I have called you by your name and you are mine.   Isaiah 43:1

There was a little first grade boy who decided one day that he no longer liked the name his parents gave him, so he picked a new name.  It began the day he started writing his name on all his papers with the capital letters ‘ZB’.  As his teacher sat down that afternoon to correct the day’s work, she was a bit puzzled but it didn’t take long to figure out who the mystery student was.  First thing the next morning she called ‘ZB’ up to her desk and asked if he might be willing to explain.  He very politely told her that his parents had made a mistake and given him the wrong name so he decided to fix it himself and just start writing the name he had chosen.  She said sweetly to this completely serious little guy, “Sweetheart, you can’t just change your name.  That has to be done by an official person.”  He shook his head and said, “Oh, I get it.   So, can I go talk to the principal right now to change my name or should I wait till recess?”  Holding back her laughter, she sent him down to visit the principal right away.  The principal welcomed the visit and began by asking the little guy, “So, how did you come up with this new name?” The little boy said, “Well that’s easy!  I just picked a cool name that would tell everybody what I’m good at.”  The principal looked at the letters ‘ZB’ and said, “I’m not sure I understand.”  With all the pride one smile could hold, the little boy stood up and said, “I’m a fast runner so my new name is Zooming Bullet!  I just write ‘ZB’ because all those other letters take too long to write and I like to be fast.” The principal sent him on his way promising to make a phone call to his mother to discuss it. ‘ ZB’ raced back to class very content and the principal just sat at his desk and laughed harder than he had in weeks as he pondered what he might call himself if he could choose a new name.

From the moment we are knit in our mother’s womb, we are named by the God who created us. I am a firm believer that there is divine influence as Christian parents name their children.  There is usually a strong story to our names whether we are knowingly named after a Saint or given a treasured family name, there is usually a reason.  Do you know who you are named after and why?  When Dave and I were picking names for our children we picked the middle names first.  Each of them bears the name of a powerful Saint and a family member who we hoped would provide a strong example of faithfulness and goodness and in all three cases were heavenly saints themselves.  Kevin, our oldest has the middle name James. James is the name of my father’s cousin who was killed in WWII.  I shiver every time I read the telegram from the US Navy informing the family of the bomb attack on his ship.  James is also the name of my mother’s brother who died of Leukemia at the age of 16 and finally, it was the name given to my older brother who has attributes too many to type!  His name has a history of strong, brave, faith-filled men.  Jason, our second son has the middle name Richard.  Richard was the name of Dave’s brother who left this earth far too early but who lived each day with a huge spirit!  Shannon, our daughter is named after my mother, Barbara. Her legacy could take up a whole blog itself!  

I truly believe God knew them by name before they were born!  It is absolutely amazing how our children resemble the characteristics of the people they were named after.  Kevin looks like and shares so many of the same interests and mannerisms of my older brother sometimes it gives me the chills.  When Jason was little he was the proud owner of a huge stubborn temper…the same temper and stubborn streak that used to cause his Uncle Richard to hold his breath and pass out. In both cases that temper mellowed into a strong confidence.  As for Miss Shannon I have begun to discover that she is all of her grandmother’s greatest attributes bundled into one lovely person!  Is it a coincidence, I don’t think so!  If God loved us enough to create us so wonderfully and perfectly he wouldn’t leave our name to chance…He had a hand in that too.

 We are His and He knows our name!  He knows who we are and we will never be lost!  I often wonder what my name says about me and I wonder what God thinks about the life I’m living under the name He gave me

A Seed to Plant:  Find out the story of your name if you don’t know it.  Take some time to think about your name and the memories and impressions you and your name will leave with others when you are absent.​

Blessings on your day!
 

The Lord remembers his covenant forever.  Psalm 105: 8

I have a small set of completely useless talents!  One of those useless talents is being able to remember song lyrics from decades ago. I don’t mean to brag, but I can sing songs that are even older than I am.  Now, don’t be too impressed because I’m also the same woman who can’t remember 3 things at the grocery store and about the only room I can walk in to and consistently remember why I entered, is the bathroom.  I remember random silly things but there are days when I forget ten times more than I remember.  I like to console myself and say it’s because I just have so much important stuff to think about I run out of room in my brain! 

