Probably......

I've told this story to several of y'all recently, but a friend of mine encouraged me to tell it here just one more time!

Several years back, my friend Margaret* and I met up for dinner. She had recently moved about a bazillion miles away... okay, okay, so maybe that's a slight over exaggeration. She moved from McKinney to North Fort Worth. But it felt like a bazillion miles away.

So, we met-up in Lewisville for a night of catching up. I was so excited to have a break from my mothering duties AND getting to see one of my bffs. It promised to be a night of belly-aching laughter.

Needless to say, I was so not excited when a woman came in with a young child, and they were seated directly next to us. And I really wasn't happy when said child began, promptly and continuously, to scream and carry-on. and on. and on. and on. And she didn't even look like she cared a flying-flip!!!

I mean... COME. ON. This was my one break! Throw me a bone already!

And when my friend Margaret went to the restroom, I just... looked at that woman (admittedly, I probably had a bit of scorn in my eyes) and that screaming child. And then I decided that when Margaret got back to the table that she and I would play our "Probably" game... but this time, with a twist.

BACKGROUND: What IS The Probably Game?

Margaret and I have played "The Probably Game" since I can remember. Honestly, we originally started it to "lessen" people who, in our minds, appeared perfect. I know that makes us sound like... well, like the kind of girls that no one would want to be friends with... but is more than likely because both of us tend to hide our insecurities under a veil of humor. But, here is one of my first memories of an example of "The Probably Game":

Margaret went with me to the Acura car dealership because I had fallen hopelessly in love with their RSX and my other car had been obliterated by a woman from Georgia in a mini-van (but that's a story for another day). Anyway, there was this guy at the Acura dealership who was all dressed up in his rich-boy finery and was there to test-drive an Acura NSX (a car that, at the time, went for roughly ninety-grand... wait, sorry... the words just aren't as powerful as the actual number... $90,000... for a car. for a college kid. Seriously... just LOOK at all those zeros!!!)

So, Margaret and I, in a state of half-jealously and half-disdain made up a scenario for this young bloke: "Probably... he is the heir to a fortune made entirely off of the sales of toilet paper, and probably he has no friends (which is precisely why he is buying this car) and probably in two years we'll see him begging under the bridge at Harry Hines with that NSX as his only companion."

I know, I know... not super nice, but really it was more funny to us than anything. But anyway, back to our dear friend at the restaurant with the screaming child...

When Margaret got back to the table, I motioned my eyes over at the woman and said, "Probably... probably her husband was deployed to Afghanistan and he has been there for six months. Probably, her dad sent her a gift card to this restaurant because he had it laying around the house and he doesn't like to go out to eat since his divorce, and probably this is the first time that she has had a meal cooked for her and served to her by someone else in the past half-year."

Margaret, of course, picked up immediately... "Probably... her child has an ear infection in both ears and has been screaming all week. Probably, she has an appointment with the pediatrician tomorrow and she won't be able to pay because all of their money is wrapped up in paying for their house payment."

And for the rest of the evening, every time we heard that baby cry. every time she looked apathetic to the screaming in her ear. every time the waiter filled up her iced tea. every time... we looked over at her in empathy. When the baby would scream, yet again, we often remarked to each other, in our oblivious "probably" state, how much we appreciated what the troops were doing overseas.

Soooo, yeah, we made all of that up. I mean... who knows, maybe it was true. But we were just guessing at things that probably would make us feel understanding, empathetic, considerate... instead of annoyed, judgmental, and condescending.

And in the time that has followed that dinner-out, I have used "The Probably Game" hundreds of times... mostly to help me identify with someone that might otherwise annoy me, or anger me, or hurt me. And it works. so. well. And I have just recently come to understand that it works because I am trying, in my human way, to tap into the way that Jesus sees people. For example, the woman at the well (John 4:6-30,39-42)... Jesus knew her situation... He knew that she had been with a whole bunch of guys. He knew that she was hurting. He even knew what had gotten her into that situation.

Yeah, but newsflash... I'm not Jesus. I don't know what an.y.one. is going through. I don't know where they have been. I don't know who has hurt them. abused them. slandered them. teased them. And since I don't know sometimes it's so difficult to feel empathy and compassion... so that's where "The Probably Game" comes into play in my life and hopefully in your life. It gives me the empathy and compassion of Christ where there was none.

