Cleaning Up

Summertime. We love it for several reasons: warm weather, beach trips, cookouts and my personal favorite, no homework or classes to attend. Summer seems to also brings on those chores and tasks that you have set aside doing for the entire year.

This summer I am staying here at college working custodial jobs and basically whatever else needs to be done. It has been an interesting time so far and there have already been many different things that I have had the opportunity to do. Last week I began, and this week I hope to finish, power washing a stone wall and patio that hasn’t been cleaned for some time now. The inner me was beyond excited because I love doing that type of work, and let’s be honest, who wants to clean toilets anyways? 

Power washing has such a satisfying feeling because all the moss and the dirt that has taken over the area that you are cleaning you can watch disappear right before your eyes. The issue that sometimes can occur is after you have been at it for a decent length of time, you start wondering “is this spot still dirty or is it just a part of the brick or stone?” As the surface that you are cleaning is wet from the water, you can see the difference from when you started, but there can also be some doubt about how ‘clean’ the area is. It may not be until some time later that you notice the difference.

Right before I began power washing someone made the comment that they liked the way the moss looked on the patio. While I’m sure there are great overgrown moss pictures on Instagram out there, this area needed to be cleaned. 

Our Christian walk can be the same way. We have an area of our lives that we have allowed to take over, becoming overgrown and suddenly it has completely consumed us. Stop and think of things that you have left to just grow and take over. Maybe it is bitterness, anger, a substance, a relationship, etc. We need a deep clean. The issue can be maybe we like the condition that we are in. It may not be a big deal in our minds. We can even think it may be a good thing.

Look at Jonah for example. He willingly ran from God, (never a good idea in case you were wondering) and while he thinks all is well, he’s on a boat headed in the opposite direction of where he should be going. A storm comes, rages, and everyone on the boat is afraid for their lives and Jonah, as the Bible says, “had gone down into the inner part of the ship and lain down and was fast asleep.” (Ch. 1, v. 5). He wasn’t just taking a quick power nap. He was so fully comfortable in the condition that he chose to be in that he was fast asleep. In today’s terms we might even say, “he was knocked out”.

There are times in life where we need a deep clean, a power wash. It’s going to be hard work, dirty, uncomfortable, annoying, and probably just about every other negative adjective you can think of. The nice part about power washing is it’s a team effort. Before we began washing, the entire team that I work with took tools and scraped the moss of the tile floor. They got into the deep cervices where the power washer might not be able to get to. That job is tiresome and very tedious and can even seem pointless. Once you fire up the washer, the moss then becomes a lot easier to get rid.

So you might think, “yeah, that’s great. Why do I care?” So glad you asked. You see, the areas that we need growth and maybe things that we need to get rid of takes a team. We, and I mean me too, need friends, family, pastors, accountability partners and everyone else in between.  When you think about power washing, it can be done by yourself, but I don’t have all summer to complete the job. 

In life you may think that you have all the time in the world to address an issue ,but why wait. Perhaps there are things that others see that you have been putting off. Don’t let it take over. There’s a saying that I have heard that has helped me, “It is easier to keep the heart clean, than clean it after I has been defiled.”

By the way, the patio will need to be cleaned again probably around this time next year. The things in life that you have clean will probably need a reclean. It won’t just go away. It is a never ending process. Starting now will help avoid an over run situation later.

When the Holidays Aren’t So Cheerful

The holidays are generally a happy time for people. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year minus the cold weather and the occasional snow. Yes, I am one of those people that isn’t a big fan of snow. Anyways, Christmas is a great time of the year. I love seeing the different lights and decorations that people put up on their houses. Christmas cookies and, of the course, the big Christmas dinner that my family has every year, is definitely something I look forward to. It seems like that not that long ago we celebrated Thanksgiving and then Christmas happens and it is like round two of eating.

Exchanging of gifts is a great part of Christmas as well, even though the older you get the less of a list you seem to have. There is just something about wrapping, exchanging, and giving gifts that is wonderful. The best part of Christmas is celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His birth was the beginning of the journey that Christ would take as on His road to Calvary, where He would die on a cross, in a humiliating way, so that you and I could have a way and access to Heaven as well as a relationship with God.

