Seeking newness and transformation in 2016

               When our daughter was little, she loved a Fisher Price doll named Honey.  She slept with Honey and “Freckles,” a flannel blanket with tiny flowers, every night for years.  Over time, Honey became so worn  that her “cloth skin” was fraying with the white stuffing starting to show.  Although loved no less, Honey’s appearance was far from new.

               That tidbit came to mind as I thought about the word “new,” and how I love the start of a new year.  It seems to offer us a chance to have a new start, to begin a new activity, finally to get something right we have been struggling with, etc.  Just putting the adjective “new” in front of a word—new car, new house, new position, new neighbor—makes it seem like something better and full of possibility.

               Newness by God’s design and implementation is central to walking the way of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Old Testament writers looked to a new day, a new development in our walk with God.   “I’m going to give you a new heart, and I’m going to give you a new spirit within your deepest parts.  I’ll remove that rock-hard heart of yours and replace it with one that’s sensitive to me” (Ezk. 36:26 NIV).  Many translations say the new heart will be a heart of flesh, but this translation is more explicit, indicating a chance of greater intimacy with God.

               Jesus talks about the new birth (born again) and Paul vividly describes our new state:  “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  A favorite section in Hebrews also speaks of newness:  “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way . . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith . . . “ (Heb. 10:19-22).  We can come into God’s presence, seek His face, listen for His voice, and place our petitions there in a new way, full of possibilities “born of faith,” (favorite phrase of mine from a favorite prayer).  Thinking on God and His promises anew should awaken within us a greater expectancy (Ps. 62) and faith than we had before.

               A few years ago, Jim had Honey restored as a surprise for Bonnie.  She is much improved, no more fraying.  Now, in Christ, we can be made new and restored by His marvelous resources.  Paul tells us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).  We, too, can be mightily changed, no longer behaving and believing like “mere men” (1 Cor. 3:3).

               Although we may be carrying some “old honeys” into 2016, let’s seek Jesus, let’s seek that renewal of heart and mind, that higher ground of faith and expectancy in this new year.

Let Love Win

In St. Louis while driving, I used to turn on Christian stations with teaching segments, some by local people and some featuring “bigger names” like Joyce Meyers.  Although I didn’t “buy into” all these people said, often I “heard something” that God was speaking to my heart through them:  a particular scripture, a word of encouragement or instruction, etc.  Since moving to Charleston, I’ve found a Christian music station to listen to when I am doing something near the CD/radio player.  Again, it is not all pleasing, but some of the songs have grabbed my attention, like today’s “Let Love Win” by Carollton, who I had never heard of.

God can never remind us enough of His love and how powerful it can be when we yield to it, instead of our emotional reactions.  The refrain clamoring for my attention is:  “when we lay down our weapons and we let love win.”  As I listened to the whole song on utube, I caught some other powerful lines, like “love builds bridges that cannot be burned . . . your love is the strongest way . . . tearing down walls . . . breaking our chains.”  The Bible tells us these things, the life of Christ shows us these things, but walking in love is not always easy.

Jesus and John the Baptist had a strong connection beyond being cousins.  Jesus knew John’s ministry was “preparing the way” as prophesied.  When John baptized Jesus, he saw a dove come down, and God spoke, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mat. 3:17).  Yet, when John was in prison, he sent his disciples to ask if Jesus was “the One” (Luke 7:20).  Of course, he had doubts after being imprisoned and about to get beheaded.

Jesus could have said many things in reply.  We should note what He did say—in understanding love:  “. . . tell John the things you have seen and heard,” the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed,. . . “(7:22).  All these were amazing demonstrations of the love and power of God—no need for lengthy discussions or exhortations, just actual demonstrations.

Jesus departed to a deserted place after hearing of John’s beheading.  Even intimacy with His Father didn’t spare Him being saddened and disturbed.  But when the multitudes followed Him, “He was moved by compassion for them and healed their sick,” followed by the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 who had gathered about Him (Luke 7:13-31).  He did exactly what Paul instructs us to do in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  That “unnatural” human reaction really sunk in after a close friend “dumped me” to be blunt.

