It Was Very Good

It Was Very Good

Then God saw everything that He had made,

And indeed, it was very good.

Genesis 1:31

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,

For the love which from our birth over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

  

For the beauty of each hour, of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind’s delight,

For the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

   

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thyself, best Gift divine to the world so freely given,

For that great, great love of Thine, peace on earth and joy in heaven.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

How the Light Gets In

How the Light Gets In

But to you who revere My name,

the Sun of Righteousness will rise

with healing in His wings.

Malachi 4:2

  There have been days lately when it seems as if the entire world is covered with a thick, smoky fog of anxiety, fear, sickness and death.  But as I awaken each morning, no matter whether the sky is dark, light, or somewhere in between, I can hear the singing of the birds.  It reminds me of a Leonard Cohen poem:

The birds they sang

At the break of day

Start again

I heard them say.

Don’t dwell on what

Has passed away

Or what is yet to be.

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

Light was the first thing created at the beginning of time, and it is the last essence to fade at the end of life.  Jesus identified Himself as the Light of the World [John 8:12], and the Apostle John declared, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men” [John 1:4].

 Toward the end of Malachi’s prophetic book, he speaks of Jesus as the Sun of Righteousness, rising out of darkness with light and healing in His wings.  He will shine into and through all the cracks of our lives.  We see them as flaws; He fills those cracks with the light of His love, so that we can shine out to the world around us.

*

Lord, the light of Your love is shining,

In the midst of the darkness shining;

Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us,

Set us free by the truth You now bring us.

Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory,

Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.

Flow river, flow; flood the nations with grace and mercy,

Send forth Your Word, Lord, and let there be light.

The Faith We Sing, No. 2173

There is a Way

There is a Way

There is a way which seems right to a man,

but the end is the way of death.

Proverbs 14:12

I have an unusual amount of food allergies and intolerances – far more than any one person should have!  Gluten, dairy, citrus, chocolate, blueberries, watermelon…  the list goes on and on.  Eating any of these items will produce severe pain and gastrointestinal havoc.  So I would never eat them, right?

Ah, but that is not the way the human mind works.  When I really, really want something, I can justify it in an amazing variety of ways.  I don’t know how many times I have eaten a croissant (my special weakness at Penn Station in NYC), or ice cream, or chocolate, or pizza, and told myself that this time it won't bother me.  I don’t think I ever really believe that lie.  I'm tired of never having anything to eat.  I want the food, it is within reach, so I eat it.  The inevitable consequence is a day of feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck.  In the midst of the suffering, I always promise myself that I will never do it again.

Why would I indulge in approximately two minutes of chewing and swallowing when I know the hours of pure misery that will follow?  Why do we lie when the truth would be so much safer?  Why does a person drink and then get behind the wheel of a car?   Why does someone cheat when the consequences would be devastating? 

We do it because we listen to the siren song: “It’s ok…  No one will know...  No one will care…  It doesn’t matter just this once…  Don’t think, just DO!"   The only thing that gives me  the strength to walk away is turning to the One who is standing right beside me. 

*

Guide my feet while I run this race.  Guide my feet while I run this race.

Guide my feet while I run this race, for I don’t want to run this race in vain.

Stand by me while I run this race…

Hold my hand while I run this race…

I’m your child while I run this race…

The Faith We Sing, No. 2208

Whiter Than Snow

Whiter Than Snow

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord.

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;

Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18

I love to plant geraniums in pots for my front steps.  There is a little produce stand in Mechanicsville that sells flowers in the spring, and their geraniums are a wonder to behold: dark red, candy pink, and neon pink are my favorites.  Last year I chose the dark red and candy pink.  After planting, I realized that there was a space in each container that needed to be filled, so I popped in some white petunias.  My containers never looked better.  The contrast between the deep red and pure white was stunning.

This verse from the prophet Isaiah is one of my favorites – an open invitation for us to come and “reason” with God.  What a contrast to the idea of a Titan-like being who is sitting in heaven just waiting to zap you if you do something wrong.  Our sins may be many, and we may feel beyond redemption, but the Creator invites us to come, sit awhile, talk together, work through the problems, and receive a forgiveness so complete that it transforms our hearts into the purity of new-fallen snow.

*

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;

I want You forever to live in my soul.

Break down every idol, cast out every foe.

Now wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

White than snow, yes, whiter than snow.

Now wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, before You I patiently wait;

Come now, and within me a new heart create.

To those who have sought You, You’ve never said “No!”

Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

White than snow, yes, whiter than snow.

Now wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

Celebration Hymnal, No. 653

Inside and Out

Inside and Out

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,

you hypocrites!  You are whitewashed tombs

which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside,

are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.

