Are you Lost?

Yesterday was a weird day. It started out normal enough, working in the morning, going to the gym over lunch, working in the afternoon. But things got crazy at quittin' time when I started packing up to go home. I discovered that my iPod was missing. I realized that I had left it in the locker at the Y. I left work in a frenzy to try and find it.

Fast forward to later that night. I was running some errands for Marybeth. Right before I went into the grocery store, my last stop, I reached down to grab my cell phone. But much to my surprise, it was gone. I pulled over and searched the car, but didn't see it anywhere. The phone seemed to have vanished into thin air. I immediately turned the car around and rushed back to all the places I had been to try and find it.

I know it sounds silly to get all worked up over something like an iPod and cell phone. They’re just gadgets and easily replaceable (although expensive!) But I use my iPod everyday. It’s filled with podcasts of sermons and radio broadcasts of men who inspire me, encourage me, and help me grow and develop into the Godly man that I want to become. My phone is just as important. It’s a Treo with contact lists, schedules, and personal and business files that helps me manage a busy life. I’d be lost without it.

At the end of the day, after desperately searching, I found both. I prayed a simple prayer of “thanks” to God for helping me. Then I felt Him reminding me of something more important. In Luke 15, Jesus describes a frantic search for a lost a coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son. All three stories tell of something very valuable and a desperate search to find what was missing.

Nothing we could lose compares to the person who is “lost” and far from our Heavenly Father. I was extremely relieved at finding my iPod and phone. But my relief is just a fraction of the joy Heaven experiences when a person finds his way back to God.

There are days when I feel a lot of distance between my life here on earth and my real home in Heaven. I feel lost and forgotten and maybe a little invaluable. Yesterday I was reminded of the love that I don't completely understand but desperately want to experience. Jesus describes a passionate God who follows, not abandons. God drops everything when one of his children wanders away. He cares when we're lost and when we're scared. He follows us into the darkness and tracks us down. He makes all kind of sacrifices for His children. He loves us and pursues us. He spread out His arms and died a brutal death on a cross to bring us home.

Our Father follows until he finds. He comes to us, wraps His cloak of love and protection around us, and walks with us back home.

Do you feel lost? Do you feel feel forgotten? God is tapping on your shoulder...

What If I'm Wrong

There’s this situation at home with one of my kids. I just know I’m the one who’s right. I’m the parent aren’t I? Don’t I have years of wisdom? Don’t I have a position of authority over them? Doesn’t God command them to obey me? I’ve checked with some friends who agree with me. I’ve gotten the advice of some other parents. “Here’s what I did” they say. Or “this is what solved the problem for me.”

“Here’s what I’d do…”

And so I march in and take over. I pound my hand into my fist and demand this and that. Any deviation from what I think and you get a taste of my anger. “That’ll teach them” I say.

I turn and bow to the images of my friends whose advice seemed so sound. I smile at their applause and bask in their approval.

The only problem is the guilt that’s tugging at my conscious. I hear a voice… one quieter then my friends… whispering a different message. “You won,” it says. “But you also lost. I know how you feel. But what if you’re wrong?”

The voice points me towards truth. And the truth makes me pause. Wisdom from a source other then God is merely an opinion.

So today I did a hard thing. I emailed a man I know who has raised three kids and described for him what’s going on. And for the first time, I heard advice that came from scripture. Hard, tough advice from a man who has spent years trying to model his life around Christ. While I want to pound my fist and demand results, my friend reminded me that I am to demonstrate humility and mercy and grace.

I am to be Christ for my kids, and Christ came to serve. And he came to die.

The truth always convicts us and points out what we must do. With the burden of my cross on my shoulders, I must follow a narrow road. I must put to death the ugliness of my selfishness and parental pride. If I am to parent, then I am to give up my “desires” and my “wants.”

True love is a man who will lay down his life for his friends. My kids deserve nothing less.

Writing about it is easy. Now I must go do it.

Going the Distance

I didn't see him at first.

I've wanted to become a stronger swimmer for years, but always put off getting serious about it. About a month ago, I finally committed to getting started. There's a nice YMCA a few minutes from my office with a pool that's never crowded. I usually go during lunch and get in a good 30 or 45 minute workout. After a month or so of this, I could tell I had improved. And I'll be honest. I was feeling pretty cocky.

So today, as I got started, I was feeling pretty good about myself. I jumped into a lap lane in the pool, strapped on my swim goggles and started my workout. I first noticed him a little later when I stopped at the wall for a break. There was some old guy in the lane next to me. I watched him taking slow, steady strokes. I watched him make a turn. He didn't stop at the wall. He just kept going.

It went on like this for the rest of the time I was there. I felt my body grow more and more tired and my strokes getting weaker and weaker. I had to take more and more breaks. But as I looked over into his lane, I realized that he never stopped. He just kept going.

I finally had to quit. He was still in the water swimming laps. I walked back to the locker room, tired and exhausted. The older man was still in the pool, still going strong.

I was reminded of a valuable lesson today. Two actually. If I want to finish this life strong, I've got a lot of training left to do. I've got to work myself, work my mind, and develop the character I'll need to complete the race.

