Home Making ~ The Ministry of Ironing

I was listening to a podcast this morning on gratitude.
I want to say thank you today to anyone who is taking the time to read my words.
It is so life-giving just to write creatively. And if anyone is consequently blessed by these words,
that just adds another layer of gratitude. So I want to say, “Thank you.”

I turn on the faucet and a thin stream of water fills the reservoir of my metal iron. Returning it to the ironing board, I push the plug into the outlet in the wall. It will take a few minutes to heat up the plate and produce the steam needed to get the wrinkles out of the fabric laid flat. Like divets in the road, like ridges on a hilltop, these little creases will be straightened and made plane.

I remember as a child watching my mother iron clothes every weekend. I didn’t have much of an appreciation for ironing back then. In fact, I determined in my adult years to only buy clothing that did not need an iron. I did not know then the many graces that were to be found in the ministry of ironing, but my mother knew, and one day I would learn it too.

As my mother faithfully ironed clothes on a Saturday evening, the fresh mown grass smell swooping in with the wind from my parent’s bay windows, my innermost thoughts would pour out in conversation. Sometimes I kneeled beside her bed and began to help fold towels. Sometimes I would just flop down on her bed forlorn about some kind of middle grade angst whether it was a friendship struggle, or an exciting fountain of news that must be told to someone and rejoiced in together, or perhaps just sharing my wildest dreams, thoughts and questions. Meanwhile, my mom ironed the clothes, the tablecloths that would grace the dining table for Sunday noon meal guests, and my dad’s buttoned shirts and slacks. Sometimes she would pull out her Bible and point me to one of the many verses highlighted there, the pages  scented with a fragrant real leather bookmark.

When my mother was standing at her post, serving our family through the ministry of ironing, the door stood open, an invitation for my sisters and I to come and chat. The warm glow of her lamps on the bedside tables drew us in. The view of Mt Baker southeast of our home in British Columbia, and the descent of the sun lit up the dusky sky with pink and orange hues upon the city of Vancouver from where our house was perched on a plateau that overlooked the Fraser Valley. This scene invited my sisters and I into conversation with her at the end of a long week.

When at a discipleship school in Texas in my college years, I was assigned to be a housekeeper for an elderly woman and a middle-age woman who shared a home together. These two women taught my friend and I their standards of housekeeping at their home and the specific ways they wanted things done. I was a little afraid to leave a speck of dirt unconquered or a plant not returned to its appointed place, because the standards were high. Their standard for excellence taught me the virtue of doing things well and offering my best to the Lord. These lovely and wise women always served us ice cream and enriched our souls with godly conversation after our work day. They taught me how to fold flat sheet corners on guest beds, brought us to tour their gorgeously renovated bed and breakfast mansion, and I learned how to set up a Texas patio greenhouse during the winter months to protect their garden conservatory, and how to take it apart in preparation for the summer months. It was such a joy to learn from them.

Many years later, just after our wedding, my husband and I were in Huemoz, Switzerland, living in a corner room of an old chalet in a Christian community called L’Abri, which in French means “the shelter”. One of our work days involved being invited to a home chalet, just down the hillside from the main chalet. A couple of us were assigned many housekeeping duties for the morning work: vacuuming their floors, washing dishes, preparing food, and yes, ironing tablecloths and bedsheets. I took it all in as I watched the woman of the house prepare food for about 20 of us who would be eating lunch at her home that day.

Classical music filled the home from a record player. She showed us how to set her table for the group, everything intentionally placed, and delicious food served to eager and impressionable young adults. As I worked, I listened to conversations, set my hands to the task, and absorbed all I could about the atmosphere of her home: a place of mutual love, with sunlight streaming in through windows, older children at play or work, a love of learning and strong work ethic meant to bless the community. It was just beautiful, and it left a mark on me and on my husband, another seed planted to prepare us for our work of preparing a home for our future children, in the ministry of parenting and the ministry of church work.

As I stood at my ironing board the other day, smoothing the wrinkles of a dress, there was a pleasant slowing down, a monotonous yet satisfying labor with my hands. There was a quietness, a methodical outpouring of love to care for and steward the resources God has given us. There in the quiet, my mind relaxed as if the creases in my thoughts, too, were getting ironed out.

