Wisdom: The God-Given Ability of "Seeing Beyond"

If you’ve read the 1990’s Children’s award-winning novel, The Giver, written by Lois Lowry or you’ve taken the time to see the recent theatre-box rendition of it, then you’ll know what I’m talking about when I use the phrase seeing beyond.

It’s nothing mystical or oddly-spiritual. It’s simply the ability some (few!) of the characters in the book/movie were born with that enables them to see things other people don’t see. They’re tuned into things like color, for example, when the rest of the world is merely seeing black-and-white. It’s an interesting skill to have, this seeing beyond.  It’s actually quite cool to have an advantage like that over the others. But this ability must be exercised and revealed with caution. For with much privilege comes much responsibility.

Just as recently as yesterday, two distinct situations came across the lives of two people that are very dear to me. And they soon, as you can imagine, came to my attention as well.

The first situation hit a dear friend of mine, unexpectedly, in the midst of her regular classroom duties nonetheless, as one high school student (a girl) decided to go into full-force-fight-street-club-mode on another student (girl). My friend didn’t plan that into her lesson plans. No sane person would. My friend didn’t wake up that morning thinking, “Hey I think I might have to stop a fist-fight in reading class today.” No one thinks like that. In fact, I’m all but guessing my friend didn’t even have a clue what was happening until the moment when it all hit home (quite literally).

No teacher should ever have to deal with that.

The second situation came across the desk of my dear sweet little sister yesterday when she found out a co-manager decided to take the life of his girlfriend, and she’d been reassigned to cover his store today, be involved in the ministry of the presence, and help all those people who worked underneath his care to cope with getting through today. My sister didn’t plan for this to happen. No one saw this coming. Just last week, that same man was sitting across the desk of my sister - in her very own office - in a meeting. Who could know?

No 25-yr.-old manager should ever have to shoulder that amount of stress.

These aren’t the only two instances of broken people colliding inside this imperfect world we live in, but they’re the most recent accounts. And the ones that currently hit the closest to home. And to the people close to my heart.

Both situations will require these two sweet ladies in my life to exercise a bit of the power to see beyond, or what we as Christians commonly call wisdom.

There’s no college course that addresses the raw need for human love and acceptance, or a textbook that explicitly outlines steps to take when those basic functions of stability are lacking. There’s no classroom management techniques that can bound the aching of the human soul. Sure, it comes out in more identifiable ways, like fist-fights. But the underlying issues are complex, are sometimes difficult and messy to unravel, and requires more knowledge than any author could possibly publish. It requires wisdom, love, and acceptance that can only come from God Himself.

Closely related, there’s no management style or leadership course that addresses how to console workers after they’ve found out their manager, though maybe good at managing his store, has so sorely mismanaged his anger and his personal life that it’s led him to a decision that is of the utmost unthinkable – murder. The underlying issues behind that all-encompassing anger, the need for love and acceptance, the raw ache of the human soul for the Divine, can only be fully addressed and satisfied through a relationship with Jesus Christ. And the way my sister will be able to walk into that situation with any sort of hope and comfort to those around her is because of the God-given wisdom and the words she will be granted to say by Him, as she walks and talks with the co-workers today.

With all said, my heart is heavy. And yet, hopeful.

Our world is broken, people.

Our world is broken people.

Our broken world needs broken people, like you and me, who love the Lord, to show them Hope.

How He heals.

How He redeems.

How He loves.

We need Him in handling the messy situations and messed-up people (we’re all messed-up people) that come into our path.

We need His Words.

We need His truth.

We need His grace.

We need His wisdom.

In other words, we need the ability to see beyond.

With His help, how can you see beyond current circumstances, touch a hurt, and heal a soul today?

Remember, not everyone around you has this special “ability”. You may be the only one in your family, workplace, edge of the world, etc.

But God has placed you there strategically for a reason.

He has a purpose for putting you there in that hurting place.

