Is it Well with Your Soul?

There is an old hymn, It is Well With My Soul that speaks of how during the tough times of life there is a sense of peace in our lives. Not many of us would admit to such peace. We let the hard times wear us down. I think it is because we have not mastered the art of exercising our soul.

There is currently among the women of my congregation a fascination with one of the new exercise craze. I am glad that something has motivated them to exercise more. It has helped them physically and well as emotionally. Perhaps you have found yourself joining in the newest game in town when it comes to exercise. From the Wii to the health clubs, to the tread mill--which many have found makes a good clothes rack.

The exercise of the soul involves giving ourselves to the spiritual disciplines of the faith. It is worship, Bible study, prayer, fasting--just to name a few. The exercise of the soul also requires us to be intentional about our witness. We put away lying, gossip, worry, and replace it with the reality of living each day devotionally.

Notice this is in contrast to the popular notion that Spirit of God just zaps you into shape at a particular time or place and you are done. John Wesley, the founder of the Wesleyan movement, liked to say that we are "becoming saved" or that we are "working out our salvation". By no means did he mean a salvation of works. On the contrary he sees this as the response to what God has already done through Jesus of Nazareth.

The rainy weather has caused me to walk more on the treadmill than I want. The treadmill to me is a walk leading to nowhere. However, as I walk my two miles each day, I realize that I am exercising my body. I have learned that the discipline of this exercise has great benefits.

Exercising the soul prepares us for living. It opens our eyes to see what God sees in our everyday world. This exercise exposes the pockets of sin that reside within us that God wishes to remove.

Maybe it is time to exercise--both the body and the soul. Then you can sing "It is Well With My Soul".....

You Will Get Off the Rollercoaster!

I sat in the courtroom for only a short while. But my heart was so heavy. The story had been told many times before from different people. The story was still so sad. Five men entered the bar with guns. When all the shooting was over, four good friends lives came to an abrupt end. One of the men that was there to do harm will do no more harm.

Grief is like this. When we experience loss, whether in death, relationships, health, or even a job, the story seems to replay over and over again. As it is replayed, there is a part of us searching for answers. We seem to think that if we go over it one more time it will make sense. But it doesn't.

One description of the experience of loss likens it to being on a great roller coaster. It is a roller coaster that you have waited to ride. So you are on it. The only problem is now you can not get off. Staying on a roller coaster is not good for one in many ways. The cars pull into the station to where you are supposed to get off and then walk away talking about how much fun the ride was. Only, the roller coaster does not stop. You go for another spin and another and another.

Like Job's friends, who tried to make sense out of the suffering, your friends try to give you answers. They too want to give you more information. They tell you things that make even less sense. Some of the friend's words just make it worse. They are "pat"little sayings that tell you more about your friend's fears than your own. Sometimes well meaning friends say the stupidest things. Other friends avoid you like the plague.

Some like to say that time heals. I disagree. Time passes. Time does not make it better. Relationships in your life make you better over time. You get better. The grief or the loss is still there. It does not disappear or become any less meaningful. You get better as time passes.

One day, hopefully sooner than later, the roller coaster stops. Usually it stops not of its own will, but because of yours. You come to grips with the facts that you will never understand nor know. You come to grips with the precious present. You find a sense of meaning and hope--enough to start each day--little by little.

The good news is that while you are going through this painful part of your life, God is with you. sometimes it does not seem like it. But God is there. Our inability to see the sun does not mean the sun has disappeared. One day the clouds break and the light that has always been there comes through.

My heart goes back to the courtroom where the family will sit for many days--wondering, listening, weeping. This will only be for a season. Then they will get off the roller coaster and walk through life----with God.

Lord, Make Me Lie Down

I have a dog named Lisa. She is a pound puppy (much older now) that actually belongs to my son who is in college. Few people come to our home and leave without falling in love with Lisa.

Lisa is frightened by storms. The other day when it was storming so bad, she tried to get in the shower with me. She trembles and tries to get as close to flesh as she can. If she is home alone, she will find a secluded spot in the closet. Some nights I am awakened by Lisa panting.

The storms of life overwhelm us. Some storms are relationships that have been destroyed. Some storms are financial. Too many of us know the storms of darkness found in the soul that struggles with emotional unrest. The storms find us. We create storms that wreck lives by our own poor choices. We find ourselves like the disciples crying out to the Lord, "Do you not care that we are perishing?"

Psalm 23 has some many gems in it that wait to be uncovered. One of the gems that I have discovered is in the words, "he makes me lie down...." During the most anxious times of life, God wants us to rest in God's presence. There is great power to be found in those moments.

