The Second Diamond Lost

 After Glen and I had been married for only one month, I was out running errands when I looked down at my left hand and saw that the diamond had been removed from my engagement ring.

Fast forward almost fifty years.

One Sunday morning before our Chapel Service, I was chatting with Mrs. Betty about things.  We talked about losing them, having them taken away from us, in general, about not having them anymore.  She relayed to me that her son had told her, “Mom, those are just things.”  It reminded me of a sign I used to have on my wall:

“Only God and people are eternal; everything else is just stuff.”

We finished our conversation, and I sat down in a pew in the chapel. Glancing down at my left hand, I noticed once again that a diamond was missing from my wedding band.

I could not help but smile. After all, Mrs. Betty and I had just discussed how things are just that: things.

After a few minutes, I began to remember a tiny shiny stone I found a few days before when I was cleaning my bathroom floor. I thought it might be from one of my granddaughter's playthings, so I put it in a bag for safekeeping.

When I got home, I went straight to my jewelry box where I had put that bag. Yes, the tiny stone perfectly matched the empty setting on the side of the ring. I put the ring in the bag with the stone, intending to take it to the jewelers that week.

One thing led to another, and now, months later, the stone and the ring still sit in my jewelry box. I suspect that, having once decided that "things were just things," I was in no hurry to replace the stone into its original setting.

I will take it to the jeweler, but for me, even though it is beautiful, it is still a "thing". There is nothing in our lives, no thing, no person, no event, no accomplishment that can bring us lasting fulfillment and joy. On Christ Jesus can do that. This is so true the Scriptures say of Him:

“…Christ is all, and in all.”  Col 3:11

"For in him we live, and move, and have our being;" Acts 17:28

There is a lovely song, published in 1869, under the name, "Always Rejoicing," attributed to Pauline T, which beautifully expresses these thoughts.  These are the lyrics:

HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING?

My life goes on in endless song:

Above earth's lamentation,

I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It sounds an echo in my soul--

How can I keep from singing?

What tho' my joys and comfort die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;

What tho' the darkness 'round me lie?

Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm,

While to that Rock I'm clinging;

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the veil grows thin,

I see His Truth above it,

Step by step leads me to Him,

This path how I've learned to love it.

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing;

All is mine since I am His-

How can I keep from singing?

No storm can shake my inmost calm,

While to that Rock I'm clinging;

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

It Is The Ending That Matters

 

A website I visited the other day asked me to choose the answer to a preset security question, "Who is your favorite fictional character?"

Being a fan of Jane Austen and Tolkien, I had plenty of names to choose from.  I knew, however, that I would need to easily remember this character if I returned to the site, perhaps even months from now. It had to be someone who stands out above all others.

There were only two who met that criteria:  Snoopy and Scrooge.

Glen and I love Snoopy because we are beagle people.  Over the years, we have had five beagles, two of which were the most incredible dogs we have and could ever own.  Sparrow and Ellie would make even Snoopy proud.  

But I chose Scrooge.

The choice of Scrooge, however, may surprise you.  We are not just great beagle fans, we are great Dickens fans, and especially the story, "A Christmas Carol."  We love it in print, we love it in film (we prefer the version with Alastair Sim), and since 2013 in New York, we have loved it on stage.

Among all the characters in "A Christmas Carol," some may wonder why I would pick a miserly,  curmudgeon of an old man. You see, Scrooge may have started that way, but he didn't end that way.  During his visits by the Spirits, he came to see he could not continue in his life of selfish independence and abhorrence of the ministrations of others if he was to escape the consequences when his life ended.  

In his discourse with the last spirit, he sought the intercession of the spirit to no avail. He promised to not be the man he was, but still, he found no freedom from the haunting Spirit of Christmas Future.  It was only when he turned his gaze from himself and what he thought he could do to change himself toward Heaven that he was transformed:

"Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate aye reversed, he saw an alteration in the Phantom's hood and dress. It shrunk, collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost."

Upon waking and finding himself safely back in his own bedroom, he proclaimed, "Heaven and the Christmas Time be praised for this.  I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!"

In the end, "it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge."

Scrooge represents us all.  We want to try so much to reclaim ourselves.  We want to do something to make ourselves good enough to please God.  But nothing we can try, not the very best or greatest amount of works, can secure our salvation.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He love us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast."

In the end, we -- like Scrooge-- must bow our hearts to the only One who can and has secured our salvation.  We must accept by faith His free gift and give ourselves wholly to Him.  It is then He creates in us a "clean heart," He begins the process of transforming us into the image of "His dear Son," and He adopts us into His family to forever be His Sons and daughters.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: 

old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  

2 Corinthians 5:17

The question is not, how did we begin, but how will we end?

Comfort....Through Us

 Trouble.  

We don't need any explanation of that word, do we?  We all have troubles.  Sometimes big, sometimes small, and nagging.  But, as the Scriptures say, 

"Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward."  Job 5:7

The issue is not the trouble; the issue is what we do with the troubles.  We have many choices.  We can blame others, which is never effective in dealing with trouble.  We can sit and bemoan our troubles, even to the point of feeling ill-treated.  Or, and this is the only answer with hope, we can turn to the Lord with our troubles.

King David said, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1). While King David tells us that the Lord is our refuge and strength in times of trouble, the Apostle Paul takes it even further:

"Blessed be God, even the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." (2 Corinthians 1:3,4)

The Lord loves to comfort His children.  Why? Primarily because He loves us more than we can ever imagine.  We love to comfort our children, to hold them close and whisper in their ears that everything will be "ok".  I even love to comfort Ellie when she is upset about something, and she's a dog!  

But the Lord has another reason for comforting us.  As He pours His comfort into our spirits, He doesn't intend for it to stay there.  He has comforted us with perfect comfort that He may comfort others through us!  As we offer a word or gesture of support or comfort or understanding to someone else, that is His comfort flowing in and through us to the hurting ones in our world.  He has given us everything we need to help others in their times of sorrow, grief, and pain.  It is our choice to seek His will and utilize what He has given us for the benefit of others.  He desires us to pour out our lives for others as He poured out His life for us.  And in this, we will find peace and joy.

Friday Photos

 Chacaloochee Bay to Apalachee River

I was looking through my files and realized I have a lot of photos that no one ever gets to see.  So, I thought I would start posting one photo every Friday.  Some of these may have appeared in a post previously, and if so, I apologize.  I promise I will try not to post photos of Ellie too often.

Glen kayaking on Chacaloochee Bay

This is one of my favorite pictures.  Glen and I loved kayaking either at sunrise or sunset.  I preferred sunrise because, when kayaking at sunset, we had to make sure we got back to the put-in before it was dark.  There are alligators out there, after all.

This photo was taken on May 2, 2013.  We put in at Chacaloochee Bay and paddled east to Pass Picada. This pass leads to the Apalachee River, my favorite river to kayak.  We would have already looked at the time for sunset and determined exactly how long we could be out before we had to head back.  Then, we returned to Chacaloochee Bay and sat in our kayaks, watching the sun slowly dip down toward the horizon.  Sometimes cutting it very close, we would go to the put-in with just enough time and, more importantly, just enough light to pack the kayaks away and travel the 12.5 miles home.  If the "hot donut" sign was on this would usually include a stop at Krispy Kreme!

Nothing makes my thoughts turn to the Lord more than being out in nature.  The lapping of the water against our kayaks, the wind -hopefully- at our backs, and the graceful trees lining the river all point to Him.  Add the birds, the fish, and yes, the graceful alligators, and He is manifesting Himself in every direction.

"For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead..."

Romans 1: 20