He was gone. Four-days dead. And no amount of begging or pleading was going to put life back into those bones.

She’d tried that already. Sent her friends to get her Jesus, the One she knew could arm wrestle death and come out with a win. But He was eerily silent, choosing to stay where he was rather than belly up to the crisis table. Strange that he delayed, uncharacteristic based on the open love he’d previously shown. Hissing whispers tempted her to question Him, or at least his loyalty. Who would refuse to come at the hour of a friend’s deepest need? Apparently Jesus would. And He did. And Martha struggled to make sense of it.

Grief and confusion are an explosive combination. It’s painful to endure a loss. It’s an exponential pain to endure a loss that could have been prevented. The injustice of unnecessary grief ignites rage like little else. The soul screams, WHY?

For centuries Martha has been getting a bad rap for her childish tattling on a sister who wouldn’t help her clean up the kitchen. And although it’s true she once sounded much like my boys arguing over who folded the most laundry or put away the most dishes, there was another moment when wisdom trumped immaturity. And at that moment, the moment of her profound grief, Martha pulled out a whopper:

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’” ~ John 11:25-26

Wowza. Did you see that? At a crossroads of questions, Martha was confident of her Jesus. She may have been drowning in unknowns, but she chose to hang on to what she knew for a fact. “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Without diminishing his reality or questioning his role, she stood firm in His “I AM”-ness, without understanding a lick about the rest.

That’s a whopper of a lesson for all of us.

September 27, 2009   //   Devotional, Michele   //   No Comments   //  

Rather than writing on this month’s theme of goodness, our dear Michele is living it out.  She is currently in South Africa on an incredible mission trip.  I don’t want to steal her thunder, so click over to Michele’s blog to learn more about her adventures and the ways in which her life and the lives of those around her are being changed.

Michele, we love you and you’re in our prayers.

Now this is eternal life:  that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

A.W. Tozer is rapidly becoming one of my favorite Christian authors.  I am currently reading a 31-day compilation of his book The Pursuit of God (1995).  Each reading, though relatively short in length, is packed full of insights which pull me deep into thought and personal reflection.  I often find myself uncomfortable and challenged.  Though written decades ago, yesterday his words spoke to me with timeless relevancy:

“Right now we are in an age of religious complexity.  The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us.  In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.  The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.” (pg. 14)

My days are currently filled with all sorts of nervous activities.  Countless numbers of “shoulds” and “oughts” which are slowly diluting the significance of this season, not to mention living in general.  I’d like to blame it on the holidays, but the truth is I struggle to keep God as the focal point of my attention in March just as much as December.  Though my mornings may begin full of optimism and good intentions, the many tasks and responsibilities of each day can leave me exhausted and empty by evening.  The conflict lies in the fact that many of these tasks are noble in purpose!  Volunteer projects, church events, time with my children, special encounters with friends.  However, somewhere through the course of a day I allow them to eclipse the greatest pursuit of all–to know Christ.  There is no more noble or life-giving endeavor than to know the only true God. 

A life hinged on this kind of wholehearted pursuit is not easily accomplished.  Those who want to experience this simpler, deeper, and more satisfying life will find it requires fierce determination, a wrestling of the will and an insatiable hunger for the face of God above all else.     

 “We must put away all effort to impress and come with the guileless candor of childhood.  If we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond.  When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself.” (pg. 15)

The guileless candor of a child.  Reminds me of a baby in a manger.  The pure presence of God in human flesh.  No fanfare, no need for applause or expensive accommodations, though certainly deserving of it.  God came simply as Emmanuel, God with us, to meet our deepest and most complex need.  A need that was never intended to be met by religion or nervous activities, people or things, but only by HIMSELF.   

Show Me Thy Face

Show me Thy face–one transient gleam

of loveliness divine,

and I shall never think or dream

of other love save Thine:

All lesser light will darken quite,

All lower glories wane,

The beautiful of earth will scarce

seem beautiful again.