He has a unique story to tell through you leaning into Him for wisdom, exercising your ability to see beyond.

With this privilege comes great responsibility.

What are you doing to receive or exercise Godly wisdom today?

The Vapor-Rich Life

Today, as I drove along my usual winding path (that is the only escape-route out of my apartment complex), I passed several of the same landmarks that I always do. But today was different because God spoke to my heart as I drove. You see, at one point in my journey, I passed by a church on my left side and simultaneously passed a funeral home on my right side. It may be a stretch of your imagination to go here with me; but in my mind and in my car-ride, I felt a tension between life and death in those few moments on the stretch of road winding between the two buildings.  [I would dare say if you were riding shotgun in the passenger’s seat, you may have felt the same thing.]

Why?

Well, a church building is a symbol of hope and life, amongst others. While a funeral home is nothing short of a symbol of death. (It reminded me of the passage in Deuteronomy 30:15-19, where life and death are sitting in front of God's people as a choice to be made; and God urges them to choose life, so that future generations may live.) On the road between the two, God reminded me today that life on Earth is oh-so-fragile. It is a vapor. It’s quick. It’s fast. It’s not meant to last. This Earth is definitely not a long-term destination. For anyone.

This has been especially evident to my heart, mind, and life recently.

Within the past couple of weeks, life has hit me by surprise. (An interesting expression, I know… as if I’m the one in control of planning all of life…) But it’s true that if you’re anything like me, we always plan for life to go one way; and when it turns out completely different, we always feel surprised. Sometimes, unnerved or shocked. Sometimes, overwhelmingly blessed. But always, always surprised.

Within the past couple of weeks, a dear missionary friend, in her early twenties, got word that her father had a heart attack and passed from life here on Earth to life in Heaven with Jesus. Just. Like. That. Such a sweet, Godly man he was here on Earth. He added so much laughter and life to those that knew him. His love for the Lord wasn’t just evident in his life. It was his life. He was the real deal. Waves of grieving have definitely swept across lives due to the loss of this amazing man, but I can just imagine the dancing that accompanied his arrival into Heaven.

A couple days to a week later, I heard a precious student of mine, one I had taught in my very first year of teaching at LCA nearly six years ago, had taken his own life. No explanation. No note. And he passed from life here on Earth to life in Heaven with Jesus. Just. Like. That. Such a sweet child with a happy heart. A precious soul that professed Christ as his Savior from an early age. (I can still hear his little belly-giggle, as if he were still a 9-year-old in my classroom.) Hurt and questions linger here on Earth, but happiness, hope, and answers fill up the Heavens, as Braxton walks with Jesus now. Literally.

Without the hope we have in Jesus, these two situations would be simply incomprehensible, inescapable, and immobilizing to dwell upon. But with Jesus as the only true Hope this world has, we can rest assured that there is more to come – so much more to come – after this vapor of life called Earth has run its course.

Not really related to that is this:

Quite a few years ago, I went through this time period where I sincerely wondered what I was doing with my life. My college was coming to an end, and I just didn’t know what the next steps “should” be. I think everyone comes to that point in life (especially in the midst of your young-to-mid-twenties). It was during that time that God not just showed me this verse, but truly taught my heart experientially what it meant. The verse is John 10:10b, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Even now, as I look closer at that verse, I realize that the entire verse reveals more of a truth than just part of it does. John 10:10, in its entirety, reads like this, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

There are so may unexpected events that happen (and will continue to happen) within the course of our lives here on Earth. The thief (a.k.a. Satan) will do everything in his power to steal, to kill, and to destroy things in your life. And sometimes, he may be seemingly successful in one arena or another in your life or in the lives of the ones you love, but know this: Jesus came to give life. Abundant life. Life-to-its-fullest. Even amidst surprises and shock and loss and death, Jesus brings life, hope, and a reason to keep on going.

No matter what has hit your life/heart recently, remember this to be true: Life is a vapor, yes. But every-single-moment is a miracle.