Thank goodness God has a better memory than me! I’m so grateful for this reminder from Psalm 105 and it makes my heart peaceful to know that even on those crazy days when I forget to ask God for help or peace or assurance, he never forgets me or the covenant he made with his people.  He remembers all the important stuff.  He doesn’t remember just when it’s convenient or when it serves his purpose; he remembers his promise to love us all the time!

Sometimes we can make our way through lent and come out on Easter Sunday feeling like we didn’t get it right.  We sometimes forget our lenten promises and when Good Friday rolls around we start to feel guilty for forgetting how much we wanted to show our love to Jesus though our sacrifices and penances.  Now would be a great time to remember that our lenten works have no real bearing on the glory of Easter.  Jesus wouldn’t be more “risen” if we had remembered all the things we promised on Ash Wednesday.  God isn’t going to put us on the “B list” because we didn’t complete six weeks of perfect sacrificial piousness.  His covenant promised his love, compassion, care and correction whether we ate chocolate during lent or not.  

The fifty days of the Easter season are the perfect time to hit a “remember re-set”.  God isn’t honored just through our sacrifice; he’s honored by our joy and gratitude.  Easter is the absolute perfect time to be more joyful and grateful.  We are an Easter people which is to say we are a people who were created to celebrate the joy and happiness of the Resurrection and the new beginnings it promises.  That too was a part of the covenant God will always remember.  I keep thinking about that line about happy christians and it makes me giggle so I’ll repeat it again; “There are way too many christians running around looking like they’ve been baptized in lemon juice!”  Are we gonna mope about your lenten weaknesses or realize with enthusiastic happiness and joy that Easter makes all things new!  What needs to be new with you?  This is the season that begs us to believe the unbelievable and profess the spectacular and revel in the unfathomable!  How about turning from the lent guilt and running head first into the magnificent gift of love the Father will never forget to show us.  Absolutely, we are not worthy of such a gift but lets remember that he already knows that and it doesn’t matter.  The gates of Heaven were flung open not because we deserve it but because the Father promised and because he wants us with him.  That is something we need to remember!  This Easter Season let your focus be joy, after all, someone died for you and then his Father raised him up!

A Seed To Plant:  Find a great image of the Risen Jesus  and pray with it each day to remind yourself that it was a gift for you from the Father who will never forget his promises.​

Blessings on your day!

How precious is your unfailing love, O God! - Psalm 36:7

Boy did I learn a big lesson this week!  The greatest part of the big lesson is that it came from one of the teeniest teachers in the building.  The teacher has long blonde hair, sparkly eyes and a smile that melts your heart.  I saw her as just another adorable kindergartner but she was a part of a lesson that was anything but pint-sized and  I think we can all learn a little something from her lesson.

For some reason, this sweet little thing high fives or hugs several of the teachers on a daily basis.  She greets us with her giant smile and injects our day with a giant ray of sunshine.  The funny thing is, I’m not her teacher, she has no reason to pick me to share her smiles, hugs and hello’s with; she just does it.  Every day, she shows up and it just spills out of her like candy from a piñata.  There have been so many times I’ll be walking down the hall with my mind pondering a dozen things and she’ll just pop out of nowhere with a bubbly hello and a hug and suddenly anything that seemed important just fades and I walk away with a smile and a little ray of her sunshine.  One morning this week I had the pleasure of holding the door and welcoming the kids into the building; it’s one of my favorite jobs to be the one who gets to start their St. Mary School day.  That morning there were dozens of smiles, hugs and good mornings.  I remember standing there by the door thanking God for letting me be a part of 288 little lives.

