Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (‭II Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ NKJV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.  (Genesis 1:1 NKJV )

Last night we decorated the house for Christmas.  Timothy had the day off so we had to take advantage of the day, for I am still not supposed to lift, bend, or stretch after my surgery. I mostly supervised the work, but I did want to make sure I personally placed my four most prized ornaments. 

These four are porcelain Peanuts ornaments.  I have always loved Peanuts and have many ornaments, but what makes these so special was when and where they were purchased. Tommy and I bought them sometime between July 8 and July 15, 1978.  We bought them on our honeymoon, and they have been carefully placed on every Christmas tree we ever had.  They have survived toddlers; they have survived two moves.  Yearly, they have been carefully packaged to avoid breakage and meticulously placed into the box of ornaments.  However, last night all of that care came to naught.  One of them was broken.

Neither of my children ever places these ornaments on the tree, for they get preferential placement and special care that I only trust myself to give. They are always placed high enough that no accidental bump can cause them to fall, for the delicate porcelain would break so easily.  Unfortunately, as I placed the third of the ornaments last night, something went wrong.  I was actually recounting one more time how special these ornaments were to me, but this one somehow fell as I released my hold on it.  I thought it was secured firmly to the branch; yet as I removed my hand, I watched it tumble and crash onto the hardwood floor.  This one was really my favorite, and now it was  scattered pieces of broken glass.  Tears filled my eyes.  I felt another fond memory ripped away.  Timothy quickly grabbed his smartphone, found one on eBay, and said I could replace it.  My response was, "This cannot be replaced."

As I look at the broken pieces of my ornament, I realize my life has been this way so many times.  When Tommy and I lost a baby, people casually said, "You can have more children."  Our hearts were broken.  We did have another child, a daughter, but we never held our second child on this earth.  When Tommy died, many thought and said, "You are young. You can marry again."  That was true, but I would never have Tommy again.  Over and over in my life, dreams, hopes, plans, and even people have been ripped away from me.  What can I do when I lose the irreplaceable? Where can I run when my life is broken? Can my life be put back together somehow?

The first verse of the Bible brings an answer to my questions.  My God is the Creator.  He created our world out of nothing.  Can He do the same thing for my life?  He always has.  Rarely, does He chose to remake the old; He specializes in creating new.  I have found I must relinquish my tight hold on my broken pieces, put myself in His hands, and watch as He gives me a brand new life. 

My ornament is still in pieces this morning; however, my heart and life are whole.  I serve the Creator of the universe.  He has made me and my life new as I have yielded to Him.

The last words coming from the lips of Jesus at His death. . . "IT IS FINISHED." Jesus had completed His life's mission. Salvation was being made available to us all with
His last breath. The price for sin was about to be paid.  He had pushed Himself
to the physical limits; He gave all.

Paul pushed himself for a goal too. As he sat in a Philippian jail, he declared,
"I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus."(Philippians 3:14 NKJV) Likewise, the writer of Hebrews, who may or may not have
been Paul, echoed this thought, "let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us." (Hebrews 12:1) All of this finishing and winning really has me
thinking.

Sometimes when I arise in the morning, I don't have much focus for the day.  I
think about maybe doing some housework, maybe doing some yard work, or maybe
writing a while. On days like that, I don't accomplish much.  I do not have a
definite goal, so I just do whatever feels right at the moment, which is usually
very little. 

My life has had periods like that too. I really don't have any plans. I am
wandering through the days hoping I get something beneficial done. As I
reflect, those are really disgusting times in my life. I accomplished nothing.

I need a goal. I need to have eyes on the finish line. I need to be running
with all my might. Why? I don't want to breathe my last breath and realize my
life's mission was not finished. After all, my life is not just about paying
off mortgages, buying cars, and getting an education.  It's not even just about
bringing up children to serve God or being a faithful church member, even though those things are important. When God created me,  He put within me the characteristics needed to fulfill part of His bringing-salvation-to-the-world mission. I am a piece of the whole picture. I
have a purpose, "preaching the Gospel," wherever I go. Sometimes that includes
speaking; mostly, I preach by my actions. No matter how it happens, I need to
push myself to keep my eyes on my goal and run for the finish line.

Life is so short. How did I get this old? What happened to all of those years?
The finish line grows closer every day. Lord, help me to see clearly your
purposes for my life and to run with all my might toward the finish line. My
prayer continually arises, "Let me finish well.  I need your strength and help!"

Today I am running with purpose. I want the first words I hear after this life
to be, "Well done." I'm running to win and not settling for less.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ (Revelation 2:29 NKJV)

My special needs daughter is hearing impaired.  She hears nothing with her left ear and has a hearing aide in the right ear.  With the aide, she hears remarkably well because she has trained herself to do so. 

Sometimes I am hard of hearing too.  Not physically though.  My sense of hearing is extremely keen; I am hard of hearing spiritually.  God speaks, but I don't hear Him.  Why?  I don't think I have my "hearing aides" on.