Each of us are being formed daily, and the Lord continues to iron out the ridges and ruffles of my soul that come from living in a broken world. The Lord ministers to me in the quiet, and I am restored. In all the work of God’s faithful hands, he is preparing for us a home. All Christians, men and women are called to hospitality - ours is a faith of hospitality, the creating of home that shelters others in this dark world. The creating of a home is the creating of a city on a hill, a light to draw others out of the darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Our God is making a home for us here and in an unseen realm. One day the veil will be lifted and the new heaven and new earth will merge as one. Our God is the greatest home Maker. May we be home makers who reflect the joy and beauty of His work for those entrusted to our nurturing care.

John 14:2-3

“In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Word of God, Nourishment of Heaven

Greetings! I hope your Holy Week was full of light and life and hope! And Happy Resurrection Day to all who believe! Today in my daily Bible reading plan, I actually read the chapter in Isaiah for yesterday. Isaiah 58, one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. There is so much living hope in these words from the Father, from YHWH, given to His people at that time and in that historical context, and written and preserved forever for us and for all His people in ages to come. The Word of God, given for us. It reminds me of the time, many years ago now, my daughter sent a little birthday card to her toddler friend. Her mother told us she was so excited to receive it, that her little friend ate the card! What a hilarious memory (Ada, we love you!) But that’s such a perfect picture of what God wants us to do with His Word! He wants us to be so excited about receiving and hearing from Him in His revealed Word that we will want to be nourished by it, inhale it like oxygen, meditate and reflect on it and let it actually change us. When we ingest food, our bodies are transformed and affected by the very things we eat. Our lives can also be transformed in this way by feeding on His Word. If you are not in a daily rhythm of feeding on God’s Word, let me commend this reading plan to you for your benefit: Seeing Jesus Together You can even start today!

“Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

if you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

And the LORD will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to dwell in.

“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,

from doing your pleasure on my holy day,

and call the Sabbath a delight

and the holy day of the LORD honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,

or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

then you shall take delight in the LORD,

and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;

I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Isaiah 58

Gathering Gardens of Words ~ March

One of my blueberry bushes awakening to Spring.

The gate of Spring has lavishly swung open and welcomed us into its joyful cadence. I noticed the first clues last week on a walk as everywhere around me, burgeoning buds of green emerged from branches ever so cautiously. Cows arrived in fields, baby goats and sheep lay in pastures of sunshine, and birdsong was heard in bushes and trees as I meandered past. Of course, the familiar dog friends came running out to bark uproariously as we passed by quickly on the other side of the road. At home, I moved my outdoor plants back to their stations, hoping they survived the winter. Day by day, I gave a passing glance at the branches to see if anything was happening, and it was. Marvel reawakened in me as it does every Spring. You’d think after forty-six revolutions of the Earth around the sun, I would not be surprised anymore by the seasons changing, but each turning of the season brings a fresh delight to my soul. I hope that I will never lose that wonder, even when I am eighty years old.

We entered Holy Week at our church this past Sunday, led in worship by the younger members of our congregation, waving palm branches, the older kids guiding and carrying the younger ones during the first hymn. With pure joy, we were led into this most important of weeks in the Christian calendar, led by children and infants to worship the King. It was a fitting start to this week of joyful illuminating hope and celebration of the victory of our King over the sin and death of this dark world.

This month, I’ve gathered some words to share with you, some beautiful words that have watered my soul and nourished my thinking. I hope they bless anyone who is reading today, that these words point you to the Creator, the Savior, the Risen King, Jesus who sits this very day on His throne. May you know Him more deeply today than ever before.

Photo by Blake Verdoorn on Unsplash, Multnomah Falls, Oregon

“Joy being of God was a living thing, a fountain not a cistern, one of those divine things that are possessed only as they overflow and flow away, and not easily come by because it must break into human life through the hard crust of sin and contingency. Joy came now here, now there, was held and escaped.”

― Elizabeth Goudge, The Dean's Watch

The Good Shepherd, by I. Lilias Trotter

Beneath Thy Cross

Am I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss,
And yet not weep?

Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;

Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon--
I, only I.

Yet give not o'er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock.

