Mikki's Blog - Living in the Grace and Love of God » Hope

The Day My Clothes Spoke to Me

Mikki — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:06:38 +0000

A new year. A new opportunity. A new day. A new beginning. Ah, the inspiration of it!

I spent part of New Year’s Eve cleaning out my clothes’ closet. I took everything out of my closet and laid the stuff in stacks around my room. Then I began. Toss. Keep. Give away. Store in a different place. Reorganize. Somehow the arrival of the New Year beckoned me to start over again. To think in new ways. To look for new strategies.

Magazine articles about decluttering and organization called to me.

I was in a ruthless mood. If I didn’t love it, it went no matter how much I wondered if it might come back into style in a year or if it might fit me better later.

The process became spiritual.

I picked up a blouse. I thought of my mother and her changing memory. The blouse represented a shopping trip we’d had. I felt saddened and a deeper realization of my time with her changing as she ages.

A dress touched my memory of days gone by and folks I love who I don’t really see anymore. Tears filled my eyes as I allowed the memory to fill my heart.

Another outfit took me back to a season of my life. Ah, those were good days.

The blouse I would wear for my anniversary this week. More smiles.

Ah, there was that item that needs hemming and one that needs a button.

And those two little dresses I bought for my granddaughter for Spring. I smiled as I thought of her.

Almost like the year in review except it went much further.

My emotions ranged from gratitude to delight to satisfaction to joy to melancholy to sorrow to ambivalence to regret.

I was both glad I could get back into those pants I love and yet frustrated that I had a lot of work to do in order to be able wear that cute skirt.

The finished project gave me satisfaction. My life would be simpler. More organized. Less stressful.

And the project reminded me of how I must evaluate my life periodically and the usefulness of the things that fill it. I posed these questions to myself and now, I pose them to you:

What is really important in your life?

What is being ignored? What needs repair?

What needs to go to make room for the things that “fit” today?

What needs to be given new priority?

What needs to be grieved? Appreciated? Planned for?

The New Year is a gift. God promises us that His heart for us is to give us future and hope. So allow His Spirit to do the work inside you that will prepare you for the new day. Value the old things that are foundational and drink in the new knowing that God’s plans for you are good. A new year. A new day. A new beginning.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3:6

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
…A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;

The Day My Clothes Spoke to Me

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Christmas Eve Gift

Mikki — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:26:36 +0000

When I was a little girl, I believed in Santa. I was the last of my classmates to find out that Santa was really my mom and dad. I can still feel how defensive I became when my friends told me that there was no Santa. After all, I had been to Santa’s Village and actually seen the reindeer in Hope Valley, California!

I remember finding my “Santa” Christmas gifts hidden away at my house. Tears flowed freely. How embarrassing to defend Santa to my friends and then find out that he didn’t exist! It actually took me several years to forgive my parents for “lying” to me. How could they set me up for such a painful fall?

It seemed to me that Christmas was never the same afterwards. The magic was gone. I adamantly refused to teach my own children that there was a Santa. It wasn’t for the religious reasons that many of my friends espoused although I believed that Christmas was about Jesus. It was because I WOULD NOT lie to my kids.

One time my mother-in-law had my daughter’s picture made in Santa’s lap. Oh my goodness, my husband and I just about had a “come-a-loose”, each of us for our own reasons. Some twenty-three years later, I think I probably overreacted just a little.

I think my kids have survived my anti-Santa regimen. They seem fairly well-adjusted. Of the two of them that are married, one is sticking to the anti-Santa/Jesus is the reason for the season/ program and one is probably going to go the Santa route when her children arrive. My younger two seem happy enough because there are gifts under the tree, and as for me, I still struggle with Christmas.

I love the family times. I love the wonderful food. I love the Christmas decorations.

I do have the important things. My family is all tucked into our warm house. My daughter and son-in-law are here, too, and even my mother is here.

The menu just keeps getting yummier. We are starting today with pumpkin cream cheese spread and bagels, donated by my vegan daughter. Later, Paula Deen’s Rigatoni and Sausage Bake will simmer in the oven. Spinach dip, cookies galore, cheese balls, and more await us and it’s only Christmas Eve. Tomorrow will be the real kicker.

Christmas music fills the air. Karen Carpenter sings Merry Christmas Darling, and Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra add their songs.

Snow is forecasted for Christmas Day, a rarity for those of us in North Alabama.

I literally stuffed everyone’s stockings to the top last night.

So everything is ready. Well, maybe my heart needs a little work.

I have a few bad Christmas memories to release, and I’m working on that. After all, Christmas and the ability to dream are inextricably joined together. From the very first Christmas, dreams were a part of the magic, from Joseph to the Wise Men, God showed up and gave hope and direction in their dreams.

