Back Burner

My friend DH and I were talking about how often we “put things on the back burner”. We always have so many projects going at once, and we can’t pay equal attention to all of them. So a few things have to be moved to the back. Unfortunately, some things get left on the back burner so long that they get burned.

The problem with the back burner is that it gives us the illusion that we are still attending to it. We imagine that whatever we put back there is simmering slowly, and all we need to do is occasionally stir it and keep an eye on it. However, if we have too many things cooking at once, it is inevitable that one of them will be scorched.

Here are some things that I routinely leave on my back burner: Personal care, health, sleep, paper work, chores I dislike, people that annoy me, and anything I can’t reach easily. (This includes literal things like cleaning windows, ceiling fans, vents, and things on top shelves, as well as figurative things beyond my grasp like future goals and dreams.)

How do we prevent parts of our lives from getting burned? We have to routinely rotate our priorities. There are only a few spots upfront, and we have to intentionally move things from the back of our priority list to the front. This means that some of our favorite projects will need to take their turn on the back burner.

Empty Tank

As we were riding around with our son yesterday, we gave him some instructions on keeping the gas tank filled in his car. We told him, in general, not to let the gas tank go below ¼, just so he doesn’t run out of gas and get stranded somewhere. We also told him not to let it go below ½ tank in the winter so the fuel lines don’t freeze due to condensation.

This got me thinking of how often I function with my spiritual tank on empty. In general, I try to fill up daily. But when I get busy, I fail to notice my dwindling reserves.

When I’m facing difficult, wintry, stressful conditions, I tend to be emotionally exhausted. I push myself further and further, until I’m running on fumes. I have to remind myself that it’s even more important to keep my relationship with God on FULL during these harsh seasons.

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15:13 NLT)

Scaffolding

“The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan.” (from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers.)

Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to hold workers and materials during the construction of a tall building.

What a great analogy for our role in God’s purpose. Scaffolding allows the workers to get higher, yet it’s just temporary. Everyone knows it’s going to come down once the building is constructed.

Scaffolding gets stepped on. It’s treated roughly. Similarly, we can expect to be treated carelessly and contemptuously while we are supporting God’s purpose. As long as our focus is on enlarging God’s sphere of influence, we will not mind if our contributions are not acknowledged.

What if a worker started embellishing and decorating the scaffolding and calling it the Main Tower? That sounds silly, right? Yet that is what we do when we give more importance to our lives, our work, and our purposes rather than what God is constructing.

We tend to see our life’s work, whether it is parenting, teaching, running a business, healing, or whatever, as our legacy. We correlate our worth and significance to this work. However our contributions are just a temporary skeleton that allows God to transport resources in building His Kingdom.

Unclog My Heart

Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart” was one of my favorite songs in the late 1990’s. I’d like to write my version of that song and call it “Unclog my Heart”. Yeah…I know it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. It probably conjures up images of a clogged up toilet…but hear me out.

Sometimes my heart feels like it’s about to explode, not physically, but emotionally. We are all aware of the physical causes of clogged arteries. Yet, many of us ignore the spiritual and emotional plaque build-up in our hearts.

Over the years, pain, fear, resentment, anxiety, rejection, guilt, and disappointments have caused a stiffening of my soul, a rigidity that leads to inflexibility. I can see myself turning into a cantankerous, twisted, old woman.

Just as eating right and exercising can prevent atherosclerosis, proper spiritual practices can minimize soul-sclerosis. I have found a few things that help unclog my heart: I am careful about my mental environment. I try to remove myself from situations that are toxic. I’ve quit the habit of self-inflicted torment. Instead, I do my spiritual exercises. I go to a quiet place. I breathe. I pray that the hard plaque of my soul will be softened. I thank God for His blessings, His protection. I surrender my past and all my burdens. I read the Bible. I write. I invite the Holy Spirit to unclog my heart.

Notes to Myself

Every morning, I sit down with a cup of coffee and have quiet time. I read the Bible, then a devotional, maybe a Christian philosophy book; I pray, and I think. Ideas, words, and worries keep popping into my head. Mostly it’s just one or two words. Never a complete sentence. Most of the time they seem like random distractions. I’ve made a practice of jotting these down and resuming my quiet time.

I’m never sure if these words, ideas, etc. are from my own subconscious or from God. Yet, by writing them down, I release myself from focusing on them right then. After my quiet time, I tend to research and think about these ideas. I’ve learned to pay attention to recurring thoughts, even if they seem silly.

I’ve always thought of this note-taking as something I did to curtail wandering thoughts, similar to tying my hair back in a ponytail so that it doesn’t get in the way. Now, I’m starting to see that these notes have value.

Recently, I’ve used these notes to make some important decisions. I can sense that God can use my wandering thoughts to direct me. I pray over these notes. I ask God to take away anything irrelevant and to help me pursue only that which is from Him.

I need to start writing these little notes in something more permanent than little sticky notes and scrap papers. These notes have also helped me to recognize God’s hand in my life. They provide a visual representation of God’s involvement and His care over even the minor details of my life.

Summer Book Report

My favorite book that I read this summer is Hearing God by Dallas Willard. As with most of Willard’s books, it is best studied rather than read. I chewed and savored it slowly, making it last as long as I could. I got my copy from the local library. I will be buying a copy to keep for myself.

This book was previously published under the title: Search for Guidance. Willard draws inspiration from other Christian theologians and develops and expounds on their ideas. He brings these ideas to current readers in a relevant, thought-provoking form. Willard reminds me of a jeweler who shows us diamonds. He picks up a spiritual concept, holds it up to the light, and shows us the depth, clarity, and brilliance of each gem, until we too can appreciate the beauty as he does.

Why would we assume that if we talk to God, He wouldn’t talk back to us? As if God were like some stuck-up, popular kid in high school who ignores those who are not worthy of His attention! Of course God communicates with us. Sometimes we tune Him out. Sometimes we turn up the volume on everything else so we can drown Him out. Once we get used to living this way, we just can’t recognize God’s whisper amid the chaos.

There were so many great concepts in this book that I can’t give you just a synopsis. Here are some things I will take away from this book: There is nothing better than an intimate, conversational relationship with God. Hearing God involves communicating with God. God rarely gets in your face like an electronic billboard. Neither does He play ‘theological charades’ as Willard calls it. We recognize God’s voice through familiarity and intimacy, because we are attuned to Him and expect to hear from Him.

My Son's Birthday

Today is my son's 17th birthday. I am thankful for his life. I remember how nervous I was when I brought him home for the first time. I was afraid I might somehow break him. I used to marvel at how parents managed to keep their kids alive till they were grown. Everywhere I looked, I saw danger.

As my son has grown, I have matured as well. My role has changed from caregiver to prayer-giver. I have very little control over his daily choices. I now know that I can't keep him safe from danger, or evil. Daily, I surrender my son to God. I am just the foster parent that gets to enjoy him for a while. He belongs to God, the Father of all.

“My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind." (John 10:25-30 MSG)

I pray that the Holy Spirit will be with my son. May he recognize God. May he make good choices and stay under the protective power of God.
May he overcome evil, by doing good. (Rom. 12:21)