This Christmas

by:Joan Meyler

“Oh, Ms.Joan, it co’lmaa” “Christmas breeze da blow” “Ms. Joan yu want a blanket fu yu bed?” These are some of the phrases I hear as the weather tries to make up its mind.
With rainy season over, the temperature fluctuating between mid 70’s and mid 80’s, cloudy and sunny days, it’s anybody’s guess what each day will be like. Welcome to “winter” in Belize.

The school term ended on November 14th and end of term exams followed close on its heels.  December saw students fervently preparing for Christmas pageants and fundraising turkey dinners prior to the end of the term in mid-month. The requests began at the end of the school term, “Gran, when are we putting up the tree?” My host’s grand-daughter implored every few days.

Finally, one day I opened the door to a smiling face which almost outshone the lights on the Christmas tree. The end of term and ensuing days made for a quiet time for me, so I busied myself in other ways. One of which was to assist with the National Resource Center for Inclusive Education’s (NARCIE)Christmas party. I made individualized Christmas ornaments for each participant.  All 38 special needs participant were very happy to receive their very own ornament.

The party was exciting. There was a horse-drawn carriage and a bouncy house both of which tested the children’s patience as they all wanted to bounce and ride at the same time. Musical chairs was hilarious! I danced my way around the chairs with the children until the end when I was left standing and they sitting laughing at me.

May the hope, peace, joy and love that this season represents be manifest in your life.

 

As for Me and My House

by: Joan Meyler

I have been thinking about Mrs. Lot recently.  You know, Lot’s wife who turned into a pillar of salt? Her. The same one. Like us. She didn’t know the twists and turns her life would take.

As a child her every need was catered to. Decisions made for her. Her parents even selected her husband. They chose a man of good reputation, handsome, a man from a wealthy family and with the ability of creating yet more wealth, ensuring her every want would be met.

In due time, they got married. What a celebration that must have been! Weeks of singing, dancing, feasting. A wedding to be envied!

After the celebrations, life began anew for Mr. and Mrs Lot. Alone together, they came face to face with themselves and each other. Two strangers who thought they knew the other. Afraid of the vulnerability demanded in the union called marriage, they retreated into the design society had created; no, demanded.  Was it the one God intended? Was there the unity, vulnerability, unconditional love demanded when “two become one”? Or did they live together, each pursuing their own needs, wants, desires under the guise of making a better life?

Like Mr. and Mrs. Lot, there comes a time of decision making.  The decision made is reflective on how the life has been lived up to that point. Loving unconditionally, there is only one decision. Conditional love demands that the ego be satisfied.  The spirit is left out of that decision.  Yet it is the most vital part of any decision making. The ego is never satisfied always wanting more, setting more conditions.

As we contemplate this season of waiting, deciding, will you, me, be like Mrs. Lot, unable to release that which cannot co-exist with the direction God is taking us? Or will we grasp the Spirit’s hand as we are led into becoming God’s unconditional love in expression?

May His kingdom be manifest in you.

Ask and You Shall Receive

by: Joan Meyler

Did you play the game “Mother, May I” when you were a child? In this game you asked permission to move toward a goal. Sometimes the permission was granted; at others it was not.  Eventually the goal was achieved.  This simple children’s game laid the foundation of our asking and built faith in our believing that we will receive that we which we asked for.

Matthew 7:7, Luke 11: 9, James 1:5 and many other scriptures tell us to ask and we shall receive, thus reinforcing God’s willingness to answer our questions and supply our needs. Sometimes in our asking we ask amiss, not understanding what we are asking for or not recognizing when we have received the answers we seek. Take for example the prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:10). There has been many books written about this simple prayer and many of us have prayed this prayer.  But what are we asking for?  What do we know about Jabez that we should want to emulate him?

The Bible tells us a little about Jabez:

• born in a situation of desperation and dysfunction
• developed a relationship with God
• defied what society expected of him

Jabez was a wealthy man when he asked God to expand his territory. Surely he did not need more money, land, etc. Just what territory was he talking about? When I think of “territory” I think of a physical location with some sort of border. Yet this was not what I think Jabez was asking God for.  I believe God has a plan for our lives and uses our experiences to guide us and grow our faith and trust. It must have been the same with Jabez; who the Bible tells us was a righteous man.

It is my belief that Jabez was asking God to enlarge his capacity to receive wisdom, revelation and direction from the Holy Spirit as well as how to use this outpouring in ministry to God’s people. He wanted God’s promises to be fulfilled and he wanted to be a part more of that than he had been.

