To Plane or Deplane, that is the question. The Answer: Yes.

Getting places by airplane is an amazing way to travel. When I think about all that tonnage levitating and climbing into the atmosphere (the “up” of our earth), I feel awe-filled. Think of it. Where would we be without Bernoulli?

Other times, thanks to different individuals, I feel awful. Like today. I get to, for the first time in my flying career, stay overnight in an airport—and a plane (Randy’s “been there, done that”). Yippie. Not.

My son talked about having to stay overnight in Charlotte, NC, airport (and others) and I felt so bad for him. Now we are just trying to get to Charlotte airport! We will, at 6 AM tomorrow.

I have to say, the invention and proliferation of cell phones has made these kinds of airline incidents more bearable. The man in the seat next to me got another flight right away while he had his ear glued to his cell phone for a half hour immediately upon learning we were on the plane to nowhere. Randy’s cell was in the same geographical location on his head within seconds too. A very helpful lady on the other end got us our next flights as we collected our carry-ons (thankfully we had no checked baggage) and tripped down the narrow aisle to freedom, completely avoiding the line to eternity at the customer service desk.

Cancelling other reservations was all accomplished within minutes thanks to that little appendage (well, for some people it is that, it seems). Cudos to Mr. Bell and his descendants.

Now we get to find a quiet corner of the terminal (insert hysterical laughter) and try to get some rest. I didn’t say sleep, you notice. Rest would be good.

Make the most of whatever comes your way.

Updates to follow.

Yoke Grace

The difference between little “b” burdens and a capital “B” Burden is that the former are worries and cares we pick up either deliberately or inadvertently, and the latter is given by the Lord. That kind He doesn’t intend for us to get rid of. It is a Burden God intends us to bear. But the question again is: How?

We all know that to share a burden is to lighten its load.  That is exactly the “How” of bearing the Burden of the Lord. When God gives a vision, a call, a Burden to something specific, He doesn’t intend for us to get rid of it, but neither does He intend for us to bear it alone.

“Two are better than one ….” We all know co-workers are of inestimable value. But that is not what I have in mind when I speak of not bearing God’s Burden alone.

You are probably running ahead of me here because you know where I am going.

Remember I said we need to keep our eyes on the goal ahead of us? The goal which belongs to the Burden God has laid on us? And I said that to do that we must keep our eyes on Jesus. We must keep our eyes on Him because it is He who shares the load of the Burden, the call, the vision.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ is the first Call of God on our lives. We must maintain that relationship at all costs … or we will never reach that goal, plain and simple. We will fail miserably.

When we maintain that relationship with Jesus as His disciple we are doing just what He said we should do, “Come to Me … take My yoke upon you and learn from Me … for my yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11: 28-30). He shares the burden He puts on us. He leads the way, we follow. He makes the burden lighter by His presence.

So I submit to His lead, in the grip of the yoke.

Making progress by “yoke grace.”

So, where am I headed?

Easter Interlude

       

We had not expected to be with family this Easter Sunday. We were going to be helping out, as we do each Sunday, with Plaza Iglesia, the bi-lingual church plant in SE Bakersfield, reaching the needy, ethnically diverse neighborhood and homeless in that pocket of the city.

Then we found out our grandson, Emmanuel, would be baptized on Easter Sunday and that changed all our plans! We drove to southern California where our two sons and families live. We had the joy of witnessing our 8 year old grandson declare before the gathered witnesses that he affirmed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins, was buried and raised the third day. Buried in the waters of baptism, Emmanuel was figuratively raised to walk in newness of life.

Raised to walk in newness of life. That is the big take away from the Resurrection for us who believe. Among all the things the Resurrection accomplished ultimately it gave us the power and ability to “walk in newness of life.” Eternal life, the life of God given by His indwelling Spirit.

He is Risen!

He is risen indeed!

Now we get to prove it every day.

The Burrs of burdens and what to do with them

Undoubtedly you’ve heard, and most likely quoted, the verse, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (I Peter 5: 7).  Ah, here is what to do with those burdens, cares, anxieties that we pick up along the way, like pebbles on the beach. Or maybe like the burrs that stick to us as we walk along a narrow, weedy path.

One day I really “got” Philippians 4: 6-7, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It was very timely as well—just as I started cancer treatment. I had a lot of anxieties. Downright fears. And I found that what Paul said, about giving God your worries and He would give peace in their place, is true.

Peace. And I could move ahead and do what needed to be done. Picking the burdensome burrs off myself whenever they got stuck to me, throwing them toward the Lord. He is a good catcher.

I noticed something though, as I looked at what Peter said about casting our cares on God. It was all draped in the command to be submissive to one another, humble toward others, especially our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Not to be prideful because that pits us against God … or rather, God pits Himself against the proud.

But He gives grace to the humble.

We all want grace. We all love that God is gracious to us. We are amazed at His grace. We even sing about it.

