Sometimes, things you never saw coming derail your life plans. This derailment is exacerbated when you are living in that generation that’s the middle of the sandwich—in that generation that’s pulled between the aged parents and the kids. When that happens, you feel you aren’t running your life anymore, but it is running you. it’s kind of a numb experience and you just keep telling yourself that the life that’s running you is short and that the One in charge of your destiny is, in fact, still in charge; that there’s coming an eternal day when everything gets put right again—only this time without the potential of derailment, defilement or decay. There are a few lessons you can learn quickly in these times of life. This is merely reflection; not an exhaustive list of everything I need to know to deal with such a time. I don’t yet know that list. Here’s a baker’s dozen:
- Never put your trust in people. Always keep your emotional funding in the treasure chest in heaven (Luke 12:33,34).
- Don’t feel guilty if there’s ever an hour when you can walk around in an antique store or do whatever it is that distracts you for a minute; whatever brings peace. It’s worth it for the renewal—for what it enables you to do for others (Col. 3:15).
- Keep trying to do the things that have encouraged you all of your life. If they encouraged you before, they have some power now, even though it doesn’t feel like it (Psalm 23:4).
- Never stop looking for those people who are in more dire circumstances than you are. They are everywhere, far and near. (And take them a casserole if they are nearby.) [Deut. 15:11].
- Don’t forget that anything is possible with the God who is your Father. His infinite power to change things and His infinite love for you are the chemistry of hope (Mark 14:36).
- Set a repeating prayer alarm and be getting to the throne all day every day. Prayers do not have to be long to be effective. Beg his people to pray, too. Never be embarrassed to ask for prayers from the faithful (Luke 11:8-10).
- Find a few good sisters. Just a few encouragers to whom you can bare your soul are invaluable. Pick women who genuinely care about the important things in life—God, heaven and the people you love so much (1 Thess. 5:11).
- Don’t stop self-examining. Always be humble and know that personal sin is always going to be part of this life’s troubles. But, if you’re faithful, don’t let anyone convince you that God’s not hearing and answering, just because you make mistakes along the way (1 Cor. 10:12).
- Stay in the Word. This should be #1, actually (Heb. 4:12).
- Stay with God’s people. This should be #2 (Rom. 14:19).
- As you’re staying with God’s people, don’t be shocked when people of the world act like people of the world. Don’t let those who have never been His or those who have walked away make you bitter. Realize the power of the devil. But be sure to remember the devil’s place on the power spectrum. Your Father’s power is infinite. The devil’s power has limits (1 John 4:4).
- Try not to dwell on the things over which you have no control, no matter their painful nature. God can still control anything and in any way He chooses. Control your relationship with Him above all. He has given you that control. It’s called free moral agency and it is so valuable to you in the day of trouble (1 Peter 5:7).
- Don’t ever fail to praise Him. Your temptation may be to forget the blessings—the sustenance, the support system, your salvation—in the times of despair. Ask Him to help you never to forget the numberless blessings that have never stopped coming your way (Col. 3:2).
This may not be helpful to a single person except me. But thinking through this list makes me more okay with what I have to do today. When I pillow my head tonight, I will be one day nearer to the throne; one day nearer the ultimate eternal embrace of the Savior. That “end game” makes all the difference. How do people do hard things without the throne clearly in the faith’s-eye-view?
It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I woke up pretty early on Saturday morning, and ELVES (full-sized elves!) were already outside my kitchen window and they had twinkly lights and wreaths and a giant Santa snow-globe, already in full motion beside my driveway. How do elves know these things?!…I mean that I had extra little people frequently visiting this fall…with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads and a mammy that’s got cobwebs dancing in hers. Those elves knew that I had more visiting kids and chaos and less serenity and sanity than ever in my lifetime! And so there they were…James and Darren and Mandie and Hunter and the North Pole remote team, too…Molly and Jennifer and Brad and Jessica. (And maybe there were more. I mean who can accurately assess something so magical as the North Pole’s outreach mission?!)
