Embracing the moment

The following is a post from Pr. Erik’s blog from over a year ago.

Scarlett, our youngest, has now gotten into the habit of waking up well before 6am and deciding that she is no longer tired and that it is time to get dad up. The mornings have become fairly predictable.

5:30 Scarlett is at her doorway yelling for dad (not mom, but dad)

5:35 Dad gets Scarlett back in bed, telling her it is too early to get up

5:45 Scarlett is at the door again, I not tired, she says

5:46 Dad is in bed with Scarlett trying to get her back to sleep

5:47 Scarlett starts poking dad, and the next 15 minutes are trying to get her to stop

6:05 Dad gives up, takes Scarlett to the bathroom and down to watch TV, trying to keep her quiet so the rest of the house can sleep

I finally got to the stage where I have stopped fighting her on this. I still try to get her to stay in bed until at least 6, but when she comes down stairs I decided to turn this into daddy/Scarlett time. So we cuddle in the chair, watch some cartoons and joke around with each other.

Once I made that change, from fighting it to embracing it, my morning got a lot less stressful and I started to enjoy my time with her in the mornings so much more.

Now don’t get me wrong, I would still love for her to sleep an extra hour or so every morning, but as long as she is up, I am going to make the best of it.

So what are some areas in your life where you learned to embrace the issue rather than fight against it?

The Valley

Recently I was reminded about a time when I was sitting with a lady in the hospital as she was struggling with the diagnosis that she was going to die soon, her disease was terminal.  As we talked she said, “There is one thing I know as I enter this last leg of my journey, I am not traveling alone.”

We hear that promise throughout scripture, especially in Psalm 23, and we are reminded that as we journey into what may seem as the darkest parts of our lives, even as we journey to death, we are not alone.  God has promised to light the way for us, and he sent his Son to show how death and darkness have no power over us.

This is the light of God, that his light is never extinguished, and our journeys will only bring us to a greater light, an eternal light, blessed with all the love that God can shower upon us.

Light

Scarlett, like many children, needs a nightlight in her room. But being the girl she is, one night light is not enough. She needs two (it would be more if we let her, but we don’t want the place light up like a runway at night). So when she goes to bed, she makes sure to tell us to leave the hall light on, then checks that both nightlights are plugged in and ready to go.

Light represents safety for her. When the light is on, there is she is more comfortable and the darkness is not as scary. When looking at life through the eyes of a child, it is no wonder that the light/darkness images appear in the gospels as much as they do. Darkness is the scary stuff in life – evil, chaos, frightening things – and light is the good stuff – hope, peace the presence of God.

We all go through times of darkness in our lives. We walk through those “darkest valleys” often fearing what may be lurking out there and where we may be going.

But we have the ultimate nightlight in our lives as well. That wonderful, never-ending presence of God who brings the light of his presence, grace, and love to us in amazing ways. Sometimes our darkenss may be shattered by a call from someone unexpected; sometimes it may be broken by the loving touch of a friend; and sometimes it may disappear with a God moment either big or small that tells us that God is right here, with us now, and blessing us with what we need to make it every day.

So may you see that sliver of light shining in your life. May your darkness give way to the light of God. And may you always be blessed with the knowledge that you are loved, cared for and needed by the one who created all and loves you to the end.

Learning to Embrace Grace – Julie Barthels

 

 

 

Do you ever notice how the warranty that comes with your shiny new car has all kinds of conditions? To maintain the warranty, you must do all the scheduled maintenance required by the car maker. If you want to earn points on your credit card, you must follow the rules of the credit card company, which are open to change at any moment. Even our relationships have conditions on them. If we make certain decisions, take certain actions, or maintain certain beliefs, the person we love may end the relationship. So in a world where there are strings attached to so many things, it is hard for me sometimes to wrap my head around the unconditional love of God. It is difficult to imagine the grace of God that allows me to be so human and so loved at the same time. In my dark moments, my a-ha! on top of a mountain moments, and my mundane everyday moments, God is loving me. So what do I do with this grace that I receive based on nothing other than my existence? I try to pass it on to the people I interact with every day. When a child is screaming on a plane, I don’t look at the parents with annoyance, but with compassion. I try to distract the child with funny faces and strange sounds. The grumpy waitress, the irritable nurse, the person who cuts me off on the toll way… I try to look at everyone as a child of God and offer them the grace I have so lovingly been offered by God. I don’t do it perfectly, because then I wouldn’t need grace and I DO.

The questions is…Who will you offer grace to today?