Every breath is a grace-act of God on your behalf, to let you keep going and keep living out His plan and His purposes for your life.

Every day is a day He’s made for us to rejoice and be glad in it.

Today, no matter what unplanned scenes have entered your life, choose to give thanks to God in the good.

Beckon Him in the bad.

Communicate with Christ amidst the common.

Tell others about your struggles, but also don’t forget to share with them that victory always comes through the Savior Who delights in giving us abundant life.

Life is frail, sometimes touch-and-go, and like a vapor.

Life with Christ is always, always, always vapor-rich. 

Circumstances may be different, but the choice for all of us is the same.

We don't choose how much time we're given here on Earth, but we can choose how to live the amount of time and life we are graced with.

Choose life. The abundant kind that Christ came to offer.

Choose to live out your calling and abundant life in Christ, so that Christ may be glorified and so that future generations may live.

Stay-at-Home Wife Status (Painful to Write, Freeing to "Publish")

     I've been married nearly two months now (Whew! Where does the time go?!) and have not made the time to post on my blog in what seems like, (in the words, voice, and inflection of the beloved Gru), "Forever!" 

      Some days, I'm just too busy with finding delight in accomplishing daily chores/tasks and/or crafting, creating, fun times, and memory-making. Other days, I'm honestly just too lazy to capture all of my thoughts, collect them together, and string them into something that makes any semblance of sense to anyone outside of my little mind, self, "kingdom" (a.k.a. my house), and world.

    But I've wanted to give some updates and some clarifications on the recent updates in my life for those of you that are naturally curious, personally concerned, or simply lacking better things to read at the moment, so here goes:

    As many of you know, I'm now embarking on a new (very unpopular, might I add) journey. I am a stay-at-home wife. You read that right. (For those of you already asking the fast-forward-questions-of-a-lifetime, No, Jeff and I are not expecting babies anytime soon. <insert smiley face, but careful-not-to-make-it-a-winky-face emoticon here>) I'm a resident-stay-at-home wife. Not a mom. Just a wife. Not currently working anywhere outside the home, but staying inside. At home. With no kids. All day long.

    To some of you (if you're anything like me), that sounds completely awesome, right? All day long just to sit back and relax, to cook and clean, to learn and create, to grow in wisdom and favor with the Lord, and to give my husband something happy to come home to every single day. (Yay!!)

     To others of you, you're judging me right now. Right this very second, you are. I know it, and you need to stop it. (I tease, I'm not really upset.) But I know I am getting judged for this life move because it grates against the norm, and I know what you're thinking because I've felt the looks. I get the ill-responses. I've even thought some of the same thoughts that some of you are thinking right now. "Plenty of other women manage households and carry a full-time job. You don't even have kids, so what exactly is it that you do all day?!" 

    I'll give you that. If I'm completely honest with you, about two days out of the week so far, I've been bored to the brink of tears. It's on those two days that I look around my house, and everything is immaculately clean. Laundry and dishes are done and put away. Meal planning, couponing (give me a crockpot, and I've become my mother), and shopping all are done for the week. Dinners and desserts are pretty much making and baking themselves these days. {Fun PSA: I make enough spaghetti-pasta and chocolate chip cookies on a regular basis to keep everyone in this household fed, fat, and sassy.} And all is right with the world. In my world. In my house.

Yet somehow, on a few days out of the stay-at-home-work-week, I find myself... 

Bored. 

Lonely. 

Still. 

"Bored" is nothing more than a waste of time. Don't judge. We all do it from time to time, but I'm working on my personal time management and creating things with my free time instead of toiling it away. (Perhaps, a book or an Etsy shop will show up with my name on it, one of these days...) 

"Lonely" is simply a waste of relationship potential, so I'm building new friendships in the area whilst sending cards, letters, and all sorts of encouraging-love-via-USPS to old (vintage?) friends who are far away. 

