September 14, 2014
Take the Time
You may be waiting for what still can be…Never grow weary in your wait…
It is worth every moment you took…Every moment you take…
Every tear that you cry…Every prayer that you make…
Take the Time…
I have often wondered what the disciples thought and felt as they passionately pursued their Lord…as they followed Him. They followed Him as they left their fishing nets…from town to town…from synagogue to sea…from sea to mountain top…from stormy seas to peace…from home to home…from healing to healing…from truth to truth…from life to cross…Jesus told them that He would soon leave this world…that He would be taken from them by death…and that He would return to His Father through Life…How could the disciples dare to lose their Lord…the Messiah they had waited for…the Peace-Giver, the Healer, the source of Life, the Christ…What despair to anticipate His departure…But, they took the time…they followed, they listened, they obeyed, they sat with Him, they ate with Him, they laughed with Him, perhaps they cried with Him, they called out to Him, they trusted Him…they did life with Him…They “Took the Time”…
“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me…And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” From Matthew 25:35-40 (NLT)
These past two weeks have been powerful and exhausting days…Initially, I promised God and myself that I would never let my commitment to write interfere with living the life which God has called me to live…that I would honor Him in two ways. First, I promised to keep my priority and my focus on the people in my life, my family, my church family, my friends, and strangers whom God brought to me, knowing that it is through the living of life with these people that I experience community. And it is through community with God and His Word and with these people that He imparts His Truth and His Life Lessons…lessons about which I write and share. I also promised to begin with a scripture…always…and from this Truth…the message developed…always. I promised!
These past two weeks have been powerful and exhausting days. The days have been filled with numerous examples and experiences of people who have chosen to “Take the Time” in life, to do life with people in incredible and admirable ways…and I am thankful that I waited…waited…to live these incredible, rich, life-changing moments…doing life with people whom I love…I am thankful that I let go of a schedule…a routine which means nothing…but instead, living life with people whom God has given to me as wonderful gifts…and this means everything! I am thank-filled, overflowing with gratitude…that I stopped and “Took the Time.”
People Who Take the Time…
Weary Momma Hearts…
Nothing is more precious than the beautiful cry of life in the new-born baby. The miracle of the tiny breaths of life…the tiny fingers as they naturally curl around the mother’s finger as she traces the tiny nose…and the rosebud mouth…as the lips quiver…as the quick shallow breathing sustains the tiny miracle…
And nothing is more exhausting to the weary Momma hearts than to hear the cry of the sleepless tiny miracle…the cry which can seem to perpetuate itself endlessly…robbing the house-hold of the peace-filled night’s rest that it is so desperately needed…Every new parent asks the completely rhetorical question, “How can this tiny, tiny bundle of joy create such a chaotic, hectic, and exhausting upheaval in a home which has been clearly established and founded and secured?…” and once the tiny miracle enters the front door of home, life is never, never, never the same…
We have recently had the new-born experience with our grand-son Samuel Eldon, a beautiful little boy with brilliant blue eyes and curly sandy-blonde hair. He is nick-named “Sweet Samuel” because of his sweet countenance…and Sweet Samuel sometimes cries uncontrollably…rattling the walls of his parents’ hearts…causing sleepless nights and some weary-filled days…Ahhhh…every parent knows…every parent experiences these moments which seem to last forever…but, eventually become a foggy memory…
I marvel as I watch our daughter and her husband and our son and his wife as they bring into this world beautiful new lives which are gifts from our Almighty God…they battle the dark circles under the eyes, the groggy mornings, the aching backs, the foggy thought-processes…(I laugh when they report finding full milk bottles in the cabinets and empty glasses in the refrigerator or stove, when they lose their keys…or forget they have told me the same story five times) Now they know what it is like to be me! All parents experience this! You know!
I have the privilege of living life with our adult children as they rear their precious ones. Bill and I are so blessed and fortunate that we are invited and are able to participate in the lives of our grands. And, I must say unequivocally, that it is amazing and awesome to have this opportunity.
