They (May) Drive His Truck

On a predawn Sunday, dark and quiet, I make the short drive from my house to church to start the coffee served during our worship service.

I am listening intently to every word in Lee Brice's I Drive Your Truck.

I've cussed, I've prayed, I've said goodbye

Shook my fist and asked God why  

These days when I'm missing you so much 

I drive your truck. 

At a stop sign, I am suddenly overwhelmed by the loss required to gain and maintain our freedom.

I wonder how all those families bear it, as in that moment I cannot.

I hit the pedal to keep moving and then I know: Jesus led the way. God's loss of His Son was required to gain and maintain our freedom to be reconciled with Him.

Does Jesus have a truck in heaven? Country music lovers would smile yes.

In a turn toward joy, in a place with no pain, I hope every soldier who gave his or her life for my freedom gets to drive His truck.

Exploring Hate--Day 3

You are angry.

Your wrath has plenty of rightful targets on your ex- this or that (friend, co-worker, spouse).

That's as it should be, except for that predicament wrought by pesky Jesus.

He says there is a next place to be, a place that reunites that which was severed into a new mold, shaped by forgiveness and God's originality. It will look and feel different than what was there before.

I live in a small town. My previous hairdresser, recently retired, is my ex-sister-in-law. Now I delight in my monthly visit with her daughters...my ex-nieces. I expect of myself an embrace that includes any relationship that once exes are willing to help forge.

It takes work to rebuild and seems to require a special foreman--the Holy Spirit.

Don't think you must rehash a past that is buried and gone. But do consider God's invitation to reshape fragile, broken threads into a spiritually woven, new and tender future for you and your ex-relationships.

That way past love doesn't turn acidic. It alkalizes into new space and peace.

There will be a right time.

Let Jesus be His pesky self and carry you there.

Exploring Hate--Day 2

I walk away from this knowledge often but it remains powerfully true: the pH balance of our bodies, on the scale from acidic to alkaline, determines its ability to fight inflammation and disease.

An acidic body carries us to a state of weakness. Our God-designed defense (immune) system loses power.

A slightly alkaline body carries us to a state of strength. Disease-starters cannot find traction in an alkaline environment.

The healing power lies in the foods we choose to eat.

Annoying simple since the American diet lives precariously on the acidic side of the scale.

Imagine a pH balance for our heart, the Valentine version, the one that drives our emotions.

An acidic heart carries us to a state of weakness. It fosters hate for one another, and our God-designed defense system (forgiveness and reconciliation) loses power.

A slightly alkaline heart carries us to a state of strength. Hate-starters cannot find traction in an alkaline environment.

The healing power lies in the nurse we choose to help us.

Left to our own devices, we will nurse grudges and hard feelings, and we can lead ourselves right into the acid of hate.

If we invite God in, He will teach us how to nurse our heart with forgiveness and reconciliation, and He will lead us into the alkaline state upon which strength in relationship rests.

No one forces us into either acidic state. We have complete freedom to pursue alkaline bodies and alkaline hearts.

What would you want for your children? Do you choose that best for yourself?

Exploring Hate--Day 1

One of the few things I've done well in my life is foster a detachment from hate.

I definitely didn't do this on my own.

My dad was equal opportunity everything and everyone, and there was no name-calling of any people group or individual under his roof.

My mom is the sweetest and most gentle spirit you can find.

So I was nursed in equality and gentleness, but the harsher side of life found its way to me, and some of my choices lent themselves to environments where I set out to hate someone.

Jesus took up where my parents left off.

I started sitting with Them (God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit) every morning, even when I was a single parent with a crazy job, and I watched something incredible happen.

All of the hate posters I had hanging on the walls of my heart came down one by one, seemingly effortlessly. It was like a fresh coat of paint (of God's version of love) was applied every time I spent time with Them.

Hate ceased. Or it's more like it simply evaporated.

To this day, though I can be provoked by my own faulty thinking or the misdirected actions of others, hate continues to be rootless in my system.

This is the good news--the solution to hate, so we're getting the good news before the bad news.

Tomorrow: where the acid of hate carries us.

Why Broken is Best

Your child with his broken toy, your teenager with her broken heart--both come to you for help.

Your heart melts with their sadness and you "move heaven and earth" to fix what is broken.

There will always be something broken in our lives.

In broken, we pause and ask for help.

In broken, we find we are not self-sustaining.

In broken, God's heart melts with our sadness.

In broken, God literally moves heaven and earth to fix it His way.

Someday, broken will no longer exist. Why?

Because God promises, in 2 Peter 3:13, to permanently move heaven and earth and replace it with that which will never be broken again.

We'll be ready...for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.

Our broken radiates God's best.

Lord, help me carry my brokenness to You, trusting Your best will follow.

Surround Sound for the Heart

We allow ourselves to be immersed in surround sound in the theater, caught up in the emotion of every note and nuance.

We walk into a selected group of people and immerse ourselves in the sounds of relationship.

But when we are alone, what is our default surround sound?

Peace?

Bitterness?

Loneliness?

Think of the last time you were alone. What was the surround sound of your heart?

Though we've heard these verses many times, what if we ask God to help them become the default surround sound for our heart?

Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list [our default surround sound]. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything...hangs from them.

Hmm...hang the surround sound speakers that bathe our heart on these two pegs. That way, when we are alone, we can control what speaks to our heart--actively love God, with our intelligence, and love ourselves first so we can love others.

I like the (surround) sound of that.

Lord, take over the speakers to my heart.

Arguing vs. Debating: The Cost to Little Hearts

I overhead a young child sigh, "My parents are in the other room arguing again."

It could have been one of my kids a thousand times over.

Marriages are never going to be without disagreement, but could we clean it up a little? Take away the young child's sigh?

What if we debate our differences instead?

A debate has a start and stop time with the intention of deliberating a specific topic.

An argument deteriorates into quarreling, wrangling, squabbling and bickering.

A debate...debates.

An argument...attacks.

Is there a topic the two of you replay often? Does it descend into arguing that is scary to the little hearts in your house?

You always....!

You never...!

I wish you would (wouldn't)...!

Here is a suggestion for the argument replayed most often in your house. Ask God for a solution discussion that resolves and thus heals the topic. No more replays.

It will probably take a timed debate, where both of you are calm and bring your points to the table. No attacks, just reasoned opinion and desires. Ask God to help you bring to the debate two important items: a heart for concession and His wisdom on the subject.

Debating parents give their children security and hope that they, too, may one day enter into a productive and respectful marriage. Arguing parents ensure that hostility will always be just around the corner, ready to snipe at any given moment. Hard on little hearts...and big ones as well.

No argument "won" is worth the cost on a little heart.

The little hearts once in my charge paid the price. I pray you'll spare those with whom you share life now.