Facing a giant

I had to "face a giant" recently. It was not easy. Actually it was with much fear and trembling that I did it. I know that I could not do it by my own strength, but the Lord was with me. The giant doesn't seem so large and looming anymore--funny how that works.

Cooking for engineers

I found a website this weekend called "Cooking for Engineers." It presents recipes in a way that is absolutely wonderful--so succinct and logical. The recipe format takes away the the need for including paragraphs of instructions after the ingredients list. Tonight I made ratatouille using this recipe card. Check it out.

Polishing a diamond

The message at the service this weekend was very thought-provoking. In a nutshell, the speaker talked about how we are being shaped and polished as diamonds. The process is not easy. Because the diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material, it is not easily scratched or marred by its environment and it can only be polished by another diamond. Chipping away the impurities and getting to the pristine core leaves only a fraction of the rough stone. In the same way, we as believers are being refined and polished, so that we will reflect the Light of the Lord while remaining uncompromised by the world.

When all the pieces fit

I have been in a situation at work where I always feel overworked and understaffed. I have recently hired 2 more people to off-load some of the work, and they were immediately very busy (and I am still very busy). What was I thinking? I guess I bite off more than I can chew sometimes. It all sounds simple on paper.

I have learned a couple things from this experience. The first is that I can be many times more effective by delegating (I have had to work on retraining my brain in this area because as a grad student I had to do everything myself for my projects). The second lesson is that there is no substitute for quality workers. Finding people who are dependable and attentive to details is not always easy but so valuable. I don't know what I would have done at this point in time if I had not taken the risk to hire more people. Fortunately, the Lord put good people in my path--I am blessed.

When God doesn't answer

I have been thinking a lot lately about a few situations where I or others have been praying, and the answer is not coming the way that I would want or expect. Clearly, I know that God has a plan that is far greater than what I could ever imagine, but I feel confused. Why do we feel compelled to pray for something when the outcome doesn't happen? Are we praying the wrong things or with the wrong motives? Maybe.

But I think about the Scripture that tells us to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." People have been praying that for millennia, but it has not been fully answered yet. Still, the Scriptures instruct us to pray for it. If we don't see the answer we are expecting, does that mean we shouldn't pray for it? From this example, I believe it is clear that we should pray for it regardless of what we see.

We are to pray God's will. The difficult thing for me is knowing God's will in a situation. Is it God's will that we should never experience pain or suffering? I know that He is a good God and does not cause harm for His children, but He allows us to be tried and tested, which we see in the book of Job. God did not forget His servant Job, but He allowed him to endure much sorrow and pain. So, how do we pray? We cannot pray according to what we see, but according to the Spirit of God. Sometimes I wonder why we even pray if God is going to do what is best anyway. But then I think of how much I have grown through those moments of deep intercession even if what I was praying was not granted.

Great Orchestration

I think of when I was in concert band in high school and the marvelous feeling that I felt when the band was "on" --the timing and notes were right. It was a feeling of awe to be part of beautiful music when we played our parts according to the direction of the conductor. I felt a similar awe over the last few days as I traveled to little Helena's funeral and then visited my family. I saw how the Great Conductor was orchestrating people to intersect at the right time, how weather was changed in a moment, and how seats on a plane opened.

One notable happening was when I was returning home last night. I had a small little paperback book that was evangelistic in nature. I was wondering who the Lord wanted me to give it to. I wasn't sure, so I kept it in my hand rather than put it in my backpack as I got off the plane. I was talking to the man who had been sitting next to me on the plane as we took the train back to the main terminal. He asked me, "What is that book that you have in your hand?" I said, "Do you want it? Here you can have it." He was a little surprised at my offer but gladly took the book. How easy was that? May the Lord work in that man's life.

I wasn't booked for that flight but I got on as a standby passenger even when one of the agents told me that my chances of getting on were slim. I see it as the Great Conductor doing some intricate orchestration. I am left with a sweet feeling of awe.

Fragility and Resiliency

I was thinking in light of yesterday's sad news how the human body is both resilient and fragile all at the same time. These are very opposite properties (it reminds me a little of the light/particle discussion I posted a few months ago). I think of Helena and how her little body went through so many medical procedures and rebounded quite well. Then it was over, and they don't know exactly know why. Her heart and lungs seemed to be functioning fine independently, but somehow she wasn't able to maintain high enough blood O2 levels. I imagine that God decided she had endured enough, and He took her home.

His ways are not our ways

Today is a sad day for my mother's side of the family. My cousin's 19-month-old daughter died of a cardiac arrest a couple days after she had undergone a seemingly successful heart surgery. Although I never met little Helena, she looked like a little sweetheart in photos (see her blog). I talked to my cousin (her mother) today and was moved with compassion for her and her husband. I was reminded that our Father in Heaven knows what it is like to see his Son die, and He will help them through their grief.

I must remember that God has a plan through it all even if we can't see and understand it. It is at times like this where all I can do is lean on the fact that God is good, and He will never leave or forsake His children.