Courageous Gifts of Roots

About four hundred years ago, a family left Wales for a newly founded Penn’s Colony. With a few older boys in tow, and one who made his appearance when crossing the Atlantic (aptly named Seaborn), they made the voyage successfully. Settling into the colony, the family became established in their community. Time passed, generations branched out and moved southwest into Kentucky. Deep into timbered hills, where shadows rest late in the morning and pull along evening’s approach early, families were established. Gardens were planted, homes were built and a few lone settlers became communities.

On a recent trip I was reminded of the gift of roots. It took courage to leave a home in Wales and travel across an ocean; to later say goodbye to the established colony and settle the frontier of the Appalachian hills. Generations continued, learning to lean on each other as they formed their own families, taking root and becoming communities.

I watched and listened as family surrounded me last week. Each unique in their gifts, each very special. This beautiful hilled place will be forever my family home, a holder of stories and songs that rise in the memory like the morning mist. Each generation has the opportunity to be a builder for the next, to give them another strong layer upon which to place their own structure. I also am part of the branching out, and in so doing found a new home.    

Impact of Strength

“Be strong and courageous” “Be strong and very courageous” “Don’t be afraid” “Take courage”

   The phrases are found in many places over the Word of God. What could possibly have caused such fright that people needed this constant bolstering of their courage? There were invasions, famines, enemy rulers, and idol worship to content with. However one of the largest seems to be the courage to do what God has asked or commanded His people to do.
   He asked his own son to give up his heavenly home, a perfect place, to come here as an infant – powerless to the care of human parents. That must have taken quite the goodly amount of courage. The actions seem to take as much courage as the other factors affecting people in the Bible.
  Today is not that different. We are asked as Christ followers to act according to God’s purpose. It takes courage to do this. It is the courage to stand firm, to speak up, to know the difference between kindness and wishy washy’ness. It leaves us on the outside of many things, on the odd side or minority side of many choices. But we put off the things of this world and bear up with courage that God supplies knowing that in the end, it is worth it.
   It was an impact of strength those many years ago. Mary, Joseph – they were given a choice and chose to be of courage. We have the same choice today. Take heart, be strong and very courageous – go and see the impact of God’s strength.
   (Deuteronomy 31:6; Judges 1:7; Matthew 14:27; Acts 23:11)

Dishes and Abigail

   When I was a little girl, I liked doing the dishes just so I could play in the bubbles. Tonight after dinner, I spent a few minutes doing the dishes and was musing about what fun that was. Even now, I love the feel of the water and the bubbles on my hands, the smell of the clean kitchen. Then, my thoughts wandered to Abigail Adams, one of the main characters in a biography I’m reading. She is someone I think I would enjoy sitting down to a meal with and then the kitchen cleaning afterwards.

   Is there someone out of history that you would bring into your life for just a few hours if you could? So you could see them and hear them? Mrs. Adams is one I would love to spend some time with. She was a capable woman, capable of great strength, loyalty, courage, and endeavor. While her husband was away leading the nation during a war, she was back much closer to the front lines of battle. Troops walked past her front door on a daily basis. And yet, she carried on at the farm, writing her husband letters of what they were doing, how the crops were doing, how much he was missed, and her love for him. She had pluck, braving smallpox inoculations to help her children survive that dreadful disease. It must have been something to sit next to her and just listen to the stories.
   Yes, if I could play in the bubbles, wash the dishes and talk, I would love to talk with Abigail.

Under the Rug

I am familiar with the expression “Sweep it under the rug.” In other words, just remove it from sight and hopefully whatever IT is, IT will take care of itself, die a natural death, and dissolve from being under the rug. Whatever rug these people have must be pretty impressive. If I sweep something under the rug, all it does is create a little bulge in the floor. They must have a different kind of rug. If I continue to sweet things under the rug, I will have a little bulge and then a bigger bump, until it is big enough to catch my toe on and fall. Eventually, it will look like a beach ball is under there, and that just doesn’t look right at all and will make the rug fall funny on the floor.

Instead of sweeping things under the rug, where they will be tripped on later – because they do not take care of themselves, die a natural death, and dissolve, these things must be dealt with and either put way or removed. It is not always an easy thing. To the contrary, it is often uncomfortable. However, after the first anxious minutes have passed, it is often my experience to grow more comfortable. Soon, even some nervous laughter may be heard.
Don’t sweep it under the rug. Take the rug outside and give it a good dusting.

Staged Face

She stood on stage. She had the smile perfectly practiced. Her poise came through and she seemed to speak calm and sweetness. Every movement was practiced, the way the microphone was held, the tilt of the head. To the most casual and even slightly mediocre observant watcher, she appears content and happy. It is in the eyes that you can catch a glimpse of the girl who is hiding behind the stage face. The doubt of her self-worth, the pain of hurt, and the uncertainty of growing up are present behind the mascara and eye-liner.
She is beautiful. And she doubts this. She is capable. And she doubts this. She is loved. And she doubts this.

I saw through the stage face. I have worn one as well at times. It is the face you put on when you don’t want people to comment, to state the platitudes which are well known and overly used. They are handy things, perhaps not good – but handy. Especially when having to face a crowd that is hostile, overly emotional, or just blasé. It is a helpful skill when stage lights are in your eyes and you can’t see the crowd at all. Yet, they think that you have singled one of them out specially. It is useful even when dealing with other tasks, which are unpleasant and require some sort of interaction. Yes, useful – but not always good. It isn’t always good because there is no one to disrupt the influence of the lie, to help us relearn truth.
Look beyond the stage face, look in the eyes. Let someone see past yours. Then, the healing can begin.

