Wait! Watch!

“Is your church having a Watch Night Service?” a friend asked.

“I haven’t heard about one,” I responded.

That question set me to thinking about Watch Night services I attended while growing up in the beautiful north Georgia mountains. Each New Year’s Eve around 10 p.m., our family would meet with other families at the little country church, and together we would worship as we waited for the arrival of the New Year. We’d sing hymns and pray. Some folks would stand and testify about the blessings the Lord had given them in the past and how they trusted Him to be faithful to them in the coming year.

Those simple services stand in stark contrast to the way so many people celebrate today. Back in those long-ago days, we knew nothing about “toasting” in the New Year, of being among the thousands who gather in large cities to celebrate, of needing “designated drivers” to get us home, and so forth. We celebrated quietly, with hearts filled with gratitude to our gracious God—and with our hands, figuratively speaking, in His, trusting Him to lead us and to guide us in the coming year, as He had in the past.

Even though Watch Night Services are pretty much a thing of the past, I continue to celebrate the coming of the New Year in a similar manner in my own home. As the old year draws to an end, I sit quietly and reflect on the ways God blessed me in it and thank Him for His mercy and grace. I ask Him to take care of me in the New Year and to show me the paths He wants me to follow, since what was said to God’s people centuries ago as they prepared to enter the land He had promised to them can be said to me—and to you, Dear Reader:  “You have not been this way before” (Joshua 3:4).

Since we, like they, need Him to lead us, let’s wait quietly and watch eagerly for Him.

©2014, Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill 

This is the Bible my Daddy and Mother gave me for my birthday in 1978.
It is one of my most cherished possessions.
My parents knew that the Word of God
would show me how to live a good and godly life,
as it had shown them.

Gifts Are Waiting!

The Sunday before Christmas, our pastor preached a wonderful sermon about “The Gift of Prayer.” During the message, he said we are the ones who lose if we reject God’s invitation to confidently “draw near the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16, ESV). Whether we stubbornly refuse the gift of prayer or simply neglect to draw near to God, we miss out on the wonderful gifts God wants to give us, gifts He has already prepared for us, gifts just waiting until such time as we turn to Him and ask for them.

Upon hearing that, I immediately thought about the Christmas gifts that were wrapped and waiting in my house. How sad—unthinkable, actually—that the intended recipients of those gifts would fail to express any interest in receiving them, that they would go on their merry way without paying any attention to me and to the gifts I've lovingly provided for them. Yet, we do that same kind of thing when we fail to pray. For example, the Bible clearly says, “You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:2b-3, ESV).

Dear Reader, all sorts of wonderful gifts are in God’s storehouse of blessings, gifts with our name on them, gifts just waiting for us to humbly ask God for them and then gratefully receive them. Let us, then, draw near the throne of grace every day!

Let the light shine!

As my husband started to put up our Christmas tree, I said, “Oh, hold off just a few minutes, please, so I can wash the windows before the tree goes up.”

Within a few minutes, the living room windows were sparkling clean—inside and out. Cleaning them wasn’t absolutely necessary, since they weren’t all that dirty. Even so, I wanted to do all I could to showcase the tiny white lights on the tree, hoping they would delight folks driving down the street. I know I’m always affected by the sight of soft light in a window, especially on very dark nights. Such light conveys a feeling of peace, of warmth and coziness, of simplicity and timelessness, of …. Thus, I’m happy to let light shine forth from my windows so that others can enjoy it and know that there is life within these walls, that people live here.

Even more appealing than light shining in a window is the light that emanates from people who truly love the Lord Jesus and have a close relationship with Him. Such persons have an inner glow that is obvious to all. Folks are drawn to him or her, eager to know what is producing the glow, the peace, the gentleness, the joy, the love…. The cleaner the windows of the soul, the brighter His light shines forth.

You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

~Jesus (in Matthew 5:14-16, New Living Translation)

Like a Birdling In Its Nest

¹He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
            Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

²I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
            My God, in whom I trust!”

³For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
            And from the deadly pestilence.

⁴He will cover you with His pinions,
            And under His wings you may seek refuge;
            His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

Psalm 91:1-4, NASB

On Dec. 14^th, as a friend and I talked about our favorite devotional books, we mentioned Streams in the Desert. Later that day, I ordered that book for my Kindle but didn’t begin reading it until the following morning. The moment I read the poem at the end of the devotional for that day, I felt compelled to share it with others, especially with a friend whose one-year-old great grandson had been hospitalized the night before. I knew it contained good advice for her—and for all of us!

Trust and rest when all around you

Puts your faith to stringent test;

Let no fear or foe confound you,

Wait for God and trust and rest.

Trust and rest with heart abiding,

Like a birdling in its nest,

Underneath His feathers hiding,

Fold your wings and trust and rest.

Dec. 15^th reading, Streams in the Desert, written by L. B. Cowman, edited by James Reiman, ©1997. Original was published in 1925.

Thankful for Each Veteran!

