A Moment's Glory and Isn't There More?

I saw a shooting star tonight. It so seriously impressed me that I'm writing about it right now. It shot through the dark in a blaze of glory that made me go "Oh!" and then thank God that no one was driving right behind me 'cause I almost completely stopped. I looked for more but I only saw the one.

For perspective, I this is the first shooting star this gal has seen. So, it did take my breath away. It made me stop in my tracks. It made me pause and look at God's handiwork. And then it made me ask, "Isn't there more?"

As stunning as it was, it did leave me thinking that there had to be more to it. Yes, it is all kinds of gases and light from a zillion light years away finally reaching my eye. But, for all the glory in that moment, it made me want something more substantial.

I am not immune to wanting moments of glory. I want to be noticed and appreciated and all that. I want to stand out in a positive way. But do I want just the moment's glory or do I want something more substantial?

What weighs more -- one moment of glory and splendor or a lifetime of ordinary moments that point to Him? Yes, that star pointed to Him, but it left me with the nagging question, "Isn't there more?"

If I could point to Him in just one moment -- a blazing glorious moment -- or I could point to Him for 80 years in a multitude of moments which would I choose? Both can reflect God, but the later has roots that answer the question in a more meaningful a way that "Yes, there is more. Let me tell you about Him."

Remind me of the value of a lifetime of moments, Lord, when my focus shifts and I desire a moment's glory. You are steady. Help me point steadily to you.

God's Glory in Sunflowers

My words still feel cumbersome, but even in the midst of that I thought I'd share with you a couple pictures as evidence of God's continued glory. I took these today after work.





I do know these aren't lilies but I was reminded of Luke 12:22-30:

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."

Shaping -- Hope Chronicles 41

As you all probably know by now, I adore my talented cats. (For talent proof click here.) Teaching Mali (though today I did get Katy to do "UP" three times), has largely been tied to the idea of shaping and rewards or positive reinforcement.

Teaching Katy to beg for her treats was probably the most straight forward thing I've taught either one of them. I keep a can of hard treats on a shelf above the TV. I went and patted the door to get her attention. When she simply came over to where I was, I praised her and gave her a treat. But this wasn't the exact behavior I wanted. I wanted her to paw at the door and ultimately "meow" for her treat. I patted the door some more and she hopped on her hind legs to see what I was doing with my hand just out of reach. Treat.

We did this for several more days and she got the idea that if she pawed at the door, I would come over and give her a treat. (So maybe she ended up training me!) Finally, I decided to move onto the "meow." She did what I now considered her ask for a treat and I went to the TV but I didn't move to get the treats. She pawed some more. When no treat was forthcoming she let out a plaintive "meow." She got lots of praise and a couple treats!

It's called shaping because you start by rewarding an approximation of something. We do it with babies all the time. We want to see them crawl but we praise and encourage them if they make it on their knees or rock back and forth. We reward an approximation of something, the effort.

Honestly, I have been much more focused on training Mali than Katy. I taught Katy over a year ago to ask for a treat and then dropped the whole thing training aspect with anything else. Perhaps at that point it didn't dawn on me that I could train her to do other things. When I saw a book at the store and perused it, it mentioned starting when they are young. At 3 Katy is hardly old, but Mali is younger so I focused there.

I enjoy those little moments teaching Mali. Today, I thought, "Why not give Katy a chance?" It took a little coaxing and I had to use just the right food, but she got "up" for me.

So, how does this apply to hope and God? When I first taught either of them a trick, I had to be patient. I couldn't just say "ask" or "come" or "up" and have them know what I wanted. There was a learning process.

I'm fairly patient with them and children, but I lose patience so easily with myself. Why didn't I do it perfectly the first time? In my mind, an approximation of something doesn't count for me.

But when I really stop and think about it, all of life is an approximation. It is all learning. Carolyn Arends is my favorite Christian artist. She has a song called Getting Ready for Glory. It talks about how this life is all about getting ready for the next. It is, I believe, shaping and conforming us to Jesus likeness so that we are ready to meet God.

Here's a bit of the song:

She's had 80 some years,

Most of them good,

But she's not gonna be here much longer

Now the body gets weak

Like she knew it would

But the spirit just keeps getting stronger

She's got her Bible and hymn book beside her

She storing those songs and old stories up inside her

She's getting ready,

She's getting ready,

She's getting ready for glory.

She knows all of the verses

to How Great Thou Art

And her soul it doth magnify often

And she's gonna keep learning

the scriptures by heart

til the day she is laid in her coffin

She wants to be sure when the angels come take her

That's she's got some greetings for meeting her maker

There's more, but you get the idea. This life -- the joys and sorrows, the hardships and comforts, the triumphs and failures -- is all about shaping us and getting us ready for glory.

The idea of everything shaping me for God puts hope into every bit of what happens in my life.

Think Spring -- Hope Chronicles 6

In 1989 I finished up my sophomore year of college. It was reasonably warm in southern Indiana. The first or second week in May, I headed north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Cedar Campus. We were suppose to arrive, on Saturday. But for a reason that escapes me, my sister and friend and I couldn't leave until Saturday evening. We drove 16 hours through the night and got there just in time for worship Sunday morning. We were tired and a little ragged from the trip.

As we were driving we had to turn the heat on. On the other side of the 5 mile Mackinac Bridge, we were greeted with the sign, "Think Spring." Though it was warm where we came from, it was still a bit chilly in the UP.

Flash forward. It's Dec. 29th in central Illinois. It's cold and grey out. All the Christmas festivities are done. People are coming out of their turkey comas to discover that life on the the other side of Christmas isn't much different than life before Christmas -- with the exception of the amount of debt they are carrying. That, of course, has grown. If they had to go to work this week, the week seemed to drag on and on and on even though if was a "short" work week.

I've found myself feeling a little glum. From the way people around me have been acting, I think they have felt that way as well. So, what do these two stories have to do with each other. More than you might think!

Let's start with the present day. It might be easy to drift off into hopelessness. We are in for 3-4 more months of cold and gray skies. There aren't really any major holidays to break up the monotony. (Okay, there are things like Lincoln's Birthday and Martin Luther King Day -- but it really depends on where you work if you get to have those things off. And then there is Valentine's Day -- the ultimate Hallmark Holiday. But enjoying that one depends on if you are with someone or not. So, my point stands. There aren't any major holidays for everyone coming up soon.)

Even though it was May that year of the all night trek to camp, spring was slow in coming to the UP. And if I recall it correctly, it was gray.

But I like the outlook of those "uppers." They knew that spring was coming and they were focused on it. It's amazing that the image of that sign has stuck with me for so many years. I think of it now as an image of hope.

So, what are you focused on just past Christmas? Has the reason for the season been abandoned? Are you dismayed, as I often am, by how far you have yet to go in your spiritual life?

As Christians Paul tells us that the "hope of glory" resides in us. He writes in Colossians 1:21-27:

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel . . . . Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. "

Christ in you - the hope of glory. How amazing is that? It is not yet fully manifested, but it is there deep inside you and me. Like bulbs planted in the fall that will not blossom until spring, so is God's hope in you. It is there. You have it already. It just may not be in full bloom yet. But it will be. Do not worry about that. When you are dismayed by how far you have to go or how long you have to wait, Think Spring. Think Jesus. That is where our hope lies.