Three Little Words

My devotional from last night's prayer service:

There are some books I read only for information and others I read a quick escape into a fictional world. For those books, an electronic reading device works fine. But, there are some books I don’t want to simply read. I want to absorb them – as much into my body and being as into my mind. These books I want to hold in my hand – savoring them as if holding an exquisite bite of food in my mouth so that the taste can linger. 

Anne Lamott’s Help, Thanks, Wow: The ThreeEssential Prayers is one of those books. I’m reading it slowly – bit by bit. Reading and re-reading, soaking up the beauty of the language and the richness of the content. Anne (her writing style is so honest and personal, it feels as if we have a first name acquaintance) puts forward the idea that great prayers can be found in these three little words: help, thanks, wow. There is wisdom in this.

What follows is my own meditation on these three prayers. Perhaps you can devise your own meditation around them, too.

HELP. I have cried for help from the bottom of the pit. Like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38) thrown into the cistern – in the dark – alone – nothing and no one left to call on but God. The walls of the well are straight and slick. Climbing out on my own is not an option. I cry out – “GOD HELP ME!”

I have cried, “help” before I enter a hospital room or to pray with a grieving family and many other times when I know I am wholly inadequate for the task at hand. 

Then I think of the many times I didn’t cry, “help” – when I pulled on my own boot straps, gathered my own courage and tried to proceed on my own strength. And, I ask myself, “How’s that been working for you?” 

I cry, “help” when I need guidance or more information or a broader view of the situation. I cry, “help” when I don’t understand the suffering of those I love or strangers half way around the world. I cry help.

And when the suffering is relieved, I cry, “THANKS!” Sometimes the gratitude is deep and explosive – like the teenager after I performed the Heimlich Maneuver on him – “THANK YOU! THANK YOU! YOU SAVED MY LIFE!”

At other times the gratitude is soft and gentle. Thanking God for my many blessings – daily joys often overlooked. People in my life, a place to live, food to eat.

And then I think of all the thanks not offered – blessings unacknowledged, life taken for granted. I think of the times when I was of the nine who did not return in thanks rather than the one who did (Luke 17: 12 – 19), and in my mind I fall to my knees uttering simultaneously, “forgive me and thank you.”

When I open my eyes again, I see the world anew – full of beauty and wonder. I see the beauty of creation in a tiny flower with intricate design, and in the majesty of the sunset as I cross the bridge over the lake. I am in awe of the one who creates and I simply proclaim, “WOW!”

I see God at work in the world around me – changing lives in both subtle and spectacular ways. I feel God changing me in ways I never thought possible, and I am once again amazed by God’s grace.

Attitudes Before God

When my youngest sister was at a youth event many years ago, she learned about her kinesthetic self. She came home that evening explaining that the group had formed a circle. The leader had instructed them to lunge to the left. So, she lunged to the left and stepped on the toe of the counselor standing next to her. Oops. Then the leader asked them to imagine themselves lunging to the left without actually moving – using what she called their “kinesthetic selves.” So, my sister lunged to the left with her kinesthetic self and promptly stepped on the imaginary toe of her neighbor. We all had a good laugh, but this lesson has stuck with me for many, many years.

My sister may not even remember the event, but I have used her lesson over and over in my prayer life. As I have come to God in prayer over the years I have often imagined myself in some particular posture or position or even moving in a sort of dance before God. Prayer does not always (and for some, may never) mean using words. Sometimes prayer is simply bringing who you are and how you are and where you are to God and just being there.

Miriam Webster online includes the following in the definition of attitude: the arrangement of the parts of a body or figure, a position assumed for a specific purpose , a mental position, a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state. As we look at prayer this week, let us consider the attitudes: the postures, mental positions, and emotions in which we come before God in prayer.

I have collected the angels you see here over several years. At different times in my life, they have represented the ways I have come before God. Yearning for knowledge and understanding as I entered seminary, contemplative as I pondered my relationship with God, victorious and grateful after passing the first round of interviews on the road to ordination. Each of them has a special meaning for me and speaks to an aspect of my relationship with God.

