Special Touch Ministry

They left us alone. We had two bottles, the grandbaby and directions of what to do. We pulled all the tricks out of the very new grandparent bag of “what to do when baby fusses “ moments. Two bottles downed, play time, scooting across the floor and every toy tried failed. It was time for bed. Not for us, unfortunately!!! He fussed, he cried, he got himself all worked up. I got another big burp out, grandpa heard it in the other room and then I defied the orders. The orders, “don’t snuggle him just put him in the bed.” I held him close and sang wordless melody’s that had no beginning nor end. Slowly his body relaxed and it was a few minutes and his eyes were closed and he was “gone”. I didn’t put him down right away. I just held him close.

An hour before we got the news our friend had passed. Since her diagnosis of cancer, she had become my wednesday prayer partner. I held that precious baby and imagined God holding her close as her body struggled with the transition of going home.

This really hit home as I thought back to one of her messages to me.

“Thank you, Marette. I’ve been having more discomfort/pain as this cancer grows and that makes it easy to feel more of the darkness. I’m His child though, and he is holding me, even when I don’t recognize it. ”

Wade knew it wasn’t mommy holding him but he did know someone was and he was loved. Lori knew who was holding her, even when it didn’t feel like it: her faith knew God was.

May we all trust God when the darkness of reality, cancer, pain, frustration and failure covers our heart. May we have the confidence that Lori had. We are Gods children and He is holding us. To go to sleep in the arms of God must be a very comforting beautiful moment only surpassed by waking up in Gods arm in eternity.

In the early hours of the morning, before the sun came up, the kids stood in line for the bus and the garbage man came to grab the black and blue containers outside my friends home, I struggled with 1 Corinthians 14. It’s after the love chapter: what could be more difficult than love? Actually, love is not a feeling, love is not a place, love is not a ring. Yes, love hurts, love is not endless, and it fades, and you sometimes have to do more than, tell someone you love them in a song. Love isn’t as easy as some people make it look and it’s much easier than others struggle to express. So the struggle? The struggle is to internalize, process then pass it on.

1 Cor. 14 reduces it down to three things.

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.”

We get so scared of the word prophecy. It’s like that word no one wants to utter on the playground. It’s actually being the mouthpiece of God. So technically, we prophesy all day. Sometimes we actually are the mouthpiece of God. Other times we are our own trumpet blaring loudly. Tear the verse apart-

Follow the way of love. Stopping there could take a long detour. Simply spoken, love leads you to do things that honor others and honor God by honoring others. Do that. Do you want the things that the Holy Spirit has for you? Things like, evidence God is working in your life, such as actions of love, joy, peace ? From there, the verse talks about tongues which is another topic people hide under the coffee table so they don’t have to understand it’s meaning. So skip it because it doesn’t really help or hinder the meaning of the verse and jump right into prophecy, or being the mouthpiece of God.

We are mouthpieces. Just bring up a topic, any topic, and you will find people loudly sharing their mouthpiece. We try to convince others, persuade by vocalization loudly proclaiming our opinion and hope someone else quits talking so we can assert another opinion. God doesn’t really speak opinion have you noticed? We do, but God pretty much says, love me, love the one beside you. There isn’t much room for opinion there. There is plenty of room for love. The verse ends by telling us to encourage, strengthen and comfort. Well, that’s more of a piece than a mouthpiece. However, if we take the mouth-piece and live it, it will become something that shows encouragement, lives to strengthen others and demonstrates comfort. That’s a bit harder than just being a mouthpiece. I like to talk, spoiler alert, but there are times when I sit and marvel as I watch God unfold in front of my eyes a living canvas that words cannot describe. Prophecy or the mouthpiece of God? Yes- big time! Can I do it? I can try, and somewhere through my efforts and my struggle to be Jesus, I pray I encourage, strengthen and comfort. At least I am walking along side and making an effort to blow God out so others see, feel or hear his voice and hopefully they hear God louder than they hear me.

The phone ringing jolted me out of the calm silence. One glance at the number told me that I was needed at the trailer: Grandpas’ trailer. The phone number simply said, “grandpa needs help.” That was the identification we put on the lifeline number. I headed out the door toward the trailer on the run. Coming into the trailer entry way, I called out to see if Grandpa was okay. I could hear laughter as I turned to push the door open. Sitting at the table was Grandpa, and the laughter was obvious: it was Mary, Grandpa’s wife. I didn’t know her well; she died a month after we were married but her laughter was infectious and very identifiable. Grandpa was laughing and making up for 30 plus years of lost time.

