Category: standing on Holy ground

Only Man/Woman can Prove that God is Love

by Linda Russell, posted in A Holy Whack, Boldness in adversity, Do Something, Does god control?, For such a time as this, If not us, then who?, standing on Holy ground, the suffering need our care
I’m taking this out of storage!

We are currently in the midst of incredibly challenging times. This is a truth that some may only whisper, perhaps in the hopes that it will all fade away. However, the reality is that it won’t. So, in the face of this reality, how do we move forward with any hope for our children and grandchildren’s future?

I believe it must begin with God – and acknowledging the fact that many doubt he even cares. It conjures up an image of him sitting in his heaven, feeling rejected by humanity and giving up on the whole lot of us. All while smacking his head and rethinking that “free will” idea of his.

Archibald MacLeish, an American poet and writer, powerfully explains what God may have hoped for by refusing to control us, “Man depends on God for all things: God depends on man for one. Without man’s love, God does not exist as God…and love is the one thing no one, not even God himself, can command. It’s either a free gift, or it’s nothing. And it is most itself, most free, when it is offered in spite of suffering, of injustice, and of death.” 

Do MacLeish’s words resonate with you? They certainly do with me. But believe me, I tried to deny that truth for a long time as I continuously prayed for God to “fix” this broken world and the people in my life who made me miserable. It never worked. Even though I believed my suffering was created by other people that I desperately wanted to control. Can you relate?

Well, dear ones, take heart because this broken ground we stand on is holy ground, and we are called to stay put, no matter how hard it seems. We are called to stand on that hilltop and emulate the LOVE that is God. We are to boldly and without apology declare that God has not abandoned us but is in our midst, cheering us on for the sake of his kingdom.

But the love of God will not manifest if we merely sing his praises in church to get that “I showed up every Sunday” card punched. God isn’t interested in our praises. He longs for us to show up in the midst of the brokenness that surrounds us and love those who suffer. If that seems scary, it’s understandable.

Think of the Desert Monks who went off into the wilderness and lived in caves. They prayed A LOT for the brokenness of the world, and I’m sure God loved their prayers. But I prefer to focus on why he sent Jesus into the world. It surely was meant as a wake-up call for us to come out of hiding. Just sayin’.

Yes, Jesus also went into the desert to pray when things were tough, but he didn’t stay there!  He offered his prayers to God, accepted his fate, and came out swinging! Remember that whole table-tossing event?

I believe that’s what God is calling us to do now:  to do what we can to care for the most innocent, those without a voice, those who suffer. This is no time to fret or worry about the outcome; there’s too much at stake.

It will likely be challenging and perhaps dangerous, but as that ever-pressing question goes, “If not us, then who?”

Like my hero, Esther, who knew she was called to a fate that would likely end her life. And her response? “WOOHOO, I will go, and, oh well, if I die, I die!” Okay, she probably wasn’t that thrilled, but she was determined to fulfill her purpose, and that should be our response to God’s call for us.

Oh, you don’t believe God has spoken to you about that? This may be where self-critical thinking is required. Is it possible you’re not listening? Is it possible you’re spending too much time whining and complaining about how others are making your life miserable, and you’re just sitting and waiting for God to take care of that first?  Then you’ll consider moving beyond your own selfish longings in the comfort of your shallow existence? Sorry, I guess that was mean. But is it true?

I know it was true for me for longer than I care to admit. And here’s the sad reality of that: my being so angry and hateful toward those who hurt me over so many years was probably worse in some instances than the injustices of others toward me.

My own actions likely provoked some of that. Like the time I threw a bar stool at a wall to get my husband’s attention! Yeah, I did that, and it worked for a millisecond. But I’m not proud of it and never used it on a resume as an example of my creative leadership skills!

No, I was not innocent and denied my own sinful behavior towards them. Of course, there would never be healing in our relationships until I was able to admit that. I needed to seek and offer forgiveness before healing was possible. Not wait for someone else to take the first step.

Healing the wounds of the world must begin by first repairing our personal relationships. Because if I claim to love God but do not love my neighbor, I am a liar, a noisy, clanging symbol (1 John 4:20). Ouch.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Choices

by Linda Russell, posted in "Experiencing" God, Boasting, forgiveness, Life's Choices, promised land, standing on Holy ground

(Full disclosure – I stole this title from one of my favorite authors of kid’s books, Judith Viorst, titled, “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”, because, well, stealing is a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad choice. I hope this confession redeems me.)

We’re not talking about regrettable tattoos. Although, if you trusted a tattoo guy who never got past the third grade– well – you’re a bonehead! Let’s move on.

(originated from the movie, “We’re the Millers”)

We’re talking about serious, life-altering, fast-track-to-hell choices. If you can look me straight in the eye and deny you have ever made any decisions that tipped your halo sideways, I will be the first to recommend you for canonization to sainthood.