My heart was happy as I said hello and opened the door for the last few students.  When the traffic slowed and all the kids were sitting in their seats in the gym waiting for morning prayer, I just stood at the door with a smile and as I turned there she was, running toward me and she stopped a few feet from where I was standing and said, “Hey, I just love you so much.” And just like that she ran back to sit with her friends.  My heart instantly melted at the sweetness and sincerity of this sweet little thing.  While I stood with all my teacher friends praying with all the kids, the lesson hit me like a ton of bricks.

Ya see, I’ve done nothing to earn her sweetness.  I’ve done nothing to deserve her kindness.  I haven’t asked, demanded or instigated her joy.  She has nothing to gain by giving it all so freely.  She really doesn’t get anything kindergarten fair in return because I can’ t go out to play or sit at the same table and share a snack.  I can’t foster a friendship by inviting her over to play or go to the movies so she really gets nothing in return.  And that sweet “I love you so much!”  came as a gift to my heart…she took off so fast there was nothing I could say in return.  Everything about this little girls gifts is so completely one sided.  As my “eyes started to sweat” (that’s “5th grade boy” for I’m crying) I realized that’s exactly how it is with God and me.  She demonstrated what the love of God is really like.  It’s always there.  It’s never earned or deserved and it comes with no strings or conditions.  He loves us intensely despite our fears and our failings.  He always leads with love and joy and he offers it every time we greet him.  He never fails and he never runs low.  He has nothing to gain and yet he lights up when he sees us and he just waits to tell us in a hundred different ways every day “I love you so much!”

Several of the staff at school are meeting once a week to participate in the Wild Goose series.  It’s a beautiful video teaching series on the Holy Spirit.(I would HIGHLY recommend it!) The first lesson was about the love of God and that class left me praying on the question, how do I KNOW God loves me?  He showed me this week with a lesson from one of his smallest teachers.  He loves me enough to send a wee one to SHOW me what his love is like.  He knew right where to get my heart; through a child.  He didn’t send big words or profound scripture, he touched my heart with his love in a way he knew I wouldn’t miss!

A Seed To Plant:  Pray on that question, “How do I KNOW God loves me?”  See where he leads you in prayer.​

Blessings on your day!

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about all the people knee deep in lousy stuff.  I have gotten many emails and texts in the past few weeks from people who need prayer to navigate their way through life.  There is sickness, distress, family and job difficulties and some of these requests are swirling really close to home.  I’m so happy they ask for prayer, and I’ve been praying my little tail off and absolutely; I trust, I believe and my faith is strong as a bolder but every now and again I just wanna say, “Hey, wait a dog-gone minute God, this is all too much!”  I’m sure that comment during prayer is followed by a  heavenly face-palm!  

The big question I’ve been hearing from those folks struggling is, “If God loves us, why does this lousy stuff happen?”  I would have to say that’s a completely fair question and I wish like heck I could type an answer to make it all better but here is the truth, A) God doesn’t MAKE bad stuff happen and he loves us even harder when it does and B) Sometimes there isn’t a simple answer to complicated things. With my heart a little heavy, I’ve spent some time prayin, and thinkin and here are some of the things that made me feel better.

There is a big difference in being involved and being in control.  God is completely involved in our lives and the more we pray and grow in our relationship with him, the more involved he will be.  Because of our free will, God does not control our lives.  Some of the distress I’ve been asked to pray for is the result of someone doing something lousy with their free will and leaving others to suffer in the wake of poor choices.  God cannot be in control of that but he can absolutely be involved in our lives as we navigate through it if we invite him to meet us there and lead us through. He won’t wave a magic wand and make it all disappear but he will give us the grace and the strength to endure the difficulties if we ask.

Bad stuff isn’t part of God’s plan.  He doesn’t give people cancer or trap children in a cave because his “master plan” indicated it’s time for it.  That is not how a loving Father operates.  If a dad decided to go for a walk with his son, and along the way the son stepped in a gopher hole and hurt his ankle that would be a lousy thing.  Lousy as it is, the dad didn’t make it happen.  He was absolutely there but he didn’t plan it or want it to happen; he wasn’t in control of it, but you can bet your bottom dollar that he instantly became involved.  He felt the hurt, he poured out compassion and comfort and he did everything possible to aid in his sons healing.  

