Vav Adversative

Reading broadens our vocabulary. As of late I am into a book on lamenting. I have learned a new term from the Hebrew language called a vav adversative. My computer keyboard keeps me from typing it correctly. The best description I can give for the term is that it contains an exclamation point ! with a tilde ~ on the top left side. This character looks like a flagpole with the flag flying in the opposite direction. If I were to draw a flag I would make a pole with the fabric flying from left to right. This Hebrew character looks like the wind is blowing the fabric from right to left. Sometimes the vav adversative is used in Scripture to represent antithetical or adverse ideas. An idea is presented, then followed by the word "but" and everything changes. The wind blows in a different direction without warning and the scenery changes.
My life is like that. Everything seems to be going in my favor and then a mighty wind comes up from nowhere. I get knocked off my feet, broadsided, or I lose my balance. One day I am whistling down the hallway and the next I am in excruciating pain, mourning, lamenting. The dam bursts and my tears flow freely and often.
We've all been there at some point -- a death, divorce, job loss, run away child, a miscarriage... How great is the day when the wind eventually shifts and the flag flies again in the way we enjoy it. We can't keep our flag at half mast forever. We learn to set our sails in the direction the wind is blowing. We may have to go with an uncomfortable flow until a change comes or the tide does.
Life can throw us plenty of "vav adversatives". What we do with them determines our outlook, our mood, and whether we sink or swim. Today I am going to swim!

Just Right

My mother used to tell me bedtime stories as a child. Goldilocks was always a favorite. She was a gutsy little girl who should never have trespassed into the home of the three bears. I envisioned her slipping through the doors and being frightened for her safety. While fear would have been a more predominant feeling for me, hunger was the overriding feature for little Goldi. Her eyes rested on the bowls of soup and she dove right into the first bowl-- too hot; the second bowl--too cold; and alas the third being just right. My words and speech seem to fit into those same three categories and numerous times in precisely the same order. Burning, chilling, or pleasant to the listener.
The chairs came next. After filling her belly, the child decided to rest a bit. If television or Gameboys had been available Miss Locks would have helped herself to those as well. I am sure of that. Of course the size of the chair was all important. Do we think she was a bit spoiled? The first and second chairs were too big while the third proved to be just right. I have placed myself in jobs that were much bigger than I had skills for. These jobs left me in need of a time out just as our featured character, Goldilocks.
Perhaps boredom or the need for an afternoon siesta led the child into the bedroom. Trying out the beds, she found the first too hard, the second too soft and the third just right. Many a night I have crawled into bed when insomnia took over. The hard situations of life have left my mind racing even though my body was fatigued. There have been nights when the soft pleasures of the day have kept me awake while I rehearsed, re-inacted and relished a most wonderful event I have experienced. Fortunate is the night finding me in a restful sleep. These nights only come when I give everything over to God. When I surrender all of my words, my jobs, and even the pleasant experiences of life, will everything be just right.
Goldilocks jeopardized her life by going somewhere she was never meant to go. In the end she fled for her life when the bears awoke her.
This story is just child's play however I believe we can relate to each scene. If we stop and think of similar situations in our own lives we may learn some great lessons. Where we go, what we do, think, and say all have repercussions.

The Waiting Place

Everyone waits. No one is exempt in this life from a period of waiting for someone, or some event to take place. Dr. Seuss says this in "Oh, The Places You'll Go"- "The Waiting Place...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come or a plane to go...waiting for a Yes or No...or waiting, perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.
Have you ever felt like you were in the runner's position on the starting line when the announcer proclaims from his megaphone, "Runners take your mark. On your mark, get set,WAIT"? Yes I said wait. We all want to hear the word Go! But how often do we we get red led lights instead of green? Are you familiar with these words,"Your business is very important to us. However, all of our representatives are busy right now. Please stay on the line until..." My response is "When it snows in the Bahamas or someplace further south than that." If a poll was taken most people probably would not get an award for doing the Waiting Place very well. Impatience is costly. Just ask the person who has run one to many red lights, broken out of prison, spoken out of turn, turned a fist instead of a listening ear, walked away from a relationship before someone came near, fessed up, got right or was never guilty in the first place. Waiting is as difficult for the most seasoned adult as it is an impetuous child on Christmas Eve. The waiting room of a hospital can seem as cruel as the waiting cell in a prison. Waiting for a promise to be kept can feel more frightening than if it had been broken. Why? Because what we do in the waiting place is crucial. Who or what we put our trust in will determine our attitude and our character. Other people will let us down. We will let ourselves down. Outcomes let us down. The Waiting place can be the most beneficial place if we wait well. What does not waiting well look like? We can fight. Just put on those boxing gloves labeled anger and bitterness and start punching. We can use might- manipulate, pay off somebody, undermine another or show off our stuff. We can take a flight from a person, a dream, or from God. Is there another alternative? Yes! Delight yourself in the Lord. Trust the Creator of the universe while He is creating you into a person much stronger, more faithful, more mature than you ever dreamed possible. Dr. Seuss says The Waiting Place is a useless place. For some people that may prove to be true. Let us resolve for it to be our most useful place in life!