-Christina Rossetti

Photo by Alexander Ramsey on Unsplash

“And Christ’s life indeed makes it manifest, terrifyingly manifest, what dreadful untruth it is to admire the truth instead of following it. When there is no danger, when there is a dead calm, when everything is favorable to our Christianity, then it is all too easy to confuse an admirer with a follower. And this can happen very quietly. The admirer can be under the delusion that the position he takes is the true one, when all he is doing is playing it safe. Give heed, therefore, to the call of discipleship!” - Søren Kierkegaard, Bread and Wine, Readings for Lent and Easter

Blossom in the Desert, I. Lilias Trotter

“Oh, that we may learn to die to all that is of self with this royal joyfulness that swallows up death in victory in God’s world around! He can make every step of the path full of the triumph of gladness that glows in the golden leaves. Glory be to His Name!”

― I. Lilias Trotter, Parables of the Cross

Bread and Wine - Lenten Reflections

Bread

I didn’t plan to remove gluten and wine from my personal menu this year, but when symptoms of food sensitivities began to reveal themselves and I could no longer bear them, I made the unwanted decision to remove these triggers and pursue the health of my body. The funny thing is that these symptoms began to pile up right around the beginning of Lent, a season of the church calendar that reminds us of our mortality, our brief lives pre-eternity. What was also funny, yet not entirely, was that I had just become good at making sour dough bread! What impeccable timing! The very food I cannot eat, the very food I crave fresh out of the oven slathered in salted butter, is the very thing that I must withhold from myself. And it taunts me in a way, the little glass mason jar of a sour dough culture that sits beneath my kitchen lamp or on the window sill after I’ve fed it. When preparing the bread for my kids, the fragrance of bread rising, baking, and cooling on the counter are in my senses of sight as I measure ingredients, of smell as the dough breathes, and of touch as I score the top of the boules with lovely designs. Everything within me says eat, and then I remember the Lord said hundreds of years ago,

“But he answered, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ~Matthew 4:4

Wine

I never really liked wine until I got married in my late twenties. My husband enjoyed it so I thought I would try a few sips at times. Mostly with a sour look and cringy face, I would take a few sips before passing it on to my husband to finish. But eventually I did acquire a taste and it was delightful. In the past several years, I have noticed that I started getting headaches that would last for hours. “Perhaps,” I thought , “White wine will be safe,” but most recently, when having a single glass, I ended up with a painful 20 hour headache. I declared that my journey with wine has ended… except on the Lord’s Day, as we gather with our church community. I take the bread and the wine during the Lord’s Supper, a small and simple portion, take, eat, drink.

What could all this mean? I sit and ponder.

“But he answered, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ~Matthew 4:4

The answer comes in the form of a catechism question and a dear sweet group of Kindergartners. While assisting at our little Christian school yesterday, the lovely teacher asked the class, “What is the Gospel?” The children replied, “Jesus!”

Amen!

The gospel is Jesus. Jesus is the Word, and He is my sustenance in this life and throughout eternity. He is nourishing my mind, body, and soul with His Word, every word that comes from the mouth of God.

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” ~ Matthew 26:26-29 ESV

Thankfully, my body can currently handle the bread and wine at communion, once a week, a small portion. But there may come a time when I may have to eat gluten-free communion bread and grape juice, and that will be okay, not quite as okay as the delicious homemade bread our bread team makes each week, but it will be okay! ;)

For now, I want to share with you a sour dough recipe that I’m certain you will enjoy (unless you can’t eat gluten)!

Sour Dough Bread Recipe: photos attached!

““Self-denial means knowing only Christ, and no longer oneself. It means seeing only Christ, who goes ahead of us, and no longer the path that is too difficult for us. Again, self-denial is saying only: He goes ahead of us; hold fast to him.” ”

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter, p. 49

Justice Smiles and Asks No More

Photo by Ahna Ziegler on Unsplash

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for Christians around the world. I laid out our wooden lenten candelabra, with tulips juxtaposed for St Valentine’s Day. The snow fell lightly as twilight descended. We donned our coats and winter boots and drove into town for our evening service. Men, women, and children entered the sanctuary, people visiting for this midweek service, another local church joining us for this service, happy to be together again after a long work day. Hymns were sung, liturgy spoken, Scripture from the Old and New Testaments read, prayers, and a homily. Quietly, no music in the background, one by one, each of us came forward to receive the sign of the cross on our foreheads, ash mixed with oil, reminding us:

“From dust you came, to dust you shall return.”

