Pointing to Jesus

Today as I pressed my NASA approved paper glasses over my eyes and stared straight at the sun as the moon so briefly blocked its light, my thoughts fixed on my Creator.  In fact, I couldn't help but see how the sun, our planet's biggest star, so obviously points to Jesus. 

Watching a total solar eclipse clearly demonstrates the perfect order and design of our universe. One little change can throw everything off course. The eclipse today happened just as the Creator designed it to, but the natural order of things definitely felt disrupted. The skies darkened in the middle of the day, temperatures dropped, fish came to the water's surface to find food, crickets started chirping, frogs began croaking, coyotes began howling, bats emerged from hiding, birds stopped singing--all because the sun's light seemed to disappear. Yet as soon as the slightest sliver of sunlight came back into view, the skies lit up and nature returned to its normal pattern and schedule. 

So much of our world revolves around the sun. It gives us light, warmth, and energy. Nature responds to the sun by separating life into night and day, for most creatures meaning a separation of work and rest. It sets things in motion, keeps things in order, and to block the sun's light brings confusion, disorder, and a disruption to the natural order set at creation. Without the sun, life can't exist. It holds life together perfectly because our Creator set it at just the right distance from our Earth. 

Colossians 1:16-17 tells us that For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

The perfect placement of the sun, the moon, and the earth point to Jesus, the Creator who designed it all so perfectly. He's the One who holds it all together in perfect order. 

John 1:1-5 says that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life,^a and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.Once again, today's eclipse points to the Creator, Jesus. And the sun's light and life also point to Jesus. Though the moon seemed to put out its light for a few brief minutes, the entire sky lit right back up as soon as even just a sliver of sun could be seen. Though Satan's darkness seemed to overpower the earth for a few short hours after Jesus died, his light could not be extinguished. The darkness could not overcome his light.One day in eternity, Revelation tells us that we won't even need the sun anymore once we're living face-to-face with Christ. He will be all the energy, warmth, and light that we will ever need. His light will never go out, and he will continue to hold all things together with his very existence. Revelation 2:25- And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. Romans 1:18-20 warns us that all of creation constantly points us to Jesus. If we miss him, we have no excuse. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^g in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Without Christ, our world is dark.Psalm 19:1 says The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.Today we needed only to look at the sky to see an awesome display of our Creator, the one who holds all things together. 

Skies getting dark at work

Outdoor lights coming on at home at 3:05 in the afternoon.

A picture from family in Texas, also in the direct path of totality. 

You can even see the craters in the moon!

What an incredible worshipful experience. So thankful for the opportunity to be directly in the path of totality of this eclipse. It was mesmerizing. 

Be present in the season

I woke up this morning feeling quite refreshed after a week at home for spring break, and I'm so thankful for the consistent higher temps we've been seeing (though still mixed in with some chilly nights and mornings). I'm a spring baby, so I've always loved the spring. But moving back to a state where we actually have winter has made me appreciate and love springtime all the more. 

I see daffodils sprouting up all over the place, bringing back the much needed color of green after the winter along with the bright yellow flowers popping out. Reminders that soon we'll be surrounded a variety of beautiful colors all around.

I'm a bit anxious about so many changes and unknowns right around the corner, with more chapters closing and new ones beginning. My youngest child's college graduation from Dallas Baptist University is now less than two months away, and God has remained silent still on where his next steps will take him. I want to count down the days till I can proudly watch him walk across that stage (and till I can see him again!), but I don't want to count away his last few weeks and days as a college student. I want him to be present in each one of them and live them fully, so I, too, must be present in this season and not wish a single day of it away. Before I know it, I'll be grieving again as those strings of dependence start to stretch and fray and we have to learn how to operate our relationship on yet a different level. 

I'm also excited about new opportunities just around the corner that God has brought into my life to put my bilingual skills and passions back into practice, but I don't want to wish away the ministry opportunities right in front of me that are using other skills God has equipped me with for today. So I find myself again reminded to just be present where I am. Appreciate the signs of spring (growth and change around the corner), breathe in the warmer air, soak up the sunshine, and know that every day of this season is vital.  We're never promised tomorrow, but we always have today in the season we're in. 

Those daffodils sure are pretty, but they're only here for the spring before they wilt away and another flower takes over the show. 