But He gives grace to those who humble themselves. Humility not just towards God, which seems absolutely reasonable, but humility toward others. Which sometimes doesn’t feel reasonable. More like threatening.

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (I Peter 5: 5-7).

Wrapped within humility toward one another and humility toward God lies the secret of dealing with the pesky burdens, the cares we tend to pick up when we take our eyes off the goal set before us. The burrs that stick to us as we walk along. We need not fear the fear of humbling ourselves to others or God. God is the only One in control. We can rest peacefully in that knowledge.

And the goal we need to keep our eyes on? It is always seen through the Person of Jesus Christ. As though He were see-through. Keeping our eyes on Him will keep our eyes on the goal of the Burden—capital “B”-Burden—that He has laid on us.

But how then to deal with that capital “B” Burden?

Burdens … and burdens

There are burdens placed on us by God and there are burdens we pick up ourselves. I have some of both, how about you?

One burden I know God has put on me is to get this book written, the “book” that so many have prodded me to write based on my personal journey through breast cancer treatment that I’ve shared through my blog.  I had begun over two years ago with an outline and wrote much of it.

Then it lay fallow for a year and a half.

Like collecting stones or shells on the beach, I started picking up other burdens I shouldn’t have that slowed me down, halting forward movement. Of course, you wouldn’t know what I’m talking about. Or would you?  

When I am walking on the beach (done all too seldom in my estimation) I cannot help myself, my eyes are fixed downward searching for interesting shells or pebbles. I usually collect a mitt full, chiding myself for not thinking to bring a bag to hold my treasures. It happens every time.

I think a similar thing is going on when I pick up the burdens I shouldn’t be collecting. My eyes are looking down rather than up at my goal. By keeping my eyes on the goal ahead, I will not see the tempting burdens at my feet. I will not get waylaid by a diverted focus on collecting them. I will maintain my forward motion toward my goal.

But what a discipline (and few like that word) it is to keep the gaze forward not downward! How to do it?

The Last Shoe

Last month marked the end of my cancer treatment. The real end. Though I had my last infusion of Herceptin, a biological treatment (not technically chemo) around March of 2009, I was still taking a pill for a total of about 5 years as continued protection against recurrence of breast cancer.

The final shoe has dropped.

Almost 4 years ago I wrote a similar statement in a blog posting: “I feel like the other ‘shoe dropped’, so to speak. When my oncologist told me about a month ago that he was stopping further Herceptin treatments due to my weakened heart condition and ordered my port-a-cath removed, there was an ominous sense of finality to his words. No more doing anything intravenously for (or rather against) cancer. No more infusions as protection against cancer recurrence, no more chemotherapy of any kind. I am done. It was a little scary. Like taking away a security blanket I didn’t realize I had.” (June 10, 2009)

Now I am absolutely, totally finished with any fight against breast cancer recurrence in my body. God has brought me this far. By grace. All by His grace and mercy.

Just like I don’t think about the MG (muscle weakness) I live with, I don’t think  much about cancer in relation to myself. When I do, I ask God to continue to protect me from its return. Always that for one who has had cancer.

Next month I see my oncologist again after six months from my last check-up. So far all has appeared well. No signs of cancer. After this next visit to the oncologist I will see him, not in six months, but twelve.

Barefoot.

Walking by faith. Living my life. Not dwelling on cancer or MG. Focusing on living, and loving the ones around me. Loving life. Loving the Lord who has given me life. Giving back my life to Him. Daily. Because that is all any of us ever has: Today.

I told Randy I felt like I was treading water. Well, the actual words I used were “dog paddling”. The picture in my mind was of me doing the dog paddle just to keep my head above water.

The conversation was about three of our grandkids’ swimming lessons which Randy had the fun of sitting in on yesterday. All three love to swim. Emmanuel, our 8 year old grandson who doesn’t have an ounce of fat on his body, has a hard time staying afloat but he loves to swim. I mentioned I was the same way as a kid.

That’s when the picture in my mind was of me dog paddling, treading water really, because dogs can actually get somewhere, I usually didn’t. Tiring just to think of it. I was not a good floater on my backside either because, believe it or not, I didn’t have an ounce of fat on me then, just like my grandson! My legs simply sank, and then the rest of me followed. I did a lot of swimming underwater.

But as I said that to Randy about dog paddling, my mind did an immediate switch to my current state of treading water, so to speak, when it comes to my book writing. Or more precisely, my book marketing. One must be a marketer and not just a writer these days! The more I wade into this pool of information, the deeper the metaphorical water gets! Anyone have a snorkel I can borrow?

My goal, so innocently set just in the last few months, is to get published … or seriously start the process, this year. The more I inform myself, the deeper the water seems to get.

I’m staying calm. So far. I’m going to try to turn on my back and float awhile now.

Talk to you later. I have to concentrate.