Sacred Mundane: The Blog

Needless to say, us Portlanders have all had a few change of plans recently.  Our church was cancelled last week due to crazy amounts of snow.  All week we adjusted, cancelled, switched things around.  Saturday instead of a lazy day relaxing at home we were in the ER all morning with our poor burn-victim son, then changing guaze pads and wrapping Dutch’s little blistered arm.  Sunday we miraculously made it to church, after Jeff spent an entire HOUR de-icing the car.  It literally had an inch thick of solid ice encasing the entire thing–I’ve never seen anything like it.  Realizing that that wasn’t going to be fun every morning, and since our garage is too short for our car, Jeff got creative and moved everything around and managed to park diagonally in our garage! He has to crawl in through the passenger door in order to get to the driver’s seat, but at least there’s no more de-icing! 

Needless to say the huge 2nd birthday party for Dutch was widdled down to just my parents and Jeff’s dad and step-mom and step-grandma who flew up last week from California.  And the snow was coming down so hard and they were so afraid of getting stuck that we moved up the time, skipped Dutch’s nap, then raced through dinner, cake, and presents in record speed. 

Today Jeff braved the 20 inches of snow and went to work, only to work a few hours and then take other staff members home who had no other way!  Tonight we had to go buy new guaze and wrapping materials for Dutch’s arm, which took 1.5 hours since most pharmacies were closed.  Jeff’s dad and step-mom and step-grandma were supposed to fly back to California this morning, but are now stuck, as PDX is closed, and can’t fly out until the 27th!  They’re pretty bummed, stuck in their hotel room for an extra five days, missing their own holiday plans with their own family.  My brother and his wife and daughter, scheduled to arrive today from Utah, now are told their flight won’t be rescheduled until the 27th as well…and I was counting down the hours until I’d get to see them.   Jeff’s mom and step-dad, who had wanted to be here as well, are stuck in Bend until the weather clears.  Basically, we have family desperately trying to come see us and family desperately trying to leave us! 🙂  Our holidays plans are all on hold; church services are TBA.  We’re still planning to meet Christmas Eve…but we use the word “plan” pretty loosely these days. 

This morning I read through the book of James.   Chapter 4:13-14 stood out to me.

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Now I dare say it’s not sin to make holiday plans…and this is by far the worst snow storm we’ve had in my lifetime; so it’s no wonder we’re all caught unawares.  But it just reminded me that I need to continue to hold every “tomorrow” with an open hand.  I was actually doing great all weekend, rolling with the punches of the ER, the weather, the birthday changes. I always think it’s kind of fun when crazy weather hits–it feels like a huge adventure.  Besides, we have power, warm water, and plenty of food–no complaints!  But today I started to get bummed as I thought about our holidays plans evaporating the way I wish our snow would!  My heart was set on our whole family coming to WCC’s special Christmas Eve service.  I wanted so badly for them to see “our world”.  For the first time, Jeff and I were getting to host Christmas Eve, and I had everything planned and ready. Our tree is beautiful. The house is decorated.  I’m stocked up on cider and a freezer full of Christmas cookies. I’ve been aching to see my brother and his family so bad.  So I admit, today I finally felt deflated.  Deflated because plans change.

Pastor Joel talked about this very thing yesterday at church. I actually didn’t get to hear the sermon because there were so few people there at church that there was no childcare, and Dutch was the only nursery-age kid there, so Jeff and I took turns sitting out with him and reading books. He held him during worship so I could play the djembe (he kept calling “mama” and wanting to run on stage), and I took him during the sermon.  But just hearing Jeff’s summary of the message ministered to my heart. 

Pastor Joel talked about how Joseph and Mary, a  young couple engaged to be married, probably just wanted a normal life. They were probably excited for their wedding, making plans, looking forward to their life together, perhaps children, establishing their life.  And Gabriel changed everything.  A simple change of plans.  Plans changed because God wanted to do more than give them a simple happy life. He wanted to save the world through them.  God ruined their plans to save the world.  O how grateful we are that God changed their plans!!!   O how grateful I am that Mary and Joseph didn’t just get to get married and lead a normal life.  O how eternally grateful. 

