The Light in My Window

The Light in My Window

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

How's Your Walk?

Things have been quiet on the blog lately, I know. That's because I have been occupied with other responsibilities these last three weeks. Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of keeping my 22-month old granddaughter while her parents ministered at the Wilds Camp in North Carolina. She spent the week with me at the home of our daughter who lives nearby, so we had FOUR little girls, 5 and under! We had a great week and made a lot of fun memories.
Two days after I arrived home, it was time for the BIG event: my husband's total knee replacement surgery. Two days after we came home from the hospital, he was re-admitted for not one, but FOUR blood clots. As of today we are home again (hopefully to stay) and it is one week post-surgery. At this point I think we both would say that as much as we thought we were prepared for this surgery and subsequent recovery period, it is much harder than we thought it would be. For my husband, the pain, swelling, limitations and general lack of mobility are very difficult. For me, I had under-estimated the extent of care he would need and the amount of time it was going to require. Helping with three extensive physical therapy sessions a day, dispensing medication, ice packs, changing dressings, helping to walk and dress and shower, and keeping up with extra laundry and cleaning (because everything has to be kept very clean) is a full-time job. I am so grateful that our son was able to be here with me for the surgery and first hospital stay, and for our church family who are willing and ready to help in any way they can.

A major part of my husband's recovery process is an intensive physical therapy program. One of the things he found most surprising (as well as challenging) was that he needed to learn to walk all over again! That's because over the 27 years since he originally injured his knee, he had fallen into bad habits in his walking which he wasn't even aware of, in order to avoid pain. His physical therapist in the hospital observed him walking and quickly began to implement steps toward correcting the way he walked. She emphasized striking with the heel first and walking in a rolling motion, keeping the knees and feet straight. In order to achieve this, my husband had to slow down and consciously think about his posture, hip alignment, and each and every step. It was practice, practice, practice.
One morning while my son was still here, I was able to go out for an early-morning walk. As I was walking, I couldn't help but be more aware of the way I was walking, and remember the things we had learned about walking correctly during the physical therapy sessions in the hospital. I then began to think about the parallel between that and our spiritual walk with the Lord. So often we have fallen into various bad habits over time, and we aren't even aware that we are not walking with the Lord the way we should. If we continue in those bad habits and harmful patterns that we have established, eventually our walk with God will worsen and will result in all kinds of difficulties for us spiritually. 

The Bible has a lot to say about our spiritual walk. When I did a search for "walk" using a concordance, I got 203 references! I plan to start doing a personal study on what the Bible says about our Christian walk, but just to get started, consider these:

"For ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him and cleave unto Him. " (Deut. 13:4)

"My son, walk not in the way with them, refrain thy foot from their path" (Proverbs 1:15)

"For we walk by faith and not by sight." (2 Cor. 5:7)

"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal. 5:25)

"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor."  (Eph. 5:2) and "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but wise." (Eph. 5:15)

"Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time." (Col. 4:5)

"He that saith he abideth in Him ought also to walk even as he walked." (1 John 2:6)

Lots to think about, huh? These are just the tip of the iceberg of what the Bible tells us about how we should walk. These days I am paying a lot more attention to the way I walk physically, and that reminds me that I need to pay just as much attention to the way I walk as a Christian. So....how's your walk?

Blessings, 
Kathi

Thursday, June 11, 2015

A Spiritual Checkup

I am writing this blog post on an afternoon following having spent the entire morning in the dentist chair, getting some rather extensive work done. I feel fine, but then I am still pretty much completely numb! The need for this work was revealed during a recent dental check up. And as I am writing this,  I am also thinking about the next big event coming up in our lives (12 days away, to be exact) which is my husband's knee replacement surgery. Because he is quite a bit younger than the average total knee-replacement patient, the decision to have this surgery done at this time in his life was not easy, but it got a lot easier as his pain grew and his mobility lessened! The knee replacement is a result of a sports injury that happened almost 27 years ago, so we have known this was coming for a long time.

Part of the preparation for his surgery involved both of us attending a mandatory class to educate us on what the surgery and recovery process was going to entail and what to expect, and also he had to undergo an array of doctor appointments and pre-op tests. He had a battery of tests done, a checkup with his primary care physician to clear him for surgery, and a final appointment with the surgeon last week. All systems are go and we are now just waiting for the big day. 

All of these appointments and medical issues have gotten me thinking about something. What if in addition to our medical doctor appointments and checkups, we underwent a spiritual checkup? As we look at the Bible, there are quite a few verses that remind us of the importance of regularly examining ourselves. In Psalm 119:59  the Psalmist says "I thought on my ways..." 2 Cor. 13:5 - "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves." There are many verses in both the Old and New Testaments that tell us to "take heed to ourselves."