When Morgan has just taken a shower or first thing in the morning, I have to yell for her to hear me because she does not have her aide in her ear.  Spiritually, God has to speak loudly at times for me to hear, because I am not using my spiritual aides, prayer and Bible study as I should.  With my aides, I find I hear Him much more clearly.  He can whisper and I can hear.

Today I choose to grab my aides and put them in place in my life.  I don't want to miss a word He says.

Templeton - that's what he named him.  Most people don't name a rodent who shows up in the house, but we've only had 2 in 36 years.  Consequently, my son names ours.  Our first was Harry, a tiny gray mouse, who ran under the dishwasher and promptly died.  And our second was Templeton, who from my son's description appeared to be monstrous.

Early Christmas Eve morning, my son burst into my bedroom with the news that this "ratzilla" had moved in to totally disrupt our holiday plans.  What in the world can be done to rid the house of this interloper in the middle of Christmas festivities?  I know you may think this strange, but my first reaction was to pray.  Prayer, for me, is the first step before I start to take physical actions. As I asked God for help, I became totally peaceful.  Templeton may have slipped inside, but I had no need to fear.  The God I serve cares for the details of my life right down to a rodent in the house.

Now prayer was not my only action.  As soon as the local stores opened, my son was purchasing several traps and I was financing the shopping spree.  We had to back up our faith with works.  Loading traps with peanut butter and strategically placing them in the house became our actions to back up the faith that God could rid our house of this creature.    Waiting was the hard part.  We had prayed and put our faith to work with appropriate actions, but just like most situations this one was not immediately resolved.

We constantly rechecked the traps; however, we had made no catch and at bedtime Templeton was still skulking in the shadows waiting for his chance to roam freely again.  What could we do but go to bed and hope that one of our devices would make the catch.  Ratzilla was free in our house, and we had to wait in hope that the situation would be resolved.

How many times have I had this same dilemma?  Something was awry in my life.  I had prayed.  I had taken the only actions I knew to take.  And I had waited. . . and  waited.  I kept looking to see if the answer had come, yet God was working a plan that I could not see.  His timing was perfect and His ways were not my ways.  His ways are so much better.

God proved this in our lives with the capture of Templeton.  As much as we wanted to find him in a trap, neither of us really wanted to remove a dead carcass from the house.  Much to our surprise, God gave us a way for our house to be rodent-free without having to empty a trap.  Simply, Templeton decided to scale the trash can in my son's room and fall in, and he couldn't get out. Quickly, the bag was removed and he was carried outside.    

What are the odds of a rat crawling into a trash can and trapping himself?  I tend to think that this happening is highly improbable. . . BUT God.  I had prayed first, and God knew my need.  A rat should not be in my house.  I just needed to wait for His work to be accomplished.  In His time, which was a couple days after the first sighting, Templeton trapped himself. And I choose to believe God directed his steps to the rim of a trash can and caused him to lose his balance. You many think I am insane; however, I believe a God who knows the number of hairs on my head is concerned about the details of my life and can be trusted to orchestrate situations for my ultimate good.  And I also believe He cares about the details of your life too.

Has a "ratzilla" invaded your life? Are you stressed as you try to devise a way to rid your life of its threat?  Give the situation to God in prayer.  He may work in a way you never expected, but I promise on the authority of His Word (Romans 8:28) that God is working all things for your 

Scarlett O’Hara stands in my bedroom underneath a protective case.  She’s a constant reminder of one of my favorite stories – Gone With the Wind.  Something about that story always engaged my imagination.  The glamour of the pre-war South is starkly contrasted with the harsh reality of unfulfilled dreams, lost relationships, and broken hearts.   Life can be so hard:  Scarlett found that out too.

 One of my favorite scenes is Scarlett’s visit to Rhett in jail.  She has returned to her war-ravished home to find that she, a Southern belle, must work as a field hand to feed her family.  After fighting the elements and working day and night, she is totally devastated when she realizes she needs money for taxes to save Tara, her cherished home.  Her only resort was to make a visit to Rhett Butler, the richest man she knew, except now he was in jail.  

Preparation for this visit included creating a dress from curtains and disguising  the signs of manual labor, especially calloused hands. Much to her dismay, Rhett examined her palms to discover the ugly truth of her life.  Fighting to survive causes damage; Scarlett would never be the same again, inside or out.  She had tried to carry a load too heavy for one young woman.  Not only were her hands calloused, but also her heart was permanently scarred.  

All too often I encounter Scarletts walking the streets of my community.  Women who have been smitten by the harsh reality of life are not just in movies and novels.  They may work behind a local fast food counter or live in the most prestigious neighborhoods, yet they all share a hidden secret.  Life is hard, and its load has left a mark on their lives – a mark they so desperately try to hide.  Just like Scarlett O’Hara, they are desperate to hide the truth and to pretend life is as good as it has always been.  Survival requires pretending everything is okay, doesn’t it? Is there another way to face the weight of life’s struggles?

 From another book, I hear the answer to the question.  Jesus proclaimed the answer in Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  When we are yoked with Jesus, He pulls the weight of the load.  In ancient times a younger, inexperienced animal was yoked with a strong one.  The sturdy, experienced one pulled the load; the other walked along beside.  Jesus declared the good news of this to our hearts.  He’ll pull the load.  We just need to walk beside Him.  

