Besides the obvious corona virus restrictions and civil unrest, the Cicadas have been singing even though the large scale emergence is not expected here until next year. We have had sweltering heat and humidity. Frequent air quality alerts with ozone levels on the rise. Even the shrubs and trees look wilted. Then we had almost 3 inches of rain in 24 hours.
One particular evening a strange rain storm swept through where entire sky looked yellow. No storm sirens blaring or weather alerts, just so strange. Our cameras could not capture the tones we saw with our eyes. I was able to adjust the color somewhat.
Teeming rain and some wind
The only other time I have seen a sky similar to this was in Lexington, Kentucky years ago when a tornado was close by.
Weird and fascinating. I prefer those blue skies with white puffy clouds and low humidity!!
See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
Isaiah 28:2 NIV 2011
For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
In March I was horrified when the death toll from Covid-19 in America reached over 700. In April 100,000 to 200,000 deaths were predicted. The AMA came out with guidelines for doctors in the event there is a ventilator shortage – how to decide who gets one, i.e., who lives and who likely dies. What an awful thing to have to decide.
Now the deaths in America due to Covid-19 are over 144,500+ and cases are rising rapidly in almost every single state. We are seemingly getting callused to the numbers. Do we numb ourselves as a way to cope with the staggering power of this virus? So many families grieving. So much loss of life and work and pay and rent. We could not have imagined this one year ago in this day and age. I heard the economics being compared now to the Great Depression.
We need one another now more than ever. We need the Lord Jesus Christ to touch us by the power of His Holy Spirit now more than ever. I have spent months going through the stages of grief and found myself lately bordering on the stage of acceptance. This might really kill my husband or myself or a family member. Gratefully, our daughter, who tested positive for the virus, is so far only suffering a fatigue that she cannot shake. Praying she regains her stamina soon.
I cannot afford to live in a fantasy that this will be over in a week or two. This virus is real and it is killing people. Many people.
I honestly cannot remember if I shared this before, but here I go. I use a meditation app that provides either nature sounds, guided meditation prompts or just a timer for meditation. It is called Insight Timer. There is one presenter named Andrew Johnson who leads a meditation much like one of my counselors used to do with me.
Every time I work with Andrew I seem to arrive at a different place with a different lesson. On April 28 of this year I followed Andrew’s instructions as he took me to what he calls “a favorite place” – it was fog so dense I could not see. Moist sweet fragrance, and nothing but fog.
I was impressed by my lack of control and direction. Eventually I saw the Lord’s hand extended to me. Knew I was to follow and cling to Him. (Abide). He is in control of this journey. I do not need to know where we are going. I need to cling to His hand and abide with Him. It was eerie but also a comfort to let down my shoulders, release myself into His care. Be content to be His and go along with His plan.
The photo below is NOT the best, but a great memory.
This statue at the Oklahoma Cowboy Museum gave me pause. Was this some terrible joke upon Native American men what with the parasol and tassels? To reach them here is their link. https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/ and the actual title is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
When I walked around to the side of the statue my opinion of the sculpture changed drastically. The sun was not kind to my photo.
He is shielding her!
I cannot decide if it reminds me more of my husband of almost fifty years (YEP, I typed that right. 50!) or my Lord and Savior. He too shields me and asks only that I abide and trust. Abide, remain, stay joined, live in – how easily we often get distracted and wander. Lord, help us to abide in You.
As time moves on towards our anniversary and our birthdays none of us know what the future holds. I do know Who loves me best and who on earth loves me the most!
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11 NRSV
But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
Psalm 3:3 NIV2011
Call upon Him. He is able to keep us no matter what befalls us.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
I saw the devil as a decrepit, weasand, impotent old man, stooped over, no strength in his backbone, but malice in his eyes. He worked his way up an open-stair metal ladder to the catwalks along the lights above a stage.
