God - Is There an App for That?

I remember waiting for the 25^th Anniversary Motown Special to air on TV. My favorite performer, Michael Jackson, would be gracing the stage. I was beside myself with excitement. My first record was Thriller, and if I had my way, I would be rocking a Jheri Curl, red leather jacket, crisp white socks and black leather loafers, dancing and crooning all the while. I parked myself in front of the TV and would allow no one to turn the dial until the show was over.

When the show finally aired, I was ecstatic. Then: enter Michael Jackson. I felt like all the world held its breath as Michael glided effortlessly across the stage. The Moonwalk. The single sequined glove. Magical. It was worth the wait.

We live in an on-demand age; from consumer products, to instant YouTube fame. From how we attend classes, to where and when we watch movies or play video games. There’s an app for just about anything; slicing fruit like a ninja, touring Paris and learning French, monitoring your home and turning on your lights.

When there’s always “an app for that” in this on-demand era, what do we wait for? How does this change how I see God? He’s not an on-demand Lord; He instead insists that we wait for Him. Oh, boy – how many “appointed times”, “fullness of times”, “at the right times,” and “in a little whiles” have you seen in your Bible?

How many years did the people of Israel languish in slavery before Moses came along?
 
How many years did it take for Moses to be commissioned by God for the task of liberating His people?
 
How long did God silence the prophets between the book of Malachi and the coming of Messiah?
 
How much time had passed between when God had Samuel anoint David as king, and when he actually assumed the throne?
 
And how many years has it been since Jesus promised that He would return?

(Answers? 430, 40 - or 80 if you take Moses' entire lifespan up to that point into account, 400, 10, and 2000+ years.)

I need to adjust my expectations a wee bit, it seems, when He hasn’t answered my plea for justice, or a husband, or a baby, or the healing, or the money, or the vindication. Or when I don’t like the answer He did give. I want to see God’s hand, hear His voice, and see His face. Now.

Lent is reminding me that there are some things that are worth the wait. When I want to see God’s hand, hear His voice, see His face, I have His word to sustain me. “For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.” There is a time of consummation coming, but not yet. There’s no “God app” to speed up the Lord’s return and zap me into a place of perfect peace and healing, without going through the trials.

But God’s timing is worth the wait.

gaga for you girls!

So, chicas, I had to laugh... I got a People magazine for the drive home (yeah, don't throw rocks. I really like reading People magazines & the like on road/plane trips), and who else had something similar to say about 5 minutes of kindness than Lady Gaga herself.... So, I'm just gonna type it out, cause tonight that's just easier (for anyone interested, this is from People magazine, March 28, 2011, pages 148-150). She's having to fill in the blanks.

The first thing I do in the morning is ___. My yoga instructor tells me to do this: Try to think compassionate thoughts about yourself for five minutes. I don't always do it, but I try to, and I encourage everyone reading this to try. There's a lot of criticism and scrutiny in anyone's business, so just spend five minutes thinking nice thoughts about yourself. 

So, never EVER thought that I'd really have anything much in common with Lady G herself, but here it is. She struggles to think kindly about herself, too...and is using the 5 minutes idea first thing in the morning. Now, I can say most assuredly that I have NO idea what compassionate things she thinks about herself (maybe something to do with wearing less meat?), but my kind thoughts have to be rooted in Scripture, or they get shaky FAST. Pretty sure that I'm not even that good at it yet...the tape playing in my brain is mainly Debbie Downer kinda stuff...but I know that in order to be the best me I can be for everybody my life touches, that has to change. So, here's tomorrow morning's thought tonight, from Colossians 3:

 ¹²So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. ¹⁴Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Tangled Up in Technology

Finally! Sharifa helped me--who cannot figure out all things technology--how to post my first blog ever. Maybe a decade later than when it was cool. But here I am. This is my five minutes of kindness.

Runny Mascara Days

Do you ever have one of those days where you dangle your legs over the precipice of tears, but never actually take the leap? Where your eyes burn, but there's the next bottle to be made, or the next client to meet with, so you put on the Mask of Competence and keep on truckin'? So you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and walk away from the Precipice and promise yourself to give in to the emotional release later. When it's more convenient, the problems are all solved, and you've removed the makeup off your face and life.

I don't know about you, but my Precipice Moment never comes when I want it to. My tears want to flow when my mascara is fierce, when I'm about to go on stage to sing. When I'm late and sitting at a red light, or when the checkout person at the CVS is mean. 

So today, I thought I would give my Precipice some reverse psychology; I put my baby in his happy place - his jumparoo - and turned on the shower so that I could cry without startling him. But all I got was clean. So after checking on my little one placidly jumping, I decided to put on makeup even though I had no plans to leave the house. And I lacquered on the mascara. My tears love mascara! But then, nothing.

It was time to cuddle and change the little one before nap time. I thought, "I will have my Precipice moment when the little one is safely napping." So I scooped him up. And then gagged. Oh, the blowout was huge. All the way up the back. All over the clothes. Suddenly I'm feeling a lot less clean. And I discover that my tears apparently are attracted to blowouts. And it turns out that the baby isn't scarred by my tears.

I don't know if I have a moral to this story. There are times where I must push back tears to accomplish the next task - and discerning the right time is a marker of emotional maturity. But I'm realizing that many of those times where I have backed away from the Precipice may be times where it would have been healthier to leap.

A tapestry post: here!

*That* Mother

So, as of Sunday, I am that mother.

Not the "bad mutha-shut-yo-mouth!" kind.
Not the mother with the dewy skin, skinny jeans, and high-school body.

Nope. I'm the mother with the infant screaming bloody murder on the airplane during the final minutes of its descent. The one that you glare at. The one you wish would take control of her child's emotions. The one you wish would just make that baby shut up. Yeah, that's me! For all of you who were on AA flight 636 on Sunday...sorry. Stuff happens.

On behalf of all of the That Mothers out there, let me say this: it's not our dream to be glared at by an entire plane while our child melts down. It's not a great feeling to watch helplessly as the baby I bore endures pain and, in the midst of it, refuses to receive salvific help. Piercing glares won't solve any problems. Neither will the pity stares.

The woman sitting next to me on the plane gave me the sweetest encouragement: "my granddaughter came in on a plane from Korea to Seattle when she was just a few months old. Her ears couldn't take it, and she screamed all the way home. Your sweet baby just reminds me of my little granddaughter. I know this must be so tough for you. You're doing a good job."


Her words brought such relief. Then...the plane landed. My little one fell asleep as soon as we touched down. Life continued. Even the glarers on the plane found their carry-ons and went about their business.

We all will be a "That Person" some time; whether it's because of a failure at work, stumbling over a crack in the street, or spinach between our teeth. When I was That Person, I longed for grace and kindness,and was blessed enough to receive it. Hopefully, I will have the compassion to do the same.