We know that God loves us unshakably and He wants to do amazing things if we yield to His love and believe in His power and will to do good.  Always let us “lay down our weapons and let love win.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKWm0bGZlDU   (link to song)

Called to Be Present

For several years, my husband and I volunteered in the pastoral care department at Missouri Baptist, a hospital in St. Louis.  Before beginning, we had three Saturday workshops, led by two chaplains and a nurse.  In the first session, the pastoral care director stressed the importance of being present with a patient, sitting there and listening, perhaps offering to pray with them or share encouragement in some way.

               The importance of being present with another person has stayed with me even though our pastoral volunteering has ended.  Life has its lonely and scary times even if we are committed Christians and have good, supportive relationships.   The scriptures reveal that God calls us to a life that includes being present with others who are in need and being present with God.  We are to welcome strangers, visit the sick,  pray with and for one another, especially for forgiveness and healing.  Ministering to others, being physically present with them, might also mean just showing up with muffins and coffee, spending time with them very purposefully if needed.  It is a little less like doing and more like being.

               “Being with God,” purposefully, sitting in His presence, is even more challenging.  “Western Christians are used to the Protestant work ethic of . . . ‘Don’t just sit there, do something’ . . . This doesn’t mean sit on your hands and do nothing but to prayerfully be led by God into what you do.  This is to live a life dedicated to both being (contemplative) and doing (active).” (These Days, Presbyterian publication).  Praying, reading the scriptures, listening to Christian music, pouring out our thankfulness, petitions, and/or deep discouragement and fear to Jesus takes time and effort.  An expectation that our loving Father and His son hear and “speak” to us as we do is a strong motivation. 

               The story of two sisters illustrates the importance of being present with Jesus.  Mary “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much service.”  After Martha came to Jesus and complained about having to do so many things, Jesus replied, “One thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:39-42).  Being in Jesus’ presence has manifold benefits:  guidance, peace, encouragement, enriched faith and hope, and more. 

               This morning I was unusually upset which led to a major, tearful meltdown.  Fortunately, I have a husband who “was present” with me.  We have been doing some Bible reading together, about one chapter at a time.  We were ready for chapter 8 in Luke, and I asked if we could read a chapter and pray.  What was in that chapter offered me fresh encouragement and reminded me of scriptures that have meant something special to me in the past.  A favorite line in the Gospels is when a disciple asks Jesus if He cares that they are perishing as their boat is battered relentlessly by a storm.  Of course He cares, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.

               Taking that little bit of time to be present with God, to listen and gain new faith and trust, certainly helped turn me around, “renewing my mind” as Paul calls it (Romans 12:2).  Busyness—life for many in modern America—can rob us of being blessed and giving blessings to others by being present with them and present with Jesus.  What will you choose today? 

. . . and He will sustain you

As October approaches, it will be four months since we daringly packed up our St. Louis lives to venture into a new frontier on the prairies of Eastern Illinois.  This sounds more adventuresome than it is since we had previewed life here in Charleston through our daughter’s eyes and many visits the past three years.  Still, after 60+ years in St. Louis, it was a bit of a “leap of faith,” and for me that means faith in God to be in our boat guiding and keeping us steady and safe.

Most mornings, I lie down with the heating pad and iced band (its confusion that is messing with the way I walk!), read from a few devotionals and pray.  Just this past week, the second part of a Bible verse rolled through my mind:  “ . . . and He will sustain you.”  Thanks to Google, these unbidden but highly beneficial scriptures can be easily located.  How did Moses ever keep it all straight-- but then a burning bush and a pillar of fire would be helpful.

Not surprisingly, I found the whole sentence in Psalm 55:22 and its simple, wise instruction:  “Cast your burdens upon the Lord and He will sustain you.”  Taking this a step further, I looked up the definition of “sustain.”  It means to “strengthen or support physically or mentally.”  Synonyms include “comfort, help, assist, encourage . . . to buoy up, carry” and my personal favorite, to “buck up.”  Being sustained by God Himself is no small thing, no, indeed.

Whatever our burdens may be, casting the worry and weight of them upon the shoulders of a truly good shepherd, a mighty God and Savior, does uplift us as God’s sustaining powers shore up our weakness and anxiety.   Remembering God’s promises and His faithfulness through the ages crowds out those nagging worries, replacing them with hope in Christ. 

During our last couple years in St. Louis as my symptoms worsened and doctoring wasn’t determining the exact cause, worshipping with our congregation and receiving their kindness and concern were part of how God sustained us through that period.  However, perhaps the most strengthening sustenance comes directly from God when he “personalizes” His word as we seek Him.

