Have you ever looked at a painting and were drawn in by the beauty of it?  You just couldn’t take your eyes off of it as the colors danced together, working in harmony with one another to create this beautiful image.  On the other hand, have you ever looked at a painting and scratched your head, wondering, “Huh?”  Or how about buildings?  Some are magnificent, with intricate details; a classic style that’s sure to enthrall all who look upon it.  Others make us wonder, “What was the architect thinking when they designed that thing?”  The world is filled with a host of differing artistic styles.  In art it can range from Van Gogh to Degas; Dali to Pollock.  There’s the Renaissance era, modern, post modern, contemporary, and so on, each with its own subcategories.  In architecture we can view European and American styles, Victorian, Revival, Modern, Postmodern, and everything that goes along with it.  This extends beyond just these two forms.  There are photos, movies, books, and so on.  No matter what we come across in life we’ll find some art we like, and some we just can’t understand.

            What about our own personal style?  Do you ever find yourself painting a room in your house, or working in your yard wondering, “Am I the only one who will like this?”  You hope that, because you chose it and like it, others will like it as well.  Yes, you’re doing it for yourself, and you’re the one who will get the most enjoyment out of it, but there’s still that nagging feeling in your mind, a hope that you’re not alone in your thinking.  My husband and I at the moment have taken on a fairly small project in our house.  We own a raised ranch (or bi-level if you talk with an architect), and the first thing you see as you enter the house is stairs.  When we moved into our house four years ago we were greeted with white open riser stairs.  Each tread had stenciled on it pink, blue and purple humming birds and butterflies.  These were coupled with a white banister and a purple railing.  Definitely not our style, but until now it wasn’t a project we were about to tackle.

            Now we’re ready.  We added risers, closing up the stairs, and painted them (gasp!)  black.  Yup, I sprayed the white banister gloss black, and then painted the stairs and the railing “black magic.”  For the risers I decided to add pops of color, so every other riser is black, but in between I have (in succession) “willow tree” (a green), “chocolate turtle” (yellowish), and “amaretto”  (a reddish orange?).  A stark difference from the white and purple the previous owners enjoyed (immensely, as purple can be found all over our house!).

            I didn’t like the style the previous owners enjoyed (seriously, we can tell that the family room at one time was painted hot pink before they covered it up quickly with white), and others may not like my style.  Though I’m doing it for my house alone, there’s still that, “I hope others will like this” thought floating through my head.

            Do you think that’s how God feels about us?  After all, we are His creation.  Each of us were made in His image, and He loves each and every one of us.  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them.” (Gen 1:27)  “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Gen 1:31a)  Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”  He created us all in His image, yet He created us all differently.  We are not clones who all look and act the same.  We have our own unique looks and personalities.

            And He loves us!  He didn’t make us for sport.  He didn’t give some of us disabilities, deformities, etc, so that we can go through life being mocked.  What He gave to us makes us special.  He loves us, and He wants us to love Him.  He also wants us to love each other, even if other people aren’t quite “our style.”  He wants us to look beyond what we see, and appreciate the fact that He created everything.  Every person who has walked on this earth, every living creature, all things in nature, God created them.  That person you’re at odds with?  His creation.  That man you want nothing to do with?  His creation.  In the Bible we are constantly reminded of the “Golden Rule,” “Love each other as I have loved you.” (Jn 15:12)  If He loves us, how can we not love each other, hard as it may be?

            Have you ever looked at a Bible’s concordance?  Look up the word, “Love.”  In the back of my Bible two full pages are dedicated to that word and its derivations.  And I know not every verse is listed.  Not only are we told to love God, but we’re told to love each other.  “As I have loved you.”  God is a painter, a sculptor, an architect.  He has his own style and uses it for each one of us.  Leviticus 19:18 tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and Matthew 5:44 tells us to love our enemies.  So weather we like someone or not, we need to love them.  Not for ourselves, but for God. 

