Devotional

Resurrection Living: The Power of Legacy

/ Sharon / 1 Comment

 

More than a month has passed since Easter 2019, and Jesus still lives.  I want and need to live out this truth. My desire going forward is to experience resurrection as a state of mind and a way of life.

In the meantime, Mother’s Day has come and gone and it was complicated for all kinds of reasons. Children have grieved the loss of their mothers.  Mothers grieve over loss of children. Others grieve over less than ideal relationships with their mothers or children. As thankful as I am for the woman who birthed and raised me,  I am also accepting (and grieving) the fact that I will not birth a child. And yes, having any role in mothering another is wonderful, but the disappointment is still real.

Is it possible to breathe new life into a dream that has died?

When I think about loved ones who have died, I find some comfort from the legacy they left.  For me, legacy is like the act of weaving the most meaningful threads of someone else’s life into the tapestry of my own life. As I process my own ambivalence around motherhood, I am reflecting on Shiphrah and Puah, Hebrew midwives in the Old Testament book of Exodus and I’m encouraged that God had something special in store for them.

God was pleased with the midwives. The people continued to increase in number—a very strong people. And because the midwives honored God, God gave them families of their own. Exodus 1:20-21 (The Message)

That is not to say that Shiphrah and Puah necessarily had biological children, but they would indeed bring something forth.  This is their legacy to me.

In  Exodus Women, Volume One: Securing the Sacred, Alison Gise Johnson and Vanessa Monroe make this clarion call:

“Midwives have no purpose unless women are ready to give birth — to birth dreams, strategic plans, businesses, careers, research, publications, and ministries. At some point, even midwives themselves are ready to birth. And so are you.”

As a spiritual midwife, I have rejoiced in bearing witness to the birthing of purpose in others. Yet I also want to delight in that Voice saying, “And there is more for you too…”
How about you? What are you being called to bring forth?

Your Call: Where are you bearing witness to new life in this season?  Whose legacy can you reflect on to encourage you?

Advent 3: Dreaming While Woke

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When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,  and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

Psalm 126 reminds me why worship is so important. In these nightmarish times, we can’t afford to stop dreaming of the goodness that is possible. Worship helps get us there by redirecting our focus toward God, not for escapism, but for the joy and power that comes with a stronger connection to God.

As we stay woke to the reality that is life today, hope must be one of our companions if we are to stay well. Worship gives us space to remember who God is and what God has already done so that we dare to envision a world where love, peace and justice reign.

In painting a picture of an empty riverbed in the desert region of the Negev, this psalm lifts up prayers for reversal and restoration, from dryness to drenching, from sowing in tears to reaping with joy.  Can you relate to this shift in your own life?

Worshipping in community gives us an opportunity to rejoice in anticipation of better times as we ask each other, “Can’t you feel a brand new day?!”  The song that poses this question is from the soundtrack of The Wiz.  It is not a traditional worship song but it speaks to our need to celebrate freedom at its fullest because “it’s like a different way of living now…”

Amazing things can happen when worship links up with work by way of the Spirit of God.  Isaiah 61 speaks of One anointed to be a vessel of reversal, bringing good news to the oppressed, binding up the brokenhearted, and proclaiming liberty to the captives.  It speaks of a people who have been planted by God for a ministry of restoration, building up and repairing the ruins around them. Will you accept God’s invitation to participate in the divine restoration to come?

Your Call: Watch the videos above; what calls out to you in them?  If you painted a picture of a “different way of living” for the world to see, what would it look like and what small step can you take to move in that direction?   What are you being anointed to do in God’s process of restoration?

Advent 2: Preparing the Path

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A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,  make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”  Isaiah 40:3 (NRSV)

 A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades,   when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades;  but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:6-8 (NRSV)

 “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  Mark 1:8 (NRSV)

What does it look like to prepare a path for the Lord in this wilderness we find ourselves in at the end of 2017?   Honestly I’m too weary to figure this out and should know better than to try.  If I could interview John the Baptist, I would ask him, “How do we cry out to those who deny their own fragility and mortality?” I can’t hear his answer, but the Gospel writer Mark reports that he told the people that Jesus would baptize them in the Holy Spirit.

In the desert, there is a scorching breeze that can stifle our breath. We can’t cry out to prepare the way of the Lord if we can’t breathe. Our only hope right now is the Breath of God, which makes the first move in preparing a path in our minds and souls so that we hear the word that we need and can act on it with the power we need.   This is a season to breathe more deeply than ever before.

Your Call: What spiritual practice would help you make room for the Breath of God to give you the Word and Power you need to discern and fulfill your assignment in this season? Some options may be to offer a prayer like the video above, to allow for more silence and solitude, or to simply take time to breathe deeply as a reminder that the Spirit of God is present.

