THE BLESSING APRON

 After my husband's death, a friend asked for one of his dress shirts for a special project. He had many nice shirts that he wore to church or formal occasions, or to substitute teach. In the public school classroom, his shirt-and-tie attire wordlessly communicated higher expectations for the students. (And yes, after decades of dealing with classroom behavior, he was a pro about class control.)

My friend's project? Transforming a nice collared shirt into a memory apron for me. The day she delivered it, I cried as I pulled it on. For the sweet memories of my late husband associated with that garment. And for her loving work in giving it a new role.

I hope I'm not stretching this love-gift too much by associating it with another apron involved in a love-gift. Instead of what we consider an “apron,” it was a First Century towel that Jesus tied around Himself to lovingly wash His disciples' feet before their last supper together before His crucifixion. Though this meal was described in all the Gospels, only John included the foot-washing detail.

Having visited a Third-World country, I “get it” about dirty feet. In Bible times, the street dirt contained human and animal waste, soiling their feet and primitive sandals. Hygiene and “good manners” mandated removing one's sandals near the door and washing feet.

Somehow, that nicety wasn't observed when the disciples secured someone's large second-story room for their observance of the Passover meal. Maybe they thought a servant would show up and do it. They never imagined Jesus doing such a dirty job. None of them “stepped to the plate” (to borrow a baseball saying for this dining room) for this humble duty. Instead, they focused on their plates of food as they lay on their sides at the low table, one pair of filthy feet after another fanning out behind them.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:3-5)

My old aprons bear the stains of many meals I prepared for my family or delivered to share with those in grief or need. Others blessed me that way, like the year I royally broke my ankle and was recliner-bound for weeks. A dear older friend symbolically “washed my feet” by bringing delicious meals while I was laid up. Years later my husband and I still talked about that, especially her famed roast beef sandwiches with dipping broth.

That amazing, generous cook was my apron-friend's late mother. Mom to daughter, daughter to me....what a legacy of grace and giving. What a practical reminder of Jesus: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

COLD PEOPLE

The neighbor boys (grade- and middle-school-age) created these “extra residents” for their front yard after our first significant snowfall. How cool, I thought, then I realized that “cool” could have several meanings: “entertaining,” “temperature-challenged” or “vulnerable to heat.” This pun also came to mind (forgive me!): “God's Frozen People” (from “God's Chosen People,” of course meaning the nation of Israel back to Bible times). Well, these neighborhood “frozen people” didn't last more than a couple days as temperatures warmed up. But they got me thinking about how God has been teaching me to “chill”--the lingo for “accept, don't get all bothered over”--regarding things in life that don't go as I want.

For many years I've gone through a spiritual learning curve of dealing with unhappy, angry people. My natural tendency is to try to “fix” things. But these situations were way beyond me. Then the Lord showed me that the answer wasn't in my trying to “fix” them, but in my seeking His Face, and behaving in ways that He wanted me to behave. His way was the true chill.

One great text advocating “chill” is in Paul's letter to the Ephesian church. This church, located in today's Turkey, was a commercial seaport with a primary religion devoted to the goddess Diana. This letter got down to specifics of how a Christ-follower should pull away from society's idols and live out the attributes of Christ. In a nutshell, those in Ephesians (4:25-5:2) include:

*Truth-speaking

*Controlling anger

*Giving instead of stealing

*Wholesome speech that builds others up

*Being on guard against grieving God's Holy Spirit

*Forsaking negative emotions (bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander)

*Practicing kindness and compassion

Probably like me, you've known folks whose lives are characterized by the negatives of that list. Yet whenever I read this passage, I am compelled to ask, Which behaviors characterize me? Where can God do some remodeling of my spirit?

Unlike the neighbors' snowmen, we're not vulnerable to the next day's rain or temperature rise. And unlike packed snow created as “art,” we're living, changing, growing creations of the Heavenly Father. Sometimes in life we need to “chill”--as in forsake anger or resentment—but in so doing seek the Sun-shine of the Savior, who is steadily and lovingly shaping us into real, warm-blooded vessels of His love and peace. Chosen people, not Frozen People.