All these things that I have mentioned above a few of the many reasons why I love Christmas time. However, for some people this time of year is dreadful. Instead of counting down the days until Christmas, you are counting down the days when the lights and decorations can be put away, the overplayed Christmas songs can stop, and everyone can stop being so smiley and cheerful. There are many reasons why the holiday times can be hard for people. Perhaps you aren’t bringing that significant other to the big dinner for everyone to meet like you had hoped and dreamed. Maybe there are a few empty seats at the table of loved ones that we have lost this year. Perhaps there was a diagnosis that someone received that has everyone scratching their heads and wondering what the next course of action. For some, family is a foreign word and concept.

Alone. This word is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as single, without the presence of others or when one or two more persons are completely separated by themselves. This word is the feeling that feels more like accurate description of the holiday times for some. Perhaps you are reading this and you are thinking, yes, this is how I have felt year after year for who knows how long.

Loneliness is a common feeling for many, whether you feel this overwhelming emotion at the holidays or twenty-four seven, three hundred and sixty five days in a row.

In the Bible, there was a man named Job. If you have spent any length of time in church, I’m sure that this man is no stranger to you. Job is described as perfect or some translations say blameless and upright. He was a man that had a correct reverence and respect for God. If Job was alive today, you may look at him and think that he was blessed and a good person. However, throughout the book of Job we see that he suffers tremendously. He lost everything- seven sons and three daughters, seven thousand sheep, three thousands camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she asses, and to top it off, the Bible says that he had a very great household. All of these comforts and material things that Job had, he would lose. The only thing that Job kept was his wife and his own life, but the suffering and pain he went through was unbearable to think about.

Job felt alone, very alone. In chapter seven, Job exclaims that his life is only but a breathe, and that his eyes “will never again see good.” Job continues on and begins to even plea with God, wanting death to come and take him so that he may find relief from the agony. Have you ever experienced this- wondering if perhaps death would be better than facing the trials and struggles of this life any longer? There are some, unfortunately, that have even tried to end life. My heart breaks for them and for you to have been down that dark road at any point in time of life or are even there currently. My heart breaks even as I read the story about Job, a man that in eyes did nothing wrong yet had everything taken from him. At any point in life when we suffer or face a trial we often ask the question, why? There are usually a number of questions that we begin to ask ourselves and others. Is there a God? Why do bad things happen to good people or why do good things happen to bad people? If God is real, then why would we allow for such evil and suffering in this present world?

These are questions that I myself have wrestled with and asked in time of hurt, anger and frustration. In Job’s suffering he tries to find out the reasons why he has to go through what he is going through. There have been situations in my life where I too have asked God “why?” At times I wasn’t even concerned with how long the trial that I was facing was going to last. I just wanted to know what the reason behind it was. God, when we asks questions, at times it may seem like He isn’t listening or doesn’t care, but He does hear and answer us. God answers Job and from chapters 38-42 God reminds Job of the good things that He has done and will continue to do.

Often times we are too close to a situation to know the why. Whenever I come out of a valley, so to speak, I realized that in the end there was some good that came from it and later I understand that I didn’t need to know the ‘why’ and perhaps I would even be more frustrated if I did know the reason behind the suffering. Reasons are not always revealed to us. What can be revealed and what we need to be reminded of is that we are not alone.

Friends look around and see the things that God has done, whether they are big things or little things. Everything from creation to the clothes that on your back, God has provided. In Hebrews 13:5, God has promised us that, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” What a promise! There are times when we are in trouble where we can call on friends or family and they might be available for whatever reason. You may try and reach out to someone and they have no idea where or how to help you, but every time that we call on God, He is available to hear and answer us.

My friends you are not alone. God is with you. I would like to say that I am here for you as well, although I may not personally know you. Feel free to contact me. You may think that you are not important to anyone and that no one cares about you, but that is a lie. I do not know where that lie has come from, how it got implaned into your head, and why it won’t leave your thoughts, but it is not true.

YOU have a value.

YOU are worth something far beyond what money can ever buy.

YOU matter.

YOU are needed by someone today and tomorrow needs YOU.

YOU are loved.

YOU are not weak or damaged goods because you are not in the holiday spirit or as up and happy as the rest of the world seems to be.

YOU are not the only one that is struggling with this current issue.

YOU are important.

YOU are not a nuisance because you need to reach out for help.

Go back and remind yourself of the things that you have been through. I think it is safe to say that we have some battle scars of some kind. Feeling alone? Unwanted? Unnoticed? Go back and remember the last time that you were there and remember what got you through. Who did you call? Who helped you? Find those people again. Remind yourself what God has done for you and take a trip back in time and see how you have grown from it.

