MISSING THE SUNSET

I’m a nut for sunsets (and sunrises!)  The best I’ve ever seen have always been over water, whether by the shores of Green Bay in Door County or the Pacific Coast Highway in California.  They always seem so much more intense and beautiful against such backdrops.

Where I live, I can catch glimpses of both through the trees and houses, but never the whole thing.  I need to rush down the street to the park or by my town’s highest point to take in all the grandeur.  It has gotten to the point that whenever we go on vacation, I must be properly situated to catch the best panorama of the setting or rising sun or I return feeling that the trip was incomplete.  The same goes for stargazing-so far the best I’ve seen is in Amish country in Wisconsin where shooting stars and satellites get almost dull and if you’re lucky you can catch the Northern Lights.

As I was putting a letter in the mailbox early this morning, I looked up and saw a wonderful sunrise, although I realized that if I had been out just a few minutes earlier, it would have been more spectacular and vibrant.  I made a mental note to make sure I keep an eye out the window in the mornings so as not to miss it again.

All of a sudden it occurred to me that the sunrises and sunsets are like God.  He’s always there but sometimes we don’t catch Him because we’re too busy or not in the “right location” to get the full vista.  I  sense God in a “sunset moment” when I’m singing praise songs, walking in the woods, watching an infant sleep or having a quiet time.  But God is still there even when I am not consciously looking for Him or setting my watch to “catch the best sight.”

It is comforting to know that.  I went into the house feeling lighthearted about my new revelation.  I take comfort in 1 Chronicles 16:31: Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice ; And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."

MEALS FOR SCHLEMIELS (or WATCH YOUR WITNESS!)

Warning: Admission of guilt and soul-bearing ahead!

Ok, so this post is kind of a rant that I should be ashamed of, but it really irks me, so I’ll just get it all out and ask for forgiveness in the last paragraph.

At my church, we have a ministry called, wait, better not say it, it’s a “Meals on Wheels” sort of deal, where people can ask to have meals delivered to them in times of crisis, such as illness, death in the family, traumas, etc.  There is a squadron of willing ladies that are ready to cook up some Christian fellowship and love at the drop of a hat.

I am one of them.  Being that I am somewhat chained to my house all week running a home day care, I thought this would be the perfect ministry for me.  And it has been.  I can still serve others in spite of my restrictive working atmosphere.  I have even incorporated the cooking portion into my daycare activities and the kids get to learn how to help others while we cook together.

On one particular busy Wednesday, I received a call to provide a meal for one of our fellow church families.  The wife had just come home from the hospital after giving birth to twin boys, with two other preschool sons at home. 

I called their home to make delivery arrangements and spoke to the husband who had taken the week off to help with the adjustment.  I then proceeded to prepare a meal for them during naptime at my day care.  After all the children were picked up, I packed the meal and proceeded to follow the directions to their home.  Here’s where it gets fuzzy. 

Now, my house is a nice, middle-class abode.  We can afford to throw a few chicken breasts around to our congregation now and then.  But after a day of caring for eight kids from 3 months to 5 years old, I was a little tired.  Imagine my surprise when my driving directions brought me to a gated community of McMansions!

These are the times that try Christians’souls.  I took some deep breaths and rang the bell.  I was escorted into their “magazine layout ready” chateau to see two sweet newborns fast asleep and the rest of the family waiting around for me to bring them sustenance.  There was not a thing out of place anywhere.  I mused about the cleanup waiting for me at home after my long day care day. Yep….

Is it un-Christian of me to think that this was taking advantage of a church ministry?  This family could have made a phone call to any of the one hundred restaurants in our town and ordered a wonderful take-out meal (which I am sure would have been a few pegs up from my standard “chicken sautéed in olive oil” fare.)  Was this really an emergency that needed the aid of the body of Christ?   I can’t even drive by their neighborhood without mouthing off again about my sheer amazement of their unmitigated gall.  Just ask my husband!  I’m sad to admit that I even “went on strike” for awhile from the meal ministry.

BULLETIN:  This screed has been temporarily interrupted to feed pizza to my five DCK’s  (day care kids)…

I’m back. Trying to tie this whole essay up neatly into a Christ-centered package is harder than I thought!  Surely these angry feelings are not in keeping with living a life abiding in Christ like I should be.  Or did God arrange this for my benefit? 

So what to do?  Methinks that I shall spend today’s naptime searching the Good Book for an answer to my dilemma.  I’m sure Jesus had something to say about ministry recipients gone wrong.  My part in this little drama is another thing.  This troubled me so much that I grabbed my little Gideon Pocket Bible to check for verses in the “Where to Find Help, When: ” section!  Let’s see, Afraid, Anxious, no, not those.  How about Backsliding? Nope.  Bitter or Critical?  Ouch, that fits me to a “T”!

Good, only one verse to look up.  Uh, oh. 1 Corinthians 13, the Love chapter.  I can feel the guilt rising up my neck like a hot flash but here goes:

• 1.  If  I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a    resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

• 4.  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

• 5.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

• 13.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I only put some of the verses up that apply because I’m feeling about two inches tall right now.  I guess the second half of the title refers to me.  It is not my place to decide who is worthy of my giving.  There should not be a litmus test for a fellow brother and sister in Christ.  I thank God that He doesn’t have my high standards when it comes to deciding who is worthy and deserving of HIS love.  Thanks, Lord.  I ask your forgiveness.

So that’s that.  Gotta go, my chicken is ready and I’m off to the next town to deliver another meal to a church family in need!