Seismic Activity

This walk towards righteousness with Christ is one of absolute dependency. Yesterday I rose with great hope of meeting a mark, standing strong and sharing all that I could with others. Last night I clutched my pillow with a downcast spirit feeling dissatisfied with my meager accomplishments. The measuring stick I beat myself with(fodder for another blog),didn’t register any earth moving activity in my day, Shocking because that afternoon, the earth literally shook beneath my feet and I was too caught up in selecting groceries to feel it.

Have you ever missed something big...like a five point something earthquake and wondered how it was possible? It’s like being in the middle of a party and missing out on the fun because you’re lost in an internal battle: someone hurt your feelings or you feel unimportant, outside the “ in crowd”. Maybe it was your wedding day and you were so caught up in the details of putting on the best affair that you were absent walking down the aisle. For some the beach, the vacation…even the golf course is merely landscape because your mind is back at the office. Tragically, this is often the case with our children. “Mom… mom…MOM!” my son at times has to say in order to snap me back into the present.

This sort of thing happens with many of us. While we yearn to be present and to live in the now, we simply fail. Why? Some of us are anchored to the past by wounds and transgressions and others are cast into the future through dissatisfaction. Living in the now takes courage and strength, purpose and peace. Oswald Chambers addresses the need for determination to live in the moment;

“Your choice must be a deliberate determination—it is not something into which you will automatically drift.”

The apostle Paul speaks my language in his confession of fleshy failure, (Romans 7). I too long to be righteous like Christ moment by moment, only to find I am bound in a prison of flesh. Christ however, has overcome the flesh and therefore, when I am engaged with Jesus, I too can live…powerfully live… in the now. The key is managing not the flesh as much as my will.

“A person’s will is embodied in the actions of the whole person. I cannot give up my will—I must exercise it, putting it into action. I must will to obey, ” (Chambers).

My daughter-in-law Tammy is a fitness instructor. She is often referred to as a real life Barbie. While some might judge her (and others in shape) as exceptions to the fat rule, the truth is she works hard to take care of her body. Exercise is part of her life--not because she can’t wait to get to the gym and work herself into a pool of sweat-- but because Tammy chooses to “exercise” her will to do what she knows is good for her body. The blessing is a fit form and freedom to enjoy one of her amazing desserts! Tammy inspires me in this area of my life. In fact my aching muscles attest to this…my legs are burning from taking her step class!

Righteousness is something we do not posses without Christ. The bible tells us there is not one who is righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:20). However, when we have Jesus’ Holy Spirit within us, we gain the inspiration and strength to live righteously and here we find a call to living in the now. Through righteous faith, we forgive others—for we also are sinners-- which frees us from anchors of bitterness and anger. Righteous attitudes will be thankful and content allowing us to remain present and not always fishing for the future.

Righteous living to me is like exercise is to Tammy. I don’t always want to do the right thing, take the high ground or forgive others. Yet, I want to look like Jesus. So I choose to exercise my will and do what the Lord wants me to, rather than what this sinful flesh wants to.

The results of exercising our will will vary in our lives. However the truth remains; righteous actions will produce measurable movement of God in our life and we will find less of what truly matters escaping our notice.

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” (James 5:16NIV).

The Art of Becoming

I am a vision. So are you. From the beginning of time, God took great care in imaging each of us and carefully stored his vision of us away until the moment we would become the block of clay on his wheel. Because of our Creator God, we need not be concerned with our form, for it was designed to fit the Father’s will for this life. Yet, sinful, self-focused creatures that we are, we constantly slap at the Master’s hands as they try to form us. Likewise, we try to leave God’s pottery wheel believing we can shape ourselves better. The result of our disobedience and pride will be no less than flaws: both in our spiritual and physical bodies.

When I was a little girl my Dad was part of a small group of artisans who opened up a gallery in uptown Whittier, California. Each had their own unique craft and station in the store. It was an exciting place to be as a child. There was a jewelry artist, potter, sculptor, painter, macramé weaver and welder. I used to sit and watch the hands of each artist as they fashioned beautiful things out of wood, stone, beads, yarn and clay. My Dad was very gifted and tried his hand in most mediums. His wood carving, painting and welded sculptures were stunning and soon dressed up our modest home. Once he created an eagle with a six foot wing span. I used to imagine the beast scooping up my big sister with its terrifying talons when she was being exceptionally bossy.

The vision I have of my Dad and the other artists hard at work is burned in my mind and serves as a wonderful example of the hands of God at work fashioning me. I imagine the Lord bending near to execute the tiny details in my life and spirit, his eyes fixed and focused, his brow furrowed with concentration and his jaw set. The world is shut out for the moment as the Artist tends to his creation, mind, body and soul.

On the median directly outside their shop, the artists would sell their work. Couples strolling through the grass pausing to appreciate the color, scale and form of their pieces would often offer praise. Interestingly, I noticed the casual laid back style of each artist would change when their work was admired. They straightened, smiled and their disposition brightened. Life was good because someone saw the beauty in their creation…someone noticed the labor involved in the details. The artist was recognized in the art.

I am always amazed how a simple memory can be used by God to communicate an intimate truth. Nothing is outside the use of God. Oswald Chambers devotional is titled “Visions Becoming Reality.” The concept that I am a vision carefully created by God moment by moment is comforting. I am not a result of random circumstances. I am purposefully made experience by experience, not magically whole with the wave of a wand. Imagine the loss with the absence of the journey of our creation. No thank you! I prefer the road trip and every turn which helps to create in me the unique and one of a kind vision which is God’s.

I am by nature a creative person. Visions are for me an intimate part of my life. Whether I am studying God’s word, writing, directing or decorating a picture always forms in my mind and gives me something to work towards. Over time, the visions which I believe are placed by God come to fruition at an earthly standard. Though the vision of my whole self is not revealed to me, the faithfulness of my Creator will surely prevail if I remain pliable. I can be the heavenly vision the Lord desires me to become.

Chambers states “God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God given vision will become real if we will only have patience.”

I pray we will trust the hands of our Creator and bring glory to His name when others pause to appreciate the work He has done in our lives and notice the Artist in the art.