There was a patch of wild forget-me-nots on the bank of a creek that formed the border of our back yard when I was growing up. It must have been my mother who told me the name of the pretty little blue flowers, and it always interested me. I tried to imagine how they got their name and made up stories that might apply. As a child I liked to visit the flowers and sometimes pick them to bring home. Other times, I only sat in the grass near them and wondered at their name.

From the very childhood of the nation of Israel, God spoke to them through Moses: “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:12) These words are part of the very formative message that God gave to His people. They follow closely the gift of the Ten Commandments, and God’s intentions and instructions for the life of freedom with Him when they arrive at His destination for them. Indeed, much of the Old Testament is concerned with God’s methods of reminding His people of their covenant with Him: These commandments that I give you are to be on your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

God gave His people a story to remember in the Exodus, a story that revealed His power and His love for them in orchestrating their release from slavery. The memory would last for millennia and would nourish the faith of the nation. It nourishes all believers to this day.

God’s message to remember succeeded in planting seeds of faith that sometimes seem to have disappeared, but one in particular nourished God’s own son on the cross. Luke tells us that one of the thieves crucified next to Jesus said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ( Luke 23:42) For that simple request, the thief received these immortal words: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The message to “remember” our God echoes throughout the old and new Testaments. I wonder if the forget-me-nots ever triggered a desire in someone to be remembered by our God, as the thief was.

Love in Him,

Prue

If the Gospel of Jesus could be condensed into one sentence, it would be by someone who never knew Jesus or ever heard him speak. It would be the Prophet Isaiah, speaking God’s own words to the Hebrew people in chapter 43, verse 25: “I even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

In the midst of God’s reminders of Israel’s back-sliding, with a list of rebukes: “You have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel,” (Isaiah 43:22) God paused to remind His people of who He is; and in this reminder God encapsulates His very being, as well as His motive ,”for my own sake.” It is entirely personal that God should “blot out” the sins of His people. They have not asked Him for forgiveness, or even acknowledged their sin of turning away from Him to worship idols made of wood or metal. In this single verse, God revealed Himself as having the larger stake in His relationship to His people. He used His infinite power to “blot out” their self destructive behavior, “for His own sake.”

“For His own sake” elevates the status of God’s people, for God places them in the center of His own interest. It is an amazing revelation of the character of our God, who, in spite of the people of his own creation ignoring Him and even rejecting Him, God responds like a parent who cannot bear to disown his or her child, regardless of their disobedience. God still sees Himself in His creation, and He loves His own.

It gets clearer and clearer when Mary says “Yes” to Gabriel’s message to her that she would bear an altogether unique child who would be both divine and human. Now God’s yearning for an obedient people would be fulfilled through His son Jesus, who would bring to his Father a new people who would recognize their God, and through His son, they would seek and find the path to His kingdom. This story that fills the Gospels with the knowledge and message of Jesus himself, is contained in Isaiah’s single sentence. He spoke forgiveness to a disobedient people, without even knowing the one who gave himself for that forgiveness for others. For more than two Thousand years people have returned to Isaiah’s words and found the Spirit of the Gospel written, even before Christ was born. Now we can all read Jesus’ words to find his kingdom.

Love in Him,

Prue

A turning point in my faith occurred when I read the words in Nehemiah 8, “The joy of the Lord is your strength,” not for the first time, but with the first listening ears to hear the meaning of the words. Previously I had tucked these words into a category of pretty expressions. One day it occurred to me that joy and strength were not an obvious match, but in the mouth of Nehemiah , they were a powerful directive to the people of Israel, and brought a change into the lives and behavior of the returning exiles.

I saw that “joy” is the evidence of the presence of a good and powerful Spirit, and that strength is drawn from and appropriated from joy itself. This very simple truth opened my mind to the presence of God in the experience of joy. It dismissed the sense I had that joy is a temporary pleasure, like a Popsicle, or a lovely sunset, or a great concert, or ice skating in the moonlight. True joy is owned by God Himself,; and for those who know and accept this, it opens a world of joy to them that, like God Himself, is eternal.

Nehemiah was rebuking the people who had returned from exile when they wept over the broken condition of their old temple, and the overpowering prospect of restoring it; but mostly they wept at the reading of scriptures, scriptures they had not heard during the exile. The joy of return was burdened by the recognition of all they had lost, but Nehemiah and others insisted that their true and only real joy was in their Father God, and could never be diminished. They were instructed to eat and share food and gifts with their neighbors. They obeyed, and the joy of the Lord was in their midst.