Obviously, the afternoon did NOT hold enough hours to clean up all the messes I needed to remedy. I left that worship service last night as fast as I could when the last “amen” was said and raced home to cook my nuggets, pour my eggnog, pack more ice on the cokes and make the cider. I rushed in the kitchen door and started (I mean a big time jump!) to find PEOPLE in there just humming right along…there was my sister, Celine, taking the nuggets out of the oven. The aroma of the cider was already filling the house. The cokes were covered. Scotty, her husband, said “We can’t find the eggnog”….Where’s the trash bin?”…”Which door should I use to refill this cooler?”…”Where’s the extra ice?” And all of this, after he’d preached all day and filled all kinds of needs for many
We all knew it was coming and we all know it is only the beginning. But we know that God still has His people in His bundle (1 Samuel 25:29) of life. Faithful elders in one of our American towns are under public attack for withdrawing fellowship from a member who has divorced her husband and entered a very public lesbian relationship. 
True persecution of godly men and their families has ensued as a result of their commitment to following the Scriptures. I would ask each woman who reads to pray fervently for the church right now; especially for her elders and their families. This is the quickly emerging and fiery persecution that the people of God are facing in a country in which religious liberties are at stake. This one thing is sure: Our citizenship in heaven is secure. Romans 8:28 is happening this week. Things will work out for the ultimate benefit of His people even if that benefit is the ultimate rest around the throne. There IS a way of escape for godly people who are determined to follow the directives of the Holy Spirit given in Scripture, even if we find that way to be fraught with peril and even if the escape route guides us more quickly to death and victory (1 Corinthians 10:13). Let’s be prayerful for the men of God who are privileged to partake in a significant way right now in the sufferings of our Lord (2 Timothy 1:8). As mothers and grandmothers, let’s be doubly vigilant to prepare our children for life in the new America in which there will be fewer and fewer lukewarm members of the body. Those who commit to being in the body will be signing up for persecution like we’ve never faced in this country. Our kids have hard days ahead of them.
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
I’m currently at a studio in East Tennessee hammering out a total of ten lessons for this year’s virtual Polishing the Pulpit. I want to be able to do it without masking up in between the sessions if I need to go and purchase a drink. I wish I could do it in the beautiful setting of the Smoky Mountains like we do each year. I’d love to hear some singing in between the speaking times. I wish there were lots of classes I could attend between the speeches I’m making. I wish these speeches were not so back-to-back-to back. Most of all, though, I’m wishing for you…for the faces, hugs, smiles, laughter, in-person prayers, and sit-down conversations of sister in Christ. It’s hard to keep on going without these big boosts that all of us need when we get TOGETHER. 
“Together” is a huge encompassing blessing, the significance of which has eluded us in times of fellowship. The fellowship famine has placed a flashing neon sign in my heart: “This girl needs sisters!” Pray with me that it will not be long till we can go to worship and hug each other. Pray that it won’t be long till our children can all have classes and we can pass out snacks and they can stand in line for their sermon sheet prizes. Pray that we can pass communion and a basket for our offerings. Pray that we can shake hands and hold hands and chat up-close-and-personal all over our buildings. Pray that we can sit down in quiet places, grab each others’ hands and bow our heads and together talk over our challenges with God. Pray that soon we can have sisters in our homes for devotionals and that two of us can look at the same Bible or commentary as we together try to figure out a passage’s meaning. Pray, pray, pray. Email, Zoom, virtual conventions and drive-by parades have been fun, but they do not suffice for togetherness. Pray!
Yesterday, my one remaining fall ladies day was turned into a Zoom meeting. I can’t even tell you the mental grasping that I did at that moment for some simile of normalcy. Pray that one day soon, we’ll be planning, persevering, and praising hand-in-hand. We are better when we are together. Physical synergy is a real thing. 
Sometimes things happen to you that you just can’t write about in a blog post. You want to, though. They are events that make you laugh harder than you’ve laughed in a long time. They are the kind of bizarre things that you just can’t make up. But then, you really can’t write about them. They’d embarrass someone. They might even impede the gospel’s progression. They might close a door that otherwise could be at least a little ajar for the good news in some life. One of those things happened to me recently and I can promise you that the sister I was with (if she’s reading) is reminded of a search for a lost phone on a very warm Sunday afternoon and she is laughing at the memory. 
Although there have been times in my life when I thought I was overdoing the “togetherness” with Christians, I’ve learned in 2020 that being “too” busy with such events is far better than this fellowship famine. Certainly one ingredient that I’m short on during this difficult season, is laughter with my family in Him.