"Lest the Lord Protect"

"Wow it's hot! Stinky and sticky isn't it punkin'?" I asked my daughter as I scrunched up my nose and squinted to make light of the miserable temperature. I shouldn't teach her how to complain but my brain had melted somewhere around "Aisle J" in the grocery parking lot and most of my southern manners were attached.

I opened every door of our van to let the heat demons run free and checked if our "NY State Required" booster seat would fry her like a pancake. Assured of her safety, I carefully hoisted her preschool frame into the van, shoved a bottle of water in her lap and launched the air conditioning while I slid into my own leather skillet up front. Mindless music played in the background while coherence slowly returned in accordance with the cooling temperature. 

Twenty minutes later, as I rounded the last corner before home, my daughter let out the most horrifying, window-shattering scream I'd ever heard from her since infancy. I nearly jerked the wheel off the dashboard while maternal instincts hit the brakes, swerved off the road, dodged a ditch and brought the car to a swift halt. I whipped off my seat belt and swung around half out of breath, "What's wrong?! What happened Madigan?!"

Her tiny tears seemed to synchronize with her quivering bottom lip. "You didn't buckle my seat belt Mommy."

If I hadn't seen the genuine fear in her eyes, I might have given her one of the numerous lectures mothers give to typically over-dramatic children. But...she was scared. She looked down and realized that I hadn't done all I could to keep her safe and secure and her vulnerability frightened her.

You can imagine how quickly I got up, wrapped my arms around her, spoke assurances of my love, dried the tears and then buckled her safely in. But I made sure she looked right into my eyes when I said, "Mommy will sometimes make mistakes. But God is your Protector and He will never let anything happen to you unless it's part of His plan. He loves you the most and kept you safe almost the whole way home, didn't He?!" She smiled agreeably and my blood pressure began to rescind, so I swung back around and gave an over-sized sigh of relief. My thought's immediately echoed a slight variation of Psalm 127:1 "Lest YOU Lord, protect this child, I labor in vain to protect her." Thank you...again.

When I pulled into the driveway, she said reflectively "He's my Father too Mommy." This time, I bounced a smile in return to her as I realized she had to have been thinking about what I'd been telling her for the past several days; that our God is also our Father. At different times and in various ways, I'd been sharing with her the Daddy heart of God that provides, watches over, instructs, corrects, never leaves, never forgets, and so loves that she never needs to be afraid.

I've realized that it doesn't take too much in life for me to have a sudden sense of vulnerability. Life can be going along at such a high speed that I'm certain the next bump in the road or unexpected curve is going to sending me flying. I can look around at my circumstances and think that the Lord hasn't done all He possibly could to "secure me" and make sure of my safety in lieu of the potential for harm or pain. Fear can come so easily when I lack the assurance of the Lord's love and care.

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good 

pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

"For I the Lord your God will hold your right hand, 

saying to you, Fear not; I will help you." Isa. 41:13


"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" Rom. 8:15

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, 

that we should be called children of God; and so we are." 1 John 3:1a

Treasure Among Thorns

I jumped out of the van, donned my not-so-stylish gardening gloves and walked confidently to a conglomerate of black raspberry bushes. I'd been warned that getting to the berries would not be easy due to years of neglect in keeping the weeds out and trimming back the branches. But the value of the berries outweighed my imagined discomfort at wading past whatever the curse might have birthed.


I noticed that the perimeter of the bushes held clusters of "easy pluckers." I had ravaged several of the branches before realizing that my gloves had made the force of my touch so insensitive, that I'd accidentally crushed most of those poor guys. There they lay bleeding their purple dye all over the bottom of the bowl while a tiny snail stayed dormant in its protective portable home. 


"Well, that wasn't smart," I mumbled to myself while tearing the scapegoats off my hands.


As the breeze began to pick up, it tossed the prickly weeds and fruit branches from side to side and revealed the buried treasure in the center. Shiny black and pleasantly plump raspberries, twice the size as the bludgeoned bunch in my bowl, filled up the core and invited my hands to come. Since I couldn't reach them from where I was standing, I carefully stepped into a portion of the heavily thorned bush and leaned over as far as I could reach. 


Then it happened. A strong gust of wind blew and whipped every surrounding branch of that bush so hard that I was completely encased by nature's built-in security system. The thorns stuck, punctured, poked, prodded and scraped every exposed area of skin from head to toe. The areas I had clothes on were snared with a Velcro grip making a quick escape impossible.


I've been attacked by opponents in sports, intimidated by bullies in school, even jumped by a drug-crazed teenager in Chicago. But to be ambushed by a squadron of black raspberry branches was a first. 

All I wanted was some fruit...was that so wrong? Wasn't that why they were planted years ago? The berries have medicinal, nutritional and sensational taste qualities for the eater to benefit from. But due to neglect of proper weeding and careful pruning, the sin-caused curse of "thorns, thistles and briers" left the fruit picker with speckled and striped wounds.


Jesus said in John 15:1-4 (NLT) "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me."


In just four sentences, I'm reminded that my life, grafted in to the True grapevine, is designed to bear "fruit." That my heavenly Father has a love that never neglects, stops tending, nor ceases from pruning. His goal is that a life will produce more and more fruit and the pruning and washing process comes from the Word of God. It will cut and sever just as surely as it will wash, cleanse and heal. The gardener instructs "Just remain in Me" and you will bear fruit. Despite your growing in a sin-cursed world, surrounded by thorns and briers, when branches have been pruned properly, it bears abundant fruit readily available for the passerby. Fruit that is nourishing, healing, and satisfying to a hungry soul.

Remember that the Gardener's hands are sensitive to what He touches and knows the pressure He applies when fruit is plucked. He knows exactly where to cut a branch so that its amputation will produce more fruit than ever before...but "let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:4)

What's In My Eye?

I used to have a beautiful Bernese Mountain dog given to me several Christmas's ago by one of my most special friends. Once this puppy (named Charis) came into my life, I had a companion who never argued, always loved, and forced me to get into shape by her long walk needs.

I can't remember what I was doing one particular summer morning, but Charis had walked onto our small front porch and plopped down on the cement to get cooled off. She rotated around, flopped over a couple of times, then sat up, hung her paws over the front step and just stared at me. She wasn't yet two years old and her crimped puppy fur still infiltrated the area around her ears. I took the camera out of my purse and snapped a picture before she decided her rest was over.

Later that evening, when I uploaded the photos to my computer, I noticed that I could see my reflection in her eyes. How?

1. Her eyes were made with the capacity to reflect  
2. There was light
3. There was nothing in her eye, nor anything between us to block her view

Psalm 34:15a "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous." 

I'm thinking of all the people I know who I would be able to see reflected in the eyes of the Lord.  

John 17:1 "Jesus...lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father..." 

Looking at Jesus, we see the Father filled His eyes.

Psalm 123:1 "I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven."

Psalm 25:15 "My eyes are always on the Lord."

If these verses are true of you, then I know Who I'd see looking into your eyes.

It's my prayer: Psalm 17:8a "Keep me as the apple of Your eye..."

It's important to remember: Matt. 7:5 "First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

If you cannot see: Psalm 19:8c "The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes."

Prov 29:13 "The LORD gives light to the eyes"

Psalm 146:8a "The LORD opens the eyes of the blind"