            If we took great care to pick and choose the colors we want to paint with, or the plants we want to use in our yard, and so on, we would feel hurt if we were met with ridicule.  So too God is hurt when we treat His creation that way.  It doesn’t matter whether or not we like the way a person looks or acts.   What matters is that God put thought into each one and loves them.  And since God is perfect, everyone He makes is masterfully made.

Lord, I pray that you remind me always that each and every person I see in life was created by you.  I want to love them as you do, even when it’s hard.  Grant me the strength to look beyond my worldly views and truly see that all that you created is good; very good.  In your name I pray.

            Sunday mornings are spent in the “tutor room” at church because, though service is at 11, my husband has class at 9:30 and we have one working car which forces us all to go together.  This Sunday, to pass the time, my youngest son and I were playing games and reading books.  One game we played was Bible Memory Match.  It was cute!  We had to match up Moses with Moses, Noah with Noah, and so on.  If it was a character my son didn’t know he would ask about them.  One of the characters we came upon that we had to match was Hannah.  I’m enjoying reading the Bible and learning new things, meeting new people, but she’s not one that I had met in my journey as of yet, though the name was familiar to me.  I told him what her name was, and admitted that I wasn’t sure who exactly she was.  We finished the game, read a book, and tried to play checkers until he decided he no longer wanted to play.  Instead he chose to draw.  That left me with time to do my Bible reading.  I opened my Bible up, turned to 1 Samuel chapter 1, and started reading about the birth of Samuel.  How convenient that Samuel’s mother was none other than Hannah!  I thought that was pretty great since I was wondering about her and when I would get to meet her.

            Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah, and though she was unable to give him children while his other wife, Peninnah, was, he still loved her and treated her very well.  But still, she was barren and grieving.  She wanted so desperately to give Elkanah sons.  Because of this Scripture says, “In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.” (1 Sa 1:10)  She prayed that God grant her the gift of a son, and in return she would give him back to the Lord always as a priest.  God blessed her and she conceived Samuel.  When the time came, Hannah said, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him [to the priest Eli] and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.” (v.22)  She kept her word and brought Samuel to Eli, saying, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the Lord.  For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” (vv.27,28)

            “In bitterness” Hannah prayed for a son, and she promised to dedicate him to the Lord where he would remain all his days.  That takes great faith.  When all had been said and done, she rejoiced in the Lord, praising Him for answering her prayer.  Chapter 2 starts with her prayer to the Lord, and just that one section in itself shows so much about God.  In it she basically says that God has the power to build up and tear down, to give and take away.  It is HIS world, and He can do with it as He sees fit.  If you’re proud He humbles you, if you’re humble He lifts you up.  If you rely on your own strength He knocks you down, and if you’re weak He strengthens you.  “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.  The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” (vv. 6,7)  We are powerless without Him.  If He controls opposites, what then can we do?  Absolutely nothing.  We are His creation.  He formed us from the dust, and to dust we will one day return.  In between those times we need to realize that we cannot do anything without Him, no matter how strong we may think we are.  Those who have he can take away, and those who have not he can give.  It’s all at His discretion.  If we don’t rely on Him, if we push Him to the side or deny Him, then we truly will be without no matter how much we think we have now.

            Who gave you that job you have now, the one that’s providing for your family?  Who gave you the open door to head to school to “better yourself?”  Who really puts food on your table?  Who put those people in your lives to help shape your life?  Who sets into motion everything in this world to get you to where you are today, and to where He wants you to be?  There is only One who does that.  At times we may blame Him for the challenges that have been put in our lives, but then boast of ourselves when good comes.  Other times we may realize that all the good we have in our lives is from Him, but if we get knocked down we get down on ourselves.  God gives and takes away.  Builds up and tears down.  It’s as simple as that.  He has a plan for each and every one of our lives, and what He gives us He uses for the greater good.  We just need to rely on that.  No, he does not give us things that truly hurt us, but He’ll use it for something better.