"Still" is the word that our culture simply cannot handle. And at first try-me-out, I found that I couldn't handle it. Thankfully, I'm coming along okay with it now, only 7 weeks in (and going strong!). There's nothing to it, yet everything right with it at the same time. A lot of planning goes into just simply being "still." It's a beautiful habit to get into, yet one that isn't cherished, held, or appreciated as often as it should be, especially in our Western culture. 

{Busy is oftentimes viewed and valued as better, but along the way (if we aren't careful!) it can make us bitter.} 
   
           Note: Being "still" is MUCH DIFFERENT than being "idle." "Still" is  beautiful and wise and (dare I say?) God-honoring. "Idle" is plain foolish. It opens the door for all sorts of spiritual attack. And really, it's a whole other world to explore in another blog and after more thought on its harmful side-effects (physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, etc.).... Ok, ok, I'm grabbing the rabbit and getting off the trail now.... 


       Here we go. Where was I? Ahhh, yes. The looks. The stares. The "oh that's (not really) so nice" remarks about being a stay-at-home wife. The judgement. The unasked questions.

       I know, I know, after 8 years of college, a Master's degree in education, and 6 years of full-time classroom teaching in two of the biggest Southern Baptist mega-church Christian day schools this side of the Mississippi, why would I leave? There are many, many, many contributors to making this decision. All of which I won't go into in this post, but if you truly want the full and unedited version, simply ask my sweet momma all about it. She knows. And she'll talk. :-)

     For the sake of this post, I'll simply solidify it down to two main reasons. One is personal. The other, Biblical.

     #1. I quit teaching and entered into this new stay-at-home wife status because teaching quickly became my all-exhaustive-(and boy was it exhaustive!!)-identity. Anything other than 1,000% identity in Jesus Christ alone is shaky and scary and plainly just not worth it. So, for me, teaching had to go.

               In addition and in close relation to that, my sweet husband Jeff and I talked it over, and we simply couldn't reckon bringing that much stress into our fresh, new, ripe-young marriage. You see, for me, teaching was not just a job I held. It was a lifestyle. An all-consuming, every day, left-no-room-for-anything-else affair. It was wonderful when I was single; after all, what else would I do with my time? But it took getting engaged-and-married for me to realize that for a long time, I was biting off way more than any one person could possibly chew, and I simply had to sit back and come to grips with the fact that I was choking under all the pressure, not receiving the personal, spiritual, and social nutrients that were needed for a healthy life outside of the classroom walls. If Jesus wanted the identity I made for myself in teaching, I surely wanted to give it to Him, let Him fill in all the gaps where He may, and honor Him in my new slower-paced lifestyle.

[end scene.]
Curtain closes.

    #2. I found this verse and have very recently adopted it into my new stay-at-home wife life.

"The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down."

                                                                     ~Proverbs 14:1, ESV

Last time I checked, it takes a ton of time, money, dedication, supplies, and expertise-know-how to build a real house. And that's just mortar and bricks, people! Imagine how much more of a sacrifice it is to build genuine, God-honoring relationships within a family structure (a.k.a."house") while simultaneously doing all the nitty-gritty's that it takes to successfully "run" a household. It takes a work of the Lord's Spirit to do it all, and to do it all well. And that's what I want. Really, it's all I've ever wanted. I want wisdom that comes from the Lord. Wisdom that only comes through the stillness we plan for in our lives. With that wisdom from the Lord, I want to build my house. To build it, like the wise man did, on the Rock. Safe. Secure. And built well. 

So that's it. That's (one of) the reason(s) I'm a stay-at-home wife.

Not so others can look in and say, "How do you get your house so spotlessly-clean?!"

Or, "Wow, I didn't know one household (of only 2 people, mind you) could possibly consume all that spaghetti, chocolate chip cookies, etc.!"

Those accolades are far too trivial to live and move and breath by.

Ultimately, I'm a stay-at-home wife, so that God would infiltrate the stillness, restore my identity in Him, and establish the Hazard house as one that is built well, for now and for generations to come.