As I think about this revelation, I ask myself “What the ministry am I doing that I want expanded? And for what purpose, my ego or God’s work?

What about you? God has a distinct purpose for you. Do you want God’s plan for your life? Why not pray that God will bless you indeed as you walk into the fulfillment of that purpose through ministering to His people!

Character of God on Display

by: Joan Meyler

Are you a fruit inspector? I was at the market recently purchasing fruit to supplement my lunch. As I browsed the display of oranges, melons, kiwi, apples, etc. my thoughts drifted to the times my sister and I have spent visiting “pick your own” farms where we wandered through groves of oranges or peaches or strawberry – whatever fruit was in season – selecting what we thought were the plumpest, juiciest fruit we could find. Sometimes our selections were perfect. At other times, they just appeared to be perfect until a bite was taken. It was then that we discussed the expertise fruit inspectors must have to know just when a fruit is ready. We also talked of how tired we were after fruit picking but how satisfying it was to know that we had selected what we thought was the best to be had.

Fruit in hand, I made my way back to the office and the lunch awaiting me.  The sound of footsteps behind me and the words, “Hi, are you on your lunch break?” caused me to turn and look into the face of Iyo, my nine-year-old shadow. I met Iyo at a school I visited, and we quickly became friends. Iyo is always hungry although he refuses to admit it.  He is also always in need of a hug although he is not always clean.  As I look into his smiling face, a phrase I recently read came to mind; “the fruit of the spirit is God’s character on display”.  The joy I see in Iyo’s eyes and the peace in his smile prompts me to ask myself, “How am I as a Christian displaying God’s character?”

Like the fruit in the bag I carried, the fruit of the Holy Spirit resides in me.  It is a result of God’s presence in my life.  Does the fruit inspector walking beside me see the changes my relationship with God has made in my life and is it making a difference in his?

This child has accepted me, a stranger in his midst, unconditionally. He has needs, yet he asks nothing of me.  As we walk down the street back to my office, I am thankful for the peace, joy and love God has shown me through this nine-year-old child.

May I encourage you to cultivate the fruit God has entrusted you with.

Love (1 John 3:18); Joy (Nehemiah 8:10); Peace (Philippians 4:6-8)

Forbearance (Colossians 1:11); Kindness (2 Timothy 2:24).

Goodness (3 John 11); Faithfulness (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Gentleness (Philippians 4:5); Self-Control (Titus 2:11-12)

Can You Hear Me?

by: Joan Meyler

 

The fingers of dawn barely fold back the shadows when “whooo, whooo”, calls me awake.  I’m not ready”, I respond nestling deeper into the folds of sleep still clouding my mind.

“But you must,” chirps the lizard in the corner where ceiling meets wall over the window.   Having done its dirty work, the owl flys away, “Whoo, whoo, whoo,” trailing in the stillness behind it.  I’m now fully awake.  Yet I lay there in the silence, listening.

As I lay listening, I hear the wind with its gentle breeze greet the day and birds sing their greeting one to another.  In the silence the sound of the Creator’s handiwork praised Him for its existence.  My thoughts turned to those who desperately search for someone who would listen to them.  Not just hear with the intent to respond, but truly listen to the heart’s cry; words that are silently shouted while the heart breaks from a desperate need.

It is easy to become lost in a world of sound.  The noise which surrounds us becomes familiar.  We miss it when it’s not there, the sounds of silence seem deafening.  But what about the whispers of God?  Do we become so used to the screams of the world that we can no longer hear the Shepard’s voice?  (John 10: 27, Romans 10:17)

I am learning to listen.  Not just to hear sound and respond to it, but to be alert and ready to hear with discernment, with intensity.   I don’t want to miss what I need to hear.   How about you?

 

 

A Firm Foundation

 

by: Joan Meyler

For the past month I have been driving pass a house under construction.  I watched as the land was cleared, the foundation marked, and concrete poured. All appeared as it should to my eyes. One day I had company as I drove my usual route.  Seeing the beginning of this house, my companion comment, “that’s a low foundation, three bricks high is not enough”.

“It looks okay to me,” I replied. “Why do you think it should be higher?”

He responded, “It rains very heavily in this area. The foundation needs to be at least twice as high to avoid flooding”.

That got me thinking. . . As children we depend on our parents to guide us (Proverbs 22:6), eventually we get to the place where we make our own decisions. Sometimes our decisions are well thought-out and wise sometimes not. Some of our habits even trap us in destructive behaviors (Romans 3:23) and we find ourselves in need of a place of refuge.  During those times of difficulty, in the dark experiences of life, what do we rely on? How is the foundation on which we are building our life? Is it able to withstand the challenges we face?

