Tag Archives: Control

The Beauty of Life

Posted on by
3

The dishes are dirty; the clothes pile high; children cry; toys are scattered and tattered and remind me I am the same. The time is gone and won’t be back until tomorrow. Yet in the midst of chaos I see my calm:

Beauty amidst chaos

This spring bouquet, a mixture of two sets of flowers, has been bringing me joy. By seeing them I smile because

  • I marvel at God’s handiwork. How does He give type, color and smell to so many things?
  • They are pretty and make me feel pretty.
  • The blossoms seem to be smiling at me.
  • Two people thought enough about me to buy me them.
  • They remind me that not everything is bad.

    • So find you some flowers today. Maybe your blossoms won’t be flowers but a beaming teenager happy that you’re her mom, a toddling two-year-old with the ability to create in all his spaces, a job that enables you to pay your bills, the wind that blows you fresh air, a potty seat to remind you of childhood progress, frozen food showing you your abundance, helping hands showing you you’re not alone. We never are. God is there, providing blossoms in our messy midst, showing us life as it should be: focused on His goodness and grace while in hellish places.

    Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

    I don’t know who this is for today; I had an entirely different post but when I sat down to write this is what I heard. So I pray for you today. I pray that you see the light at the end of the tunnel, that you know that there is a silver lining, that God didn’t bring you this far to leave you. He would never do that. He is faithful. He never leaves us or forgets about us. It may feel that way but please know that all things work together for our good if we love God and are called according to His purpose. We must remember that He called us for what He wants to do through us not so we can do what we want and have things to go the way we want. And remember that all means ALL; God wastes nothing. He is the ultimate recycler, making us over and over again. So get ready for your life makeover. Get ready for the new and improved you, handcrafted by God, the ultimate stylist and brander. Yep, that’s our God. Wait on Him to make you over. Yes, He wants to do that for you, but He’s got to do it in His own way. Trust Him. Believe in Him. He won’t let you down.

    Dueling Dualities-The 2nd Day of Christmas

    Posted on by
    Reply

    On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me the remedy for dealing with dualities (Zechariah 9:2-10).

    Do you struggle in duality? I’m not necessarily talking about with being bipolar, though I know some of us have that struggle, but I mean the daily balance of walking in roles that are quite the opposite in their space or function: leader at work-servant at home; cheerful cheerleader-strict disciplinarian; husband’s lover-children’s mother. For me, these roles are sometimes like day and night, hot and cold, dead and alive, good and bad. Some days I flow with cheering the children on and fumble with disciplining them. Other days I serve my family well and forget about ministry meetings. And it’s hard to get turned on when I can’t turn off my mommy mode. Though I know these seemingly polar opposites can exist in the same space, can receive my proper attention, I falter when I fail to continually look to Jesus as my perfect example.

    Throughout Zechariah, Jesus is seen in His seemingly opposite roles of servant and king and man and god. He was the humble king who before was pierced as a man then rose with all power in His hands because He is God (Zechariah 9:9-10, 12:10 and Hebrews 1:3). He navigated these roles by remembering who He served, why He served and what He needed to serve.

  • He served God the Father—“Jesus saith unto them, ‘My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work’” (John 4:34).
  • He served to reconcile man to God—Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly” (John 10:10). Read also 2 Corinthians 5:21.
  • He needed the word of God and prayer—“Jesus said unto him, ‘It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God’” (Matthew 4:7).

    • Yeah, we were created in God’s image and have been given the ability to operate in our dualities by remembering we serve God; that our actions help reconcile our families and others to God; and that we can serve by standing on God’s word and praying. God created our dualities and because He did and empowers us to operate in them, I know I don’t have to duel with navigating them but only look to Him for help.

    The Underdog Rises-The 27th Day of Christmas

    Posted on by
    Reply

    On the 27th day of Christmas my true love gave to me a Savior from the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:1).