I sat on the stage in finger curls and white eyelet ruffles looking much like the storybook picture of Miss Muffett. I was happy, contented and apathetic (having or showing little or no emotion).
Using seemingly his last ounce of strength, this old impotent being reached the spot on the catwalk above me which he had chosen as his point of power. From inside his dirty trench coat he pulled a marionette – it was a hideous, hairy spider with spindly octopus-like legs and invisible strings. The catwalk was edged with a railing made of steel tubular pipes. He rested his weight upon the cold steel, too weak to stand on his own. He dropped the marionette half-way down and adjusted his hands in the wooden frames that controlled the strings for moving the spider’s body. Then he dropped the spider all the way down, near my face.
As I caught sight of the hideous hairy spider from the corner of my eye, apathy fled, and emotions stormed over me. The spineless, weak being up in the catwalk had little strength to hurt me, but he chose to use my own power against me. I flailed out in fear and anger and my actions made that spider jump and fly through the air with more energy than the old fart could ever have put into it.
At that juncture, the loving voice of my Lord broke into the scene and said, “Molly Lin, the spider is fear. It has very little power on its own. But you give it your energy by flailing and struggling and assuming it is more powerful than it is. Think through this same scene and SEE that had you chosen to sit still and watch that spider, it would have dangled from strings and been as impotent to harm you as the one holding its frames. He has no power over you unless you give it to him. Fear is a choice!”
My life has never been the same. I am not always fearless, but I do know that when fear comes I can choose to have it go. Seeing things in a new way … choosing another perspective or point of view … RESPONDING instead of reacting are all keys to maintaining my peace and experiencing the comfort and presence of my Lord Jesus.
“I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.“
Psalm 34:4 HCSB
Perhaps the title should be “Don’t Give Your Power Away.”
Can you train your mind to smile at your fears, knowing that God is the One in charge of you? By making Jesus your Lord, you put yourself under His Lordship. That means He oversees you. Lord means one who has power and authority over another. The Bible says 365 times fear not. Yet, we each have fears. It is our choice whether we let that fear reside with us comfortably. We may have to submit our fear to the Christ repeatedly in any one day. He has the power to take the fears and replace them with trust and faith. Nothing can separate us from the power of God, unless we let it.
A recent quote from Gratefulness.org was from Thich Nhat Hanh. He was a Vietnamese monk, a renowned Zen master, a poet, and a peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1967, and was the author of many books, including the best-selling “The Miracle of Mindfulness.” He wrote,
“Every time your fear is invited up, every time you recognize it and smile at it, your fear will lose some of its strength.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
This is a Buddhist teaching, but the Lord Jesus said something similar. The greatest commandment is ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37 (NIV2011)
If we are willing to turn our heart, soul, mind and attention to the Living Christ, His very presence will sustain us. The song below sums it up nicely.
Give your fears to the Lord for one week and smile at them. See what a difference it makes!
When I first heard this song on the CD “The Elements” I was amazed at how it reflected our culture. In the recent outcry for peace and equality between the races I thought it was time to share it. I found one with the lyrics so you can follow along.
It starts with me, with you, with caring for the experience of others, and doing what we can where we are.
Do you have negative thoughts that bother you? I am realizing there are patterns to mine and some cause me to plunge into various areas of depression if left unchecked. If you are willing to objectively listen to your negative thoughts, you can pick out patterns after a while. Then you have choices to make. We have a responsibility to do our part in fighting against this darkness.
Perhaps your thoughts concern your job. The various things you do not like about the job. Not necessarily enough to make you quit or seek another position, but misery builds. Regardless of the financial security and health coverage you may be given, those thoughts can pull you under into a mud puddle until you are bathed in loathing about the work you need to do.
Maybe someone in a group of your peers trigger negative thoughts. All humans have weaknesses and failings. Perhaps you let some behaviors bother you. Soon their aggravations are like burrs under your saddle. You get more and more unhappy, knowing they are not likely to change and blaming only them for the problems between you.
