Neglect

After sitting at the car dealership for about 45 minutes, the service agent came into the waiting room looking somber.  He sat next to me with a yellow form in his hands and said, “your car needs a lot of repairs.”  Those are not the words you want to hear when you take your car in for inspection. 

He proceeded to tell me all the things that were wrong with my car while he pointed at a series of scribblings on his yellow form which may as well have been hieroglyphics or Sanskrit.  He went on and on rambling about this and that and the other.  The only word I actually was able to make out was “strut.”  I had no idea what it meant, but as he said it I was able to semi-read it on the Sanskrit scribbling.  Later, I looked it up online, but after reading the first sentence of the definition,-  “a structural component designed to resist longitudinal compression,”- I closed my laptop and called Dan.  

I told the service guy to just do the essential and that I needed to go.  I drove away with a sticker that read “failed inspection” and a lighter wallet.  Thinking about it now, the whole ordeal could be summarized in one word, neglect.  This is a very sad word, indeed.  This is a word that brings up images of derelict houses in run down towns or dirty faces and filthy rags on children aimlessly riding their rusty bikes.  The word makes me think of one-bedroom apartments with 65 cats, empty dining rooms, silenced family rooms, sad puppy faces and withered plants.

Granted, my car has been faithfully servicing me for over 10 years so it is bound to have some issues.  But the issues that it faced today are the product of my neglect.  I’ve taken it for granted.  I actually love my car.  It has served me very well.  It is an incredibly reliable vehicle and it just will not quit, regardless of the level of neglect that I have subjected it to.  I trust it with the lives of my sons and my own.  We’ve made countless memories in that car, but I have not taken good care of it and it shows now, in the form of expensive repairs.

It is the same with everything in life.  Neglect is a fatal condition that threatens to destroy whatever falls under its claws.  Everything, you name it, could potentially vanish if fallen prey to neglect, especially relationships.  It is relationships' number one killer, if you ask me.  It withers interest.  It washes away desire. It nullifies communication.  It diminishes interaction.  It decreases affection. It erases good will.  It slowly poisons from the roots and if you don’t do something in a timely manner, before you realize it, the fruit is rotten to the core.

The good news is, (now I’m sounding like my Pastor : )  it is actually a reversible condition.  Like my car, a thorough inspection, diagnosis and treatment can and will make all the difference. Taking care of what’s wrong will stop the catastrophic effects that would result if left unattended.  And like my car, a basic and many times, simple maintenance plan carried out faithfully will keep it from being irreversibly damaged. 

Like in all relationships, the same is true in our relationship with our Lord and Savior.  It will wither away and not bear fruit if we neglect it, just like the writer warned us in Hebrews:

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2: 1-4)

Paying “much closer attention to what we have heard” so we don’t go adrift is the admonition to believers who tend to neglect their relationship with Christ. We have all the evidence laid out in front of us, “how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”  We won’t escape.  Neglecting our relationship with Jesus will only result in diminished maturity and a life less than abundant.  Just like my car, which is as reliable as a work horse and will not quit regardless of the neglect, Jesus will not quit on us regardless of our neglect.  But the relationship won’t be the same.  It won’t be all that it could be and we will miss out on a smoother ride.  We will miss out on the ride of our lives.

I did walk out of the dealership and Dan made an appointment somewhere else where we won’t get overcharged.  My trusty Civic will get the needed repairs.  And one thing I know is that I resolve to not take it for granted any more.  I will pay “much closer attention” from now on.  The same way I will do all that I can to stick to a maintenance schedule in my relationships so I don’t have to worry about escaping “such great salvation.”

Peace Be With All Tonight

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4: 8)

I can’t believe it…my wonderful day of doing nothing has ended…sigh. The boys, all three of them, are fast asleep. I’m the only dweller of this household who is still wide awake. I don’t want to go to bed just yet. I want to savor the wonderful taste of the day one last time.

The Lord has been good to me, and for that I praise Him. He gave me another day to enjoy His creation and my life. My soul overflows with gratitude for He is good all the time. I pray that I may always remember to give Him thanks in all situations.

