Before you get in your truck and head to Oklahoma…

The tornado sirens haven’t been silent for long in Oklahoma.  The rescue workers that didn’t need rescuing are just starting a shift that will last for weeks.  The families aren’t all together yet—and many never will be.  The dust hasn’t settled and the numbers aren’t known.  Those things will take a long, long time.

Our hearts hurt to see the destruction and hear the news stories and, for many of us, our instinct is to go help…right now.  Please don’t.  Not yet.

In late April of 2011, the northern part of Mississippi and portions of Alabama were hit by multiple F-4 and F-5 tornadoes.  The devastation was monumental.  I was asked by my church leaders to head north to a church on the edge of the most damaged area and help them organize all of the volunteers and resources that were pouring into our state trying to help.  I said “yes” and headed north every day for weeks.  Here are just a few of the things I learned throughout this process:

• Southern Baptists are a big-hearted people who don’t always listen well.  I am one, so I can say this with absolute certainty.  We are not alone in this trait–the same thing can be said of every single other faith group and civic group!–so I’m spelling out the following as clearly as I can.
• If you are not able to COMPLETELY take care of every single detail of your own personal safety, care, provision and survival, then STAY HOME right now.  I can’t stress this one enough!  These people just lost their security, their homes and so much more than you can imagine.  The last thing they need is a massive influx of people who show up saying, “We’re here to help you!  Show us where we can sleep and when are we going to get fed?!”  Many of them are going to have to locate those services for themselves over the next few weeks.  Having the available resources actually BE available for those in the area who desperately need them is critical.
• FEMA must go see the sites before people can get approved for financial aid after these areas have been declared as ‘disaster areas.’  Take photos as soon as possible, but DO NOT totally clear lots without documentation.  Doing so will only reduce the amount of aid available to those homeowners without insurance.
• The people on the ground are going to be grieving, shocked and tired and they’re STILL going to know more about what they need than the truck loads of people who arrive to assist them.  Please listen carefully to what they have to say.  If you’re asked to stay out of an area, please honor that request…even if it does look like something you could do without too much trouble.  They know best.
• Do not clean out your closets and send clothing you no longer want to wear.  There will be plenty of clothing there within the next few days.  After that, they have to take up valuable storage space to sort through things that, often times, should have been discarded before it made the long journey out west.
• If you want to send money to assist those affected, please do so through reputable groups.  Unfortunately, these types of disasters bring out the jackels who prey on those who want to help as much as they do on those who so desperately need the assistance intended for them.
• Please know that there is a difference between types of disaster relief.  Skills needed for flood and hurricanes are simply not the same after tornado/wind events.  Be flexible and don’t insist that you or your group can help when you’re told “please, not now” or just “no.”  Tying up limited phone lines hunting for a place to ‘take your group on a mission/rescue trip’ helps no one there at this time.  There will more opportunities later.  I promise.
• Make contact with a local church or civic group and follow THEIR guidelines if you want to be of assistance.  They will know what resources they have, those resources they are in need of and what others have already volunteered.  THEY WILL NOT KNOW ALL OF THAT WITHIN THE NEXT 12 HOURS.  Give them a chance to breathe and then be ready to send what they ask for ASAP.
• This isn’t going to be over for a long time.  There will still be time to help.  Those volunteers who are on the ground right now can’t stay indefinitely.  They will need to return to jobs and families and you WILL get an opportunity to help if you really want to do so.  Trust me, waiting can be more helpful than you can imagine.

I know this isn’t what some of you want to hear or read.  It doesn’t make it any less accurate.  PLEASE take these points seriously.  If you truly want to help those in need, do it in a way that actually helps them.

A holy “hush!”

When I was growing up, we weren’t allowed to tell people to “shut up” because my mother considered that phrase extremely rude.  Instead, we were told to find other–less offensive, perhaps–vocabulary words to obtain the desired result.  The word most often used was “hush”…and, trust me, the tone used as you say a word has a lot to do with it.  (“Hush!” can still sound just like “shut up!”)

I had every intention of blogging on my regular schedule last week, but it didn’t work out that way at all.  In fact, I turned on my computer three times on Monday to start a post and each time, the words that were in my head just failed to appear on screen.  I created a short draft of a couple of ideas and it still just didn’t sound anything like I wanted, so I stepped away each time determined to try again later.  It worked the same way on Tuesday morning.