Show me Thy face–my faith and love

shall henceforth fixed be,

And nothing here have power to move

my soul’s serenity.

My life shall seem a trance, a dream,

And all I feel and see

Illusive, visionary–Thou

The one reality!

Show me Thy face–I shall forget

the weary days of yore,

the fretting ghosts of vain regret

shall haunt my soul no more.

All doubts and fears for future years

In quiet trust subside,

and naught but blest content and calm

Within my breast abide.

Show me Thy face–the heaviest cross

Will then seem light to bear;

there will be gain in every loss,

and peace with every care.

With such light feet the years will fleet,

life seem as brief as blest,

Till I have laid my burden down,

and entered into rest.

–Author Unknown

(from The Pursuit of God, a 31-Day Experience by A.W. Tozer, compiled by Edythe Draper.  1995.  Camp Hill, PA:  Christian Publications, Inc.  pg. 18)

I have a friend who has taken a big step to share her creative writing talents with others, and I would like to pass her blog site information onto you.  I think many of you will relate to her stories and find humor in the day to day events she writes about. www.amomintheburbs.blogspot.com

Apparently, I am not a real woman.  I am a tom-boy, as explained by my audacious 10-year-old son.  Somewhere along the way, my unique feminine charms have been completely overlooked or at least underrated.  True, my fingernails remain quite short and unpainted, I count down the days to football season, and am more likely to choose an action-packed movie over a drama most any day.  However, does that make me any less feminine? 

Yesterday I sent out an e-mail to just about every woman in my contact list.  Which is a lot.  The purpose?  To pose a few questions about true femininity.  I am incredibly curious about what you think.  Below are the questions I posed to my fellow female sojourners, and I now present to you.  I am not looking for an essay, or “proper” answer.  More than anything, I want your gut-level response.  The thoughts that immediately come to mind based on your experiences and opinions. 

You are welcome to respond to this blog with your comments, or you can e-mail me directly at michele@michelecushatt.com if you wish to keep them private.  Either way, your input will be invaluable as I search to find out what it takes to be a real woman. 

1. When you hear the word “feminine”, what immediately comes to mind?
2. What makes someone a real woman?
3. When do you feel the most feminine?  The least?
4. Do you ever feel the pressure of any societal or internal expectations regarding your femininity or womanhood?  If so, briefly describe and explain how you have dealt with it.
5. What messages do you believe we are communicating to the young girls of today about true femininity (good and bad)?

Stay tuned!  The results of this informal survey will be discussed in a future blog soon!

Fall is my most favorite time of year.  I love the amazing, rich colors of the changing leaves. Colorado definitely has something going for it in the way of the fall color pallet.  I love cooking heartier meals, and baking the two desserts I know how to bake.  I also love the change in temperatures and pulling out the warmer clothes that have been tucked in storage all summer.  And, I love decorating my porch with a scarecrow and several pumpkins of different shapes and sizes.

Aside from all those fall traditions, there is one tradition out there that I’m on the fence about.  Halloween.  I know some of you are going "oh great, she’s one of those Halloween bashers."  Before you get ready to throw pumpkins at my house, just hear me out.

In my lifetime I have heard a number of views about this holiday (from the extreme conservative to very liberal), but I’m curious about your views.  Do you celebrate this holiday?  How do you celebrate?  How does your church address the holiday?  Have others made you feel badly about your views?

For the record, I am not the "scrooge" of Halloween.  I have some strong opinions on the holiday as a whole, and it’s certainly not one of my favorites.  But if I shared those thoughts with my children, I would really scare them.  So, with my girls, I keep it light.  By choice they don’t dress in scary costumes or trick or treat at the spooky houses.  In fact, it’s really no different than any other day as they play "dress up" about 300 days a year.

I realize this can be a controversial topic.  I am not trying to start a heated debate.  I am just curious what you think.  I look forward to hearing from you.