            Did He give my son cancer?  No, but I know He’ll use that for good.  My son was too afraid to be “brave like the fire fighters” (one thing he’s wanted to be) the first three weeks of his diagnosis, but now that he’s survived it he still wants to be a fire fighter when he grows up.  He said the other day, “When I grow up I want to be ‘courageous.’”  If you’ve ever seen the movie Courageous, you know what I’m talking about (yes, it’s about police…another avenue he might explore).  I just see amazing things for him.  He has also, at the age of seven, asked Jesus into his heart.

            God can and will do anything.  We have to see that, and admit that we have no power.  All we can do is submit our lives to Him and let Him control it.  We’ll go through hardships, fear, pain, but we’ll come through it, and it will all be used to shape us into who He wants us to be; His original creation.  He will also give us great joy, peace and love.

I pray that we all acknowledge and remember that God is in control, and without Him there is nothing we can do.  In one instance He can build us up, but in another He can easily knock us back down.  May we remember that He loves us and will not hurt us.  We need to look to Him for all our need; bring all our joy, love, pain, and fear to Him.

            Today I am reminded of the movie, Ever After; in particular, the part where Danielle (played by Drew Barrymore) is dressed for the costume ball.  She stands there in the sea of people waiting to make her entrance, calming herself down before she steps into the unknown.  Danielle has made her decision to go to her prince, and her calming words are, “Breathe.  Just breathe.”  Things of course don’t go exactly the way she would have wanted them to go, as she’s “outed” by her stepmother for being a servant (seriously?  She made her that way!), and her prince lacks faith and “moxy” to look beyond all that and take her as his own.  Well, it all works out in the end.  Boy tries to rescue girl from her captor only to find that she already rescued herself, he pledges his love, they punish her stepmother and one of her stepsisters, and they live “happily ever after.”  That one decision changed her life for the better.

            Yesterday a decision was made that may not exactly be “earth shattering,” but for me it was close enough to it.  Change.  I don’t do well with change unless I see the utmost importance in it, and it has to be a change that I’m 100% on board with (in other words, my idea).  My husband has a decent job with decent pay.  His boss and coworkers are great, and he has made some great “bus buddies” (as he takes the bus back and forth to work to save money).  He went to college to be a chemist, and he’s actually doing it!  Not too many people can say that they’re working in the field they studied for.  He can.  Stability.  I love it.  It’s probably one of my favorite words (that and onomatopoeia…I just love to say it!).  I like to be comfortable.  Comfort is knowing what to expect day to day so you can plan out what you’re going to do when, and you know how to make adjustments if need be.  But of course my husband (with the help of God) made a decision that changed all that.  He accepted an offer for another job.

             Ok, how is this a big deal?  It’s just a different job that’s actually offering him more money than what his most recent raise just got him (which was also yesterday), and there’s a lot of talk about quarterly bonuses.  They’re supplying him with a company car and a cell phone that they pay for.  They also pay for the insurance, maintenance and gas for the car (oh yeah!).  Great.  Fine.  Love it.  The difference is that he won’t be going to the same building day in and day out.  He will be “out in the field,” going from one place to another servicing their equipment.  His “territory” is from our city to the next (over an hour away), down to the state border (about 3 hours away).  He has to make his own schedule, and if a company needs him he has to go.  Oh, and did I mention the training?  This year, as a new employee, he has to go for seven weeks of training.  Seven hours away.  The first training is for three weeks, then two weeks, then one and one.  I know that there are women who are unable to see their husbands for long periods of time due to the military, but he didn’t join the military.  If he had I would understand it.  He’s working locally for a company that just happens to be headquartered in another state.