At one point in ministry, I found myself stopping at a four way stop on the way home from the church. At that stop sign, I would imagine taking all the burdens of the church I was serving (which were many!!) and leaving them on the stop sign there. Sometimes I stayed at that stop sign a long time. That intersection became for me a place where I "unloaded" so that I could rest. The next day I would pick them up again on the way to the office. Some days they were all there again. Other days it seemed as though some had disappeared. I certainly do not remember them multiplying! The act of "unloading" was intimately tied to the concept of resting my soul. God made me lie down.

Do you find yourself in a storm that seems to be overwhelming? Are the waters of life rising faster than you can swim? Has your get up and go disappeared? God has an answer for you.

Rest. Rest in the arms of the loving God who can empower you. Physically renew yourself. Spiritually let your soul breath. Rest.

Lord, make me lie down.....

Leaving Home

The aim of every parent is to work themselves out of a job. Some have failed miserably. Others have succeeded in spite of themselves.

The preacher said in the Old Testament. There is a time to hold on and a time to let go.

It is letting go season.

When we lived in Lafayette, I would watch the children walking to the school that was just down the street. You could tell the kids that were going to school for the first time. They would be decked out with new clothes and new bags anxiously walking to school. They were now "big". Usually closer than the kid wanted them to be was their mother. The mother would be teary eyed. She could not believe this day had come. Her baby was going to school! What would she do?

I heard of one elementary teacher that had to have one mom escorted out by the security folks. Seems the mom thought that she could just stay a while to make sure life was good for her darling. Don't you know that that kid was embarrassed?

Leaving home is a part of growing up. Some folks never seem to learn the art of growing up. You know these folks. They look the same as they did in high school only with fifty pounds assorted around themselves. Their life is still on hold. It is as if they do not realize that they are now out of date.

Leaving home is an opportunity to become what God has intended for you to be. Yes, there will be tough times. And good fortune will come as well. Broken hearts and broken dreams with a hope fulfilled sprinkled in. The past becomes a reference for great things to come or lessons learned.

It is leaving time for college kids. It seems as though just yesterday we were teaching them how to ride a bike, how to tie their shoes, and how to drive. Now it is time for them to be on their own. They spread their wings and fly!

I love this story so I share it every year with no regrets.

A young man arrived at college and was unpacking his bags. His mom and dad had finally left him there! It had been a tearful time for all of them. But he was now in his space. He was unpacking his suitcase and at the bottom of the suitcase, he found two pieces of cloth. The young man held them up and looked at them closely. They seemed very familiar yet distant. Finally he remembered where they had been seen in his life.

As a little boy, he would often go into the kitchen where his mom was doing the daily routine of kitchen work. He would reach up and grab what he could to get her attention when he wanted something. The apron his mom wore always had two pieces that hung down far enough for him to reach and tug on. She would stop what she was doing and pick him up.

The two pieces of cloth from the bottom of his suitcase that he held in his hands were from the apron he had tugged on as a little boy. His mom had cut the strings. It was time to let go.

Hug a Teacher

Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher. Most folks do not realize how many times Jesus put himself in the teaching mode. The Sermon on the Mount is a teaching text. The stories (parables) that Jesus told were to teach one thing at a time. I think Jesus would hug teachers often.

School is about to begin. It seems to start earlier in August each year. I must admit that I wonder if folks who make the school schedules realize that August is hotter than May in Louisiana. It doesn't make sense to me. But then there are alot things that make little or no sense to me.

The teaching profession, like many others, has lost its respect in our culture. Teachers at one time were held in great respect and authority. If my teacher got on to me, I knew there was going to be great trouble at home for me. Now it seems that parents are more likely to make trouble for teachers than to discipline their little darlings.

Teachers are loved by their students--more than students will admit. I think of those teachers that pushed me to learn--sometimes dragged me to learn. They showed great patience in some ways.. Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Saint, Mrs. Roberts--all elementary teachers--gave me a great foundation for learning in my early years. It is hard for me to remember my junior high teachers other than Mrs. Monk the band director. I think I was distracted by the opposite sex during those years.

In High School and College, teachers continued to nurture me. I guess my all time favorite teacher has to be Webb Pomeroy who taught religion at Centenary College. He was a grandfather type teacher. Dr. Pomeroy taught me more about religion and life than I could understand. Today as I prepare to preach and study Bible, I can see his head shaking and almost hear his voice asking questions. He loved to make people think of religion and Bible in a larger context.

As I have remembered, you have too! You have teachers that shaped your life and living. As school begins, I would ask you to join me in appreciating those who teach. Teach your children to appreciate their teachers. Give teachers your support in as many ways as possible. Pray for teachers.

And if for some strange reason you think it is a "cush" job (after all they get summers off!), just spend one day as a substitute!

Thank God for those who teach!!!