Scrolling through my newsfeed, while keeping a beady eye on two squirrels fighting over an acorn on our front lawn, I wonder why humans across the world are yelling at each other.  I also wonder whether those two squirrels are intent on burying every single one of the hundreds of acorns laying on the ground.  This instinct for self-preservation is alive and well in humans and the animals of our world.

The yelling in my newsfeed is distressing.  The past fourteen months has disturbed us human creatures and we are spilling over.  We want to preserve our life – the way things have always been or the way we think things should be – and many have chosen a hill to die on.  “This far and no further”, is forcefully proclaimed!

I wonder what our newsfeeds would look like if the hill we choose to die on was:

• Being humble in spirit, listening to one another.
• Being sorrowful for the losses others have endured.
• Being patient and accommodating of our neighbors.
• Being decent and good because it is right.
• Being kind and benevolent to those who deserve the opposite.
• Being authentic and real so others can also stop pretending.
• Being peacemakers.
• Being willing to struggle – even painfully –  to understand the words of scripture and then to act, thereby putting away malice and anger.
• Being willing to put everything else aside to seek out our brother – or sister or parent or child or friend or neighbor – and reconcile our differences.
• To treat all others, all others without exception, as we would want them to treat us.

If we did these things, we would find ourselves on the hill that Jesus died on.  These are the things of which he taught on a mount near the sea of Galilee, and these are the things for which he gave his life.

If we choose these hills to die on, I think we human creatures would set ourselves apart from the squirrel on my front lawn that is desperately preserving his life by concealing one acorn in the ground when he lives in the very tree that produces the acorns.  We would possibly recognize that all the yelling and demanding and fighting is what causes our troubles in the first place.   When we are willing to live beyond defending our one acorn and we see the tree of life that provides acorns for us all, maybe millions of children will not go hungry, wondering where their next meal will come from.  Maybe the weary grandmama caring for her orphaned grandchildren will find some rest.  Perhaps the teacher in a rural African village will have books and pencils instead of writing the alphabet in the dirt under a tree.  Maybe there will be some peace on earth and a lot of goodwill to all, which is the very cause Jesus died for.

As the rain softly falls on our little patch of Africa, I pray that we will be better than the squirrels.  And I give sincere thanks for all those who are sharing their acorns.

This beautiful song by Matt Maher speaks of coram Deo. (You will be blessed listening to it.)

“Lord, I need you, O, I need you.

Every hour I need you.

My one defense, my righteousness,

O God, how I need you….

… where you are, Lord I am free,

Holiness is Christ in me.”

As I practice living coram Deo, I find a peace in following the will of Christ instead of anxiety in seeking the will of people. In his company I hear the important voices instead of the loud ones. Practicing the presence of God encourages me to relentlessly remove hurry from my life. Living under his gaze, I walk away from the tyranny of many meetings.  Instead, I seek out solitude and there I am never alone.  His presence soaks into every crevice and the beautiful friendships God has gifted to me are healthier for it. Living coram Deo I find that I need people less but I love them more.

Living before the face of God brings consistency to my life.  My heart is the same when washing dishes as it is when I am in church.  I speak of people the same as I speak to them and in this, I seek God’s words.  When I am aware that God’s face is turned toward me, I hear the symphony above the noise, I see the beggar and the businessman in the same light, I touch the gnarled stranger with the same gentleness I offer my little grandchild. Under his gaze, God’s love through me is stable.

Living coram Deo has not perfected me – far from it.  However, God’s ever-present presence is in the process of perfecting me, and daily I sing and pray and call out, “Lord, I need you, O, I need you.  Every hour I need you.”

Aaron’s blessing is one of the most profound prayers, spoken originally from God’s own mouth, gifted by him to be spoken over his people.  It is the way of life God wants for us. Today, I pray this for you and for me.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

– Numbers 6: 24-26

Sadness is not a negative emotion.  When we allow it to overstay its purpose it can be debilitating, but if we allow it to do its work, it can be a cleansing emotion.   Too much sadness leads to self-pity, but too little sadness makes us shallow and insensitive.