And so it reminds me today that “tomorrow” is never certain, and that God might want to change our plans to save the world.  Ok perhaps Messiah might not be coming in this snowstorm, but God might be doing something far greater than my fun holiday plans.  And I’m reminded to pay attention, because God might just be at work when plans change. 

On my “Last Year This Week” section, I see the post entitled “My Son Turns One”.  I remember that huge sense of relief I felt when Dutch turned one.  It was like Jeff and I turned to each other and went, “Whew. We made it.  He’s still alive.”  That first year is so full of emotions and innumerable firsts.  It’s like you arrive at the first year finish line exhausted and weary and so thankful the crazy little munchkin is somehow still alive despite your own stupidity and ignorance.  Somehow they survive that inevitable falling off the bed (three times in Dutch’s case), peeing in their own face (ok at least Dutch did that), and eating something you later find out is strictly off limits until one year of age (strawberries in Dutch’s case). 

Two feels a little different.  It feels less like a relief and more like a preparation for a coming train. Instead of looking at eachother and saying, “Whew. We made it. He’s still alive.”  We look at each other and say, “Oh no. He’s two. Will we survive?”  The funny thing about two is that now Dutch is his own person.  Of course I’m stil his mommy who determines what he eats and wears, but now Dutch is in the gradual process of becoming his own little person.  Changing diapers and breastfeeding is really pretty easy when you think about it…disciplining, shaping character, and shepherding a child’s heart is another story.  The stakes get higher and higher.  I’ve never felt so inadequate in my life.  I’ve never felt so desperate for God’s grace and wisdom to somehow lead us every day.  My prayers over Dutch at night have transitioned from routine and well-formed to a desperate exhaling, a plea and cry for help from the One who is faithful to answer. 

I’m also more aware than ever that I have no guarantees how long I have my precious son. This weekend has seemed to be full of tragedy from every angle.  Tremendous loss has touched so many dear people in my life.  And I’m also aware that I will blink and Dutch will be grown.  I’m sure he will make obligatory calls to his mother, visiting at holidays and perhaps even kissing the top of my head from his own lofty height.  But someday I’ll no longer hear the cry “Mama mama!” as he runs through the hall. I won’t get to smell his amazing little kitten breath when I wake him up and kiss his face a dozen times.  My back won’t ache from picking him up 100 times a day.  I will no longer have Richard Scarry memorized.  I’m thankful for days like this, which help me remember that this incredibly short season is precious beyond words.  I pray for the grace to cherish it. 

So happy birthday, son.  I treasure you beyond words.  I could never imagine a son who would make me more proud.  I am honored to be your Mommy.  I love you little monkey.

How Prayer Works…I have no idea.  I don’t have any clue how God’s Sovereignty works with our responsibility to pray; how we can move the hand of God and yet He be totally sovereign over our every breath.  No idea.  Not a clue. And yet, somehow I know that prayer works, because God works.

Some of you know that today Dutch pulled boiling hot water off the counter all over himself.   In the split second it took me to pick him up I could see blisters already formed and broken open all over his forearm.  Then that silent moment that feels like an eternity right before he started screaming.  After getting him calmed down we checked him over and were amazed that the blistering was only on his forearm. We calmed him down, ran cold water all over his arm, making it into a game by doing the same with our arms, cut off his onesie, wrapped him in a blanket, then drove to the ER. 

I just have to say that it was amazing.  I texted several people for prayer and got my mom praying (which means all her little prayer warriors were praying too), and amazingly Dutch sat happily reading books at the hospital, only going crazy when they had to dress the burns.  We also had to praise God that we had our new car, with 4 wheel drive, because we were in the middle of a crazy snow storm, and there was no way we could have made it in our accord.   And, amazingly, once we got home Dutch never complained once. Then, on top of it all, we changed his dressing tonight and the burns are miraculously better. He still has bad blistering but the redness is drastically reduced, no swelling–it looked night and day better than before.  And he never even fussed as we changed his dressing.  Is that not a miracle?