At the same time, this is not a complete representation of the way I or any of us come before God in prayer.  There are some angels missing from this collection; angels that probably wouldn’t sell well in gift shops or Christian book stores. There is no angel collapsed to the ground in utter grief, no angel shaking a fist of anger at God. There is no angel wrestling with God like Jacob, or lamenting over a situation as Jesus wept for Jerusalem. There is no angel trembling in fear in a hospital bed or under the hand of violence. There is no weary angel, seeking only to rest. Yet, these too are ways we find ourselves coming to God in prayer.

Wherever you are today, whatever your posture or position or attitude, I invite you to simply come before God – be in the presence of God.

I'll Pray for You

During Lent, I have asked the members of Oak Grove to pray for people in the communities that surround the church. Each Wednesday, we we will have a brief prayer service. I first thought I would find readings and devotionals to share at those services. Then I began to think about what I wanted to share about prayer. So my plan is to share a brief note on prayer at the service on Wednesday and then post it here the next day. Yes, I'm already a day behind in the first week. Sigh.

Below you will find this week's reflection on praying for others: “I’ll pray for you.” What does it mean when we say that? For some it rolls off the tongue as easy as “How are you?” and sometimes with equal lack of interest or intent. For others the thought of uttering those words is frightening. What are we committing to? How often do we need to pray? What words will we use? Will it even make a difference? What on earth does Pastor Liz want us to do when she asks us to pray for our community?

These are questions that used to bug me (well not that last one). I worried that I might not pray for the right things, or it might not “work” or I might forget, or not have time or…or…or… Then as I began to read some of those books on prayer that filled my shelves, I began to realize that I didn’t have to have all the right words or even know what to pray for. If I prayed for God’s presence and God’s will in the lives of my friends and even in the lives of strangers that was enough. If I didn’t have time to sit down and write a whole list, I could simply pray for folks as I went through my day. I didn’t even have to use words at all. I could imagine holding each person in my heart and before God. Praying for others became much more a way of life than something else on my “to do” list.

 During this season of Lent, I invite you to join me in holding those around us in our hearts and before the Lord. Pray for specific needs, pray for God’s will, or simply pray for God’s presence. Pray with words or pictures or with your whole body. Pray while you meditate. Pray while you walk or exercise. Pray while you drive. Pray while you wash dishes or do laundry or bathe children. Pray in thanksgiving. Pray in hope. Pray in faith.

Guitar Lessons

A couple of weeks ago, Rik and I had the opportunity to see Tommy Emmanuel, guitar player extraordinaire, in concert. We were amazed at the depth of music that came from one man and a guitar. It sounded like three or four people playing at once. Then, Tommy started a song that was more percussion than strings and suddenly I had a new insight into what we are called to do to be the church in the 21st century.




As I watched that night, I saw three ways Tommy Emmanuel’s music was a metaphor for the church.

First, Tommy Emmanuel used every single part of the guitar and a variety of percussion implements to make music come from that guitar. He played the strings over the sound hole, on the neck, and even between the nut and the tuners. He banged, tapped, and brushed the top, back, and sides of the sound box. He played with the palms of his hands, the backs of his hands, the ring on his finger, his finger nails, and a “brush” usually used on drums. Basically, he used all his resources.

Second, Tommy doesn’t see the guitar the same way as most people. He literally thinks outside of the (sound) box. Most of us look at a guitar and assume that music can be made in the traditional way of strumming or picking the strings. This is true, and this is one way Mr. Emmanuel makes beautiful music. But it is not the only way. He bangs the wood, taps the strings, and creates as much sound with his left hand as he does with his right.

Finally, he wasn’t trying to preserve his guitar. Tommy Emmanuel’s guitar was anything but pristine. It has giant scrape marks where he literally scratches the guitar to make music.

The church can learn much from these guitar lessons. We as the church are called to use all our resources to be the church in our world today. We need to look around and see what we have that can be used in sharing the love of God and the good news of Jesus Christ within our communities and beyond. We need to explore resources we might not have thought about in connection with church before. Often we think only of traditional ways of being the church, and fail to consider other ways – out of the box ways – we can be the church to those who are hurting or in need. As long as we continue to try and preserve what the church has been, we cannot move into the potential of what the church can be in this world.