Long ago I underlined verse 13 in Psalm 27:  “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”  Whatever our burdens or worries, may God help us to roll them over onto Him who sustains us and supplies the help we need as we trust Him through these seasons of “distress and grief,” a description from an old hymn, Sweet Hour of Prayer.  Let us be like Mary, the sister who chose to sit before Jesus when He came to visit.   According to Jesus, when “she sat at Jesus’s feet listening to what He said,” she had chosen the better service to God.

How Deep, How Wide

Some people knock on the door

Of our lives, come right in,

And make themselves at home in our hearts—

And we’re better—so much better—

for having them there.

                These words appear on the front of a card sent to my husband and me by Mary Lou, a woman in her 80s from our church, before we left St. Louis where we had lived all our lives.  It is a card I will keep and treasure.   Even more impressive is her reaching out to us during a miserable summer (2014) due to my ongoing health problems.  When Mary Lou herself was battling cancer and had to have her own assistant, she called wanting to help, bothered that she couldn’t come clean our house or do something else.  How impressive is that?

                “Making ourselves at home” in another person’s heart—and being allowed to do so-- are certainly part of the love Jesus meant when He referred to God’s love that should be “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5).  This love, this fruit of the Spirit, is something we are commanded to live by:  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31).  Preceding this, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment.”

                How willing, how ready, how eager, are we to share this love, this Holy Spirit-breathed love that is patient, kind and available to all?  Do we make an opening in our circle of life to fit in someone new, someone who might need our friendship and encouragement?  The scriptures say a number of things about how we treat people who are initially strangers.  Hebrews 13:1 tells us to “let mutual love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.”  A characteristic Jesus includes in separating the goats and sheep in Mathew 25 concerns “new people” when He says, “I was a stranger and you welcomed Me” (Mat. 25:35).  In that chapter, it is clear that “when we ignore the needs of those around us, we ignore Christ,” Gord Waldie, These Days devotional.

                Mary Lou, whom we only knew for about two years, now enjoys the loving presence of Jesus Himself in the place He prepared for us.  I will never forget her and the circle of love she opened to us making all our lives better.  May we draw ourselves into Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians that “the Father    . . . may strengthen (us) with power through His Spirit . . . so that Christ may dwell in (our) hearts through faith. And I pray that (we), being rooted and established in love, may have power . . . to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ . . . that (we) may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (3:14-19).

Let the Light Shine in

               My favorite feature of our new home is our master bath window.  A lovely stained glass pane (formerly in the Tudor-styled Henry the VIII Hotel in St. Louis) fits almost perfectly in the 40”x20” spot.  Each day as I raise the mini-blinds, light comes pouring through the red, blue, green, yellow and clear diamonds of glass.  I savor the simple beauty.

               Around 2000, people could buy a window for $50.00 during the razing of this landmark hotel.  On a cold December day, my husband actually used a screwdriver and wrench to extract one for us.  We put it in a section of a front window then, but at our last house, it just leaned against a wall for 11 years, no light coming through, no beauty to be seen.

               After breakfast, I usually  read several daily devotional books and pray.  With limited physical abilities, I’m not bounding out the door each morning—or any other time of day!  A real need and desire to hear from God motivate me more to keep this practice, especially in times of difficulty and trial.  In the last two weeks, three different devotionals have addressed the importance of making time to hear God’s “still, small voice” as followers of Christ.

               On July 6^th, in Penned from the Heart, the title said, “Straining for the Still, Small Voice,” then quoted 1 Kings 19:12,13 about the Lord not being in the wind, earthquake or fire.  Instead, His direction came to Elijah through a “still, small voice.”  The author’s reasoning?  “Perhaps because a whisper requires participation, a stretching of the ears.”  I would add hearing also requires taking time apart from doing other things however good they may be.

               A new devotional, Prayers for Every Day, quoted this same verse but with a different and catchy wording on July 17^th.  “The Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence . . . Then there came a voice to him.”  The words of an old, familiar hymn followed, beginning with “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind forgive our foolish ways . . . Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire, O still small voice of calm."   

