                                     
                                                                  

Wanna Be Perfect?

                                                            Wanna Be Perfect?

I did. And I do. By trial and error, I eventually found new ways to approach perfection.

I’ve been delving into my past, hoping to offer insight into the mystery of me, past the generational barrier, to my grandchildren, who have so far only seen the barrier from one side; I’ve seen it coming and going, and learned much more about my “city Grand-mother”, who kept a journal for over fifty years, than my “country Grandmother” who may have had less time, compulsion to record her days, or access to pen and ink.

One trait I regret indulging for much of my life is chasing perfection. You see, I went about it all wrong. I became aware of this need to have perfection in the first year of school. So many children took their turn, one per day, at the easel and its thrilling reds and blues and a pristine canvas. Finally it was my turn. I gazed intently, gripping the brush tightly. So many colors, so many ideas whirling in my head. What should I place on this paper I had waited so long to paint? Some minutes later, with paper still blank, the teacher took my brush and handed it to someone else. I was heartbroken. I missed my chance.

A few years later I took piano lessons for four years. Eventually I reached the limit of my ability, or thought I did. If I couldn’t perform perfectly, it saddened me to compare what my ears heard with the sound in my imagination. “If I can’t do it right, I won’t do it at all.” 

I was not good at sports. I hated being compared with those kids who loved baseball and whenever possible I avoided coming up to bat or stood far out in the field where surely no one would hit a ball in my direction. 

I had found my niche. Do only what I was good at, stick to books. Some people enjoyed the game without perfection, but it embarrassed me. In the classroom I recognized that continued effort resulted in measured improvement, but otherwise I avoided doing in public something that gave others a chance to laugh at me. 

Only one problem with that practice: I didn’t like myself much, and my pride suffered because of I was letting fear govern my life. Looking back I began to see missed opportunities, wish I had dared to try some of those things that looked like so much fun. And yet I knew I was a child of the King of All There Is and, like the prodigal son, I was living in a pigpen, when I should be honoring my Father by planning my life around the palace waiting for me at the end of this road. I was definitely not behaving like His ambassador to this foreign country—I had measured my worth by this world’s standards. My pride should have been centered around my King.

Shifting my gaze outward freed me to forget self, learn to see others as Jesus sees them. I learned winning a race is not important—getting into the race instead of watching it is success in life. I want to report to my Commanding Officer some day, as Timothy said:

      “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  2 Timothy 4:7             

       "Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men."  Colossians 3:23

       "It is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His 

        purpose."   Philippians 2:13