Now, know that I am not talking about the likes of the Catholic baby, later confirmed, Hitler, turned adult monster. There can’t be any doubt in most people’s minds that he did not pass GO and did not collect $200 on his way to hell. Right? Or at the very least still resides in Purgatory because his momma was the only one who may have wanted to pray him out of there but she died long before him.

Never mind him. If you think for one minute that Purgatory will be your saving grace. Well, that’s a major attitude fail on your part and God will side-eye you every time you knowingly sin and make no corrections.

It seems the idea of Purgatory came to life in the late 1100s. Thomas Aquinas and the Church quickly latched onto the concept. Aquinas likely had a personal stake in it because he was a no-good, very bad boy in his early days, and the Church quickly realized it was a money-maker for them. Pay to play. Cha-Ching. In my humble opinion, though, Purgatory makes no sense. Let me tell you why I believe that.

Several years ago, I went through a year-long training to work with hospice patients. The most profound learning for me came from reading books written by nurses and doctors who worked for years with hospice patients. First off, they believed, as I do, that anyone who sits with someone taking their last breaths should remove their sandals because they are standing on holy ground.

During the time I sat with dying patients I only witnessed two deaths. Both experiences were intense for me, and I came away with a much different belief about the idea of “cleansing” than what I was taught. I watched the process evolve to the final stage when they were given morphine. At that point, they seemed incapable of any type of movement or communication, let alone a deathbed confession.  

BTW, deathbed confessions raise all sorts of anger among the snobby self-righteous. Being certain that a sinner is destined for hell secretly makes the rest of us happy, knowing they didn’t get to live their whole life being a total ass and then receive an eleventh–hour Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card. NOT FAIR!  

Anyway, though I had not known anything about those two people prior to their deaths it was clear that something was happening within them that I was not privy to. There was restlessness – not a sense of peace – not until the end. In both of those situations, I had an opportunity to meet briefly with a family member. In each case, they shared the struggles their loved one had during their life.

Do these encounters prove anything? No. But, I came to believe, as I still do, that if cleansing is an actual thing, it probably happens in those moments just before we die. Who knows? As for me, I decided long ago to hedge my bets and make course corrections in the moment I know I did or said something mean or unkind to someone. And if you’re still waiting for an apology from 1985, call me and we’ll meet for lunch while I beg forgiveness.

When God says, “I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” He means it. But that doesn’t mean He won’t roll His eyes or admonish us when we screw up. It means we can go to Him, trusting that He will forgive and forget our stupidity. Those we have hurt may not be so gracious, but that doesn’t change anything. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want my indiscretions to cause God to do a head smack and question the wisdom of creating a doofus like me and then take some big ole God-sized eraser to my sorry self. Even if, for a split second, He thought about it. I mean, do I dare bring up the antics of Moses to take the pressure off myself? Sure. Why not?

I think Moses got a raw deal. If it was me, I would have bid those cranky Israelites adieu early on, “I’m done here. You guys are on your own. Good luck!”  Remember, Moses tried to worm his way out of God’s calling to lead them (Exodus 3:1-12:42). Maybe he later agreed because of a bigger-than-life ego. “When I get these guys to the Promised Land they will surely erect a statue of me and bow to me profusely! It will be epic!”

But, toward the end of those forty long years, he totally lost it. It wasn’t what he expected, and what with all the whining and complaining about everything and blaming it all on him, “No food – your fault! No water – you’re fault!” Their anger slammed up against his vision of them worshipping at his shrine. So, what does he do? What any self-righteous, self-serving guy would do. He begged God to “DO SOMETHING! I can’t deal with them anymore!” So God sent him back to wave a stick around in front of a rock, and then He (God – not Moses – a small detail Moses left out) would make water pour out from it.

Anywho, Moses thought that was a terrible idea. So, he devised a better plan when he remembered seeing this witch doctor work some magic on a Netflix special back in Egypt. Back when they had the Internet and modern conveniences and stuff!

 
https://tenor.com/view/witch-witchcraft-cauldron-cooking-recipe-gif-9268934714370341145

Everyone thought he was to blame for all their problems. Fine. He would show them how powerful and mighty he was. The poor guy probably still had abandonment issues from that whole baby-in-the-basket-in-the-river incident, so this seemed like a great plan to bolster his sense of self. Surely, they would bow down and worship him then.

So instead of waving the stick around in the air, he beat the crap out of the rock with it, and voila water poured out! The people went crazy! Yeah, it was all fun and games until God stepped in.

Personally, I think Moses possessed some HUGE nerve in his life. In a temporary lapse of judgment, he did some awful things, like, I don’t know, defying God and then getting all up in His business. And, lest we forget, in the end, his antics kept him from joining the Israelites in the Promised Land. That ship was sailing without him. (BTW, I don’t recommend you use this material in a Sunday School class. It’s all made up. You’ve been warned.)

