Snapshots

One day last week my husband looked at me and said, "If you looked at our life today you would think that we had it all!"  I laughed and said, "If only that were so."

This small conversation sparked a thought in me...life is made up of snapshots.  My mind instantly wandered back to the day of film cameras.  The days when you would send your film to a developer and wait with anticipation to see how many pictures turned out and how good the "good" pictures would be.   Inevitably, you would get the stellar shots of memorable moments accompanied by the few that were totally invaluable.  After enjoying the amazing shots, it would be time to evaluate the reason for the bad pictures.  Be it the flash cube was used up or the taker's finger was in the way, there was value in learning how to avoid this the next time around.

The snapshots of life are much the same, some are amazing and some are not so amazing. There are the amazing snapshots that come when days are good.  The day that you are engaged to the love of your life.  The day you are able to make your child's dream come true.  The day that you land your first job that pays more than gas and insurance payments to mom and dad.  The day that you see an old friend coming off of the airplane for a visit.  You know these well.  These are the days that you find yourself saying that familiar saying,"If only this day could last forever!"  On the other hand, there are the snapshots in life that you never want to revisit.  The day you hear the diagnosis of a terminal illness.  The day you lose a loved one to a tragic accident.  The day that you lose your business and walk into the attorney's office to file for bankruptcy.  Maybe is is simply the day that nothing you touch seems to work out.

Just like pictures, we need to learn to enjoy the great snapshots of life while adjusting to the lessons learned from the undesirable snapshots. The great moments are to be cherished and enjoyed but not worshipped and set up to be the litmus test for all of the days of life.  If you think back before the day of digital cameras, we took snapshots of what we deemed to be the best and most important moments of life.  We would look back at them with fondness while continuing to look to another day in the future where pictures would be taken.  What a joy it is when we learn to love the best snapshots of life while not being disappointed that everyday is not a "best snapshot" kind of day!  The undesirable snapshot days are a bit harder to deal with.  In these moments, it is valuable to learn what the Lord is teaching in the moment and move forward in faith not expecting all days to be so tough.  God has given us the great ability to gain wisdom and perspective through the trials of life.  Scripture reminds me that it is through these trials that the Lord is refining in me character that leads to perseverance and hope.  Let me just say, it is good to learn from the bad snapshots in a timely manner.  We have an entire three week vacation worth of pictures with Dad's finger blocking a portion of the lens that we can never get back.  So it is in life.  If you don't grow and learn from your trials, you will spend much of life losing opportunities for joy that come from the discipline of growing in wisdom and grace.

The saying often heard in our house is this...you are never as good as your best performance and never as bad as your worst.  So it goes with these snapshots of life.  Our life is never as full and celebratory as the best snapshot but nor is it as bad as the worst snapshot.  Thinking on this has encouraged me to take time today to thank the Lord for those amazing snapshots of His marvelous gifts as well as for the trials that have made me the person that I am today.  I encourage you to do the same!

Blessings, Diane

Zero Tolerance for Character and Common Sense

Seriously?  That is the nicest way to put what is happening in the new police state in which we are raising kids in America.

"I have never lived in a world where adults didn't trust kids."  This is my favorite line from the movie Mean Girls for it sums up the plight of public schools in America "to a tee."  We have come to a point in life in America where we have lost all connection to relationship and common sense to the point of prison for the free and freedom for the convicted.

Case in point...
Yesterday, two kids that I have been very close with since birth experienced this great new America in a real way.  For protection of the accused we will use the names P1, P2 and P3 for the students in the story and A1 and A2 for the adults in the story.  P3 is heading to PE class with a splitting sinus headache and sees her brother, P1 heading to the parking lot to attend his internship periods with his pastor.  She stops him and relates that she has a headache and he proceeds to find a way to get her a couple of Advil to take for her headache.  This is quite a challenge with our new zero tolerance world.  It takes a bit of work to head to the car, search through P2's bat bag where there may be some hidden Advil due to a previous injury at baseball.  Just a side note...we allowed him to put this in his bat bag after being at an out of town baseball game where a teammate was hit in the face with a baseball and no one had a stitch of anything to calm the swelling until parents arrived some time after the incident.  So...back to school.  P3 leans over the fountain and takes a couple of Advil in complete view of the security camera.  Not a minute later, A1 arrives at the water fountain with accusations of illegal drug use and drug dealing on campus along with a form for a four day out of school suspension for both P1 and P3. P1 has left the scene of what he did not know was a crime and P3 is alone.  Of course, P3 being a young lady of high character and integrity gets immediately sick to her stomach, weak in the knees and teary eyed wondering how she has suddenly become a drug dealer and user all in thirty seconds.  As A1 is reading P3 the riot act A2, knowing the character of both P1 and P3 and being a seasoned teacher, walks up and steps up to the plate and quells the craziness.  P3 heads on to class 15 minutes late where she gets to enjoy the company of the boys who truly do use and deal with no consequence.