The shock in the room was obviously only mine. I watched for what seemed like forever as the scene in front of me unfolded. Gone, forgotten, now sitting at the table visiting and laughing as if it had never happened. Nothing happened? Like 34 years never happened. Like grandchildren, daughter in laws, great grandchildren, and lots of water under the bridge. The bridge Grandma Mary never got to see built. Those thoughts go through my head in a second- and then I said, “did you call Jim. “The lifeline call always goes to Jim, then me then Lori. They were too busy laughing and talking and so lost in the moment, I looked at my cell phone and then started running up toward the shop! Jim doesn’t often, ok almost never, does he hear his text dingee thingee, and more often than that, doesn’t reply. Well, for some odd reason, he had seen the lifeline alert and was on his way, not to be outdone by Lori flying in, the LOJO license plate zipping by us as she turned to go down to the trailer. We got to the open door and stood with wonder as we watched life disappear into an amazing moment of, life come back from where it had stopped.

It was a dream. You might have figured that out by now. Grandpa J passed away almost a year ago. But maybe, it happened like that when those who came to the tomb then saw Jesus in person felt. I can only imagine that’s what it might have felt. The realization that Jesus was alive. The heart skipping a beat, the burden or sorrow being lifted like the pulleys move the big curtains at the theatre.

John 20:15 “Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him. Jesus said to her, “Mary”. She turned toward him and cried in Aramaic, “Rabboni (which means Teacher)”.

The abrupt realization that Jesus was alive must have been quite the moment. Mary was caught in her grief, and instantly went from tears to absolute astonishment! Just as it would be quite the moment if we walked into the trailer and saw Grandma Mary sitting, laughing with Grandpa.

It’s hard for us to think about the dead coming back to life. Very few except in the medical community have seen such miracles. So, allow me to think out loud. To hear my mother in law’s laugh, watch someone walking down the street and realize it’s my father’s walk, or to hear Grandma Campbell whistling. Those moments would take my heart up a notch and I know I won’t see them alive on earth again.

Jesus had told them, I will rise. And he did. And we walk by the wonder with a, just another manic Monday attitude. The difference is also Jesus will never die. If such a wonderful gift comes to my heat as having a loved one brought back to life, the reality is they will die again. Lazarus had to go through it, dying, again! Jesus, is alive, will always be alive and the way I see the morning sunrise, the way I look at a flower, the moments I can’t breathe and then a calmness comes upon my heart, the scripture that comes into my mind: those are the living Jesus, alive and present in my world.

“He is risen- He is risen indeed”, echoed through many corridors yesterday. The question to be reconciled within the heart is, will that still be bouncing off the walls of my week? He is risen doesn’t simply end when we go back to normality! He is risen changes where I find myself walking, what I find myself thinking and who I find myself loving. He is risen goes far beyond the euphoria or the thought of a loved one back in our lives again. It places the God of the universe walking beside us every moment of the day and throughout the dark of the night when we can’t sleep. We will head home from family time full of ham, potatoes, chocolate eggs and jellybeans. We are also heading home full of love, hugs, laughter and talking about the things life has us wound in its web. Regardless of the direction we drive, there is nowhere Jesus will not be with us. “He is risen, he is risen indeed”, aren’t simply 6 words, they are the focus of our hearts lens.

When we slow down enough to see what we are passing by it’s interesting. I flew out of the cities this morning early with Ethel and Louise (crutches) . I will have surgery in a few weeks to scope and scrape (my medical jargon) but until then, we will celebrate Tyler’s seminary graduation and I will go slow. Going slow, is kind of a necessity but it’s kind of nice.. nice and slow.

Our culture is a quick culture. Go fast, go often, go past, move over slow people, use the right lane, set the cruise and don’t look back to see who you have run over. After all, they were in the way!

Jesus is counter culture and asks us to pull over and let people go by not simply because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s when we notice things. I saw things this morning- like the little boy that hadn’t probably seen crutches before. The older woman who had sad eyes. We hear conversation when we slow down and pull back the volume on the world around us. With the air pods, the headsets and the “entertainment in our hand culture”, we just don’t listen to people, we listen to stuff.

I may be tempted to do that but I can’t walk with crutches and hold my phone watching a movie at the same time. Perhaps it’s better said “I don’t want to do that”. I want to look in people’s eyes. I want to smile at the dad holding that newborn so gently as if she was a china doll so he knows I think he’s awesome. I want to see the little girl grabbing at her daddy’s hand and talking non-stop. If I wasn’t listening, I might miss the sound of the moving sidewalk, and they do make noises. I almost kissed the rubber belt as it carried me much farther with less work on my part. Some were walking fast on the moving sidewalk. Others were standing like me, to the right like the sign says, and watching people and smiling. I didn’t have my ear buds in. I had my ear-God in.