Advent 1: Waiting in the Gaze of God

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O that you would tear open the heavens and come down. Isaiah 64:1a (NRSV)
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.  Psalm 80:3 (NRSV)

These are desperate times.

Sexual assault and harassment exposed.

Slave auctions in Libya.

A cruel tax bill that favors the rich.

These are desperate times, so we cry “O Come O Come Emmanuel!”

And we wait for righteousness and justice to prevail.

If we prayed hard enough, would God step out of the sky to confront and correct all injustice with a divine wave of the hand?   We could pray along with the Psalmist who says:

“Restore us, O God, let your face shine, that we may be saved.”

But would we know what we are actually praying?  The loving luminous gaze of God is an amazing thing, but is nothing to be played with.  It guides our steps and infiltrates our souls.  It encourages but it also exposes.  This is the road to restoration, but will we take that journey?

Perhaps there is another plan at work to answer our prayers, like when Jesus came down as the Incarnate God, not by stepping out of the sky but by showing up in the womb of a young woman from Nazareth.

In the midst of unchecked abuse of power and its consequences, Advent asks us:
Who will we be and what will we do on Christ’s behalf?

Your Call: How are you being called to represent Christ during these troubling times as Advent begins?

The Power of Praying Beyond Your Words, Part 3

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Thinking about the future can usually go in one of two directions…excited anticipation or worrisome speculation.  A few weeks ago, I found my thoughts leaning toward the latter with what-if’s cluttering up my mental space.  As those thoughts began to settle in where they didn’t belong, I saw something out of the corner of my eye.  The flurry I saw turned out to be a few sparrows in flight.  At that moment, I was reminded of two things. First, I recalled the words of Jesus, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…” Second, I remembered why I love watching birds. It’s cool when I manage to catch the Creator being creative.

The beauty of prayer is that it offers the opportunity for us to listen as God begins the dialogue.  And this can happen as we observe nature.  Yes, I see birds all of the time, but when I really pay attention, their appearance is a form of prayer.  The week after my sparrow sighting, I delighted in taking a picture of a robin posing upon a lamppost, looking calm and cared for.

Under Evergreen's EyeA few years ago during a season that felt barren, I went to a retreat in the hopes of getting refreshed and took this picture of a group of trees on the grounds. Notice the evergreen trees behind the trees with the bare branches.  I was grateful for this reminder that in spite of the seasonal changes that we go through, God’s presence and power are stable.

Your Call: Can you recall a time when you caught the Creator being creative in nature?  What do you think God was communicating to you at that time?  Share in the comments section below.

When Snow Speaks

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SnowyTree

The psalmist announces that “the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.”

The snowstorm from last weekend confirmed this reality.  Crystals of moisture that seem so fragile somehow stay and gather to make a statement on earth that says:

You.   Must.   Slow.   Down.  

 And as you do, admire my beauty and embrace the stillness.

Until recently, I had never connected this first verse of Psalm 19 with the last one:

“Let the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.”

If the heavens and skies can declare God’s glory and display the work of God’s hands, how much more should we do the same as we live our lives?

Your Call: How is God’s glory and handiwork being declared and displayed in your life now?

Peripheral Vision

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JesusandZaccheus-NielsLarsenStevns-ZakæusDo I really see you?
Off to the side and on back pews.
On invisible edges and borders.
Under bridges and on street corners.
Perpetually unacknowledged and wallflowered.

I pray for the sanctified side-eye
to behold you
for the
magnificent
human
divine image bearer that you are.

© Sharon Fleshman, 2015

Your Call: I was inspired to write this poem by Pope Francis’ recent visit to Philadelphia. Watch this footage and consider how it speaks to you.  Reflect on how Jesus saw those, such as Zacchaeus (Luke 19-1-10), who were on the margins of society.  How can you develop your peripheral vision?

Q&A

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“I’ll take ‘Fix my life Jesus’ for $1000, Alex.”

And so it goes in the imaginary Jeopardy! episode that airs in my mind from time to time. I have always found it odd that contestants on Jeopardy! have to come up with the right questions to the answers.

For the past seven years, Memorial Day weekend has marked the time when I lost my father.  As I recall that time of grief, I realize that my question “Why now?” went unanswered.  Yet an answer came in the form of a sermon that I heard months later titled, “Be Not Afraid.”  Another answer was in the text preached in that sermon, “The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deut 33:27)  So what were the questions?  Maybe, “How will I get through this?” and then, “God who are you anyway?”  The significance of all of this had escaped me until this past Holy Week.  On Good Friday, I sat with Jesus’ haunting question from the cross – “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46)

The next day, an incident, while relatively minor in of itself, nevertheless awakened a deep vulnerability and sense of loss that made me feel forsaken.  I had left home fairly upbeat but returned home crestfallen, only to find that a dear sister in Christ tagged me in a video that she posted on Facebook.  The song in the video, “Try” by Colbie Caillat, was clearly God’s answer for me that day.