After these thoughts, I remembered the joy of God Himself at the birth of His son: The Angel of the Lord said to them, ( the shepherds) “. . . I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10) Joy lives deep in the character of God and of His son. It’s clearly His intention to share and establish that joy in the hearts of His people. It is not a passing whim that lives on a Christmas card, but a reality that is essential in eternal life. From his birth to his death and Resurrection, Jesus was conscious of this joy: “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you; now is your time of grief, but I will see you again, and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:21)

Love and Joy in Him,

Prue

Charles Spurgeon was a famous Baptist minister in England at the end of the 19^th century. His sermons appeared in American newspapers the week he delivered them in England. I once worshiped in a Methodist church where the pastor’s brother and father, both Methodist ministers, were named “Spurgeon.” He is still quoted in many denominations, and his books and sermons are still available today.

One day as Spurgeon was leaving his house to go to his office in the church, he asked his wife, as usual, “What can I bring you, Wifey?” She was ill, and she answered playfully, “I should like an opal ring, and a piping bullfinch.” He looked surprised, and rather amused; but simply replied, “Ah, you know that I cannot get those for you!”

(Charles Spurgeon Autobiography, vol. 2)

A few days later Charles received a note from an elderly lady asking if someone could come to her house and take a small gift to give to the preacher for his wife. Charles sent his secretary, who returned with a small ring box containing a lovely opal ring. Not long after that Charles was asked to the home of one of his parishioners who said that the little bullfinch she had,was too noisy for her sick husband, and could Charles give it to his wife? Charles Spurgeon was happy to convey both these gifts to his wife, and he remarked, “ I think you are one of your heavenly Father’s spoiled children, and He just gives you whatever you ask for.” I had never thought of a “spoiled child” relationship with God, but in thinking of my own life I could see that at least in part, those words applied to me as well.

Susannah Spurgeon suffered from an illness that caused her considerable pain, but has not been identified. She had twin boys, and raised them at home, but much of the time, she was a semi-invalid. In their later years, Charles and she were separated in the winters, as he could not endure the English winter, and she could not travel. After her husband’s death,she supervised and facilitated the publication and even the distribution of Charles’ voluminous writings.

I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me and believed that I came from God. (John 16: 26-27) Susannah and Charles’ lives were an echo of Jesus’ words to his disciples.

There are times in our lives when each of us could say, “I feel like one of God’s spoiled children,” and it would be true.

Love in Him,

Prue

Servant to Friend

From Servant To Friend

What slave when his master tells him to do something, would ever be so proud as to say “Why?” The Lord keeps His counsel and his plans to himself. They become clearer if he does his duty, if he does well, if from being a servant he becomes a friend, as the Lord Himself said: “ I will o longer call you servants, but friends.” (John 15:15)Perhaps he will also learn his Lord’s plans; meanwhile, before he knows the plans, let him willingly carry out the decisions. (St. Augustine, Sermon no. 296)

When I first came home from the hospital after the birth of our daughter, I nursed her for about eight months. One night when she woke me at the usual time, I seemed to see the figure of Jesus standing near my bed. I could hear the baby crying and so I got up and walked toward the nursery next to our bedroom. It seemed as if the figure of Jesus walked with me, and I was not afraid, but wondered. In the nursery I sat down with the baby in my arms, while the figure of Jesus remained in front of me. When I attempted to nurse my daughter on the right side, I found that my nursing bra wouldn’t open, no matter what I tried. Finally I thought, , “Jesus doesn’t want me to nurse on this side.” I changed to the left side without difficulty, and the baby was satisfied. I looked up and the figure of Jesus was gone. I had been groggy from sleep, but I determined that for some reason, I should continue to nurse only on the left side, and so I did that for a few weeks, finally giving it up and nursing on both sides .

In the eighth month of nursing I discovered a lump in my right breast. The doctor sent me to a surgeon, who said he would perform a lumpectomy unless the lump was malignant, and in that case it would be a mastectomy. When I woke up from the surgery I knew it had been the latter, and the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes. I believed that my night time experience with the figure of Jesus had not been a dream, but a genuine protection for my daughter. I have no explanation for this appearance, but it deepened my faith, and my sense of purpose in all of life. In the hospital the figure of Jesus returned, holding my breast, and I felt confident that it would be returned to me some day.

