MY BLOG POSTS

We all have goals. For those of you still in school, it may be good grades, a date with that special guy/girl, acceptance to a certain college. For the rest of us, it may be getting a raise, having a family, going back to school.

None of these goals, in themselves, is bad.

But if they are “the” goal, then they’re not just bad.

They’re crap.

And I mean that in the most literal, biblical sense.

Check out these verses from Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

“The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.” (Phil. 3:7-8, The Message)

Paul is saying that nothing – no science project, no research paper, no cute guy, no job, no diploma – nothing on earth compares to knowing Christ Jesus. Then Paul says that everything else he used to think was so important (and he had quite the list of accomplishments), was as insignificant as dog dung (the actual Greek word for “dog dung” is even more graphic than “crap”! Paul was serious about this topic.)

And yet, we spend most of our energy on the crap! We stress over it, gossip about it, spend time and money and brain cells on it. We are rolling around in poop, covering ourselves in it everyday. Parents, we push our kids into the poop. Teens, you let the media and your friends dump bucket loads of poop on your heads everyday.

Let’s get out of the waste. Let’s clean up, leave that crap behind, and seek Christ Jesus. Let’s do what we were created to do. Let’s fully embrace Christ and experience the pure joy of being embraced by Him.

My oldest daughter graduates from high school on Friday. This event has been looming in my my mind all year. It’ll hit at strange times, making me tear up, worry, and rejoice. It’s momentous, Graduation. It is both an ending and a beginning, a time to rejoice and a  time to mourn.

As a mom, graduation marks the end of an era. I have been, quite literally, very close to my kids all their lives: I stayed at home until they went to school, and then I went to school with them, teaching at K-12 Christian schools, where my classroom was on the same campus as theirs. It’s an end of an era for my kids, too – all three have been at the same schools all their lives, through all our moves. My younger two don’t know a world without Emma in it everyday.

That ends Friday. When Emma walks across the stage and receives her diploma, she steps out into the world – a world where I am not down the hall, where her siblings aren’t in her daily business. In August, she will be going away to college – 6 hours away. And, while I know she is a great kid and she is ready to leave the “nest”, I still grieve over that fact. I will miss her! We all will.

But then I think of something my mother-in-law used to say. Judy McGee was a godly woman who grieved the fact that all four of her kids lived far from her and her husband. Every time a visit came to an end, Judy would pull out her tissues and cry. She loved her family deeply. But then she’d remind us all, “One day, we’ll live together for eternity,” she’d say. “These momentary separations will seem like nothing compared to that.”

Judy is waiting for us there, experiencing the joy of that “forever togetherness” she always longed for. As I pull out my tissues and cry, preparing myself for this first high school graduation, knowing the other two will follow closely behind, I am reminded that all of this life is temporary. The moments – good and bad, painful and joyful – are fleeting. I am reminded to never lose focus on the eternal. I was created, not to live bound by time for however many years God gives me on this earth, but to live outside of time, to “graduate” to an eternity more amazing and fulfilling than I can possibly imagine.

Marriage.

Almost everyone has an opinion about this institution. Some think it’s antiquated; others treat it like a terminal illness. Romantics see it as a lovely ending, and cynics see it as a trap.

Countless studies are done each year, seeking to determine the right age, the right living conditions, the right personality types…treating marriage like a math problem that simply needs the right formula. And yet, despite all these studies and all these experts, the divorce rate keeps rising.

As my kids get older, and we start talking about their futures, I am tempted to just go with the “wisdom of the age” – finish college, get a job, date around, enjoy life before “settling” down. But the truth is – that advice is simply not working.

The fact is that God established marriage. It is a good thing. But good doesn’t mean easy, and I think that’s where our generation has gotten messed up. So much in our lives is disposable or has a limited shelf life. We are constantly “upgrading” our technology or jobs or cars…or spouses.

But God created marriage to reflect His covenant with us: He doesn’t leave us when we frustrate Him. He doesn’t walk away when the “honeymoon period” wears off. He doesn’t give us limited forgiveness. He loves us – extravagantly and unconditionally.

I don’t believe that waiting to marry or dating around or using computer-generated algorithms is the answer to the marriage dilemma. I believe the problem is that individuals enter marriage self-focused rather than God-focused. And when we are self-focused, relationships fail. Every time.

So the question of “are you ready to marry?” has far less to do with age or education or compatibility than it does with each person’s relationship with God. If you are considering dating and marriage, make sure your relationship with God is your top priority. Then look for someone with the same focus. Ask God to help you seek, to help you find, and to help you wait. His plans are best and His ways are sure.

We are weighed down – by expectations, by situations, by attitudes, by guilt, by life. It can get overwhelming, all those burdens. Sometimes I feel suffocated by them all. I know I’m supposed to “cast my cares” on Jesus. But how does one do that? 

I have been thinking through this lately, and I have come up
with some ideas.

First, I have realized that we have to define our burdens. I think there are two basic types, and each needs to be dealt with in a different way.

Burdens others place on us. These are burdens we didn’t choose, burdens dumped on us by sinful people or tragic circumstances. We deal with these by daily surrendering these burdens to Jesus – laying them down at his feet and asking Him to carry them for us.

Burdens we place on ourselves.  These are sins that we are hanging on to – anger and bitterness or guilt and shame. They are feelings we allow to weigh us down and keep us from walking in the Spirit and living the abundant life God has for us. We deal with these by seeking forgiveness – from God and then from others, if necessary. Then we accept God’s forgiveness, fully and gratefully.

So once we’ve done that, once we’ve laid our burdens at Jesus’ feet, once we have sought forgiveness…is that all? Well, yes and no. Yes, that’s all it takes. Jesus doesn’t make us earn forgiveness or work to be relieved of our burdens. He takes them freely.

But there is something we need to do – renew our minds. How much time do we spend thinking about how we’ve been burdened? I know I can spend countless hours thinking angrily about how others have hurt me. I can spend days worrying about circumstances that I have no control over. I don’t even know how much time I have spent justifying my sins. Far too much, that’s for sure! So, when I have laid my burdens at Jesus’ feet, I need to replace all that wrong thinking with right thinking. I need to meditate on God’s word, I need to pray, listen to praise music, anything that will remind me of who Jesus is and why He is far more worthy of my thoughts than my burdens are.

So if you are burdened – lay those burdens down! God isn’t asking you to carry them. If you feel like it’s impossible to lay them down, seek help from a godly man or woman in your life. There are people who can help you. You are not alone. You don’t have to live weighed down by your burdens. That is never what God intended for you.