It’s time to close shop now. The dark of night is here; but the promise of a new day lies a brief time ahead. Until then, I pray my soul will…”Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.” (Psalm 116: 7)

The Blessing of Today

As I reluctantly rolled out of bed this morning, the pain in my joints reminded me that I was alive.  I know…not the best attitude to begin a new day.  Shortly, however, after I managed to finally open my eyes I realized what a beautiful summer morning the Lord had given to the people around here today (and that includes me).  I looked out the side window of my bedroom and admired the blue sky.  I opened it and breathed in the fresh, cool morning air.  O how I love summer!  The birds were chirping joyfully all around.  I let out a sigh and then I remembered that I had no place to go to today.  What a blessing! 

I had absolutely nothing to do today that required the stressful effort of gathering my two boys and dragging them around in my car (visions of whining, toys flying and intense arguing in the back seat flashed by in my mind and I shuddered).  For once, I was not going to have to give them the 5-minute-‘till-we-leave warning.  For once, the boys were going to be able to have a day of leisure at home without having their Mama boss them around and yell orders from her command center about getting in the car, finding shoes, brushing teeth, putting clean clothes on (not in that exact order, of course).  Not today.  The thought of that made me smile.

This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it! I resolved.  (Psalm 118: 24) 

Who cares about achy joints?  That’s why they invented Aleve, right?  The blessing of a new, glorious day is here for our enjoyment and I don’t want to waste it!  His blessings are new every morning! Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3: 22-23)

I walked out of my bedroom and the boys, who have been camping out in the living room for almost 2 weeks, were already awake and playing the Wii…I know…videogames…sigh. Grant had even fixed himself some breakfast! (Another huge blessing! That boy is such a picky eater; he just needs to start cooking for himself right now). I surveyed the scene and it was a mess down there, stuffed animals and other assortment of toys all around the floor and on the inflatable mattress where the boys have been sleeping. But today, I don’t care. I won’t make any kind of pronouncement about how they must pick up and how today will be the last day they keep their clutter in the living room. Not today, because today, I will rejoice in the Lord no matter what. Now, it’s time to go outside and bask in the blessed gift of this new day.

May the Healer Be Revealed

Driving down my favorite way to work one morning I heard a short devotional on the radio that was about when there isn’t much more one can do but to ask for God to “show up.” The brief meditation referred to those moments when darkness overcomes us, when the situation is too much for us to bear, when the hurt is too painful. It is in those moments when we are left with no means of our own and all we can do in our brokenness is to cry out to Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to us in a mighty and visible way.

I was very touched by the words and the Holy Spirit promptly moved me to action.  I immediately began to pray for the Lord to be revealed in my loved ones today.  I began to pray for Him to “show up.” 

I walk surrounded by wounded souls and broken spirits.  Insecurities, confusion and unanswered “whys” blur our vision and keep us from seeing His glory divine all around.  This is the moment to breathe and beg for Him to show His glory, even here, like the beautiful song by Mercy Me called “The Hurt and the Healer” say.    He sure can “breathe us back to live.”  He is the only One who can.

He breathes us back to life even when we are not even noticing.  He does show up even if we are not paying attention.  He reveals Himself daily in small details as well as in awesome wonders.  He shows up in the beauty of a summer afternoon that brightens the soul that is clouded by sorrow.  He shows up in the laughter of little children who play unaware of the hurt inside.  He shows up in the perfect song on the radio that lifts us up when we need to be picked up.  He shows up in the warm embrace of a friend and in the kind words of someone who cares.  Above all, He shows up, He reveals Himself to His own in His Word. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1: 1-5)

We may, however, miss His revelation if we lose our focus.  Like Peter, if we turn our eyes to the storm rather than keep them on the Lord, the waves overcome us and we sink.  While immerse in those moments of pain so deep that we can hardly move, the one thing we should not do is to sever our communication with the Most High.  The truth is that He has never left us, even when we don’t feel His presence.  He is always with us even when our feelings deceive us.  He never leaves us even if we can’t experience His revelation. 

Praying the Word of God while we wait in Him is imperative.  Prayer is what keeps the line of communication open as we wait for the Healer to reveal Himself, wipe away our tears and erase our pain.  Praying for Him to “show up” keeps us plugged into the outlet of His mighty power and allows us to be tuned in so we don’t miss Him when He does show up. 

The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. (1 Samuel 3: 21)