The World is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon.

William Wordsworth, 1807

Alexander Bell invented the telephone in 1876. When Wordsworth wrote “The World is too Much With us” the world was inexpressibly less “with us” then than it is today: no phone, no television, no computers, no social media, no cars or airplanes; and yet Wordsworth saw “the World” as imposing so extensively into peoples’ spirits that they (we) had literally given their hearts away. Nature, to Wordsworth, being the greatest vehicle in life by which to reach a spiritual reality, was lost to us in the “getting and spending, when humanity “gave its heart away” to the world.

Little did Wordsworth know how much easier it would be to give away our hearts in modern times, when the “world” can invade our lives around the clock and we hardly notice.

From at least the time that love was a clear commandment from God: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5), to the time when Jesus made God’s love a tangible reality: “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.” (John 21:17) ,our “hearts” have been the focus of God’s relationship with us.

Jesus warned of the “Cares of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth” causing a separation from Him (Matt. 13:22), for the core of our being is in our “hearts”, which He has claimed from the very beginning. It doesn’t take modern technology to separate us from Christ. Wordsworth witnessed human hearts moving away from the love of God with little help from technology.

“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” (Mark 4:8) .

However mysterious this crop may be, it is full of hope for everyone who hears and accepts. It’s the answer to the changing times and to our longing hearts. It is the very path God has put at our feet, and the fruit growing along the path is delicious.

Love in Him,

Prue

In the summer my oldest sister Nancy used to teach Red Cross swimming at a nearby municipal pool. It was one of her first jobs as a teenager and she took it very seriously. Half way through her first summer she came home and told us that she had discovered that praising the children for whatever little they could do in the water worked better than telling them what they were failing to do. She said that praise worked to motivate her charges every time, and from then on the teaching was much easier. I, who had never been gainfully employed, was deeply impressed at my sister’s wisdom and insight.

At church I sang “Praise God from whom all blessings flow”, and many other expressions of praise. Eventually I read Psalm 22: “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabit the praises of Israel.” It seemed clear to me that “praise” is a valuable thing, but exactly how it functions and what it really means evaded me.

Learning to swim is built on overcoming fear of the water, of sinking and drowning, before you have fully experienced the reassuring buoyancy in water. Praise must increase the self confidence and even the joy of the experience of learning to propel yourself through the water.

If God really “inhabits” the praises of His people is it possible that praise is a true and real link between very limited and fearful human beings, and an unlimited, all-sufficient God.? The Bible shows God to love praise from us, who are His own creations: “I will praise the Lord’s name in song and glorify Him in thanksgiving. This will please Him more than a bull with its horns and hooves.” (Psalm 69:30-31)

Praising in adversity has long been known to draw us closer to God, and to yield a better relationship with Him. In praise we unite with God through faith and come closer to His holiness. In praise our relationship with Him is renewed, and we remember Him yet again. As praise motivated Nancy’s young swimmers, it motivates us, too, to conquer our fear and rely on the relationship that God sought in creating us. Thousands of years ago the psalmist knew that praise is a sacrifice more to God’s taste than a bull.

Getting into water that may be over our heads is a sacrifice for anyone learning to swim.

Praising God in adversity is like being handed the life preserver and knowing you are safe.

Love in Him,

Prue

Once while I was shopping before Christmas I found a lovely white cardigan sweater with white embroidery and made a mental note to return to the store after Christmas to see if it was still there and on sale. As it happened, I did return, and to my surprise and great pleasure, the sweater was there in my size, and price reduced. In the drive home I silently prayed, “Thank you,, Lord, for such a sweet blessing, especially when I’m not in actual need of a sweater, but I will certainly enjoy wearing it.”

The thought crossed my mind, “The sweater is not for you!” Then I thought, “What a random idea; for whom could it be intended? I don’t even know who wears my size.”

Immediately I remembered that my sister-in-law, who had been a widow for a few years, with two boys still in school, was my size. I knew, too, that Ruth never spent money on herself, as her husband had left several debts. In addition, I knew that her birthday was very soon, though we usually exchanged only cards or a phone call.

There was now no doubt in my mind concerning who should receive the sweater, but I knew that my big challenge would be whether or not I would go ahead and actually send it to her. Eventually, sending it won out and I got it in the mail in time for Ruth’s birthday.

She called to thank me, and I knew I was happier than I would ever have been wearing the sweater. “The king will reply, ‘Truly I tell you whatever yo did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine you did for me’” (Matthew 25:40). This experience left me wondering how many times I ight have missed the message by being too intent on my own desires and gratifications. The pleasure and gratitude I felt, so far out-stripped the pleasure I might have had wearing the sweater, that I believed that God was giving me a new window into my own self that would sustain me better than all my shopping trips.

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:3)

I didn’t feel rebuked for buying the sweater, but only a deep reminder of God’s purposes on earth and an adjustment of our relationship that conveyed His joy to me.