It was as if that Jesus reached into my soul and turned on the faucet, washing away residue of performance anxiety and quests for approval.  So what was the question?  Some time ago, I was meditating on Zephaniah 3:17 where it states that God would rejoice over God’s people with singing.  In response, I journaled and asked – “What song are You singing over me?” The answer came to me a little over a year later by way of the video.

Whenever I ponder Jesus’ cry to God on the cross, I can’t help but consider how His question is echoed at the beginning of Psalm 22.  And just about every time, what captivates me is the psalmist’s declaration in verse 21b (NKJV) – “You have answered me.” While not always answering the questions I pose, God is often in the habit of responding to questions that I haven’t asked.

The answers come how they come. Sometimes in word.  Sometimes in silence.  Always with Presence.  I worship an answering God.

Your Call: What questions are you wrestling with right now?  Could it be that God is offering answers to different or deeper questions?  

The Beauty of Late Blooms

/ Sharon / 4 Comments

Colchicum_autumnale

I usually associate the fall season with falling leaves. Last autumn, I learned to appreciate the beauty in that. But as I wave good-bye to summer once again, it occurs to me that there are actually flowers that are just getting started. While leaves fall, blossoms emerge from hidden places like the autumn crocus that is pictured here.  It is in those blossoms that I find hope.

I am now officially closer to 50 than 40 and I have wrestled with the realities, reflections and regrets that come with midlife. My 20’s were a blast, but my 30’s, not so much, given my awkward entrance into ministry and the loss of a precious loved one that occurred during that decade. As I crept into my 40’s, I wondered if I had squandered some of my prime ”blooming“ years. When I attended my 20-year college reunion several years ago, I had to miss quite a bit of it because I went to a friend’s wedding on the day when most of the activities took place. Honestly, I was a bit relieved. After all, I had nothing particularly exciting to share.

Imagine how Elizabeth felt when she didn’t have anything particularly exciting to share, especially in a context (Luke 1) where a woman was defined by her ability to have children. As she likely traveled to the temple when her husband Zechariah was assigned to serve as priest, Elizabeth had to journey alongside women who were pregnant or walking with children she wished she could bear. After a while, I suspect that she resigned herself to the fact that her “prime blooming years” were behind her. Little did she know what was to come.

As I consider the testimony of Elizabeth and the autumn crocus, I realize that I am in good company. There is something beautiful and resilient about late bloomers, whether they are plants or people. Though there are areas in my life where I have yet to see blooms, I choose to embrace the opportunities that are blossoming before me at the moment. I choose to resist the temptation to look at my watch and wonder why it has taken so long. I choose to answer the call that Dr. Renita Weems makes to “Elizabeths” in her book Showing Mary: How Women Can Share Prayers, Wisdom, and the Blessings of God:

“Celebrate your blooms because they took so long in coming. Be grateful for that second wind. Relish the learning and wisdom you’ve garnered. This is your season, Elizabeth. Seize it. Give birth to the gift of God within you. You’ve now got talent and the inner strength that comes with age. You’ve now got enthusiasm and the wisdom that comes with experience. You’re ready.”

Your Call: Are you a late bloomer in some area of your life? If so, what would it take for you to celebrate and make the most of that reality? How will you partner with God to cultivate what is blossoming for you right now?

Seeing in the Dark

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ImageMy mother loves to tell a particular story about me, and has done so countless times.  When I was little, I spent many summers down south at my grandfather’s house out in the country where there was nary a streetlight.  Suffice it to say that when it got dark, it got real dark, and so at one point, I cried out “My eyes are open, but I can’t see!”

Decades later, my understanding of dark places has evolved.  I’ve had moments when melancholy has arrived on the threshold of my soul uninvited.   I have dwelt in shadows of obscurity, whether by choice or by circumstance. I have faced seasons when an abundance of question marks took up residence in my mental space.  I’ve bumped into grief and stumbled over fear as I groped along foggy paths to the unknown.

What does it mean to navigate dark places with eyes wide open?  Perhaps Lent is the time to ponder this question. As the Light of the World, Jesus could have just pulled me from a dark place to a brightly lit space.  Yet, having traveled from the wilderness to Gethsemane to Calvary, He made another choice – He showed up, sat down and lit a candle.   So now I consider what it might look like for me to light a candle for another.  Perhaps lighting a candle translates to sending up prayers of lament and intercession on someone’s behalf.  Or listening deeply to a neighbor’s story. Or nudging him in the direction of a therapist, spiritual director or community of support. Or reminding her that she is not alone. Or simply being present.

Your Call: What could “lighting a candle” mean for you right now?