Let Winter Have it's Way

                         Just a few days ago, the sun was shining.  In my backyard, children were shedding their layers and jumping with glee on our trampoline in the warmth of the Spring sun.
                            
                        But things have shifted in the air again.  It feels like winter has returned.   The chill in the air chilled us to the bone.  So, we made the last fire in our fireplace this year until winter hits again (we hope).
                           

winter scene
Kansas City winter

                        I was able to get out to a quiet place yesterday and meditate on these things: "Whyyyyyy God do we have to have winter? "  (Can you hear the childish exasperation in my voice?)
                        

Kansas City Winter Scene

                       As I viewed the panoramic tree line and gray overcast sky, I realized we have to let winter have it's way.  

                       What is the purpose of the winter season? 

     Winter provides a dormancy; a rest from the busyness of producing leaves and fruit.  A great internal work is being done that cannot be viewed externally.  But, the leaves are gone.  The fruit can't be produced, no matter what you do.  Even the color is washed out of the vegetation.  


      Have you ever felt like this?  No matter how hard you try, nothing externally wonderful is coming forth?  Your color is gone; the things you once found joy in are no longer a source of strength?  You might be in a winter season.  

      To the ordinary eye, it can seem like a time of death and dying.  But this is NOT true at all!  Something marvelous and purposeful is actually happening underneath the surface, in the internal structure of trees and plants.  And something wonderful might be happening in you!

Josiah, 3 years old, Kansas City, MO

         So often during this season we can get focused on all that's missing on the outside:  Outward success, financial gain, better production and maybe lack of His felt presence.  Instead, I wonder if we probed the Holy Spirit about what HE was doing IN us, we might gain a better understanding about what is happening outwardly?  

           For us, winter can be a time of drawing nearer to the fire of God's heart to find our source of warmth.  Its there, in the heat of His love, we realize our worth doesn't come from what we produce but from being His child.  We can let our roots reach deep and draw from the Water of His Word for our sustenance.  We can ask Him what changes or pruning need to be done while the cold winds blow.   If we surrender, we will see the wisdom of His ways.  

     Winter can be a time of great internal workings if we let it be.  Or we can choose the other option which will get us no where.  We can get frustrated that our dreams seem buried and our heart's desires not being fulfilled.  We can miss the whole purpose of our lack of production.  Or we can see under the surface and utilize it for The Kingdom's  richest gain.  

             See, the fruit we ultimately produce must be WORTHY.  It must be pure and truly life giving.  It can't just be weak, small, diseased and inedible.  It must come from a strong branch.  Good fruit has to come from a strong foundation.  A strong source.  And this strength only comes through the grip of winter and realizing HE is the ONE who produces this kind of fruit.  Not us.  Only the trees and branches that have felt the chill of winter and cooperated with it's force will produce worthy fruit when the Spring comes.  And it will come.  He is True.  His Word doesn't fail.  And all His promises are Yes and Amen. The Spring season will come again.  

Spring green!  Kansas City, MO

Flower, Butchart Gardens, Victoria, B.C.

Baby bird on our back deck Kansas City, MO

Woman, You are Strong: Strength Defined

                             Yesterday was a day to celebrate women.  I was honored by this.  Clearly, around the world the mistreatment and attack on women is very real.  Growing up in this culture, America, I experienced something maybe entirely different then most women who live in severely male dominated cultures experience every day.

                          As a child, I was privileged to be told I could do anything, be anything and that there wasn't anything I couldn't do.  I believed it.

                       Growing up I had aspirations of becoming a lawyer, a businesswoman, a marine biologist and news anchorwoman.

                         I was going to take on the world . . . and win.

                       I still believe this, that nothing is impossible for me.  But my definition of strength and being a strong woman has changed for me over the years.