If God controlled everything, we might think life would be easier and long gone would be fear, suffering and pain.  I suppose in some ways that makes sense but because of our sinful nature (thank you Adam, Eve and Satan) we want what we want and we aren’t always so good at  trusting and following the rules, let alone being completely controlled, so this idea has some holes. God doesn’t force his love or his perfect will on us, it’s up to us to choose to love, trust, surrender and follow him.   When we’re tempted to think God makes bad things happen it’s good to remember a few truths from scripture. Jesus heals the sick; he doesn’t bring about their illness. Often the healing isn’t physical but it is spiritual and the result of that healing can lead to our salvation. Jesus liberates the oppressed; he doesn’t prolong their oppression.  Jesus sets the prisoner free; he doesn’t imprison.  Jesus restores a broken creation; he doesn’t further cripple it through disease, suffering, and pain.

When I find myself feeling overwhelmed about the sadness or madness of a lousy situation, I have to reach for the three biggest truth of all. They’re stiff ones and sometimes they go down like vinegar but they are enormous truth spoken in even bigger love.  The first; every situation no matter how sad or tragic or difficult, is a situation where God can bring about a greater good.  The part that makes that really tough to wrap our heads and hearts around is sometimes we hurt too much to see the good and often the greater good is for someone else.  The second; Scripture says, there will be trouble and it is only through suffering we can fully come to Christ.  When I realize that, and stop to contemplate the suffering of both the Father and the Son; done for me…it really puts things in perspective.  Finally, heaven is the reward, not earth.  As humans, we cling to the familiar and fear the unknown.  If we could begin to unwrap even a tiny corner of the delight, glory and absolute magnificence of eternal life we would run from this world so fast we’d be nothing but a streak!   

The lousy stuff is never what we wish for and it’s never handed out as a punishment but there is love, healing, and even salvation  when we truly let the Father get involved and walk with us through the lousy.  The lousy stuff is where God shows his power, his compassion and his amazing ability to unite, support and draw people closer to each other and to heaven.

A Seed To Plant: Spend some time asking God to be involved in your struggles or the struggles of someone you love.  Trust him and then watch to see the way he works.​

Blessings on your day! 

Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.  Proverbs 4:23

Several years ago my friend Cindy and I did a 60 mile walk from Ann Arbor to Detroit to raise money for breast cancer research.  That 3 day walk was long, difficult and amazing.  We took off that first day not really grasping what it would take physically and emotionally to walk about 20 miles three days in a row.  The first day was great but on day 2 and 3 it was a little tougher to get up and get  motivated because I knew how far that distance was and I knew what I would feel like at the end of the day.  Looking back, it’s one of my favorite memories but I can honestly say I’d probably never do it again.

The distance made that weekend a challenge, but as I get older, I realize sometimes shorter distances can prove to be just as difficult as that long 60 mile walk.  There is one short distance that trips me up nearly every day.   That distance is a mere 18 inches from my head to my heart.  There are so many things I know in my mind to be true and right, but that knowledge and wisdom doesn’t always travel to my heart where I can put things in action.  I’ve been noticing the Father inviting me to pay attention to that distance lately. 

I can read lots of scripture and say lots of prayers but if I don’t let those words travel from my mind to my heart, they don’t become action.  I can write all kinds of goals and ambitions in my prayer journal but if I don’t set my heart on them, they are nothing more than words on a page.  In my mind I know he loves me infinitely but when I shrink away from his affection and hide from him when I’ve done something I think will disappoint him, my heart isn’t living his love.

I know he will meet my every need but when I find myself feeling jealous of things others have, I’m not letting the knowledge make it to my heart so I can feel gratitude more than greed.  When I compare every meal I cook to something the Pioneer Woman creates in her test kitchen or when I walk into my living room and compare it to something Chip and Joanna create, I’m stuck in my  head, not my heart.  Making those comparisons is a little like thinking the fancier my stuff is, the more the Father loves me.  If I closed that 18 inch gap a little I would realize that’s nonsense. God doesn’t sprinkle his love like ship lap and cinnamon, he slathers it right into our struggles, disappointments and simple joys.