    We like cheering for the underdog, but none of us wants to be the underdog. I know I don’t, and when I find myself in that position my mind goes to Mark 9:35 that says, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” Jesus said this to his disciples who were debating about who was the best among them. He gave them this lesson in humility, and they didn’t get it, and neither did Leah, Jacob’s first wife who he treated as the last.

    I have always felt sorry for Leah. Many of us know her story. Her father tricked Jacob into marrying her instead of her beautiful younger sister, Rachel, who Jacob wanted to marry. She wasn’t very attractive; her husband didn’t want her and nothing she did made him want her; and she spent the first seven years of marriage watching her husband work so he could marry her sister. She definitely was the underdog and knew it (though I wonder how complicit she was in the trickery and may have contributed to her being undesired. I don’t know, but that’s beside the point right now.).

    The only time Leah was on top was when she got pregnant and gave birth to sons, something every man wanted to carry on the family legacy. After she had Judah, her fourth son, “[t]hen she stopped bearing” (Genesis 29:35). And then she took matters into her own hands. After seeing Rachel’s maid giving birth on behalf of her barren sister, Leah, too, gave her maid to Jacob so she could try to have more sons. Leah was dissatisfied with Judah being her last, thinking he represented the end of her being able to conceive. What Leah didn’t know was that Judah may have been last at that moment, but he was destined to be first:

    “The sons of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur and Shobal.”—1 Chronicles 4:1.

    This is the beginning of the genealogies of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Even though Judah was the last son when Leah took matters into her own hands, he has the first genealogical listing, representing his prominence, but chiefly representing the preeminence of Jesus Christ, “the lion from the tribe of Judah.” While Leah jockeyed to be first, she had no idea that the Savior of the world would come through her womb, the first and the last, all we ever need, whether we’re the underdog or the top dog. When we get to the point where we stop conceiving, let us not take matters into our own hands trying to conceive a plan, project or even a baby that may be out of God’s order. Our last conception may very well be our best and the one God will have rise to the top.

    Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

    Your Lead-The 35th Day of Christmas

    Posted on by
    Reply

    On the 35th day of Christmas my true love gave to me a prophet sent to guide me (Deuteronomy 18:15).

    “If it was a snake it would have bitten you,” the saying goes for people who overlook something that is right in their midst. I’m sure most of us who have children have said this or something like it when a child can’t find his shoes in the middle of a clean room or homework left on the table without any other papers. This is the great refrain of my Joshua’s life. After I find the elusive item I say, with my fingers spread on outstretched arms shaking in syllabic rhythm, “It’s right here!” These phrases aren’t just child refrains but a part of the adult song of life that could be titled “Seeking But You Already Have.”

    The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:15).

    This is what Moses told the children of Israel regarding their coming Messiah. And God the Father did just that. He sent Jesus, who, like Moses, was 1) in peril as a baby; 2) whose life was preserved among Egyptians; 3) was an Israelite (Jew); 4) a leader of his people; and 5) a prophet among other similarities, but these are the ones that the Israelites in Jesus’ day witnessed. Also, like Moses, his own people rejected him.

    We know that God spake unto Moses: [as for] this [fellow], we know not from whence he is.—John 9:29

    At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”—John 6:41-42

    The Jews saw Jesus speak like no other prophet and they witnessed him healing, but when he told them that he was the one Moses spoke of, that he was that bread of life that would give them eternal life if they believed in him, they didn’t believe. We, Christians, do believe that God the Father sent Jesus as the bread of life, but when we don’t believe that our leader, our lord, is right in our midst, when we overlook him surrounding us, we are like disbelieving Jews. We are told that greater is God in us than the devil in the world, but we (strong black women) try to use our own strength. We are told that Jesus will never leave us or forget about us, but we leave and forget about him and seek to do things our own way. Like the Jews looked to Moses, we look to old methods that once helped and overlook our present help, our Jesus.

    I don’t know about you, but I don’t want God shouting “I’m right here!” when he sees me looking for a self-conceived fail-proof way. I’m aiming to quickly remember my leader, my lord, in my midst and follow him. Won’t you join me? And send me a comment about how if Jesus was a snake, he would have bitten you.

    Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith