Different Interpretations

 “Don’t fix your attention on visible things, but those that are hidden and everlasting." ~ 2 Cor 4:18

Kara enjoyed this part of her day the most.  She’d pick out a book, dim the lights, then settle into her favorite armchair.  With Annie nuzzled eagerly in her lap, they opened tonight’s book to the first of many smooth, colorful pages. 

Like a thirsty sponge, Annie soaked up everything in her youthful environment.  Her creativity whirled even during story time.

Kara introduced tonight’s wordless picture book, “There’s A Mouse In The House” and watched her toddler’s fascination build with each new story.  Cuddling up and winding down after an otherwise hectic day brought them both such joy.

Sharing wordless books with Annie provided an opportunity for literacy-rich conversations.  The imagery in a picture book brought the pages to life, serving as a visual roadmap for the story.  The toddler would study the pictures and create a story in her own words.

Tonight’s tale had a funny, simple plot about a family whose daughter discovers a mouse in their home.

According to Annie, the book was about a poor mouse who’d been abandoned by its furry parents and found itself alone in a large home.  Angry and scared, the mouse escaped, finding its way into the dark streets, where cats, dogs, and other dangers waited to hurt him.

Eventually, the mouse was rescued by a kind girl who invited the mouse to live with her family in a pretty home where she lived happily ever after.  Annie’s story seemed to fit the pictures well, but her interpretation of them completely changed the story’s meaning.

“Do you want to hear my version of the story?” Kara asked softly.  Annie nodded.

According to Kara, the mouse lived comfortably in a house by herself.  A little girl took good care of him, but the mouse didn’t listen to the girl’s warnings about leaving the house.  

He sneaked out one night.  Danger lurked everywhere - cats chased him and dogs barked at him.  Soon the mouse found himself tired and hungry, wishing he’d listened to the girl who’d fed and played with him.  Fortunately, the girl who’d been looking for him the whole time scooped him up and they returned home together safely.

“That’s a very different story, isn’t it, Annie?”  Kara asked as she finished the story.  The sweet child nodded before saying, “I like your story too, Mommy!”

It’s amazing how the same pictures could be interpreted so very differently.  When we look at life through our own eyes, we only see what we’re living at that moment.  We let the conditions around us dictate our responses.

God looks at life differently.  He doesn't judge people or success by the world's standards.  He judges by the person's thoughts and intentions; by their character and their faith.

Almighty Father, help us see life through Your lens: more willing to forgive, more eager to lend a helping hand, more content knowing that our actions have eternal significance rather than just a temporary change.  Amen

"Pity the Fool"

“The Lord gave and has taken away.  Yet I praise His Holy name." ~ Job 1:21

Once crowned the “Toughest Bouncer in America,” (Yep there’s a $10,000 prize for that), Lawrence Tueraud grew up in a 3-room apartment with his mother and 11 siblings on Chicago’s south side.  He learned to be tough in school, where children constantly ridiculed his mother's piety.  He was suspended from elementary school 17 times for fighting to defend her.  

Tureaud attended vocational high school where he played football, wrestled, and studied martial arts.  A college football scholarship was revoked for fighting after his first year.  So, Laurence enlisted in the US army and served as a MP Officer.  Once discharged, he tried out for the Green Bay Packers but failed to make the team due to a knee injury.

Tureaud next worked as a bouncer at the Rush Street’s Dingbats Disco.  That’s where he created the persona of Mr. T, wearing the gold neck chains confiscated from customers leaving them behind after a fight.  Along with controlling the violence as a doorman in over 200 fights, Mr. T was mainly hired to keep out drug dealers and users.

He won the “Toughest Bouncer” contest two years in a row and gave the winnings to his church.  Yes, that Mr. T - the one-time pro-wrestler, A-Team operative and Rocky Balboa opponent.

He’s older now.  The chains are gone. (He stopped wearing them after Katrina, feeling it would be a sin against God to do so while so many people were suffering).  But he’s every bit a tough!

The A-Team member and boxer Clubber Lang in "Rocky III" has a new show, "I Pity the Fool."  He motivates workers to be better at their jobs, reunites families who've grown apart, and helps inspire people to be better human beings.

The show is dedicated to his Mom; about how he loved and respected her; how she taught them to pray, thank God for what little they had, and to actively live their faith.

Those beliefs drove him during his battle with (ironically) T-cell lymphoma.  He survived the mental anguish of chemo, radiation and a crisis of faith by studying Job’s biblical lessons.  “No matter what challenges confront me, I’ll not turn away from God, because,” said Mr. T said, “God will never turn from me!”

Never known for his timidity, Mr. T is definitely not shy about being a Christian.  Today he uses his Twitter @MrT to almost exclusively promote thoughtful, scriptural reflections.  

Unlike many Christians on Twitter, he doesn’t tweet to insult culture, “take back America for God” or any such nonsense.  No, while he once spent all his time pitying fools, now he seeks to bless and educate them with biblical wisdom stronger than his biceps and a commitment to spreading love, courage and hope.

“Father, give me strength today, not the strength to lift 500 pounds, but the power that my words might motivate, might inspire somebody, might draw someone closer to You.  When they hear me, Lord, let them hear You.” Amen ~ Lawrence Tueraud

Forged in Fire

 “Blessed are those who persevere under fire." ~ James 1:12

The flames that reduced their home to ashes also burned that memory into young Jared’s mind forever.  He’d never forget shaking on that warm summer evening, standing beside his Mom, Dad, siblings and Frankie (their pet collie).  His senses confirmed what he was still unable to believe.  The house, their home, gone!  No object had escaped its wrath.

Last night it was an inferno; acrid smoke, multi-colored flames, and oppressive heat - even from a hundred yards away.  The family had made it out by the grace of God, their fire alarms having blared as they were supposed to.  Firefighters could only watch it burn and try their best to protect the houses next door.

The sullied remains were so much more than a torched house.  Once so alive, so vibrant, had been a place of love and security, a place with memories and warmth.  Now the unobstructed wind whistled through twisted plastic and metal that had been furniture and electronics.  Amid those ruins lay history, secrets, all their personal possessions.

Gone were Dad’s tools, Mom’s recipes, and prized photographs.  His sister kicked at a pile of rubbish, hoping to find even one of her cherished Harry Potter books.  Little Andrew searched pointlessly for a favorite toy, or maybe even his collection of Pokémon trading cards.

The fragments that had been his sanctuary, his comfort in every storm, lay sooty at his feet.  Jared picked up some chars of what’d once been their residence, not sure what he'd been expecting to feel by touching what was left.  Perhaps some vibrancy of his youth.

There was nothing left but the plot of land to rebuild from.  Dark ash would soon be part of a new life enriching the soil below, allowing fresh vegetation to thrive.  Now that the flames were gone, it will soon be time to move on, to let go of the place where they had lived and loved.

God in His love and goodness, reasoned Jared, had spared them from losing the one treasure each of them still had: their lives.  Everything essential had escaped - their hearts, souls and bodies were unscathed.  That’s all they needed to live in love and joy again.

They were still a family; still all together.  They could still hold each other, laugh, and share the love and pleasure at being alive.  

Soon, thanks to the goodness of their community and extended family, his family had been able to replace what material things they’d lost and move into another home.  Yet Jared would never again consider the things of this world as important as the love they shared from their hearts and the joy they spread from their souls.

Lord God, our comfort and strength in times of disaster, crisis, or chaos, surround us with Your grace and peace through storms, fires or floods.  By your Spirit, lift up those who have fallen, sustain those who work to rebuild, and fill us with the hope of Your new creation.  Amen

A Dad's Love

 “Whoever follows Me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.” ~ John 8:12

Satyana knew of her biological father, but wanted nothing to do with him.  He bailed before she took her first steps.  Negligent.

Not many men would take on a relationship with a single mom and a three-year-old daughter, but Sanjay did!  He was the only dad she’d ever known.  Honorable. 

He never missed a birthday, holiday, or family gathering.  His family accepted them with arms wide open; his family easily became their family.

He cheered for her at every sporting event.  The term, “rub some dirt in it, kid,” would inspire her forever; this she reminded her own kids when they got knocked down.

Satyana learned responsibility from the chores he gave her.  He taught her to take accountability for her actions.  When she showed immaturity and selfishness, he gently corrected her.  Sanjay even embarrassed her in front of her friends - like dad’s do.

