Category: Love

The de-splintering of hands and hearts

4/11/2016

This year would be different. This year those rose bushes wouldn't win in the yearly spring pruning battle. This year I wouldn't have the scars from the battle upon my body.

Why do I do this every year? It's simple. I love having fresh cut flowers such as roses in my house, so I have been willing to tackle this annual task. This year I was better prepared. I wore long sleeves, my thick Duluth overalls and had gloves on as I worked on pruning back the rose bushes. In the past, the rose bushes with their thorns have left evidence upon me that I have tackled the job of pruning them. I was hoping to avoid that this year. And it worked or so I thought. I came out with not a single scratch. Unfortunately right as I was cleaning up the area one little thorn tore right through my glove, and somehow in the process a splinter entered my hand.

Usually it is best to immediately remove a splinter. I didn’t. I left it under my skin. It didn’t really hurt and I thought it would just work out of my skin naturally.

Only it didn’t. And it has been a month. This little splinter has become permanently embedded under my skin, becoming a tiny little irritation that I look at and feel frequently. An irritation that could possibly continue to grow even possibly to infection. So I must get out the tools; the tweezers, magnifying glass, and perhaps even sharp edge of a razor blade to remove the splinter. What would have been so easy to remove is now going to be a major pain.

As I have been chastising myself for not removing the splinter the day it entered my skin, I have been comparing that with the little annoyances or irritations that come into our spiritual lives. Both need to be removed quickly or damage can be done. A physical splinter is really minor compared to the splinters we allow into our hearts - disrupting our love for one another. It starts innocently, we simply become annoyed with a situation or a person. It is either something someone says or does that we allow to get under our skin, and annoy us. Perhaps it is repeated annoyances with another. These begin to grow and fester rapidly morphing into a major grievance. Forgiveness is no where to be seen. We begin to think ill of the person, perhaps we try to avoid the person or worse yet speak ill of the one we have allowed to get us into a full blown state of contention.

I wonder if this is what happened with two sisters in Christ, Euodia and Syntyche, that Paul speaks of in the book of Philippians? These two women will forever be known as the two sisters who couldn’t get along.

Therefore my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, so stand firm in the Lord my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true comrade, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4: 1-3

Take a closer look at this. These two women were workers in the Kingdom, sharing with Paul in his struggle for the gospel of Christ. Wow. That is amazing to be mentioned in the word of God as a fellow worker for the cause of Christ. They must have been hard working women who put Christ first choosing to commit to work for His cause- to further the gospel.

But.

What an awful little word, three letters that can often negate the good. Three little letters that when put together can be like a thorn ripping out the good and replacing with pain.

But.

They couldn’t get along. They were out of harmony and therefore causing disruption in the work and the love of the church at Philippi. There was a splinter festering in their hearts. To the point that the Apostle Paul had to mention it in his letter- to this group of Christians whom he considered his crown and joy. His plea was to help these two women, these two workers for the Lord - to get along. How sad to be known as the two women who couldn't get along.

While we will never know the source of the splinter nor the outcome of Paul’s admonition, I do wonder.

I wonder if Euodia and Syntyche prayed earnestly for each other.

I wonder if Euodia and Syntyche tried to talk to one another about the splinter between them.

I wonder if Eudoia and Syntyche loved - really truly loved- one another.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Love doesn't cover someone else's sin, it covers our sin.
It stops splinters from entering our heart and festering into contention.

It’s time for me to remove the splinter in my hand. I've allowed it to stay for too long, so now I must do the hard - slightly painful work - of removing the foreign object before it becomes a permanent part of my skin - potentially damaging the tissue they are under.

Perhaps it’s also time to remove splinters from our hearts - and do the hard work of praying and loving those who have gotten under our skin, before it festers, damaging our ability to love unconditionally as our Lord wants us to.

I hope that Euodia and Syntyche were able to remove the splinter that caused the disharmony. I hope they followed the rest of the Apostle Paul's admonition found in Chapter 4 of Philippians. Please forgive my paraphrase of Philippians 4: 6-8.

~Be anxious for nothing (Don't get all worked up about the things that irritate, or bother)
~Let your requests (anything your are concerned about ) be known to God
~Have a grateful heart when you do so
~Think on the true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and good (about the other person- or whatever is annoying to you)
~Dwell on the good

Thats how we remove splinters from our hearts and in so doing cover a multitude of sins.

1 Comment

Sometimes love is prickly

2/5/2014

1 Comment

Photo credit to Ann. Thank you for suggesting the desert garden.

