Ribtickler Articles

His Word

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:12 GMT

Angie sobbed into the phone. “I can’t believe it—I am so angry! Thomas just got hired at a new job—one that he loves. We felt that we finally had a chance to get ahead of the bills, and actually save some money. Today we got his test results back--he’s been diagnosed with cancer—it’s in the last stage! Just the day before that, I had found out I was pregnant. I’m supposed to be happy! I don’t know if I’ll have the baby before he dies, but at least I’ll have a part of him. If there is a God, how could He do this to us?”

Megan remembered the phone call two weeks ago, and the anguished voice of her childhood friend. She reread the short email in front of her: “I lost the baby. I hate God.” Moving her laptop to shield it from the tears, she squeezed a sofa pillow.

“Lord, what now?” Megan called out loud. “You know that Angie and Thomas are not believers. I’ve known them all my life, Lord, and it hurts so much that there’s nothing I can do. How many times have I talked to them about You? They’ve always just brushed my words away. Sometimes they’ve been angry with me. I just want to be near them now--just want to take a meal over to them, Lord, but they’re too far away for that. If I say anything about You, they’re just going to shut down, and won’t talk at all. But right now, they really need You. Please—what do I say to them?”

Exhausted and numb after carrying the heaviness all week, Megan sat down on Friday with a greeting card she had found. On the front, a picture of the ocean—Angie’s favorite place. Inside, a blank page. “Lord, I’ve been trying to change them on my own, with my words. I’ve felt like the inside of this card. What they need are Your words of hope. If they are ever going to accept You as their very own, then nothing I say will ever give more hope than that. So Lord, I’m going to write Your words in their card--just two verses. If they turn away from them, then nothing else would have made any difference. It’s Your Word that will change their hearts when they are ready to be changed. I’ll hand-write the verses-- they would never look in a Bible. Even if they tear this up, I will hold on to the hope that Your Words will still lodge in their hearts. Please use them, Lord.”

Stopping several times to keep tears off of the card, Megan wrote out John 3:16 and 1 Thess. 4:13, signed her name, and sealed the envelope. “I may never hear what they do with this card, Lord, but I have done what I can do.”

Prov. 13:12

Psalm 31:24

Melting snow

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:02 GMT

At the end of a week’s worth of treacherous weather and white stuff in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, the phrase, “melt the snow…” came to mind. Investigating the thought, I realized I was trying to rewrite Henry van Dyke’s “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”:

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

Along with snow, there can be much heaviness and sadness at this time of year. Maybe Christmas did not meet expectations, or piles of bills mirror the drifts outside. Perhaps heaviness comes with thoughts of enduring endless winter weather.

It is alarmingly easy to forget about the tidings of comfort and joy sung about in December. But, along with that hope, we can reflect on this! No matter our season in life, our “God of glory” and “Lord of love” has the ultimate power to melt and drive away the sadness and doubt that weights us. True gladness and light are from Him—we cannot insert our own and find relief. He longs to fill our lives with them while we wait for that cloudless day when He appears to take us home.

Psalm 112:4; 119:130; 139:12

Isaiah 35:10

Mirror Image

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:43 GMT

Mia Kulpa peered into her mirror and made a gruesome discovery. “Ahhh—wrinkles! That’s it, Mirror—you’re a piece of worthless junk. You’re toast!” She wrenched it off of the wall, and took it outside to the trash. “I need a mirror that works!” After thinking, briefly, she got into her car and sped to the $1 store.

“Mirrors…mirrors…,” she muttered, hunting the aisles. “Here they are—on the wall!” Mia spent a half-hour trying them out—small yellow ones, larger pink ones with handles, even a shiny black one that lit up when you opened it. “None of these work, either. They all tell me that I have wrinkles. I must go to Costmore—maybe an expensive one will give me a smooth face.”

At Costmore, she found May Balleen, a salesperson at the counter.

“I’m looking for an expensive mirror –one that helps me look great,” Mia told May.