               Honestly, on July 20^th, a third devotional, the Upper Room, was titled, “Hear His Voice.”  Jesus’s words followed:  “My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).  After a story about the transforming power a leader’s words can bring in a crisis, the author compared that to a believer’s opportunity to hear Christ’s words of wisdom, guidance and calm.  “Listening to Christ’s voice through the Spirit or the words of scripture” should be a vital and regular part of our Christian life.

               God is still “speaking” and the written, inspired words of God are readily available for instruction, correction and counsel.  Will we let God’s words, quietly spoken to our hearts or written in the scriptures be like the lovely window laying against a wall?  Or, will we set apart time to allow the light of the Holy Spirit to shine and enliven these words our living Lord means for us, while still, to truly “hear.”

Time for a "new" name!

               At the ripe old age of 66, why would I change being called by my middle name, Kay, to my first name, Rayma.  Why, indeed.

Opportunity:  I have moved to a new town—and a new state—after a lifetime in St. Louis being known as Kay Laughlin.  My younger brother, wanting relief from the middle name hassle and an abundance of Michaels, went to Glen, his first name, when my parents moved to a new area in St. Louis.  My daughter also made a change in her name when she moved.

New familiarity:  I have seen a lot of doctors in the last few years, and I grew tired of telling them to call me by my middle name.  Hearing and responding to “Rayma” has become more familiar.

Meaning:  Although spelled differently, my name is pronounced the same as the Greek word “rhema,” meaning utterance.  Rhema appears in the scriptures as the spoken word of God.  In Mathew 4:4, Jesus tells the devil that “. . . Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes forth out of the mouth of God.”  Rhema is the word God speaks to our spirits and minds in a personal and powerful way, often a piece of scripture.   Another Greek term used for the word of God is logos, the inspired word of God found in the Bible, including Jesus, “the word made flesh” (John 1:1).  Logos is the written word of God, “living and active” which “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:4,5).

History:  According to Owens family lore, my father painted “Rayma” on the back of the chest to be used for the baby my parents were expecting.  However, that was a boy who became William Howard Owens, Jr.  When I came along in second place, I was given the wonderful name Rayma Kay, but my parents, who loved the name, called me “Kay.”  My mother’s sister was named Rayma, blending my grandmother’s maiden name, “Ray”, with “Ma,” a name for another family member.  My aunt would be the only person I knew who had the name until I went to college.

In grade school when kids would find out my first name, I was teased.  “Sheena of the Jungle” was a popular television program, so some called me Raymar of the Jungle.  That gave me no love for the name—who wants to be teased?  Every year I would have to explain that I use my middle name, and that was a hassle.  By the time I got married, I only had “Kay” written on the formal invitation, a decision a more mature Kay came to regret.

Seizing the day:  In Romans 10:10, the word declares “that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  I have been storing up the written and spoken words of God for some years now, many handwritten on my heart, such as Jeremiah 29:11 about God’s plans being for good and not for evil.  A name that sounds like a Greek word for the spoken word of God—I’ll take that, for it is in those words of God that my hopes for much good rest.  As the old hymn says, “Standing on the promises of God, my Savior.”

God's Faithfulness to Prepare the Way

April was the last post, I see, as I begin to “get back on track.”  Why you might wonder have I neglected tapping the old keys?  Would a major move seem a justified reason?  That’s the short version of the last few months’ business.  On to our first time to ever live away from St. Louis except for during college. 

Our daughter was the first one to proposed the idea of Jim and me moving to Charleston, Illinois, perhaps even before the moving truck pulled up to her home there.  For some years, we had hoped she and her brother would find their way back to St. Louis as many of our friends’ children have.  Jim had a well-used line about there being 27 universities and colleges in the metro area—I finally told him to put that to rest a few states ago, especially after both married people from the Northeast. 

Relocating once the kids were settled had been a possibility.  Some time ago, I started praying for God to be preparing a place for us, leading the way.  The well-known John 14 verse about Jesus going to prepare a place for us started to have a wider application in my thinking about Jesus, the good shepherd, who leads his sheep to green pastures, etc.  For any who need encouragement to believe God hears and answers prayers—and what Christian doesn’t—even the beginnings of this “adventure,” as my husband refers to the move, prove Him to be wonderfully,  faithfully answering my request.

