Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ~ Ephesians 4:15 Today was the first day that I have been back to work since having surgery last week. I struggled to speak, and I discovered a number of people extending grace as I spoke slowly. One of my patients in particular, added a little laughter to the situation. She has recently experienced deafness due to her condition. She looked at me, and said, "I'm so sorry to see you like this, but just think, if we had a blind person here we could be those three monkeys. Speak no evil, hear no evil and see no evil."
She continued, "In my 89 years of life, I have learned a lot about what it means to rely on others. Of course I'm sad to think that I may never hear my grandchildren call me 'grandma,' or hear my children say 'I love you,' again. I am working hard at realizing all the blessings I still have each day." I have to admit, this particular procedure has impacted me in many ways. Not just a change in appearance, but the inability to speak clearly, or at all. What I have learned through this experience, is that if we truly want to communicate with others, then all effort is worth it. Sometimes when I think of Jesus walking with the Disciples, providing daily examples, and then telling parables, I begin to realize just how much Jesus had to share, and to what length he would go in order to communicate with humanity. Even going to the cross. I have often wondered what it was like for Adam, walking in the garden of Eden and sharing in conversation with God. Or what Moses must have really felt, listening to the voice of God. Or what prompted Ruth to proclaim, "Your people will be my people and your God my God." Our ability to communicate can be as simple as a hand reaching out. A word of encouragement. A tear when someone tells of a sad situation. The laughter when joy is encountered. All of which are ways that we communicate with one another. It is only by giving generously from our well of self to others that we discover just how deep that well is, and how important it is for us to share with one another. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018
0 Comments
"Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else."
- 1 Thessalonians 5: 15 When I was in high school I played the role of the Rabbi in "Fiddler on the Roof." In the musical, the lead, at one point talks about getting even with those who have done him and others wrong. The saying, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" is brought up. His response, "the whole world would be blind and toothless." Forgiveness is something that we must learn. It's not something, in my experience, that comes easy. Our ability to seek and provide forgiveness remains a signature of our faith. Jesus spent a lot of time talking about and providing forgiveness. At one point during his ministry he asks, "which is easier? To say your sins are forgiven, stand up and walk?" Forgiveness gives us and others the ability to stand up, or to start again from the place that we find ourselves. It is a new beginning. The harder part, sometimes, is for those who have been forgiven to actually take those first steps because others often remind the person of what has been forgiven. It's a challenging situation. Forgiveness means exactly that. It means to give the person the opportunity to stand and move on. Hoping that we all may learn to forgive ourselves, one another, and to be bold enough to stand and start new. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy."
~ Psalm 65: 9-13 One of my early memories I carry with me is that of living on our farm and turning our cows out into a green meadow after a long winter. Even our older cattle seemed to have a dance to their step as they stretched and welcomed the freedom to run. I especially enjoyed watching new calves as they would run and chase one another. So often we forget that we live a life of abundance. It's interesting, even the homeless that I used to work with understood what it meant to live a life of abundance. Often sharing what they had with one another, no matter how great or small, it was a way not of survival, but simply the "right" thing to do. Today our lives can be filled with a lot of distractions, keeping us from seeing the abundance that exists in our lives. We seem to be bombarded with ads for the next generation of technology, and scenes that depict better cars, bigger homes, and easier ways to prepare even our cup of coffee! Simply put, our God is not a god of scarcity, but of abundance. From the time that Jesus collected 12 baskets of leftovers when five loaves and a few fish were all that they had to begin with, to Jesus telling Simon to cast his nets and the catch is so great that his boat begins to sink. God doesn't simply give us enough, God gives us more than enough, including more love than we could ever ask to receive. What is it that you have experienced in abundance? An easy trap for any of us is to look at what others have, or what the world seems to want to sell us as abundance, then look at own life and become depressed. Abundance can be found in many forms, but when we fail to see it already in our life, then we miss so much more! Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." ~ John 13: 7 Have you ever wondered why you are experiencing something bad in your life? In the movie "Bruce Almighty" there is a scene where the main character demands that God "smite him."
He also remarks that "God is a mean kid with a magnifying glass." I know folks who believe that God is just sitting back and waiting for them to mess up so God can punish them. I often wonder who taught these folks to believe that God is like this? I remember walking out of the doctor's office one day and a lady remarked that my having cancer was just part of God's plan. I totally lost it with her. I looked at her and said, "God should have hit me with a bus. It would have been quicker, cheaper, and my kids would have had a better story to tell others about how I died." God does not make us victims. God does not give us cancer. God doesn't sit back and wait to punish us. God makes us survivors so that we can live to tell others of what wonders God has done. We struggle when bad things happen. When you think about it, bad things happen because the world that God created is no longer perfect. God made it, and claimed that it was good, but over time we have simply messed it up with the choices we have made. God gets the blame for many things, and frankly God has big shoulders, however, if we were truthful, much of what we experience we do to ourselves. The blame game is not God's game, it's ours, however, God is there when things do happen. Hoping that today we may all see clearly the right path for us to take that is full of God's blessings, not another reason to blame God for something we have done, or when something bad happens to us or someone we know. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."