It is an extraordinary phenomenon to observe our grown adult children becoming the “Keepers of the Children”…To watch as they struggle to sleep, to work, to go through the dailies…but how absolutely beautiful to watch as they snuggle, feed, love and as they pray for their babies…How beautiful and amazing and incredible to watch as they “Take the Time.” They invest, they sacrifice, they give, they serve, they teach, they live…knowing that in time, their precious ones will grow up…they will leave…they will become the “Keepers of the Children”…
But knowing all of this, they “Take the Time”…being aware and believing that these days are precious, irreplaceable, cherished, and treasured times…All parents experience this! You know! You are beautiful and blessed as you “Take the Time” with your precious ones…as you love…as you snuggle as you pray…
The Transitioning Hearts…
We have many friends who are looking around the curve at the impending empty nest…Yes, I remember celebrating all of the “firsts” in my children’s lives…the first smile, the first tooth, the first step, the first day of school…you remember…I confess that during our son’s senior year we fell into the trap of “senior sorrows” and acknowledged the “lasts”…For example, I mentioned to Adam on the first day of his senior year that this would be his “last”, “first” day of school while he lived at home. I had myself in tears as he just smiled respectfully and muttered something as he rushed out the door to jump into his car…I’m sure to escape the crazy, emotional mom! I regained a bit of my sanity during the year but relapsed on Christmas morning. Once again I announced, “OH MY…this will be the last time you kids will run down the stairs together to see what Santa brought…!” Followed by other silly comments as we opened gifts…We had moments of tears, the whole family…until Adam looked at us and announced, “Mom, you do remember that I am going to Baylor University…which happens to be in Waco…” (Twenty minutes from where we lived) To which we all laughed and laughed and laughed…And the laughter felt really good!
And I think that on the “first” Christmas morning of Adam’s college days that he ran down the stairs with his sister to see what Santa brought to a college freshman and a high school junior…Oh how they were willing to appease their momma! They “Took the Time”…and I am so thank-filled!
We were so thankful that we took the time to enjoy…to enjoy the moments with Adam. The moments with Christie during her senior year…We had enjoyed their lives…we had taken the time…not perfectly…but we had tried to be intentional to do the best we could…and with our glorious God, it is never over…never!
The Transitioning Hearts are not empty hearts…The nest may be empty but the empty nest is not an empty heart…The hearts remain full…in fact…they overflow in time…When…one “Takes the Time”…You know, because that is what you do!
And, by the way, I discovered through my work at Texas Christian Academy that by pretending that each one of the students were my kids, that the occasional Lonely Heart is filled by looking for people who need you…who need you to reach into their lives and to “Take the Time”. It works every time!
The Grieving Hearts…
This past week, we attended the life celebration, funeral, of a dear friend, who with his family had been amazing role models and friends for our family as we reared our children. Becky and Chris are the proud parents of six grown children, and grandparents to five beautiful children. We attended church with them for years, home-schooled with them and enjoyed the home-school co-op with them, and later worked with them at Texas Christian Academy as all of our children finished up high school years there. Becky and Chris invested their lives into their children…but also lavished their hearts and their lives into countless other people as well, who needed encouragement, guidance, friendship, food, shelter, love, community…who needed Yeshua Christ.
When Chris was diagnosed with the medical condition which would claim his life two months later, he was embraced by family…by friends…He was enveloped by people who clearly “Took the Time”…and my guess is that many just modeled what they had seen their friend Chris do on so many occasions…When anyone was in need of anything…Chris “Took the Time”. And when Chris was in need, his wife rallied, his children rallied, his friends rallied, his church rallied…his God…well, His God was already there…always had been!
Becky and Chris shared a beautiful marriage relationship…Becky walked her husband home…she walked him as far as she could…and Chris was embraced by His Savior who led him the rest of the way…A life lived as one who “Took the Time”…Loved by children and a beautiful bride who “Took the Time.”
And each person who did life with this family would say that it was worth it… “Take the Time”.
The Broken Hearts…
This past week I had a lovely conversation with a friend who is in her late seventies and who we met through one of our businesses. Her only son was employed with us for several years before moving on to a fantastic position out of state. My friend and her husband invested their lives into this very talented young man. They were so proud the day that he married his beautiful bride and together their son and his bride have lived and together they have pursued their very prosperous careers. My friend is a very proud momma!
To my dismay, as my dear friend inquired about my family, my children, and my grands, I, of course, asked her about her family. She took a deep breath…paused…and began to explain that she had not seen her son in two and a half years because of his work schedule. She was so incredibly gracious to not complain…but from one momma heart to another…I heard her grief…I heard her pain…I heard her elderly voice…I heard her loneliness …But with a hope-filled transition, she added that there was a possibility that he might be stopping in Dallas the next week and they could possibly meet in the airport for a short time during his lay-over.