Love in Him,

Prue

Toad to Wait

A friend sent me a and made bookmark picturing a frog, that read, “I was toad to wait here.” It is a pleasure to slip into my book, but to my seven year old grandson it is hilariously funny and worth reading over and over again. I keep it in “Prince Caspian”, from the “Narnia” series, next to the bed where he sleeps when he visits. By now the book mark is very familiar, but it nevertheless produces the same delight and laughter every time he sees it. In turn, it makes me laugh, and I think of the bottomless well of joy and pleasure that sometimes exists in children, triggered by a simple incongruous thing.

I believe that every shriek of laughter, every smile that meets a smile in the eyes of another is a prefigure of heaven, of the joy of recognition of shared delight.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16,17).

Jesus doesn’t single out the elderly or women or men to receive the Kingdom of God, but only children. He is talking to adults as he makes this assertion. How can the Father God be a father if his people refuse to be children, if they abandon their child-like joy in Him and in His creation?

Paul wrote that even after he had put the “ways of childhood “ behind him, there remained faith, hope , and love, all spiritual realities of both children and adults, and “the greatest of these is love” (1Corinthians 13:11&13)

It’s no accident that the promise of a child is the linchpin in God’s relationship to Abraham, the father of the Hebrew people, and of our faith.

Jesus’ words are very strong in regard to children: “If anyone causes one of these little ones-those who believe in me-to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be frowned in the depths of the sea.”(Matt. 18:6) Such strong admonitions come from the mind and heart of a parent for his children. They remind us that our lives are his personal ,passionate concern. He clearly knows the joy of shared pleasure with children as well a the sweetness of their undisguised love and faith in him. Children, it seems, are a great bond between us and our God. They are another way in which God engages us in His own life to share His joy. Certainly, we have all been “toad to wait on Him!”

Love in Him,

Prue

For most of my life I have believed that Jesus’ words, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48), were either hyperbole from Jesus, or a mistake in the transcribing of the Bible. It occurred to me that no one knew better than he the universality of human imperfection.

From one struggle after another with the revelation of my own imperfections, and the subsequent renewal of friendship with the One without imperfection, I have changed my mind, and now think that Jesus’ words were both an invitation and a map for a life journey.

They are an invitation, not to become complacent with our own imagined “Perfections,” but to recognize that perfection is in our spiritual family, and that we can be participants. Every time we accept forgiveness from God His perfection becomes part of us, for we have accepted His Character. Jesus certainly knew this, and that we would be able to know it after his resurrection.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Perfection lies only in God, who in His great love, has lavished upon us, His creation, the forgiveness that unites us to Him in all His perfection.

I once dreamed that my father, who had died two years earlier, said to me, “I want Stephanie (our teen-aged daughter) to have some of my duds.,” and he handed me a “Good News” Bible. In the morning I went to a bookstore to find such a Bible, and at first was told that there were none in the store except an expensive leather- bound edition. As I left the store I noticed a rack near the door with a denim covered paper backed book and I inquired about it. “It is a ‘Good News’ Bible,” I was told. We carry it for teenagers. Even high school football players come in to buy this one. It’s the only one left.” I joyfully bought it and gave it to Stephanie, who took to it right away, and it went with her to college. Some time later I told her about the dream.

Jesus never tells us to do that which cannot be done. Staying close to him is all that is required to end the struggle.

Love in Him,

Prue

Unlikely as it may seem, every year scientists around the world are announcing the official discovery of previously unknown species of animals and plants. In 2021 it was discovered that a certain whale, previously misidentified, now named Rices Whale has been swimming with others of his kind in the Gulf of Mexico, and is already nearing extinction. Several new types of wild orchids are discovered every year, not to mention reptiles, birds, mammals and insects. Some scientists estimate that only about 20% of the species on planet earth have been identified and classified.

While concerns for the climate crisis, envision a world on the brink of collapse, the discoveries of an orange colored bat found in West Africa or of two new species of owls in Brazil, open my imagination to a world untouched by anxiety or fear for the future. Even the newly discovered endangered species are unconcerned with their own predicaments.

The birds that make the phenomenal migration across the hemisphere to destinations that are shifting and changing are entirely unselfconscious in their preparations and flights. Their focus is simply survival and many of them have been supremely successful for generations.

“God saw all that He had made and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Every new discovery brings joy to those engaged in studying the natural world, Every new species, animal or plant, brings surprise and delight, no matter how endangered or fragile it is. We, too, look at what God has created and see that it is indeed “very good”.

“To even wicked people, what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

May these discoveries lead us to put aside our fears and anxieties , if only briefly, and rediscover our own Maker in ever more wonderful ways.

Love in Him,

Prue

Spring fever at our house takes the shape of intense yearning to go swimming outdoors. The grandchildren can hardly stay away from the pool and end up with their feet, legs and arms dipped into 52 degree water and assure me that “It isn’t really cold at all.” By August they have moved on to other pursuits. Swimming is still fun, but not at all urgent, and if the water is even cool they lose interest quickly.

The first full immersion of the year prefigures the summer with all its pleasures. It conjures up the past and promises for the days ahead , beside delivering sheer pleasure in the moment. It is altogether satisfying.

“You have made known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more.” (Psalm 16:11) God certainly knows about the yearning for a joy that is full and real and everlasting; He provides in us both the yearning and the fulfillment. Jesus in his prayer to his Father and our Father said, “I am coming to you now, while I am still in the world, so that the full measure of my joy may be within them.” (John 17:13).