Just the Right Time

There are some books that are like old friends, their words are comfortable and familiar. For me, The Hiding Place, a story of Corrie Ten Boom is one of these books. The story of Corrie, her sister Betsie and their family is full of wisdom. There is also great tragedy in this story. For me, knowing that this is real and about real people makes the hurts so much deeper and more real, but the grace and forgiveness becomes even more beautiful.

Corrie is a woman who grows up learning of God through her life and her family around her. She learns of a God who loves her absolutely, who guides her through various difficulties, and always supplies the strength that is needed at the moment it is needed. If you have never read the story of this family, I highly recommend it and I won’t give away the plot here.
But, I will mention just one story. Corrie and her father are traveling on the train. Corrie is asking her father questions, trying to determine the meaning of different things. Some of the questions are very big questions for a very little girl. The father ponders the question for just a moment, and then reaches for his bag. Asking Corrie to carry the bag, she reached for it and found that it was too heavy. After telling her father that she couldn’t carry it, he took it from her. This object lesson was used to help Corrie understand that some things are too heavy for us. But, when we are called on by God to pick up that burden, he will provide the strength we need at that time. Until then, we do not have to carry the bags which we can only drag.
I find that a very real comfort. I have a God, a Father, a Friend, who not only knows when I will need strength, but then goes about providing just what I need, exactly when I need it.

Have Mercy

The pinchy shoe moment has ended. Jesus and the disciples have packed up and are leaving Jericho, with a large crowd following behind.


And though in my mind I have pictured some sort of gigantic van, I know that they didn’t have on at that time and were walking. Walking along, two men are sitting by the roadside, blind. Sitting there, passersby might have taken pity on them and helped to meet a need.

If you ever cover your eyes with a scarf and try to operate for a while, you may notice that your other senses start to grow sharper. Hearings, smell, taste, touch all start compensating for the loss of sight. So imagine these two men, sitting on that road. Perhaps the sun was out that day and they were feeling heat, listening to the sounds of people passing on the road, maybe bugs were out buzzing (and bugging), the smell of people who have walked and their animals could have drifted by. But if these two men sat there often, this would all have been familiar to them. Then, something strange happens – there is a crowd walking past and the men hear news.

Jesus is coming!

What fabulous news for all of us to hear! How did they respond? “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” (Matthew 20:30). Mercy, shouting for mercy! It was a cry of help! What a great response to Jesus. We all need help and when we hear that Jesus is passing by, we can either cry out for mercy, try to ignore the crowd, or hide. These men showed wisdom in their pleading.

The crowd’s response was to tell the men to be quiet. Shhhhhhh!!!!! Can’t you hear it now; practice it in your very best movie librarian voice. Don’t interrupt us, don’t bother Jesus, and don’t get in my way! We do that too don’t we? That person has something wrong with them – don’t look, don’t ask, don’t talk, don’t, don’t, don’t.... Or better yet, let’s hide what’s wrong so that nobody else knows. We have an inner Shhhh at times that comes out, telling us that it is just too minor, major, horrible, silly, etc... to be shared.


So again – I applaud these men, they were not daunted by the crowd, but shouted out even louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” (Matthew 20:31).

Jesus stopped, called the men to him. “What do you want me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32). These few verses are just packed with information! We learn more about Jesus here. He knows what is wrong with these men. He knows about their vision, about every cell and every hair, every hope and every dream, every wrong and every right that has ever surrounded these men. But, he stops to ask – what do you want me to do? Jesus does that for us too. He doesn’t charge in and make us change. Instead, he calls to us, stops for us, and then asks us about the change. What love that is! Think how we would rebel if it was pushed on us, instead we are wooed.


What did the men want? Their sight! “Lord, we want our sight.” (Matthew 20:33). Can you imagine the butterflies in the stomach, the elbowing and jostling in the crowd, the excitement in the air? Sight for these men carried so much with it, possibilities and freedoms that were currently unattainable.


Jesus had mercy on them, he had compassion, and he knew that he could heal these men and what it would mean. Jesus “touched their eyes.” (Matthew 20:34).


What I would give to have been able to see those men’s faces as they took it all in. What was the first thing they saw? Did they know what their road side compatriot looked like? Did they hear familiar voices in the crowd and start putting faces with them? We don’t know if they had always been blind, perhaps they had never seen sunlight or starlight, shadows, green leaves, and the dust of the road. There would be so much to do right then, I think I would want to go five directions at one time! I want to see everything!!


But, these men “received their sight and followed him,” (Matthew 20:34). They received their physical sight, but they also followed Jesus, receiving the sight of their souls. Jesus did have mercy on them.

Time Apart

Have you ever needed a break?  I have!  I have had a time when I just want to get away from the noise, the people, daily routines, expectations…  I need a vacation from life those days!  You know, it’s the days where you sit up in bed and declare that it’s just not good a day to get up. 

Sometimes, it is really important to have the time away.  Mary needed time away and found a sanctuary in the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah.  It was about three months that they welcomed Mary before she went home.  Can you imagine as Elizabeth shared with Mary discussions over symptoms of an early pregnancy?  Discussions over strolls in the hills, perhaps quiet times sitting with Zechariah. 

But, it is important to note that Mary went home.  Mary didn’t hide away and stay hidden.  She rested, gathered strength, and then went home.  I can imagine Mary gathering courage around her as she packed her things and headed back home.  She was about to face the unknown and the known.  The unknown of how people would react, who would talk, what would they say, what would people think, how would they treat her?  The known of daily routines, well known streets, familiar voices and faces of family and friends would also be welcoming her.

If you need a break, how are you taking it?  If you are hiding, how will you gather courage to come out and face the unknown and known?