Survival Vs. Living

Are you surviving today?  Or are you living?  It's not a question of semantics but a deep down heart-felt question.  This weekend we went to see the Academy Award Best Picture "Twelve Years A Slave".  Heavy movie.  Be ready for heartache, deep issues of evil in the heart of man and ending with tears mixed with joy and sadness.  A statement made by the lead actor left an impression on my mind.  Solomon, a free man in the north (of USA) is kidnapped and sold into slavery (human trafficking is not new).  Early into this horrific journey he is about to face, he is challenged by another slave to be tough, keep his head down and "survive".  Solomon, in a state of bewilderment and shock at what has happened to him lifts his head and says, "I don't want to survive, I want to live."  Profound.

Egypt was a place of survival and death.  Egypt was where baby Moses was found floating in the Nile, placed there to escape the death sentence of all the male babies.  God then uses this same land as a place where baby Jesus and his parents found refuge the first years of Jesus' life.  A place of death became a place of survival, which led to life.   Interestingly, life changing ministries came out of this place from the lives of these two men.

Scholars differ but the general thinking is Jesus spent around two or three years of his early childhood in Egypt, before returning home after King Herod died (around 4 B.C.).  He and his family were surviving in Egypt.

During this period of "survival" Jesus most likely....

**learned how to walk

**learned to eat with a spoon by himself

**learned to talk

**began to recognize his earthly father and mother

**became attached to his earthy family and developed relationships with them....his early "community"

Places of survival can be places of learning and preparation.  And, they can be transformed into places of life.  Places meant for death can be transformed into life. 

Today, whatever season you or I are in, let's ask God to birth life out of it.  If you feel you are just surviving, barely able to keep your head above water, wondering how you got here in the first place when all you did was take steps of obedience,  let's trust God to bring life out of our Egypt.  Open our eyes to what God is doing in our Egypt - perhaps teaching us something valuable to use later on down the road.  We don't want to survive, we WANT TO LIVE! 

"Lord, in places that once meant death, or seem like death to us, we trust You to bring forth life.  Today, increase my faith in a place that seems to be dying, YOU will cause life to spring forth." 
(prayer from the devotional below)

(Some of my thoughts came from my devotional reading today; a wonderful Lent devotional that is free to download.  Even though Lent is the time period 40 days before Easter, this devotional has 17 days of devotions, so if you begin now or even miss a day or two, there is plenty of time to catch up before Easter.  Enjoy because this is powerful stuff!  Thanks to Ann Voskamp!

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/02/what-lent-really-means-free-easter-devotional-book-to-make-a-jesus-easter-tree/

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Lights, music, parties, sales, trees, decorations, Santas, Salvation army volunteers on every corner, commercials...commercials....commercials....it's that time of year again.  It snuck up on us like that birthday with a "big 0" .   Just as we are ridding ourselves of that "full" feeling of turkey, stuffing and pie, we are pulling out the boxes, cutting that tree and changing the look of our entire house.

I actually love this time of year, following on the footsteps of another favorite season.  Like autumn, I relish the smells, sights and sounds of the holiday season.  The day after Thanksgiving, I am getting down the boxes and setting up Tinseltown in my home.  Although there is not a Santa Claus to be seen, there are lots of fairy lights and candles.  And I try to make the festive feeling in my home last as long as possible.  

Okay, not my home, but isn't it a picture of Christmas coziness?

As I put up some garland and lights yesterday, I tuned into a local radio station that plays non-stop Christmas music.  Lively, sentimental, rock-around-the-clock Christmas music.  It was fun.  I was by myself (that part not so fun), but I did get the job done.  Only thing left is the tree, of which I have recruited my oldest daughter and the boyfriend of my youngest daughter to help adorn the centerpiece of the living area.  Normally, my youngest daughter and I make this a yearly ritual and memory as we do it together...eggnog and lights.  She is away in Germany right now and Christmas in China on a missions trip, but I wasn't about to tackle the tree by myself.  Hence, my offer to feed and furnish music to finish the last of the festooning and garnishing of the season.

Yesterday as I was sweeping up the needles, I was again bombarded with "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" from the radio...for probably the 6th or 7th time that day.  As the thought of "not again" crept in, I stopped in my tracks and realized not once had I heard a song that mentioned Jesus.  All day long the tunes were played, and no "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful", no "Joy to the World", no "Little Town of Bethlehem".  (whoops, sorry, they did play "Little Drummer Boy").  But overall, not a mention of the whole reason for the season.  I was saddened as I thought about how the music most people love and listen to at Christmas is not the heart and soul of Christmas at all.  Jesus replaced with "Last year I gave you my heart, the very next day, you gave it away."  Seriously???

We are coming into the Advent season...those four weeks (Sundays) prior to Christmas where we prepare for the "coming" of Jesus.  (you can read past posts from Decembers on meaning and tradition).  However, to borrow a thought I read recently in an email from a friend..."Advent derives from the Latin and means coming or approaching.  For those of us who travel a lot, nothing is more valued as we approach our destination than to be warmly welcomed; a welcome symbolizes so much, almost becoming sacramental."  Oh, the years of traveling where when I finally reached where I needed to be, that welcome meant more to me than any gold or riches.  That feeling of "you are welcome here....let me make you comfortable".  "Let me make you understand the journey you just took is worthwhile and valued....we appreciate why you came and the sacrifice it took to get here."

May I offer the suggestion as we finish off November and enter into "the most wonderful time of the year" and the busiest, that we take time to ponder "who" we are welcoming.  He's come on quite a journey, He's paid a heavy price to come, He's the real and only reason for this celebration, and He came for you and for me.  And He is worthy of the most awesome WELCOME we can provide.

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