“Well,” said May, unlocking the cabinet below and pulling out a large, shiny mirror, “Look at this-- it’s our best one. This button lights it. The other side magnifies your face, and these fake zirconium crystals make it really cool and sparkly. Try it.”

Mia tried it, and yelled loudly, “It still says I have wrinkles, but now they’re even larger and brighter and sparklier! What’s wrong with these mirrors?”

“Well,” said May Balleen, “Maybe it’s your face.”

“What do you mean—what’s wrong with my face?” Mia demanded.

“Did you ever think that maybe all the mirrors are right? You just need to change what you’re doing to your face,” May replied.

As much as Mia didn’t want to believe it, deep inside she knew what May said was right. Mia didn’t need a new mirror; she just needed to use the one she had. Back at home, she replaced the original. “OK,” she said, “Tell me what I need to know.”

Most of us are aware of our many needs, issues, faults—whatever name you give them. But when the Lord holds up the mirror of His Word and we see something not quite right with ourselves, how do we react? Surely that’s not me, Lord, is it? Nah—couldn’t be. Well, I’m not going to be reading those verses again any time soon…too discouraging to think about. It actually changes the image I have of myself--not a good thing. I’ll go find someone who will tell me what I want to hear. It’s like junk food for my soul—and boy, do I need junk food; it makes me feel good now (though pretty lousy later on). I’ll ask, “Please tell me I’m doing all right in this area? Tell me I: …am not a prideful person…always think before I speak...just gave the right advice to my child…” I’ll avoid my friends who speak truthfully—it hurts too much to hear what I know is right.

The Lord longs for us stoop down for a close, intent look into the mirror of His Word and respond to it. When we fail to see what He has for us, He may use a godly friend to get our attention. That friend loves us enough to risk hurting or offending us in their rebuke. Though we are helped in the process, it may take some time before we can actually thank them. We can’t forget, however, to thank our best Friend, Who continues to patiently draw us to Himself until we are a reflection of Him.

Prov. 27:5

Lev. 19:17

James 1:23-25

The Black Hole

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:58 GMT

A few years ago, I wrote about my purse. Many of you seemed to relate. For me, owning a purse requires close supervision of its contents, since I tend to forget where I’ve put an item or can’t easily put my hands on it. Compartmentalizing was a good answer--something smaller than a diaper bag, and with more pockets. Though for someone who works hard to be organized, even the pocket idea is not fool-proof. Which pocket did I put that in? Maybe voice-activated software would be useful—I can say, “pen”, and the correct pocket will vibrate, buzz, or talk back to me.

Today, with the new year in mind, I clean out my purse once again. I had discovered something floating around below the lining, and wanted to get to the bottom of it. Investigation revealed a hole in an outside pocket which led to the “basement area”. As I shook the purse sideways so that everything below the lining tumbled toward the hole, I thought how sad it is when a grown woman feels excitement over something like this, then has to write about it. How long had stuff been under there? What would I find? I pulled up my prizes--mints, gum, pennies, gum stuck to pennies, a cough drop, more gum pieces, something in a wrapper with the writing worn off, a small hand sanitizer (so that’s where it was), a thumb drive (I hadn’t even remembered losing it—scary memory thought), some keys…wait—I know I didn’t lose any keys! More investigation revealed another hole, this one in the key section. I was pulling keys from that hole into the first one. Pinning the fabric--the favorite option—was out. This was a needle and thread job.

As I stitched, I thought about my heart and things that could be flopping around in the bottom of it, things that should be immediately dealt with and put in the correct spot. Heavier items could definitely create the “holes”. Anger, bitterness, fear, jealousy--these caustic things, if not confessed and given to the Lord to dispose of, could work their way out of sight until they were forgotten and the urge to deal with them had waned. Then, without daily monitoring, small joys and encouragements might tumble in after them, unappreciated and also lost to sight.

It frustrates me to think that I repeatedly carry those heavy things, especially when I could go easily and often to the Lord during the day to unload them from my heart. How sad that it must take a few sessions of His wise and patient disciplining before I am ready to part with them, time better spent enjoying the glorious riches that He waits to give me. Maybe leaving those holes in my purse would be the best thing; it would remind me to continuously be checking the thoughts and contents of my heart.

