Joy in the Journey

The battle plan eight-year-old Kevin McCallister came up with in the classic film Home Alone was elaborate. Unique. Creative. Definitely not something I personally would’ve come up with to deter the “wet bandits,” two bumbling thieves who targeted wealthy homes during the Christmas holidays. And yet it worked!

The Bible has some pretty elaborate and unique battle plans as well. Creative. Hard to imagine, and yet they worked.

I’ve been reading in the Old Testament of the Bible the past few months. I’m now at the part where this large group of people — the Israelites — is FINALLY ready to enter the Promised Land. Their journey from slavery in Egypt until now has been long — over 40 years! Their leader Moses has died, and now his protege/successor Joshua is in charge.

Joshua’s first assignment is to lead the people across the Jordan River, a feat reminiscent of when Moses led them across the Red Sea. Both times God miraculously parted the waters and the people crossed on dry ground.

First assignment, COMPLETED.

Next assignment: destroy the city of Jericho. This was one of those strange battle plans — walk around the city for seven days. With the priests at the front of the procession blowing trumpets. On the seventh day, circle the city seven times. Then, when Joshua gave the command, everyone was to shout. Miraculously, the city walls fell down and the city was conquered.

Second assignment, COMPLETED.

The third assignment was to capture the city of Ai. Piece of cake, thought the Israelites. But because ONE person had disobeyed the clear command to “keep away from the things devoted to destruction” ¹ when they were destroying Jericho, the battle to take Ai was a dismal failure resulting in loss of life and morale.

Assignment # 3: FAILED.

But God graciously gave the Israelites a second chance to destroy Ai, and this time they were successful.

The strange battle theme continues with their next foray. This time, they were tricked by some of the people in the land who “feared greatly for [their] lives because of you [Israelites].” ² When the enemy tricked the Israelites, their deception led the Israelites to make a treaty with this enemy nation, a treaty promising that the Israelites would come to the country’s aid if they were ever attacked. Ugh. NOT a good game plan. To make matters worse, the Israelites forgot to first inquire of the Lord if this was how HE wanted them to proceed . ³

Another king and his people who heard about the annihilation of Ai were “very much alarmed.” ⁴ And some more kings had a similar reaction when they heard how God had dried up the Jordan River so that the Israelites could enter the land. “Their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites… we feared for our lives because of you.” ⁵

People were afraid of the Israelites. Understatement! And so five kings banded together to attack the nation that had made the treaty with the Israelites. These kings knew that such an attack would obligate the Israelites to honor their treaty, which meant war.

Several things stand out to me about this battle:

• Even though the Israelites had blown it by making a treaty without first inquiring of the Lord, God still fought for them.
• Joshua honored the treaty to the fullest. He didn’t send just a few soldiers, a skeleton crew so to speak. But rather his entire army, including all the best fighting men. (see Joshua 10:7)
• Even before Joshua and his men began their all-night march to the battlefield, God reassured Joshua: “Do not be afraid of [the enemy nations]; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”⁶ Did you catch that? Victory was assured before the battle even started!
• The Lord threw the enemy into confusion/a panic so that they fled from the Israelites. As they were fleeing, “the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.” ⁷
• As if that wasn’t strange enough, something even more elaborate and unconventional– even by Home Alone standards — happened: “the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” ⁸

The sun stood still.

Wow. Talk about strange battle plans! God made daylight last longer so that the Israelites had sufficient light to accomplish His plan.

But what does this have to do with you and me???

• I need to remember to first inquire of God before starting anything! I can be rather impulsive, running ahead of God and then hoping He’ll understand and bless my efforts. BUT… I need to realign my thinking and go to Him first. WAIT upon the Lord.
• I also need to remember that GOD will fight my “battles” — and that His methods are often rather unconventional. My battles aren’t the conquering-a-nation kind, but other things I deal with in my life, like believing the truth about what God says about me instead of the lies of the enemy.
• How often do I limit God because what He says doesn’t make sense to me? Or the timing doesn’t agree with my preconceived ideas? Or my assessment of my abilities — or lack thereof — doesn’t jive with His?
• God means what He says about wanting His people to be set apart/different/holy. Not tied to the things of this world.
• If I covet something — meaning desire or hope for — it often reveals a lack of contentment. Ugh.
• Part of my “job” is to rightly reflect Him to the world in which I live. To enhance His character among others. And when I blow it, to quickly quit trying to do things/succeed on my own — to get out of the way so that God can do His thing!

Yep. My “battle plan” isn’t as elaborate and creative as Kevin McAllister’s. It’s actually rather simple: love God and others with all my heart, soul, and mind. And as I learn to more consistently do this, I anticipate much joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!” Will you join me?!

