An Uncluttered In-Box for the New Year

As I sit here on the eve of the New Year watching a bowl game with my husband, I am cleaning out the messages in my e-mail IN-BOX – I have 2,531 messages!  It has obviously been a long while since I cleaned them out.  So here I am deleting and deleting so I can start with a clean box for the New Year.  As I go down the row, I have to stop and open some of them and read them one more time - it’s like revisiting an old friend, or reliving a memory of an event that was fun.  Several of the messages are from friends who have passed away and that strikes a sad chord in my heart.  But, oh the exuberance of getting all those messages cleaned out once and for all! 

Here's hoping I can do the same with my mind.  It seems I have about the same number (2,531) thoughts and ideas that need to go – I need to delete them, send them to the recycle bin - and not go back and retrieve them!  Give myself a “clean slate” for the New Year!

Those e-mail messages did not all appear in one day- it is an accumulation over time.  I let a few stack up and then some more came in, and then some more, and before I realized it, I had 1,000’s.  I could ignore them for months, but then my computer slowed down or I got overwhelmed when I tried to find an important message that I needed in a hurry.  And I always hope I don’t get a message that contains a virus! 

The beginning of the New Year is a great time to mentally toss out bad memories, negative thoughts, and anything that “exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (I Corinthians 10:5).  I want to get rid of all those before they crowd out the positive thoughts and the Word of God that guides my mind to righteousness and peace.  I know the feeling of being overwhelmed with negative thoughts and foolish ideas, and I know the peace that comes when I saturate my mind with positive thoughts and God’s peaceful words. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  Philippians 4:6-8

Isn’t it refreshing when the calendar flips over to a whole new year?  365 blank blocks to fill in.  More birthdays to celebrate, more babies to be born, more adventures to be experienced.  I am going to make an effort this year to keep my messages deleted periodically, and also to keep my mind uncluttered as well.  Happy 2014 – a year of blessings and triumphs for us all! 

TO SEE AS SIMEON SAW

When reading the Christmas story in December each year, I usually focus on Mary.  I am always inspired by how she was so receptive of God’s plan for her life, even though there would be many trials and ridicule for months to come.  I yearn to have a heart like hers, and be highly favored in God’s eyes.   

But this year, I keep being drawn to the part of the holy story in Luke Chapter 2, where the infant Jesus was taken to the temple and Simeon held him in his arms – what he had been waiting for all his life.  And studying the painting of Ron DiCiannie’s, “Simeon’s Moment,” I am awestruck!  The expression on Simeon’s face as he is realizing he is holding the Messiah…  wow!  

 

 

Think about this – how many babies had he lifted up for blessing in his lifetime?  And each time he was thinking, “is this the promised Messiah?”  Now this day as he held the baby Jesus in his arms, he knew in his heart that THIS was the one!  And why did he SEE Jesus in the dimensions that he did?  Because he WANTED to see Him.  He had asked God not to let him die until he saw the Messiah.  The scriptures say that the Holy Spirit was upon him.  The Holy Spirit led him to the temple.  The Holy Spirit revealed to him the salvation prepared for all nations.  And he got what he desired in his heart.  

From Luke 2:25 – 35 (NIV), “ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.  Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.  Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

This Christmas as I look at baby Jesus, I don’t want to just look at a little baby in swaddling clothes, but I want the Holy Spirit to help me see as Simeon saw – in the dimensions that show me a Lord for my entire existence  - and for future generations.  I desire to see a Savior, a redeemer, and a King for all eternity.  And if I truly want to SEE Him this Christmas, he WILL reveal Himself to me.   

Trust of the Tree

Trust of the Tree

Being trapped indoors on this blustery rainy day was a needed pause from the hectic schedule I had created for myself after getting the big black boot off my broken leg.  From where I was sitting and studying, I could see out the back window and periodically the swaying of the trees would catch my eye.  They swayed back and forth, and back and forth, as the wind bent them ever so slightly, but maintained a stature of solid trust:  trust in the age-old root system, trust in the flexibility of the branches, and trust in the changing of seasons. 

Leaves were blowing in autumn fashion as the winds plucked them from the branches and sent them spinning into the air before landing on the rain-soaked ground in piles. You would think that the tree could keep its leaves as shelter for the winter months, huh? But God has so designed that all the leaves will fall off - one by one by one – until every leaf has fallen, and the tree will stand barren and bleak throughout the cold winter days. But the tree does not despair.  Oh the trust of the tree.  

“A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.”  Hermann Hesse, Baume, Betrachtungen and Gedichte 

A massive pecan tree in our backyard has stood tall and strong for many winters. Even with its great height and reach, and its age of a century and a half, the fall and winter seasons continue to strip the massive pecan of every leaf.   And it stands strong and waits… It has a deep-rooted trust that once the winter season has passed, it will again spring forth with the glorious greenery that is refreshing and full of life.  The birds and creatures will return to build their nests and the coolness of the foliage will become their sanctuary.   

 
There have been times when I have felt stripped and barren like my life was in a fall season, followed by a harsh winter without any break between.  Getting a diagnosis of cancer started the crisp and relentless winds of fall.  Chemotherapy treatments stripped me of leaves.  Surgeries one after the other stripped more leaves.  Side effects of chemotherapy left me without a hair – more leaves fell.  Radiation treatments took away my energy – that finished off the leaves.  Then I was in winter feeling barren like the tree that stands stark against the winter sky with the twinkle of the stars peeking between each branch.  But…  spring was coming!  Having His Word hidden in my heart as I had been instructed as a child gave me deep-rooted trust that my leaves would return and my tree would stand tall and green as before.  And even more, my trust would be stronger than ever and I would have grown. 

 

It is known that trees continue to grow even in winter.  And it is in those winter months that the tree sends down deeper roots so that it can stand taller and endure stronger winds and storms that will test it when it once again bears the weight of new leaves and new branches.   

Psalm 52:8 “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.” 

Jeremiah 17:7, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.”