The 91^st Psalm tells us of God’s willingness to protect, provide, support and deliver us. Without a belief in God and the faith which comes from our relationship with Him, we become blown and battered by the winds of life. These winds may cause cracks in our foundation (ability to stand firm, untroubled by life’s challenges) however as these cracks become filled with faith our relationship with God deepens into one of trust. The storms no longer threaten to flood our lives as we find ourselves firmly planted and supported by that impenetrable rock.

Restored to Perfection

by: Joan Meyler

On one of my recent travels, I took along a cup to remind me of home. Why a cup, you ask? Well, the intent was to take something meaningful but not bulky. Something practical that would make me less homesick while reminding me of the love of family and friends I had left behind. With each use of this simple yet significant object I connected with loved ones daily.  This connection would soon be tested. You see, one morning as I prepared to make my usual cup of tea, the cup slipped my hand and went crashing to the floor. Surprise, disappointment and concern filled me.
“How badly broken is it? Can I repair it?” “Is it still usable?” Floated through my mind as I gathered the pieces from the hard, concrete floor. Picking up the broken cup I considered the task ahead of me.  The Japanese must have also had similar experiences. Several thousand years ago, they created the art of Kintsugi. The philosophy of this art form is to repair the broken object by incorporating the damage into the aesthetic of the restored item.  To do so, they apply a mixture of lacquer resin, powdered gold, silver, platinum, copper or bronze, resulting into something more beautiful and more valuable than the original.

Looking at the pieces of ceramics spread on my table, I am reminded of the times I have found myself broken and in places I shouldn’t be; places of worry, anxiety, fear, distrust, etc.  Maybe you have also been in those places and have wondered if you could be restored to wholeness. Jeremiah 30:17 tells us that in sickness, God restores our health. When we have lost all, Joel 2:25-26 reminds us that our years of want and neglect will be restored to the point of satisfaction.  During those times when we are without joy, God gently restores the joy of our salvation and upholds us with a willing spirit. God’s restorative process may take us through the fire but on the other side our cracks and broken spaces are filled with the blood of Christ and we become restored testimonials of God’s love and faithfulness, more precious than gold, silver, platinum, copper or bronze.

Seekers

By: Joan Meyler

I have three suitcases packed. There are books, clothing, miscellaneous items scattered over every available piece of furniture in my bedroom. As I survey the chaotic scene in front of me, I realize something is missing. I struggle to recall everything I have packed. Yet, I know something is missing. I just cannot think of what it could be. Hurriedly, I create a clear space on my bed, grabbed suitcase number one, and struggled to get it on the bed. I unzip it and dump its contents unceremoniously in the cleared space. I glance at my typed packing list, “Nope, not there,” I say to the room before meticulously repacking number one. “Move on to number two,” I say aloud, even though I’m by myself.

Number two is even heavier than number one. “What do you have in there?” screams my arms as I lift the behemoth. “Be in here!” I say to the object of my desire. I take a little more time unpacking number two, checking every item against the three-page packing list.

Again, my search leaves me unfulfilled. Sighing, I am a little more deliberate with repacking as I ponder each item returning to the now empty suitcase. Somethings didn’t make back.  They lay forlornly on the bed as if pleading to rejoin their friends in suitcase number two. Surely it MUST be in suitcase number three, the beautiful black weekend bag I planned to keep close to me while numbers one and two travelled with the checked bags of my fellow travelers.

As I removed things I thought vital to my survival, my thoughts turned to the way we sometimes address our life. How many times do we go through life attempting to find or obtain something we know is missing? Looking at packing lists of jobs, churches, friends, etc. to fill the void in our heart. Unlike the widow in Luke 15:8-10, we don’t know what we are looking for. We just know there is an emptiness that needs to be filled. Jacob, in Genesis 32 had a void he did not recognize yet had spent his life trying to fill. It was not until he wrestled with the God at Peniel that he realized that there was something he did not have – the true blessing that comes from a relationship with God expressed through honest relationships with others. We fill our lives with things and label ourselves Christians, Disciples of Christ, etc. outwardly yet we remain unfulfilled.

Jacob had sent his family, servants and the display of his wealth ahead leaving him alone with himself. It was in this time of aloneness and silence that he came to see himself as he was and recognized his need for a deeper more satisfying relationship with God. It was then that he pleaded with God to fill the void of his life.  Might I suggest that you (and I) dear friend look belong our possessions, jobs, relationships and tenaciously seek God in the silence of our soul and allow Him to make us a visible expression of the fulfillment that comes from His relationship with us.