Lastly, the book of Job ends in an amazing way. Job admits to God that he was frustrated and angry and questioning what in the world God was doing. God doesn’t strike Job down and say, “How dare you question my motives and the plan that I have for you?” No. Job kept his reverence for God and God blessed him and gave him twice as much as he had before he had lost everything. One of the greatest and most encouraging verses in the book of Job is the very last verse: Job 42:17, “So Job died, old and full of days.”

My friends, keep on fighting. Take things one week, one day, one hour, one minute at a time. Keep on fighting for the person that you want to be. Fight for the person that is struggling with you so that you can help them and they can help you. Truly, you are needed today, tomorrow, the day after, and every day after that.

Comforting the Uncomfortable

You ever feel like everything is just crashing on you at once, ‘the weight of the world is on your shoulders.’ Now take that feeling, those emotions, the thought process and place yourself in that time or maybe you’re in it right now. You ever think to yourself, you know I have so much joy right going through this, this is tremendous! Probably not, in fact I have never met anyone that has done that. Let’s be honest I have never done that.I have gone through seasons of it where thoughts crept in and my mind went to places where I thought, what in the world where am I right now.

Lately a few familiar verses jumped out at me. Because I tend to tell people going through hard times, the typical Christian answer: meditate on scripture. But then that makes me wonder, what scriptures exactly? Isaiah 9:6 describes Jesus as being the Prince of Peace. 2 Corinthians 1:3 says “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” So if you know Christ then you can have peace through Him. The ultimate provider of peace is Christ. For me I have been blessed with some great friends that I can call and talk to and vent my thoughts. Now sometimes they may already know what I am going through yet they listen anyways. My Heavenly Father is the same way, except sometimes my friends aren’t always available to talk, but God always has time. He is never too busy and He never scratches His head and thinks ‘well I just don’t know what to tell you here.’ And thank God for that!

Now if you watch the news you’ll quickly realize there is a lot going on in the world that just simply isn’t good at all. People have cancer, financial trouble, crime rates are going up and the list goes on. Maybe you find yourself in one of these situations. You think that everything you have is slowly being taken right from you. Yet 2 Corinthians 6:10 says “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” If you are saved, if you have accepted Christ; you have something that the world cannot buy and no one can ever take away from. You in fact are a very rich person . Salvation is something we get excited about. I love seeing a post about someone accepting the Lord or getting a phone call or text stating such news. Maybe if we revisit the time we got saved, the time that person we spent so many hours and days praying for got saved, our joy may return. Why, how? Because through Christ, His shedding of His blood that we can have eternal life. It’s through Christ that a peace within our minds and lives can be attained in the midst of a dark time.

Now I’m going somewhere with all this so stay with me. I’m not much a writer so I apologize if this seems like random scatter brained thoughts.

As Christians we should understand that the road, the life we chose to walk down was never going to be easy. It never said anywhere that following after Jesus was a walk in the park and all would be lovely 24-7. John 16:33, “…that in me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” As I mentioned before as we continue living in this world we are going to go through hard times (tribulations as John puts it). But Jesus rose, He overcame death and the world. So if we know Him, then we can have peace through Him. He is the Prince of Peace, and because He overcame, through Him we can as well. It’s not that we have to cope, we can overcome – Philippians 4:13

Now you may wonder like I often have when going through a trial, why me. What I have learned is the question isn’t so much why me but, why not me?  2 Corinthians 1:4 “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” See if life was perfect how could any of us help one another? Now I more than likely won’t be jumping for joy when hard times come, but God allows me to go through things which may not make any sense to me at that particular given moment. But later when I am able to get through the trial; a friend, family member, whoever may go through a similar situation and suddenly the comfort that I experienced through the peace which only God and the scriptures provide, I can now be the vessel that is used in helping someone else to have the same comfort.

A few definitions of peace from Noah’s 1828 Dictionary are : (1) freedom from agitation or disturbance by the passions, as from fear, terror, anger, anxiety or the like; quietness of mind; tranquillity; calmness; quiet of conscience.   (2) Heavenly rest; the happiness of Heaven.

I think the above definitions hit the nail right on the head in describing the peace that is brought on only by knowing Christ and through the Scriptures. Lord help me not to just tell someone ‘read your Bible’ but to know where specifically to point someone.

“The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.” – Charles Spurgeon