It's Not My Job

Have you ever been asked to do something that was not your job? It happens in the workplace, in the home, at church and in all kind of settings. Our first reaction is to be ticked off. When we know that someone else needs to be responsible for something and we get their load, a grunt or groan slides off our lips or out of our hearts. Rarely do we take on someone else's work load to make ours unmanageable. Notice I said rarely. Occasionally we take on a job that does not belong to us and really has been designated as "off limits." The task we assign ourselves belongs to the creator of the job. So just what would that job be????
Isaiah 63:4 and Romans 12:19 tell us that a job that only belongs to it's creator is revenge. Both verses say the same thing, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord." Since the beginning of time man has assigned himself this task that truly makes life unmanageable, unbearable, unfulfilling, unloving, and all the other "uns" you can think of.
In Genesis 34 Jacob's daughter Dinah is raped by a man who tries to declare his love for her and then asks for her hand in marriage. Dinah's brothers are outraged and carry out an evil plan of vengeance not only to her perpetrator but his whole village as well. They slaughter every male in the city. What an awful job to undertake. They never asked their father or their Father God what they should do about the situation. They believed the vengeance belonged to them and allowed evil thoughts to be turned into evil actions. The word vengeance comes from the Hebrew word naqam, meaning "to entertain revengeful feelings." That is what happened to Dinah's brothers and it happens to us today. We entertain revengeful feelings and we can get so worked up that we justify carrying out a job that only belongs to God. We take on His workload.
Several weeks ago I was hurt and angry at someone. I was doing naqam- entertaining revengeful feelings. Unfortunately I was "naqaming" while going through the self checkout line at the grocery store. I was thinking and planning of ways to get back at the person who had wronged me. After scanning my goods and placing them in the bag I headed out to my car. About the time I cranked up the engine I heard a knock on my car window. It was the woman manning the self checkout line who informed me that I walked out without paying for my groceries. I was mortified! I was trying to do two jobs at once and it about undid me. After running at breakneck speed to pay for my groceries I came back to my car and begged for God's forgiveness. I left the person who hurt me in the hands of God. Max Lucado says it best with these two quotes,"Vengeance fixes your attention on life's ugliest moments," and "Score settling freezes your stare at cruel events of the past." I do not want to take on either of those jobs!

Pivotal Points

I love to read! I go in spurts though. Sometime I am a voracious reader and then there are those times that life gets so busy that reading anything other than the newspaper is just not possible. I have discovered that some of life's most astonishing truths can be found in a mere paperback. This week I read a book that changed my life or at least the way I looked at it. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. When it does I tell everyone who will stand still long enough about the book. My husband often comments that there is no need to read a book after I have because I interrupt him with each new nugget discovered on the pages before me.
So about this week's book- it is called Exquisite Agony By Gene Edwards. What an author, what a book! There are so many profound truths that I just broke down and cried. "Tell me, tell me" may be what you are thinking, so as I best I can I will try.
First of all who crucified Jesus? If this is such a simple question and answer ask various people. We sing a song that asks,"Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" Who is the "they" referring to? Was it those who drove the nails in, those that shoved the crown of thorns on Christ's head, those that mocked and spit and cursed, the governmental leaders? Well, the answer in my book was that it was God who crucified Jesus His son. People were just the means to accomplish God's plan for the redemption of mankind. You may be thinking that you already knew that God sent Jesus to die for your sins and mine but to say out loud that God did the crucifying is hard. God intentionally made His son suffer so you and I would not have to.
God often has to crucify us at the hands of people we love, or things we are holding onto, or in various other ways. We kick, we scream, we cry, we question His love for us. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane asked His Father, "If it is possible, let this cup pass from me..." Have you ever asked God to take a burden or pain from you because it seemed to heavy to bear? At least we are in good company! Jesus' next sentence is the most important one of all,"Not as I will, but as You will." Can you and I say to God,"Use whatever,whoever, whenever and so long as you deem ever to get me to the place that I am truly crucified with Christ? Of all the people in the room can you be at peace that God chose you to be crucified by a person you love or a thing you held dear? After coming to grips that this must be so in your life, can you be nailed to the cross without fighting back? Can you arise from the event without looking for those who seemingly did the crucifying? Jesus arose from the dead and did not look backward, only forward. So it is with you and I. Surrender, trust, and obey. These are the pivotal points!