The last three years, we have often attended Bonnie’s church in Charleston.  She has asked for prayer for me during their sharing concerns time, so we have some familiarity with the congregation and they with us.  As church ended this last Sunday, two ladies in front of us whom we have some connection with were asking for our address and mentioned having us come for dinner.  About the same time, I felt a tap on my shoulder; a friendly lady said she thought we were neighbors—and we are!  As we talked, I learned some history of our subdivision and much that we have in common with one another besides being neighbors about the same age.

Beverly, my new friend (I hope), has lived here for some time and remembers when this development was a field of corn.  Chuck and Nancy, who own our duplex and several others, actually built the neighborhood because Chuck “had a vision” of what this field of corn could become.  When I mentioned this to Nancy when she called the next day, she added more detail, saying they named the neighborhood “The Fields” because of the line in the Field of Dreams movie, “If you build it, they will come.”

And come we have, intrigued before we even arrived by our duplex being in “The Fields” since the field movie is a family favorite.  We first visited the movie set the summer the movie came to the theaters and have returned three more times, each experience different from the other.  To me, the movie wonderfully illustrates how God can “speak” to us and give us faith for amazing things to happen.

The Bible says to encourage one another, and I hope sharing just the beginning of our adventure--which God has been preparing-- will encourage you to listen for God’s voice, then “pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1) as you wait for God’s goodness to come to you and those you love.

Your blogger from the field, literally!

 

Words--Wonderful "words of life"

               Recently, Jim and I watched a 2014 interview with Eva St. Marie on television.  At 88, she is still lovely and spunky at times.  Her big break in acting, winning an Oscar for her performance in On the Waterfront, came after much hard work and “pounding the pavement” in New York.  The interviewer asked her what sustained her through those hard years.  Her reply caught my attention, and later I saw a parallel in it to our Christian lives.

               In college, she took a role in her sorority’s play and genuinely “caught the acting bug” while studying to become a teacher.  On a visit home, she told her parents about this surprising twist in her future plans.  After pointing out the uncertainty of such a path, her father encouraged her to do her best whatever she chose.  Of course, such an endorsement from the parents she loved undergirded her plan.  Another great encouragement came from a letter she received from her drama teacher at school.  He affirmed her talent, including other helpful words about her future.  She still has the letter which she read often in those early years.  What a gift we present to others with genuine words of encouragement.

               As I thought back on this exchange while reading a devotional, I realized the scriptures are our Father’s words to His children as the Spirit directed people over many centuries to share stories of faith and instruction.  Paul’s letter to Timothy (2 Tim. 16, 17) states, “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  The Psalms alone are powerful as authors share their darkest moments and testing experiences yet reveal a return to remembering God’s faithfulness, power and love.  Glorious recognition of God as creator, redeemer, rescuer and coming Savior are repeated themes in all 150 of them.

               In my 20s, a friend shared a way of reading the Bible that was more personal, expecting God “to speak” to me in its pages.  At the time, I had been sick for a few months and was open to seeking a God who could do more than “hold my hand” although that is no small thing. I underlined verses that directed me to trust God to help me, to do for me what was beyond human ability, including my own.  Doing this changed my Christian life and gave me faith to expect good even after the unusual cause for the pericarditis and sickness was discovered.  

               Seeking God Himself as we read His word offers us more than even the best cards and letters we receive. Hebrews 4:12 claims, “the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword . . .”  Let’s read and remember the scriptures God has given to encourage, instruct and build faith as we face each day and what it holds.

Father's Gift Becomes Lesson in Faith

With spring in the air, soon a beautiful azalea bush will produce its wide branches with lush blossoms somewhere between a hot pink and lavender blue.  Passersby will notice its lovely spring display in front of our old house, but few know the wonderful memory of my father the azalea brings to mind, and the principle of faith that memory represents to me.

My father was an avid gardener.  He not only enjoyed nurturing large beds of flowers and bushes, he also enjoyed eagerly sharing nature’s bounty with family, friends and neighbors. Dad brought four colors of daylilies, hearty geraniums, forsythias and the precious azalea bush to our old house, and some now thrive in yet another yard.

On his frequent visits to our old house, he would “make the rounds,” inspecting the flowers and bushes in our yard. I still “see” him tapping his cane on the brittle branches of the little azalea that had begun as a start from his bushes. I was ready to give up on its possibilities, but my father offered this advice: “Give it one more year.”  Fortunately, I followed his counsel, and now, years later, from what appeared an almost lifeless, little start, there is a large and vibrant azalea bush.  It is a wonderful illustration of God’s glorious created beauty and of the power of patient waiting in hope and faith.