By the end of the day on Tuesday, I was convinced that I was being told to “hush!”…by God.  I didn’t even try to bring my computer up again for the next few days.  Instead, I just hushed…and I listened.

Phone calls, emails, texts–all arriving through my phone–began to arrive as if orchestrated…hmmm.  Each one held a different topic and came from a different source, but the message for me was the same:  Listen.

Don’t try to solve.  Don’t try to instruct.  Don’t try to protect or trouble-shoot.  Just listen.  Offer support, but first, offer your time, your ear, your silence.  Just listen.

Here are some of the things I heard:

• I’m not sure what to do next.
• I’m scared.
• I’m just so exhausted.
• I’m hurting.
• I’m not sure I like all these changes that are coming.
• I’m angry.
• I’m frustrated and I don’t know what to do about it.
• I’m lonely.
• I don’t understand.
• I want to try something new.

In each case, my “fix it” personality could have come up with a workable plan…a realistic step-by-step how-to-do-this plan.  But, no.  “Hush” was my order of the day.  “Listen” became my mantra.  “Just be and let them hear from Me” was my instruction.

Honestly, I don’t know if the people I’m talking about heard from God at all last week.  I hope so.  I choose to believe that He spoke to them…He just didn’t use me to say the things I’d normally say and you know what?  They all lived.  They all survived and went on to live perfectly well without hearing or following my plan.

I’m still waiting for my instructions for this week.  I’m listening for God’s voice and typing all at the same time.  It’s coming out on the screen the way it reads in my head, so I’m sharing, but don’t be surprised if you call this week and I just listen again.  I learned a lot while I was being hushed–and it wasn’t all about what I was hearing from the ones who were doing the talking.

For your weekend…

We’re packing for the show, but before I head out, I want to mention something.  The theme words (those words that keep showing up around me) for my week have been miracle and legacy.  Those are really big words.  Maybe not in the numbers of letters, but in concept.

Your challenge for this weekend has three parts:

1. to continue to look for/count the miracles around you and
2. to give some thought time to the kind of legacy you want to leave for those you love–those values and life lessons you want to pass on

and then,

3.  do something about it.

Call your mom and tell her “Happy Mother’s Day!” if she’s living or share your favorite memories of her, if she’s not.  Take some time to share the things that are most important to you with those who love you.  Make the time to get out and do something together that will reinforce the values you want your life to represent to others.

• Share a meal with family or friends.
• Take in a ballgame together–Little League games are fun even when you don’t know anyone on the field!
• Go for a walk–even if it is just around your yard.
• Be creative together–paint, build, garden, or visit a museum.
• Donate your time or contribute toward a cause you support.
• Worship together.
• Share YOURSELF with those around you.  The gift of YOU is a MUCH bigger deal than you may ever imagine!

Grace & Peace!

Oh, yeah, HAVE FUN with this one–and feel free to share what adventures you took with me here!!!  (grin!)  I’ll see you back here next week!

Counting miracles

I’ve got to admit that my schedule is quite hurried this week.  We’re coming off a big show from this past weekend and getting ready for a two-day show this coming weekend.  It’s a new show for us and we’re so honored to have been accepted to show our jewelry creations alongside other incredibly talented artists from all over the southern United States.  It’s an honor, but it also means longer hours in the shop and a few added pressures that don’t really lend themselves to the relaxed creative atmosphere that we’re more accustomed to around here.

I’ll bet you’ve had quite the week, as well.  It seems that busyness and tight schedules are more the norm than the exception for most folks, doesn’t it?  When that happens, we can get all caught up in the press and pressure and lose sight of all the grace that surrounds us everywhere.  I know it sounds counter-intuitive to do so right in the middle of all the chaos, but I really belive that’s the time we need to slow down and take note of the miracles that surround us: those graces–both large and small–that fuel our souls and allow us to jump back in the fray renewed and refreshed.

mir·a·cle

noun \ˈmir-i-kəl\

 

Definition of MIRACLE

1: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs

2: an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment

3: Christian Science: a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law

The definition above is courtesy of m-w.com, the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.  I looked up the official definition because I’ve been seeing that word pop up around me quite a bit lately…and if you’re going to be counting miracles, then you need to make sure you know what to look for, right?  (grin)