Darkness and Light

This morning, I am preparing for this evening's Ash Wednesday service in which we are reminded of our mortality, of our sinfulness and need to repent, and of God's great grace. In the midst of this preparation, I stepped outside into the most GLORIOUS day. It is absolutely beautiful out there. I wondered how can I go back in and write about the darkness in our lives when this glorious light beckons me?

There are many metaphors here and probably many more that come to your mind. So offer just a few thoughts, a few "acorns" that may grow into something bigger or may simply lie dormant on the ground. They are not particularly connected to each other except they are nuts that have fallen from the same tree.

1. How often do we choose to stay inside in the darkness rather that going out and reveling in the light?

2. Tonight we will bear the smudge of ash, a cross - the mark of the Christ - upon our foreheads. In this wonderful, glorious, beautiful world created by God, am I merely a smudge of ash, or am I the mark of Christ?

3. I stepped out for the purpose of taking trash to the curb. Up and down my street, there are trash cans and bags waiting to be taken away. If it were not for the trash truck I hear in the culdesac just now, and those who do this dirty job of taking away all our refuse, the trash would build up and mar this gorgeous day and the neigborhood in general. It would get smelly around here pretty quickly. Jesus does this dirty work in our lives - taking away the trash, the sin, all that separates us from the glory of God - but, we must first take it to the curb. We must first acknowledge that in our lives which is sin, which keeps us from experiencing the love of God, and choose to turn from it.

4. Last night someone asked me about the passages in the Bible that tell us to fear God. I talked about fear of God in terms of awe rather than being afraid. When I look around me on this particular day - and view God's creation - I stand in awe of the great one who creates such beauty. But, I cannot be afraid. I can only rejoice and feel the warmth and light of the sun flowing over me. For today,I dance before the greatness of God rather than tremble.

What is Whose?

Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." Matthew 22:21

My friend Eric Folkerth was pondering the confluence of Tax Day, Earth Day, and Easter all in one week on facebook this morning. One commenter quoted the above scipture. Linking those two ideas together was a huge aha moment for me. Thinking about my week ahead and wondering what I would give to God that belongs to God.

The taxes thing is a done deal for us, for 2010 and first quarter 2011. But I asked myself what I will offer God in terms of caring for the gift we call earth, and in terms of worship during the busyness of this week. Will I take I offer my time to simply be in the presence of God, to pray, to read? Or, will I get caught up in the 102 details that need to be taken care of. Will I examine my reuse/recycle practices and see what long term change I could make, offering my effort to God?

Giving to God can mean offering to God, but it can also mean relinquishing. Will I relinquish all of the busyness, the special services, the fellowship meal to God? Allow room for the Spirit?

Only time will tell how I do on these things, but I have to feel like simply being aware is a start.

So, in your life/world,how do Earth Day and Easter fit into giving to God the things that are God's?

Love is Blind - Thank Goodness

A friend's facebook post about a loving act from her husband started my train of thought down the track. It may take some detours, but here we go.

All of us have been in or have watched someone in a relationship where we were blinded by love and couldn't see the flaws that seem so obvious to everyone else. Now, it's never healthy to turn a blind eye to harmful habits or abusive behavior, but there is a sense in which I am grateful that sometimes love is blind.

I am grateful that God sees past my flaws and shortcomings, to all that I am created to be.

I am grateful that my husband looks past so many things and keeps on being my partner in life and love.

I am grateful that my congregation watches me muddle through my first year as a pastor, overlooking my mistakes and inexperience.

In response to my "Love is blind" comment on my friend's facebook page, someone posted, "Love is gentle, love is kind." Perhaps Paul should have included, "Love is blind." in his description of the kind of love God calls us to in I Corinthians 13.

So today, I'm asking myself, "Where am I called to lovingly look past an unintentional slight or hurt, or some imperfection so that I can offer love to someone?"

How about you?