When we think of the world and of the Father God, there seems to be a big hazy gap between us, as if we are so different from Him, that neither He nor we can truly bridge the gap. But Jesus makes it clear that his joy is our joy, and that he knows exactly where and how that joy exists for us. The first swim of the summer may be a foreshadow, but the joy we have in him is without end.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17). Spring, summer, fall or winter the yearnings remind us of the One who fulfills them all.

Love in Him,

Prue

Have a Chat

“Mimi, could we have a chat?” It was one of my four year old granddaughter’s several delaying tactics when I was putting her to bed. Nevertheless, I said “Yes”, and turned around to sit on the side of her bed. “What would you like to chat about?” she asked. I answered, “Maybe you could choose a subject.” After a moment of thought she said, “I’d like to talk about the animals who live in the ocean.”

And so, we did talk from what little I knew, to the quite a bit that she knew, about whales and sharks and dolphins for a few more minutes until she thought she was ready to fall asleep, and I turned out the light and left.

The memory of that chat stayed with me as a sweet encounter without strings attached, and I was grateful to God for his creatures of the sea that my granddaughter had never actually seen but only imagined from stories and pictures.

Sometimes while praying in the early morning I think that God Himself loves a chat with us about things we have never actually seen, but have read about in the

Bible. A chat is perhaps the simplest form of sharing ourselves with another. Ideally a chat carries no “baggage” that separates, but only shares thoughts.

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised” (Genesis 18:17) And so began the conversation between Abraham and the Lord concerning the fate of Sodom , and particularly the fate of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. It was a chat between unequal friends, and several millennia later we visualize it and re-read it many times.

I believe that God loves to chat with His creatures. He loves to be invited to chat, to engage in conversation with one who believes in Him and even loves Him: “The disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He answered, “because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.’” (Matt. 13:11-13)

Not everyone is willing to chat with God, but for those who choose Him, not only the truth about whales and dolphins, but the very secrets of our holy God can be shared. I believe He is waiting to chat.

Love in Him, Prue

Easter is like the parable of the Prodigal Son: “This son of mine was dead and is alive again! This brother of yours was dead and is alive again!” (Luke 15:23&32) and so they celebrated with feasting and rejoicing. What was lost had been restored.

The job of Christ in coming at all was for this very thing, to restore to our Father the children, whose own ways had separated them from their Father. Jesus came to bridge the gap, to reunite the family of God, and to make a pathway for more and more reunions.

Easter is also like the parable of the Lost Sheep: “And when he finds it he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.” (Luke 15:5) When Jesus rose from the dead he carried all of humanity on his shoulders and for over two thousand years we have responded to his direction: “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”

Jesus made it possible for each of us to turn to him for forgiveness to be restored to his Father and our Father at any moment. We can consciously put aside our “own way” and experience a reunion with Him that makes our hearts sing and rejoice. Easter can occur in us at any moment in time because it happened to him in both time and eternity.

On the morning of his resurrection Jesus told Mary Magdalene, “Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to y God and your God.’” (John 20:17). From that very moment we became brothers ad sisters of Christ, children of his Father God; and, as Paul has told us, “if children, then heirs.” (Romans 8:17)

Once at a church picnic I saw the two year old son of the pastor following my father around. I asked Dad who he was, and he answered, “He’s my grandson.” I was surprised that Dad’s heart desired a grandson, and was delighting in a surrogate for that time.

I believe God’s heart delights in His children and looks forward (in eternity!) to more and more fellowship with his “little ones.” Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the door for that fellowship. On Easter we can rejoice and acknowledge our wonderful Father God.

Happy, Happy Easter!

Love in Him,

Prue

Recently PBS presented a program called “Magnificent Beast”, the subject of pigs, their history , their characteristics, and their role in the religious life, especially of the Jews. During an interview, a rabbi said, “ Not eating pork or pork products is part of who I am. It’s part of my identity.” I couldn’t help thinking that “not eating pork” was also part of the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.

The program explored many theories for the cause of the “taboo”, acknowledging that it had Biblical origins, and finally concluding that it was a device for separating the Hebrew people from all others and ensuring that they retained their unique identity.

As I watched I wondered why no one suggested that it was also an opportunity to relate to and ,in fact, obey a direct order from their Father God. Searching high and low for some natural and feasible explanation, the writers of the show seemed to miss the most simple and obvious explanation. The rabbi identified with the Torah, the Word of God as he knew it, the very thing God asks His people to do: “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach; it is not up in heaven, so you have to ask, ‘who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?. . . No, the word is very near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.. . . For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, and to keep His commands” (Deut. 30:11-16).

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17). In the Cross Jesus fulfilled the law by offering himself to his Father. Because of who he is, God’s own son, God accepts his obedience as worthy of covering all the disobedience of the entire human family. As Oswald Chambers once wrote, “Redemption is so easy for us, because it cost God so much.”

I believe that whether we eat pork or not, either way should lead us closer to the love of God.

Love in Him,

Prue