In His Image

Behind our house there is a new development going in on  what for years was  farm property inhabited only by wild life.
In among the brush and stumps  lies  an  old abandoned  heap of twisted metal  waiting to be hauled away.
The photo shows  the old remains  still hinting of what  was once a shiny new farm truck that brought ooohs and ahhhhs  as the twinkling- eyed new owner showed it off to family and friends, proudly offering free rides.
 There are no ohhhs and ahhhs over it now - only a sad remembering of what it once was.  All you see now is rusted truck parts waiting for a garbage dump  somewhere with other worthless trash.

As I stood gazing at this old truck shell ... feeling the sorrow  of  seeing something once beautiful now discarded -something that  once had great value, now considered of no value at all  -  it brought something else to mind.

I thought of how this truck pictures some people.
Every human being begins life 'new' and full of promise and potential ... but sometimes life takes bitter or difficult turns, wrong choices build-up  in twisted heaps until the human being  loses his/her perceived value in the eyes of others, or even their own,   and is discarded to the garbage dumps of society,  not unlike this old truck.

In Edith Schaeffer's book .. "The Tapestry" ...one of her quotes stuck in my mind , one  I have never forgotten.  She said that no matter how far a human being might fall, how vile he might become , how much we might recoil at sight of him, there is still somewhere within that human being a remnant of the 'image of God'  in which he had been created. And that gives him value!

That quote stuck with me and changed how I looked at people.  Even when outwardly we may see only the worthless remains of a wasted  life, we must still recognize that the person is someone 'created in the image of God' and therefore, unlike the truck, still has worth in the eyes of God.  

It is obviously too late for the farm vehicle ... but how graciously our God says that  it is never too late for any human being as long as he is still in this earthly life!
God can take the vilest human being  and restore them to the beauty He intended when He gave them the breath of life.
Will the skill that no human restorer of old things can duplicate,  God can take that seed of 'God's Image' buried deep in a soul ... and bring it to life, causing it to grow and transform the one who has placed his 'ruined' life in God's hands.  

  "So You will restore me and make me live." 

 Isa. 38:16  

   "For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD, 'Because they called you an outcast  ..." 

Jer 30:17 

   "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten...you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you " 

Joel 2:25

"WHOSOEVER (that's YOU) believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." 

John 3:15

Guilty as Charged!

A couple of weeks ago I got a letter that I looked at casually, then as my brain focused on the words,  I was frozen into shock!
An accident ??   I hadn't been in an accident!  I called my husband, showed him the letter and we wracked our brains trying to think of what it could be referring to and finally came to the only conclusion we could -- it was obviously a case of mistaken identity !
So I called ICBC (insurance company)  to sort it out.
After the endless time space of being put on hold, I finally had a 'person' on the other end of the line and I  explained that the charge had to be a mistake because we had not been in any accident at all and had no clue what the letter could be referring to !
The voice calmly replied, "Well, let me get the claim and I'll see what it says."    He then informed me that the claimant stated that someone had thrown something out of my car that had shattered on the road in front of them and had damaged the undercarriage of their car.

THE LIGHT WENT ON !!!   "OHHHH ! "  I said ... "I know what happened !"   and I told the following story !

It was April 15th and Mennonite Girls Can Cook were gathering to witness the shipment arrival of our new cookbook Celebrations.   We gathered at Lovella's and I had brought a little plate of gluten free squares to add to the lovely 'tea time'  table Lovella had prepared for us !
Later, back at my car, I placed my plate on top of the car roof to free my hands to dig for the keys in my purse  so I could  unlock the doors for Judy to  load my box of books into the back seat
It was drizzling and I kept my head down to keep my glasses from getting spotted !   I closed the back car door,  turned to say good-by and slipped into the driver's seat setting off for home -- no thought about the plate still nicely sitting on top of the car.
I was eager to get home to show my husband our new book, then. just a short distance before my last turn off, I heard something hit the back of my car !   Puzzled as to what it could have been, I quickly looked up into my rear view mirror.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.. The cars behind me didn't honk, didn't seem to be concerned - I could not see anything on the road.   I thought about pulling over to check closer but the road  shoulder did not have much room and there were cars behind me so I kept going.  
A few minutes later , still puzzling over the 'bang' , I suddenly wondered... "where is my plate?"   Oh no,   I then had the flash back memory of putting it on top of the car roof.  I thought about going back but realized it would be both dangerous and futile to look for the pieces on the road. So I lamented the loss of my plate and put it out of my mind as a  thoughtless oversight  on my part.  There was no damage on my car .. not even a nick or a scratch so I thought no serious harm done.

