Day 11 - Blind Faith

My big brother is like my hero. When we were kids he was a self taught drummer. I thought he was a rock star. He was good at art, cycling, building, you name it. I also believed that my brother knew it all (so did he). I still think he knows a lot and he has a great deal to share from a godly perspective. So it is a privilege and a joy to share a bit of his wisdom in this guest post by my dear brother.

 

Blind Faith: Lessons from a Blind Boston Terrier

Guest post by, Jonathan Van Sice

I was spending this past Mother’s Day with my sister and brother-in-law at his folk's house. My sister's dog, a Boston Terrier, recently lost his eye sight, but he’s adjusted well to being blind. Early on in his blindness he stumbled about and struggled to move around the house. But now that he’s been blind for some time, he’s become used to coexisting with people, more specifically his family.

Keeping in Step

Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. 

-- Galatians 5:25

He woke me up early. God did. I knew it was him because why else would I be awake an hour earlier than usual? My kid was still sleeping and I knew that was a gift in itself.

I sat down in the loveseat with a blanket over my knees, eyes closed, head filled with white noise of beating heart and faithful ticking clock.

The quiet soaked into me, mind and body still soft from sleep. A steaming cup of coffee stood by. Lord this time is a gift, help me to hear your voice and be attentive to your word. Show me your heart, God.

Presently my thoughts bumbled along, chasing dreams just awoken. My thoughts replayed a conversation with a friend who had begun taking ballet. I recalled my doctor's instructions to begin getting more exercise, like walking. My mind's eye swept up to the main road just above our neighborhood, the one I enjoy traversing because of the view of our town. The valley bellow leading to a far horizon of rolling wild grasses, untouched by progress. I imagined myself running along the upper road overlooking that view.

He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along (Psalm 40:2b).

The lens of my vision shifted, and I stood posing at a ballet bar, feet in first position, knees dipping into a grand plie then releve en demi pointe. I jolted back to alertness, shaking off sleep. Folded hands prayed while ticking hands advanced.

My hand clasped the book on my lap. Walking fingers through pages to find my place I landed on words that danced off the page: 

"Stay on the high road with me...I have called you to walk ever so closely with me...What I require of you is to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God [Micah 6:8]--wherever I lead."
(Sarah Young, Jesus Calling)

I have heard it said that even all the good things can keep us from doing God things. So often we pull against his lead and try to step in our own way. But we can get so busy with striving to keep in step that we stumble over our own two feet. It's not about what we do or don't do so much as it is about the attitude of the heart.

For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

In ballet, the position of the leg is important in preparing the body to move in a certain way. A leg in attitude is slightly bent at a particular angle. It displays beauty and form, posture and poise. Whereas a bent working leg may be ready to move the dancer into a graceful pirouette. So it is with the heart.

What is my heart's attitude? Is my heart positioned to move wherever God leads? Am I ready to step into what he has prepared for me? Am I available to be used by God to love on my family? Or minister to others whom he brings into my path?

My little girl just completed another year of dance classes. At this level it is fun to see the kids learning to develop motor skills and discipline (like standing in one place for more than like 2 seconds). They learn about rhythm and movement and how to follow simple choreography. It is not about being precise--goodness, my little one can barely walk from point A to point B without ping-ponging off of everything--but it is about the sheer delight of the dance.

As I learn to tune-in to God's gentle nudges, I must be willing to let go of control and trust him to take the lead. I must be able to relax my shoulders and take delight in his process. By stepping in with joy and thanksgiving I can say yes to God when he asks for my hand and allow him to sweep me into his choreography of grace.

My dreamlike prayer that early morning had been a vision of God's purpose: to walk closely with him, trust him above all circumstances. And when exercising faith there's walking and there's dancing. Let him lead in this dance of faith and he will enable you to do beautiful things. 

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. --Ephesians 2:10

Abiding Grace

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”

--John 15:5

Winter's epilogue had left the hardness of ground, leaves crushed like dust beneath the feet. We had waited for clearer skies, for fresh dew upon the earth, for life to return to barren soil, for readiness and new beginnings. We had waited for the fragrance of hope.

In the waiting do we question? Do we doubt the goodness of our Creator, that the Gardner who planted generously would not produce an abundance? Do we speculate that the yield will come up just short of what we need? That there is too much need...?

We are a species driven by results, eager to reap the benefits of our labor, demanding now what is designed in process. In season we may forget that Time is the perfect teacher delivering instruction through small exercises – cultivating trust in the waiting. Beauty is found in the growth. The gift is in this moment.

My girl knows how joy is found. She looks for it, always in a curious pursuit of glory moments. She bends over weedy clover flowers to collect a honeyed bouquet for Mommy. And I am stilled in the midst of the daily striving, by a little child demonstrating the gospel of grace, always open and ready to receive. Hope is when we find joy right here.

“As you wait in My Presence, enjoy the greatest gift of all: Christ in you, the hope of glory!” (Sarah Young, Jesus Calling; see Col. 1:27).

We go together to the raised garden on the side of the house and see remnants of last year's growth. Together we gasp at the wonder of renewal. Two tomato vines entwined about the wires need pruning, the cutting away of the dead pieces. Tiny yellow flowers have begun to blossom and a green tomato, no larger than a marble, hangs tautly on the vine.