I was also reminded that I need to learn from people around me whose lives could be an example. Just as the man next to me in the pool could have taught me a lot about distance swimming, there are husbands and fathers whose insights could be invaluable as I fight to finish this race of life.

Driving Alone

Where are you today God? I looked over into the passenger seat and noticed that you were gone. My hands are on ten and twelve, but you've taken yours hands off. Am I supposed to drive this car all by myself?

Life hits me this way sometimes. The weight of the world falls on my shoulders and it seems like God is nowhere to be found. I know this isn't true. I know that it's my perspective that's wrong. But it still feels like I staring into an empty seat.

The truth of the matter is that God proves Himself to me time and time again. When if feels like I'm at the end of my rope, You always come through. Over and over, you remind me that I'm never alone. So when the storms come, I won't believe in what I see. I'll trust in what I remember.

Thrown Back In

We live in a disposable society. When the DVD player breaks, we throw it in the garbage and go buy a new one. When our old car starts costing us money in repairs, we think about trading it in. When our clothes seem boring, we take last year’s fashions to Goodwill and go fill our closets with the latest and greatest.

When we're not careful, we treat people the same, turning away from those that "don't measure up" to our standards. We judge people for their mistakes and faults. We even treat ourselves this way. We struggle with mistakes we've made in our past. We feel broken… unusable… past our prime. "Surely God won't be able to use me" we tell ourselves. Our past is too painful.

I heard something very important this morning. God doesn’t toss aside broken things. God uses our brokenness to shape us into better creatures. Romans 8:28 says that, “all things work together for good.” God uses the heartaches, the suffering, and even the mistakes we make in life to bring Him more honor and more glory. He picks us up out of our misery and mends our hearts and restores our souls. God didn't let Moses die in the desert. He came to him, spoke to him, and sent him on a monumental task. David's rule as king didn't end because of his adultery. God allowed David to be broken, and then used him for mighty purposes.

Instead of being discarded, God sent them back into battle.

God doesn't throw broken people away. God uses experiences from our past to overcome problems in our present. We're not discarded, but repaired and restored. The couple who was broken with enormous financial difficulties but turned things around can be an encouragement to other couples. The man successfully fighting alcoholism can help other men facing the same problem. The divorced wife who put the pieces of her life back together can encourage a woman whose husband has recently walked away.

No matter where you are on this journey of life, whether you’re deep in the valley or high on the mountain, as long as you’re still drawing breath, God is working in your life. He won’t ever throw you out. He picks you up, repairs your heart, restores your soul, and throws you back in.

Just For Today

I was listening to a podcast of John Maxwell addressing the class of 2008 at Liberty University and heard him read a list of twelve reminders that he makes to himself every day. As expected they were excellent. He has these twelve thoughts laminated on a card and reads them to himself every morning. He called it "Just For Today."

Just for today:

- I will choose and display the right attitude.

- I will determine and act upon important priorities.

- I will know and follow healthy guidelines.

- I will communicate with and care for my family.

- I will practice and develop good thinking.

- I will make and keep proper commitments.

- I will earn and properly manage finances.

- I will deeply live out my faith.

- I will initiate and invest in solid relationships.

- I will plan for and model generosity.

- I will embrace and practice good values.

- I will seek and experience improvement.

Even Then...

Last Friday night, Marybeth and I went out to dinner and ran into some friends from a Sunday school class we were in eight or nine years ago. As I was standing there talking with one of the guys, his youngest daughter ran up to him. She reached her arms up to him like kids do when they want to be held. He smiled, picked her up, and she laid her head down on his shoulder.

"Looks like it's getting to be bedtime," I commented. "I guess she's your second?"

He smiled and answered. "Actually, she's our third."

And then I remembered something. Years ago, the Sunday school class used to pray that God would perform a miracle for this couple. They were struggling to conceive. I'm not sure, but I think this went on for many years. Even so, I remember both of them having a very positive outlook, better then mine. I used to question God. “Why them?” I'd ask. They were such likable people. He was always involved with the boys classes, she with the girls. He organized the father/son retreats. They were great with kids and would have been great parents. It was a question that never seemed to get answered and it hurt to witness. It just didn’t make sense.

And then my mind came back to the present. I’m standing beside him and he’s holding this beautiful little girl. He's got three (three!) kids. And he’s grinning from ear to ear. He's showing off those three kids off like a proud father should.

I drove home that night reminded of how much trust we can have in our Heavenly Father. Even when we don’t understand the circumstances of our lives. Even when life is hard. Even when the heavens seem dark and silent. Even when there's not a child. Even when our marriage seems to be crumbling around us. Even when we're let go from our job. Even when our money seems to be running out. Even when life seems hopeless. Even then... even then... even then... we can trust God. Our Father loves us and wants to fill our lives with His blessings.

Seeing this husband and now father after so many years... watching my friend hold the answer to so many prayers... filled me with an eternal hope... a hope that seemed to have gotten sucked out of me during the last part of 2008.

I was reminded that God loves me.

I was reminded that God is fighting for me.

I was reminded that God wants the best for me.

I was reminded that God wants to bless me.

What a great way to start 2009!