I never thought of asking “Why?” but I felt deeply that I did, and do, have a “friend” who came when I didn’t even know that I needed Him. My daughter has never had breast cancer.

Love in Him,

Prue

When I was quite young my father used a straight razor to shave. I had seen him shave many times and asked questions. He was generous with his answers. Once when my grandparents were visiting for an overnight I hurried to their room in the morning, and found Grandpa shaving with an electric shaver. I had never seen one before, and was fascinated. “ You don’t have a beard,” he said, “so I can’t share this with you, but hold out your arm, and I’ll shave your arm for you.” He shaved my arm, and I stared at it.

I kept this incident to myself until after Grandpa left, and at first I quietly mentioned to my father that Grandpa had shaved my arm. I felt as if I had entered the intimate lives of grown ups and now existed on an elevated level of understanding, and even belonging. It hadn’t happened to any of my siblings, each of whom asked me, “How did it feel?” I never forgot this incident, and it brought me pleasure every time I thought of it. I never lost the sense of somehow being favored by Grandpa.

When Jesus saw this (people with children turned away) he was indignant. He said to the disciples, “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.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them, and blessed them. (Mark 10:14-16)

This passage appears in more than one Gospel, and it is mentioned from pulpits occasionally, but seldom is the faith of a child considered a model for adults. Jesus clearly valued the simplicity and receptiveness of children and even saw in them the requirements for entrance into God’s kingdom. In a complicated world, and ours is certainly that, children are often seen as burdens.

We can’t avoid, however, the truth that God’s son on earth came as an infant. It was foreshadowed by the miraculous birth of Isaac, and prophesied by the prophet Isaiah: Unto us a child is born. (Isaiah 9:6) The children who left Egypt with their parents at the Exodus spent most of their lives eating manna and witnessing the cloud and the pillar of fire of God in their midst. These are the “Children of Israel” who lived to enter the Promised Land, and fulfill God’s plan for His people. Their parents never made it. Jesus came as a child, that we might all become children of God.

Love in Him,

Prue

When I was part of a group of friends who played the recorder (instrument ) together, we sent out a notice in the church that we would welcome new players for our “chamber music” group. To our surprise a harpist called and asked if she cold join. We were delighted to have a harp with us, and we found that she had recently started harp lessons, and would appreciate simple pieces, much like most of ours.

When we got to know Linda we liked her and learned that she had had a serious heart attack, and was retired from her previous job. As soon as she retired she invested in a full size harp made in Italy, and signed up for lessons. I couldn’t help asking if she had ever wanted to play the harp before her brush with death, and she replied, “No, I never thought about it at all.” “Any other instruments?” I asked. “No”, she said; she hadn’t had time to play an instrument.

Linda was quite faithful in her practicing, and I admired her perseverance on the harp. I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind, though, that there was somehow a connection between her heart attack and the harp playing. In my imagination I thought she might be preparing for her entry into heaven by being able to play the harp. She never mentioned such a thing, though. We played together for a short while until some members moved away and we disbanded.

I believe that for many people the thought of dying and heaven is muddled with impressions from our world. Once I asked a class of women what they thought heaven was like and none of them had a happy thought. They could not imagine a place or a condition that could in any way be an improvement on their lives here on earth.

On the night that Jesus was arrested he talked to believers, his disciples, about remaining close to him, and then said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:10) He makes it clear to us (not always to the disciples) that his return to the Father would enable real and joyful reunion with him in heaven. “ Joy” is the operative word and Jesus speaks of his and our condition after death. After his resurrection the disciples began to understand his words, and spent their lives sharing the good news. Eternal life is impossible to fully comprehend, but Jesus’ departing words were full of joyful hope. Now we have only glimpses that eternity is joyful, but the Spirit of Christ continues to remind us that eternity with the Father is pure joy, even without a harp.

Love in Him,

Prue

Sometimes Christ speaks to us through the words of a child. Many times he speaks through his church, in its teaching and preaching and in its traditions and rituals, and certainly in the the Scriptures, which are not a literary relic , but through which Christ speaks all the time. (paraphrase from the Spiritual Diaries of Pope St. John Paul)

When we reach the time when we no longer critically analyze Scripture, but we begin to drink it, we begin to hear his voice more and more clearly. One of the most famous examples of this was God’s call to Charles Wesley, who composed over six thousand hymns, including Hark the Herald Angels Sing , and Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, and many more that are still sung today across all denominations.