~ Psalm 63: 1, 3, 6-8 How do we make ourselves available to God, as well as, one another? Years ago I intentionally entered into a period of time that each day I would begin the day by saying, "Today Lord, I empty myself of me. In this empty vessel, please fill me with all that You desire for me, and the strength to remain faithful to that desire." I would like to say I was successful. Instead I discovered I would be so very critical of myself any time that I sensed I was going in another direction. My focus on when I messed up completely overwhelmed what I had initially hoped for the exercise. A middle-aged woman I met years ago while working with homeless folks on the street shared, "As a recovering addict, I have learned that every day is a new opportunity." I think we all need to recognize that the blessing of each new day is truly a day that we can begin again. The re-creative nature of God gives us hope that today will be better than yesterday. Although God has that hope for us, we will always be part of the process. "Attitude is everything," is truly the mantra of every person who has ever tried to change, make a difference in a situation, or when faced with a challenging situation. May the joy of the Lord be our strength. May the hope of today fill us with anticipation of God's goodness. May each of us, at the end of this day, before closing our eyes, find peace. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” ~ Psalm 56:3 I think if we all are truthful with ourselves we have an understanding of what fear is like. What I find amazing in scripture are the times when angels visit, the first words spoken are, "Fear not."
I have had times in my life when I have been afraid. I don't ever remember being afraid of the dark, but I was afraid of one particular dog that had attacked me for some time after the encounter. There is a difference between the fear of "not getting picked," and being "chosen." I remember being told by a pastor years ago that "fear does not come from God." While scripture reminds of to "Fear the Lord," it is not about being fearful of God who created us in the image of God. It would mean that God also encounters fear. I once met a woman who went through a terrible relationship where she was abused nearly each day. It wasn't until her husband died that she could talk openly of the years that she lived in fear. I wish I could say that there was an answer for the times when we encounter fear. Sometimes the unexpected, or new experiences, creates a feeling, or a place where fear seems to reside. Talking about the things that cause us to have fear helps us to no longer give power to that which confronts the feeling of fear. Hearing the words, "Fear not," can be today's, "It will be okay," or, "I am right here with you." Living through these experiences can change us, and things that cause us to be fearful, can paralyze us from encountering all the blessings that God has waiting for us. Our need to hear the words, "Fear not," exists as a reminder that the will of God will never lead us to a place of fear, but to a place where fear no longer has a place. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 "... for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." ~ I Samuel 16:7 We have all heard the proverbial, "Don't judge a book by the cover." This saying reminds us that there is often more to a person than what you see on the outside.
Years ago one of the members of my first church I was called to pastor had a member, Mary. When I first met Mary she was already one of the oldest members of the church, and had already lived several years away from her husband, being cared for in a nursing home, as he was even older than her and could no longer care for her daily needs. I remember walking into her room, she was turned away from me, covered in a worn quilt blanket that I learned she had put together from dresses she had worn over the years. Only a few family photos were on the wall. "Mary? Is that you?" There were two beds in the room, both occupied, and the way it was set up I couldn't figure out which one is Mary. "Yes, I'm here." I could tell where the voice came from and I worked my way to the side of the bed where I could see her face. I remember telling her my name, and who I was. She cordially greeted me, and then I will never forget what she told me next, "Don't let this old woman laying in this bed fool you. I am a powerful prayer warrior. I am always talking with God. You have something to be prayed for, you should let me know. I will pray all day about it." Suddenly my whole image of her changed. I saw what she described, and I realized that in her weakness she had discovered a greater purpose. Over the next year, and even up to her death, I knew that Mary was praying. We all have things that people don't realize about us. Our society has become visual commentators, focused on appearances. Instead of asking, "Can you hear me now," as the commercial asks, we really should be asking, "Can you see me now?" When we look in the mirror, what do you see? The image of God, or the image of "Me?" Years ago while helping to feed a group of homeless youth, I happened to look down at the shadows being cast on the street. It was then that I realized that all the shadows were the same color. While each person was wearing different clothes, had different colors of skin, and were all a variety of ages and gender, I realized I was getting a glimpse of how God looks at us. To God, there are no "book covers." Only children created in God's image. Imagine the world, and each other, in the way that God looks at the world. Imagine how different it might look. Stay in God's grip! G. Todd Williams (c) 2018 |
AuthorRev. G. Todd Williams is the author of the book, "Remember Me When..." and is a former hospice chaplain and pastor. Archives
February 2024
|