They Bowed, Set Aside, and Gave

A couple nights ago as I was reading to the girls from the Bible before bed, I found myself becoming a little teary-eyed. This is what I was reading to them:

"The three men knelt before the little King. They took off their rich royal turbans and gleaming, golden crowns. They bowed their noble heads to the ground and gave Him their sparkling treasures." (From the 'Jesus Storybook Bible')

The wise men recognized that this baby, this young child, was the promised Rescuer- the Deliverer! Not of Roman oppression, but of all sin. Not only so, but they recognized Him as the King of heaven, the Son of God. 

They knew who Jesus was. And they understood the implications of His presence, His presence among them. His presence in their lives, and the work He would do.

And their response?

They bowed down before Him. 

They emptied themselves, loosed themselves of their royal "bling".

They considered everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of KNOWING Christ Jesus. 

And they gave Him ALL of their gifts. ALL of their treasures. They gave their all to Him- so that He might be glorified. And so that His work might be done!

This is what the passage does NOT say:

And they opened their gifts. The wise man with gold reached in and took out a small portion, saying "look, I'm still managing my assets and liabilities. But here's some of what I have, I hope it will help!"

The wise man with the frankincense reached in and pulled out a quart size ziploc with a 3oz travel bottle of frankincense and handed it proudly to Jesus, and closed up the big bottle so it wouldn't spoil.

And the wise man with the myrrh reached in and - "well we've done a lot of research on You, but just to make sure You are really who we believe You to be, here's my business card. If your life is in danger give me a call so we can make sure your affairs are in order. And here's a little sample sachet of my finest myrrh."

.........

Anyway, all "humor" aside, I was struck as I read the (real) passage, by how completely the wise men believed, trusted, bowed, emptied, and gave ALL to the King in their midst.

This really isn't about financial giving. This is about the giving of myself, and the willingness to let go of 'extra' or let go of 'status'. The giving of the talents and abilities He has given me. And yes, sometimes (often) the giving up of things. Sometimes that means using them specifically and purposefully. Other times that means exercising the freedom to set them aside for a time when I'd much rather be using them. (After all, don't I WANT to lay all things before His feet? Doesn't my heart soar at the thought of 'laying down my crowns at His feet'?)

But I find myself too unlike the wise men. I don't bow all the way down- maybe I put one knee down but stay poised to jump back up at a moment's notice. I get rid of some things in life, but feel attached to other things. I don't take time to give to someone else fully, because I convince myself that I'm already overwhelmed with my own agenda.

Can't I learn from these wise (yes wise!!!) men, that it is good and safe and worth it to throw everything aside and worship only the King in my midst (for indeed He is with us, until the end of the age!)? And can't I learn from the apostle Paul that it is worth it to 'lose all things' for His sake?

What on earth (pun intended) am I clinging to?!?!

Becoming Floral

Those who know me well know that I am, in general, a 'solid color' type of person.  I don't choose patterned garments, or stunningly eccentric tops. I don't even know how to accessorize "the right way", so I don't put much though into it.

For me, exciting is a solid white shirt with beige stripes. Or a solid black dress (or was it blue? I'll never really know I guess...) with white polka dots.

But now I have stepped into a culture where many women (especially common in the tribal locations) wear meri blauses. Noe bought me the blue one last year that you hopefully saw in a previous blog post. But since arriving, I've needed to expand my wardrobe so that I have several to cycle through each week.

And you guessed it. They're all floral. If not floral, brightly patterned. Oh-- my most recent acquisition has tribal masks on it...that's kind of 'fun'. :)

I have no complaints about my new wardrobe. The meri blauses are very comfortable. (But please don't let me wear them on furlough... come on, I'm counting on my good friends to dress me properly haha!)

But this new embracing of the floral life makes me laugh a bit. It's yet another reminder of how the ways of God are so beyond our understanding. So much bigger than our comprehension.

Since I can remember, I've been terribly afraid of spiders. And webs. (Well ok, slight bit of 'untruth' here, because I DO in fact remember sitting on our back deck as a child plucking out the legs of "Daddy Long Legs" spiders. At least at that point I could touch spiders! I'm not that brave anymore.) So where does He see fit to send and use me? Oh, just the country that boasts some of the world's largest spiders.

I also don't like hot weather. So where does He see fit to send and use me? As close to the equator as possible...

I'm also a person who is energized by being alone, and I value my quiet time. So where does He see fit to send and use me? Into a culture that values community and relationships, spending time with people constantly.

(We won't mention the food category!)

And as I began, I am a 'plain Jane', who enjoys solid colors and being in the background (until someone learns that I play the piano haha! Never fails...). So where does He see fit to send and use me? Into Floral-Ville. :)

He has a wonderful, loving sense of humor. I mean, I could look at all of this COMPLETELY negatively and say "Really, God?!" But since junior high, when I decided that my arachnophobia WOULD NOT stand in the way of me going where He would send me, I've had the opportunity to grow and develop in some of the areas that the apostle Paul addresses- particularly regarding contentment, and the ability to 'do' all things in His strength, which HE provides.

To 'do' (or we could say, to 'become') all things in Christ, who strengthens me.