A puzzling season

 

I've gotten on a puzzle kick lately.  Perhaps it sparked from a little boredom from the winter months, maybe a bit of a need for a "mindless" activity to curb some anxiety over a lot of things on my mind and plate. But all I know is that once I got started, I was hooked. Just as soon as I finished one puzzle, I'd start another. I'd have one going on my desk at home and another one going at the back table at school. There's something so rewarding, challenging, and yet relaxing about doing a puzzle. 

Puzzles make me think about the seasons of our lives. Some seasons can really "puzzle us". And just like those puzzling seasons, we have to come up with a strategy to get through it or our life will just sit in pieces. As I carefully worked on and strategized each of these puzzles pictured, I couldn't help but see how much my puzzle strategies mirrored the way we confront life through brokenness. 

For starters, when all I see are hundreds, if not thousands, of unconnected pieces, I look for the edge pieces first. Then I group those edge pieces with like colors so I can start trying to connect them together. Once I have the border done, I know more about the overall size of the problem, and I have an overall framework. I start at the outside and work my way in. Basically, I have a big picture to work with, and I never lose sight of that big picture as I work to connect each little piece inside. 

When life starts to fall apart and then shatters into a thousand little pieces, looking at the big picture helps us through the overwhelm, reminding us of a bigger purpose already designed. Even when all we have is a border, it reminds us that the small piece we're living will somehow fit into that big picture and will connect perfectly with other pieces I haven't found yet. It's like a promise that my current piece isn't random. 

Once I get the border done, I then sort the remaining inside pieces by color and pattern so I can work through the puzzle one small section at a time. Like colors go with like colors, and that helps me know what can and can't go together. Once I finish connecting all the pinks together, I move on to the greens, the blues, the oranges, and the reds. When there are several colors mixed, I look for similar line patterns that make the connections more visible. 

When life feels so disconnected and overwhelming, I look for the things that do make sense and find the connections that stand out. The easy-to-notice, obvious ways that God has provided and come through for me. I can see how many things in life have easily and clearly fallen into place, and I thank God for those connections. 

After I have the obvious colors and patterns connected, I'm left with the remaining pieces that have multiple colors and patterns mixed that don't seem to fit anywhere. Sometimes I can connect several of them together but still can't figure out how that small section fits in. Until I finally figure out that I had it upside down or that it all fit in after I found one specific piece that I hadn't seen yet. 

These pieces are the hard parts of life that don't make any sense. They can seem so random and out of place, like they belong in another puzzle box, to another picture. But at times we're just looking at it from the wrong perspective, and once we turn it sideways or upside-down, it fits. Or perhaps it truly doesn't fit until we find or experience that one unsuspecting event that turns out to be the piece that connects it all together perfectly. 

The puzzle can really start coming together until you're left with those last few pieces that might just be all the same color or pattern, like the rest of the light blue sky or the dark green grass. To finish up that last tedious section, sometimes we have to readjust our focus from the color and pattern on the piece to the specific shape of the piece. The shape can tell us where it definitely doesn't fit and can help us narrow down the one and only place it will connect just right--to the pieces above, below, and all around it. 

When we finally get towards the end of a particularly puzzling season, when we've seen God work things out and paint a better picture than we ever expected, we're still left with those last few pieces that can honestly just blur together. The pieces that we keep turning to God for, asking him how they fit and why they have to be there. Can't we just be done already and move on? So we just focus on our survival skills until the season comes to an end, putting one foot in front of the other, taking our eyes off of the picture and just making it work. 

One by one, the pieces fit together, and then we put that last piece in to complete the puzzle. It's such a rewarding feeling to know you persevered, you strategized, you made a battle plan, and you accomplished your mission! And now you have this beautiful picture made out of all these pieces that didn't seem connected at all. 

There's nothing like seeing God give you that last piece of a puzzling season, finally seeing how each piece truly did matter for the picture to be complete. To see how certain events that made absolutely no sense actually connected perfectly with other events to paint a picture you never would have imagined. 

I love seeing a puzzle come together, both on a table and in my life. I love making new connections that I didn't see at first. It got me thinking that every season of our lives is like a puzzle that eventually comes together and makes sense. But it also got me thinking about God's perspective, how all of our little puzzles will eventually all fit together into one giant puzzle. All of our own personal puzzles are connected to everyone else's personal puzzles, and they all create one large picture of God's story that He's revealed to us through Scripture and that He's continuing to bring to pass. A picture of eternity. The big picture we should always look back to and remember that we're all part of a bigger story. 

