Tag Archives: christianity

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Make Room

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This gingko tree has such a vibrant color each fall. The leaves are such a pure yellow and, as many Asian artists throughout the centuries have painted, they have a unique and pleasing shape.

The shape of this tree is also lovely. That is thanks in large part to my father’s recommendation that we remove a poplar tree that was growing behind it. The gingko tree was very small then, only about 3 feet tall. My father knew that the poplar would grow much faster than the ginkgo and the shade from the larger tree would cause the gingko to grow crooked. So, to make room, Phil cut down the poplar tree.

Now that decision was not automatic. Phil pointed out that the poplar tree was healthy, provided shade, and was also a desirable tree. Yet a choice had to be made – make room for the gingko – the only one we have on our property, or leave the trees to compete for sunlight.

We literally have hundreds of poplars on our mountain property so the decision was made to cut that poplar down. Yet it was not easy to remove a healthy tree that wouldn’t impact the smaller tree for several years to come. The issue was to make room for the future well being of the gingko tree. Something good was being removed to allow the growth of something better.

How like the decisions we make daily! I can easily fill my day with “good” things to do – but am I making room for the BEST things? We all know about the tyranny of the urgent. The pressure we feel to do the thing that seems most critical at that moment. Yet when I stop and consider what really matters – what is a priority for me as a follower of Jesus – my decision may change.

The real issue for me is not choosing between making a meal for a recovering friend or taking a walk on the Greenway. (I can take walk on the Greenway after I take the meal 🙂 The issue for me is recognizing the seemingly unimportant activities I engage in day to day that don’t make room for responding to the Holy Spirit. For me – these may include –

  • checking Facebook – (for me a bottomless pit)
  • checking my 1300 unread emails
  • finishing the zig saw puzzle
  • watching TV

None of the above activities are inherently wrong. Seeing grandchildren’s pictures on Facebook, catching up with old classmates, or reconnecting with friends from the past are all a blessing. I use Facebook to post this blog. I also need to check emails – ok – I can hear the AMEN now from several of you. Watching TV is a pleasure that can make us laugh, inform us, and entertain us when used thoughtfully. Yet all these things also use time, time that squeezes out room for the “better things.”

Luke 10:38-40 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Now making meals is important. We have responsibilities to our families, jobs, churches, and community that God has called us to. Jesus was admonishing Martha because she had not made room to listen to Him, and was worried and unset at her sister. Mary had a heart that desired to hear Jesus.

As with the tree, I need to choose what to cut out so that I make room for the Holy Spirit to lead me and speak to me. Then I will continue to grow in my walk with Jesus, making room to sit at His feet. Then we can become “like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:2-3

#In My Garden with God

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Seasons of Change

I recently heard someone say – “The only person who likes change is a baby with a dirty diaper.” I have the blessing of keeping our great-grandchild while her mother is taking college classes. So yes, change is a good thing when it comes to diapers.

We all relate to that, don’t we. There are some people who seem to thrive on change, even chaos. Yet for most of us there is comfort in the familiar. We like to know what we may face ahead so we can plan accordingly. Yet change is a part of life whether that change is by choice or not.

I have learned in my almost 74 years that changes I sometimes fought against turned out to be blessings I would never have imagined. God knew. His ways are not our ways.

My father taught high school biology for 40 years. He taught 33 of those years at Wheaton Central High School in Illinois, took early retirement, and taught for 7 more years in Taichung, Taiwan at an English speaking mission school – Morrison Academy. Dad once told me that change at that time in his life was transformational in so many ways. Instead of “hanging on” during his last few years of teaching, he had a whole new set of plants and animals to share with students. The tropical environment of Taiwan was a new learning experience for him that challenged him to keep at least one step ahead of his students. How he enjoyed those years!

The change allowed my father to thrive in his final years of teaching in a way that staying in his comfort zone would never have done.

Change is hard. It challenges us to give up the comfortable and familiar for the unknown and uncertain. This can be especially difficult when the changes are imposed on us. Our own physical limitations, illness of a spouse, or a change in living situations can challenge us to face changes we didn’t anticipate or want.

Paul shares the “secret” to facing change in whatever circumstances we face in Philippians 4: 10-14

10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

The “secret” is that Paul learned to be content in whatever situation he faced. He accepted that situation – comfort, illness, abundance, prison – because he KNEW his life was in God’s hands and ultimately God was accomplishing His plan in Paul’s life. Paul suffered greatly at times, yet he knew God was faithful.

May we apply Paul’s secret to whatever we face today.

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Stick to the Plan

I, along with so many others in our community, are cheering on the Seattle Mariners, even though they are over 3000 miles away from our mountain home in North Carolina. Why? Because Cal Raleigh is our home town player!

Cal was born in Jackson County, North Carolina. He attended Smoky Mountain High School where I taught, and his mother was my co-worker. His father is the former head baseball coach at Western Carolina University located down the road in Cullowhee. We are all SO proud of Cal!

My husband Phil, a life long baseball fan, has been a bit disconcerted with my avid interest in baseball lately. We have visited 19 of the 30 major league baseball parks over the almost 50 years of our marriage, but my personal interest in baseball has been nominal at best. Then Cal was drafted by the Mariners. That changed everything.

Cal was a part of our Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership team (along with his sister, Emma) at Smoky Mountain High School of which I was a faculty sponsor. Cal had his senior prom pictures taken in our yard (because of our vintage barn and rock walls). He was, and is, a fine young man and we are proud of his recent accomplishments and are cheering him and the team on in this run to the World Series.

My friends Carol and Alice Marie and I text each other during Mariner games and our college friends on the west coast are cheering for the Mariners as well. We have recruited fans!!! Carol and I attended Seattle Pacific University so we have dear friends in the Seattle area. I have NEVER watched baseball games this closely since our son Benjamin played Little League.

I have been listening to interviews with the players and a reoccurring theme post-season voiced by Cal, a team leader, and other Mariners players is – Stick to the Plan.

The pressure during playoff games is incredible. They face the reality of “win or go home”. There may be two outs, two on base, and a full count … what pressure at that moment!!! and then they say – “stick to the plan.” The ultimate plan is to win the World Series and each player has a role to play to get to that victory.

Stick to the Plan – sounds easy doesn’t it? Yet when the pressure is on, in a game and in life, it is difficult to stick to the plan when you feel like reaching the goal is all up to YOU. The key appears to be understanding your role, doing your very best to fulfill that role, and leaving the rest to the team.

For years Phil has drawn parallels between sports and our spiritual life in his teaching and preaching. So I am following his lead. I see a clear connection between “stick to the plan” and facing pressure spiritually.

  • know the plan – Matthew 22: 37-39 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
  • know my part in the plan – I John 4:7-8 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
  • stick to the plan – don’t get distracted Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

Love the Lord our God

Love our neighbors

Fix our eyes on Jesus – the One who initiates and perfects our faith.

By God’s grace may we Stick to the Plan