I began to Pray for people whom I passed. I prayed for people that were looking unhappy. I smiled at the many faces that now without masks one can engage easier. We might be total strangers, but yet, for a moment, being kind and noticing the existence of another is what kindness is all about.

Jesus did that well. He noticed people. He listened to the world going on around him. He engaged in conversation in the oddest of places. No, not an airport or an airplane but if they existed in his day, he would have. He would have helped carry my bag, like a gal did in Minneapolis. He would have pushed the wheelchair transports and asked them where they were going. (No- I didn’t take a ride) He would have smiled at the mom calling, “Finley, focus, 1,2, 3. ” Jesus would have unplugged as they say in our culture and listened to where he could just say a word, or plant a seed, or pick up on a conversation or… You get it- Jesus slowed the world down and got on it’s speed to love us.

And Jesus would have probably given an extra boost of speed to the gal who just ran by trying to make her flight. FYI- if you are going to the airport, and are going to be late, wear shoes that you can run in. Well, except for me. I have the right shoes, just waiting for Jesus and Dr. Jared to work their magic.

Take time today to notice things our culture hurries by. Even if it’s just a flower, or a cloud, or another heart. When we slow down, it’s amazing what we will hear!

It’s one of my life verses- actually that’s the end of the verse. “For your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things… But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” come before that part of the verse. I don’t need much. I live pretty simply. My closet of clothes is pretty small. In fact I own more violins than I do blue jeans. Goodwill and savers are more preferred shopping than a Target or Kohl’s. Those seem to be the “things “ that our culture stops at. The things we need or think we need.

This week I needed different things and I had them added to me. A long visit with a friend, a beautiful day to plant bulbs, rain falling, a card in the mail, three Bible studies in a 10 hour time period, two meals made for grandpa J, and that doesn’t even count the hours on the lake with a crossword puzzle book, watching Jim cut down trees and grilling by the dock. Those are the needs that meet my heart. I need people, quiet, Gods word, friends and maybe even a chipotle that was open, a rice bowl and a coke Diet Coke. Not big things but things that move my heart to see God in the everyday moments as I seek his kingdom and attempt to live a life of righteousness. For me that’s better than stuff!

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So,,,, I was like Moses today. I was in a basket on the Nile…okay it was a boat on the Nile but I was on the Nile. The longest river in Africa the Nile weaves its way down to Lake Victoria, or weaves its way up from Lake Victoria. We road along watching the birds and the very large rodents… guess they are called chameleons or geckos or lizards. We watched men fishing with nets, women washing clothes, a young man washing his hair with a plastic bag and children playing in the river. I didn’t see a queen, didn’t see a basket nor did I catch a fish and thankfully the rapids didn’t upset our long boat but, I sensed the presence of something perhaps only Africa’s can teach us. There is joy in life. Perhaps joy because there is little left. Perhaps joy because with food and clothing they are content. Perhaps because the joy in people is contagious and the feeling of loving Jesus is more real than we see in our world. We have so many other things to get in our way to distract us. We miss the beauty because our eyes are focused on the ground. We miss the smile because our heart is troubled. We miss a lot of things… but mostly we miss the joy. Africa reminds me of the joy. Simply the joy of living and life is worth the living just because HE lives. Take a moment today and find your joy…. or book a trip to Africa…

It’s raining. Again. I can almost relate to Noah. We can’t get in the fields. We can’t use outdoor arenas. We can’t mow lawn. We just watch it rain and listen to sump pumps that work and put down towels and pans to catch the water coming in where the roof leaks.

However even in the rain some things are beautiful. Leaves in fall. The sound of the rain on the roof. The mist in the morning. But mostly the leaves. On my drive up north usually I stop to take pictures of the fall tree colors as they explode across the Wisconsin countryside. They are exploding… but I am not stopping. It’s raining too hard. Even with the rain, the trees are beautiful. Perhaps even a bit more because right now we need to see beauty. Rain, especially for this long and with this much, we are struggling to find the beauty in the mud. But when we look up at the trees, the beauty cannot be denied even with rain droplets on our glasses and dripping off the leaves. Perhaps it’s God reminding us that there is a beauty we miss when we don’t look up. There is a beauty that we need to reignite when we look at the simple things amidst the uncomfortable and let the beauty be more prominent. There is beauty…. even in the rain.