Just keep walking

There are the pretty days of winter, when the snow falls so gently and covers the earth with a beautiful blanket of snow. There are the adventurous days of winter where we bundle up in our coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots in order to find enjoyment on.a snow-covered hill with a sled in tow. There are the cozy days of winter when it's too cold to venture out anywhere, so we make a hot drink, curl up with a blanket, and sit by a hot fire to stay warm. There are the hopeful days of winter when we've been cooped up for days, and then we see the sun shine and begin to melt all the snow. 

But then there are the dreary, foggy days that have nothing to brag about other than a damp cold that nobody wants to be out in, and nothing but gray, foggy skies to cloud our vision for what is ahead. The lack of color and sunshine can dampen anyone's normal cheerful mood, and the lack of clarity can bring a real sense of gloom. 

Not much to take a picture of on a day like today, but I took the picture anyway. And I still put my walking shoes on, bundled up with an extra layer, zipped up my rain jacket, and tied my hood over my head to block the cool breeze from blowing in my ears. 

Seasons are like that. There are days when we can find beauty to appreciate, see the silver lining, or figure out a way to make the best of things. There are days when we give ourselves a break and allow our minds and bodies to get some much needed rest and relaxation while we wait for brighter days ahead. There are days we smile with relief when we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel and our hearts stir with renewed enthusiasm. But there are also those cold, damp, dreary days that can threaten to steal our joy and just make the future look bleak, foggy at best. 

Those are days that are much more emotionally unbearable than physically. It's not too cold to get outside. In fact, we don't even need all that much extra gear to bundle up in. Perhaps an extra layer, a pair of gloves, a rain jacket, and something to cover our head. We're not going to freeze (or sweat), nor are we going to get drenched in any kind of downpour. They are the days we need to just "pull up our pants", zip up our jackets, and push ourselves through. Through the mundane, the clouds, the fog, the depression, the lack of clarity, etc.

Be present, don't give up, and just keep walking. Every step counts. Every step matters. The fog will eventually lift so we can see the road ahead more clearly. If we didn't have gray days like today, we wouldn't know how to fully appreciate the sunshine when it does come back around. 

Why winter?

It's the middle of January, and we're not quite into the middle of winter yet. But the temperatures have been in the single digits recently (it's currently 1 degree outside where I live), and we woke up to a beautiful blanket of about two inches or so of snow.  This week in school we've made fake snow and did snow themed art. When my students arrive today after an hour delay, we'll be writing about snow days and reading/reciting poems about a white wonderland. I've got the fireplace going with calm jazz music in the background. I've got my cup of coffee sitting beside me, and all that's missing is a comfy chair, a blanket, and a good book to curl up with and read. 

These temps have had me thinking about the season of winter lately and why God added snow and freezing temperatures into the cycle of seasons He created. It's really cold, uncomfortable, requires a whole different wardrobe, it gets dark so early in the evening, and our activities are severely limited at times. 

Winter seems to be a lot of work (especially when you want to heat your home naturally with a wood stove constantly full of firewood and a hot fire inside.) It takes longer to get dressed if you need to go outside for anything. Any activity requires much more effort than in other seasons of the year. It's harder to go out for a walk and breathe in the nature all around me when my nose and fingers need to thaw out after just a few minutes outside. 

But could it be that God's original design for winter was not to add extra work but extra rest? Could it be that we're supposed to take advantage of the longer days of sunlight and warmer temps to do the extra work in the spring and summer so we're prepared to stay inside during the winter? Could it be that we're supposed to give way to the "lack of life" (loss of leaves) and to strip ourselves bare of all the extra activity (like the bare trees and flowerless fields) and let our minds, bodies, and souls recover from the busy months, trusting that a new, fresh season full of life and vitality will follow this one in due time?

Like a Sabbath day meant for rest and reconnection/trust in God's provision, perhaps the cold winter months are God's original design for our rest, recovery, and trust in Him for all that's yet to come. 

I think finding a good book sounds like the perfect investment of time for the weekend ahead.