Unraveling

He wanted to know how many t-shirts could be made from that field.  His growing mind always wondering.  Good question, I thought.  I have no clue.  But that white…

Bursting white amidst the still green foliage.  The tender purity of the contents erupting from such a sturdy stalk.  The thick, hard walls of the boll no longer able to contain the pure white begging to be seen.  So much light has been poured into that boll and that purity will not be contained any longer.

Weren’t his words bursting from a place of purity?  He doesn’t yet have the weight of the world sitting on his shoulders and mind.  A mind consumed with the current worry of the day and the day before and the day to come.  His was a simple question. 

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."  John 8:12 (NASB)

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Matthew 5:14-15 (NASB)

Those bolls of white will be twisted and pulled and stretched and combined.  It has to die to get to its final purpose.  Pulled from that hard stalk so that it can go forth and be seen; be used.

Thin fibers twisted together, tightly woven for strength.

And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NASB)

But what if one of those fibers begin to unravel?  What if one of those strands break?

Sometimes the pressure becomes too much.  It overwhelms and that tightly woven cord can find one sliver of fiber unraveling.  Curling and flapping in the breeze.  Experiencing a harrowing ride in turbulence.  Blowing away from the safety of the remaining cord.  Drawing away from the security found in the tightly woven space of strength. 

But if you are flapping in the breeze, you can’t quite find your place in that t-shirt.  The fibers holding tight for their intended purpose.  Sometimes that errant strand has to be cut away.  The usefulness expended fully.  Likely to cause others to come loose.  Best for all to be cut away.

But sometimes that loose thread should be tucked back in.  Allowing the others to surround and hold tight so the unraveling subsides.  A knot tied to keep it in.  So, with future use the knot tightens to keep that one secure.

Fibers of purity woven in a tapestry of life.  Fibers woven into usefulness.  Holding tightly to keep the good form.  Moving in fluid tandem.  Realizing those fibers hold you even when you think you should be cut off.

Was his simple but complicated question stated for that very purpose?  For him to pull me back into security.  Perhaps one day he will know how many t-shirts can be produced from a field of cotton.  Perhaps one day he will know how he pulled his mama back in and tucked and tied an errant strand wanting to be cut off, but not quite expended. 

What are you doing?

God has plans for each of us.  Paul knew that God wanted to use him to further His Kingdom.  He accepted the plan and made good on the purpose God placed in him. 

We are no different.  Sometimes we may fail to fully recognize His purpose and plan for us.  We may decide His plan is not the path we want to take and completely ignore His calling.  We may dibble-dabble in it at times and find enormous peace about doing His will only to slip away and let fear consume us.

But the calling never leaves.  It sits there waiting.  Longing for us to pick it back up to do that absolute best thing we could ever do.  Obey God.

He provides the grace and the mercy.  It all comes from Him.  There is nothing more we could need when we are in the midst of His will.  Complete sufficiency.  Beyond abundant provision.  Sweet fellowship.

But the world jumps in.  Desperately seeking to devour us, to keep us from living in the space God has for us.  Instead we find ourselves withering in that space because we listen to lies and believe them.  And begin to turn away from that space of peace.  Oh, that sacred space of peace!!!

If you have ever had it, you know it.  If you have ever had it, you want it again.  If you have ever had it, you long for it more than a big refreshing gulp of cold water in the middle of August in South Georgia.  Y’all know what I mean!!!

In Philippians 1, Paul makes the realization that to stay on in the flesh requires fruitful labor.  No different for you and me.

And then in 1 Timothy 1, he proclaims Who put him into service.  The service is not man-made, but Divinely appointed.

What are you doing?  I don’t really need to know.  But you do.

Are you living in the knowledge that the service you “do” is not your own?  Here again, I don’t need to know.  But you do.

Do you know Who placed it in you to do that which gets done every day?  And is that which gets done that which you were called to do? 

Seek Him and know that His plans for you are already appointed.  He desires your willingness to do His plans.  And there we find sweet peace.

Batter-up

Did I hear what I think I heard?  Did he say those words that disturbed my mind and heart and soul?  Those words shook me.   And then did I just sit there and say nothing?  Even though I wanted to get up and leave and never look back. I did nothing. 