My head tells me he’d love me more if I was put together and less of a hot mess; my heart tells me he is delighted to meet me in the middle of my daily disasters.  My head tells me I should work harder to be good so he’ll love me more; my heart tells me he doesn’t expect perfection, just prayerfulness, contrition and a dozen do-overs a day.  My head tells me I’m not worthy of his love; my heart agrees but reminds me worthiness isn’t a condition for being loved and cherished by my Creator. My head tell me I’ll never be good enough or strong enough or holy enough; my heart tells me I’m HIS and he will be all those things for me.  My head tells me work harder; my heart reminds me that he says “rest in me”.

Who knew there could be such a disconnect in that short distance!  I’m thinking I don’t need to take a long hike or climb a tall mountain; I just need to do a better job at the short space between my head and my heart…that’s a mission that will keep me busy for a while!

A Seed To Plant:  Jot down 3 or 4 things that get jumbled in that distance between your head and your heart.​
Blessings on your day!

And my God will meet all your needs…  Philippians 4:19

We’re about 6 weeks into a new school year and it’s still that “getting to know about you stage”.  As a teacher, you come to know their faces and expressions and sounds. You try to  figure out how they will deal with disappointment, correction and success.  Throughout the course of a day I get to see over 80 students and they each come individually wrapped and packaged; all with their own little secret ingredient!  It’s fascinating and frustrating and delightful all at the same time.  I often shake my head and marvel at how very different each and every one of my middle lovelies is. I marvel at God’s creativity as it walks, skips, slinks or thunders through my door.  
​
It doesn’t take long to realize some need more time, more patience, more firmness or more love than others.  Finding the right equation takes prayer and observation and lots of listening.  I will be the very first person to admit I often get it wrong; I often mis-judge a students needs or intent.  God has shown me after 100 years of teaching that the words “I was wrong, please forgive me” are powerful to a child…or a grown up…or an elderly person!  As I think about my middle lovelies and many of the other lovelies in the building I can’t help but notice they create such a beautiful collection of God’s best work and each one of them is a treasure in his eyes.  It’s my eyes that sometimes need an adjustment.  I can get overwhelmed when I see how many people are misunderstood, misjudged and misinterpreted.  I just want each child to be understood and loved and enjoy being at school!

The Young Disciples group will have the opportunity to participate in a program with some students who have disabilities and unique needs organized by Special Olympics this year.  As we listened to a lovely speaker teach us about these young kids and the struggles and challenges they face everyday, it left me feeling a little guilty.  Guilty that my life seems so easy, guilty that I take so many blessings for granted.  I was looking at pictures of the beautiful children we will be working with and I just wanted to scoop them all up and make their life perfect.  It was all churning around in my heart and all of the sudden I came across this quote from a woman I met last spring who has spent her entire life blind, mostly paralyzed and suffering from a host of other ailments.  She was speaking about God’s enormous love and genius plan for us.  She left us with a quote that came to my heart at the perfect moment.  She said this, “I believe there is no such thing as a special needs person.  We all have needs; human needs and some of us just need some accommodations in order to have our human needs met.”

I read it a few times until I found my peace.  It made me think of things with a different perspective!  It also made me realize how true it is for each of us. It is about those most basic needs; to feel loved, to feel accepted, to feel needed, to feel safe.  Those are things I can give easily but I wonder how often I don’t recognize someone else's need for them or I’m too busy to offer to meet them.  Each of those needs were perfectly designed by God and he’s waiting and willing to provide for them as only he can.  When I really think about it, I often need some accommodations in order for  him to meet my needs.  I need  him to be patient with me when I try to do it all myself.  I need him to be understanding when I forget to show gratitude.  I need him to make accommodations for my narrow thinking and impatient attitude.  I suppose we would all do well to focus more  on the accommodations than the expectations; putting things in that order might make a big difference.  I realize after reading that sweet woman's words, I’m certainly glad the Father looks at me with accommodation and not expectation cause he’d sure be disappointed a lot!  Father, thank you for all your accommodations, please help me offer them to others.

