Tale from a Shade-Loving Comfort Queen

 If you ever see me in a shady parking spot going a little Pentecostal, just move along and mind your business.

In Texas, you know you’re smiled on by God if you land that coveted shaded parking spot at H-E-B. What a blessing it is to return to your car and not feel your flesh melt off your bones like the normal hot-car-in-July experience.

When I book a campsite, I always hope for shade. In the summer, I seek it out and pray for a cool breeze like my life depends on it. Shade makes all the difference between a sweat-a-thon and a beautiful day. For me, it’s agony versus ecstasy.

I’ll admit it. I’m a comfort queen.

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Shade in the Bible

Shade is often mentioned in Scripture. But in biblical times, it was more than just comfort. It was life itself. In a hot, dry land, survival could depend on finding shade.

Last year, I attended a Bible study on Jonah by Sandra L. Richter, and I learned so much more about that familiar story. When I think of shade, Jonah’s story always comes to mind.

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Jonah and His Shade

Jonah was not an allegory nor an ordinary prophet. Other than the Old Testament book of Jonah, he’s mentioned in 2 Kings, reinforcing the fact that Jonah was a real man, a big-deal prophet—not an allegory. He was part of Israel’s theocracy.

The Assyrians of Nineveh, on the other hand, were known for their depravity and violence. Archaeologists have even uncovered carvings showing enemies impaled like shish-kabobs. These were the very people Jonah was sent to.

After his famous ocean ordeal, Jonah finally obeyed God and preached repentance to the Ninevites. Then he built himself a shelter in the shade, waiting and watching—hoping they would get what they deserved.

Even after his near-death experience inside what was probably a sperm whale, Jonah still clung to his self-righteous attitude. He wanted justice for Nineveh, not mercy. In his eyes, they didn’t deserve forgiveness.

But God had a different plan. He sent Jonah a “gift”: a fat worm to destroy his shady box seat. Once again, God reminded Jonah who was in control.

And yes—the Ninevites repented. They were saved. Much to Jonah’s disappointment.

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The Lesson of Shade

God used shade—and the lack of it—as a lesson.

And isn’t it interesting that we see a kind forgiving God reach out to Gentile pagans here in the Old Testament book of Jonah? So maybe next time I find that perfect shady parking spot or campsite, I’ll remember the One who created it. And in those times when there is no shade, I’ll remember something far greater:

And I’m not in control—God is.

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Prayer

Lord, thank You for being my shelter and shade in every season. Remind me that comfort comes and goes, but Your mercy never fails. Help me to trust Your control, even when I don’t get what I want. And may I always rejoice when Your grace reaches others—just as it reached me.

Amen.

Scratching That Itch

 

In dry, cold weather my skin begins to itch. I slather on lotion, essentially taking a bath in it, and in a few hours it begins to itch again. But this is true for all things in this world. Solutions are always temporary and problems are seasonal. And I am a fixer. I become unhappy with this or that and I search for the YouTube video that will help me solve my problem. Occasionally I find a solution. But usually the solution is far too costly or it doesn’t come close to fixing the issue. If, by chance, the issue is fixed, I am quickly onto solving the next problematic matter. There is no end to this cycle! And there is always another itch to fix.

We all seem to be searching for a way to solve the issues of our world because we are unhappy with the way things are going. If only this decision would be made or if only this circumstance would change this would be a better place to live. If I were in power, I would… 

But I’m not in power. And if I was, my solution would not be good for everyone. It would only be good for me and that would be temporary. It would be much like those who win the lottery then quickly blow through that money and end up bankrupt. Or like those who are billionaires yet they are always looking for a way to make more money. There is never enough. They can never permanently scratch that itch and be satisfied. It becomes obvious that we live in a broken world. Will it ever be made right? 

The answer is an emphatic YES! For those of us who love God, we will see it all made right. That is God’s promise to us. Jesus is preparing a place for us where everything will be right. No more YouTube videos to fix stuff, unless you enjoy that sort of thing. No more politics. No more snarky memes. No more wars fighting over who is in power. No more cancer or death. It is God who is in power and we will all agree that his decisions are perfect. He is good, loving, kind, brilliant and all powerful. He is what we all long for. 

But the answer is also “not today”. So should we quit trying to scratch the itch? What do we do while we wait? How should we live? I believe that a concise answer that fits us all is given in Micah 6:8. Here it is as written in The Message translation:

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.

You will probably recognize it better in the NIV translation. 

Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

When to Worry

 When friends or family go through loss, illness, difficulties in health, job security, or relationships, I pray for them. And I worry. But I realized the other day that my biggest worries are never for those who I know are strong in their faith. The ones who live their life depending on God for their strength suffer the same as everyone else but there is hope in their hearts that they depend on for strength. I know they will come out on the other side stronger in their faith than they were before. Deep down, this is truth. 

It is those who never speak of their faith, who never spend quality time learning about Christ, who focus on this finite world and never the eternal next, who worry me the most. How will they withstand the storms of this difficult life? What happens when the bootstraps they pull themselves up by, break? I worry because I know how weak I am. I know my own lack of strength. I know that sometimes life gives me more than I can handle. I worry that they will not know how to ask the Savior to rescue them because they have never prepared their hearts for this. I worry because it is so hard to watch loved ones make the wrong choices knowing there is nothing I can do. 

But then I remind myself that the loving God I know, loves them with an intensity that puts mine to shame. And I know He does have the power to do something about their needs. And I know that He knows exactly the perfect next move for them in this complex chess game of life. He plays chess while my mind plays checkers. I know He welcomed the Prodigal son. I know He calmed the sea. I know He healed the lepers. I know He will leave the 99 sheep to look for the lost one. 