Until the letter came ......

An appointment was made for me to come in to ICBC to resolve the details of the charge, but I received a call from the person with whom the appointment was made and she suggested we  could just resolve it over the phone.
She asked me to tell my side of the story over again and listened with empathy and understanding.  She filled me in on a few more details.  The claim had been filed, not by the one driving the car behind me- but by a car rental company.   Two women with a baby had been driving a rental car behind me when the dish fell and understandably it frightened them and they reported it to the rental company when the car was returned. The rental car company  did not list any known damage in their claim  and had not yet brought the vehicle into ICBC to be examined for any damage consistent with flying pieces of glass.  
She thanked me for being honest, said it was an accident that just happened and that I did not have to worry - I would not lose my safe driving record - I was at the highest level of good standing and would not lose that.  Then before she ended the call, she said that I would be receiving a letter in the mail citing me responsible for the accident and any monetary claims for repair but she said for me to ignore this letter, not to let it bother me or take it seriously!
I was relieved, but the whole experience shook me ..
**
In thinking about it, I realized that there was a spiritual parallel to my experience.

'Sin' happens so easily to everyone, a selfish act, an angry word, bitterness, things we do and 'forget' thinking no harm has been done ..    -- and yet they can cause hurt to others and, worse, leave us guilty before God, even if we did not intentionally choose to sin against  Him --   in fact often we are not even conscious of the fact that we are guilty! We excuse it and put it out of our mind.
We see no immediate resulting harm in our own life... so we go thoughtlessly on our way.  
But there comes a day when we must answer --   when God speaks into our life - calls our attention to the things that are wrong.
We now have a choice -- cover up , shift blame, deny --   but only one way leads to 'peace' --   Honest confession.   God hears, God understands, and God so willingly forgives - just over the 'prayer' line.   And we do not lose our highest standing with Him --   we keep our 'safe driving record'  -- because Jesus has paid the price , we stay in the perfect righteousness that is ours IN Him ... We are perfectly forgiven !  
But God warns... "the enemy will send a 'letter' accusing you! Ignore that letter, don't let it upset you !"
  But the enemy does send his 'letters' and because we know we are 'Guilty as Charged'  , we hear him with trepidation and fear and it is only with faith in God's word 'don't take him seriously' that we are able to ignore him instead of letting his 'threats' pull us down into doubt and worry.

I am so thankful that God's heart toward us is always one of 'understanding' and mercy even though we must acknowledge and learn from our mistakes to grow in wisdom and maturity!

Mother's Day Surprise

Earlier in the week I got a call from my daughter, Romay, "Are you busy Friday afternoon?"
I replied, "I don't think so , why?"
"Its a surprise, I'll pick you up at 3:00 pm. Dress casual!"
Friday afternoon at exactly 3:00 pm my daughter and granddaughter came to pick me up.
Romay handed me a stem of orchids and a 'fitting' card, considering our new cook book!

Buckled in and on our way,  I tried to coax out some hints as to where we were going but all I got was tight lipped smiles.
We drove for a good half hour or more and finally my daughter checked some directions on a piece of paper on her lap.
She said... "This is going to be a weird Mother's Day..."  
I said , "OHH !   I'm going to hold a lamb?"
I saw by her expression that I had guessed correctly !
Sure enough a  minute later we pull into the driveway of a beautiful  farm.
She asked, "What made you guess ?"
"Well, " I said with a smile, " you said weird, that made me think of 'bucket list' and I recently told you on my bucket list was that I wanted to hold and pet a lamb!"
It seems strange that I grew up on a farm, have been around farms all my life but for some reason never held a lamb.  And yes, an unusual bucket list desire ...   but one that has been tucked into my heart since childhood.
But the surprises were not yet over.
We drove up to a lovely colonial farm house.   I asked, "Do you know these people?"
She answered vaguely... "Oh, she's someone I know on Facebook... I bribed her with a copy of the cookbook.  The copy you gave me today wasn't for whom I said it was, its actually for this lady."
"Hmm..." I thought,... "why would Romay give a cookbook to someone who she didn't really know.."
Romay went to the front door, then. following instructions, we drove up the driveway connecting the house and the barn.  We stepped out of the car, and a minute later,  a lady rode up on a bicycle.
I politely said, "Hi" then looked harder as she dismounted the bike! It couldn't be .. but it was !  It was Romay's best friend through high school, Deanna, whom I had not seen in many years !
It was her  delightful daughter who the sheep belonged to.  She came and told us about each ewe and ram, their personalities and their names.  Then, she brought  me the lambs.  There was a little black one born premature that had a very nervous mother , so we did not disturb that one.    There was another black one that was a little older that I held and then the adorable twins pictured in the photos.

