Dana's Christian Journey

musings of a thankful cancer survivor

Author: Dana

  • house

    —

    Dana

    We’ve come to the end of another school year… which means an end to another season of writing. This summer will be my last of directing summer camp. Susan and I have worked together many summers and we would both appreciate your prayers for us, our workers, and all the kids who will attend camp this year. With two weddings fast approaching, we anticipate a summer to remember!

    The last two writings reflected on a couple of Scriptures that seem to tie together: “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain” and “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” So what do you think about God’s handiwork? What kind of house is He building? Does the Creator of the earth, the moon and stars, the sun and planets, the universe and beyond know how to build a house? Since there is no ‘shabby’ work in creation, wouldn’t we expect the house God builds to be quite grand? “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.” Hebrews 3:4-6

    We are God’s house! The Creator is still in the process of building and He does not labor in vain. We are the stones He is using to build the greatest house imaginable. During my summers of high school and college I worked for Susan’s brother in construction as a stone mason. I saw Steve and others as being strong, ‘building artists.’ Laying rock is much different than laying brick as each piece is unique. The mason uses his hammer to knock off some of the edges before the stone is ready to fit on the house. I was not as talented as my boss, but he was patient with me and paid me according to the number of square feet I laid each day. One time I was about to finish a section of twenty or thirty square feet (which equated to twenty or thirty dollars) when the whole wall came crashing down. Three hours of work had gone to waste in an instant. Can you guess the problem? If you guessed ‘the builder’ you are right, but this was the builder’s error: the cornerstone had not been properly laid. When the weight reached a certain level, the cornerstone kicked out and all my work was undone.

    We sometimes question whether we are proper building pieces for God’s house. We are all different with rough edges and imperfections… but our Builder knows exactly what He is doing. When we doubt, He says, “Just look at the Cornerstone. That Rock is perfectly laid and will hold more weight than you can imagine. Trust that I know how to build my house and daily offer yourself as a living stone to be shaped and placed as I see fit. One day everyone will marvel at my handiwork.”

    “As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’” I Peter 2:4-6

  • we

    —

    Dana

    The day before she graduated, Kinsey’s nursing school had a very nice ‘pinning ceremony’ for the graduates. Six guys and twenty-four ladies celebrated the end of an intense few years of higher education. Kinsey often told me that their group was very unified and she really loved each classmate. Teachers echoed this same compliment during banquet comments and in various conversations. One professor told me, “This group of kids is very talented, but also very cooperative. We didn’t notice competition or rivalry at all. With these good attitudes and their newly acquired skills, we believe these young people will make great contributions in the work place.” The Scripture printed on the program and read in the ceremony was one the students adopted as a verse they hoped would describe their class: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

    It is interesting that Paul chose the words we and us when writing this encouragement. Each young nurse knows he or she will be going into the work place as an individual, but the emphasis at their celebration was: “God has prepared us, and we are going out to do his good work.” Paul understood the matter of individual responsibility before God, but it seemed he most often communicated in terms of the “body of Christ” or the “family of God”. It was very powerful to see a group of Christians with common preparation and common purpose standing before their teachers and loved ones with this identity: “We are God’s workmanship. We realize we’ve been created in our Lord Jesus to do good things in this world… works God has prepared in advance for us to do.”

    What if we saw our families from this viewpoint? “We are God’s creation. He has placed us in Christ to do good works… things He’s already planned according to his good will.” What if we saw the church in this way? “We are God’s building. We are the family of God in Christ created to make a difference in this world. These good works are God’s plans… things He knew in advance we would do on earth to bring him glory.” God has placed a lot of wisdom and beauty and potential in we and us…

    “You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

  • unless the Lord…

    —

    Dana

    “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he grants sleep to those he loves. Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.” Psalms 127:1-3

    Could the last sentence in this passage be connected to the first two? The psalmist did not write this, but it seems consistent: “Unless the Lord builds the home, the husband and wife labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the children, the parents work in vain.” Three coaches congratulated nearly thirty high school tennis players after our season at a recent banquet. As I looked out over the audience of parents I thought, “How can we possibly raise children in this crazy world without God in the lead?”

    Our two oldest graduate from college this weekend, a son in Athens, Georgia and a daughter in Searcy, Arkansas. I am heading west today to be with Kinsey and Susan plans to fly to join me early Saturday morning after attending Taylor’s Friday night ceremony. We are so happy, but both parents and children admit that God is the Architect who deserves the credit. Within two months Taylor and Kinsey also plan to marry and begin the important task with their spouses of building a strong home. Various statistics say that nearly one half of all marriages in America end in divorce. We know the enemy uses a host of weapons to try to destroy what God joins together, but I recently heard another statistic: couples who attend church together and daily pray together have a divorce rate of less than one half of one per cent. “Unless the Lord builds the house…”

    “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess… Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:13-16

  • underprivileged

    —

    Dana

    On our last night in Namibia, the missionaries we visited led our devotional. John thanked us for all the work we did and for the love extended to the children of the school. We were so happy to be able to contribute in this important ministry.

    Suzanne shared a personal word of encouragement with each student. Her comments were positive and full of God’s hope for the future. Suzanne also shared an admonition. Scripture often reveals that things are not always what they seem; God’s understanding differs vastly from ours. Though we had spent a week working with the poorest of the poor in an African city, this was the message: “Though you come from the wealthiest country in the world, it is possible for you to be the most underprivileged.”