Now lets think about this...would a brother and sister who are using and dealing drugs use the water fountain by the security camera to do such activity? (common sense) Does A1 really think that every student in that school doesn't know where every security camera is in the building? (common sense) Maybe we don't realize that the reason students are smoking their weed and having sex in the bathrooms is because that is where there cannot be security cameras. (common sense)  Does the 2 years of stellar character and grades and honest communication with administrators not account for an innocent until proven guilty assumption? (character)  Does the fact that you take the pills in the gym hallway full of students, coaches and teachers not say there is nothing to hide? (character)

P1, P2 and P3 have not been trained to live in a world where "adults don't trust children" just like the main character in Mean Girls.  They have been raised to live by the spirit of the law over the letter of the law.  This means that they not only keep the rules but also understand that rules have greater implications than obedience.  The spirit of the law to them might mean that 2 Advil from an Advil bottle in full view of all would not be considered "drug use on school grounds."  This is apparently a huge problem in zero tolerance America.

Now, lest you think that I do not agree with policies at school for the protection of our children, that is not the case.  What concerns me in this world is the "zero tolerance."  This is the clause that gets children with a plastic fork suspended from grade school, the boy with a sword from an extracurricular activity in his trunk because he forgot to take it out before heading to school barred from walking his graduation and P1 and P3 threatened with a four day suspension.

I am sure I could go on and on about this, but I must make certain the school gets a call for the absence of P3 from school today.  P1 and P2 are not allowed to take a signed note stating the absence of a sibling for calls by an adult are the only acceptable communication for absences.  You know, a friend would certainly be less likely to call and act like a parent rather than send a signed note, don't you think?  Oh, no, that would fall under common sense thinking again.

Laughing at the craziness,
Diane

White Lines and Legacies

I love to travel and see new places and meet new people! Last week I had the opportunity to do just that. My husband was asked to preach a funeral service of a dear friend up in South Dakota. This beautiful service was held in a small 100 year old country church out in the middle of farm land about fifty miles from any sizable town. The area residents are mostly pure blood Swedes who are just as beautiful as the setting of the church itself. While enjoying the beauty of the people and setting, I was once again reminded of the scope of influence that a single life always has on the people it touches.


Cliches about such influence abound; one being "no man is an island." Cliches aside, it is very true that the life each of us lives makes an impact on those in our scope of influence. While at this funeral, it was amazing to hear family member after family member stand and speak to the impact that this departed lady had on their lives. Around the tables after the funeral, eating a typical Midwestern funeral meal of ham sandwiches, friends and neighbors shared stories of impact as well. The greatest part of the experience was not the number who shared, but the commonality of what they shared. Each person who told a story would always mention this sweet lady's faith in the Lord. This dear saint had spent her life living in obedience and love to a Savior who changed her life. The love that was in her heart for Jesus Christ was shared with everyone that she met.

On the long trip home, rather than counting the white lines like I did when I was a kid, I began to reflect upon my legacy. Realizing each of us leaves a legacy is a very sobering thought. Not sobering in a negative sense, simply in the gravity of the importance of what we pass on to our children and grandchildren through the life that we live. While thinking about this concept, my mind went to the part in the Bible where Moses brings the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel and shares with them what the Lord desires. In the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy we read:


"You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."


This passage is amazing when it comes to the idea of legacy. Our life, whether it be a life of idolatry and sin or of obedience and love, will impact generations in our families. When this passage remarks on the sin of the fathers visiting down the generations, it is reminding us that our sin can create patterns of behavior and sin consequences that our children will carry with them long after we are gone. Scripture assures us that children are not responsible for the sin of their parents nor condemned because of their sin, but they are certainly impacted by it. Scripture promises that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, but this does not negate the effect that sin has on the lives of everyone touched by its ugliness. On the other hand is the great news that the blessing of obedience also has generational impact. The joy and blessing of obedience reigns down on the children and grandchildren of those who are obedient. What a beautiful picture it is when this passages speaks of the overflowing blessing of the beautiful and incomparable mercy that the Lord pours out upon those who in the lineage of the obedient.

It has been said that what parents do in moderation, children will do in excess. Thinking about that, I pray for the grace and strength to walk in obedience to the Lord so that my children and grandchildren will do so as well. What better legacy to leave than one that points others to the love of Jesus and the blessing of walking in step with His Spirit!

Keep Walking, Diane