A Seed To Plant:  Lord, please help me see those who need accommodations today and allow me to see their human needs and their great value as your child.​

Blessings on your day!

I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not.  Isaiah 45:4

I had an amazing mom!  However, she did sometimes call my brothers and I by the wrong  name; which was highly curious since I look nothing like a Jim or a Joe. This little habit was something I said I’d never do as a mom.  Unfortunately, I did it too, more times than I could count.  Thank goodness we are loved by a Father who created us and calls us by name; the right name.

There is power in our name and we take pride in our titles; they’re a big part of our earthly identity.  If I speak to my class and say “hey you” the response is very different than if I call a student by name.  The Father doesn’t just know our name, he knows us; every gift, talent, struggle, sin and quirk.  The title he has given us declares boldly and mightily his love for us; our title is; HIS beloved child.  We don’t have to take a test, write an essay or prove anything to claim the title. We simply have to recognize that we are his beloved and spend each day getting to know him more deeply and love him more adoringly.

Our Father is so amazing we should set aside some time each day to discover something new about the One who created us, inspires us and calls us by name.  The Father doesn’t call us by name because we’re famous or popular, he is personally inviting us to go forth and share his good news and demonstrate his love and mercy to others.

A Seed To Plant:  Thank the Lord for loving you enough to know you by your name.  Lord, help me remember how precious I am to you and grant me the grace to proclaim your name to those around me.  For bonus points; say hello to ten people today and use their name.

Blessings on your day! 
 

“Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” Luke 15:31

I heard someone on the radio the other day talking about the story of the Prodigal Son so I decided to give it another read and do some thinking on it.  Every time I read the story I get angry with the first son.  According to the customs of his time, asking for his inheritance was the same as saying his father was dead to him.  As a parent I just can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be so bitterly betrayed by my own son.  As I read on, I sometimes find myself cheering for the second son…the one who was obedient, hardworking respectful and never asked for anything.   He seems like the good son for sure…or does he?  Surely the first son is the bad son…or is he? As I prayed on this passage from Luke’s Gospel I began to see myself in both sons.  I’m not gonna lie…I didn’t like that idea very much!

I saw myself in the second son but not for good reasons.  Yes I try to be obedient to God’s will and yes I try to be grateful and conservative and not demanding but this wasn’t what was stirring in my heart.  The second son was all about entitlement.  He wasn’t concerned about his brother, he was concerned about himself.  He didn’t stop for 2 seconds to see the relief or joy in his father’s eyes.  He didn’t stop for 2 seconds to realize what a tremendous act of “pride swallowing” his brother had just demonstrated. And he certainly didn’t stop long enough to think about how extravagantly his father would shower him with love if given the chance.  It was a gigantic open and shut case of “that’s not fair!”  Why is it we have such a hard time being genuinely happy for others when good fortune comes their way and not ours? I guess I need to think more about the blessing of generosity and less about keeping score.  I heard a story not long ago about a wealthy couple who had attended a fundraising event and won the big cash prize.  The audience was full of second sons who whispered among themselves about how that couple certainly didn’t deserve to win.  What all those whisperers didn’t know is that the couple humbly accepted the cash prize and used every penny of it to buy groceries, diapers and gas cards for two struggling young family in their church.