For Christians, faith often requires believing in what we cannot see. We might be faced with difficult circumstances that offer little hope of a positive outcome. Perhaps someone we love has drifted away from God and shows no interest in rectifying that. Or, someone may need a job and applications produce no results. Surely we know people for whom medicine alone can offer no real remedy.

In times of hardship, God calls us to have faith in Him and the limitless power and love He pours out on those who seek Him.  Hebrews 11, perhaps the most often cited Bible chapter on faith, begins: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen ... and without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:1,6).

Jesus, too, exhorted his followers to “have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).  He spoke more specifically to Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus, encouraging her to believe even though her brother had died before Jesus came to her and her sister Mary.  He asked her two questions.  After declaring, “I am the resurrection and the life,” he inquired, “Do you believe this?”  Then the sisters and Jesus went to the tomb.  When Martha said there might be a stench, Jesus asked the same question a little differently.  “Did I not say to you, if you believe you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:25, 25, 40).  Even in the face of death itself, Jesus offered them the possibility that faith in Him could bring Lazarus back to life.  

We still drive by our old house in Florissant to see that azalea, still going strong for at least 25 years now.  Today, besides adding beauty when the earth “comes back to life” in the spring, this azalea bush serves as a living memorial to my father’s love, a continual reminder of the possibilities of hope and faith in God, even in discouraging times and overwhelmingly difficult situations.  Indeed, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). May we yet believe, “All things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).   

 

 

 

The joy of grand reversals

          “Cinderella” at the Fabulous Fox was a rare late night out for my husband and me since last May.  Some ongoing health issues flared up rather nastily last spring, and even though I am considerably better, it is still with some hesitation that I make plans for a late evening.  But, we both wanted to go and at our newly discovered area on the ground floor level, we could have two seats for $60.00—practically a steal!

          I was expecting the wonderful and magical story with some songs I still know by heart since seeing the 1965 musical version on television.  Then 16, I identified with some of Cinderella’s “situation,” minus a wicked stepmother and sisters, fairy godmother, etc.  I still own a vinyl soundtrack of that production which is again getting played and enjoyed.  What I was not expecting at this slightly tweaked Fox production were all the little girls coming in for the show, little princesses dressed fit for a ball or party.  How sweet—and innocent-- is that!

          The television promotions for the show featured the song, “Impossible,” perhaps one of the more memorable songs in the various productions over the years.  The song asserts the impossibility of  pumpkins becoming carriages, an ordinary shoe turning  into a glass slipper, a country bumpkin marrying a prince—you get the picture.  Such things fit into one definition of a fairy tale according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending.”  I do love those happy endings, especially the ones that look improbable or impossible.  With a fairy godmother in the picture, such things can happen.

          The impossible becoming possible stories fill the scriptures from start to finish.  A barren, old woman, Sarah, bearing a child—impossible except that “with God, nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).  A large group of Israelites saved from destruction with Pharaoh’s army at their backs and the Red Sea’s daunting waters just ahead—impossible apart from Moses lifting his rod and trusting God to divide the waters for their escape.  In Jesus’s ministry, time after time our compassionate and Spirit-filled Savior loosed the afflicted, forgave the “unforgiveable,” fed the 5,000 with just a boy’s lunch, and healed the multitudes of the sick and infirm—impossible in the natural but not with the supernatural abilities of the Holy Spirit.

          Going to the Fox that night was a chance to see a good show, but perhaps even more it was a way to continue believing for the impossible—apart from God.  We humans can be “held captive” by many destructive forces, like addictions, diseases, crushing life disappointments, resentment, hate—until the gracious hand of God provides a “grand reversal” of our circumstances.  For Cinderella, the reversal (via a fairy godmother) moved her from an unkind and lonely circumstance  to one of ecstatic love and kindness from a charming prince.  For me, a grand reversal would be from a life of chronic pain, stiffness and difficulty walking—with no medical cure—to an active, thriving woman touched by the healing virtue that still comes when we seek the giver of all good gifts. 

          “Improbable events leading to a happy ending” should be possible in real life as well as fairy tales.  The manifested compassion and power of God is so needed in the church for our good but also for a wondrous demonstration to the world that Jesus loves and ministers still when we believe.