The Road Trip

I’ve just returned from California. This was and was NOT a pleasure trip. Its purpose was to allow my sons dream to come true but in order for his dream to begin my dream had to die. I delivered my precious first born son, O.K., so he’s 22 but he’ll always be my baby, to his new home 1100 miles away from us. His good buddies offered him a room and a job. Now how can that compete with living with mom, dad and brother? I’m ready for him to spread his wings but… couldn’t he do this down the street instead of at the opposite point of the compass (we live in the North West and he now lives in the South West)? GOD, what is your purpose for allowing our family to be separated? As a mother I have spent these 22 years of my son’s life anticipating his adult life, his wife, my grandchildren, etc. Yes, of course I want him to grow up but much closer to me! Why did YOU allow this? What if he gets married while he’s down there and she won’t let him return to us? Oh, the questions go on and the fear of him never being close again looms large. So Lord, what do you have to say about this?

Well, I began to see a pattern in my sorrow and musing… it’s all about ME, I, my.

My son,

My dream,

Me missing him,

Me missing him finding a wife,

Me fearing,

My loneliness…

Need I go on? I heard a great message about the words we listen to and that they need to be God’s words… God’s thoughts, NOT MINE.

God’s word shows me what to do with my wrong thoughts…

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4: 6-9 Message

Now when I think of my son 1100 miles away I’m going to use that time to pray for my next road trip to California and watch the Lord shape my sadness into mile markers on Interstate 5!

I’ve got’ta go now. I’m going to go pack!

Patience and I want it rignt NOW!

Jesus found me two weeks before my 20^th birthday, then a few months later my mom became a follower of Jesus, a few months after her my dad dedicated his life to following after Jesus. It was such an amazing experience to watch the re-birth of my parents. They had the joy of giving birth to me, nurturing me, teaching me, loving me. I had the joy and privilege of sitting with them hour after hour opening God’s word and sharing his love, his unfailing principles, crying, laughing. They were both funny people, people-people. My mom had a plaque in her entry way leading into the kitchen that said,

“I pray for patience, and I want it RIGHT NOW!”

My friends and I laughed at that plaque every time we’d enter the house. I don’t know which parent to thank, or, would that be blame, that instilled in me the RIGHT NOW! mentality but when I decide I want something I set out trying to move the heavens so that the object of my affection will be mine NOW! Is there a pattern with NOW! in my life?

You can imagine especially if you know me well, that the Christ-character we spoke of earlier, that produces the HABBIT OF JOYFUL & CONFIDENT HOPE, sometimes eludes me when I want something and I have loosed my creative juices, flowing like the flooding waters of a wild, swollen river destructively taking everything in its path. Living in the North West I have personally seen the power of a river carry a 100’ tree right through anything it meets.

Then God’s word comes to me and says,

“…the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:1, 2

PATIENCE… no, right NOW!

What exactly does PATIENCE mean? According to Strong’s Concordance this word is broken down as such:

*1) not swerved from his deliberate purpose

We all know about ‘swerve,’ after all we drive the freeways; there’s an object sitting square in the middle of the fast lane that fell off some truck that wasn’t secured properly, we swerve around it, and get right back in the lane as we mumble under our breath about the one who caused me to face an obstacle and ‘swerve.’ “Why me,” I ask. “Why NOW?”

According to James we experience testing. We all remember tests in school. They are designed to see if we really learned the lesson. When you face a situation that wants to derail you just know that you are developing the character to:

SWERVE from the immediate danger but get right back in the lane

motoring toward your DELIBERATE PURPOSE.

Where were you going? Deliberate means you have considered (thought about it) and examined (looked at the facts) a reason for and against a given situation. You have made an intentional decision.

Also from Webster, “Purpose always includes the end in view.” You are on a road trip, a journey with the God of the universes. Always remember that He is with you as you travel, bringing things into your path that are designed to make you deliberate in your goal…

James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work,

that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Full of joy NOW!

NOW!

A So. Cal. transplant to the North West, I am enthralled with this big, wide, green, wet, wonderful world where fishing is my husbands all encompassing hobby. All other activities pale in comparison. Salmon are the big catch. Only minutes away is the Bonneville Dam which has ladders for the salmon to climb (not that I have seen a salmon actually do this thing). God put an instinct in these beauties to return to the place of their origin.

God has placed that exact instinct or desire in the hearts of man:

Romans 5:5 to know the "LOVE of GOD which has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

We too have a ladder to climb in this earth bound life we live. It’s described here in Romans 5 showing a process that all of us experience no matter your age, status or background. It’s called LIFE! How we deal with life’s ladders, or hurdles, or bumps or TRIALS determines how much joy we will have through the hard knocks. You see, God has poured out HIS love in our hearts but so often we don’t really ‘feel’ loved because we are ‘feeling’ hurt by life. Do you want to be ‘full of joy NOW?’ Do you want peace in THIS life? What does God’s process in Romans 5 lay out for us?

Romans 5:1-5 Amplified

1 THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (^[a]acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to ^[b]enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

2 Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.

3 Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

4 And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of ^[c]character (approved faith and ^[d]tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] ^[e]joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

5 Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

Simply stated:

Vs. 1: Accept through faith that in Jesus you have been given a right standing with God.

Vs. 2: Through Him we have entrance into the state of God’s favor.

Vs. 3: Be full of joy NOW! (boast, rejoice, joyfulness) & triumph in our troubles & sufferings. Now, here’s that ladder of life that I talked about:

KNOWING

· Pressure & affliction & hardship (tribulation) produce patient & unswerving endurance (perseverance)

· Endurance develops maturity of character (approved faith & tried integrity)

· Character produces [the habit of] joyful & confident hope

When you are assured of ETERNAL SALVATION what on earth can compare?

WE CAN HOPE

· HOPE never disappoints or deludes or shames us

· Because GOD’S LOVE has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was GIVEN to us

One more time:

Tribulation = perseverance

Perseverance = character

Character = hope

Hope in GOD

Why is this my life verse at this phase in the adventure? Because life hasn’t turned out the way I planned it. So, what am I supposed to do about the feelings that come with that? Pout? Be angry? Make every one around me pay for the outcome? Oh man, I think that’s just how I do react and that’s why God’s word, which is alive and sharp enough to judge the thoughts and attitudes of my heart, is helping me welcome the difficulties, disappointments, disillusionments, distractions, destinations. They are teaching me to persevere. They are developing a character (I’ve always been told I was quite a character) that is Christ like, not Connie Jo like. Because character is producing the HABBIT of joyful & confident hope in God I can ‘be full of joy… NOW!’

So, how do you see it?