Matthew 23:27

This beautiful flower comes from the Datura plant.  The erect, trumpet-like flowers dazzle in shades of white, pink, yellow and pale purple.  The dark green foliage hides spiny capsules about the size of a golf ball that split open when ripe, releasing an abundance of seeds.  I used to have a row of these beauties growing in my front yard, until I discovered that even the tiniest piece of this plant contains toxic hallucinogens, and has a long history of causing delirium and death if ingested.  The flowers are gorgeous but lethal, especially to small animals.

Jesus found the Pharisees to be very similar to my poisonous flowers.  In their flowing robes and gold mitered headdress, they were beautiful on the outside.  They appeared to be perfect human beings who kept every law ever written.  But inside, many of them were grasping, devious, power hungry, vain, amoral men.  Society rewards the exterior beauty, brains and brawn of their chosen celebrities.  God cares about the condition of the heart.

I have met stunningly beautiful people who were vain, rude and self-absorbed.  I have  friends who will never grace the runways of this world, but their kindness, compassion and love pour forth to others from their beautiful hearts.  Lord, help us today to have true inner beauty – reflecting Your glory and grace.

*

I want to walk as a child of the light;

I want to follow Jesus.

God set the stars to give light to the world.

The star of my life is Jesus.

In Him there is no darkness at all,

The night and the day are both alike.

The Lamb is the light of the city of God.

Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.

The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 206

What's In a Name?

What’s in a Name?

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,

for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.

Exodus 20:7

When the Christmas gift catalogs begin to collect in my mailbox, I'm always on the lookout for one of my favorites – Harry & David’s.  During the holiday season, one of their star sellers is the Candy Cane Amaryllis plant (shown above).   Last year, I went to the Great Big Greenhouse in town to see if I could get the Candy Cane Amaryllis without paying the shipping through the catalog.  I was surprised to discover that an Amaryllis is a bulb from South Africa with only one species (Amaryllis belladonna which is pink). The plant I wanted, a Hippeastrum, is from Central and South America with 90 species, and these are the flowers sold around the world at Christmas.

I understand that the name “Hippeastrum” doesn’t exactly have shelf appeal. I’m not even sure how to pronounce it.   “Amaryllis” is much more attractive, and hey – the plant doesn’t know the difference, so who cares, right?  Hmmm… I don’t know; it actually kind of bothers me.  Is this the only common plant that has the wrong name attached, or are there other favorites of mine that aren’t actually what they seem?  Is a daisy a daisy, or is it a mum in disguise?  What about a zinnia?  It just might be a closet dahlia.

Names are a source of our identity.  I am Sherrie.  I am not Susan, Sandra, or Shelly.  It does matter what you call me.  As believers, we take the name of Christ and call ourselves Christians.  To be a Christian is to believe in Christ, follow Christ, and be like Christ.  If we sling the mantle of Christianity over our shoulders and then live our lives for ourselves, the world will eventually get the picture that we aren’t really what we claim.

I want to uphold every day the name of Him who gave His life to ransom mine.

*

Jesus, name above all names

Beautiful Savior, Glorious Lord,

Emmanuel, God is with us,

Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.

The Faith We Sing, No. 2071

Adopted

Adopted 

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son,

born of a woman, born under the law,

to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,

the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:4-6

I was born in the spring of 1948 at the Eva M. Harris Maternity & Rest Home in Phoenix, Arizona.  The rates at the home were $3.50 per day, no extra for the baby.  Two days later, I was adopted by a young couple and taken home with them.  From my earliest remembrances, I have known that I was adopted.  When I was older and began to quetsion my origins, I found my mother reluctant to talk about my birth parents.  My father finally gave me a little yellowed newspaper clipping of the legal filing for my adoption, which included the surnames of my birth parents:    Ross (mother), and Corbett (father). 

Although the Ross/Corbett family gave me life, the Poulson family gave me a home. Adopted as the third child of the family, Mom and Dad doted on my brothers and me.  Pets, bicycles, books galore and endless music lessons – all became an integral part of the household.   We grew up safe in the circle of our parents’ arms, each of us from a different bloodline, but all of us claimed as sons and daughters.

The Apostle John says, How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.  And that is what we are!  [1 John 3:1]    Neither my adoptive parents nor my birth parents are alive today, but my heavenly Father is always present, always listening, always loving.  I am a cherished member of His family: His child, and forever, I am.

*

  

Lord, listen to your children praying.

Lord, send Your Spirit in this place.

Lord, listen to Your children praying –

Send us love, send us power, send us grace.

The Faith We Sing, No. 2193