Sanjay was the Best Man in Satyana’s wedding.  Her youngest son shares his name.

Now as he lay dying, she realized that perhaps the only person who could see her through this kind of grief was never going to call again.  They would never go out for breakfast again and swap stories about their lives.  She’d never get to hear his laugh again.

“It’s crazy,” she thought, “how many features they shared physically and mentally; almost as if that had always been God’s plan.  He helped shape her values, morals, and Christian faith.

Her mother’s soft voice broke the silence.  “There’s something he wanted to ask of you,” she said, retrieving some papers from her purse.

“He always wanted to, but we never had the extra money,” her voice choked with sincerity.  “He repeatedly apologized for not having done it sooner, and worried that you wouldn't want to, especially after all these years,” she hesitated.

“There’s no legal, social or other imperative to do this.  He just always wanted … to adopt you.”

Her mother waited desperately for Satyana’s reply.

Satyana had always questioned why her bio dad didn't want her or love her.  But being a dad to a girl who needed a father figure in her life would forever be more important than DNA.

“Dad,” she began, kissing his cheek lightly.  “In every storm you were my lighthouse, the direction in which to swim.  There were days I felt that I’d drown.  You couldn’t fashion a boat, or pull me from the waves, but your love was oxygen in my lungs … and that was enough.” 

“So, I thank you eternally for your light, for your graceful persistence.  Gratitude feels as such a tiny word, but then so is love.  Of course, I’d be honored to legally call you “Dad,” although I never thought of you as anything less.

Heavenly Father, in every storm You are my guiding light.  Thank You that nothing has taken You by surprise.  You know our journey better than we know it ourselves, and You will use this time for great things.  Amen

Let Time Go Lightly

“Young people, make the most of your youth; follow the impulses of your heart." ~ Ecclesiastes 11:9

Floating, tumbling, soaring … through a crystal blue sky, images of Emily’s childhood flashed past her like a time-traveling machine in reverse.  Here’s where she can relive those memories again as if they’ve just happened.

Innocence.  Love.  Happiness.  Everything new; nothing boring or repetitive.

There she is, sitting on Mommy’s lap, alongside the old fireplace they once enjoyed.  Emily’s path was lit by new beginnings; worlds that she’d yet to experience.  As years ticked by, memories were born, but the best were still of her youth.

There she is at three (or as she said “fwee”).  With tanned legs curled under her, dusted with sand like flour on bread, she sits close to the lapping waves building a sandcastle on the beach.

Time flew by as those baby soft hands changed into stronger ones.  She’s now on the back-porch building a home of Lincoln Logs; dreaming of her future masterwork, complete with a puppy room, milkshake maker, and a popcorn machine.

Later, the pig-tailed child with hands bearing the quest for travel, is riding her bike around the block with Scott, her beagle in tow.  She always made the most of the extra hours of June solstice.

Moving on, her long, thin fingers, are suddenly beaded with sweat, as she tensely grasps the pen she holds while taking her first school exam.  Days later she closes her eyes, savoring the moment, but never releasing her grip on the excellent test result.

Years later, newly-manicured fingers firmly clutch the car’s steering wheel.  She relishes the roaring winds whistling through her long blond hair.

Suddenly she woke, every thought in high definition, feeling a bump as someone gently tried getting her attention.  The dreamlike feelings she’d experienced earlier were replaced by the sweet, angelic voice that had been placed on her chest.  Looking at the cherubic face of her newborn daughter, she realized that, God had given her a second chance to relive her childhood again!

How time flies, she thought.  We all enter this life with a set of dreams, hopes and aspirations.  We’re eager to grow up to achieve these dreams and take on the world.  But maybe sometimes in our haste, we forget to enjoy the journey.  We can get so caught up in achieving our goals, we fail to recognize how quickly time moves on.

Perhaps childhood is one of the best examples of doing what we love and doing what makes us smile from within.  It’s those joyful memories that sustain us, that carry us through the challenging times and remind us that our loving is important and worthwhile.

So, go lightly down your chosen path and remember to sing out loud.

Loving God, we move so fast and sometimes see so little in our daily travels.  Create in us a desire to pause and pursue moments of introspection.  Help us to see in a deeper way, to become more aware of what speaks to us in beauty and truth.  Amen