 



Later, we enjoyed a visit and delicious gluten-free muffins in Deanna's amazing kitchen, designed and built by her husband.

In our chatting, Deanna, mentioned one of my favourite books, "A Shepherd looks at the 23rd Psalm". 

 If you haven't read it, do!  It is a very beautiful book that reveals the heart of God and why He calls us His sheep. The author is Phillip Keller - I recommend all the books he wrote, they are all on my fav list !

The little twin named Marble was my favourite (lowest right photo).  He was the last one I held and as soon as I took him into my arms I could feel something different about him from the others.   He cuddled down into my arms. He did not  just tolerate being held.  He loved it!
My heart melted, and I thought , "Oh Lord, I want to be this kind of lamb in Your arms."

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want! 

Psalm 23:1

Mother's Day, 2013 --  one I will remember  --   Thank you so much, Romay  for planning it and   Deanna  for making it possible !

******

Happy Mother's Day to you !  

 I pray that the love of God, so evident in Mothers' love, 

 fills your hearts, 

not just on Mother's Day but every day ! 

****

Girl Refuses Prince's Kiss

 Girl Refuses Prince's Kiss  (click to see video)

Every little girl is a princess in her dreams and  every little girl's expectation is that a real-life  Prince will one day sweep her off her feet to live happily forever after !  

But how many girls ever REALLY get a kiss from a real Prince --- and even more rare , refuse it when it is offered ?   The sweet little four year old  who waited so eagerly for her Prince's kiss and then refused it will never live that down.  

We laugh and smile and understand little kids ...  we THINK.  

I told my daughter this story and chuckled about how this poor girl would have to endure a lifetime of teasing that she had refused her Prince.   But my daughter , who is a pre-school teacher/admistrator,   immediately replied, "Yes.. I'm sure .. .but she DIDN'T  refuse her Prince !  You have to think like a four year old !"  

She explained it to me. 

The little four year old girl knew exactly what a Prince looked like.  Didn't she have many pictures of him in her story books?   He wore beautiful clothes with a crown on his head and had a white horse and a gold sash across his chest! 

She certainly did not think this ordinary balding man leaning in for a kiss was HER prince.  He wasn't a prince at all !   She would hardly have noticed him in the crowd!  And so she did the only honourable thing ... she turned away to save her kiss for the REAL Prince.   

I thought about this story and recognized the lesson application it portrays for all of us.  

Preconceived ideas! 

We all have them.   Maybe we have long outgrown our dreams about riding off into the sunset with our Prince,   but we only exchanged them for other preconceived ideas that could -  just like it did  for the four year old -  keep us from the very thing we want!  

The Jews had preconceived ideas --  and they did not recognize their Prince either ...  their Messiah!  They expected Him to look like a King on a white horse not a servant on a donkey's back!  So, they turned away from Him. 

Judas had preconceived ideas -- He thought that Jesus would  conquer the Roman Empire and set up an earthly kingdom with Himself as supreme Ruler.    Reaching for the wrong kingdom, he missed the real one !  

Simon, the Socerer, had the preconceived idea that money and fame satisfied as nothing else.  Surely even the things of God could be bought for the right price!  His preconceived ideas cost him eternity.  

The apostles preconceived idea was that God only loved the Jews ... the gospel surely couldn't be for the unclean Gentiles !    It was hard for them to get past that deeply engrained belief  and accept that God was creating for Himself ONE people -- Jew and Gentile - a kingdom of all tribes and nations. 

If you passed Jesus on the street would you recognize Him?   If you hear His truth, does it sound familiar ?  or is it contrary to your preconceived ideas and so you reject it. 

  Every choice/decision we make, every thought we think is based on pre-conceived ideas.  Pre-conceived ideas form our grid that filters all incoming information.    If our pre-conceived ideas are based on truth , then we have a firm foundation,  but if they are wrong we could be in trouble. 

Scripture teaches us to be diligent to test and examine and discern all things... never taking for granted that we have everything right.   

Even reading the bible, we can miss the truth because of our preconceived ideas  -  ideas we have long held but never checked out for ourselves. 

For many years, my prayer has been before I study my bible ... "Please remove from my mind all pre-conceived ideas, and let me see Your truth!"  

"There is a way that seems right to a man ...".  Prov. 16:25  

The wisdom and thinking of this world may seem right ....   but we are called to bring all our pre-conceived ideas, into question that we may renew our thinking to bring it into line with God's thinking, aligning with His truth.  

  "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." 

Rom 12:2