When I think about "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", I know that doesn't mean, "Sure, I can jump over this significantly large canyon, because 'HE WILL STRENGTHEN MEEEEEE!" No. It means I can 'become floral', because He can strengthen me with contentment- with His joy. I can smile as our tribal house goes up next year in the midst of giant spiders, knowing that He can strengthen me with peace. And a broom. (Ha.)(?) I can laugh as sweat drips down my neck and down my shirt (oh yes, constantly!), and carry on with my day without A/C, knowing that He can strengthen me with His own love-laughter. (After all, He was a 'man of sorrows', and ALSO He was 'anointed with the oil of joy'!) He is familiar with all of my weaknesses. And He is 110% stronger than the strongest of my strengths.

Since He can so completely do that in me, the question then is my willingness.

Am I willing to lose 'myself' to become something/someone else for His sake? To lay down my rights to this or that way of life.... (in order to gain the rights to share in His glory!)? To let go of my personal or cultural values... privacy, alone time, etc...? Let's not pretend this is all easy!

But am I willing?

(And do I really trust that if I let go, that He will still be holding on? ........ )

Brooms ~ Part II

Well since you're automatically now wondering about the spiders here (since my first Brooms post has a lot to do with those beasts), i will mention without hesitating that as I set down the laundry I carried inside this evening (because I left the basket in the house and was too lazy tired to go back up the stairs again to get it (even though I should for all the carbs we've been eating lately), I finally saw the big fatty spider slithering around on top of the pile. Yes slithering...it had nasty fluid-like motions with its legs. Hey come on, did you expect a one-liner about the spiders? From me? Ha!

But on a more serious note, other than one wolf spider by our "classroom" the other day, I've only seen very small spiders. I must say though, they are VERY fast. And they jump. They are hard to kill! 

Fortunately thus far, only Noe has been attacked by a spider. A very strange-looking green, big spider that reminds me of those sticky hand toys you throw against the wall...anyone remember those? anyway, a couple weeks ago we were in the village nearest the NTM center learning to weave morota ( thatch, from saksak branches), when this spider ran toward Noe, jumped onto his leg and started running up on his shirt! Noe jumped and brushed it off, and yelled 'something to the effect of' "What was that?!?!?!" I poured boiling water on my fingers later that day ( just for fun), but I still think I got the better end of the deal that day!

So speaking of brooms...

The girls and I enjoyed a cultural experience during our second week here in PNG. A group of us went in to a village and began getting to know some of the locals. There was a woman sitting on the ground surrounded by palm branches. We asked her what she was working on, and she replied that she was making a broom for her front porch. She invited us to learn if we had a knife. Not needing a second invitation, I walked over to Noe and asked to borrow his pocket knife. She showed me how to dig the knife in to the center of the branch, then run it along the middle stem to remove all of the leaf. By the end of this process, she had a pile of broom bristles to 'tie' together. (Brilliant!) We enjoyed learning and helping her for the next 30 minutes. Naya was doing it herself by the time we left- yes with a 'sharp' kitchen knife.

I don't have a broom of my own yet, but I'm looking forward to putting names of friends/fellow mothers, which I will see all the time...because the moment I am done sweeping the floor is ready to be swept again. Why is my heart the same way? Do you ever feel that way? The moment I'm done complaining and then working that out in my heart and before The Lord, another opportunity for complaining arises? Oh and as my children get older by the day, I find this principle especially true in my interactions with them. 

Anyway. Let's make it a point not to fight these battles alone but to purposefully share with one another (no I don't mean gossiping or slandering our husbands and children) and encourage one another to always be willing to pick up the broom and sweep that dust and dirt away again and again. If we let things fester, they will rot (and so will we). "Fester fester fester... Rot rot rot." We have the opportunity as Family members, as sisters in Christ, to help each other grow more and more into His image through the sharing of our struggles and the rejoicing together in our victories. 

Let's help each other (because sometimes we just really need help) to dig the knife in ALL the way to the center, the core...the root of our anxieties and burdens. And slide that knife all the way up until all that extra " junk" is gone and all that remains is a clean bristle which can be used effectively to make and model a clean, lovely "home" for our husband, children and loved ones.

Just 2 Hours

The plane thundered down the runway and took off from Cairns, Australia. Before too long, mainland Australia was out of sight and there was nothing below but open ocean. The flight was 2 hours long. 2 hours from Cairns, Australia to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Just 2 hours. 

I couldn’t help but shake my head in amazement… just 2 hours from a highly evangelized nation lies this island nation of PNG where there remain several hundred people GROUPS- language GROUPS- ethnic GROUPS, who have never heard the Gospel. Just 2 hours. 

Just. 2. Hours. 

Over 2,000 years since Christ’s command to His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. And here lies this country, this land the size of California, where thousands upon thousands of people still wait for His disciples to come to them and clearly present His Gospel of grace! Just 2 hours from Australia.

It blows my mind…

And it reminds me of a missionary’s testimony I heard not too long ago… after hearing the Gospel, one of the tribal believers came to the missionary and said, 

“This message was very important, indeed. If it was so important, why did your parents not come and tell my parents? Why did your grandparents not come and tell my grandparents? …”

Indeed, what are we “waiting” for?