Good Grief!

The favorite phrase of Lucy Van Pelt, all too frustrated with her good friend, Charlie Brown. I have often wondered if there really is such a thing as “good grief”.

According to The Shiva Foundation, www.goodgrief.org, “grieving takes us to the very heart of life itself. Grieving takes us to love and to loss. We only grieve for that which we have loved and, the nature of life being transitory, love and loss are intimately connected…All of us experience some level of loss in our everyday lives, from apparently minor situations to major loss such as the loss of a loved one, a job, a relationship, or a dream.”

I have experienced all of these types of grief in the past – the loss of a relationship, a job, a dream, and loved ones. No matter what the loss, it still hurts, and it still takes time to recover. And it never feels “good”.

I am currently in the process of grief, not because anyone has died, but because our good friends, and brother and sister in Christ, are moving. Jim Dubose is more than just a preacher. Over the last 8 years, Jim and Susie have been leaders, healers, counselors, confidants, examples and role models, teachers, encouragers, cheerleaders, ministers, and friends. There have been two men in my life that have made a significant impact on my character and my faith. The first was my youth minister while growing up, Grady King, and the second is my good friend and Christian brother, Jim DuBose. They will be sorely missed. Their absence will leave a hole in my life and in the lives of many in the congregation. Many will grieve, but the grieving will be good.

How, you might ask? Only one explanation will suffice…God is faithful in all things, and He has a plan! God has a plan for Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. God has a plan for Jim and Susie DuBose. God has a plan for Central Church of Christ. And God has a plan for me. Jim summed it up best when he said, “I belong to God and I must serve the master”. So any tears that are shed, should be tears of joy, not grief. Joy that Hot Springs Village will have such assets. Joy that we have gotten to experience God at work through such a wonderful family of servants. Joy that, although they will be miles away, they will be as close as a phone call, an email, or a short drive. Joy that God will bring another servant to Central to work in the lives of His children here and in the community in which we live. Joy that the DuBoses and God’s body at Central will grow from this experience. Joy that God’s kingdom will prosper.

Joy that God’s grace is sufficient.

Jim and Susie, I love you guys and I will miss your presence.

Thank you Father for such servants of character, conviction, compassion, dedication, and love, as Jim, Susie, Ben, Emily, and Tim DuBose. Thank you for bringing them into our lives, for the examples they lived each and every day, for giving us a glimpse of You through their hearts. Thank you for the impact they have had on our lives and we thank You for the next servants you will bring our way. Please work in the lives and the ministry of the DuBose family and lift them up and encourage and strengthen them until we meet again. In the name of Your precious Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Idle Hands

“Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop”. Everyone’s mother has said this to you at one time or another (and I bet you’ve repeated it a few times yourself). Great concept…but is it not found anywhere in the Bible. Sure Ecclesiastes 10 says that lazy people have idle hands; James 4 tells us that if we know to do good but don’t that we sin; and in 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul told the people that if they didn’t work they shouldn’t eat. But in this fast-paced day and age, we tend to take it to heart and, as a result, we take the opposite to the extreme.

We lead busy lives. We fill our days with so much activity that we leave ourselves little or no time to eat or rest. We “multi-task” so that we can accomplish more projects in less time. We make jokes about lawyers billing more than 24 hours in a day, yet we try to cram just as many things into our day. We overbook and schedule appointments on top of appointments. We buy gadgets to help us do things faster and more efficiently, to be more mobile, and appear to be in two places at once. Most times, when asked, we just cannot say “NO”. Our weeks consist of meetings, soccer and baseball games, rehearsals, music or dance lessons, personal projects for our friends and/or family, and more meetings. For most of us, our problem is not “idle hands”, but not enough hands.

With such busy lives, we tend to let our defenses down. We don’t have the time to set our minds on things above or focus on what or who is really important. Then, when we come up against a seemingly insurmountable task, we tremble with the fear of failure, knowing that we just can’t give any more. The Israelites felt this way when they came up against the Red Sea with the Egyptian army closing in on them. God’s solution – “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) (emphasis added). “BE STILL?!?”, we think, “BE STILL!!? WE DON’T HAVE TIME TO BE STILL!” Yes, the Lord commands us to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). To Saul on the road to Damascus, Jesus commanded him to go into the city and wait. For 3 days Saul sat in total darkness for instructions on how to find the Lord (Acts 9). Even Jesus often went off alone to pray (Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46; Luke 6:12), sometimes all night. In His final hours, when the stress in His life was the greatest and He felt the weight of the world crashing in around Him, He spent time alone in the stillness of Gethsemane to talk to His Father (Matthew 26:39-44; Mark 14:35-40).

My prayer for you is that you take time to be still in the presence of the Lord and there find tranquility in His arms of love.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

You Don't Know Me

No vacation is complete without the obligatory souvenir t-shirt. Everything from the standard “I Love (dream destination here)”, to pictures of local landmarks and cartoon characters of well known theme parks. While traveling to Washington DC this summer, Lane picked out a great shirt that said, “You don’t know me! (Federal Witness Protection Program)”.

Sometimes, I think that we voluntarily enter the “witness protection program” when it comes to our faith. We are commanded to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15); to “go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”. (Matt 28:19-20). Yet, we disguise our faith in God, choosing instead to blend in with the world around us, fearing that we might lose friends or offend those very souls to whom Jesus sent us to reach. We cry out with our actions, “I don't know the man!” (Like that worked well for Peter in Matthew 26!)

Instead of hiding away in some secluded community, masking our true identity, our witness begins in our own communities, neighborhoods, and even our own households, just as Jesus first witnessed to the Jews. Christ has called us to be a light set high atop a stand for all to see. (Matthew 5:14-15). We are directed to be transformed – different – renewed so that we stand out as a beacon of Christ’s love and grace. (Romans 12).

Do those you come in contact with each day know who you are? More importantly, do they know whose you are?

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35