What's your 700?

I was so tired, I could hardly wait to get to bed.  But I was minutes away from reaching a long-sought goal. So I pushed the needle with its long tail of yarn once again into the quilt, tied and cut it, pushed it again, and again. Finally, I  finished my 700^th baby quilt to donate to a local hospital for a baby from a family in need.  For the last five and a half years I have sewn these blankets  from materials found at thrift stores, yard sales, and store clearance bins. I originally thought I’d stop at 10, 50, then 100, then 500...while my family chuckled, “You’re not done yet.”  After 700, I’m ready for the break.

I started this project after learning that our hospital served some families so impoverished that they  had little to nothing to take their babies home in.  For some, “home” was a car, shelter, or relative or friend’s crowded house. In previous years, I’d randomly donated home-sewn baby blankets to our local pro-life clinic.  But this was a bigger need.  Plus, I got an elbow in the ribs from Galatians 2:10, about remembering the poor. Paul (author of that book) said he was eager to do that as part of his ministry.

'IN THE WAY'-OBEDIENCE
Like the patches in my quilts, God has a way of putting things together. I thought recently of the account in Genesis 24 about Abraham’s servant traveling to the ancestral land to find an appropriate bride for Abraham’s son Isaac. They certainly did “courtship” differently back then! But I have long appreciated the humble servant’s reaction when he found the young woman who seemed to be “just right.”  He didn’t pump his fist or call a town hall. He said, “I being in the way the Lord led me” (Genesis 24:27). In other words, as he committed himself to "the way" of a grueling faith trip and sought to keep a sensitive heart,  God brought it about.

As for the blankets, I constantly experienced God “leading” me. Yes, I opened my wallet to buy discounted “essentials.” At one estate sale I came across a huge roll of batting—almost as big as me.  As I wobbled down the street to my car with it, I wondered if I would ever use it up.  I did, within a few months.   I was also blessed by many who gave me fabric or batting, including a woman dying of cancer whose fabric-scraps gifting resulted in fifteen blankets.  One older lady and her daughter brought by a big box of serger cone thread in various colors. I rigged up a way to use it on my sewing machine.

A NUMBER FOR 'IT'S TIME'
Why 700? As other things needing time and emotional energy have come into my life, I sensed the need to fix a “goal.”  The number “7” is considered a perfect number in the Bible. God created in six days and rested on the seventh.  We still have a seven-day calendar.  He had Noah bring seven pairs of “clean” animals into the ark (just duos of all the rest).  Joshua marched about Jericho seven times before the walls fell.  Daniel and Revelation are full of prophetic sevens.

Our world bleeds with heart-breaking hurts, particularly for women, children and infants. I honor those who are there to help the helpless in my community and across the nation, and across the oceans at the front lines of disaster and war.  For a season, I felt God leading me to help my community’s poor,  even through such a simple thing as a baby blanket.

Care to share what God has called you to do?  I’d welcome feedback in the comments section.

Timely thoughts....

I first wore this watch as a freshly-minted high school graduate, having moved up from cheap watches to my first “dress watch,” a gift from my parents. I remember going to the jewelry store with my dad so he could be sure it was exactly what I wanted. That was more than fifty years ago, and when it recently stopped working, we took it to the only man in our area who works on fine watches like this.  He’s semi-retired, working out of his home, but takes to his workbench decades of expertise. We’re thankful for him!

So why talk about an old watch when Christmas is just around the corner?  Maybe because the phrase “the time came” in the Christmas story made me think twice:

While they [Joseph and Mary] were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. (Luke 2:6-7a)

When “the time came” for our daughter to have her first baby, my husband could hardly wait for the news of the birth. That call came just a day before the official “due date” (how often had I said, “Babies come when they want, not when they’re due”?).  Of course, we hurried across the state (a half-day trip) to meet little Eleanor. When I walked into the bright, welcoming “birthing suite” where she was born, I couldn’t help but think about how multiple millions of women have experienced the birth process in far less sterile and welcoming circumstances. Mary was one. I can only imagine Mary’s mother’s angst as her very pregnant daughter climbed on a lumbering donkey to make an arduous trip to Bethlehem with Joseph for the capricious “census” the Romans had ordered up. That wasn’t Mamma’s Plan A, but it was God’s Plan Perfect.

In a filthy stable, far from home, Jesus was born, and all the predictions about a Messiah’s birth collided with celestial perfection. Born of a virgin. In Bethlehem. Announced by an ecstatic praise performance by untold numbers of angels. All in God’s right timing, to a discouraged nation suffocating under Roman oppression—a pagan culture that unwittingly provided the roads and common language to help spread the message Jesus would bring. 

Jesus’ birth wasn’t the only “perfect timing” of God’s plan for us. Fast-forward three decades or so to Jesus, gathering His disciples around Him for hard teachings about the end of “time” as we know it. They were ready for the world’s mess to be cleaned up and Jesus to reign. (Things haven’t changed much!)  But He had a different message, telling them to be like servants on the alert for their master’s unexpected return home:

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Luke 12:40)

That had to be a “scratch-your-head” comment. He stood or sat before them, delivering this strange message about a “coming back.”

Increasingly, that’s what I think about at Christmas—not the manger-infant, but the mighty, invincible God who says He will return to this planet for a final judging and reward time that will blow our minds apart.  A new heavens and a new earth. New purpose, new roles, new relationships. Purity restored.

In the meantime, I wind my repaired watch every morning, to keep the day's seconds and minutes ticking along.  I try to remember: Christ's second coming could be today. Am I ready?  "Be patient and stand firm," James, the Lord's earthly brother, wrote, "because the Lord's coming is near" (James 3:9). Nearer now, most certainly, than when he wrote!

