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.”

Faith Like Tomatoes or is it Tomatos? ; )

I'm not very fond of rain.  I don't like rainy days nor I find inspiration in cloudy skies.  On the contrary, rain usually has a negative impact on me.  Like yesterday, for the first time this summer I got to take my boys to the nearby swimming pool and yes, you guessed it...no you didn't!  It didn't rain.  It was just the threat of rain.  There were a few rolling thunders heard in the distance and the dutiful lifeguards proceeded to close shop. I couldn't believe it!  But I guess it is better to be safe than sorry.


We obeyed and got out of the pool and after a short visit to our friend's house, we went home.  As it happened, rain didn't come for many hours later, almost on time to go to bed; but there I was, with the memory of a delightful day interrupted by the threat of rain. (ugh)


This morning I stepped outside to see my tomato plant. I have to make a statement here.  This year, for the very first time EVAH, I planted something with my very own glove-covered hands! I armed myself with the tools of the trade and I have been growing a tomato plant since early summer.  I am very protective of it!  It is like my little friend.  I even talk to it...only because I know that the CO2 from my breath helps it grow...not because I'm lonely or something else strange...she is not my imaginary friend...I'm fine! I am!


At any rate, yesterday, after our unnecessarily shortened pool day, I saw that my plant was looking very VERY sad.  I was very worried about it.  It looked like it would never recover from the damaged the heat had caused to it. So I immediately showered it profusely, but to my dismay, the plant didn't seem to be coming back as quickly as I'd like it to do.  I worried some more.


This morning, however, after last night's rain, the ground was still looking moist and when I approached my tomato friend, I saw, to my delight, that it seemed much revived.  It still had drops of water on the budding tomatoes and that made me smile.  


I know that rain serves a purpose.  Without it life doesn't flourish and we cease to thrive.  But I resist it because it brings me down.  Cloudy skies just do something to my soul.  However, looking how much better my tomato plant does when it receives the rain, made me accept the truth in my heart.  Rain is a gift from God and nothing really can replace it.  Nothing really works as well as rain.  We can artificially water, but nothing is better than actual rain from above.  And now I finally see it.


So who cares if my little pool day didn't work as planned or didn't last as long as I would have liked it to.  For my tomato plant's sake, I do appreciate the rain : )


He will come down like rain upon the mown grass, As showers that water the earth. Psalm 72: 6

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)