I Want a Horse

When I was eight years old, I wanted a horse. Not a pony…a horse. And I wasn’t asking Santa Claus…I was asking my dad. Daily.

I did my homework. I looked in the newspaper and found ads for stable rentals. I figured up what it would cost annually to care for a horse (based on my own rough estimates). And then I found local listings for horses in a price range that seemed reasonable to me. Then I made my case.

I wanted a horse. And I saw no reason why we shouldn’t get one. It made perfect sense to me. An eight-year-old.

My dad responded with his typical loving patience. “We don’t need a horse.” “We’re not going to get a horse right now.” “We can’t really afford a horse, Lynn.” “Yes, I see that you’ve worked it all out, but we don’t need to get a horse. We need a new mower.”

Eventually I let it go.

And then I got a bike! It was SO much better than a horse! I zipped around the neighborhood every afternoon with my friend Clark and we had a blast racing with our banana-seats and out-there handlebars. My dad knew better after all.

“Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.” (Ecclesiastes 5:2 NAS)

“Wow, Lynn, you’re brilliant! I’ll never worry about anything again! I’ll just know that God’s gonna give me a bike and everything’s gonna turn out great!”

Ummm…no.

I know it’s not that simple.  Life is still hard. And we are supposed to be honest and open before God with the concerns and passions of our hearts.

But remember…he’s in heaven and you’re not. He sees the bigger picture and you can’t. When bad things happen or you see the bad things around you, bring those things before God and then trust him. Believe that he sees these things in their context.

Remember that death is not defeat. In Christ, death is passage. We often pray that death will be postponed, but when God does not intervene, that death is not denial. It is loss for us…and often it is heartbreaking loss…but it is not a negative response to our requests. It is a fulfillment of God’s promise of life everlasting.

So when you pray…when you come before God in the quiet of your own home…and you feel stumped at just what to say about all of the things that are on your heart, just start with, “My Father, the one who sits in heaven and sees everything in its greater context, holy is your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”

The rest will just fall into place. After all, he knows better.

I Know Why the Old Ladies Cry

When I was young, I would see old ladies at church cry during songs about heaven and wonder what was so upsetting that they would actually cry about it. Do you know what I mean? Whenever we would sing or hear songs about heaven and seeing Jesus—songs like “Until Then” or “I Bowed on My Knees and Cried Holy” or “When We See Christ”—the tissues would come out and the tears would come down and they would be boo-hooing somethin’ awful. Which left me completely puzzled.

I didn’t understand what the big deal was back then. They’d have tears streaming down their faces and I’d be looking on in amazement. I’d think to myself, It’s just a song. It’s just a pretty song about a pretty place that we’ll all go to someday. No need to get all worked up about it.

Until recently. Now I’m one of the old ladies.

I went to a funeral this morning. The father of one of my best friends died suddenly a few days ago so we had a beautiful memorial service for him this morning at our church. My friend’s brother and her husband (who is also my pastor) both delivered tender and eloquent messages of love and grace about a well-lived life. Between their presentations, another friend, our worship pastor, sang “I Bowed on My Knees and Cried Holy.” And at the end of the service we all sang “Until Then”:

This weary world with all its toil and struggle

May take its toll of misery and strife;

The soul of man is like a waiting falcon;

When it's released, it's destined for the skies.

But until then, my heart will go on singing;

Until then, with joy I'll carry on;

Until the day my eyes behold the city,

Until the day God calls me home.

By the end of that song, I had a tissue out (which I fortunately found in my purse) and was trying to clean up the mess my tears had made with my mascara. I was boo-hooing with all the rest and the best of us old ladies.

So now I know why.

When you’ve lived on this earth a while--long enough to get “old”--you get weary. You learn what “toil and struggle” are like and your soul becomes that “waiting falcon.” You get tired of going through the same struggles over and over and over and over . . . you get the picture. Whether it’s physical pain or emotional difficulties or financial problems or whatever, life is just plain hard. For everyone.

But that’s not why we’re crying.

We have something to sing about in the meantime. "Until then” we can “carry on” . . . with joy! The fact that someday God is going to call us “home” gives us a reason to keep pressing on while we are in this foreign land. Our citizenship is in another Kingdom and we serve a God who loves us and has purchased and empowered us through the blood of His son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:1-4).

So we get a little homesick for that place. And that's why us old ladies cry.

Fresh Perspective

I love to read magazines. They inspire me and give me great ideas about fashion, home décor, and entertaining. One of my favorites is Architectural Digest. I read each issue, absorb the fabulous pictures and amazing styles, then look back at my home with a fresh eye to keeping my home at its very best. Not Architectural Digest standards, but better than it was and good enough for me.

This is very important because I hate housekeeping. I dread anything to do with making up my bed, keeping up with the laundry, preparing meals, cleaning the kitchen . . . Martha Stewart, I’m not. (Evidently all of those homemaking genes skipped me entirely and went directly to my sister. If you know Christie Ray, you know exactly what I’m talking about!) But after reading a copy of Architectural Digest or Real Simple or even InStyle with their pictures of new ideas and stars’ exciting decorating touches, I have to get back into my living room and my kitchen and give it another go. And the results are always satisfying . . . for me and my family. I have a fresh perspective when I look at my home and I’m inspired to make it into the very best it can be.

The other day I was listening to a recording by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir as they sang one of my favorite songs, “Heaven on My Mind.” The recording was done live, so you could hear the audience response when they reached a certain part of the lyric just the way our congregation does when we perform it at our church:

     And another thing,

     I don't have time to be bothered with he said, she said, that they said.
     Because it's all I can do to keep my own self in line. . . .
     I'm gonna keep on working for Jesus
     Everyday of my life,

          cause I've got heaven on my mind. (by Luther Barnes)

Seriously, every time we have ever performed that with the Trevecca Community Church (TCC) choir and orchestra, the congregation just about comes out of its seats when we hit that line: “I don't have time to be bothered with he said, she said, that they said.” We all connect!

Now, if you tell somebody, “Don’t you dare tell someone what I’m about to tell you that Andrea told me,” you know the first thing they’re going to do is turn around and call someone else to pass it along. Unless they are too busy with something else on their mind.

That’s exactly what happens when we have heaven on our minds. When we are busy reading our Bible, praying to God for more of Him, worshiping God with others regularly, and serving others in the name of Jesus to meet the needs of a desperate world, we truly will not have time to be caught up in the petty arguments or distractions that drag life down.

More than that, we will be prepared for the storms of life when they come. They always come. But when we have our spiritual and emotional anchor in place, they will not throw us off course. With heaven on our minds, we will have the right perspective for every day of our lives.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).”