There’s no hope for Scarlett.  She’s a fictional character trapped in a tragic story, but there is hope for you and me.  All we need to do is yoke ourselves to Him and walk beside Him, for He will carry our load.  Our calluses will slowly fade, and we will no longer need to hide ourselves.  He will make us new again.  Look out world we’re not a part of a tragedy.  Our story is one of victory and that’s the truth.  No fiction for us - victory in Jesus is a fact!

All I want for Christmas this year is a helmet. Not that I’m headed to a war zone or am about to test drive a Harley, but I probably will be going in a mall or watching TV.  For that reason, I really need something to protect my head.  Christmas always brings some fierce hits to my head from the inside out.  A helmet is what I really need!

When I sit in my recliner and flip to my favorite holiday shows, all I see are love stories.  Hey, even Rudolph and Clarisse ended up together in the end!  When I head to the mall to finish last minute shopping (for me November is last minute), I see couples strolling hand-in-hand taking in all of the holiday fare.  All of this still brings a dull ache to my heart on my fifteenth Christmas without my husband and puts my mind in the middle of a fire storm of memories which only add fuel to the ache of my heart.  Somehow I need to reign in this holiday trauma which assaults annually, and the Scripture instructs me to do it with a helmet.

In I Thessalonians 5:8, Paul tells us to put on “as a helmet the hope of salvation.”
What is this helmet and how do I get it on my head?  First of all, a helmet is protection for the head and the things that take place in the head.  After all, our head is the center of control for everything we do from thoughts to bodily function.  Obviously, our heads need protection; for if they are vulnerable, our very existence is tenuous.  Secondly, the kind of helmet Paul describes is an internal helmet which may not be seen to others.  It covers our thought life and controls our day-to-day activities.  Most people never see we have it on; but if we do not wear it, many will recognize that it is missing.  This helmet is put on inside our head and only we can ensure our  protection with it.

What is this helmet? The hope of our salvation.  This helmet focuses our thinking on our lives in terms of the eternal, not this earthly life.  In light of eternity, our whole physical life is just a tiny dot at the beginning of our whole life.  Quickly, this part will be past and then forever we will live in the presence of the God whom we serve.  For that reason, I need to fix my thinking on the fact  I have eternal hope, and I need to concentrate on things of eternal significance.  My priorities need to focus on things that really matter which are eternal things.  I need to put on the right kind of thinking.

Will I ever have that dull ache at Christmas again?  Of course, I will; however, I am choosing to put on the right kind of thinking.  I need to focus on the eternal and God’s eternal plan for me in this earth.  He has me here for a purpose; I need to find that and give myself to fulfilling that for the rest of my life.  For that reason, I do not believe I’ll wait until December 25th for my present.  I  am going to open His Word; find His promises, plans, and hope for me; and put on my helmet this morning. 

So the next time you see me, you may not notice a physical change in my appearance, but be aware that I’m sporting a new helmet underneath this blonde hair – the helmet of the hope of salvation.  My prayer is that you too get a new helmet for Christmas.

 

I’ll never forget a staff development day at my high school in the early ‘90’s.  Team building was the emphasis because the buzz word in industry and education was synergy – the power of group effort, which is more productive than individual effort.  A select group of our teachers had gone to a weekend training to learn the power of working together.  On this particular training day, they were sharing with the rest of us a variety of activities to lead us into teamwork.

Trust building was one of those lessons, but the activity to learn it was more than I would risk.  We were taken to the gym.  The bleachers were extended, and the trust building was falling from the side of the bleachers (about 8 or 10 feet up) into the arms of the trained team below who would catch each person who fell.  Now, I knew those people who were the “catchers,” and I had worked with them for more than a decade; but I never seriously considered taking a dive from the side of bleachers into the arms of other people.  Many others did, and I watched a few take the plunge; however, I had a sincere fear  I would meet hardwood flooring in a whole new way if I fell from those bleachers.  I had never been much of a physics student, but I had learned about the force of gravity.  It was a proven fact.  I would fall, and I could splat onto hardwood.  The law of gravity was a trusted fact.  A group of teachers catching me was just a theory.  It had not been tested; it might fail.

As a widow, I have faced many times when I needed to make a jump and trust my “catcher.”  However, I have found in my real life  I can fall into the arms of my Savior.  His ability to sustain me is not a theory; His “catching” power is verified by the Word of God:  “Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust Him and not be afraid, for Yah, the Lord, is my strength and my song.” (Isaiah 12:2)  Never should I fear; He is my salvation.  He is presently all I need to save me no matter what I am facing.  I have no reason to fear hardwood floors or anything else: Jesus will never let me fall.

Come on and join me.  Let’s take a dive of trust into the arms of Jesus as we face the limitless possibilities of a whole new year. I know diving into the unknown makes us all fear for safety.  Nevertheless, let’s put our fears aside; there is nothing safer than being in the arms of Jesus! I’m going to take a plunge!