Connected

(Our friend, Meme, and our son, Isaac...connecting with God!)

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy an singing. (Isaiah 35:1-2a)

The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. (Zephaniah 3:17-18a) 

Often, in Scripture, we read of God's creation rejoicing.  God, it seems, delights in Creation and rejoices when we rejoice in it. But how often do we do something we enjoy in order to connect with God? Oh, we should pray. Certainly!  We should study God's word. Absolutely!  We should worship and serve, but we should also rejoice. Without a doubt!

Meme Overholt is a special friend to our family.  She is a gifted potter who has shared her skills with our children. She is an internationally published composer who has blessed our church with her music.  She has a gentle, joyous, and encouraging heart that she has shared with us as our family walked through some difficult times. 

She also will be happy to tell you about a difficult time in her own life, a less than joyous time, that grew out of a misunderstanding of the prodigious gifts that God has blessed her with.

Meme had been working on an Easter drama that she had written.  After many weeks of hard work and rehearsing, one of the lead actors became frustrated and quit...the day before the play was to be performed! Meme was discouraged and defeated and went home not sure what to do.  It was then, in one of those rare, nearly audible moments, God spoke words to her heart that she needed to hear, "This play does not have the power to diminish you."  

"What a relief!" Meme thought.  "This is exactly what I needed to hear. Everything will be alright."

Then, as the relief flooded over her and lifted her up like a gentle tide, God seemed to speak again, "This play does not have the power to increase you."

Then, Meme realized what she had been doing. She had been using God's gifts as a way to justify her relationship with God and with others.  In doing so, she lost sight of the joy she experienced just in the process of creating and the connectedness that she felt with God when working on something she loved.

Perhaps, we have had a similar experience. Often, as we grow older, we quit doing those things that have given us so much joy because we didn't think that they were very good. Or, maybe someone failed to notice something that we had poured our heart into. Or, maybe, we felt guilty engaging in a certain activity believing it simply wasn't that spiritual. "After all," we told ourselves, "there are more important things to do with our time than paint or sew or play baseball."  

As the things we once enjoyed doing began to gather dust, our lives became less lively, our world became a little less lovely, and our relationship with God became a little less joyful.  I don't believe that is how God wants us to live.  It certainly doesn't seem to be the witness of Scripture.

So, just do it!  Don't neglect the things that bring you great joy.  After all, you were created by a joyful Creator who rejoices with you when you enjoy what He has created...and not just a little bit, but with singing.  And not a somber or reflective singing...God throws a party and rejoices with you as on a day of festival!  So dust off that trumpet.  Inflate that basketball.  Put on your fishing waders and finish off that great American novel.  Don't do it to increase your standing with God or with others. And don't worry about diminishing your status with God or others. Just do it to simply rejoice and reconnect with a God who rejoices with you!

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.