My youngest enjoys playing baseball. He is  one member of a team that had an all-day tournament yesterday. A day full of heat. Boys playing hard and adults mouthing off. What was the reason for the play?  For the boys or for the adults?

And just what is it that we as adults want to show our children?  Is it being right in making a call?  Was he safe or out?  What is more important, having your opinion affirmed or teaching kids fairness and humility?  

And just why do we cheer at a job well done while the opposing team jeers at the same thing?  Seems to me it becomes evidence of the power of good and evil. Both have an agenda and the agenda is very similar. To win. 

The ultimate goal of the game is to win. Or is it?  Is it rather to play the game in such a way as to show your opponents why it is you play?  

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”

Colossians 3:23 NASB

http://bible.com/100/col.3.23.nasb

And did I become as they in sitting back and observing all that was going on with nothing showing different in me?  What would have been the response I should have made when a mom gave evidence of disgust over a well-played move by our team?  And not ten minutes later her son, on the opposing team, was removed from the game with a possible broken bone. 

Oh, dear God in heaven, do we even realize what we do?

And what exactly had the man who set-up tents and fan and food for the team said?  Did the words he spoke line-up with the actions he had taken?  He went above and beyond to provide for the team. But those words. I really hope I heard wrong. Because I didn't say a thing. I didn't ask for clarification. Why didn't I ask for clarification?  Is his church different than mine?  Is the one he worships different from the One I worship?  He talked of his church. 

I am disturbed. By me as much as the words. I did and said nothing. I sat there like some inanimate object and allowed the boys within ear-shot of those words to be influenced by the man that had provided comfort. They look up to him. He has their admiration. He has captured their attention in the provisions. 

“For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.”

Proverbs 5:3-6 NASB

http://bible.com/100/pro.5.3-6.nasb

I pray I heard wrong. I pray the impression I received was wrong. I pray if given another opportunity I will ask for clarification and encourage a different path. 

Will you pray for me that if I ever hear those words or anything else that disturbs so deeply that I will speak truth in the middle of the situation?  That if a person expresses desire to go to hell that I will say something. 

Anything. 

Life-giving words. 

That when an adult, who has the attention of a child, when making the dark road seem glamorous, expresses pleasures for that journey, that I will boldly speak the words necessary at that moment. 

That I will not be a coward but the warrior I rightly am through the blood of Jesus. 

And will you pray for all the boys that play hard?  That they will know the true reason for living. That they will play the game in testimony of God. 

And pray for parents. That we will boldly speak truth and life into our kids. 

And pray for that man and many others like him. For those that may go about doing what appears to be good but falls short in the execution. 

Because unless you are doing whatever it is you do for the glory of God, you (and I) are doing it in vain. 

Finding Peace

She has this way of presenting questions that stir the soul to look below the surface.  And it doesn’t take many words.  “Are you picking up your pen?”  That’s all it took to shake me.

Peeling back layers of the unnecessary and swimming through murky waters of confusion that lie between the surface and that place where the soul finds peace.  Situations do not remove that peace, only the one that allows situations to bombard and discombobulate allows the peace to be removed.  Salvation attention deficit disorder.  SADD.

The sacred begs for attention but the world pulls and tugs and grabs the face to look away from the holy.  The neck muscles strain.  Peripheral vision can only reach so far.  To have the greedy hands of the world removed from the face so holy can be gazed upon straight on is where liberty is found.  Peace is found.  An unobstructed view of holy.

Too much exposure to the world binds and enslaves.  A vice-grip constricts and confines.  Chains drag heavy and burdensome.  Because the view of the holy becomes marred in allowing those greedy hands to steal the show.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Matthew 5:8 (NASB)

The longing of the heart.  The heart cry.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?  My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”  These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me.  For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, with the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.  Psalm 42:1-4 (NASB)

The greedy hands of the world only hold as long as allowed.  Understanding the diagnosis of salvation attention deficit disorder is the beginning of recognizing the need to refocus perspective.  Shifting the gaze back to the holy and finding the precious gift of peace.

The greedy hands fall away.  The murky clears.  Organization in chaos.  No better muscle relaxer.  Son-block!  Perfect rest.  Perfect peace.  Thanksgiving.