In Whose Hands

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 
”Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word…” – Luke 2:25-29 (NRSV)

Why was Simeon so happy? Where did he place his faith? Do you believe in the promises of God the same way? What happens to those who place their trust in the Lord?

I once heard something about how the value of things change depending on whose hands they are in. For instance in my hand a basketball is about $20, in LeBron James’ hand that same basketball is suddenly worth millions. In my hands a tennis racquet is worth $60, in Roger Federer’s hands it is suddenly worth millions.
Or for a different kind of example in my hands 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish are 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. I put those same things into Jesus’ hands and it suddenly can feed 5000 people to satisfaction with leftovers! You get the point, the value of things change depending on whose hands they are in.
The same is true of life. In our own hands our lives are in shambles, and we are walking messes. When we try to go about controlling our own lives and destinies with all the intensity we can muster, we still look in the mirror and wonder why we feel so empty and without value. And maybe in the midst of that emptiness we can hear God’s voice softly saying, “Let me hold you and you will know you are the most precious thing ever.” And if we can’t hear it, God is still saying it.

Maybe Simeon once heard that voice, and if he did he listened. He let God hold him and thereby believed in the promises of God. Simeon could have been an old, tired and bitter man, but instead he was a hopeful and anticipating individual who was able to leave the world in peace. We will know peace when we are in the hands of God and discover that we are of infinite worth in those loving hands. And who knows, maybe one day, like Simeon, we will get to hold our God in our hands.

With hope and joy,
Garrett

True Love

But Ruth said, “Don't beg me to leave you or to stop following you. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  And where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me terribly if I do not keep this promise: Not even death will separate us.” – Ruth 1: 16-17 (NCV)

 

What kind of love do you see in the verse above?  Have you ever felt so strongly about someone other than yourself?  Have you ever considered that this might be how God feels about you?  How does having such love for a person make your life worth the living?

 

The following story was e-mailed to me:

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his

80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.  He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.  He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?”

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, “She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.”

 

Nothing can stop true love!  That means nothing can stop God from loving you.  Our lives become all the more worth living when true love is a part of them.  Not the true love of romance novels, but the true love that accepts all that is and loves anyway.  Pray today that you are blessed enough to give such love.

With hope and joy,

Garrett

November Newsletter - Being Loved

By this time next month I will be a father.  I have ceased attempting to understand what fatherhood means and what parenthood is, I do not know and I will find out soon enough.  There are so many aspects of being a parent that I am bound to mess up, not understand even after the baby comes, and wonder if I am doing right.  No parent told me that he/she was anything but scared the first night the baby was at home.  No parent, who is at all honest, believes mistakes have not been made.  No parent claims to have been ready for all of what was going to happen.

 

In the midst of all the uncertainties surrounding parenthood there is one thing that is certain.  There is one thing, which while I cannot yet understand, I know will happen.  In story after story of parenthood that has been shared with me no one felt they could underestimate the love that overwhelmed them at the moment they held their child.  I have heard some proclaim, “I never knew I could love that much.”  “My heart started overflowing.”  “I still cannot believe how my whole body and mind became love when I held my child for the first time, here was my child, in my arms.”

 

I eagerly await my turn to enter into the pantheon of love that is known as parenthood.  For all of that which is unknown, this singular known element of becoming a father is worth every second of worry.  Holding that baby boy will open me to a whole new understanding of God’s love.  When my whole being becomes love for someone brand new, I hope I have the strength of faith to remember that God’s whole being is love pouring upon my baby at that moment too.  I hope I remember that when I am crying tears of joy, God is also crying tears of joy.  I hope I consider that as much as I feel love more than ever before, God still loves more!  And in the moment of clarity may faith grant me the understanding to recognize how much God loves each of us!

 

God already loves my baby more than I will ever be able to love him.  Think about that, God loves more than we can understand.  When we are so overwhelmed with love our lives change, are hearts melt, are tears become joyous, smiles cannot be wiped from our faces, and we spread joy wherever we go, God still loves more.  If you have felt the love for someone else that I am describing, if you have felt a love so overwhelming you love just thinking about it, know this, that is the way God loves you and more.

 

So many of us go about our lives not celebrating the way we could.  We could be celebrating life in each moment no matter how bad it is, because in each moment God holds us like a parent holds a brand new baby.  God holds you in his arms looking down at you smiling a smile bigger than life, his heart exploding with love grander than ever thought possible, tears streaming from his face as he considers what he created, if you are perfect to no one else in the world you are perfect to him, perfect in a way that ensures his love for you has no bounds.

 

This Thanksgiving, give thanks to God for this way that you are loved.  Try to see yourself as God sees you, the object of all of his love, the beloved, the child that makes him see the whole world as a different place, a place that is better because you are in it now.  When I hold my baby on Thanksgiving, I hope I will be thanking God for being his baby held tight in the blankets of love.

Riding the wave of the Holy Spirit,

Garrett