My dream...or Yours? (Part II)

 
    I like the cannibal story in the previous post, because it shows vividly how a man's own dream can come to an end...but then he can see God's dream, His plan, gleaming with unmistakable wisdom and glorious grace.
     Here's a poem that shows a heart going through the death of a dream...and then witnessing the birth of one so much better...so much safer...so much wiser...so perfect.


                              My Dream, Your Dream    

                  At times, a dream's brightest hour
                  shines little beyond the moment of conception,
                  for as I work towards my goal,
                  striving to bend and shape,
                  pushing circumstances and people to fit my perception,
                  the dream starts to crack...it splits...then bursts.
                  The brightness fades into a "broken dream".
                              Hope breaks with it.
                              Self is disconsolate.
                  I thought me so right!...and yet,
                  we didn't make it, my dream and I,
                  and it creeps away, licking its wounds,
                  to sulk...and then to die.

                             BUT this is the shining moment of Your dream, Lord:
                             the moment my dream fails.
                             Is it because then You can work,
                             unimpeded by my "bending and shaping",
                             by my puny, pale perception?
                             For in your hands I see a dream start to coalesce...
                             it pulls itself together...and bursts into brilliant perfection!
                             Your glory flares around your dream...fulfilled!
                                        And I marvel...How infinitely wiser than mine!
                                        And I wonder...How often my Self makes me blind!
                                        And I pray,
                                        (as your understanding seeps through to me, and assures),
                                        "Lord, let this ever be MY dream: to be a part of YOURS."
                   *********************************************************     ---Becky Rhon


The psalmist gives us a "mirror" showing what might go through our thoughts and heart...and I think it's an appropriate prayer for when I give up my own dream, and become a part of His.

        "I am laid low in the dust;
        renew my life according to your word.
        I recounted my ways and You answered me;
        teach me your decrees.
        Let me understand the teachings of your precepts;
        then I will meditate on your wonders.
        My soul is weary with sorrow;
        strengthen me according to your word.
        Keep me from deceitful ways;
        be gracious to me through your law.
        I have chosen the way of truth;
        I have set my heart on your laws.
        I hold fast to your statutes, O Lord;
        do not let me be put to shame.
        I run in the path of your commands,
        for You have set my heart free."
                                                           (Psalm 119: 25-32)

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Isaiah 32:8 says, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'"  It may mean walking away from my dream, but "the way" will lead me to His dream. 

God is always ready to reach His arms out to us and pull us into His embrace...and into His dreams!
 

My favorite "cannibal story". (My dream...or Yours? Part I)

One of my favorite missionary/cannibal stories tells of a tribe which no outsiders had been able to reach out to, because anyone who tried to establish contact with the people ended up on the tribal menu for the day.  No one had survived.

Along came a young man who declared his intention of going to this group, with the same desire that the ones before him had cherished, to give them the Good News of God's love.  Would he end up in the same stew as the others had?  He was not to be dissuaded, so his family and friends saw him off with great trepidation.

He located the tribe...and the people immediately grabbed hold of him, with the obvious intention of taking him to the feast...as part of the entree.

But he managed to get their attention and indicate that maybe they should taste him first, to see if he was palatable or not.  It seemed a good idea, so tribesmen gathered around as the young man lifted his pant leg and gouged out a piece of his leg with a penknife.

He held out the chunk of his leg...the chief bit into it...and quickly spat it out. It tasted terrible!  The consensus was that it wasn't worth killing and eating this white man, as he would not make good eating at all.  Thus the man was able to stay in the tribe, and soon he had established friendships and little by little was able to introduce them to his Lord.

Had he any idea that this would happen when, years before, he had unfortunately lost one of his legs?  At that moment, it must have been a crushing event, probably ruining his dreams of living a normal life.  A wooden leg!  It changed his life forever...but it also was instrumental in changing the lives of a tribe of cannibals.  The piece of leg he had handed the chief was taken from that wooden leg, so of course it tasted awful!  God knew exactly what He was doing in allowing what had seemed a tragedy at the time: the loss of the young man's leg.
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Jeremiah wrote: "I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps."  (10:23)  That doesn't mean that we're to have a fatalistic attitude, and shuffle zombie-like through life as if nothing we could do would make any difference anyway!  It does let us know that to try to manage our lives by our own criteria and plan our steps according to our own ideas is not the way that works best...it is not a trustworthy formula...it is not the ideal!  It's never worth it in the end.

We sure try, though, don't we?!  Managing our own lives, planning our own steps?  I think it's a very good thing that God sometimes overrides us!  We look back and think, "Thank you so much, Lord, for not letting me get away with that!" or  "Thank You for throwing a wrench into that particular plan of mine, because if You hadn't...I'd be in a mess!"

So our best bet, by far, is to make sure our lives belong to God and that He directs our steps.  (Quite a challenge, imperfect as we are!) His presence at our side is paramount.  The psalmist said, "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere." (Psalm 84:10)  His way is always better...always!
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Next week, I will share a poem with you that describes what can happen when my dream dies...and His dream is born.    Join me for Part II!


 

On asking and receiving...or not. (Nice try, Eli!)

During Dan's visit with his family, our four-year-old grandson Eli found many occasions to make us laugh...sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. He often has a big grin on his face (like in this picture) and his joy can be contagious.
Riding around in the chartered vans could be tedious, but he (and all the kids) handled it well, and he didn't always let it hamper his humor.

One afternoon we headed for the "mini Otavalo", a little market with stalls offering the same native artisans' handiwork as the big one a couple of hours to the north. 