Why do we need a spiritual checkup? Basically, because we often do not stop and realize "what manner of spirit we are of." (Luke 9:55). Self-deception comes so easily! We can fool ourselves into thinking we are much different than what we really are. It is possible to be a Christian and follow Christ for a long time, and yet still react out of human rationalization and the old flesh, rather than by applying Biblical principles. 

I'd like to give you just a few dangerous spirits we need to examine ourselves for:

1. Do I have a Martha spirit? Martha is one of my favorite characters in the Bible, probably because I can really identify with her! She loved the Lord, but she didn't take time to just listen to Him. 

2. Do I have an inconsistent spirit? Am I up one day, down the next? This tells me that my contentment is based on my circumstances rather than on my relationship with God. 

3. Do I have a contentious spirit? Do I love to argue and debate, and strive to prove my point? Do I cause problems because of my attitude?

4. Do I have a controlling spirit? Women especially seem to have a problem with wanting to be in control - I think it goes back to Eve in the Garden of Eden! Do we want to manage people and situations to our desired result?

5. Do I have an apathetic spirit? Apathy is just going through the motions of the Christian life, or just going along with the flow whether it is right or wrong. It is basically laziness.

Well, I could go on, but you get the idea. Sometimes we just need to stop and pay attention to ourselves. We need to ask, "What manner of spirit we are of."  In all of this, our physician is the Great Physician - if we have a humble heart and ask the Lord to reveal any problems in our hearts, He will be faithful to show us. Here's to a great spiritual checkup!

Till next time,
Kathi




Thursday, June 4, 2015

Life's Rainy Days

Rainy days. Yes, today is the third solid rainy day in a row. These days are good for cleaning projects, lighting scented candles, baking cookies, and reading but not for much else. The walks and the yard work and the enjoying the flowers on the patio with my morning coffee all have to be put off. I find myself anxiously looking forward to when the sun will come pouring through the windows once again. And since the name of my blog is "The Light in My Window," meaning not only the window to our home but the window into what is happening in my life, it is very fitting that the rainy days outside mirror what is going on in my life these days. Because some days it seems there is very little light coming in my window. And I welcome seeing the sun shine once again.

I recently came across something that has been a huge help to me and I would like to share it with you. It is a quote by John Newton, who is best known as the writer of the hymns "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" and "Amazing Grace." Here it is:

"I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of the year to a great bundle of sticks far too large for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole bundle at once. He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first just one stick which we are to carry today, and then another one which we are to carry tomorrow. We can easily manage our troubles if we would only carry the trouble appointed for each day. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden today, and then add the burdens of tomorrow."

There is much truth in those statements. I am reminded of Matt. 6:34 where Jesus tells us, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

But the thing that I have been struggling with lately is that not only do I have a bundle of sticks of my own to carry, but being the wife of a pastor means we have a second bundle of sticks that represent the troubles of the dear ones God has entrusted to us in our congregation. Even after all these years in the ministry it never ceases to amaze me what some people's perceptions are when it comes to what their pastor does. I actually had someone tell me one time that they thought all a pastor did was sit in his office and read his Bible all day long! (Just typing that still makes me laugh!) A lot of people think a pastor comes and goes as he pleases and delivers messages on Sundays and Wednesday nights. And maybe visits sick people in the hospital. People do not see the many (many) sleepless nights, the tears shed, the missed meals, the agonizing decisions, the phone calls at all hours, the hours spent in prayer, the changed plans. My husband is not only a preacher, but he is a pastor, and that means he has a pastor's heart. And as his wife, what he goes through, so do I.

But back to those sticks. The fact remains that even though we may have more bundles of sticks than our share to carry, God still handles it the same way. He gives us exactly what we can carry one day at a time. We can trust Him to know what is best. And to help us carry the sticks He hands us, He also gives us the encouragement of the Holy Spirit and His Word. On these rainy days, both literal and figurative, I have found some special verses this week:

1 Timothy 1:12 - "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, for He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." We didn't put ourselves into the ministry - God did. And it is He who enables us.

Hebrews 6:10 - "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labour of love which ye have showed in His name, that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister." God is aware of all of it.

and lastly, Hebrews 12:2-3 (I have been reading through Hebrews) - "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradictions of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Yes, we have been weary and faint in our minds. But if we keep our focus on Jesus, who went through so much for us and is the whole reason we minister, we shall keep going.

If you have read this far, thank you for sticking with me. I know this post sounds a little sober. But I hope that the quote or the Scripture verses or the thoughts are a help and encouragement to you on your rainy days. And I am looking forward to an abundance of sunshine - soon!

Lovingly,
Kathi