1. Joshua 6:18 ↩︎
2. Joshua 9:24 ↩︎
3. Joshua 9:14-15 ↩︎
4. Joshua 10:2 ↩︎
5. Joshua 5:1; 9:24 ↩︎
6. Joshua 10:8 ↩︎
7. Joshua 10:11 ↩︎
8. Joshua 10:13 ↩︎

Music has a way of transporting me to another time… to another place…

I was reading in the Old Testament Book of Psalms earlier this week. Psalm 63. The words jogged my memory, surfacing the summer of 2008…

My mother had sold our family home and was preparing to move permanently to Florida. Daddy had been gone for seven years, and so we three kids were helping with the gargantuan task of emptying the home they had lived in since newlyweds, the home where we had grown up. Over sixty years of “stuff” had accumulated. My parents grew up during the Great Depression, which meant that things were saved “just in case” there might be a need somewhere down the road.

Going through this “stuff” was like walking through a museum. Ration cards from WW II. My mom’s gym uniforms from what had been an all-girls college (now a coed university). I convinced her to send the uniforms (still in great shape!) to the university. Maybe their archives would want them for who-knows-what-reason?! That seemed to make letting go a bit less painful.

Other treasures included countless wooden boxes of glass Coca-Cola bottles. My dad, who grew roses as a hobby, would take flowers — in Coke bottle vases — to our local hospital each week for patients who didn’t have any visitors. My quiet dad. Bringing encouragement to others. I never knew he had done this until after he died. Until we were emptying the shed where they’d been stored.

There were letters and cards — birth announcements for us kids, birthday and Christmas cards. I could reconstruct my life just from all the correspondence! And family journals from our annual camping trips. My mom usually made the daily entries, but later I started writing about our adventures. Hmm… I wonder if that’s where my love of writing began??

As I was reading Psalm 63, I was once again sitting in my bedroom that summer. Sitting in the yellowed upholstered chair that had been my grandparents. Using MomMom’s treadle sewing machine as my coffee table. A floor lamp from my other grandparents shedding light on my Bible.

It was an intense, yet precious time. Exhausting. When I finally returned home (we were living in Romania back then) seven weeks later, my husband thought I must have cancer I looked so bad!

Every morning, before tackling whatever projects loomed before us that day, I would sit in that yellowed chair and listen to a song based on Psalm 63.

Oh, God, my God, I seek Your face
You’ll always be my resting place
My body’s weak and my soul is dry
Your love alone can only satisfy my heart
And fill me with delight
Oh, God, my God, You are my life

I have see You in the quiet times
with no one else around
Your power and Your glory overwhelm me
And no matter what tomorrow holds
my praise will know no bounds
for Your presence will be there again to help me…

“Oh God, My God” sung by Glad

No matter what tomorrow holds…

no matter what TODAY holds…

That song, those sentiments and the truths they reflect are part of what got me through that summer. And they still ring true for me today.

God truly is my resting place. My body often is weak, and sometimes my soul is dry. And yet His love — His love alone — is able to fully satisfy the yearnings of my heart, my soul. His power and His glory overwhelm me at times. And I’m confident that He’ll always be with me, that He’ll never leave or forsake me. Because of that, my praise knows no bounds!

Today marks ten years since we said goodbye here on earth to my mom. I’ll always treasure that time we had together going through our family home, reliving and releasing memories. I’m grateful for how her life impacted mine — and still does. Because of her and because of our heavenly Father I’m able to have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

Last night was my swan song. My “farewell appearance,” as it were. I had stepped down from being in leadership the end of last year (2023)… but one thing after another postponed this time of recognition until last night. To be honest, I would’ve been quite alright if it had been totally forgotten!

I was asked to share some of the things I had learned in my roles as a leader. It was a Zoom meeting, and looking at all those little pictures on the screen– pictures that filled one whole screen and overflowed to a second — catapulted my mind from the present to a host of past memories. Some of those on the screen were dear friends from every season of my life: early days when we lived in Romania; weekly Home Fellowship gatherings in our home in Vienna; conferences in Europe; trainings here in Thailand; teammates who walked with me in the roles that were being honored. Some were new faces that were “meeting” me for the first time virtually.

But BEFORE I shared, those on the Zoom call were asked to write down something they appreciated about me. Oh, brother. That undid me… and made it hard to focus on what I had wanted to say. I stumbled on, unsure of what I actually said! And reflective person that I am, knowing LATER there were things I forgot and things that were unclear. So… for my own benefit, bear with me as I revisit the question…

What are some things you learned in your leadership roles?

• The importance of teamwork. I describe myself as a “reluctant leader.” I think that’s one reason I like reading about Moses in the Old Testament of the Bible. Neither he nor I jump at the chance to be in charge — but rather look at all the things we can’t do, all our inadequacies. I need a significant nudge — more like a kick in the pants — to move into uncharted territory.

That’s how I ended up in these leadership roles. My significant nudge came from God’s Spirit prodding me, propelling me… and yet also like Moses, I wouldn’t be alone in these new responsibilities. Moses had his brother Aaron as his spokesperson; his sister Miriam as a strong support; Hur — the one who helped Aaron hold up Moses’ arms in a crucial battle; his father-in-law Jethro who wisely counseled him to ask for help. I had a team of godly women who played similar roles in my life… and for each of them I’m extremely thankful.