Hebrews 4:12

Going Places With Neva Neverlost

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:19 GMT

Going Places With Neva Neverlost

A Silent Night With Neva --North American Style

We first met “Neva Neverlost” in a rental car, and spent a week with this GPS (Going Places Sanely)—our first experience with her kind. Though we couldn’t take her home with us, we can only imagine what Christmas shopping might be like with a GPS who has a mind of her own…

“OK, Neva…here we go!” I franticly programmed my shopping partner, simultaneously babbling about my intended destinations. “This is going to be a wonderful, peaceful Christmas, isn’t it! There’s a lot to do, but I can make it happen. Yeah…it’ll all get done, won’t it, Neva. You don’t mind if the Christmas CD is on, do you? I’ll turn it down so I can still hear you. There—some quiet, peaceful carols will be great.”

Silent night…holy night… I backed out onto the street. “OK, so first we’re going to The Bargain Bin. I think I need more decorations this year…their Christmas stuff is really cheap.”

….Sleep in heavenly peace … My fingers rum-pa-pum-pummeled the steering wheel as I waited for a break in traffic. “If everyone would just slow down a teensy bit, I could get in!” I muttered. “Then, on to the mall—we have to get to the Figgery Farms display before the baskets of figgy puddings are sold out.”

….O morning stars together … “I want to buy a basket for all of our neighbors, and the paper boy, and the dentist—OK, not the dentist. Why do the other lanes always move faster than mine? If we ever get going, we can beat the after-school rush and park closer to the store.”

…proclaim the holy birth… “While we’re there I’ll run to the post office at the other end to buy stamps for these Christmas cards and mail them and these missionary packages. Hey—that car pulled in front of me—I WAS HERE FIRST!”

…and praises sing to God our King… “Next, it’s over to Costmore to pick up a meat and cheese platter for the church Christmas program on Sunday. I wish I hadn’t signed up for it now. I don’t see why somebody else can’t do something once in awhile!”

…and peace to men on earth… “Oh, and there’s the sale on poinsettias at Frugalmart—wonder if we can make it before it starts to get dark. Oh no—I’ve forgotten my coupon! HEY—LET ME GET INTO THE TURN LANE! Honestly—it’s Christmas, people—have a little good will!”

“…recalculating…“

“Not now, Neva, I’m trying to focus here…please be quiet!”

“…recalculating…at the next… opportunity…make…a legal…u-turn.”

“Sorry, Neva, we’re almost there, and besides, that’s not what I programmed you to do.”

“…recalculating…” Her voice reminded me of my grade four math teacher.

“Stop it, Neva…you’re making me upset…”

“…recalculating…”

Horns blared as the wheel suddenly spun through my hands on its own; we were heading in the opposite direction.

“What’s going on?” I couldn’t budge the wheel. The brake and gas pedals moved by themselves.

“Neva! I refuse to be taken hostage by a satellite and a piece of plastic! You work for me, remember?” I yelled.

Ignoring my fuming, Neva expertly threaded us through traffic and headed us homeward and into my driveway. I grabbed the door handle…locked. All efforts to leave the car proved futile. Even the horn was silent.

It was dark by the time I had calmed. (To her credit, Neva did allow the heat on). I thought about my idea of Christmas, and peace. Didn’t I have good will? Wasn’t I trying to make this a festive time? What was wrong with wanting to meet a deadline, or giving gifts to others, or serving, or getting bargains to stay out of debt? Did I need to give up my enjoyment of Christmas to have peace?

I thought about how, long before any commercial celebration of our own making, that angelic choir had glorified God for His Gift and proclaimed peace while their astounded audience of shepherds listened from front-row seats. This good will that they heard about was based on God’s sending His Son. That peace had not immediately become mine. No, I had to come face to face with the Prince of Peace, realizing and accepting Him as the only way to be delivered from my peace-less state and being reconciled to Him through the death of His Son. I now had daily access to that peace, but my ability to receive it depended on whether I followed my will or His.