So, now, put on your big boy/big girl pants, folks, and gird your loins cause it’s up to you how the rest of your life will play out and how your journey will end. I have had regrets in my life and will probably have more because that’s the foolish me who can’t seem to learn the first, second, or zillionth time! But God still forgives a zillion + one times, if that’s what it takes.

I would just recommend that you don’t stand before Him with unfinished business and a shit-pile of complaints from those you didn’t treat right along the way. Because, again, no one knows what that encounter will be like, and who wants to be handed a fireproof robe and a one-way ticket south, especially if your momma isn’t around to pray for you, you little schmuck? So clean up your mess and make better choices from now on! GEEEZO!

Surely You Were in This Place

by Linda Russell, posted in "Experiencing" God, AHA moments, fear, God in the ordinary, standing on Holy ground

In 2007, Joshua Bell, a world-renowned violinist, dressed in ordinary street clothes and played his 3.5 million dollar violin at the metro station in Washington D.C.

Watch the reaction…

That’s right. There was no reaction.

Then, he went back. This time announced.

Every time I watch these videos I wonder how often we think of God and how we miss him in our very midst; how often we expect Jesus to just drop down from heaven and announce himself:

I'll be back

Just to be disappointed.

Do we realize he has been here all along?

John Phillip Newell tells us that “at the heart of the physical is the spiritual. Hidden within the mundane is the Divine.”

It is in the ordinary that God reveals himself most profoundly: In our ordinary-everyday-get-up-go-to-work-feed-the-kids-walk-the-dog-clean-the-toilets-go-to-bed life.

We can miss the magnificence of God in a beautiful sunrise – blocked by a computer screen. We miss the profound in the lonely widow sitting next to us in church, or the tears of a neighbor estranged from his family.

We miss it because we are either waiting for more or hoping for less. Less would be easier because the thought of an “almighty, glorious, brilliant, magnificent” God – right here where “we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)” is just too much for us to believe.

But why?

It’s not like Jesus made some kind of grand entrance the first time. Right? I mean – come on – he showed up in a diaper and smelled a bit like a stable.

It's a Bird It's a plane
(I could not locate the source of this image)

If we are even willing to consider an encounter with God we’re certain it must be in a beyond super-human, out-of-body event. I actually think we prefer to believe that is the only time he exists. We want God to be predictable and keep his distance.

We want to dress up in our finest attitudes and go somewhere else, far away from our messiness, to experience him: Church, Wednesday night prayer meetings from 7:00 – 8:15, annual retreats in the mountains, revivals, and far away mission trips.

But, please God, don’t be snooping around my house when my husband comes home drunk at 1:00 am.

(https://www.clipartguide.com/_pages/0511-1010-0514-1451.html)

Don’t “show up” right in the middle of my nastiness; my jealous rants against my neighbor, or arguments with my teenage son. Also, you really shouldn’t sneak up on me when I’m watching my R-rated T.V. show!

So, we move through our ordinary life – constantly on guard – expending all our time and energy to keep God at a comfortable distance. And what do we get in return? An ordinary, mundane, routine, humdrum, tedious life.

I’ll just hang out here, thanks, waiting to die and get to heaven after barely surviving my ordinary, mundane, routine, humdrum, tedious life.

Delightful.

STOP IT!

We can spend a great deal of energy doing “things” in an effort to “get to” heaven where we will finally find happiness; finally, meet that ever-elusive God. And in the meantime? What about the ‘meantime” that we are wasting; time we will never get back, a time we could, as Martin Buber so beautifully said, “be stringing pearls for heaven”?

What do you think about when you read this scripture verse? Genesis 28:16-17, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.”

Bidden or not

And how about Luke 17:20-21, “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.’” (My emphasis)

Ewwww…that’s terrifying, huh?

But, when you refuse to open your heart to that reality, you have no idea what you are missing! For example, I volunteer for a charitable organization. We have a hotline and people call in with many needs: some are homeless, some are so desperate that when you talk to them it’s like looking at a 1,000-piece puzzle with 800 pieces missing. Which is what happened to me last week.

For obvious reasons I can’t give you any details, but I can tell you this, his situation was that 1,000-piece puzzle. When I gathered all the information I could from him and stepped back to review it, I was literally overwhelmed with what he was dealing with, and, of course, he was too. But, I prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide us and bring the people into his life who could help him.

Within three days, all – got that? – ALL the necessary resources he needed were in place! When I told him – we both cried. We were both overwhelmed by the majesty and beauty and tender care of a mighty God who is right in our midst, right in our messiness, right in our suffering, and yes, in the ordinary.

Later that night I sat in prayer and felt God telling me, like Moses, “Remove your sandals, Sister, you are standing on Holy ground!” How often do you think you have stood on Holy ground and didn’t realize it because you were too busy looking up or looking away?