For Such a Time as This

by: Joan Meyler

Are you born for such a time as this? That was the question Esther had to answer at a most inconvenient time.  Its answer could have her killed yet answer it she must. The book of Esther tells us that Esther’s people, generations before her had been taken captive in war and moved from their homeland.

In their new home they were forbidden to speak their original language or practice their religion.  Over the ensuing years, the Jews had just about given up on God as each generation moved further away from their religion accepting instead the behaviors of those they lived among.  They were remembered by their racial identity not their religious beliefs or practices and in time, they eventually forgot who they were.  Except that is, a few faithful souls.

Esther’s family was among the faithful. Esther was an orphan. As was customary during that time, she was adopted by her uncle who raised her and taught her who she was.  Esther came to the king’s attention as he sought to replace the previous queen, Vashti. Vashti had defied the king when he, drunk after extensive partying, had called her to present herself to be admired by his friends.  Vashti, not wanting to be paraded naked before these drunk men had refused. The king in his embarrassment and anger decreed that she should be “put away” and be replaced by a new queen. This decree led to Esther’s introduction to life in the palace and she was soon made queen.

Esther was a Jew. A descendant of immigrants, a people who had been forcibly removed from their homeland. A queen.

The culture she lived in had no love for either Jews or descendants of immigrants.  Over time, those who had the king’s ear had convinced him that these persons were no longer of value to the kingdom and needed to be removed (killed) and all their possessions taken. Living in the palace, Esther thought she could, would, escape this destruction until she was reminded that God knew who she was and so did she.

We live in a time not much different from Esther’s time.  Some of us have become complacent; worldly, forgotten God. Until we are faced with crisis of some kind. Even then, we think these challenges belong to other people.  We pretend not to see the homeless person begging on the street; we step pass the mentally ill on our way to satisfy our ego; social injustice we often think affects others. Yet God in His infinite wisdom uses these moments of crises to remind us that if we are who we say we are and respond to these challenging times with the tools He has given us, He will hear, and He will answer (2 chronicles 7:14).

Just as Esther denied her ego and submitted to the Spirit of God and in so doing, kept her people from being destroyed, we too are being called upon to experience the fresh wind of God’s spirit as we become who we are intended to be. (Philippians 2:15).  Is God whispering in your ear that it is time for you to break your silence?  Were you born for such a time as this?

The Mosaic

by: Joan Meyler

Last Summer I had occasion to visit Morocco. One of the things my companions and I did was to visit a place where pottery and mosaics were made.  In this artisan market, white clay was being used to fashion bowls, plates, everyday utensils as well as decorative items for the home. I was amazed by this process as I watched artisans take lumps of clay and turn them into items ranging from simple containers to the most delicate and ornate objects I had ever seen.

As I moved from one area of this market to another, I came upon an artisan creating a mosaic.  I was amazed to see that these designs were created upside down! The artist created a masterpiece by looking only at the back. The part that was without color or pattern. It was only when the object was completed that anyone saw the front!

“How could this be?” I pondered.  “How could this magnificent work of art be created without looking at the design as it was being created? Why not monitor his progress along the way?”

I was told,” the artist learned the craft as a small child so he instinctively knew how his creation should look.”

“But what if it when he looked at the finished product it was not what he had envisioned?” I further questioned my guide.

“At that point, the piece is broken and put back through the process until it becomes what the artist envisioned,” she said.

This resonated with me. It occurred to me that just as the artist was creating what would be considered a masterpiece at its completion, so are we fashioning a masterpiece with our lives.  We learn from our guides and teachers to create a life we envision (Proverbs 22:6) Each tile placed in the object represents a choice made in our lives. At the time you made the choice, you had no idea the effect it would have on your life or the lives of others. Some effects were as you desired, others were not.  They forced you to reconsider (repent) and seek help in correcting the offense.  Just as the artist must destroy the offending piece, so must we see the flaw in ourselves, our relationships and correct it through repentance.

Repentance is painful. It forces us to look at the ugly parts of our souls and admit that we know less than we thought; are less than we believed and cannot change ourselves on our own.  We must submit to the one who makes all things new and be willing to allow ourselves to reflect His handiwork.  Our relationship with the Divine Artist allows us to be remade into the perfect piece for the place we hold in His kingdom here on earth.

What would you like the mosaic of your life to look? What do you need to do to make it so?