I come hungry, seeking the fruits of the harvest yet planted, and hear the stillness of His voice: "I Am the gift. Seek Me above all gifts. I want you more than what you can do for Me."

We take stock of the needs in the garden for the time of planting: cucumbers, marigolds, a few strawberry plants, and fresh herbs to transplant. But one more thing is needed: the soil must be tilled and fertilized to be made ready.

Eagerness compels my daughter to leap up to the raised bed and begin digging in the dirt. But without the proper tools or materials there would be no gardening. So off she goes with Daddy to the local nursery for plants and supplies. They return with arms full of life and potential, and together we work in the garden.

Full of enthusiasm our little girl asks if she can help with every step: the tilling, the fertilizing, the planting, the watering. She works with gusto! Yet there are moments when Mommy and Daddy have to remind her not to go ahead of us in the process, “You need to wait. Be patient.”

Off she dances to an empty flower bed with pink princess shovel in hand singing, “I'm waiting to be patient...”

I belly laugh thinking of how many times I have prayed for patience as a mama! And I recall the value of learning to wait on the Lord and seeking that fruit of the Spirit. Just as the Word cautions that we not be too eager to go ahead of God. Everything happens at its appointed time.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Eccl. 3:1).

How do we make the ground of our hearts ready to receive God's will?

How can we wait for patience when we are eager to have the gifts he has prepared and to see the results of the work he has begun? Go to the Word of God which is life, and be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2).

Come to the well thirsty, dipping buckets deep into pools of grace. When we come in prayer with hearts abiding, we are ready to receive the abundance of the Spirit's power. This is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph.2:8).

 

O Lord, this is the remedy for we who feel compelled to find solutions to our worries before you have worked them out; who feel pulled in many ways and seek answers that haven't been revealed. Lord, forgive us for our fretting and our need to direct and control. Lead us beside the still waters that we may find our rest in you. Fill us with joy in your presence that we may rejoice in the present moment and keep on working with gusto. For you are the gift that is ever full-filling and always enough. And by remaining in you, abiding in true grace, we will bear the fruit that is promised and so rejoice in the work You have accomplished. Amen.

Deeply Rooted

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

– Ephesians 3:17-18

On a recent camping trip to Mammoth, California, our family took a long hike into the mountains. Along the path we encounter monuments of the creation that sometimes leave one breathless and full of wonder. One such artifact was the huge remains of a tangled system of roots that had once been the foundation of a very large tree. As I observed the enormity of this root structure, I pondered the meaning as it relates to our spiritual foundation. I thought a lot about the importance of roots as the foundation of a tree as it equates to faith in Christ.

One of my favorite things about Summer is the lingering warm evenings and late sunsets. My family enjoys taking a leisurely walk around the neighborhood just before dusk. We have come to cherish our nature walks when we can marvel at the grace of God's creation through the eyes of our child. Our daughter skips merrily along the path, stopping every once in a while to stoop low and observe the movement of a bug on the ground.

On our tree lined street, many of the sycamore and magnolia trees hang low enough along the walk that our girl, a mere 40” tall, has to stand on tip-toe, reaching her hands high overhead to touch the leaves with her fingertips. Occasionally Daddy will lift her onto his shoulders to grab hold of a leaf as she gazes in amazement at the fine detail of every vein and stroke its velvety skin.

Then leaping down along the path, she delightfully lifts her hands in praise and sings, “Thank you Jesus for the sun, and the trees, and the shade!”

My favorite place in our house is seated right under the double windows in the front during the light of dawn. Where we live in the suburbs, tall sycamore trees line the streets, the fullness of their branches extending out and providing shade across the neighborhood. Last year city ordinance forced us to remove the tree out in front of our house, which had really become a beloved feature of our home. I had loved to sit in our large front windows on a breezy day and listen to leaves rustle and clap as if offering their adoration to God.

You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! (Isaiah 55:11-12)

One of the joys of being a parent is viewing the world through a child's eyes of wonder. It is even more remarkable to witness the faith of a child. Jesus said that unless a person can become like a little child one could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3). I learn more from my little girl about the love of the Father than I do from any book.

We make cherished memories on Saturday mornings, raking the large leaves in a pile and our girl jumping into it with childish abandonment. How I marvel at her free spirit and long for such freedom in my heart. How easily the cares of this life consume our affections and burden our hands from lifting in praise!

"Trees" by Lily

One of the best gifts my mother ever gave me was the gift of prayer, as we drove in the car on the way to school, while we sat on the couch at the end of the day, as she knelt over my bedside. Her example formed a foundation for me that has developed into a life of faith. I want to give my daughter the gift of God's love everyday.

My greatest desire in this life is to know God more and to impart the fullness of his love to my child. Yet as I watch her explore her world in wonder, I realize that the best way I can teach her the love of God is to live it. That I would plant my roots deeply in Christ, living love by example, through reading his word, taking time to pray, and serving others. The fruit of that will be a legacy of faith for my child. 

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. 

– Jeremiah 17:7