I am not by nature a funny person but I do love to laugh.  I laugh easily, until uncontrollable tears stream down my face.  My husband laughs in a way that is contagious; just listening to him makes others laugh.  My 3-year-old grandson had the entire movie theatre giggling at how hard he laughed at the new Grinch movie this holiday season.  The sight of that furry green creature in ridiculous underpants tickled his funny bone to no end. I have a friend who passes out when he laughs too hard, but I’ve never yet seen that stop him.  Laughter, the bible tells us, is as good as medicine.  Joy, like sadness, is good for our soul.

In many cultures, it is traditional to sing Auld Lang Syne as the New Year begins.  It is an old folk song that perfectly captures the emotions of this time.  It is filled with both melancholy for the year past and anticipation for the year to come.  It is a call to remember our friendships and take them into the future with us –  “Should old acquaintance be forgot … We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.”

The book of Proverbs says it very well; “Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family …”

We may have regrets at this time of the year.  Regrets about things we did not accomplish during the year – a better job, a nicer home, more money.  None of this can possibly equal the regrets we carry regarding broken relationships.   It is for this that we should embrace any sadness we have.  We should allow it to speak to us, to teach us, to better us.  The melancholy should spur us to make amends wherever possible, to forgive where needed, to let go of offenses where necessary and to allow the joy of new beginnings fill our soul and make us kind.  As the New Year begins may our sadness make us more gentle creatures, touching others carefully.  May our joy make us more forgiving creatures, touching others with grace.   Thomas Merton said it well.  “Our job is to love others without stopping to enquire whether or not they are worthy.”  Jesus said it even better, ^“ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

May we each embrace this new (and ancient) commandment in the year to come. 

Happy New Year to you and all those you love.

One of the core values of the organization where I serve is Respect. Psalm 138:6 tells us that even though the Lord is high, he regards (or respects – Amplified Bible) the lowly. Respect is when we give due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others. The Lord is our role model in that, no matter how high we consider ourselves to be, we are to be respectful toward all, even, or maybe more especially, to those we consider to be lowly. It does not mean we never disagree with others; of course we do and may – even Jesus did – as long as our disagreement does not flow over into disrespect. At our organization we define disrespect as any action that diminishes or undermines someone else.

When we regard the feelings of others, it is a kindness we show toward them. Simple things like greeting someone – showing that you notice them and you acknowledge them. I know a woman who greets others with the kind of joy you display when seeing a long last friend after years of separation, yet she may have seen them the day before. The introvert in me admires that so much and I try and emulate that kindness within the parameters of my own personality.

In the United States, we have just come through the mid-term elections. We have witnessed disrespectful behavior on a daily basis for months on end. It has been painful to bear. Yet, in the midst of this, I have seen people take the high ground of respect. Not the kind of respect that says, “I admire you for what you stand for” but rather, the kind of respect that says, “I do not agree with what you stand for and I don’t really like the way you behave, but I will treat you respectfully. I will give due regard for your feelings.”

Oh, that I would always strive to take the high road and avoid giving in to the cheap, short-lived satisfaction of the low blows. The contemplative person in me sits and examines my actions over the past year. There are definite moments when I have failed. In humbling myself before the Lord with a contrite heart, I feel encouraged by the Spirit that, this year, the scales for me tipped toward the high road of respect. That is a win and I have seen the fruit of this in the beautiful and deep relationships I have enjoyed.

Respect is a form of kindness and kindness is an attribute of love and love never fails.

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:29-32

From my bed I watch the rivulets run down the windowpane and I think of rivers of living water. I think of Jesus and of drinking of him and of never thirsting again.

Our souls long for the rain that soaks deep and brings refreshing to forgotten seeds planted long ago. Alongside deeply rooted trees, grown to maturity, the God of all creation continuously germinates seeds in our life. There is always the new within the old, the hope within the constant, the young trickle within a flowing river.

Our God establishes us and he refreshes us. He leads us beside still waters and he quenches us with fountains that spring forth.   He quiets our soul and he disturbs us deeply.

Oh, that we would taste and see that the Lord is good.

“Blessed is the one … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” – Psalm 1:1-3