“To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.” ~Walt Whitman

Perhaps, as Whitman has concluded, it is as simple as acknowledging the very hours that we live and recognizing them for the gift from God that they are.  Perhaps you need to notice things that are a little more tangible, a little more touchable.  If that’s the case, then maybe you’ll like this quote even better:

“If you don’t believe in miracles, perhaps you’ve forgotten that you are one.”  ~unknown

I do.  I like that quote even better than the first one.  Certainly, do count the hours–they are life-giving!–but don’t forget to include yourself in the list of miracles you see today.  Don’t forget that you are created on purpose for a purpose!   Don’t forget that YOU are a miracle!

“For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.”  Psalm 139:13-14

Rearranging more than just furniture…

The sudden deluge of water into the seat of my favorite chair last week was a pretty good indicator that I’d need to change the furniture arrangement for a bit.

It’s been a long time coming, actually.  I tend to change the furniture around more than most people because I just like to keep things interesting.  Changing where you sit in a room gives you a different perspective on life–and what’s outside your windows!  Right now, my chair is in a place that isn’t really comfortable for me–as in, I don’t really like the view of the rest of the room, but I LOVE the views I now have out both the front and back windows!  People…views…people…views…insert vision of me moving my hands up and down like I’m weighing which is more valuable here!  LOL

The changes aren’t significant for the rest of the room, actually, but it puts me across the room from my husband now.  I can see his face easily for conversation, but I can’t reach over and grab his hand while we talk…and that is the reason we changed the furniture around the last time.  We like being able to reach out to hold hands.  My husband does not like being rearranged like this.

This new arrangement also highlights another issue for me.  I have too much furniture in this room right now.

I’m good with some blank spaces in a room.  I really prefer to have a few.  I’m not into feeling cramped–or having lots of tiny little things to dust.  Yes, there’s a more open pathway from the front door and we like that, but creating the larger pathway means the other items in the room are now clustered closer together…and that, I like not so much.

For years I’ve lived with the notion that everything in my house should make me smile, hold a great memory or provide a necessary function in an attractive way.  I’ve gotten rid of a lot of things just following those rules.  The things that remain are mostly beloved and functional pieces.  That makes weeding them out a little more difficult, but not impossible.

I’ve done a chair count and we have an abundance!  I’ve got at least one extra side table–but I like every single one of those, so I’m not sure what to do on that front.  I’m also having a new treadmill delivered later today and that means the room it will reside in will need some work, as well, and I was just in the pantry and noticed that I’ve got more than a few extra vases that need to be cleared out, as well.  Yep, it’s turning into a much-needed, though belated, spring cleaning.  I haven’t even made it upstairs yet, but I’ve already started my mental tally on what may need to go from up there or be rearranged from those rooms, as well.

As I go through the house looking for items that will need to go, I’m reminded of just how blessed I am.  I have the things I need for the most part–and if not, it’s usually because I’m too particular to settle for something that I’m less than satisfied with–and that makes me even more aware of the fact that I am blessed.  That pickiness alone makes me aware that I’m blessed to have the choice to be so.

We’ve got a pretty full schedule for the next week or so that includes two show dates and the need to be in the shop to create items for those, so the great clean-out will have to be delayed…at least temporarily.  I’m not getting rid of the idea of getting rid of the excess, but for today, I’m enjoying my new view out the window, rearranging the furniture in my mind, thinking about who I can bless with my excess and thanking God for providing me with all these choices.

“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”  Proverbs 24:3-4

And, yes, it makes me smile that I could find a Scripture verse that addresses even this!  (grin)

Changes

Today is a day of change.  Within the past few hours I’ve received word from several different friends who are experiencing profound changes in their lives.

• One will be moving to a foreign country to teach and do mission work.
• One just lost her father.
• One just had her oldest son drive across country to work at the same dude ranch that SHE worked at over the summers when she was his age…and her youngest son just graduated from high school this weekend–and he’ll be leaving soon to pursue his summer work, as well.
• One sent a prayer request for a relative with a life-threatening diagnosis.

Some of these changes will bring adventure and laughter.  Some of that change will bring days of difficulty and the feelings of anger, frustration and pain.  Regardless of whether the news was good or bad, each of these friends may have days with feelings of loneliness and feelings of separation from loved ones as a result. Lives will be forever changed as a result of the news in each of these situations.