Reminded of our mortality, we lifted up our hands to receive the benediction. This is one of my favorite services of the year. I love to be marked with the sign of the cross because it is the most meaningful symbol. God took on flesh and gave Himself up in our place to be the full payment for sin. The cross speaks of my salvation. The cross speaks of the love poured out in the blood and the water that cascaded from my Lord’s flesh. His body broken, His blood poured out, to pay the debt I owed Him. He took my place.

It is at the cross where “Justice smiles and asks no more…”

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. - Romans 3:21-31 (English Standard Version)

Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder (click to listen)
1. Let us love and sing and wonder
Let us praise the Savior’s name
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder
He has quenched Mount Sinai’’s flame
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He has brought us nigh to God

2. Let us love the Lord Who bought us
Pitied us when enemies
Called us by His grace and taught us
Gave us ears and gave us eyes
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He presents our souls to God

3. Let us sing though fierce temptation
Threatens hard to bear us down
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqu’ror’s crown
He, Who washed us with His blood,
He, Who washed us with His blood,
He, Who washed us with His blood,
Soon will bring us home to God

4. Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more
He Who washed us with His blood
He Who washed us with His blood
He Who washed us with His blood
Has secured our way to God

5. Let us praise and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high
Here they trusted Him before us
Now their praises fill the sky
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou art worthy Lamb of God

6. Yes, we praise Thee, gracious Saviour
Wonder, love, and bless Thy Name.
Pardon, Lord our poor endeavor
Pity for Thou knowest our frame
Wash our souls and songs with blood
Wash our souls and songs with blood
Wash our souls and songs with blood
For by Thee, we come to God

©2001 Laura Taylor Music.

Photo by Steve Sharp on Unsplash

The Necessity of Feeding on God's Word and How To Do That in the Little Years

Photo by Pierre-Alain Picard on Unsplash

There were times in my life where time alone was plenteous. Because I was single (and waiting patiently for my future husband to arrive on the timeline) I had so very much time available to me in my twenties when I was not studying at college or working a plethora of part time jobs to pay the bills. As an introvert, my time was not filled up with a lot of social activity, there was some, especially when it came to church ministry and serving the youth and young adults at my parent’s church plant. In those times, I was busy… driving kids to the bi-weekly community worship service in another town, planning Bible study, leading the youth music team and one of the adult music teams, practicing for our hilarious Christmas drama at church, and gathering for youth events, or just meeting up with young people for coffee. But in general, life was quiet; I had no cell phone and the internet was at my parent’s house where you could only access it if no one else was on the phone, and then, you had to dial up to connect. Those who remember that stage of the internet will recall the all too familiar tones emitting from the computer speakers as it laboriously attempted to connect to the world wide web, and the painstaking patience required to wait for it!

Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash

Sometimes I would pack up my journal, Bible, a book, and drive to a cozy coffee shop for an evening of writing and reflection while being serenaded by the instrumental jazz on the stereo playing overhead. Sometimes, I would venture down the ravine behind my parents house for some time alone amidst the woods, the sound of birdsong, the calming rhythm of the creek flowing ever on down towards the Fraser River from Whonnock Mountain where we lived. The views from my parents’ mountain sanctuary helped me get perspective on life. Lots of walks. Lots of thoughts. A quiet afternoon climbing over massive logs and dipping my feet in the Kanaka Creek while sunlight streamed through gathered trees watching over me like Tolkien’s faithful Ents, provided a perfect scene to spend time alone with the Lord Jesus and pour out my heart to Him, seek Him (even though I didn’t spend too long on that log that warm summer day when I realized all the berries were eaten half way up the surrounding bushes, and the thought of running into bear or cougar or coyote snapped me back into the reality of the wild… but still, it was awesome… except when I dislocated my knee going back up the ravine… but still, it was awesome.)

Photo by John Thomas on Unsplash

When the blessing of children arrived, those quiet times alone with the Lord became fewer and far between. The journaling stopped altogether as my energy was sapped much quicker and naps were an afternoon necessity! There were times when I would look up and say, “Lord, I miss you,” not that He was gone, but that my time alone with Him was now just different. While I absolutely loved being in this new season of motherhood, I had to find new rhythms of devotion, and the Lord gently led me into creative ways to “practice His presence”.

I wasn’t able to drink from the firehose of God’s Word in the same way I had before, and so it was a new season of learning by trial and error, how I was going to be in God’s Word. There were many ups and downs, many dry times, and as always with any new thing, it was a learning curve, and I had to learn to give myself grace. Over time, I found things that worked for me and didn’t work for me.