So the answer to the question about when to worry is NEVER. God is in control. 

Hope for the Hopeless

 I have no idea why you would go to hell in a handbasket. I could Google that but I’m pretty sure this is one of those old sayings that is has lost its context but kept its meaning. There have been periods of time in history where everything has gone to hell in a handbasket and one of those is recorded in the Old Testament. It comes from the prophet Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations.

At that time, Jeremiah clearly saw the bad choices of the Israelites and preached for them to stop their idol worship, turn to God and repent. Imagine how those prophets who kept warning the Israelites felt when all their pleas fell on deaf ears. They witnessed it as people ignored their warnings and continued depending on everything but God to deliver them. They watched the inevitable results of bad choices unfold around them. Read Lamentations 1-2 for details. But be warned, it is not PG rated! To summarize it, Jerusalem was defeated and many survivors were carried off to exile. That was surely “hell in a handbasket”.

The natural human thought process at that point would be to dwell on the injustices. They would roll around and around in their minds without any effort, replaying the scene time and time again. But somehow, out of this devastation and hopelessness, some the most hopeful words of the Bible are written down. According to Jeremiah, he called them to mind. That must have taken effort and a Higher Power to think about the faithfulness of God in those horrible circumstances. But he did it.

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And here are Jeremiah’s beautiful words:

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Lamentations 3:19-26 NIV

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I find that I remember scripture so much better when it is set to music. Here is a song inspired by this passage. Listen and you can hear Jeremiah’s words ring through.

So to defeat depression over things going awry, we have instructions from the Prophet Jeremiah. Call these words to mind. Repeat them. Sing this song loudly even if you can’t sing anything like CeCe or Carrie. Great is thy faithfulness oh God, my Father!

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

 Is it easier to trust God when you are living in abundance or when you are living in poverty? The obvious answer is that it is easier to trust God when you have plenty. However, I wonder if that is true. 

In the story of the widow of Zarephath found in 1 Kings 17:7-24, she is gathering sticks to fuel her last meal for her and her son when this cheeky prophet comes up and asks her to use the last of her flour to make him a loaf of bread first. And she does! This is so hard for me to wrap my head around while sitting in my warm house with a full pantry. She was practicing faith when she had no physical evidence that God cared for her. 

I have often heard of or read about people in poverty who are generous beyond comprehension. Poverty seems to give a perspective that plenty cannot see. In times of extreme difficulty people seem to have a clearer view of the Father. The connection somehow becomes stronger and more real. This leads me to my next line of thinking. Must I suffer to learn to trust God? I really don’t want to! 

Then I jerk myself back into reality and remember that we will all suffer at some point in our life. It is a reality of living in our frail bodies in a world of hardship. But it is not the hardship itself that makes us more connected to God, it is the preparation of our hearts that opens the boundary to God’s presence in those inevitable difficulties. The suffering isn’t what produces faith, it simply magnifies the faith we already have developed. We can know that when the time comes, if we choose it, we will experience a broader Divine connection.

We are not told in the Bible, but I’m willing to bet that the widow of Zarephath prepared her heart by choosing to seek God when she was happily married and living a life of plenty. I am basing that wager on my experience. When I practice freaking out over the little issues of my day, I freak out when the big issues arise. Just like in emergency medical training, they practice keeping a cool head when there is no emergency in order to be able to rely on that training in the real thing. Trusting God does not ordinarily come out of the blue. Like other attributes, it usually follows an organic pathway of practice and development over time.

So what should we be doing to prepare our hearts to receive this connection when we inevitably experience hardship? Actively seek Him. Seeking is not passive. As Priscilla Shirer states in her book, The Armor of God, it is “meditating on God’s word, internalizing its principles and implementing them in your life”. And meanwhile we should be comforted to know that no matter the circumstances, our God will hold us. By the way, the widow’s story ends well. Her jar of flour and oil miraculously do not run out day after day. God provides.

Silly Things

Should we thank God for luxuries? It seems so silly since luxuries are things we really don’t need. Luxuries are silly things. Shouldn’t we sell them and give that money to the poor? Well, I thank God everyday for my swimming pool. Yep. That is silly. But to me, getting that pool was God putting the whipped cream on top of the chocolate milkshake.

As a small child from a poor family living in Kansas, I was introduced to a backyard swimming pool when we visited my wealthy aunt and uncle in Dallas. In the 1960’s only the very wealthy had in-ground pools. My uncle was an electrical engineer and part owner in a company that did the electricity for many big Dallas venues including Six Flags. Their pool made such an impression on me that I spent too much of my time trying to find a way to visit my aunt. That pool was the ultimate luxury in my book!

2009 is a date that is engraved in my memory much like 2020 will go down in world history. In January of 2009, Kevin and I began our journey through what is sometimes called a sifting. Suffice it to say, it was a ‘grab your torch and pitchfork’ type of situation and we were at the pointy end. Since then, I realized that this type of experience is inherent to those with a public job and sadly, many school superintendents and pastors go through this. However, when we were going through this dreadful experience it seemed very personal. Yet somehow, in all the chaos, Kevin and I grew closer to God and closer to each other.

It wasn’t long until an opportunity in a new place opened and in June of 2009 we moved to a new town and began our new jobs, closing the door on that difficult season of life. In our new town, we found that as soon as one blessing arrived, another would follow until there was no denying that God’s deliverance was behind it all. The house we really wanted was a bargain and one of only a handful of suitable homes available in our school district. And it came with a beautiful big pool in the backyard. Be still my heart! As we were moving into that home, I realized it was God tapping me on the shoulder saying, “Look how much I love you.”

So now I thank God for that silly thing, that luxury, because I remember how He delivered us through a storm.

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