    Suzanne went on to explain: “When we have everything we need and practically everything we desire, there is little dependence on God. When we don’t depend on God, it is easy to forget how much we need Him. If we don’t think we need Him, we rarely seek Him. And if we do not seek Him, we rarely find Him. If we don’t experience God as our true Source of satisfaction; if we don’t learn to walk with Him; and if we don’t rely on Him, we are really underprivileged.”

    James wrote this: “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.” (James 1:9-10) Jesus’ words were even sharper: “Blessed are the poor, blessed are the hungry, and blessed are those who weep. Woe to the rich, woe to the well-fed, and woe to those who now laugh.” (see Luke 6:20-26)

    So what is the answer for the underprivileged? Somehow we must realize our need. Somehow we must learn to rely on God. If we are used to bringing about everything on our own, how do we depend on God? The long-time missionary in Africa gave the visitors from America some practical advice: “Get with God every day. Set aside time without your computer and without your cell phone or any other distraction to focus on God and listen to the Father. He does not simply deal with the surface, but searches and touches our innermost being. He gives wisdom and knowledge to those who long for Him. He reveals Himself to the humble and shows us who He created us to be. He is the answer for the underprivileged.”

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

  • expect him

    —

    Dana

    It is never much fun to confess your sins, but God tells us to. When we confess we become more transparent, we are humbled in our own weaknesses, and perhaps others can avoid making the same mistakes. Confession is the opposite of excuse-making… and how easy it is to make excuses.

    The last full day we were in Namibia I woke up about 4:30 to prepare for a busy morning. We went to Community Hope School and I shared a few words at their 7:30 chapel service before our kids performed a skit about Esther. Everyone worked hard throughout the morning and as the students were released for a recess break, Suzanne and I drove into Windhoek to buy groceries for the evening meal and to visit the bank. As we were walking down the sidewalk of this very clean, German-influenced city I gave a little change to a handicapped man in a wheelchair. As our missionary friends gave a brief orientation the day we arrived in Africa, Suzanne shared that they made it a practice not to give money to people begging. “We’ve found this does not really help the situation as many really want to shirk the responsibility of work.” After I gave to the man in the wheelchair, I explained to Suzanne a lesson I had learned from a homeless friend in Atlanta who also warned against handing out money on the street. “But Dana, if a guy can’t walk or if a guy can’t see, give him something because he usually really needs it.” Suzanne agreed.

    After returning to the school our young people wrapped up the day and said farewell to the children of Community Hope School. It is amazing how attached teenagers can get to children in just a few days. We all had quite a bit of clean-up to do, especially a work crew who had been assigned to paint the boys’ bathroom that week. The school rents a church building so we wanted to be sure to leave everything in tip-top condition. Finally it looked like the work was complete and all the team except me and Susan piled into a van to head back to the home base. After everyone left, Susan and I found some work that had not been completed so we had to do it ourselves. The work actually involved getting down on our knees to scrub a floor, but eventually we finished and went to the car to wait on Suzanne to give us a ride home. There were only four or five school children left on the campus and they walked with us to the car asking a million questions and hoping we would carry them on our shoulders or toss them in the air. But to tell you the truth, I was tired. We had been going hard for nine or ten hours and neither Susan or I had much energy left. We simply said good-bye under a blazing hot afternoon sun.

    As Susan climbed into the back seat of the car, I turned to see if Suzanne was on her way and a man appeared directly in front of me. He must have come from off the street into the enclosed property. His head was turned at a peculiar angle and he walked with a severe limp. His arms were a bit disfigured and I supposed he had muscular dystrophy. “Sir,” he said, “Could you help me?” I saw Suzanne step out of the building. “No, we’re leaving. Go into the church; someone can help you there.” I was confident the man was going to ask for money and I had already broken Suzanne’s rule once that day. “Sir, I just need a little assistance.” I nodded my head and pointed to the church building. Then the man started knocking on the back window of the car to get Susan’s attention. “Sister, can you tell me what time it is?” I told the man we were leaving and he’d need to find someone else. Thankfully a handyman who worked at the church walked by and the poor man limped over to him and made this request: “Someone has given me a watch. My arm does not work very well and I just need someone to help me change the time.” As I got in the car, I remember thinking, “Well, I’m not too good at changing time on a watch anyway.” As we exited the parking lot, Suzanne asked, “Who was that man?” “Just someone asking for help,” I muttered as we pulled away.

    As we drove down the road, I looked back and saw the man hobbling across the dirt parking lot and God spoke something I’ll never forget: “That was my Son.” For the next four or five hours I was totally crushed as I faced these horrible admissions: A poor man came to me and I sent him away. One of the ‘least of these’ asked for assistance and I refused to help. An African man with an obvious handicap appeared in front of my very eyes on a mission trip and I literally did not give him the time of day. Jesus (in disguise) asked if I would serve him a moment and I said “No” because I was really tired. What was I thinking?

    When you fail miserably in life, here’s the best thing to do: go straight to the mercy seat of God, humble yourself, and pour out your heart to the Father. I asked if there was a way I could get a re-do and the answer was “No.” I asked for forgiveness and the answer was “Yes.” I asked for instruction and the answer is below. I asked that God send someone else to show a poor man his love and perhaps He did. I know the original plan was that I serve, but I failed. This familiar Scripture has taken on a deeper meaning as I am learning to expect him.

    “Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting on their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes… It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night… You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Luke 12:35-40

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