I Got it All Together…Now Where Did I Put It?

This past weekend, as I was throwing piles of scrap wood onto the fire pit along with the debris of yard work only recently done after approximately twenty years of neglect, I threw myself an enormous pity party. I considered myself entirely justified in doing so. My reasons were legion. I really hate to sweat, and the ninety percent humidity combined with eighty degree heat made the logic of such a fire questionable at best. "The next time I have a huge bonfire," I grumbled, "it's going to be October and there will be weenies on sticks!" The lake was beckoning with the sounds of jet ski and pontoon motors humming at a steady level. "Is our pier in?" I asked myself. "No, of course it is not," came the immediate reply. "Maybe I'll go inside and take a break in the air conditioning," came the next thought. In a heartbeat, I remembered that although the air conditioning was running, the cabin is missing two big windows and is covered with tarp. The air conditioning is not actually effective at this time. The charm of the little log cabin in the woods on the lake, gleefully purchased as "the deal of the century", was wearing painfully thin. Buyer's remorse and a pity party seemed to be the order of the day.

 As pity parties go, this was not truly a red hot event. I was able to focus my thoughts in another direction. I began thinking about my recent trip to Scotland, and in particular, I thought about the other women on the trip. What bonds 42 women together? It could have been the challenge of learning to navigate the shower in every new hotel. It could have been the first day of dealing with jet lag. Perhaps it was the search for free wi-fi and trying to stay in touch with family at home. In reality, it was something most European tours do not include. This trip included a daily Bible study--not your typical European tour fare. What became just an interesting side note to the trip rapidly became the focus and glue of the trip.

The women on this trip all appeared to have it all together. Ages ranged from retired to early thirties. Most women were married. Most shared they had children and a good many had grandchildren. It was, to say the least, a very classy group of women. All seemed to share a love of reading. After all, this tour was hosted by a well-known Christian author, Liz Curtis Higgs. Liz taught from the book of Ruth, drawing every woman in the group into her grasp of the Bible--the language, the idioms, the customs and the foreshadowing all included in this great work of the Old Testament.

Something about the intimacy of this daily early morning ritual prompted guests to start sharing pieces of their lives from home. The first days focused on the superficial--the churchy equivalent of name, rank and serial number. Women shared name, occupation, and marital status. But as the days went by, the prayer requests began. This wonderful group of Christian women was truly and delightfully human. More than one woman shared a story of a prodigal child. One dear lady shared of her current struggle with Stage IV cancer. I was able to share my grief in the loss of my wonderful mother, whose generosity had paid for this trip. These women, who have it all together, have issues! Their lives are not perfect.

This group has remained in contact with one another through the wonder of social media. A group member created a private Facebook page, and my feed now consists of a large percentage of posts on this "secret" page. Not only are pictures and book recommendations flying over cyberspace, the prayer concerns and praises have been hitting the airwaves as well.

I had also received a group email from a coworker that morning. Not only is this person a coworker, she is also a dear friend. I work in an office with very dynamic and successful women. All are confident, accomplished, generous and caring, seemingly without a care in the world. Yet this particular friend was coping with a mother-in-law with Alzheimer's in a crisis stage, along with a brother-in-law who was MIA.

So as I stood, dripping in sweat and grumbling about the injustice of not being able to frolic on the lake, my heart went to this group of remarkable women and they faith they demonstrate. I realized my "problem" --my unruly cabin--was such a blessing. For heaven's sake, I have two houses in a time when homelessness is epidemic. My cabin is located in the place I have loved since my teen years. It is located in the place where I was able to question, grow and become committed to my faith. It was in this place, on THIS lake, that I came to know beyond any doubt, the Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Son of God and that amazingly enough, He knew me and loved me.

My cabin is a work in progress. My suburban house is on the market, and hopefully will sell soon. When that happens, I will be moving to the cabin, which currently does not have a single closet. Someday I will be able to frolic on the lake with the other carefree people. But I have realized that even though I will someday "get it all together", I will always have from to grow. As long as I am living, there is the potential for something to go wrong. I'm fairly confident--make the 100% confident--that something down the line will go wrong. There will be more heartache in my life. Yet I am not alone. I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses as the writer of Hebrews assures me, as well as family and friends.

So the next time I think I have it all together, I hope I remember to put "it" in the right context…that of being blessed and loved.

Night Owls vs. Early Birds--Is There Room in the Nest for Both?

Recently I returned from a twelve day adventure to Scotland. I traveled with my friend, Jodi Wilson Kosary. We've known each other since kindergarten. We attended the same small school with basically the same people from kindergarten through high school graduation. We attended church camp together, went to amusement parks together, played guitar and piano together, and sang in many choirs together. And then we went on a trip to Scotland. Together. Just the two of us and forty of our closest friends we didn't yet know.

Traveling can be stressful. Connecting flights, running through the airport, trying to exchange currency, learning how to flush the toilet in a strange place and coping with motion sickness can all accentuate the sense of everything being out of control. But throw in the night owl--who typically finds her bedtime between 11:00 and midnight--with an early bird--who is asleep by 10:00 but up by 6:00 a.m--and the potential for conflict is high.

All the things that are common sense do apply in this situation. Both early bird and night owl were able to compromise and were sensitive to the circadian rhythms of the other. It didn't hurt that the purpose of this adventure was to visit Scotland with author Liz Curtis Higgs.  Ms. Higgs is a Christian author, Bible teacher and "encourager". Both Jodi and I have read her historical fiction (set in Scotland) and gone through her Bible studies. For both of us, the opportunity to have a daily Bible study with Ms. Higgs herself was not to be missed.

This particular Bible study focused on the book of Ruth. I can't teach it any better than Liz, so I won't even try. I will recommend her book The Girl's Still Got It (which can be found at http://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/the-girls-still-got-it-book/) and advise, compel, exhort and entreat you to get a copy and go through it with a friend or group of friends. (And yes, I know how to use a thesaurus.)

What I will tell you is that the answer to my question of early birds, night owls and room in the nest was found in that study. A major theme of the study was that Christ came so that outsiders could be insiders. The labels we attach to ourselves and others are made by us--not by the God who created us and loves us.

So on the penultimate day of the trip--when the early bird looked at the night owl and asked if setting the alarm for 4:30 a.m for a 6:30 a.m. pick up time to the airport--the tired night owl did not attack the early bird. Rather, a compromise was made and the alarm was set. The night owl slept in while the early bird got ready, and they both made it to the airport on time. (In a nice bit of irony, the flight out was delayed more than an hour and both the night owl and early bird could have slept in a wee bit more…whatever that might have been.)

Indeed, there is room in the nest for both the night owl and the early bird.