I will work through my Christmas ambivalence. I will cry a little if I need to, mourning those who aren’t here and the loss of Santa and some of my grown-up Christmas dreams, but when it’s all said and done, I expect that it’s gonna be a wonderful holiday.

My dad had one particular Christmas tradition that I have held onto. He loved to be the first in the family to say, “Christmas Eve gift”. Whoever remembered to say it first, got a big kiss. It’s the one tradition that has endured for me. I’m about to go give some kisses to my family and celebrate the simplicity of love and life and Christmas dreams.

And Christmas Eve gift to all of you. I send my Christmas kisses and wishes of love and joy and peace for you all today. May your holiday be all you dream of.

Christmas Eve Gift

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Hope Against Hope

Mikki — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:50:16 +0000

Hopelessness leaves a man or woman frozen in despair.

Jesus understood that his disciples would be tempted to despair after his crucifixion so he spent time beforehand preparing them, counseling them, and providing hope for them.

Jesus told his disciples that he was leaving and they could not follow him. What kind of news is that when they had just given three years of their life responding to his invitation to “Follow me”?

Change was coming and Jesus tried to prepare his followers. He encouraged them not to allow their hearts to be troubled. How were they supposed to not be troubled when their leader was crucified? They had to have hope. If they could hope in what Jesus was sharing with them, they could look beyond their current crisis and believe that God was going to perform the things that Jesus had taught them.

Jesus told his followers that their separation would be temporary. He was preparing a place for them and they would be with him again.

He told them that they were about to do even greater works than the ones He Himself had done.

Jesus told them that the Father was about to send them a Helper, the Holy Spirit.

And Jesus shared many more words that contained both challenge and hope as recorded in John 14-16. Then he prayed for his disciples.

We find this pattern in Jesus’ ministry. He told Peter that he was about to deny him, but that when he was RESTORED, he would strengthen his friends. Jesus gave him some challenging words but he also gave him hope.

The same pattern is also observable in the lives of Paul and Peter. Sometimes their words were challenging, but there was always a thread of hope.

As Christians, when we interact with others we also need to offer hope. Even in the most desperate circumstance, we need to be able to look at others and believe that God can bring something beautiful out of the situation.

We don’t need to offer false hope or false promises. A person who is hurting can see right through a religious answer that feels like an insincere pat on the back. False hope and false promises feel as empty as a dry well because they are!

So how can we help someone in desperation?

We can acknowledge, honestly, the difficulty of their situation, the depth of their pain. Sometimes this is the most necessary step because it bridges the depths of the loneliness and desperation someone is feeling and says that we are honestly acknowledging where they are emotionally without condemning them. We often don’t know how God can accomplish what needs to happen in a life; we don’t have a formula or a fix but as another human being, we can say, “That must be really hard.” Such a response acknowledges the reality of the pain. Galatians 6:2 instructs us to bear one another’s burdens and this is one way to do that.

Then we can share from our own lives about times when God did something for us when life seemed impossible. This is the power of testimony – which according to Rev. 12:11 is one of the ways to overcome the enemy.

And we can humbly pray for those who are hurting, asking God to do what only He can.

Jesus told his disciples that it was about to be hard, but God would be faithful. And then he prayed for them.

Hurting people need “Jesus with skin on”. They need someone whom Jesus is living in and through to offer hope.

Sometimes we say that we are hoping against hope, a phrase which means that in spite of what looks impossible, we have hope that things will change.

Romans 5:5 tells us that hope doesn’t disappoint because it is based on the love of God.

Is there someone in your life who needs hope?

How can you offer hope to them?

Perhaps you just need to listen without feeling a need to fix anything or anybody.

Perhaps you need to call someone today to say you care.

Maybe a card of encouragement would be just the right thing.

How about a visit?

How about a hug? Many times I have just held someone and let them hurt in my arms. Words are not always necessary.

And as Jesus did, wrap what you do with a prayer for that person. I find that most people are more than happy for you to pray for them. Perhaps you can ask them, “Would it be okay for me to pray for you?” Then do so. It doesn’t need to be long or religious sounding. Don’t try to fix it in your prayer. Just honestly acknowledge the pain and ask for God to help. I often acknowledge in my prayers for others that I don’t know the answer, but I know that God does and I ask for His help. It is more than okay to not have the answers. You know the One who does!

I recently hear Dan Allender teaching and he asked this question which riveted me. He asked, “Who has wept with you and your story?” He suggested that we cannot unlock our stories alone. We need each other.

Will you weep with someone over their pain?

This burden bearing fulfills the law of Christ which is the law of love.

There is hope against hope. It exists because of Christ. Receive it and offer it. It is the intangible tangible.

Hope Against Hope

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