De-light-ful

For those of you who know me, you know that empty nesting has been hard.  Coupled with the last two+ years of Covid, I hit a new loneliness low.  So what did we do?

We did the very thing my dear hubby vowed would never ever happen again… we got a puppy.

Luna has only been with for 10 months and I can not imagine life without her. She lets me snuggle her and pat her head and kiss her in ways that my children have long since allowed.

She has been a light for me… thus her name, LUNA. She is de-light-ful!And even Brian will admit that this new addition has brought us great joy.

No one ever gets as excited to see me then Luna. For example, yesterday I went to take the garbage to the curb and when I returned 2 minutes later I was greeted with such exuberance. Luna ran towards me, rubbing against my leg with her tail going a mile a minute. She then dropped to the floor and rolled onto her back waiting for a belly rub.  It was adorable. After the initial excitement subdued she ran to find her toy and began chewing at my feet.  I read somewhere that “chewing a favourite chew brings dogs joy, and doing so on top of their humans makes it all the better.”  Double delight!

And honestly, isn’t that joy?  Being with someone who delights in being with you?

Throughout scripture we are told how God delights in us (Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 147:11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; Romans 2:29), so much more than any pet or person.

God delighted in being with us from the beginning of time. After God finished creating everything, God declared it not just good, but VERY good. God was delighted.  God delights in each of us and God desires to be with us. Even in those times when we may feel like no one could possibly delight in us… know that God does.

When we understand this, I mean really believe this, we can live with an unwavering sense of joy.

I receive such joy in Luna’s joy because joy is contagious. So let others know we delight in being with them. We may not wag our tail or chew at their feet (highly recommend not doing either) but we can be intentional about letting those we love know we delight in being with them!

Then we will see everything!

I remember when my daughter, Emily, first got glasses.  She was around 11 or 12.  I noticed she had been squinting while watching television so I asked her if she was have trouble seeing.

She said that she wasn’t.

“Are you having trouble seeing the black board at school?”  I asked.

“No, I can see fine.”

This went on for sometime until I decided it was time to make an appointment for an eye exam and sure enough, she needed glasses for distance.

There is a moment that has been etched in my mind and heart.  We were driving home from the optometrist. Emily was wearing her new glasses.  As we made a turn onto the 401, Emily said,  “I can see the leaves on the trees! Oh, those are bricks on that bridge!” She was so excited.

To this day every time I pass that spot I think of that moment.  She was so excited and I felt like the worst mom ever for not catching it sooner.  The thing is, she didn’t know what she didn’t know. She didn’t know what she wasn’t seeing. When she put on her new glasses, everything became clear and in focus. It was as though she was seeing for the first time!

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks of our hazy, unclear human perspective compared with a heavenly perspective: “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT).

Paul’s illustration of a mirror was appropriate for an audience of Corinthians, as bronze mirrors were manufactured in the city of Corinth. Those ancient mirrors reflected less clearly than modern-day mirrors, but even modern mirrors reflect backward images that aren’t as clear as direct sight.

The Greek word Paul uses for “reflection,” αἰνίγματι, translates to “in a riddle” and is where we get the English word “enigma.” An enigma is something puzzling or hard to understand.

When we walk through the confusing times of our lives, we often long to understand the whys and hows and whens. Life can be an enigma. Yet the peace we seek from these answers can’t be found in the partial, earthly understanding we have available to us now. Paul speaks of a greater, perfect perspective we’ll hold in eternity, assuring us that one day the incomprehensible times of our lives will make sense, complete in purpose and perception.  It will be like Emily seeing through her glasses!

Until that time, how do we reconcile this with our spirits today, while we’re still in the throes of questions and confusion?

I believe the answer is to know and trust God’s character. We talked about 6 of God’s attributes in our most recent sermon series:

• God is merciful

• God is trustworthy

• God is loving

• God is Holy

• God is constant and,

• God is the God who sees me

As we spend time with God our confidence is God’s character will grow and strengthen. Day by day, hour by hour— we can release each confusing piece of our lives into the able hands of God, who is also Peace (Judges 6:24) knowing that the eternal God who sees you and sees the end from the beginning, does nothing without purpose! (Isaiah 46:10)

Live in confidence that you are loved by a loving God!

Tacos and change

In my house there is a deep divide over a fairly significant matter.  The split is over hard taco shells verses soft.

I love the crunch however others in my family don’t necessarily agree.  They will partake in the meal but inevitably criticism of the choice of hard over soft ensues immediately after the first bite when, without fail, the crispy tortilla shells crumbles under the pressure.

I put a lot of thought in building the perfect taco: cheese on the bottom, topped with warm meat, (so the cheese melts to ooey gooey goodness)  a layer of lettuce, tomato, more cheese, salsa and sour cream.  Oh I am getting hungry writing about it;).  It is perfect and then “crunch” the whole thing falls apart!

Life is often like that isn’t?  One day everything seems to be perfect, everything is on track and the next minute…not!

I was speaking with someone recently who shared with me a significant loss in their life.  The pain and emptiness they shared was palpable and my heart ached as they shared their sense of loneliness and lack of direction.  “I don’t know who I am without them.  One minute they were here and then they were gone” they said, “my whole life has changed in an instant.”

Change can be hard.  Change can be unsettling.

It happens all too often, and it happens to all of us in various degrees and sometimes it’s hard to catch up.  Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do when things seem to fall apart.

Where do we turn?

Who do we look too during these unsettling times?

The psalmist writes in Psalm 102:25-26

In the beginning, You [God] laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the works of Your hands. They will perish but You remain; they will wear out like a garment. Like clothing, You will change them and they will be discarded. But You remain the same and Your years will ever end.

In Malachi 3:6, God says this.  “I the Lord do not change."

The author to the Hebrew said, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

The world around us may change but God does not. God is constant

God is the first and the last.

God is the beginning and the end.

God always has been.

God always will be.

God is holy.

God is perfect.

And God promises to never leave us and never forsake us in good times and bad.

God knows you by name. You are a child of the Living God… and that will never ever change!

It is comforting for me to know that when things around me are changing at an uncontrollable pace that God is in control, always has been, and always will be.

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

Genesis 28:15 (NIV)

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31 (NIV)