You should probably try it. It will probably work. It will probably help Him... to help you... to help them.

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

And, if you want to practice, feel free to come up with a "Probably..." for why I am late (again) with my post! Some of you might actually hit the nail right on the head! Ha!


*Names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent. Hehe!

Just One

*This was written in October 2011 but was never published on this blog....

Have you ever thought about how much God loves each one of us? How He goes out of His way to make Himself known to every person? How He sent His Son just for you?

For Believers, I think we all understand on some level that He cares about each of us individually, but God has been speaking so clearly to me about it in the past few days. In BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), we talked about how in Acts 8 God sent Philip specifically down a certain road to meet up with an Ethiopian eunuch in order to help him understand what he was reading so that he might know and be saved. As I thought about it, I was reminded that God is a personal God--He cared so much about that one person that he changed someone's path so that they could meet.

I've also been thinking about our friends who received the referral for their adoption this past week. Their daughter-to-be is 13.5 months old. They had been on the wait list 16.5 months, so they were put on the list 3 months before she was born. If the adoption process hadn't slowed so dramatically, she wouldn't have been placed with them because their minimum age requirement is 13 months. But God knew. He knew that she was to become their daughter, and He worked it out in His perfect timing. He cares about their family, and he knows that this little girl belongs in their family.

I have also thought back to my first trip to South Africa. On that trip, I was sick a lot, I barely had a voice, and at times I wondered exactly why God sent me. And then, near the end of the trip, we watched the Jesus film, and I was able to pray with a girl to receive Christ. He placed me in the exact spot at the exact moment when I needed to see a girl whose heart had seemed hardened suddenly become broken as she watched the movie show what Christ had done for us--for her. And I had the privilege of being there when a girl's life was changed--because God cared so much about her.

I know that God is the God of the Universe, and I can't even begin to fathom how He keeps track of us all,--other than to say that He's God and He just can--but He is more than just this guy up somewhere watching it all play out. He CARES about us. He goes out of His way to show us who He is and how important we are to Him.

He cares about you as you cry yourself to sleep. He care about you as you celebrate your victories. He cares about you as you wonder how you could've ever fallen so far. He cares about you when you wonder if He's real. He cares about you--no matter what. And even more, He LOVES you. And He loves me.

The God of the Universe sent His One and Only Son to die on a cross so that we might live. You see Jesus died, but He didn't stay dead. On the third day He rose again, and He did it all for you. He did it for me. He loves and cares for each one of us.

As our pastor said recently, Jesus + nothing = everything. Jesus is more than enough. Do you know Him? I promise you, He is worth the risk. And He wants a relationship with you. Every one of you. Will you give Him a chance?

Is Jesus Enough?

I've heard it be said (and I've said it myself), "Jesus is enough. Jesus + nothing = everything. Jesus is all I need." And it's true, He should be enough. If I received no other good gift in my life, it would be enough because it would be eternity with Jesus. But I am spoiled.

You see, I've been given a lot of good gifts in my life. From the beginning, God has given me other good gifts, "bonus" gifts if you will. I was raised in a godly family. I was surrounded by people who loved God. I went to a Christian university where I was surrounded by more people who loved Jesus, and who taught me more about what that meant. I married a godly man and I birthed two amazing children. I was allowed to go to South Africa three different times and learn more about reaching the world while also falling in love with a whole different group of people--people who have influenced our decision to grow our family as we now are adopting from Africa.

We now live in an incredible town with more than I could ever ask for. We have great neighbors, schools, sports teams, our church family, and, of course, friends. Nothing beats the friends I've made in the last nine years. And I mean it: NOTHING beats the friends we have here. We have been abundantly blessed.

So, what if God took it all away? Would it still be "enough" for me?

I've been thinking about that this week, and I have to tell you, it's rather unsettling to me. You see, I want Jesus to be enough, but I find myself saying, "but, God....". And I find myself becoming rather pouty at the idea that God might ever take away anything that I'm not comfortable losing. Selfish? Yes. Honest? Yes.