Grin & share it!

Here’s my second grandson, Zion, doing a “test drive” on a baby-safe rocking horse my husband found at a yard sale.  I’d say he liked it. Now nine months old, he’s a jug of joy. Maybe those smiles are extra special because during the first four months of his life, until his first cleft lip surgery, that little mouth had a split up through his nose and he had to endure pre-op treatments of mouth-molding devices and taping.  Often when I hold him, if I smile at him, he brightens up and returns a 100-watt grin.  Of course, like any baby, he has his fussy times. But the pure joy we sense in his smiles certainly overcompensates for the times we get the “baby grumps.”

“Joy” is one of those misunderstood virtues of the Christian life.  It’s not the shallow “happy-all-the-time” personality.  It’s the deep sense of being settled in the love of God, knowing nothing that happens is outside His wisdom and permission.  Joy faces the worst—in trust.  Jesus “for the joy set before him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).  James wrote, “Consider it pure joy...whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3). With chains dangling off his wrists, Paul wrote the Christians at Philippi: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:5—the entire letter, in fact, has 15 uses of “joy” or “rejoice”).

Someone once tried to define “joy” with an acrostic of its English letters, of loving “Jesus, Others, Yourself.” I once bristled at that, thinking that loving “yourself” was quite ego-centric and didn’t belong in the mix.  Now I realize that J.O.Y. is a triangle, with all points reaching to each other. When we love Jesus, we love ourselves (meaning have a healthy view of we are in Christ).  When we love ourselves, we reach out and love others. Back again, loving others reveals our love for Christ.  I recall having someone ask me, “Why is so-and-so unfriendly at church? They never smile or talk to me.”  Knowing a bit of the background, I tried to explain that this person was on the journey of loving others and loving God, and needing some life skills in reaching out to strangers.  Hey, haven’t most of us been on that journey? 

That’s where smiling babies like Zion and his toddler brother Josiah have a built-in advantage.  In those times when the joy-factor peaks in their little lives, we can enjoy the moment with them.  Such joy is contagious, let this grandma assure you! You should see ME grin when I hear a little two-year-old shout in glee, “Nana!” Yes, I'm enjoying the "ride" of investing in this next generation.

Heaven: The Greatest Home Makeover--Day 17

THE NURSERY
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”—Matthew 19:14

It’s hard to walk among cemetery grave markers for babies and small children. Parents dream big with each pregnancy and birth. When a little life is cut short, we have many questions. Why did this little one have to die? Why is the pain so deep? Will I recognize them in heaven? Some people wonder if babies and children become little angels in heaven, something like the chunky, rose-cheeked “cherubs” on Valentine’s Day cards. But that’s not a teaching of the Bible. Yes, God created angels, but for special sacred jobs in heaven. Babies are not pre-angels.

But God does use little ones to draw us to greater awe of His creative power. You’ve probably watched a little hand curl around your finger, and marveled how this life started mere months earlier as an egg and sperm. Children teach us about our weaknesses and need for God’s help as we struggle to care for them and train them.

Make no mistake: God loves children in a very special way. We see that in how Jesus reacted with children. One of the most poignant scenes of His earthly ministry involved the common people bringing their children to Him for blessing. Jesus’ disciples tried to stop the crush of parents, but Jesus urged them not to interfere. “Let the little children come to me,” He said. Stop and think about that. He wanted them to come! These weren’t influential people or religious leaders—just children. Yet about them, He added, “Do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matt. 9:14). Envision Jesus nuzzling a newborn and touching its cheek to encourage a smile. Stroking the downy head of an older baby, transfixed by His eyes. Hugging a toddler to His chest as He spoke quietly of His Father’s love. Scooping older siblings to His side, maybe laughing with them.

Earlier, His disciples had asked who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. No doubt they hoped to know who was His favorite follower. Instead, he called a little child out of the crowd. “Unless you change and become like little children,” He said, “you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). After commending child-like faith, He revealed something else: “For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matt. 18:11). Children are so special to God that they have assigned angels!

This side of heaven, we’ll never understand fully why children die. Some people worry that babies and children, who never got a chance to understand truths of salvation, will be left out of heaven. But the Bible says God is merciful and knows those who are His (2 Tim. 1:19). The Judge of all the earth will do right (Gen. 18:25). Like a shepherd who went to great pains to find his lost sheep, Jesus said God the Father “is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” (Matt. 18:14). So, expect to see the children, including those who died before birth. Will they “grow up” in heaven? The Bible is silent on that, but we’re assured that in heaven we’ll recognize one another.

Ely Swanson, a mechanic and inventor, believed that. His son Norm says his father often told this story as an encouragement about heaven. The second of seven children, Ely was in his seventies when his sister Lillian, a retired missionary, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. A few weeks before she died, Ely had a vivid dream. In recounting the dream to family members, Ely said he couldn’t find words to describe what he saw, and thought it must have been heaven. Some sort of being guided him around this place where he saw four family members, all appearing to be in their early twenties. These included his godly father and mother, plus his brother Philip. Philip had rejected his Christian upbringing from an early age and lived a difficult life, but became a Christian at a Billy Graham crusade shortly before his death. Ely also thought he saw his sister Lillian, but because Lillian had not yet died, he was confused and asked why she was here. The guide in his dream responded, “That is not Lillian. It’s Marie.” Ely had forgotten his parents had a baby girl, Marie, who lived only four hours.

A life too short for heaven? Not at all. The song is right. Jesus loves the little children….they are precious in His sight.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the assurance that Heaven will include the little ones who died so young. Amen.