Today, as in previous years, the annual Veterans Day Observance I attended included a reading* entitled, “What Is a Veteran?” According to its author, Anthony Barton Hinkle, the answers are as varied as the veterans themselves. A veteran may be the “old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket,” or “the parade-riding legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.” As Hinkle points out, “Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg – or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s alloy forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can’t tell a vet just by looking.”

As Hinkle so rightly concludes, a veteran “is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being – a person who offered some of his [or her] life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.”

I’m very thankful for the service each veteran has given, and I’m glad that each November 11th people all over this great country assemble to pay tribute to them and to thank them for helping ensure the freedoms we enjoy.

*An editorial that first appeared in 1995 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Linger Long

I noticed something quite peculiar while visiting Yellowstone National Park. Huge crowds gathered to wait for Old Faithful’s next eruption. Some who arrived shortly after the geyser’s last eruption would wait over an hour to watch the next one. They’d wait despite the weather. For example, one day the sunshine gave way to a sudden storm that produced thunder, lightning, and about an inch of ice pellets all over the ground. Even so, the visitors to Old Faithful stayed nearby. Some sought shelter inside the nearby buildings; others remained on the boardwalk.

But that was not the peculiar thing I observed. Neither was it the hush that descended upon the crowd as the time for the eruption neared. Neither was it the collective gasp of hundreds of onlookers as sprays of water and steam began spewing hundreds of feet into the air.
The peculiar thing I observed was the leaving of the crowd mere moments after the eruption began. As soon as most visitors had taken a photo or two, they rushed away to see another of the many wonders of Yellowstone.

I thought it odd that they chose not to linger even a few minutes to enjoy the awesome sight, which lasts less than five minutes. Five minutes!

Apparently, it isn’t easy to hold attention these days—no matter how riveting the performance. Sadly, far too many of us rush on to the next big event, eager to add one more thing to our been-there-done-that list.

We seem to have lost the ability to reflect on the wonder that is before us, whether that wonder is an erupting geyser or a flower flourishing in the cracks in the sidewalk.
How much better it would be if only we were like the people I observed sitting beside scenic sites they’d hiked more than a mile to see. Instead, after we’ve huffed and puffed to reach natural wonders like cascading waterfalls or crystal-clear lakes nestled at the bottom of snow-capped mountains, we pause only long enough to take a picture or two before hurrying back to the car to see what else is ahead.

We know little about quiet reflection and deep contemplation, both of which greatly relieve stress. But by our refusal to be still and enjoy the wonders of nature, we miss out on an even greater benefit: being prompted to worship the Creator.

For example, I doubt David could have written these beautiful words if he hadn’t spent time contemplating the beauty of nature and connecting what his physical senses were experiencing to what his spiritual senses were revealing to him:

Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness
reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like mighty mountains, your
justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.
How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the
shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from your rivers of delight. For you are the fountain of
life, the light by which we see (Psalm 36:5-9, New Living Translation).

Oh, Dear Reader, may you and I learn to linger long in the presence of the Creator and His creation.

© 2006 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use, please contact her.

Happiness

Happiness is like a butterfly

which, when pursued,

is always beyond our grasp, 

but, if you will sit down quietly, 

may alight upon you.

~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Interruptions

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

Luke 19:1-5, NASB

During a phone conversation, a dear friend and I talked about the day we’d met (over twenty years ago).

“I just came into your office and interrupted your work,” she said.

As we laughed about that, I said, “Neither of us knew that meeting would be the beginning of a beautiful and lasting friendship, did we?”

Indeed, we have become as close as sisters as we’ve shared good times together, as well as times of struggle and heartbreak. Every conversation I have with her is a feast for our spirits as we laugh together and encourage one another.

I thought about that a day or two later as I read these words in Mark Buchanan’s wonderful book, The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath: “Think a moment of all the events and encounters that have shaped you most deeply and lastingly. How many did you see coming? How many did you engineer, manufacture, chase down? And how many were interruptions?” (Location #1462, Kindle)

Yes, often what we view as an interruption is actually God’s way of blessing us far more than we could envision, His way of leading us down paths He has chosen for us. For example, consider the life of Jesus. He lived with full awareness of His purpose; yet, He used “interruptions” as opportunities for healing and teaching and meeting all sorts of needs. The “interruptions” were, in fact, an integral part of His work. That’s true for us, as well. May we realize that.

Refresh

So, Jesus, perceiving that they [the crowds] were intending to come 

and take Him by force to make Him King, 

withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

John 4:15, NASB

Several passages of Scripture (like the one above) tell about how even Jesus needed to pull away from the pressures of life. Even He needed to pray and to seek the Father’s will in all things. Even He, for a brief time, had to leave His work, important though it was, in order to return to it even better equipped to carry it out.

Likewise, as the time drew near for His painful death on the cross, He went into the Mount of Olives, as was His custom, for a time of earnest prayer. Although His disciples went there with Him, He “withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done’” (Luke 22:41-42, NIV).

Dear Reader, may you and I set aside time to take a brief respite from the pressures of life in order to pray, to read the Word, and to rest our souls and bodies so that we can return—refreshed and ready—to whatever work/ministry God has given us.

Note: We don’t have to go to the beach or to the mountains, etc. Any quiet, peaceful place will do!