                       That mouthy little girl who could argue her way out of every corner was about to get a wake up call.  Someone was about to redefine the word STRONG for me.  No longer would  quick-witted come backs and smart-mouth monologues littered with trash talk count towards my credit.  To explain, I met a man who embodied more strength and resolve than I could ever possess on a good day.  But His strength was reigned in.  His strength was immovable, like a freight train set on course that no one, not even His own weakness (if that were possible) could derail.   He wouldn't even argue or raise his voice and yet His authority when He spoke caused thousands to sit silent, hanging on every word he uttered.

                             The Gospel completely messes with us.  When Jesus came He one-upped everyone a thousand times over.  He raised the bar.  For me, what I considered strong, He considered weak.  Whaaa?  I will repeat:

                        What I considered STRENGTH, He actually considered WEAKNESS.

                         This is because He didn't just have strength, like me . . .  a wild, unharnessed beastly aggression towards those who disagreed with me.  But He possessed meekness. . . something entirely different.  He has 550 volts of strength running through his core, along with massive resolve and ability to turn off the switch.  He has ALL the strength coupled with the ability to harness that strength.

                          Because He was fully God~the One who just spoke and the cosmos was created, the One who just touched and people were completely healed, the One who just uttered a few words and humans were released of demons~He has ALL power.  And yet, He has ALL self-control.  He allowed Himself to be beaten to a pulp and nailed to a cross .  He utilized this GOD-sized self control and allowed men, the very ones he created, to mock him, beat him and nail Him to a tree without one ounce of fight, grit or resistance.  He even said, "I could've released 12 legions of angels . . ."  But He didn't.  He knew the capacity of authority He had to control the situation, and yet He gave it up and trusted Himself to His Father.  He had complete meekness.  Completed with trust in His Father.  Complete strength, but  under complete control.

                         That wasn't all.  Many tried to "launch him into ministry" before it was time.  They saw the miracles, the power, the crowds drawn to Him like moths to a flame.  They saw the potential of His platform.  But He wasn't having it.  He wasn't relying on human will to make him popular.  He didn't need the praise, accolade or acknowledgement of the world to boost his ego.  Because He had none.  He had the strength, but He possessed the self-control to match that Super-sized strength.  He knew there was a time for Him to be lifted up and exalted.  He trusted the Father for that moment, not the voices of those surrounding him.  

               But many of us have been wounded.  Trusting anyone is difficult.  We have had to fight for everything it feels like sometimes.  But, trust is what is at the heart of meekness.  Jesus gave control to One greater than Him.  

              How on earth do we trust again once that trust has been assaulted?  How do we give up control again when we feel the rug has been pulled out from under us?  
   
               Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you.  Learn of me, for I am gentle and humble (or meek) of heart."  Matthew 11:29

               He's entirely different from anyone else.  He is always gentle, all the time.  He's 100% trustworthy, able to turn around even the worst situations. He's always faithful, even when we are faithless.   He always has our BEST interest in mind, even when it doesn't feel like it.  He is humble, not accusing us and completely patient, even in our failings.  We can trust Him.  We can learn to trust again.  We CAN have a strength rooted in trust.  We CAN have a strength rooted in meekness.

                I still consider myself a "strong woman".   But my goals are a little bit different.  Okay, my goals to become an even stronger woman are A LOT different.  I want to lean into the One who can harness this powerful gift of strength.  He not only has given it to me, but to all women.  And yet without Him, I think we missing the boat.

                       We need His meekness, not just raw girl power.  We need His resolve to walk in gentleness, not just wild aggression.  We need His ability to perceive His timing, not just use our strength to exalt ourselves.

                        We are women.  We are moms.  We are businesswomen.  We are daughters.  We are grandmothers.  We are lawyers.  We are writers and marine biologists and everything in between.  But we are also carriers of His meekness, a rare form of strength that our world desperately needs.




TO BE CLEAR                          
*** In NO way am I promoting abuse or relating the abuse that Jesus suffered on our behalf to suffering abuse in relationships.  What Jesus suffered He did for us, as a specific act obedience from the Father.  Abuse in relationships should not be tolerated in any way, shape or form.  Abuse should not be the manner of any relationship and should be condemned in every way.  Healthy boundaries should always be drawn in these type of situations with the help and support of outside resources.