All I know is that today God chose to work mightily through prayer on behalf of us and our little monkey. I don’t know how it works. I also heard of a horrible tragedy today in the life of a friend of mine. Why didn’t God answer those prayers in the way they hoped?  I don’t know.  I don’t understand how prayer works.  But today it did. Today God did.  And I’m so thankful for His graciousness to us today.  And thankful to those who prayed.

Jeff and I spent the morning in our slippers digging through boxes in the garage, looking for our Christmas tree stand while Dutch ran around in his jammies playing with a broken truck I’d tried to hide in the trash.  There are some disadvantages to moving every 6 mos. to a year as we have been in the habit of doing for the last 5.5 years.  In fact, there are more disadvantages than I will name.  (Can you tell I’m looking forward to moving somewhere and STAYING for a long time?)  One of the tricky things is that you begin to realize that unpacking everything you own is an enormous waste of time and energy.  So, you begin to simply store more and only unpack the absolute necessities.  And when you store stuff, you forget where it is.  I never thought we’d still be living here during the holidays, so our Christmas stuff is somewhere in the garage.  We decided to just skip getting a Christmas tree, but then my parents gave us one for free, even dropping it off at our house. How can you pass up putting up a tree that’s already in your garage?  Plus, it’s beautiful, and we’re hosting Dutch’s 2nd birthday party and Christmas Eve at our house.  So Jeff and I forged through the garage, in search of the Christmas tree stand.  It’s long gone.  Fortunately, everyone else is done buying Christmas supplies, so everything is 50% off everywhere. So $7 got us a CHristmas tree stand and now we have 2…somewhere. 

Storing also poses difficulties because of space constraints.  I miss my garage freezer, which is still at our home in McMinnville.  I’m a cook-ahead girl, because I don’t like last minute stress and I like to always have enough food for company. So I always cook ahead meals, bread, muffins, soup, cookies, so that when busy holiday times come, I’m prepared for whatever and whoever come our way.  But this year our space is super limited, so I can’t store up much in preparation for the holidays.  Storing up definitely has its challenges.

But this week I read about a different storing up.  And with this you never ever lose anything and there is no limit to the amount you can store up for later.  First Timothy 6:17-19 speaks to every person in America, the wealthiest nation in the world: 

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 

I love that! Did you get that “take hold of that which is truly life.”  Isn’t that beautiful?  What is life?  Life is investing in eternity. That is living.  And our job, as wealthy Americans (and we all are), is to enjoy the things God gives us (not feel guilty about them), set our hope on God (not the economy), and to be generous and ready to share (open-hand and open-door).  This is how we store up treasure, which we will never lose.  This, friends, is truly life.  This is living.  This is taking hold of that which is truly life. 

In celebration of being done with school Jeff and I signed up for a free 2-week trial from NetFlix.  We will probably only get through 3 movies, though, since it takes us 2-3 nights to finish one whole movie.  By the time Dutch is in bed and we’re ready to watch it’s 8:30 and I’m lucky if I can make it to 9:30 without falling asleep. So, last night we finished watching The Bucket List.   Reflections on it deserve another entire post, but related to this topic, I was laying in bed last night thinking about what those two men thought was “truly life.”  Skydiving, experiencing the grandeur of the world, enjoying family, racing cars, eating caviar. All of those things are great. But truly living involves enjoying the goodness of God and storing up treasures for the life to come.  This is truly living, according to God’s Word.

And this is certainly applicable for this week, Christmas Week. How can you truly live this week? By freely enjoying everything God has given you.  This includes everything from corporate worship to hot cider by the fire.  This includes choosing to love instead of getting frustrated by family. This includes forgiving.  This includes stopping to savor that small slice of pumpkin pie (and perhaps choosing to stop at one slice!).  I pray that as we give, share, and enjoy God’s goodness, that everything we say and do this week would rise as worship to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who was and is and is to come.  Merry Christmas, friends.  Store up, and enjoy.