Dan needed to get some more cash, so we stopped near an ATM on the way.  Shortly after Dan got out of the car, Eli suddenly wailed, "I have to go to the ATM machine, too...I don't have any dollars!" When Dan got back, he told Eli, "I'll give you a dollar...I'll give you two dollars." Eli studied the offer for a moment, smartly reversed the lessons on bargaining they had received, and countered, How about...ten dollars?"
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Remembering it with a smile, I've been thinking on how God sees us when we ask for things.  I bet He'd be delighted if we upped and expanded our requests!  After all, "{He}...is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."  (Ephesians 3:20)

"...for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."  (Matthew 6:8)  I wonder if sometimes, although He already knows what our request is, He waits to see how we're going to ask Him for it.  With confidence in His power...with trust in His love for us...or with apologies...only the minimum, so as not to bother Him...with a sigh and an "I guess it can't hurt to ask" attitude...(or with a touch of "innocent" impertinence -  like Eli, who knew he might be pushing it!)?

God knows when we ask for things without fully understanding the implications. When a couple of His disciples asked for special positions in the Kingdom, Jesus replied, "You don't know what you are asking." (Mark 10:38)  Like the disciples, we aren't always aware of what the granting of our request could cost us...so God graciously doesn't give it to us!

Another factor:  "You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:2,3)

So we should be eternally grateful to God for the wisdom He shows in granting...or not granting...our requests!  "This is the assurance we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him."  (I John 5:14,15)  But I don't always know if what I ask for is "according to his will"!  How about you?  Maybe we just need to present our requests, as honestly and sincerely as we can...then wait and see how He answers them.  In the very way He answers ("yes", "no", "later", etc.), we might  be able to discern whether or not what we asked for was, indeed, "according to his will."

But wait...look at what God assures us in Romans 8:26-27!  "We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Being finite and human, we don't always know...but the Spirit of God does! What a blessed relief!  What an awesome "safety net"!
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The way You put everything into perspective...the way You use your omniscience to safeguard us...the way You care about what You give us...reflect your awesome love for us. Thank You!

Weird, funny, illogical laws...and they're still on the books! (Check them out.)

The first night in Papallacta, we cozied up with kids and grandkids, watching "The Three Amigos".  Superbly funny!
The second night the kids and I cozied up again. Germán, in the bedroom below us, heard our hilarity.  Later, when I went down, he smiled and said, "You've been holding a circus up there!"  Noe, Micah, Eli and I had snuggled into the sofas for a laugh fest, while their parents listened in.

What were we doing that caused such mirth?  Well, I have a book* that lists a large number of "blue laws", laws from long ago that, although irrelevant now, are still on the books officially. So we decided to read parts of it. Some of them are just funny, some hilarious, some completely illogical!  On many, we wondered why in the world they needed a certain law; for example, "A horse is not allowed to eat a fire hydrant in ___."  (Had one tried to eat a hydrant before?  Or had they been made of oats?)  Some were amusing, but easy to understand, like "If you are riding through ___, your horse had better be wearing diapers."

Some of the laws seemed to be rather biased, and unfair, like: "It is against the law to ride down the street on an ugly horse in ___." Or "If a frog's croaking keeps you awake at night in ___ you can have the frog arrested." (Poor frog!)  How about: "A husband cannot kick his wife out of bed in ____ , even if her feet are cold; however, a wife can kick her husband out of bed without provocation."  Then there's this one:  "A ___ law forbids housewives to break more than three dishes a day." (Some of us are, by nature, butterfingers.)  How about: "You may not sleep in a refrigerator if you are in __."  (Maybe it's a really hot night!)  And "The only game you are allowed to shoot from a moving car in Tennessee is whales."

A couple of laws regarding the justice system: "In the state of ___ it is illegal to require a dead person to serve on a jury."   This case is delightful: "A lawyer in ___ asked a criminal court judge for permission to call in a psychiatrist to examine a jury member in a robbery case.  The request was denied because there is no statutory requirement that a juror be sane." 


Then there are the illogical ones that make one question what the legislators had been drinking.  Try this: "When two trains approach each other at a crossing, both shall come to a full stop and neither shall start up again until the other has gone." Or "Residents in ___ are required to fill bathtubs and unplug them simultaneously."  And "Boarding a plane in ___ when it's in flight is illegal."

One of my favorites:  "___ passed a law in 1936 stating that a dogcatcher must notify dogs of impounding by posting a notice for three consecutive days on a tree in the city park and along a public road running through the park." ( Do they propose literacy programs for the dogs so they can read the notices?)

Just a couple of chicken laws:  "Hens in ___ cannot lay eggs before 8 a.m. or after 4 p.m."  And "In ___ , it's illegal for a chicken to cross the road."  (Sort of messes up the riddle...)

Finally, a couple that make one wonder:  "If you live in the state of ___ , you can grow as tall as you want."  (What a relief!)  And "It's against the law in ___ to do anything that's against the law."  (Duh!)                                   *****************************************

I've been thinking about God's laws, which are never biased, illogical, irrelevant or unfair. Man-made laws can be all of that, besides absolutely ludicrous at times.  (I wonder what God thinks of all those blue  laws?  Maybe He laughs right along with us!)  And He has a reason, a very good reason, for every single law that He's placed in the working of the universe, in our world and in our lives.  His make sense all of the time...maybe we don't always understand them, but that doesn't mean they aren't logical and fair...even beneficial!!

The psalmist said, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.  The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes."  (Psalm 119:7,8)

If His love so permeates His laws, I'd say our best response would be, "Open my eyes that I may see the wonderful things in your law."  (Psalm 119:18)  What do you think?

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*Wacky Laws, Weird Decisions and Strange Statutes (Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts, K.R. Hobbie, Ted LeValliant & Marcell Theroux)     (emphases mine)