            BIG change.  Lots of twists and turns, and a lot of the “unknown.”  My husband will gladly tell you that I don’t like the “unknown.”  I don’t know what to expect, how to plan things, etc.  It’s new and I don’t like it.  I had a hard time processing it yesterday, and I wasn’t really given enough time to do so.  He called me at 3:38 yesterday afternoon to give me the news, and then I called my mom to let her know.  While on the phone my two oldest children got off the bus and started in with their “can I have a snack?”  “Can you help me with my homework?”  “Jacob!  I don’t want you to play with my toy!”  AND, I was baking my cornbread casserole to bring to church as it was my Life Group’s turn to make dinner for Alpha.  I started it late, forgot it takes an hour to bake, had planned on leaving my house at around 4:45/5:00, but the cornbread was NOT cooperating.  I was hounded with “Can’t you just bring a LITTLE bit to church and keep the rest for us?” (my four year old), and “But I FORGOT I did have homework to do tonight!  Can’t I just do it now?” (it’s 4:45).  By 5:15 I’m on the phone with my husband crying and yelling because the cornbread’s not ready yet, and I had planned on being at church already, my youngest son and my daughter were sitting on the couch because I had blown up at my kids, and my oldest son was in time out for hurting my youngest.  Around 5:30(ish) I grabbed the cornbread I had already plated and the baking dish with the cornbread I wasn’t about to deal with, got in the car and drove to church where my husband already was.  I told him to meet me in the parking lot because I was in no condition to go inside.  I couldn’t stop crying.

            It wasn’t the cornbread, it wasn’t the kids, and it wasn’t the fact that I hate to be late.  Those were just circumstances that were being piled on me, one right after another and sometimes intermixed, when I was already weak in spirit.  As I said before, I didn’t have time to process this change.  I know this was God’s Will because I’ve been praying that He guide my husband in his decision, and during this last phone conversation with his “soon-to-be manager,” my husband said, “Yes” before he knew it.  He has also been praying about this job, so we do know who it came from.  God does not give us anything we can’t handle, even though we may not feel strong enough to accept what He gives us.  He also likes to throw us out of our “comfort zones.”  I like my comfort zone, thank you very much, but He doesn’t seem to think it’s enough.  No, this job is not about me per se, but I and my entire family will be affected by it.  All we can do now is trust in Him to get us through.  While in the van last night waiting for my husband and kids to come back out of church, I prayed that God give me peace about this.  I felt the calming effect he has, and was okay for the rest of the night.  I’m not going to pretend I was “great,” and I don’t expect to get over this “fear” right away.  It’s a time of adjustment, and I just have to rely on God through it all.  This is really going to put my faith to the test.

            We all have things in our lives that rip us out of our “comfort zones,” out of the things we know and throw us into the “unknown.”  We also know that with God all things are possible, and therefore we should trust Him.  He knows us.  He knows what we’re capable of even if we don’t.  Without Him we will fail, but with Him our eyes will be opened to unending joy.  Fear is natural, but we can’t let it consume us.  I apologized to God for my outburst at home, and I apologized to my kids as well.  “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand; I will not be moved!”  Thank you. Natalie Grant!  Now, I just need to, “Breathe.  Just breathe.”

I know this is a different post from my “normal,” but it was what was on my heart to write, and I don’t write anything without God.  Normally I have references to Scripture and Bible stories, but none of that made it in today.  If you read your Bible you can find a lot of people who have been ripped out of their “comfort zones” by God and have risen from it.  David was a shepherd boy turned King of Israel.  Esther became King Xerxes’ queen, and was given the task of turning Haman in.  Saul was thrown off his horse and blinded for a time by the light of Christ, and stopped persecuting the Christians.  Plus, not only did he himself become a Christian (and received a new name- “Paul”), but he became the “Apostle for the Gentiles” and was persecuted for his newfound beliefs by the same people he had been “working for.”  It happens to us all, and we need to put our faith and trust in the One who made us.

Lord Jesus, I just pray that you continue to guide us all down the path You have chosen for each and every one of us.  Be our Rod and our Staff as we walk, holding us up so we don’t stumble and fall.  Thank You for knowing us and loving us, and when You see fit to “throw us out of our ‘comfort zones,’” help us to rely on you to get through the task you have set up for us.