A special day

It's only happened four times. Ever. Today is both Mother's Day and my niece's birthday, a day of remembrance for me and a day of celebration.

Mom

Haley

Among other implications, I only have one place to put a profile picture on Facebook.

But seriously, it is a day full of mixed feelings. I miss my mother terribly, and at the same time I am so thankful for what she did to make me the man I am today. (To get a wonderful description of her, take time to listen to the audio link at the bottom of this blog post.) And I am so very proud of my niece Haley, who has graduated from the University of Alabama and has a wonderful heart, following in the footsteps of her mother on that.

Two amazing people being celebrated on the same day.

It calls to mind a scripture that seems to be very strange. In the second of the Ten Commandments delivered to Moses, the LORD instructs his people not to make any graven images - any idols to worship. And then he says this,

(F)or I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgressions of fathers by dealing with children for the iniquity of their parents to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 

- Exodus 20:5-6 (New English Translation)

What a seemingly odd statement - difficult for our Western minds to get our arms around it. We are so individualistic, and we tend to think of God's action in terms of intervention and miracles. But this statement would not have been at all surprising in its cultural context, for they understood YHWH to be God who works through history and his hand is in the details of daily life. So really, this passage is just expressing a truth that we all can observe:

The choices we make have consequences.

When people follow the instructions of the Lord - living consistent lives of loving God and loving people - and teaching their children to do so, the way God has wired human nature means that there is an excellent chance of that faithfulness being passed down. And unfortunately, the opposite is true - when children have terrible examples to follow, the results are tragic way too often.

This would be a principle that Paul in the New Testament would call "reaping and sowing" - you get what you plant. Now through Jesus we have the  amazing grace of God, which busts up the cycle and gives people from the worst backgrounds a brand new start.

I say all this to make a point about my mother. She fostered an atmosphere of love, obedience, and trusting God with the details of her life. She helped those who were in need, often without anyone ever knowing. She provided a listening ear for her children and grandchildren so that we knew someone was there who would love us no matter what, but guide us to the truth.

And, true to the passage above, I see her fingerprints on her grandchildren. Holly. Hunter. Macy. Haley. Brooke. Her grandchildren, the nieces and nephew I love so much, bear the mark of their grandmother's faith. So, there it is - to the third generation.

The hard scriptures are just as important as the easy ones. I am thankful for this one - and for my mother who lived it out.

Going Back for More

This is the text of a guest post I did for the Frazer OneFamily blog. I thought this would be a good time to post it here, as we have a little less than ten days to get new sign ups for this year's Visiting Orphans trip to Ethiopia (details here). If you're even thinking about it (or even if you're not), this is why we go:

It was a normal December day less than four years ago. My phone rang at work and I recognized the number. It was my niece Brooke. 

I had promised to take her on a trip for graduation. She was calling to tell me that she wanted to go on a mission trip. 

To Africa.

Africa? Umm, ok. 

I’ve got to confess that in my 50 years I had never once had a thought that I wanted to set foot on African soil. I was so proud of her for wanting to do this, but this was intimidating. Maybe her mom would tell us she couldn’t go.  

I am so glad she didn’t. 

Through the wisdom and heart of this teenager, God moved my heart and gave me an incredible love for the children of a community on the west side of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  A place called Korah.  Out of a two-week trip, we only spent two days in Korah. But God spoke to me and I knew I would be back. 

We spent time with a ministry that was doing a summer camp (VBS-like) program for the children, and setting up a programs that would allow many of them to break the cycle and get an education while hearing the Good News. 

This summer I will be going back for the fourth time.  I can’t stay away. 

There are some who would say, why? 

Why keep going back to visit the same children? 

Why not donate money rather than spend it going over there? 

What good are you doing by seeing them one week a year?

Fair questions.  I could probably write a book about why I believe God is leading me to travel across the world to see these people again and again. Or I could just quote James 1:27. But here are just a few reasons I keep going back:

Well, James 1:27…and dozens of other passages about God’s heart for the oppressed. Actually, not just dozens of isolated passages, but a theme – a thread – running through the entire Bible. Jesus came to rescue us when we were most helpless, just as the God of Israel had done throughout the Old Testament. He didn’t just send us provisions to meet our needs; he came in person. We are called to do the same. There is no substitute for a smile, a kind word, a touch, and time spent with someone. I don’t know about you, but my greatest need is to know I’m loved. There’s nothing that says, “I love you” like a personal visit.