What about you? If God told you today to do something that didn't fit into your plans of what your life should look like, how would you respond? Would you immediately find joy and peace or would you struggle? (Please tell me I'm not the only one who would struggle!)

As I move forward in this Jesus life, I want Jesus to be enough--even though my humanity argues it even as I type it. My spirit wants Him to be enough; my flesh says I want it all. It seems like a battle that may not be reconciled fully until Christ returns or I join Him in Heaven. But, I want to continue to fight the battle. I don't ever want to grow so comfortable that I fail to reach the lost. I don't want to grow so comfortable that I no longer grow.

I want to live the Jesus life, even if it hurts.

In My Seat

As we near September 11, many of us find ourselves thinking back to where we were that morning in 2001. I was a middle school teacher at the time, and my classes were doing research in the library that day, so I was standing in the library watching it on TV as it happened. My sister-in-law lived in New York at the time, and my thoughts immediately turned to her as I tried to remain calm for my students while checking in with my family. It was a day none of us will forget, but for this man in the video below, it was a day when someone "took his place."

He does an amazing job of not only telling us how September 10-11 played out for his life, but also explaining how Someone else has taken the place for all of us. This video is a little long (15 minutes), but it was worth every minute of it--not merely to remember September 11, but to think about the One who died for each one of us. Christ, the One and Only, took the place that we deserve and did what we could never qualify to do--He saved us from certain eternal death. I will be forever grateful....

*Thanks to Pastor Richard for posting this video yesterday on Facebook.

Balance

Luke 9:23 If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

I like Kelly’s entry where it says, “We have started this blog to investigate the Jesus-life, to encourage, equip, and challenge other brothers and sisters in Christ as we journey together.”

One of my favorite songs is One Pure and Holy Passion:
"Give me one pure and holy passion,
Give me one magnificent obsession,
Jesus give me one glorious ambition for my life,
To know and follow hard after you.”

If this is your obsession, you may have noticed that the “Jesus-life” is not always a bed of roses.

As I thought and prayed about what to write about this week, I kept coming back to Balance. Over the past year or so, I have experienced some of the most incredible spiritual highs I have ever encountered, found myself in places I never imagined I would be experiencing God’s kingdom as a present reality. And then there have been extreme lows as I wrestled with God over areas of my life He wanted to reveal and challenge me to let go and live forgiven. So, what does all of this have to do with Balance?

Having grown up without seeing what a healthy relationship looks like, and finding myself at the end of a tumultuous dysfunctional long term relationship, I once asked my pastor at the time, how will I ever know what a healthy relationship looks or feels like? One way he explained is that a healthy relationship is one where there are not extreme highs and lows like a rollercoaster ride. Even though there may be bumps in the road, it should just ebb and flow.

Mirriam-Webster's online dictionary defines Balance as mental and emotional steadiness; physical equilibrium; a counterbalancing weight, force, or influence.

So, applying this to the spiritual life, that is what Balance looks like. God wants to take us to the mountain top, and we do have struggles in our life, but the Jesus-life is a steady flow that lets Jesus write His-story through our lives and provide the mental and emotional steadiness and the counterbalancing weight, force, or influence defined by Webster. I love how Mark Batterson talks about chasing the Holy Spirit in his book The Wild Goose Chase.

Have you ever felt like your life is turning into a tragedy? A spouse cheats on you. A boss unfairly fires you. Or someone hurts you in a way that seems beyond your ability to heal.

Listen, you still get to choose your attitude. And while you may not like the chapter of life you’re in, the final chapter has yet to be written…If you feel like you’re stuck in a tragedy, here’s my advice: give Jesus complete editorial control over your life. You have to quit trying to write your own story.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Seeking spiritual balance starts with prayer, which is the foundation of the faithful life, of the calling to which we are called. Everybody does it differently. The same person does it differently at different times. What's important is that you find a way to do it, because it is the way that you ground yourself in the love of God, in the adoration of God, in the desire for God. Don't leave it out.

I Thessalonians 5:17... pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

If you need help getting started, a friend shared a 15-15-15 challenge to commit to 15 minutes of prayer and 15 minutes of Bible study every day for 15 days. You will probably find that 15 minutes isn’t enough and it will change your life.

To be continued…