I was almost speechless because of the tears welling up…How could I mirror her grace…her patience…her love…when all I could do was to picture this elderly couple who had “Taken the Time…” to love, to sacrifice, to invest…and to let go by giving him wings…and, I took a deep breath to echo her enthusiasm. I would not diminish her hope…I could not…
I do not know if the meeting with her son ever occurred. To be honest, I am a bit leery of making the phone call to find out…And perhaps I will call, but not ask…I will let her tell me…But, this beautiful, loving woman, who has loved my kids for many years, needs a phone call from me…just to say that I remember, that I care, that I appreciate her, that I love her…And, I will pray for their son…that he, whatever his circumstances are…perhaps he is having serious troubles…I will pray for him…that he will allow the God Almighty to direct his steps…to help him to find his way to , “Take the Time”, while he can. And the wonderful parents know in their hearts that they “Took the Time”…they have that reassurance…that peace. And, they have their Almighty God cheering them on…as they continue to “Take the Time.”
“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me…And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” From Matthew 25:35-40 (NLT)
And if Yeshua Christ calls us to “Take the Time” for a stranger…what are we called to do for our loved ones? For when we “Take the Time”…we do this for our King!
It is to Your Advantage
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7 NASB
Jesus knew the fear-filled and anxious thoughts of His disciples. He understood their anxiety at the thought of losing Him…but He loved them and knew what the best was for them…for mankind. He knew that by His leaving, that He would send the Helper, the Spirit…so that, His presence would not be dependent on the flesh…but would be available through the Spirit to each one of us…all of the time…through eternity…at this moment…for you and for me. He knew that it was worth the time that He spent…and the time the disciples spent…He knew that it was worth His leaving so that we could be, would be, equipped with the Helper, His Spirit…so that we, each one of us, can live this life empowered and embraced and in relationship with the Almighty God… every moment of every day of our lives.
Jesus knows the fear-filled anxious and tired thoughts of Momma Hearts…and He knows that the time spent is worth the sacrifice…for what is to come…I have found this to be true as I experience life with my adult children…life with my grands…the change, the transition is truly for my advantage…for their advantage…for Kingdom advantage as children are reared to know and to love their Yeshua Christ.
Jesus knows the fear-filled and anxious thoughts of the Transitioning parents…He knows that all of the time spent is worth the sacrifice…for what is to come…It is truly for your advantage…for the advantage of your precious ones…for Kingdom advantage!
Jesus knows the Grieving Hearts of His children suffering the loss of a loved one. He sees the investment of life, of love, of time…and it is for their advantage…as the loved one is embraced by Yeshua Christ and escorted into the King’s Court…Ahhh, yes…for their advantage…no more suffering, no more pain, no more tears!
Jesus knows the Broken Hearts of people who long and mourn for what still could be…But, they celebrate the time they took, knowing and believing that it was the right thing to do…no matter what another person’s response is or will be…Taking the Time, as I have learned from my dear elderly friend, is truly the right and the good thing to do…and yes, it is to their advantage…someday…in the presence of their Yeshua Christ….as He will say, “Well done, good faithful servants”…
You know…you may be waiting for what still can be…Never grow weary in your wait…
It is worth every moment you took…Every moment you take…
Every tear that you cry…Every prayer you make…
And, I pray, that the son will come home once again…that he will “Take the Time”…for it will be to his advantage… I pray that I will “Take the Time” to call my friend….this week…And I pray that as each one of you “Takes the Time”, that you will feel the blessing and the loving heart of your Yeshua…as you “Take the Time”, trusting in His plan…knowing that He has the future…believing that when you serve, when you love, when you “Take the Time”…you do it for your King of Kings…your Savior…your Advocate…your God!
I am so thankful to live life with these people, with you, as you take time to lavish your gifts upon other lives…that you model the Lord’s very heart…that you reach into lives as you live…as you wait…Yes, we all wait for something..for someone…and to be sure, it is to our advantage to trust in our Yeshua Christ and His presence and His promise…and to intentionally, confidently, faithfully, “Take the Time”…for His Living Word speaks to each one of us…
“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me…And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” From Matthew 25:35-40 (NLT)
Abundant joy in each moment,