Charles Wesley was an Anglican priest, and the brother of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. After a disastrous mission experience in the American Colonies, Charles returned to England where he wondered what vocation he should follow. One evening he invited a friend to visit and pray with him concerning his future: “The two friends then prayed together, after which Wesley ‘opened the Book’ for himself. . . and next his eye caught these words: “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord, and put their trust in Him.” (Psalm 40:3) Charles Wesley wrote, “I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in hope of loving Christ.” (The History of Methodism , by W.H. Daniels, pg. 133) It proved to be Charles Wesley’s conversion moment, and propelled his great capacity for writing hymns.

Four days later Charles’ brother John Wesley experienced his “heart strangely warmed” experience at Aldersgate, which was his own conversion. Both men were preachers and teachers of the Word, without fully having accepted Christ until they heard through Scripture the voice of the living Christ.

Our world is very noisy. Never have there been so many voices vying for our attention and even assaulting our ears, yet the voice of the Scriptures is carried by the Holy Spirit to our understanding and to our spirits. Quiet time we spend with the Bible is always noticed by God, and we grow. Charles Wesley had opened the Bible many times before he finally heard God’s voice. In each opening he grew closer until he could hear Jesus himself.

Love in Him,

Prue

I am the grandmother of a fifteen year old and an almost eleven year old; this week I was “carded” in Walmart when I checked out with a bottle of strawberry wine among my purchases. Maybe it was the hat that might have concealed or at least shadowed part of my face. Jack was sure that it was simply routine and that the store’s rules included carding everyone without exception; but for a moment I felt like a sixteen year old trying to pass as an adult. It was invigorating and reminded me of a scripture that has informed humanity for thousands of years: Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

When we close our minds against hope, and assume the worst in our world, we move farther away from the source of renewal and strength. Isaiah poured out the sweetness, relief, and even joy of “those who hope in the Lord”: Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ( Isaiah 41:10)

The times in which we live can hardly be compared to the times of Isaiah in terms of lifestyle; but in terms of stress and uncertainty, there are similarities, and in terms of belief and hope, the source of both is eternal. Even before Isaiah, the psalmist wrote, The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him , and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. ( Psalm 34:8) In every generation the message of hope in the Lord has sustained His people. Even in the hardest of times, when His people were actually in exile, God delivered the message through His prophets. Jeremiah reported God’s words: “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Hundreds of years after the the prophets, Jesus focused on the the strong message of hope: “Fear Not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” ( Luke 12:32) Our world is confusing at best, but there lies a path at our feet that was walked before us by the son of God himself, so that we may have real hope.

Love In Him,

Prue

One day when my college friend Pat and I were walking on the beach at Jones Beach, we saw two young boys on a dock looking at a catch of fish hanging on a line from the side of the dock. “That must hurt a lot,” said the smaller boy. “Oh no,” his companion said, “Fish don’t have pain like people do. They don’t feel anything.”

“Yes, they do, “ said Pat quietly to me. She was a biology major. We both stared at the fish and the boys, who ran off down the dock. Pat went on to tell me the reasons that fish experience pain, and I never forgot the lesson.

It came back to my mind years later when Terry, one of my brothers-in-law, and I were canoeing at a family reunion. Terry had been in the Corps of Engineers during the Viet Nam War, and he had been silent about his time there until he started to talk in the canoe. He chuckled and said, “This reminds me of Nam. You know, I was always scared when I was there. I mean always: morning, noon and night.” He paused, and went on, “One day I looked up and a guy from another unit came up to me. We had been in boot camp together. He had just heard that I was here and stopped by, and after that he came almost every day. I don’t know how I would have made it without him. Anyway, we both made it home safe.” I was silent; I had nothing to offer.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:2) Terry and his friend did God’s work in companioning each other in the midst of war.

How easy it is to ignore another’s pain, but the scripture asserts the importance of bonding, both with each other, and with our God. Even a little boy can guess the fish’s pain. Surely God expects us to recognize pain in one another, and to respond as He responded through Jesus, His own son: “And now I give you a new commandment : love one another . As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)

Love in Him,

Prue