Hiking in St Louis, Missouri, 2015

2 Simple and Practical Ways to Get Into God’s Word:

1. Listen to the Bible on audiobook or stream online: We have access to so many ways to get into God’s Word in our current era, besides picking up the Bible and turning the pages. Ten years ago, my four babies were between the ages of 0 and 6 years old. We were starting some homeschooling and busy with crafting and snacks and play doh and snacks and getting everyone’s shoes and coats on to go to the community playground outside and snacks and changing diapers for two and potty training and… snacks! Life was gloriously full (and still is)! But I had little ones up at night, with sicknesses making its round through all four kids and sometimes little ones waking with bad dreams and needing consoling, or others waking up before the sun rose. So my capacity was quite limited. I wanted to wake up early and spend time alone with the Lord pouring over Scripture, but that did not happen in those years. In those years, the online version of the Bible I use was not streaming chapter to chapter. You could only play one chapter at a time, run back to the computer and click on the next chapter to hear it aloud. So I thought to myself, “What is the longest chapter in the Bible? I will just play that so I don’t have to run from the kitchen every few minutes… Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible. I would put it on in the background while the kids and I were spending our mornings in the kitchen playing, cooking, drawing, learning, and eating snacks! That was one way to get the Word in my ears, and theirs! Now, technology has improved and you can play through any book of the Bible in one click, and even use apps on your phone. Even now that my kids are tweens and teens, I still listen to the audio Bible when I’m wanting to catch up on my Bible reading plan as I rush out the door to get everyone where they need to go.

2. Scripture Music is another great way to get the Word in your hearts and in your kids’ hearts and carry it with you throughout the day. There are so many songwriters out there doing this now, you could pick your favorite and easily memorize scripture and even the catechisms through song! I still play Scripture songs around the home to fill the environment of my home, and my mind with Truth and beautiful music, especially if its a particularly stressful day, or if I’m feeling maxed out, and want to help remind myself and my family of God’s ways and words. Music can set the tone of the home.

Reminders on Perspective:

In the early church days, the New Testament was yet to be written, and eventually those documents would be circulated hand to hand as people traveled to teach and encourage the young churches that were being organized. Letters that were shared were read aloud to gatherings of Christians. They didn’t have copies of these documents in their homes to wake up to in the morning and meditate on with a cup of steaming hot espresso. They did not have the beloved music of Chopin or Mozart or Yo Yo Ma to listen to on a streaming device or a record player. The adults probably woke up before the sunrise, to start the cooking fires and warm up the house, prepare the grains and proteins for cooking, take care of the children and animals, and start the day’s work of survival. Every day is a work of survival. Maybe they had saved enough water from the day before for an early morning tea or another ancient drink of herbs and spices.

But likely, believers would gather once a week or several times a week for the reading of God’s Word, for the work of the church, and to be taught the Scriptures. Maybe they would memorize large portions to pass to others and recite those. Likely, any meditation on Scripture was what they had memorized from church gatherings and repeated at home. Many Jewish Christians also had the Old Testament, and many portions, or all of the Pentateuch, memorized as a part of their lifestyle and education. But most importantly, the Word of God was now written on their hearts and they lived and breathed with God’s Spirit indwelling them. This revolutionized the world. The peace and presence of Immanuel, God with us, was now a daily reality and as living temples, they carried the presence of God with them wherever they went, the aroma of Christ.

So, if you cannot be consistent in daily Scripture reading, there is no shame. Jesus doesn’t shame you. There is no shame on this train. But also, we need to stay on this train.

God says that those who meditate on His Word day and night are happy, are blessed (Psalm 1:1-2). God says where your treasure is there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). God says to not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (Romans 12:1-2) and your heart and mind can be transformed and formed, literal neuropathways are formed when you read God’s Word and He transforms your thinking and thought life through these means when you saturate yourself in God’s Word.

So there is no shame (Romans 8:1) if you do not have capacity to live up to your ideals of Bible reading and frequent deep study of God’s Word, but on the other hand, He shows you the better way… Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, (Luke 10:42) spending time with the Word made flesh, soaking in every moment of hearing Him speak and filling her soul with Truth… that will not be taken away from you, and it is the better way to pursue.