LAVISH!

My hardy front door flowers--in snow

Whew! We have gotten past Kommercial Kwis-mas with all its alluring advertisements to give the world's very most and very best. The latest and the most lavish. A year ago, just before Christmas, I shook my head in disbelief at the full-page newspaper advertisements for a woman's diamond pendant necklace. Of course, the picture showed just her petite chin and smiling lips, and the masculine hands carefully draping the jewelry around her neck. I wondered how many diamond necklaces the company had to sell to pay for that ad and the models' fees. Hmm, they didn't call me to be the photo model for this ad. But then, jewelry hasn't really been my “thing.” And my chin is no longer model-worthy.

But I like that word—lavish. Our English word comes from the French lavasse or lavache, meaning “a torrent or rain, deluge.” Or it may derive from Italian, just across France's border, where lava also means “a torrent or stream” from the Latin lavare, “to wash.” If you're thinking about the Italian volcano Mt. Vesuvius, you're on the right track.

On a more ordinary level, in late summer and fall, a lavish perennial blossom clump sprouts in the barrel planter by my front door. Well, “lavish” for my poor gardening skills. But when new blooms come up each spring from the soil where last year's flowers die, I am reminded that God delights in such displays of creation.

I started to do some thinking about our English word “lavish.” We connect it with profusion, like “lavish spending” or “lavish giving.” (Cue up the holiday mall music.) It also might ring a bell of the uncontrolled spending (“lavish living”) of the Prodigal Son. Or of his father's over-the-top celebration (a party complete with the fatted calf) for his son's return. And, below that story line, an illustration of God's lavish love for us, His wayward sons and daughters.

But there's another Biblical word about “above and beyond” that recently got my attention. It's the Greek perisseuo, which means “over and beyond.” Think: Jesus' miracles of feeding the multitudes in Luke 9 and John 12. The crumbs of bread and bits of fish fed thousands, and when the leftovers were collected, they amounted to a miraculous heap. The feeding was a perisseuo—over-and-beyond—miracle of God's care and provision.

How great and deep is the Father's love toward us? We cannot measure it. All our materialism and gifting are a pittance in comparison to all God does to show His love for us.

Take a minute to sing along with this contemporary praise song by Stuart Townend (b. 1963) about God's lavish love:

HowDeep the Father’s Love For Us - Lyrics, Hymn Meaning and Story(godtube.com)

UNDRINKABLE

My front-loading clothes washer recently reminded me of a Gospel presentation that happened so long ago in my life that I can't even remember my age at that time. But I do recall its “magic” with chemicals. The traveling evangelist (er, chemist) presented a glass of black water. (No, it wasn't extra-strong coffee!) He explained that the black water illustrated our sinful hearts. Then he added some red liquid (representing the blood of Christ) and—magic!--the water turned clear again.*

Back to the washer. The bottom front of mine has a little trap door.Without bothering to read the owner's manual, I decided to do some experimenting. Behind it was a screw-out filter and a clamped nozzle. The filter held gooey gunk and a pieced earring (not mine, maybe from someone whom I helped by doing their laundry). The nozzle dribbled disgusting black liquid (what you see in the drinking glass). When I got around to reading the owner's manual, I learned the little mouse-size door was the guardhouse for the "Drain Pump Filter." It's to keep excess lint and foreign objects (buttons, keys, rings) from damaging the pump.

What? Are you guessing at my analogy? Maybe that of allowing the Holy Spirit and scriptures to “filter” our sinful or even edgy choices that impair us spiritually? The Bible put it this way: “Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

You probably see where I am headed with this. Left without spiritual filters, my life would easily clog up with grudges, bitterness and other things that don't befit a follower of Jesus. But through scripture reading and application, prayer with a tender heart, and sometimes through difficult life events, God helps me “filter out” the attitudes and actions that don't belong in my life.

* Don't try this at home: I think bleach is involved. Here's a You-Tube about the illustration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z_SMrnEiaI)