Multitasker

They say women are the best multitaskers. I must have been in the line for "super focus" a little too long and missed the line to receive my "multitasking" gift. This has not really come naturally to me. That is why I had two "only" children 12 years apart just so that I could focus on raising one child at a time.
Recently I heard a sermon by my pastor, called "A Days Work". He pointed out in Matthew chapter 9 all the miracles Jesus performed in one day! Wow Jesus! He was an overachiever! The two stories that kept resounding with me were the ones about Jairus' daughter and the woman who was bleeding for 12 years. I heard another sermon in the same week about these two miracles. It was pointed out that there were connections between these miracles. The year the 12-year-old girl was born happened to be the same year this woman who was bleeding contracted her illness. Coincidence? Nothing is a coincidence with God!

The combination of these two stories and the fact that I had heard them within the same week of each other got me thinking about my 12-year-old daughter who was born on the same year that it seemed my whole life was turned upside down. It was the year Jesus came closer and tore off every bandaid I had ever put on. He allowed my wounds to bleed and hurt. He allowed me to be humbled and He taught me to embrace the season I was in. This year for me marked the 12th anniversary of that year.

This year my husband took a job 3000 miles away from home that was supposed to last 6-8 months and we were not going with him. 12 years ago he and I separated because our marriage was broken. I know PTSD is a real and serious thing for men and women who have served in our country and I do not mean to lessen the severity of that. Jesus began taking some bandaids off a few wounds I thought had healed. Jesus is truly the surgeon of all surgeons because He sees our deepest needs and trauma.

In John chapter 4 when the woman at the well went to fill her buckets with water, she met Jesus. What she did not realize was that in an effort to get her physical needs met, despite her shame, Jesus met her where she was at and brought truth to her situation. He took her bandaids off. He let her fetch her physical need and in the midst of it, he met her with her spiritual need. Jesus is the ultimate multitasker. He allows us to go to our manmade wells to get the things we need, but it is there where we are met with something more than we bargained for. It is there we are met with an experience with Jesus that will last forever. The woman who was bleeding and the man who wanted his daughter healed were both seeking their physical needs to be met. Jesus met them there and gave them even more than what they asked for.

This is an idea that brings so much comfort to my soul. As I reach for my tangible needs in life, I am constantly met with my spiritual ones. It is where I meet Jesus every time. My physical need for my husband to be with me always brings me to a place where I see my greater spiritual need to be filled by Jesus every time.

Here are the two sermons I referenced above. Be encouraged!

https://madeforfellowship.com/sermons/a-days-work/

https://elevationchurch.org/sermons/get-out/

Roar!

"By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you-I Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but bold when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world." 2 Corinthians 10:1-2

Paul, a disciple of Christ, the man who wrote most of the new testament said he could be both timid and bold. When I think of the man who went into towns and preached the word of God, was thrown into prison, beat, and shipwrecked I cannot imagine him as timid. Maybe I am alone in thinking this but the writer of the New Testament, former Christian killer, does not seem as if he has a timid bone in his body.

Paul states in his greeting that he clearly is coming from the perspective of being meek and gentle like Jesus modeled. He is not advocating violence. However, he goes on to say, if it is necessary like he thinks it may be, he will be bold. He makes it clear that's not normally how he is, but if he has to be bold, he will be.

This morning I had a conversation with my daughter about someone at school that made reference to her thighs being big. This girl didn't just say it but she went up to my daughter slapped her thy and said, "wow, you have big thighs!" After dealing with this kind of behavior since she was in the 3rd grade, my first response wasn't to do what any mama bear would do which would be to march to the school, talk with the administration or stalk the girl after school and have a word for her, in Jesus name of course. Instead, I responded in exclamation with, "are you kidding me?"

I couldn't believe someone actually said this to her. My response was not timid this time. Before I have always sat with her in her pain and let her vent her anger and hurt. This time I had bold words for her to speak. I told her if that ever happens again, I want you to respond, not in anger, but in shock like your mom just did, and I want you to say, "I cannot believe you just said that!"

I think we as believers can confuse the meekness of Christ with the times when we do need to speak justly, not timidly, but boldly like a lion. The goal is never to just be a martyr. The goal is to be effective for the Kingdom of God. Even Jesus went into the temple and turned over the tables of the merchants. There is a time and a place for the way we respond. Sometimes people need to be told they are wrong and other times God knows that is not the way they will hear truth. Instead, sometimes He calls us to be meek and says, step back and let me deal with them. I am definitely not advocating a movement of violence, but I am advocating that sometimes we need to speak up in a way people will hear us.

Homeschool For Real

When our daughter was younger she had been knocked down a few times from some tough social situations. I felt in every fiber of my being, the Holy Spirit nudging that she just needed a break. She needed a minute to catch her breath and be reminded of how loved and special she was. That year I homeschooled her. It was uniquely designed by God to give her what she needed so that she could continue her race.

"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of this Spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:11

The hope is that if you have a relationship with Jesus, then He is living in you, and He will give you life. He will help you to rise back up.

So what does that look like? For my 10-year-old, it was a year of rest. After attending a field trip to the local aquarium, we found out that they wanted volunteers. Yes! They wanted 10-year-old volunteers with a willing adult! We signed up and before we knew it, we were touching sharks and sharing on microphones with crowds of people about them. What?!? I majored in business! I am definitely not an expert aquarist.

Sometimes, when we are willing to follow wherever the wind takes us, from here to there and everywhere, we may find ourselves doing things we never dreamed of doing. The year of volunteering and balancing homeschool also included helping my daughter self-publish her first comic book and finding a place to share it with kids in hospitals. It was a time of rest. It was a time of healing for her soul. God built her back up and told her how much he loved her and how special she was. I think we all need a little TLC from God at different times in our life. Sometimes we just need someone to say, it's okay to rest.

Just like my daughter, I have been on a journey of rest and of being reminded of how special I am and how loved I am by my teacher, Jesus. This blog invites you to have a front-row seat of some of that journey. Sometimes we get knocked down by people. Sometimes we get knocked down by our own bad decisions, but whatever the reason, at some point, we are all called to rise.

https://fishytalebook.wixsite.com/mybook