There in the car I decided that, if I really wanted that daily peace, then programming my heart to seek His will should come before programming Neva. Yes, busyness would still be there, and I would eventually cross off entries on my Christmas “to do” list. But, as John 14:27 says, the peace that He left is not the peace of the world, nor the way the world views it. I could celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas and know that I had access to His peace, whether I was somewhere alone for that day, or whether I stood in the middle of a mall on Dec. 24th. I never want to stop being amazed by those words in Luke 2.

Oh-- in case you were wondering, Neva did eventually let me out of the car.

Going Places With Neva…The Meeting

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:21 GMT

My husband and I first met “Neva” (Hertz NeverLost) in a rental car. The device was complimentary. She was our GPS (Going Places Sanely); we would soon be her most ardent fans. Totally unfamiliar with her “kind”, there were a few discombobulating moments of screen-tapping at the beginning before Neva was up and running. She must have made good money as a GPS, for she had an assistant who read street names to us in a condescending, saccharine voice (this must have been an overtime trip for her-- the woman clearly needed a break).

We knew about GPS devices but… Traveling without a map was a strange feeling, heady but tentative. Could we trust Neva? Did she really know the way? Yet we continued to listen in awe as she told us where to go and what to do. We even quit looking at signs. Our conversation was hushed lest we miss an important edict:

“Approaching freeway exit on the right in two…point…zero…miles.”

“Take the next freeway exit on the right in…point…four…miles.”

“Freeway exit on the right, followed by a…keep…right.”

She even played “ding dong” at the exact moment we were to turn. To continue on, we heard ”ding ding”.

Then it happened. Two freeway entrances loomed, a few feet from each other; which one to take? Without waiting for the reassuring “ding dong”, we careened onto the first one, and immediately heard,

“Take the next freeway exit on the right in…point…2…miles.” While Neva barked orders to get us back on track, we meekly obeyed, dizziness replacing headiness. We finally realized our mistake: we had taken the exit that sent us east instead of west. A quick sign-reading session would have solved that problem, Neva or not.

Why is it that, in our quest to find guidance in our lives, we are so easily diverted from our spiritual “Road Map”? Even with a God Who promises to guide us in all truth and wisdom, we can find ourselves enticed by a smooth presentation or an impressive website or brochure. We feel pulled to trust our health, finances, or retirement to these distractions. We may even base our choice of a church on “Wow—check out this program” rather than on how they present the Word.

Sometimes we are diverted by fear or uncertainty, especially if we’re navigating alone. A major decision looms ahead; now what do we do? We’re not sure who to ask for help or even what questions to ask, and we sure don’t want to be a bother to anyone.

When the voices of this world become too confusing, it’s time to pull over to the side of the road, listen to the Lord’s voice in His Word, find a trustworthy counselor, and use the common sense that He has allotted us (scant though it may be!). He does not delight in seeing us fearfully floundering on our life’s course. He wants us to find joy in the way that He has set before us. What great assurance to know that He is our Guide forever, and that we will follow His illumined path all the way to the end.

Prov. 4:18

God’s Advisors?

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:38 GMT

From her time in a salon, a stylist gave me this observation. As she works, she notices that there seem to be two types of clients who come into a shop. They both want their hair cut, coloured, and styled, and neither one has experience with hair.

The first client thinks she knows exactly what she wants, but seems to have no idea what she’s talking about. She directs the stylist with, “No, don’t cut there, cut over here!”, “I don’t want blonde, I want red!”, and “You’re not doing it right!” She thinks, just by looking in the mirror, that she knows more than the professional. So, the stylist decides to give Client #1 what she’s asking for, and it turns out to be a really bad hair day.

The second client recognizes that she knows nothing about hair, so she allows the stylist to do what she thinks is best, and Client #2 walks out looking and feeling like a queen. When she’s asked about her great look, she tells about her trip to the salon, and attributes it all to her amazing stylist.