No matter which situation I think about, however, here are some of the things that will not change–for any of these friends…or you…or me:

• God still loves us and He wants to use whatever circumstance we’re in to draw us into deeper relationship with Him.
• He will be there in ways that match the needs of each person involved.
• He will be there on the days of celebration and in the new discoveries for both those who are away and those still at home.
• He will be there even when the days are difficult and He will take the tears and the hurt and, yes, even the anger and use it to bless those who cry out to Him.
• He will still be God…no matter what else changes.

“I am the LORD, and I do not change…”  Malachi 3:6 (NLT, 2007)

Trust and see…

We left home before early on Monday morning and proceeded along the path back toward “normal”…whatever that is.  Things seemed to be settling down.

After a doctor’s appointment in another town and the ride home, back to work and on to errands, we managed to meet back home during the lunch hour.  He arrived first and was sitting out on the deck—just enjoying life.  We talked a short time and then headed back in the house.  Pausing to finish our conversation, we decided to sit in our chairs—which are arranged side-by-side in our living room.

I hadn’t been seated long before I noticed something that you never want to notice…a wet seat.  A soaking wet seat…in my relatively new upholstered chair.  Looking around I tried to find the overturned glass of water or whatever else might be the cause of such a nasty surprise.  There was more to come. 

There had been a leak.  From the ceiling.  Complete with ruffled paint and damp drywall and openings in paint where there should just be smooth surface.  Just over my chair and my cushion and the blanket that had been left over the arm of the chair on the way out.  Soaking wet.  All of it…not to mention the seat of my pants. (His chair—with the arm of it actually touching mine—was completely bone dry. Go figure.)

We’d had a leak in the same location one time before –years before—the result of an ancient air conditioner overflowing the pan.  That unit is history, but the leak was in the same place, so I called my AC guy and he came to rescue us.  He worked on it for awhile and found the problem along with a couple of additional issues that needed to be addressed.  They were things that would have caused us bigger problems down the road.  And then, in the course of fixing the AC issues, he noticed something else…a clogged drain line.

It wasn’t the cause of the water in my chair, but if he hadn’t noticed it, we’d have had even larger issues down the road.

Later in the afternoon, the plumber came.  He fixed that issue…and then found another one.  Fixing it required an additional plumber and a return visit this morning.  It’s all done now.  We hope.

Throughout all of this, I’ve been working steadily in the shop creating beautiful pieces of jewelry for a major show this coming Saturday…which I’m now told may have some rain just in time for the festivities.  Great.  (sarcasm, sarcasm) This will be the third major show we had scheduled for the year.  We’ve had to back out of the previous two due to emergency health issues, so we’ve been looking forward to this one.  My husband is feeling better and we got a great write-up in the local paper this past Sunday all about our little business.  To hear that we may have to deal with rain…

Well, at some point, you just have to laugh.  It may be more difficult to do some days, but really, what’s the alternative?  My faith doesn’t depend on the weather or dryness of my chair.  Everything I have belongs to God…including me, the possessions in my care, the business, any money in the bank…all of it.  If that’s the way God wants to spend His money, His time, His people, His stuff—then who am I to argue?

Over and over during the past two days, I’ve found myself starting to ask God for something specific…and then changing my prayer to, “God, help me to trust You in this.  You know exactly what I need better than I do, so please help me to trust you with this.”  I’ve sung praise songs in my head while I’ve discussed the latest frustration and, then once again, asked God to help me trust Him in these things.

Now, don’t get me wrong, God’s plenty clear on what I’d really like to have happen.  He’s not the least bit confused about that—or anything else.  What I think He’s trying to show me is that I don’t have to “instruct” HIM about anything.  There’s nothing wrong with being specific when you pray, but I’m finding that there is a whole other trust level when you can just check your desires at the door and wait to see where God wants to go while you truly trust Him to provide what is best for you. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (grin), the drains are now clear, the AC is cooling, and the chair is finally dry.  We still have some drywall work and some painting that will need to happen and the cats are acting crazy again in the wake of so many visitors, and it all seems headed toward normal again…whatever that is.

“The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”  Psalm 138:8 (NKJV)