The Gathering Light of His Fire

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

My phone had been receiving notifications that a severe winter storm was on its way to our corner of the Northwest. The signs were obvious: below freezing temperatures, frozen water in a bucket at church in the furnace room, people’s pipes breaking, the gathering of firewood (and long-burning logs), defrosting the truck for twenty minutes in the mornings, pets hesitant to go outside, and charred dumpsters in the heart of the city, the remains of desperate attempts for heat by those without homes.

A few weeks ago, our heating system broke in our house, and we knew that a hefty repair was in our future. It was still mild enough outside that we just put a few logs in the fireplace and we were sufficiently warmed in the evenings, gathering in our family room “bear den”. But the temperatures soon grew more frigid outside and our house got extremely cold. Thankfully, a gas fireplace in the basement helped to keep temps between 58-61 degrees Fahrenheit.

We’ve been baking a lot and leaving the oven door open to cool and maximize our use of the heat produced, and enjoying the baked goods produced from the heat! We increased our creativity in gathering fuel to burn including our two crispy Christmas trees from the forest, old school workbooks, extra wooden shingles we found in a box in our shed (from the previous owner), and dried apple branches from our tree, besides the costly grocery store firewood. A friend dropped off several large tree stumps for our sons to chop, and we are well supplied to keep the home fires burning!

When the temperatures dropped this past weekend, and frost began to accumulate on the inside of our windows, we bought a couple more hot water bottles for sleeping, an electric heating pad, doubled up on socks, and began to wear our winter coats and scarves around the house. The new heating unit arrived on the first day of the winter storm and workers faithfully stayed all day until midnight working. Amidst the falling of snow, our home was being restored, and we are once again enjoying the gift of a warm home!

One thing I’ve noticed is that our whole family gathers in our little family room and kitchen where its the warmest, where they read, play video games, study for their final exams, drink tea (and coffee), and generally entertain each other with the tools of logic they have eloquently gained this past year!

I love listening to my dad’s stories of growing up on the dairy farm in southern British Columbia. There were some winters that were so cold, that in the night, they’d go to sleep in their upstairs room and set out a cup of water. Over night, it would freeze solid. But they stayed warm enough in their house and in the morning, their mom would start up the wood stove in the basement. There was a hole cut into the floor where the heat would rise from the basement to the main level of the house… alas, central heating! And everyone would gather around the heat and light, and there, life was enjoyed, stories were shared, prayers were prayed, and knowing my aunts and uncles I’m sure many songs were sung… together.

That’s what heat and light do, they gather us in to safety, to survival, to life. The light chases the darkness away. The heat repels the deathly cold. Heat and light invite us to live, and not in isolation, but together. This is what the Word of God does.

God’s Word is a light to our path to help us see Reality, what is real and true. God’s Word gathers people together to feed our sin-sick souls, to nourish and give us strength for the daily friction of living in a broken world. We have the opportunity and responsibility, as born-again Christians, to share God’s Word with others, to bring others to the feast of God’s Word, the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, so that they too can gather with us around the life-giving warmth and light of Christ’s love, a fire that is never extinguished, but gives light and life to all who draw near.

I was reminded of this life-giving fire this past Sunday during the sermon. My husband is preaching through the book of the Acts of the Apostles. God came in the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit sent from King Jesus ten days after Jesus ascended bodily into Heaven and sat down on His throne to rule the nations and remake the world. As His people scattered among many nations pilgrimaged and gathered at the temple for the Feast of Pentecost, a harvest feast, the Holy Spirit descended and came upon the people like little flames of fire.

The tongues of fire were symbolic of the temple sacrificial system, but instead of offering the required animals on the altar, God’s people were becoming “living sacrifices” set on fire by the Holy Spirit, and being purified by the refining fire of the Holy Spirit. The people of God are now the living temple of His Spirit and we are the living sacrifices, but the provision and all the work is God’s work alone. And this is what people are drawn to, the light which comes not from us, but from God, the Creator and Giver of Light, the One who keeps the Light shining and the One to whom every knee will bow on earth and in Heaven. All nations will come to this Light and the world is being transformed by Jesus. He is the One who calls the City on a Hill into being and the light is going forth into all the world.

Light has a source and people are drawn to the source to gather and live. Jesus alone is the Light and those who come to him are filled with His Light to be reflectors of that Light which will transform the world.

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”

has shone in our hearts

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:5-7