Discus Throwing

When I was in high school taking P.E. was mandatory. I did not love much about the class. I had it as my first class of the day which meant getting sweaty first thing in the morning and ruining my hair for the rest of the day. I was less than coordinated in most of the sports and felt very insecure. One of the sports I failed most miserably at was the discus throwing. A discus is heavy disk (the Latin word is dish) that is meant to be hurled out and the distance it is thrown to be measured. Being that I had no upper body strength my discus hurl never went any significant amount of distance. I remember laughing inside as my teacher made everyone stand at a great distance as each class member threw the disc to keep us out of harm's way. I knew my throw would never make it past an arm's length and would not be worth measuring. However precaution was taken just the same as I let go and hurled the discus.
Satan is a master discus thrower! You might be wondering why I would label him as that. Look at John 13:2,"During supper, when the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him (Jesus)"... The Greek word for put is ballo. It means to hurl. Satan hurled "the desire to betray" discus at Judas' unprotected heart. Something had happened to Judas that his heart was wide open to receive the hurl. One commentary I read said perhaps it was that Judas was still seething over the money that was wasted when Mary of Bethany poured out the expensive ointment on Jesus' feet and wiped it with her hair. Judas was thinking the ointment or perfume could have been sold or exchanged for a good deal of money. Was it greed that had opened Judas heart and left it unprotected for the enemy's hurl? Was it impatience at Jesus for not asserting Himself and becoming an earthly king. Was it pride that Judas thought he knew more than Jesus as to handle financial affairs? Perhaps Judas was angry that Jesus had openly rebuked him in front of others for discounting Mary's act of love and devotion. Whatever the reason, or the offense as Judas may have considered it to be, he left himself open for Satan to do great harm. I realize that when I am hurt by another person's words or actions I must take care of the offense in my heart. Any unforgiveness will leave my heart open for the hurl of Satan that could take me down for the count. The NLT version of Prov. 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." I know first hand how easy it is to hold onto offenses and how damaging a clenched fist or heart can be. Let us purpose in our heart to give God everything that hurts and keep the doors of our heart closed to the enemy!

"Hogzilla"

Hogzilla was the name given to a wild hog caught and killed in Alapaha, Georgia a few years ago. This hog was about 8 feet long and weighed nearly 800 pounds. Hogzilla was the hog of all hogs so to speak. I cannot imagine how much food it took to get old Hogzilla that size. Fortunately the animal was wild as it might have bankrupted a farmer trying to maintain the life of that thing! "Hogging" is a term we often use when we think someone is taking more than their share of something. I was raised in a home with six siblings and I remember fussing with my sisters about hogging the bathroom when we were trying to get ready to go somewhere. My father was often the referee as we tried to pull each other away from the mirror with screams and tears. Each of us considered our time to get ready as the most valuable. I wonder if things ever really change.
In the second chapter of Philippians, verse 3, Paul exhorts the believers:"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit..." The actual Greek meaning of these words is to jockey for position with hollow boasting or with prideful ways. I think as children we coined the phrase perfectly when we said to quit hogging the bathroom, or the food, or even simple conversations. Even as adults we still are guilty of "hogging". We get into discussions with other people and think what we have to say is of utmost importance and leave little room for anyone else's opinion. We call people up with our latest news and forget to ask them if anything interesting has come their way. In arguments we pull out the trump card and then walk away feeling quite proud of ourselves.
Paul gives further instructions by saying that the best way to live is to esteem others better than yourself. That would mean thinking that someone actually knows more than you, or has something to say that is brighter, or wittier or more engaging than you. "Moi?" as Miss Piggy would say. The answer would be yes. Would you ever want to be coined as the "Hogzilla" of your group, family or friends? Hopefully your answer is no. Quit jockeying for position, drop the pride and let others have the limelight. In God's economy there is room enough for all of us.