Recently I spent time in Arizona and became enamored by all the cacti. I am a mountain spring time flowers kind of gal who doesn't usually give cacti much attention or appreciation. They are just so different from the flowers of sping and summer that I have such a fondness for. But a long winding walk through a desert botanical garden opened my eyes to the wonder and beauty of cacti. I never knew there were so many sizes, shapes and textures of these desert plants. It was the textures that were so interesting and appealing to me, though they all shouted, "look, but don't touch, don't get too close to me". Still, I stood and gazed intently with growing admiration of these slow growing desert beauties. I observed that every single one of them had some sort of defense mechanism, prickly, spiky little appendages to keep animals from getting too close. Hard to love these forboding cacti which shout their warnings at us, like one loves the beautifully adorned and openly inviting flowers of spring. And yet by spending time in a garden of hundreds of types of cacti, I found myself attracted to them, to the point of making a mental note to try a cactus garden, a small one mind you, in my home.

Looking closely at the heart shaped pads of this particualr prickly pear cactus reminded me that love is sometimes like that; a bit prickly, a bit difficult. Some people seem so easy to love, and some people pose a challenge for us. Even those we find easy to love, our friends, husbands, children, can also at times be 'prickly' to us. And if we are honest with ourselves, sometimes we are the 'prickly' one! Prickly or not, God has called us to love one another.

This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. John 15: 12

If you fulfill the royal law, the law of our King, "You shall love your neighbor, as yourself", you are doing well. James 2: 8

Notice it doesn't say, love them only if

they are easy to love, and make you feel those warm fuzzies
they look like you, think like you, and have your same values
they never disappoint you, never hurt you, or never frustrate you

Nope, we are called to love in spite of all those things!

Recently God gave me a wonderful opportunity to love, not long after I came back from the desert. Only I didn't see it as wonderful at first. I saw it as prickly, as hard work ( which most opportunities are!) You see, I have been praying for quite some time that God would bring workers to our little congregation that exists in somewhat of a missionary type field. I asked for people who would help in the work here, strenghtening the weak among us, doing the work needed within our church, and also to envangelize- to work in our community-to seek and save the lost. I have been praying for Him to bring us those people who would 'hit the ground running', so to speak. And He has, and I thanked Him, shouted "Hallelulia", and asked for more workers. And He brought even more, and yet I am still praying for workers, for we have much to do. But to my shame, I have not once prayed that He would bring us someone who was very fragile spiritually, someone who on the outside seems so very different from most of us, someone who needs us, all of us, to love, care for, and nuture. While I pray for evangelistic opportunities, I hadn't prayed for Him to bring us the slow growers, or for Him to bring us those who are already His, yet are so very fragile. And yet He did. And He has opened my eyes and my heart up wider than before. He is teaching me not to just believe the words of James 2:13, " Mercy triumps over judgment", but to live those words. He is teaching me that love often looks and feels alot like hard work: the giving of patience over and over, the forgiving and continuing to forgive, and the hard work of denying self to put others needs ahead of our own. And He is teaching me to spend time, to give of my time and energy, both in fervent prayer, and in *meeting them where they are, showing compassion and love, without spouting out anwers that perhaps they aren't ready to hear.

It wasn't until I spent time in the cactus garden that I learned to look past the prickliness of those slow growing desert plants, and begin to appreciate them and see their unique beauty. Likewise, by spending time with those who by manner or appearance seem prickly and very different from me, I am learning to see the beauty of the soul within, the fragile soul who needs love and guidance, which is really all of us, isn't it?

* A shout out of thanks to a wise woman, my Joshua, who helped me see the value in meeting someone right where they are, the value in going the distance needed, the value in listening and compassion, the value in not always having a ready answer, but of always having a ready heart.

1 Comment

Welcome! I pray the words I write will encourage reflection within and deeper study of the Word of God, which is able to build us up, equipping us to be victorious as we journey through this earthly life.
May we all earnestly seek the things above, not the things of this world.

The de-splintering of hands and hearts

Sometimes love is prickly

Posted by
Singing like a robin
daughter of the King
forgiven
joyful
soul strengthener

Categories

Welcome! I pray the words I write will encourage reflection within and deeper study of the Word of God, which is able to build us up, equipping us to be victorious as we journey through this earthly life. May we all earnestly seek the things above, not the things of this world.

The de-splintering of hands and hearts

Sometimes love is prickly

Posted bySinging like a robindaughter of the Kingforgivenjoyfulsoul strengthener

Categories

Welcome! I pray the words I write will encourage reflection within and deeper study of the Word of God, which is able to build us up, equipping us to be victorious as we journey through this earthly life.
May we all earnestly seek the things above, not the things of this world.

Posted by
Singing like a robin
daughter of the King
forgiven
joyful
soul strengthener