The first son…what could he possibly have to teach me?  I smugly thought I would never be so bold, wasteful, irresponsible and disrespectful.  God wouldn’t let it off my heart so I stayed a while longer and thought about that lousy first son and as I sat and prayed, he began to sprout some redeeming qualities.  I began to consider things like his courage, humility and desire to reconcile.  He knew he had hurt his father but something deep inside him wanted to make that right.  He wasn’t asking to have everything back to normal; he was willing to be a hired man not a son.  True, his return might have been motivated by selfish reasons like hunger and pride but I can’t even imagine being brave enough to take the risk.  He had to be willing to own up to every one of his mistakes and face the judgment and consequences that might come. He left home prideful and arrogant and he returned broken and weak and a complete failure, but yet he returned.  As he walked down that road to his father’s house every weakness was on full display.  I’m not sure I could muster that kind of honesty.  I can go to all sorts of lengths to conceal my weaknesses and failures; it must have been quite a task to lay it all on the line like he did.  I noticed that not once did the son offer any kind of excuse or rationale for his behavior.  He just told it like it was and hoped to be accepted in spite of the brokenness he brought with him; I don’t know about you but I could take a lesson there!

I spent so much time thinking about the sons, I forgot the star of the story…the father.  The father in this story is our father too.   Our Heavenly Father loves us with the same unconditional love as the father in the story.  He will always welcome us back no matter what we’ve done or where we’ve been and he will be so happy to see us there will be great rejoicing.  He loves us even when we’re too busy keeping score to realize only he knows the perfect reason blessings are bestowed as they are.  I realized he wants us to know his forgiveness and his generosity.  He wants us to remember our job isn’t to focus on the behavior of his children; our job is to focus on the love of the Father.

A Seed To Plant: Pick a favorite Gospel story and give it a read with fresh eyes, asking God to put you right into the story so he can reveal his truth and love to your heart.

Blessings on your day!

Consider it all joy, my brothers when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 
James 1:2-3

Consider trials JOY? What was St. James thinking when he wrote this?  Upon first glance at this verse we might be tempted to wonder if the beloved Saint put in a few too many prayerful “all-nighters” because surely he wasn’t serious about feeling joyful when the washer breaks, someone you love gets sick, the fuel pump on the car goes out or the sweet teenager in your home eats the last piece of peach pie you were hiding…I mean saving, in the back of the fridge!  Joy…I don’t think so!  And what about the really big stuff like losing your job or serious illness, surely he couldn’t have meant those things could bring joy. I suppose we could sit down and make a list of all the trials that have happened upon us in the past month and we would be overcome with many emotions, none of which would be joy!

The real meat of this verse is the part that explains what we can get in exchange for our trials…stronger faith and perseverance.  Do you remember when you were young and you went home from school and complained about that boy who pulled your pigtails or the girl who annoyingly pointed out your every move to the teacher?  The standard reply from home went something like this, “Well honey, if they didn’t like you they wouldn’t tease you.”  This verse has a little bit of that flavor to it don’t ya think!  God promised that we would have trouble…it is a guarantee, not a possibility.  Even though we’ve read those words more than once, trials still seem to catch us by surprise.  We sometimes even cop an attitude and think, “What, me…why me Lord? What have I done to deserve this difficulty?”  We might even get really sassy and say, “Oh, pardon me Father, but you’ve made a mistake, I’ve already had 8 serious trials this month, I believe this current dilemma belongs to the neighbor or even better, the guy who cut me off in traffic this morning!”

The simple truth is, if He didn’t love us, He wouldn’t give us trials at all.  Each difficulty or disappointment that knocks on our front door or barges right into our day is an opportunity to grow in trust or compassion or patience.  When we throw up our hands in despair and say, “Ok God, I don’t know how to do this…I don’t think I’m strong enough for this, please guide me and guard me and love me through it!” we will grow in faith and perseverance plus we will be blessed with grace and mercy. I think what St. James was teaching us is that any time we surrender to the holy power of God, that’s joyful, and the blessing is more strength, more grace and more faith for the next thing! It seems strange to thank God for the lousy stuff but that is what we are called to do.  We need to act like we are completely aware that He is about to do a might work through that trial if we would just stand back and let Him take us through it. 

A Seed To Plant: The next time a trial comes your way, stop and thank God 
for it and ask Him to show you the joy in the situation.  We’d love to hear your stories!

Blessings on your day!

​