Feelings of inferiority or fears about being less than others can color your outlook on seemingly innocent exchanges. Soon you can interpret everything and everyone as shunning you.
What are your patterns? Have you taken them to the Lord for help? The Holy Spirit can guide and direct us if we are willing to be instructed and led in paths of light. We have a responsibility to do our part in fighting against this darkness. We are responsible for the thoughts we entertain. What is your process when you recognize a pattern as familiar, something you have experienced before?
Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NRSV)
Are you doing your part in this warfare? Do you push back against the darkness or just take it all as if you believe you deserve it? Are you willing to take every thought captive to Christ?
Years ago we were taught with a saying that became somewhat common, “Feed your faith; starve your fears.”
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1 (NIV 2011)
This song might help feed your faith and starve your fears. Watch your thought life. It might be your best defense against the negativity that would like to pull you down, and under, drowning you in defeat. Cling to the One Who loves you most! The biggest battlefield is most often between our ears!
With all the racial unrest I felt it was time to express myself. When I was in first grade, Sharon McCreary’s house burned down. She lived near us. I urged my parents to invite her family for dinner. It was a no go. Her family was black.
We lived in Kennedy Heights, which at the time, was noted to be the most integrated neighborhood in the United States. I could not comprehend why we could not invite the McCreary’s for dinner. My mother was known to be a terrific cook and these folks were in need! Many years later I connected with Sharon. It was sweet to talk with her.
I always attended integrated schools. When I was in high school I was in the minority as a White Anglo Saxon Protestant. We were outnumbered by Black children and Jewish children. It gave me a chance to understand firsthand the dilemma of being a minority. I also learned how very different the Black culture was from how I was raised. And the Jewish culture bewildered me. I even visited the Temple on Plum Street around the time of one classmate’s Bar Mitzva or Bat Mitzva. (Coming of age ceremony.) It is a lovely building, but I almost asked where the cross was. Caught myself just in time before the question left my lips. I was/am so totally given over to Jesus that even at that age I could not comprehend not having Him in my life, or theirs.
In middle school Jackie Gibson gave me a 45 of the Duke of Earl. It was a great song and occasionally shows up today. He was a great fellow though a bit arrogant. He was also constantly teaching the entire class new dance moves whenever the teacher left the classroom. A nice Black fellow. There was a saying that it was better to live near a nice black family than white trash. I did not really understand the saying. I thought people were people regardless of color.
Cecil Williams was one of my favorite friends from school. He always had a kind word and seemed a gentle soul. He was Black. He lived with his grandmother nearby. Her front yard sloped down into a V and then back up to the house. She had a terrific garden with many hanging objects. I so wanted to go in her garden and into her house. I was never invited, but would have loved that. I heard years later from Sharon that he died very young.
I worked for a while at a residential rehab center for women called “Having the Courage to Change.” Lucretia and the gals were fine once they realized I was not a White do-gooder. I was hired as Lucretia’s assistant, taught a Bible study class and mentored some of the women. There were mostly Black women, but Brown and White women, too.
Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28 (NRSV) There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. People were enslaved regardless of color at that time. We know that was not the case in American history. Can we learn to love regardless of color or ethnicity? Can we accept that just as we are forgiven by God, sinners saved by grace, so are others? Do we understand that different people have different experiences within the same society, just as within the same family?
Galatians 5:1 New Living Translation says: “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” I want to be set free and stay free to love each person who comes in to my life. I admit I sometimes have difficulty with the neighbor that totes his gun while walking his dog and threatens other dog owners. That seems rude. Yet, I am asked to love him. Some sections of the society say I must only love the ones who look like me and think like me. 1 Peter 2:8-10 (NLT2) And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” Perhaps He considers us royal Dukes and Duchesses.
No, I have not accomplished this kind of love. I pray the Lord will continue to grow me in acceptance of others, even others I do not agree with. Show us Lord, how to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Help us to be Your hands and feet on earth. You said they would know us by our love, not by our judgement of others. Help us to fulfill Your words, I pray.
Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, is quoted as saying change is the only constant in life. A native of Ephesus, he was born in 535 BC and died 475 BC. His saying has also been translated thatthe only constant is change.
Heraclitus, depicted in engraving from 1825, Wikipedia
And then there is: Change is inevitable. Come to expect it.
Recently I heard Joseph Goldman teach “Awareness of change and impermanence leads us to greater ease in our lives.”
I have a very long way to go before I accomplish what Goldman was teaching. Aware, yes. Accepting, much much harder to get there. How are you doing with all the changes in our lives these days? Have you been able to find the latest Covid-19 data in the midst of other news? Outbreaks of the virus barely being reported or commented upon. SO many people here in Ohio running around in public with no masks and no intention of wearing a mask.
There are many things that this country needs to change. I agree with that. Getting humans to embrace change gracefully is another matter all together.
Can we become pliable in the hands of God and embrace changes as they come to us? We often said that my mother-in-law would have been happier if she could have embraced changes instead of fighting against them as they arose. Wondering now if Bob and I will be enabled to embrace what we must as this pandemic rolls on and the years catch up with us.
As my dear Episcopalian brothers and sisters taught me, “I will, with God’s help.” And I knowingly emphasize, “ONLY with God’s help.”
For Jesus doesn’t change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he’s always totally himself.
In 1975 we were about to celebrate Flag Day with my mother. I was nine months pregnant. I tried to tell her not to travel to Lexington as the Doctor said I was not going to deliver anytime soon. She drove down from Cincinnati anyway. When she arrived, she wanted to go shopping and had me drive her car. I remember just barely fitting behind the wheel of her used Plymouth. (No adjustable steering wheels back then!)
As we traveled around the Lexington “Circle Freeway” to our destination she sang me a hymn she had recently heard. The title was “How Great Thou Art.”
Mom had brought food in a Styrofoam cooler. After we put the items in the refrigerator, we rinsed the cooler and placed it on our tiny apartment porch to dry. She arrived Friday night and we stayed up late watching Johnny Carson. He hosted Seals and Croft and they sang “We May Never Pass This Way Again.” I went to bed exhausted. Bob and Mom finished the show. Bob helped her pull out the sofa bed and made certain she had everything she needed.
Saturday dawned bright, but there was a breeze kicking up outside. Mom was not awake yet, but I decided to tiptoe through the living room to the porch and bring her cooler in before it blew away. As I passed the bed, I knew.
Stunned, I realized she was not breathing. I captured the cooler and walked through again. Certainty about crushed me. I woke Bob and made him go check her. By that time he had been working in a hospital for quite a while and had sometimes gone into a room in early morning to draw blood only to realize the patient had passed.
The rest of the day is a blur. The biggest shock of my life so far. It was years before I could hear “How Great Thou Art” without bursting into tears.
She never met my children. We will never celebrate things on earth again together. Though we had our problems, I do believe I will know her again in heaven, where she is singing How Great Thou Art among the many other hymns that she taught me.
Many years ago I made a retreat at the Convent of the Transfiguration. Bishop Gore was the speaker. He had taken a sabbatical and used the time to study Romans 8. He shared with us his translation of a portion. Read it below.
“His love is our security. And that love is so strong that nothing on earth can come between us and it. The sea of troubles that a Christian has to face, hardship and persecution of every kind, are powerless against it. For I am convinced that no form or phase of being, whether abstract or personal, not life nor its negation, nor any hierarchy of spirits, no dimension of time, no supernatural powers, no dimensions of space, no world of being invisible to us now, will ever come between Jesus and us now – will ever come between us and the love which God has brought to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Now and then, I just need to be reminded of this eternal truth. Be encouraged. Cling to this.
Wrought iron sculpture in Cleveland, Ohio (I think)
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 