As my youngest son, Jacob, was getting ready for school one recent morning, I went through the normal list of reminders for him: 

Jacob, do you have your lunch?  Your backpack?  Is all your homework inside, your agenda signed, the permission slips turned in?  By the way, where did you put the lunch money I gave you? 

He, of course, rolled his eyes with every question:  YES, Mooooommmmmmm!  As if it was ridiculous to even consider the possibility he might actually forget something.  Whatever.  My last question DID spark an investigation on his part, however. 

I put my money in my pocket, Mom.  The dollar bill…is…right…here. 

He dug around in his jeans, and then produced a one dollar bill.  Then he went in search of the three quarters I gave him. 

I put the quarters in the smaller pocket because I didn’t want them to fall out. 

I watched him struggle to produce the change.  Not-so-small fingers were digging, trying to pull three quarters free of an itty-bitty pocket.  Finally he gave up, frustrated, but certain they were in there.  And then with a sigh he said:

I’m going to have to get myself a Visa check card, Mom.  Life’s too short to let cash slow you down, you know?

I laughed all the way home from the school and went immediately in search of my husband, Troy.  Somewhere along the way we have allowed this kid to watch too much TV.  He is a walking commercial.  I’m still chuckling.

No doubt about it, my children are absorbing what they see and hear.  Not just from the Television, but from me as well.  They repeat pieces of my conversations back to me, words which poured from my lips without much thought, but sound far less attractive spewing from theirs.  Each day I play short but powerful commercials in the way I talk and live and react, little snapshots that communicate loudly how I feel about life, about faith and about them.  Whether I realize they are watching, doesn’t change the fact that they are.  I cringe thinking of messages I may have communicated unintentionally!

Life’s too short to let kids slow you down.

I feel a very real pain in my heart as I write this.  How many, many times have I been so caught up in “urgent” tasks that I didn’t take the time?  As my children get older, I am almost sick with the missed opportunities.  Thankfully, today is a new day, and I need not miss the next one. 

This ability to invest in the life of a child goes far beyond biology.  I wonder, do we fully recognize this?  I think about the teachers, coaches, youth leaders, babysitters, neighbors and friends who have had opportunity to invest in my children from time to time, many of whom are not parents themselves.  Thanks to them, my kids have had a few extra positive influences other than their half-crazy parents and the TV.  My heart swells with the thought!  And what about my own ability to influence other children, beyond the borders of my own home?  The teenagers I passed on the bike path yesterday or the youth who bagged my groceries at the store?  Parenthood isn’t a prerequisite to being able to make an investment in the life of a child.  With every kind word, every encouraging smile, every spoken affirmation of what is true and good and noble, or prayer lifted on their behalf, we have the unique opportunity to capture the eyes and attention of a child, in the hopes that perhaps we might be able to redirect those same innocent eyes to land on the face of Christ. 

In all the craziness of life (and parenting), we can sometimes forget our ability to be a powerful commercial for the love of God.  I believe God does just that for us, providing us with little glimpses of himself, little reminders of his goodness, in the faces of our children–pieces of his humor, his perspective, his foot-loose-and-fancy-free personality, his ability to see life from an angle so different than ours, and especially his unrestrained and unconditional love.  I?m sitting here getting all misty eyed picturing little ones climbing all over the lap of Jesus, and him responding with a smile, Let ‘em come - this is what it is all about.  Paraphrase, I know, but I think that’s what he meant.    

Okay, commercial over.  Back to real life.  Whatever you do, however, take the message with you.

Did you know you can ask us your questions? While we love to share our own thoughts on various topics, we would love to know what is on your hearts and mind as well. Go to the “Ask Questions” section to submit your question via the form. If you want to see what others are asking, go to the “Read Answer’s” section. We hope this will be an exciting way for you to engage even more with the team and subscribers of "The Intersection."

"The Intersection Team"