• The benefits of teamwork. Close relationships developed with these dear women. As we worked together, we became more vulnerable — recognizing not only our varied strengths, but also acknowledging our sometimes-hidden weaknesses. Honest sharing — not saying what we thought the other person wanted to hear. Expected to hear.

And yet with that openness and honesty, misunderstandings could surface, especially since most of our interactions took place on Zoom calls. It’s hard to read one’s body language, “hear” one’s heart when the screen has multiple faces staring at you. It’s impossible to “see” everyone at the same time. And so taking the initiative to clear up any perceived misunderstandings became paramount, especially before they morphed into something bigger. Like the proverbial making a mountain out of a mole hill.

• Embracing the ebb and flow of life. One of my philosophies of life is that “Life is not convenient.” Before one of our trainings, I wrote to a friend:

“I feel like I’ve been playing ‘whack-a-mole’ with the upcoming women’s training conference… things just keep popping up, and as soon as one is ‘whacked’ down something else seems to come out of nowhere! Pray that I won’t be so weary and consumed by all the details that I miss out on seeing God at work.”

That busy pre-conference time was what I call a “period of imbalance.” Life doesn’t go at a constant, manageable pace. Sometimes it gets downright crazy! But this imbalance usually doesn’t last forever. There IS light at the end of the tunnel. And during these times, we need to give ourselves — and others — a LOT of grace.

• The importance of believing in one another… yourself… and God. This goes back again to the importance of teamwork. But it also underscores the fact that ultimately, all that we do is not for our glory, for our success, but rather to bring honor and glory to God. To help others see and embrace Him.

Yep. That’s what I had wanted to say. These are also lessons I’m continuing to learn. And as I learn, I’m grateful, dear reader, that you’re with me as we find joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

PS

A “swan song” is defined as the last act, appearance, publication, or utterance of a person before retirement or death. I’m obviously still alive! And we’ve not retired. It’s just that God has redirected my focus to be able to have more time — and energy — to be a support to my husband in this season of our lives.

It can’t be denied. Sometimes our past — especially our mistakes and failures, our hurts and disappointments — has a tendency to drag us down. Relationships gone sour imprison us in a cycle of rehashing who said what, who did what. Words spoken harshly, hastily are indelibly imprinted on our minds. We get stuck, unable to move forward because of being fixated on the past.

I’m not saying that we sweep these things under the carpet. They need to be acknowledged. Often, forgiveness is necessary (a topic for another time). But it’s important not to dwell there.

Dwelling on the past distorts the present and blurs the future. It inhibits our ability to have hope. To be positive. To overcome the inertia that paralyzes and crushes us.

Reflective person that I am, I’ve been mulling over — again! — a story in the Old Testament of the Bible about the scouting expedition Moses, the leader of the Israelites, sent twelve men on. (See my blog posted August 12, 2023… linked below if you’d like to check it out!)

Moses had been leading a HUGE group of people (over 600,000 men — so even more when you add in the women and children) from Egypt, where they had been in slavery, to the Promised Land. Twelve men were sent to spy out the land. Ten came back with a negative report. All they saw were obstacles. But two saw things in a totally different light. They saw possibilities. They saw the land as exceedingly GOOD!

Fast forward forty years. This horde of people STILL hadn’t gotten to their destination. They had been wandering around in the desert because of some bad choices they had made. Moses, now a VERY old man, was intentionally looking back... reminding the people of where they had come from and lessons (hopefully!) learned through their journey… as they looked forward to entering their future homeland.

He reminded the people of the twelve spies… and the fact that the report given by the ten distorted their ability to trust God.

• You were unwilling to go up [to the land of Canaan].
• You rebelled against the command of God.
• You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so He brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of [our enemies].”
• Our brothers have made us lose heart.
• (See Deuteronomy 1: 26-28)

Wow. Their grumbling surfaced a wrong view of God (“He hates us!”). They forgot why they had left Egypt in the first place. They focused on how the ten viewed the inhabitants of the land instead of how God viewed them. They lost heart. They were terrified and afraid. They forgot how “God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” (Deuteronomy 1:31)

Looking backward was painful. It rehearsed past failures… but it was meant to be instructive. To inform the Israelites’ future choices and decisions. To focus on the goodness, patience, and great love of God.

He never gave up on them.

Backward glance… forward FOCUS…

That’s how I need to approach life as well. Learn from my failures, mistakes, hurts, disappointments… but not get stuck there. Remember who I am and who God is… and focus on what HE says is true about me as opposed to how others may try to define me. Focus on a future based on God’s story versus the narrative the media feeds us. And if we do this, my friends, together we can have joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”

Be strong… courageous… not afraid… not discouraged…