I think we have fallen into the trap of believing that money solves all problems. We believe it about our own lives – if I just had a little more, I’d be happy. Well, it’s not true for us and it’s not true for them. Yes, financial support is important. But it is no substitute for what happens when they see a bus roll down their street full of Christ-followers who cared enough to come spend time with them and share “not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8)

I can’t share my life with them without ever seeing them. I love my friends who are investing their lives in these children full time. This is so important, because I’m fooling myself if I think one week a year is going to change the lives of the people in Addis.  Right? 

Wrong..... if my visits encourage the hearts of those God is using there 365/24/7, then yes, it is making a difference. I’m talking about both the leaders who were born in Addis and devoted their lives to changing their community and those from other countries who have been called to live there full time. I go each year praying that something about my visit will help my friends there lift up Jesus and change the lives of the children. It’s not hit-and-run ministry; it’s a small part in a bigger plan. 

To the extent that I remember that, I can get excited about how God is using me without getting a false sense that I have to save everyone because I have limited time. I am there to serve the people God has placed there.

It changes me. 

God has worked through my Africa experience to give me heart for orphans in our community. My eyes have been opened to needs all around me, and it began when he opened my eyes to the needs of children 8,000 miles away. 

I have a much greater view of how big God is and his plan for the nations because I’ve seen his work among the people of Addis. If you want to really see the heart of God, spend time with the people he has a heart for.

Those are just a few reasons – well, looking back maybe I did write a book! But there’s just so much to say. God is more awesome, merciful, loving, powerful, and wise than I ever imagined before July 2010.  And I owe that to my dear friends in Ethiopia.

And so I keep going back for more.

Amazing Grace

Today I look back 42 years to "the hour I first believed." I'm still amazed...

Attention span

Graduations are very cool things. For every single person who walks across that stage, it's one of the most important days of their life. Family and friends are there, because they all want to be there for the graduate who has worked so hard for that day.

I attended a graduation ceremony today for the University of Alabama. So first let me say congratulations to my nephew-in-law-to-be (that's not a word, is it?) Drew, who was graduated today with an engineering degree. A major accomplishment, believe me. And he deserves double congratulations, because he will be marrying my niece Macy, one of the three top young ladies in the millennial generation.

So…I was sitting in Coleman Coliseum and the graduation candidates began to file in. It took around 25 minutes for them all to get to their seats. It was quite a sight - rows and rows and rows of young college students (for another hour or so), and for each one of them, this day was huge. I estimate that a little over a thousand names were read in this ceremony. A thousand! And it was only one of three ceremonies that were necessary to get all the students graduated.

So what do you do when you are about to listen to a thousand names being read? Names being read, with no commentary in between, for well over an hour. Well, you can zone out. You play a game, or surf Facebook or Twitter on your phone. You can use your Kindle app to read something. Or you can try to actually listen to every name. After all, the thousands of people sitting in Coleman were really there to hear one name, and one name only, read - their loved one.

I must confess that I go through all of the above every time I attend a graduation. It's hard. I really do even go through a time period where I'm trying to think how important it is for each person and listen…but the mind wanders so easily. The human attention span has its limits.

That's why I am absolutely in awe of my Father in heaven. His does not. For him, it took no effort at all for him to give complete and undivided attention to each and every graduate who crossed that stage. He knows them all by name, has numbered every hair on their heads, and cares about every single detail of their lives. While I'm struggling to listen - in spurts - he is reacting to every single one of them the way we reacted when it was Drew's turn. For him, like us, the ceremony is about the one he came to see. Except…it's all of them!

Hear what the Scripture says about each of them - and all of us…

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

- Psalm 139:1-5

He got that right! Way too wonderful for me to grasp. Yeah, I knew that already, intellectually. I knew it was impossible to grasp how in the world God could know every single one of us personally - and love us. But as I listened to name after name after name after name……………it began to hit me. God's ways are so much higher than mine. There's no point to me ever trying to second guess him.

But I am convinced that it is true. And I am thankful.