Caption This!
I captured this from a Japanese monster movie because the phone cracked me up. Add a funny capture for me and make my weekend!
Keep Pushing the Swing
I’ve been sitting in my car at the playground parking lot for 45 minutes. It’s a routine I often do on Sunday mornings before most of the volunteers show up at church. It’s my calm before the storm. I eat something I probably shouldn’t, consume a high dose of caffeine, and look over my sermon notes.
Today I noticed something. The whole time I’ve been sitting here, there has been a man pushing his teen-aged, disabled daughter on the large, yellow disability swing. You know, the one that looks like a baby swing, but could hold an adult.
For 45 minutes, he has been pushing her non-stop. She is loving it. She squeals and flails her arms with every swing. He looks bored. He’s burned through a couple cigarettes now and the action of pushing the back of her swing looks automatic. I don’t think he’s unhappy, but I’m sure he could think of more enjoyable things to do on a Sunday morning.
But, he’s not doing those things, he’s pushing his handicapped girl on the swing set and she’s having the time of her life. Will it change her life? Will it cause her to function better in a neuro-typical world? I doubt it, but it means the world to her right here and now, and he knows it and he’s just going to keep pushing, sleepy, bored, tired feet.
It’s called love.
I think about serving others. Volunteering in church, caring for my kids, doing things that are often monotonous, grinding, or boring for the sake of someone else. Most of the time I don’t even see “fruit”. People aren’t giving their lives to Christ by the hundreds at our church (It’s single digits most years), I seldom get thanked for what I do, and sometimes my mind drifts to places that are more exciting and carry immediate rewards.
But, like the dad at the park, I have a responsibility. Children are learning about Jesus in our Kids Church, our camp for abused and neglected foster children is making a difference in young hearts, and people DO encounter God during our worship times.
Sure, it’s not sexy. We’re not bursting at the seems with newcomers, and we’re often hanging by a thread financially. We’re not the young, hip, on the move church in town. We’re more like that tiny junk drawer in your kitchen that has ketchup packets and the manual for your microwave oven in it. But, just like the park dad, God is all over us in a special way.
So, what does all this mean to me? I’m going to keep on pushing the swing. I’m committed to all the starfish that come through our doors and they can count on me that I’m not going to call it quits just because we’re not climaxing every week with explosive growth and dramatic encounters.
I’m in it for the long haul.
It’s called love.
A Walk by the Lake
I was out for a walk this morning and the lake was so still.
Bro Love
That happened back in 1990 (or so). Our mom made us go down to the Sears portrait studio. I’m pretty sure we got into a fight shortly before the sitting, but dang it, we were going to look like loving brothers whether we liked it or not!
The Silence of God
Matthew 15 tells of a woman who came to Jesus to deliver her demon possessed daughter. When she pleaded with Jesus, she received no reply. Eventually, the Lord told her that she wasn’t the kind of person He came to help. Wow! How many of us would have just walked away discouraged and hurting after an answer like that? Not this woman. She was desperate. She wasn’t going anywhere until she received that miracle!
So what did she do? Verse 25 says that she worshiped Him. I think that it’s important that we learn to worship God in the silence. We shouldn’t be quick to interpret His silence as indifference because we can trust that He does love us and cares about our circumstances. Even if we feel He is telling us “no” we should still worship Him for His wisdom and mercy. He has a greater perspective on our lives so we can trust His “no”.
But she still didn’t give up. Remember, she was desperate! This wasn’t a new car she was praying for, this was her daughter! I think there’s something about desperation that moves the heart of God. This woman wasn’t whispering a casual request. She was pleading so loudly and persistently that the disciples were bothered by her. In the end, Jesus granted her request. I believe he honored her desperation with answered prayer. It was Hebrews 11:6 in action. He rewards those who sincerely seek Him. Or could that be read, “desperately seek Him” or “persistently, earnestly, tenaciously seek Him”? Don’t give up when God is silent. Persist with faith!
One last thought. When I was in my high school drama class, my teacher used to talk about the dramatic pause. Sometimes the silence during the pause speaks volumes. Jesus’ pause may have just been a way to test the woman’s faith. Whatever the case, if God is silent, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep listening anyway.