Even If we believe ourselves to be Client #2, and are confident that God knows what He’s doing in our lives, we still have a tendency to morph into Client #1. We want the friends that we want, we want to go where we want to go, we want to watch what we want to watch, we want to say what we want to say, and we want to do it all when we want to do it. Looking into our tiny mirror from our little spot on earth, we try to advise the omniscient, omnipotent Lord of glory. Yet, as He stands behind us, He can already see the whole picture. He’s the “professional”; He knows what He’s doing. Running our lives from our “salon chair” will yield consequences much worse than just a bad hair day. Yes, it’s a struggle to have the attitude of a Client #2, saying “I’m here to serve You”, and “I trust You to know what’s going on.” But when we do that daily, we make it possible for the Lord to use us to fulfill His plans for our lives. It is those plans that will bring Him the most glory, and bring us the most peace.

Isaiah 6:8b
Job 23:10
Jer. 29:11

Inspiration and Antioxidants

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:37 GMT

Go ahead…try it: “pamper yourself with uplifting softness”.

“The right touch to turn your day around.
Whether you’re stuck in a rough patch,
Feeling under the weather,
Or just in need of some extra kindness and care,
[this item] Will pamper you with indulgent softness
That lifts your spirits and inspires a smile.”

Wow—what treasures lay hidden in an unassuming box of Kleenex! When I bought it, I was thinking only of the price. I don’t usually read tissue boxes, but a coupon on the bottom drew my eyes to the words. Who knew you could feel that good by simply blowing your nose! I had to quickly reach for a tissue to dab my eyes.

Now I was on a mission. What other missives of care were sitting around my home? I reached for a bottle of hand lotion. By using it I would “drench [my] skin in nutrient-rich hydration with this amazing formula”. A shampoo bottle boasted these words, “My pretty hair is parched!”. I ran for my tea boxes—those are the best! Sure enough, one box promised “an enticing source of wonder, inspiration and antioxidants”.

I think I have found a new grocery shopping hobby—box and bottle reading. It’s almost as good as reading greeting cards aloud, but without the loud guffaws or tears running down my face.

Reading those boxes and bottles brings to mind the Lord’s tender care for us:

He binds our wounds and heals us (Job 5:18)
He gives us times of refreshing (Acts 3:19)
He shows us unfailing kindness (Ps. 18:50)
His love is always a wonder to us (Ps. 17:7)
He quenches our thirsty soul (Is. 41:17, 18)
He cleanses us (Heb. 10:22)
He purifies us (1 John 1:9)
He lifts our spirits (Ps. 42)

Aren’t you glad that we don’t depend on recyclable plastic and cardboard for our comfort? His lovingkindness is much better than Kleenex! (Ps. 63:3)

Ravenous

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:35 GMT

We once had a dog. His favorite place was standing next to you in the kitchen. To get any closer he would need to be strapped to our legs with duct tape. If you moved, you were in danger of tripping over him. The minute he knew you were anywhere near the major appliances, he would stop what he was doing and head there. Nothing else was important to him except getting what might fall from the counter. No matter that he had eaten only 5 minutes before—he was ready.

Of course, we could pretend that our dog rushed to our side out of love or loyalty, but we knew that wasn’t true. He was thinking only of his stomach, which he did with great regularity. But what if we treasured God’s Word more than our daily food? Imagine reading it and searching for things to change in our lives; of being so eager to hear His commands that we would drop our inconsequential will in a minute and replace it with His. Visualize being so hungry for His Words that when we read them, we hoarded and hid them in our hearts like a cherished treasure. We can ask Him to give us that kind of longing.

Job 23:12, John 6:38

Reflections on Habakkuk 3:17,18

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:38 GMT

What is your day of trouble?

Although the car shall not run,
Neither shall food be in the fridge,
The health of my husband shall fail,
And the stock market shall yield no wheat,
And though the friends shall be busy with their stuff,
And there shall be no time in the day;
Yet I will be rejoice in the Lord.